by K E Osborn
Opening my eyes wide, I’m a little shocked. Torque's usually all brash and bravado, but right now he’s being straight with me. I appreciate the effort, so I nod and relax my shoulders looking at him kindly. “Okay, sure… what did you have in mind?”
He tenses slightly, his jaw clenching. “See this is where my plan kind of falls apart. I don’t really have anything planned. I wasn’t sure what your answer would be, so I thought I’d wing it—”
“Smooth, real smooth,” Xav murmurs under his breath.
I’d forgotten we have an audience. I think Torque had too by the quick movement of his head turning to look at Xav and Ari as they stand in the corner watching us.
I roll my eyes and look at the clock. “Well, I finish in five minutes or so... how ‘bout we just chill out for a bit. No clubs. No fellow bikers or friends—”
“What? We can’t come?” Ari interrupts, and I glare at her.
“No…”
She and Xav both pout as Torque smiles.
“Just you and me. Hanging out together. What do you think?” I ask.
His eyes light up, and he nods. “Fuckin’ perfect.”
“Finish up now, sis. Ari and I can close up shop,” Xav says with a bright smile.
“We can?” Ari asks, and Xav glares at her. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, course we can. You go. Have a good night,” she emphasizes the word ‘good’ for effect.
I nod with a smile and start undoing my apron around my waist and move to hang it up as I head toward the back area to grab my stuff. “I’ll just get my things and meet you out front.”
Torque nods as I turn to head for the backroom. “Thanks, guys, appreciate the help,” Torque’s gravelly voice chimes through the front of the store as I hear him walk out. Grasping my stuff, I can’t control the smile which is spreading across my face. I shrug on my leather jacket, grab my backpack, and head back out.
“Be safe,” Ari calls out, and I snort rolling my eyes.
“Oh, not even… I’ve known him all of what… three days? Give a girl some credit,” I call back as I pull the divider open and walk through closing it behind me.
Ari and Xav both snort and shake their heads. “I would have done him in the back room the night he came in, but that’s just me. I’m a hussy like that,” Ari calls out. Xav bursts out laughing as I shake my head and step out the front door. Torque’s waiting at the curb, leaning against his gorgeous looking Harley. My eyes go wide checking out the shine on the chrome, and I’m super impressed by the immaculate sheen on this thing. He smiles as I walk up to him, and he looks me up and down.
“You sure do look great in leather. You’ll fit right in on the back of my bike.”
I grin and look at the blue Kawasaki Ninja 250 motorbike that’s parked right next to Torque’s, raise my brow moving in beside it and lean against it. His eyebrows furrow, and he tilts his head as I grab my helmet from the handlebars and bring it to my stomach with both hands. “Maybe that’s because I already look good on the back of a bike.”
He stands up suddenly letting out a big puff of air as his hand rushes to his chin rubbing it furiously. His eyes bugging out of his head, and I can’t decide if he looks angry, impressed, or horny. Maybe a mixture of all three.
“This is your ride?” he asks, looking over my sports bike.
I nod with a smirk. “I know it’s not a Harley, but it’s what I can handle, and it’s mine.”
He shakes his head, his body moving slightly like he’s uncomfortable. I’m just not sure why. “Fuck, Heeley. I mean… I don’t know if I can handle this.”
“What do you mean?” My brows scrunch up in concern as he stalks toward me.
He looks me up and down, and his eyes take on a darker shade. They look almost menacing, but underneath the blue tone, they’re filled with lust. It’s unmistakable, and I swallow hard as he steps up to me making me move my helmet to my side so he can step in closer to me.
“I mean, you may be riding a crotch rocket, of all fuckin’ things, but the fact that you can ride a bike at all…” his mouth curves into a smile, “Well, fuck, foxy… I’m all kinds of hot for you right now, and I don’t know if I can hold it in.”
Swallowing hard, the buzz around us flickers and ignites hot as he steps closer to me. I’m addicted to the tangy scent of his aftershave teamed with the smell of leather that’s flooding my senses making them work in overdrive. It’s like everything’s happening at once. All my emotions are firing, and all my thoughts are kicking off making my mind think of only one thing.
