Skid Row Kings Complete Series

by Winter Travers

  A smile spread across my lips and a giggle bubbled up. I searched through my closet, grabbing a black and red plaid skirt that hit just above my knees and a black button down shirt. It was my rock/geek look. It was also the end of the week, and I hadn’t done laundry in over a week. I was running out of clothing options.

  “I totally think your watch is off,” I hollered as I searched the bottom of my closet for my black pumps.

  “Five minutes,” was all he yelled back.

  I rolled my eyes as I slid my feet into the heels and walked over to my mirror. I swiped on a little eyeliner and eyeshadow, then swiped a light pink tinted gloss on my lips and looked at myself in the mirror.

  This wasn’t what I normally wore to work, but it felt right. I spritzed on a bit of Love Spell and headed back to the living room.

  I didn’t see Luke in the living room and turned to look in the kitchen and saw him leaning against the counter holding a travel mug. “Is that for me?” I asked, pointing at the cup.

  Luke pushed away from the counter, his eyes traveling up and down my body. He set the cup down on the counter and stalked towards me. I backed up, stumbling on the rug and grabbed the wall before I fell.

  Luke reached out, grabbing me around my waist and pushed me up against the wall. “What the hell are you wearing?” he growled.

  My eyes shot to his and I gasped. “What?” I whispered. I studied his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking. This wasn’t exactly what I normally wore to work, but I didn’t think it garnered this reaction.

  His hand cupped my chin, rubbing his thumb across my bottom lip. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he whispered. He slid his hand down, caressing my neck, moving down and his fingertips grazed the side of my breast. “Why?”

  “Why what?” I gasped as his hand continued traveling down, reaching the hem of my skirt. His fingertips swirled around on my bare skin, shivers running through my body.

  “Why can’t I keep my hands off of you? No matter what you wear, I want to rip it off and make you mine.” He slammed his lips down on mine, and his hand pushed up my skirt. I grabbed his biceps and just held on. Luke apparently approved my clothing choices for the day.

  “Luke,” I moaned, falling deeper into his kiss.

  His hand slid further up my leg, cupping my pussy through my wet panties. “So fucking wet and I’m barely touching you.”

  “More,” I gasped as he pushed aside my panties and slipped a finger inside me. His finger grazed my clit, a full on tremor rocking my body.

  “So greedy, Princess.” He flicked my clit, and I slammed my eyes shut and tossed my head back. “Tell me, tell me what you want.”

  “You,” I moaned against his lips.

  He slipped his hands out of my panties and cupped my ass and pulled my body flush against his. “Fuck me. So God damn responsive,” he groaned, claiming my lips again.

  “More, please,” I begged.

  “Downshift, Princess. We need to slow down, or you're going to miss the whole day of work if I give you more,” he mumbled against my lips.

  Downshift? Work? All my brain could process right now was Luke and what his hands were doing to me. “Work can wait.” I grabbed his head, pulling his face down to me and pressed a kiss to his lips, begging for more. “I can be late.” I really couldn’t, but who the hell cared about work when you had Luke Jensen pushing you up against the wall with his hand up your skirt? Not me.

  “Tonight, Princess, I promise. I’ll be waiting for you at seven.” He trailed kisses down my neck, and I tilted my head, giving him better access. “We’ll pick up right here after the race.” He nipped the side of my neck, his breath hot and heavy.

  I leaned my head forward resting it against Luke’s forehead. “You’re a tease, Luke Jensen. You get me all fired up and then you tell me we don’t have time.”

  “Anticipation, Princess.” He pressed one last kiss to my lips and pulled away.

  I leaned heavily on the wall, not sure if my legs would hold me up. Luke had just thoroughly rocked my world, and we both still had our clothes on.

  He walked into the kitchen, grabbed the travel cup of coffee and handed it to me. “Come on, Princess. I'll buy ya breakfast before work. I tried to search the cupboards for something to eat but only came up with three cans of soup, a box of crackers, and six packs of Ramen noodles.”

  “You don't think Ramen is the breakfast of champions? It's gotten me through a couple of times when money has been tight.”

  He leaned into me, resting his arm on the wall next to my head. “I hate that you've had that, Princess.”

  “I think everyone has had times in their lives when money was tight. You have, you survived. It made you the man you are today.” I don't know why he had such a problem with the fact I lived paycheck to paycheck.

