Blazing Hot Bad Boys Boxed Set - A MC Romance Bundle

by Glass, Evelyn

  “Melina, you’re such a gossip!”

  “I’m not either! But you two were such a hot item at one time.”

  Rose smiles. For as long as she has known her, if you wanted to know anything about who was seeing who, you had only to ask Melina. It’s good to see her excited about something again. “No. We are not seeing each other. That’s long over and buried.”

  “If you say so. But if you change your mind you can’t bring him back here to bang his brains out tonight. The kids will be back.”

  “Melina Scholly!” Rose cries in mock outrage. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

  “I’m just saying. If you two end up doing the wild thing, you have to go to his place.”

  Rose twitters out a laugh as she walks into the bath and starts the shower. “I assure you, there is going to no ‘wild thing’ tonight.”

  Melina props on the door as Rose removes her underwear and steps into the shower. Rose has always been so beautiful, and she is even more so now than ever. “Okay. No wild thing tonight. How about tomorrow?”

  “Would you stop!” Rose calls from the shower.

  “Okay… okay…” Melina acquiesces. “But when you do, you have to tell me all about it!” Melina hears the bang of the soap bar hitting the shower floor. She doesn’t know if it is related to what she just said, but she begins to giggle anyway as she walks away to rejoin Joseph.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Rose?” Joseph murmurs quietly.

  Rose blinks her eyes open. “What?”

  “We’re here.”

  “What? Holy shit! Did I fall asleep?”

  He smiles. “Almost before we got on the highway.”

  She blushes. “Joseph, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “You need the rest. You never did know when to slow down.”

  Rose yawns and stretches with a drawn-out groan. “That’s no excuse for being rude.”

  “You weren’t rude. I’m glad you still feel comfortable enough around me to fall sleep like that.”

  Rose smiles. She does feel comfortable around him. She is long over the anger and the hurt from him leaving her and can remember the good times. “I must be more tired than I thought.”

  Joseph gives her a lopsided smile. “Wait until I tell everyone that you slept with me the car.”

  “Don’t you dare!”

  “Well… I will let you purchase my silence by letting me pay for dinner without an argument.”

  Rose grins. “So long as we understand it’s just dinner.”

  Joseph’s smile widens. “Just dinner.”

  He escorts her into Adele’s and they are immediately seated ahead of several waiting couples. “How did you manage that?” Rose asks.

  “Called ahead while you were in the shower.”

  “Ah… very thoughtful.”

  As they settle in, Rose browses the menu. She always enjoys trying new items, comparing her own offerings to those in other establishments. Her chef creates some wonderful dishes that are well received, but sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places. She is very taken with the crab-infused potatoes and makes a mental note to ask Robert, her chef, about adding something like them to their own menu.

  They sit and talk, lingering over their meal as they reminisce about their good times past. “Why haven’t you settled down?” Roses asks.

  “Just haven’t found the right person yet. I wasn’t kidding when I said that the way I live scares a lot of women off. They think they like the idea of living free until they realize that that means.”

  “That’s twice you have said that. Living free. What do you mean by that?”

  “Just what I said,” Joseph explains. “I live by my own rules. The natural laws of man. I don’t allow some petty bureaucratic drone dictate to me how to live my life. I want to be free to live my life as I see fit, and I extend the same courtesy to others.”

  “That all sounds well and good. But I’m free and I still enjoy all the benefits of modern society,” Rose points out.

  “Are you really?”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you allow people to smoke in your restaurant?”

  “No. That’s against the law.” Joseph sits and just looks at her. “What?” she asks.

  “Why don’t you? Is it because you don’t want to or is it because it’s against the law?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “It matters to me. If you don’t want me to smoke in your restaurant that’s fine. It’s your business and you can make any rules you wish. I can abide by them or I can go somewhere else. But when the state tells you that you can’t allow your customers to engage in a lawful activity in your business… how free are you, Rose?”

  “Okay, I see your point. But… I don’t know. I wouldn’t allow smoking anyway, so I guess it doesn’t bother me.”

  “You should think about it sometime. Just look at all the things that the state, or the feds, tell you that you can and cannot do. I know you can’t buy your alcohol except from approved suppliers. Why is that, do you think?”

  Rose has never thought about it before. “I don’t know. Why?”

  “Because some government official somewhere said so, that’s why. If they would allow competition, I guarantee you that the cost of your liquor would go down. But as it is, the state says you must buy from this list of distributors. Never mind that this guy over here could sell you the same product for thirty percent less, except he has to go through the distributor in order to get his product into your restaurant.”

  “Okay. I guess I understand. But we just need to change the laws.”