Torque’s lips on mine.
I move my helmet subtly to the tank of my bike as his body steps right against mine. The pressure building between us, he inches closer and closer. The chemistry is firing off in all directions. His hand slides up against my cheek in a tender caress, and I gulp as he looks into my eyes. The intensity is burning, my skin prickling in goosebumps as he leans in, his lips press against mine hard and fast, and I don’t have time to think about anything other than the fact that we’re kissing, again. My hands instantly loop around his neck, pulling him closer to me, threading through his hair as his hand on my cheek moves into the back of my hair and tightens into a fist. Our tongues dance together as our mouths collide in a frantic kiss. It’s hot, and I want to feel more of him.
His hands move down to my ass, and he hoists me up to sit on the seat of my bike. I hold onto him for dear life thinking at any moment my bike’s going to topple over, but he has a hold on me firmly. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he moves in so close I can feel his hard cock pressing against the seam of my shorts while we kiss on my bike in front of my parents’ froyo bar at nine on a Sunday evening for everyone to see.
The kiss is hot. It’s frenzied. And fuck do I like it. I don’t even care about his public display of affection. All I care about right now is that Torque is kissing me, and at this moment, I’m turning him on to the point of a raging hard-on. It makes me feel alive, and I haven’t felt this way in a very long time. It’s invigorating. It’s adrenaline pumping. And mix that with the emotions of kissing Torque, it’s a high I don’t want to come down from.
Honk. Honk.
A car horn and a group of men catcalling from a car window breaks the tension as Torque releases our lips, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. We’re both panting for breath as I try to hide my smile and hold back a laugh. He looks to the car driving off down the street, and I clear my throat as I attempt to get a hold of my raging libido. My clit is throbbing like crazy and having Torque’s hard cock still pressing up against it, isn’t doing anything to ease the damn pressure.
Torque looks back to me. My legs drop from around his waist as he finally takes a small step back, and he smiles shaking his head. “She rides a bike,” he murmurs with a chuckle, and I let out a small laugh.
“She does.”
He takes another step back putting an actual gap between us this time, and he smiles so wide his toothy grin is so fucking gorgeous it makes me melt. “Fuck me! You’re so full of surprises, foxy. Now take me back to your place so we can…” he pushes his eyebrows up and down, “… hang out.”
I snort out a laugh and nod. “And just like that, the demanding biker boy is back, ladies and gentleman.”
He rolls his eyes subtly rearranging his crotch, but I don’t miss it as he turns and grabs his helmet off his bike and places it over his head. I slide off my bike and grab my helmet pulling it on as I glance to the window of the froyo bar to see Ari and Xav standing there with big grins on their faces. I shake my head, and they both give me the thumbs up. I flip them the bird, making Torque chuckle as the roar of his Harley’s engine comes to life. I slide on the back of my Ninja and start her up, her engine sounds weak in comparison to Torque’s bike, but I still love the rush of the feeling of the vibration between my legs as I look to Torque. He shakes his head, and I can just imagine his smile beneath his helmet as I kick back the stand and walk my bike back getting ready to take off.
The ri
de home should be fun.
I’ve never ridden with someone on my tail before. So having Torque following me is actually quite exciting.
I pull out and yank on the throttle. My bike lurches forward, the strength and power thrusting beneath me giving me a thrill as I take off down the road. Torque doesn’t hesitate and is beside me in an instant. I smile loving that this is something we can share together. The open road, the wind in our hair, the love for two wheels.
I have no idea what his riding style is. Is he brash? Does he obey the road rules, or does he bend them like I do? I decide to test this theory when I notice a line of cars parked at the top light in both lanes. There are at least four cars in each lane. I smile knowing this will be a breeze for my small bike, but for Torque’s bigger, more masculine ride it might be a little trickier. But I want to push him.
