by London Casey
I gritted my teeth, pissed off.
I slipped a hand to her waist. “Jack’s has the best pizza.”
“I was going to say… this doesn’t look like a pizza place.”
“Bar pizza, darling. It’ll change your life. Stick by my side.”
I found two spots for us at the bar, near the corner.
Great.
Just what I needed.
To be nestled alone with Tia.
I should have kicked her out of the bathroom and jerked off before we left. The fight had helped get rid of some anger but not what was really making me feel all backed up.
“Hey, D,” Jack said from behind the bar. “Two drafts?”
“As big as you got,” I said. “My girl here likes her beer.”
Tia nudged me. “Seriously? Are you painting me as some whore you’re going to fuck later?”
“I’m not fucking you later, darling. Unless you beg me. And you like beer. I watched you the last few nights. Nothing wrong with it.”
Her cheeks blushed.
Jack put down two big mugs of beer and leaned forward. “How’s it going?”
“Great,” I said. I nodded to my leather cut. “All patched in now.”
“Goddamn. The kid becomes a man.”
“I’ve been a man for a long time, Jack,” I said. “Ever since I started sneaking in here and sneaking behind the bar for a drink or two.”
“I took a lot of shit for that,” Jack said. “Especially when you’d get drunk and throw up.”
“You threw up?” Tia asked.
“Not from the beer,” I said. “It was from Jacks’s shitty cooking.”
Jack slammed a hand on the bar. “Now that’s a lie, you prick.”
“We need something to eat,” I said with a grin.
“So now my food is good enough?” Jack asked.
“I guess we’ll find out,” I said.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” Jack asked Tia.
“Pizza.”
“On it,” Jack said.
He walked away.
“So… you puke from drinking?” Tia asked with this sly smile on her face.
Fuck, I wanted to see that look on her face when she was on her knees about to suck my co…
“When I was thirteen, yes,” I said.
“Thirteen?”
“I started young. I knew what I wanted in life.”
“A destroyed liver?”
“Cute, darling. It was better being in here than at home. Plus, I was over six feet tall by thirteen. I could walk in here and nobody knew I was a young pup. I held my ground. And Jack helped me out. He got pissed when I’d drink though.”
“I’m sure. He could get in serious trouble.”
“No. Fuck that. The cops know how this town works. He’d get pissed because I’d drink a shit ton and not pay.”
“How noble,” Tia said.
I enjoyed my icy cold beer and surveyed the scene. Jack’s place was a good hangout for the MC but it also brought in some other crowds. More than once we had to come in here and bust up some deals.
Tonight it looked like a bunch of normal fucking people out for a night of whatever-comes-my-way.
“So, the fighting,” Tia said.
“What?”
“The fighting,” she said. “I don’t get it. You guys fight each other?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because we do. Keeps us grounded. Keeps up moving.”
“I don’t get it,” Tia said.
I sighed. “Okay, darling. You have a bad day at work. What do you do?”
“You don’t know what I do for a living.”
“My deepest apologies for not asking.”
“I work as a graphic designer,” Tia said. “I have my own little business. It’s steady. Keeps me afloat. I refuse to live off anything related to my father.”
“Congrats to you,” I said. “So you have a bad day. A client says fuck you and steps out on a project. What do you do?”
“Drink wine,” she said. “Or beer.” She smirked. “Maybe cry. Maybe watch a movie. Hang out with a friend. Complain. I don’t know.”
“There you go,” I said. “A bunch of outlaw bikers aren’t going to sit around a table, share wine, and bitch about life. We get in the ring and work it out from our souls. Because that’s what’s really hurting. The soul.”
“That’s kind of deep,” Tia said.
“That… and we just like to fight. There’s nothing like beating the shit out of someone. And today? That was my first fight as a patched in member. And that guy? He said some really nasty things about you. That doesn’t fly with me, darling.”
I turned and faced the bar.
A few seconds later I felt Tia’s hand touch mine. “Wow, Diesel. I didn’t know that. Thank you.”
“No worries,” I said.
Don’t get close. Stop fucking talking serious shit. Ask her what her pussy tastes like. Ask her if she likes her ass to be played with… how many fingers can she take through the back door?
Lucky for me Jack appeared with pizza.
He topped off our beers.
We could finally eat and be in fucking silence.
I slammed back two slices of the best damn pizza in the world and chugged down half my beer. I looked over at Tia and she was on her second slice.
“Good, huh?”
“This is amazing,” she said. “And from a bar?”
“Don’t judge by looks, darling,” I said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”
“I can see that,” she said. “I’m so full but I just want to keep eating.”
“Good. Enjoy. You’ll sleep great tonight.”
Tia put her pizza down. “How long are you going to sleep on the floor?”
“Until you’re gone,” I said.
“We can arrange something, Diesel.”
“No we can’t.”
“We…”
“We get too close and I’m going to end up inside you. We both know that.”
I watched her swallow hard. I knew in the back of her mind she was wondering if that was such a bad thing. So, what, we’d be secret fuck buddies? I could handle that. I’d have to lie to Prez each time I saw him. Then again, how much longer was Tia going to be here?