  “How’s that been working out for you? Don’t you think most restaurants would like the same things? Yet it never changes.”

  Rose smirks. “So what do you propose? Break the law?”

  “Yes.”

  “You can’t mean that. I could be fined… or go to jail.”

  “Yes. You probably would. But I wouldn’t… because they don’t even know I exist.”

  Suddenly the light goes off in Rose’s mind. Now it begins to make sense. “So… you just do what you want and to hell with everyone else? Is that it?”

  “No. That’s not it all. But in so much as what I do doesn’t hurt anyone else, yes. If I want to smoke, drink, do drugs, or eat fatty foods, then who am I hurting? Of whose concern is it other than my own?”

  “And when you drive drunk and kill someone?”

  “Then I should be held responsible for my actions. But until that time, who am I hurting?”

  “Well, no one I guess.”

  Joseph smile and leans back in his chair, holding up his hands is a “there you go” motion. “Now you see where I’m coming from. Some laws are necessary. Laws to protect us from each other are right and proper… things like theft and murder are, and should be, against the law. But silly laws like the one that was passed in New York where you couldn’t buy a soft drink larger than sixteen ounces… It is that kind of creeping control that I try to avoid.”

  “I thought that law was struck down. All of us restaurateurs were watching that very closely.”

  “It was. But the fact is, they did pass it and it was only after the courts stepped in that it was struck down.”

  “Okay. You may have a point. But still, to just drop out like you have. I don’t know how you can live like that.”

  “It’s not as hard as you think. You give up a few conveniences, like having a cell phone, but it is also very liberating. Knowing that you are in charge of your own destiny, that you succeed or fail by your own hand is very rewarding. The Nines are growing… and it is because people are thirsting for freedom.”

  “And it is because of this thirst for freedom that you left me?”

  “I didn’t leave you Rose. I asked you come with me.”

  “I know. But you knew I wouldn’t, didn’t you?”

  Joseph smiles softly. “Yes. But I had to ask.”

  Rose can feel her ow
n slightly sad smile tug at her lips. “You did ask. But you didn’t seem that upset when I said no.”

  “I was, though. But I didn’t want to try to force you to come with me. Then I would be just like those people that I despise. I wanted you with me, and hardly a day has passed that I haven’t thought about you and leaving you behind. But I can’t live as pawn in government’s game of chess, Rose. I just can’t.”

  “You’ve missed me?” she teases.

  “More than you can know,” Joseph answers, and she can tell he isn’t kidding.

  “I’m sorry, Joseph. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  Joseph smiles softly at her. “We each have to live our lives as we see fit. That is central to what I believe. I would rather suffer your loss than try to force you into doing something you disagree with.”

  Rose is touched. Not by the political stuff, but by the fact that he would rather leave her than make her unhappy. But his leaving had made her unhappy as well. It had taken her more than a year before the ache in her soul had begun to fade… and no amount of male companionship had been able to ease its pain. “I’m sorry, Joseph. Perhaps we are just not meant for each other.”

  “Perhaps,” he allows. “But what about you?”

  “What about me?” she asks.

  “I know you finished college and opened Aguilar’s. But what else? Are you in a relationship? Are you happy?”

  “I’m happy enough,” Rose says. “I’m not in a relationship at the moment. Aguilar’s, up until the last couple of years, has consumed all my time and energy. It is getting better now. There is no steady, but I haven’t spent the last seven years pining for you either, so you can get over yourself,” she finishes with a grin.

  Joseph smiles back. “That’s good. I would have felt terrible if you had. Life is too short to live like that.”

  “Yes it is,” she agrees.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  As they converse they find that they fall comfortably once more into the roles they had as lovers, almost as if the past seven years had never happened. Joseph tends to be more intense, thoughtful, and introspective, while Rose is more outgoing and boisterous. Their personalities feed off of each other and they can feel the attraction between them once more.

  The heavy topic of the time between the separation and now past, they laugh and tease. Rose can once again feel the sexual tension that they so explosively worked off each time Joseph would ride down to Las Vegas while she attended college. It is too bad there is so much baggage between them… otherwise she could definitely take him to her bed.

  Joseph watches Rose slowly relax as the evening progresses, the slight stiffness she had displayed around him oozing out of her. She had said that she hadn't spent the past seven years pining for him, and he can say the same about her, but to deny that he hasn't wondered if leaving her was the right choice would be to lie to himself. She is still so beautiful, smart, and alive, he can feel his feelings for her bubbling to the top—feelings he has tried for seven years to bury.

  They spend nearly three hours occupying the table. The waiter is unfailingly polite as he tactfully tries to hurry them along, and Rose knows they should clear the table for another customer, but Joseph seems content to sit and talk with her. Though she has hinted that they should leave he doesn’t take it, so she just relaxes and enjoys her evening.