So I race forward, lane splitting all the way between the cars, racing to get to the front of the traffic lights. I giggle under my helmet as I pull to a stop looking back to see Torque, who, with no hesitation, follows me down the thin line. He moves in front of the car to my left and pulls up. I see his chest jolting like he’s laughing, and I smile wide knowing he’s enjoying this as much as I am.
When the lights change, I take off like a rocket speeding through the intersection, setting the pace way more than the speed limit.
After a while, I slow to the actual speed limit and drive the streets more like a sane person as we ride side by side. He casually looks across to me every now and then, and I smile liking that he’s watching me.
I flick the blinker to turn left, and we turn, and then I signal to my apartment on the right. He nods, following me into my driveway, and both the bikes pull to a stop and turn off at the same time. The intense roar of bike engines coming to a complete halt filter through the dimly-lit street as I kick out my stand and slide off my bike yanking off my helmet. My hair falls around my shoulders in soft waves as Torque jumps off his Harley, pulls off his helmet placing it on his seat, and turns rapidly. His broad steps race toward me, and I don’t have time to think before he grabs me, picking me up and twirls me around in a circle. I laugh, grabbing hold of his shoulders as he chuckles letting me slide down his body until I’m looking in his eyes. That surge, that buzz, that energy, it’s here again, and fuck if it doesn’t feel good.
“Riding with you… fuck, Heeley…” it’s all he says before his lips meet mine briefly. His kiss is hard, forceful, passionate, but quick as fuck before he pulls back and grabs my hand. “C’mon, I need to see your apartment now because I know you have more surprises in store for me.”
I snort and shake my head. “I think you’re going to be sorely disappointed, biker boy. My apartment is tiny and has nothing going for it.”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. I still wanna see everything to do with you. C’mon, show me, woman,” he demands, practically dragging me off toward the front door.
I let out a small laugh at his excitement.
This should be fun.
The living room is filled with a golden hue as I flick on the switch and step inside through my whitewash front door. Torque’s behind me every step of the way, and I quickly scan the room making sure there’s nothing lying around I need to make a mad dash to clean up. It all looks pretty safe, for now. There are just a few stray coffee cups. Nothing too damning. Plus, my chaotic desk next to the kitchenette, but that’s never tidy.
I let Torque move through and then close the door, locking it behind him. I take a deep breath realizing that Torque’s in my apartment. With me. Alone. Swallowing hard, I step past him, a sudden nervousness sweeping over me as I head toward my kitchenette and straight to the coffee pot. “Coffee?” I offer.
He chuckles. “You drink a lot of coffee, don’t you?” Torque walks to the various assorted mugs lying around the room and starts to pick them up. I roll my eyes but let him do whatever he’s doing and get on with making the coffee
“Helps me stay awake while studying,” I reply as I pull out the filter and replace it with a new one.
He gathers three mugs and brings them over to the sink stepping into my side placing them on my minimal bench space with a smirk. “This kitchen’s tiny.”
I let out a small chuckle. “I told you my apartment wasn’t anything to get excited over.”
He raises his brow as I continue with the pot, and he shifts over to my desk nook area and runs his finger over my textbooks. I tense up slightly wondering how he’ll take the news of me studying to be a doctor. “So, why medicine? You’re not scared of blood? Doesn’t make you queasy?”
I snort, shaking my head. “Blood doesn’t make me queasy. I’d be a pretty shit doctor if that were the case. But I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was young. Dairy just doesn’t do it for me like it does for the rest of my family.”
He chuckles and nods. “Not sure how dairy products can really do it for anyone. But, if it makes your parents and Xav happy, then good for them.”
Smiling, I set the coffee on to brew. “Yeah, exactly. Okay, so while that’s doing its thing, I can either show you around or we can just… sit?”
His eyes light up making me nervous again, and he grins. “I think you should show me around.”