  “Tomorrow we’ll go grocery shopping.”

  “We will go grocery shopping? I'm pretty sure I can handle it myself,” I laughed, taking a sip of coffee.

  “Why go alone when you can go with me?” He smirked, leaning closer. “Tonight, race and rain check, tomorrow, grocery shopping.” He actually seemed like he wanted to grocery shop with me tomorrow. How weird was that?

  “I find it hard to believe after an adrenaline-pumping night of racing, that grocery shopping registers as something fun to do on a Saturday.”

  “I've come to find out even the simplest things are fun to do with you, Princess. I never had so much fun shopping for a coffee machine than when I was with you.” He pressed a kiss to my lips and rested his forehead against mine. “I'm coming to find out I just like spending time with you. You get to grocery shop, and I get to spend time with you. Two birds, one stone.”

  “Hmm, we'll see how long it takes till you get bored with me. Until then, I want Dunkin’ Donuts.” I pushed him away, a smile on my lips. I walked over to the front door, grabbed my purse off the floor and hitched it over my shoulder. “Come on, handsome, you can spend time with me while I cram two donuts and a cup of coffee in my mouth on the way to work.”

  “That right there, Vi, is why I want to spend time with you. I never know what's going to come out of that mouth of yours.” He grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and sauntered out the door, grabbing my hand and pulled me behind him.

  I locked the door behind me and followed Luke down the stairs.

  He beeped the locks open on his truck as we walked out the front door and held open the passenger door. “Come on, Princess. If you're a good girl, I'll make sure you get sprinkles on those two donuts.” He held his hand out to me and helped me up into the truck.

  My skirt hitched up my legs, and he rested his hand on my bare thigh. “I'm always a good girl,” I whispered, resting my hand on top of his.

  “That's what I'm betting on, Princess.”

  =_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=

  Chapter 16

  Luke

  “It's about fucking time you showed up.”

  I pushed my sunglasses up and rested them on the top of my head. It was a quarter after ten, and I was finally rolling into the shop.

  After Violet and I had gotten donuts and coffee for her, we headed to the library where she had persuaded me to stay and eat with her for over an hour. I don't know what it was about her, but something drew me to her, something I had never felt before.

  Mitch and Kurt were both crowded around the front of a Buick, staring at me.

  “I told you guys I had plans last night.”

  “Yeah, last night, not this fucking morning, too,” Kurt said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Fuck off. I was with Violet, that’s all you need to know.”

  “I can’t remember the last time you spent more than an hour with a chick, let alone spent the night. Makes ya wonder what that means, huh, Mitch?” Mitch just shook his head and got back to work on the Buick.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re about to go Dr. Phil on my ass. Because if that’s the case, then I’m about to start asking
a bunch of questions about you and Leelee and why you are putting up a fight against her working here.” Leelee had come in yesterday with her brother, and I was blown away with all she knew about cars. She was going to be a great addition to the garage, but Kurt had bitched all day about me offering her a job. “She’ll be here in two weeks, brother. You need to get over whatever the fuck your problem is with her now.”

  Kurt tossed the wrench he had in his hand on the toolbox and stormed out the back door. “Putting those two together is going to be like mixing fire and gasoline.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s about business, not about who he has the hots for.” I walked over to the car Mitch was working on and leaned against the fender. “Busy this morning?”

  “Not really. A couple of walk-ins but nothing huge.” He grabbed a rag from his back pocket and wiped his hands. “You really stay the night with Violet?”

  Jesus Christ, not Mitch, too. “Yeah. Not how you dirty fuckers think, though.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing with her, Luke. She’s not like all the track bunnies you’ve been with.”

  “Trust me, I fucking know that. We fell asleep watching a movie last night, not breaking in her bed.” I ran my hand over my head and sighed. As much as I wanted to take Violet to bed last night, I knew I was going to have to slow the fuck down. Although, this morning I was surprised by the fact I was the one who stopped things and she was begging for more. “I’m picking her up after work tonight and bringing her to the races. You OK with her sitting with you while I race?”

  “I don’t fucking mind. She’ll keep the damn girls away from me.”

  “Please, you like all the attention.” The chicks were the main reason Mitch and Kurt had started coming to the track with me. Hell, the chicks were one of the main reasons I had started racing.