“Can you get a cot or sleeping bag?” she asked.
“You’re really that worried about how I sleep?” I asked. “You care about me.”
“No. I just… it’s not fair.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair. So make it fair by calling up your old man and finding out what he’s doing. I’ve got things to do.”
“Oh, right. I’m in the way. So sorry. What’s so important in your life?”
“First off, I need to fuck someone. I’m a patched in member of the MC now. I need to claim my rewards for that.”
Tia shifted away from me. “By all means, Diesel. Don’t let me be in your way. Go get whatever you want. I’ll just sit here and enjoy my food.”
I stood up from the bar stool. “Maybe I will then.”
“You know, I was just trying to be nice. Trying to make things easier.”
“I don’t need that shit,” I said. “Don’t ask about my life, darling. Who I fight. Why I fight. Where I sleep. What I fuck. You worry about yourself. Think long and hard about your apartment on fire. Then let me know what’s actually going on in your life. Merry fucking Christmas.”
“Fuck you,” Tia said.
“You couldn’t handle it if you wanted it,” I said.
I grabbed my beer mug and walked away.
I walked across the floor, gritting my teeth. I didn’t want to be mean to her. I didn’t want to push her away. But what the fuck else was I going to do? This whole thing was a complete joke.
I walked to the other side of the bar where the dartboards were. Two women were playing. One looked at me, smiling. I finally had a fucking target.
My night suddenly got better.
I just needed to get her into the bathroom.
Bend her over the sink.
I nodded to her.
I wasn’t even going to get her name.
Why?
Because in my mind, I was going to call her by one name.
Tia.
twelve.
(Tia)
I watched him walk away and then set my sights back to my food.
What an asshole.
But truthfully, what did I expect? Was he going to be some kind guy there to save me? I hadn’t told him a thing about me other my dumb Christmas stuff. He didn’t know that I had received a couple threatening text messages. That I was secretly terrified that the guy who tried to kill me once would come back again. It wasn’t my job to burden Diesel with that though. I just had to wait out my father to close this deal in New York. Then he’d have the money needed to take care of the problems.
I forced the rest of my pizza down and sipped my beer.
The bar was bustling.
I felt jealous of everyone in there, able to live free. For some reason it made me think about my mother. When she was alive life was so much easier. Maybe my father was always a crooked businessman, and if so she shielded me from it. I knew things were going to get crazy when she passed but I never imagined this.
I grabbed for my phone, figuring I would check in with Amber. I sent a text and got no reply back. I tried to look for Diesel in the bar but there were too many people. Although he wasn’t hard to spot. The biggest guy in the place, wearing a leather cut with the Back Down Devil MC name and logo across the back of it.
I stood up a little and bit my lip as I stretched my neck.
“If you’re looking for me, I’m right here.”
I turned and Diesel wasn’t standing there.
It was some guy.
“What?”
“The man of your dreams. Right here, babe.”
“Uh, no.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,” the stranger said as he nestled up on Diesel’s seat. “If I were with you, I wouldn’t leave you for a second. Name’s Chris. You?”
“Uh, Tia,” I said.
“Hey there, Uh Tia,” Chris said.
He smiled. I didn’t.
“Go away,” I said. “Trust me.”
“See, now that’s exactly why I won’t go away. A beautiful woman like you can’t just sit here alone all night.”
“I’m not alone.”
“Invisible boyfriend?”
“He went to take a piss,” I said. “You don’t want to mess with him.”
“Tough guy? Okay. I was top state in wrestling. I’ll take my chances. Since we don’t have much time, we better get right to it.”
“Right to what?”
“How this plays out,” Chris said. “I’ll meet you anywhere, babe. Ditch your pissing boyfriend for a real man. I can see it in your eyes. You’re not sure of that guy. Whoever it is.”
“Believe me, you have no idea what I’m thinking…”
“Fine. See, you get to choose how this works. I can be the greatest night of your life and disappear in the morning and never call you again. Or I can be there and listen to everything. Take you on dates. Spoil the hell out of you.”
“Smooth talker,” I said.
“Truth talker.”
“The truth? Go the fuck away.”
“Can’t do that. Can’t leave you alone. Can’t let you down.” Chris reached for me and put a hand to my arm. He ran his fingers down to my hand, smiling. “Let’s have some fun tonight, babe. You need it.”
“You have no idea what I need,” I said. “Don’t touch me.”
“I plan on doing more than touching you,” he said. Chris inched closer. “Let me tell you everything I plan on doing with my mouth, my hands, and my cock.”
I threw an elbow and hit him in the chest. “Stop.”
“I don’t know the meaning of the word. And if you scream, I’ll make it worse.”
Yeah… now I was starting to get nervous.
Where the hell was Diesel?
thirteen.
(Diesel)
My hand at her lower back, she thrust her ass to my leg, trying to figure out just how big my dick was. That’s when I had this sinking feeling in my gut. Tia popped into my mind. I pushed the strange woman away and turned. She called for me but I kept walking. I split between two people and looked across the bar.