Taking a small breath, I nod, walking up to him. “There’s not a whole lot to see. I glance around my tiny living room slash kitchenette and shrug. “This is the kitchen, dining and living room.” I point to the door to my left. “Through there is the laundry.” I grab his hand. I don’t miss the way my fingers tingle when they lace with his as I lead him through the archway and into my crazy, chaotic mess of a bedroom. My jaw clenches slightly wondering how he’ll take my untidiness, but honestly, I don’t really care. He’s a biker, he’s probably seen far messier than me. But I think my nerves are more coming from the fact I’m pulling a man into my bedroom. My breathing hitches slightly as I lead him in. The room is dark, and I flick on the switch igniting the room in all its messy glory. He erupts in laughter, breaking my nervous tension as I glance at him, and he raises his brow as I assess his mood.
“Why are you laughing?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Sorry. I honestly didn’t picture you as the poster child for sloth.”
I scoff out a laugh, and turn, slapping him on the chest. He chuckles and grabs my wrist pulling me to him. I stumble on the spot slightly as I turn to face him with a smile on my face. “I… I’m just…” I search for the word, “… busy with work and study. Trying to keep burly bikers from tearing up my life. Girl doesn’t have time to clean. So sue me.”
He slides his arms around my waist pulling me to him. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck as he looks deep into my eyes. It’s only now that I glance into his eyes, they stare back at me with an intense blue. It’s captivating as I smile at him, and he smiles back. “Damn that burley biker,” he murmurs as he leans down closer to me. “I’m sorry about last night, Heeley.”
My smile drops. “Did you fix everything with those guys?”
He lets out a small groan holding me tighter to him and breaking our gaze to look up at the ceiling. “Not even close.” He looks back to me. “But at least they didn’t get what they wanted.”
I swallow hard wondering what it is they could possibly want from Torque and his biker brothers. I want to ask, but would that be crossing some sort of line we’re not quite ready to be at yet? I guess there’s only one way to find out. “What did they want?”
He stiffens slightly in my arms and looks to me, almost like he’s assessing whether or not to tell me. He cracks his neck to the side then looks me in the eyes and speaks, “Neala.”
Pushing him in the chest, I jolt back in shock. “What?”
He huffs and scrunches up his face then takes a step toward me. I don’t back off. I don’t know why I shoved him in the first place. I was just shocked they wanted his sister.
“Heeley, the thing is… being attached to bikers brings a certain amount of trouble. Ne
ala had a target on her back last night, and the Andrettis were using her to get to us. They didn’t succeed. We got her out before they could take her.”
I let out a huff and shake my head. “Oh my God…” I put my hand on my heart. “Is she okay? Did they hurt her?”
He steps forward again grabbing my arm, and I let him as his calloused fingers rub up and down my skin trying to soothe me. It helps some but not entirely. “No, my guys were there. But I’m hoping this explains my… reaction last night. Why I needed you gone. Why I tried to say goodbye to you…” He swallows hard and looks at the floor, the tension rising in the room as my heart pounds faster in my chest. “I know this is a lot to take in, and I understand if you want me to leave and make the goodbye stick.” He looks back up to me. “Foxy, life with me in it, it’s dangerous. The men hunting us hold no bars. Your life will be in danger if you’re attached to me, of that, I have no doubt. I don’t want that for you. I never did. That’s why I reacted like that last night. But the thing is, Heeley… I can’t stay away from you.”
His words push and pull me in so many different directions all at once. It’s like my head’s spinning. The thought of being in danger twenty-four seven is so fucking terrifying I have no idea how to handle that, but the thought of never seeing Torque again is equally devastating. I look up into his pleading eyes, and they draw me in. I step forward, needing to be close to him. His eyes widen in hope, in need. I have no idea what I’m doing. What I’m feeling. What the hell course I’m setting my life on, but I know at this moment there’s only one choice I can make. So I reach up, grabbing the back of his head and pull him to me.
My lips crash into his, my mouth opening instantly to let his tongue in. The kiss is deep, it’s intense, and it’s full of adrenaline as he backs me up against the side of my built-in closet. My back hits it with a thud as his hands snake up my body, touching and teasing, sliding inside my leather jacket and around my back under my shirt. His skin against my naked flesh is igniting heat inside of me, and even though his fingers are tracing the line of my bra, he doesn’t move to undo it.