  Finally Joseph opens the check presenter. Rose can see the bill is just under eighty dollars but Joseph counts off three one-hundred dollar bills. Rose can feel her eyes widen at the tip. But then Joseph lays down another one-hundred dollar bill, separately, and calls the waiter. He hands the presenter to the waiter. “This is for the restaurant. No change.” He then picks up the single one-hundred dollar bill and hands it to the waiter. “And this is for you. Thank you for your service tonight.”

  The young man stares at the tip for a moment before taking it. “Thank you, sir!”

  Joseph nods and then rises to help Rose up. As they are walking out, the waiter stops them. “Sir, the bill was only seventy-eight fifty-three.”

  “I know. But we occupied the table far longer than necessary to eat. That is… compensation… for allowing us to use the table.”

  The waiter stands flabbergasted. “Uh, yes sir. I will tell the manager. And, uh, thank you for dining with us at Adele’s. Please come back, and if you do, ask for me. I’m Thomas.”

  Joseph smiles at the young man. “I will, Thomas. Admirable service tonight. Thank you.”

  “That was very generous of you,” Rose says as they walk to her car.

  “I believe in paying for what I use. We were there three hours, I paid for about three meals. And tipped accordingly. It is a simple matter of fairness.”

  “I wish more people see it that way. I was a little uncomfortable taking a table for so long. I know how frustrating it is when a party just won’t leave.”

  “And now?” Joseph asks with a grin, opening her car door once more.

  “Not so much. Yes we cost them a table, but we didn’t cost them any money.”

  “So you think it was a fair trade?” Joseph asks as he slides behind the wheel.

  “Yes. Thank you Joseph. I had a very enjoyable evening.”

  “Me too, Rose.”

  They are quiet, talking little, for the twenty-minute drive from the restaurant back to Eagle Valley. As he pulls her car into the parking lot of the Goose, he leaves it running as they climb out. “Thank you, Rose, for having dinner with me,” Joseph says as he pulls her gently to him.

  Rose doesn’t fight the light tug as Joseph draws her to him. Nor does she resist as he slowly lowers his lips to hers. The kiss is gentle and chaste, the type of kiss she has given on many a date at her door. But she can feel the flame of passion they once shared come to life. She steps back as Joseph pulls back from the kiss and smiles. “Reminds me of old times.”

  Joseph can feel the surge of desire for her as they part and she steps back. “Yes. Me too,” he murmurs. He moves to pull her to him once more, but she puts a hand in his chest.

  “No,” she says gently. “It’s over, Joseph.”

  He steps back from her and nods. “Okay. But I had to try.”

  “I know. But too much time has passed.”

  “Not for me.”

  Rose smiles, touched by Joseph in spite of herself. “Goodnight, Joseph. Thank you for a wonderful evening.”

  Joseph’s smile is slightly sad as he sits astride his bike and thumbs to life, the classic rumble of the Harley at idle echoing off the walls of Goose as he dons his helmet. He gives her another nod and a smile before toeing the bike into gear and rumbling off.

  It is just a bit past ten and Rose debates going into the Goose to help them finish closing, but decides to go to Melina’s instead. Just as she closes the car door she hears the fading roar of Joseph’s bike as he accelerates away… and she realizes that perhaps there hasn’t been too much time after all.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  When Rose enters Melina’s house she finds her sitting on the couch, wrapped in the throw. She has obviously been crying even though her eyes are now dry. “How are you holding up?” Rose asks as she sits down beside her friend, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Okay. Michael was asking where his daddy was. I had to tell him his daddy wasn’t coming back. That was hard. He doesn’t understand, and…” Melina stops, choking off a sob.

  “I know it has to be hard. But it should get a little easier each day,” Rose comforts, holding Melina’s hand, trying to lend her strength.

  “It is. I managed to not cry at all today until I had to talk to Michael.”

  Rose can feel her own eyes becoming wet in sympathy as Melina’s grief pours over her. “Just hang in there, okay?”

  Melina smiles. “I’m trying,” she says, then changes the subject. “How was your date? You were gone a long time for just dinner. Did you go back to his place?”

  “No!” Rose exclaims in teasing exasperation. “We did not go
back to his place. We just had dinner and that was it,” she says. “He did kiss me good night, though,” she adds as an afterthought, trying to perk Melina up.

  “He did? How was it?”

  “It was nice. It was just goodnight kiss. No tongue or anything like that,” she adds jokingly.

  “And Joseph? What did he think?”

  “I think he wants a lot more than I’m going to give him.”

  “Why? Did he invite you to his place or something?”