I expected to see Tia sitting there, picking at her pizza, drinking her beer.
Instead, I saw some asshole touching her. Holding her arm. Inches from her face. She was leaning back in a defensive position, but she wasn’t defending herself.
That was my job.
My eyes went wide and the entire bar turned a shade of red.
I looked at Jack and then looked down the bar again.
“Ah, shit, D,” Jack said.
I pushed from the bar and started to walk.
Not even a fucking brick wall could have stopped me right then.
My shoulders were wide. My anger boiling.
See, the thing was… every second that went by without me fucking Tia into orgasmic oblivion was a second that I got more and more pissed off.
I almost felt bad for this asshole touching Tia… I was going to destroy him.
fourteen.
(Tia)
I opened my mouth to tell Chris to stop for the tenth time but I lost the words. That’s when Diesel turned the corner of the bar and stood there. He was a hulking monster, damn near breathing fire.
“There a problem here?” he asked, his voice rumbling the floor.
Chris turned his head. “Fuck off, man. Nothing is wrong.”
Diesel grabbed Chris by the shoulder and pulled him. “There is a problem here. A big fucking problem.”
Chris quickly threw a punch, clocking Diesel in the mouth.
Diesel stumbled back.
I covered my mouth in a gasp.
Everyone in the vicinity of the bar all jumped up and gave room.
“Don’t do this!” Jack called out. “I’ll kick him out, D. Don’t hit…”
There was no stopping it.
Diesel swung the heavy beer mug through the air. It smashed against Chris’s head with a sickening thud. The glass broke in a few chunks. Chris fell into the bar and down to his ass. Diesel crouched down and grabbed Chris by the shirt. He put a broken piece of the beer mug to Chris’s throat.
“You ever fucking look at her and touch her again, I’ll fucking kill you,” Diesel said. “I should slit your fucking throat right now.”
“Please, man,” Chris said. “Christ.”
“Diesel, don’t,” I said. I grabbed for his arm. “He’s not worth it.”
Diesel stood up and dropped the broken piece of glass. He reached down and grabbed Chris’s throat and forced him to his feet. He punched Chris in the mouth and then threw him into a wall.
“That’s enough,” I said. I got in front of Diesel. “Please. Don’t get arrested over him.”
Diesel looked at me. “You like that? You like that kind of attention? Is that who you are?”
“No,” I said. “I was terrified. Looking for you.”
“D!” Jack called out. “You gotta go.”
Diesel walked around me and to the bar. He threw some cash on the bar and apologized to Jack for the scene.
Diesel then grabbed my hand and we got the hell out of the bar.
At his motorcycle he handed me his helmet. I put it on and climbed on the ride behind him. I slid my arms around his body and we took off.
My heart was racing.
Diesel had just defended me.
He was going to kill Chris for coming near me.
I caught myself smiling.
I was turned on… the temptation was getting too great.
I came out of the bathroom and ran a brush through my hair. I put it down on the nightstand. We were standing on opposite ends of the room, the bed separating us.
“You can’t hol
d out on me,” Diesel said. “I need to know what you’re up against. So I can help you.”
“You did help me,” I said. “You did enough tonight, Diesel.”
“That? That was nothing. That was some asshole thinking he could just stake a claim. You need to defend yourself, darling. Throw a punch. Kick a guy in his balls.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
“There is no next time,” Diesel said. “You’re not leaving my sight again. I shouldn’t have walked away from you. I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
Our eyes were locked tight. I could feel something inside me. Something wild burning. The second I took a step I knew I was headed for trouble. Big trouble.
Around the bed and right toward Diesel, my eyes never leaving his.
“Thank you for protecting me, Diesel,” I said. I grabbed at his massive, muscle laced arm. I pulled myself to my toes and planted a kiss to his cheek. “Nobody has ever done that before. Fight someone for me.”
“Then everyone else in this world is a piece of shit,” Diesel said. “You deserve to be protected, darling.”
My right hand let go of his arm. I gently touched his leather cut. My hand kept going. I stepped to the side, fully facing Diesel.
“Can you at least hug me?” I whispered. “I just want to feel…”
“Sure,” he said.
The bulked up outlaw put his arms around my body and hugged me. I turned my head and rested it against his chest. I could feel the definition of his pec muscles. Muscles I had seen exposed, wet with sweat, wet with shower water. My hands couldn’t even lock around Diesel’s body, he was that big.
“It’ll be okay,” Diesel whispered. “You just have to tell me everything. Let me actually help you. I know this goes beyond a fucking fire in your apartment.”
I looked up and saw Diesel looking down at me. I broke the hug and Diesel didn’t fight it. But he did reach with his right hand, touching my chin. His thumb eased over my chin and touched my cheek.
Before I could stop myself, I was popped up on my tip toes. Diesel killed off the rest of the distance between our lips by moving down at me. Our lips collided like a car crash. I felt a rippling effect through my entire body. My knees went weak and I melted right into the outlaw.