  “It’s getting fucking old, man. It’s always the same chicks looking to rope me in when I can list every guy they’ve been with, and your name and Kurt’s are on that list, too. I’m not feeling it anymore. I love racing, but I can leave the chicks behind.”

  “Well, don’t get any bright ideas about Violet when I’m racing, no touching.” I’d break Kurt or Mitch’s hand if either of them thought about getting with Violet.

  Mitch held his hands up and laughed. “No worries, brother. I’m not into poaching your girl.”

  Damn straight he better not. “I’m going to grab a shower and then we can go over the car for tonight. Pull it into a bay.” I tossed him the keys and headed to the office. I glanced outside, seeing Kurt talking on his phone smoking a cigarette. He was pacing back and forth, pissed off about Leelee coming to work at the shop. I wish I knew what his problem was with her. “Yo, get your ass back to work,” I yelled, sticking my head out the door.

  Kurt flipped me off and turned his back to me. “I’m on break,” he grunted.

  I shook my head and closed the door. He could be pissed off at me all he wanted, Leelee was coming to work here, and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

  =_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=

  Violet

  It was just after lunch and I could hear my phone going off, but I couldn’t manage to find it. “Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted as dumped my purse out. It was the last thing to fall out, and it skidded across the counter and fell on the floor. “Gotcha, sucker,” I mumbled, putting the phone to my ear.

  “What? Did you just call me a sucker?” Luke laughed.

  “Um, no, not you. I couldn’t find my phone, and when I did, the damn thing took a dive off the counter.” Luke didn’t say anything, just kept laughing. Make a fool of myself in front of Luke today, mission accomplished. “What’s up?” I glanced around the library, only Mr. Perkins in the far corner, discreetly picking out smutty romance novels, was in the library, so I plopped down in my chair and spun around.

  “Just calling to see how your day was going.”

  “Hmm, it’s boring. Things don’t pick up until the kids get out of school. I’ve done all the filing and returns for the day, so now I’m bored.”

  “Kurt came and picked up your car a little bit ago. We’re working on it right now. It looks like your battery cable got cut.”

  “Cut? You mean like someone cut it?” How the heck does that happen?

  “Yeah, it doesn’t look like normal wear and tear. It’s a clean cut.”

  “Crap, is it an easy fix? How much was it?” Gah, I didn’t have money to be sticking into my piece of shit car.

  “It’s fixed, Princess, don’t worry about it.”

  I didn’t ask if it was fixed, I wanted to know how much it had cost. “Luke, you did not just fix my car for free again.”

  “I’m dating you, Princess. I’m supposed to fix your car.”

  “Wait, what… how… but,” I sputtered. We had been out on two dates, OK, maybe three if you count the horrific Mexican food incident, but dating? Not that I wouldn’t date Luke, I just didn’t know he saw it that way.

  “I got to go, Princess. I’ll pick you up at seven. Try not to get too bored at work. Later.”

  “I’ll be re-” I glanced at my phone and saw he had already hung up. I tossed my phone on the desk and twirled around in my chair.

  Dating Luke Jensen. Wowza. Never saw that one coming.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for Frankie to come in but she never did. I texted Luke around four, asking him where she was and he said she went out with friends after school instead of going to the library. I felt like a tool that I was checking up on his sister.

  Only three other kids came into the library and by the time seven o’clock rolled around, I was ready to hold my eyelids open with toothpicks I was so bored. I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned against the front desk. “Thank God for seven o’clock,” I mumbled.

  “This is like my sexy librarian fantasies all rolled into one.” My eyes snapped to the door and saw Luke leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “You’re here,” I gasped.

  He looked at the watch on his wrist and laughed. “I know, Princess, surprising I can be on time. It seems to be I have no problem being on time for people who consume me even when they aren’t around.”

  “I consume you?”

  He pushed off the door and prowled over to me. “You take up every second of my thoughts, Violet. All I could think about today was what you were wearing under that skirt and how I wanted to take them off with my teeth.”

  He stood in front of the desk, and I turned around, “Why are you over there then?”

  “Because if I get any closer to you, we’ll never make it to the race.”

  “Oh,” I whispered. “I guess you can’t miss the race you’ve been preparing months for.”

  “As much as I’d love to, Princess, Mitch, and Kurt would probably kill me. Although I’m pretty sure, Kurt wants to kill me right now, anyway.” His hands were resting on the counter, and I reached out, lacing my fingers through his.

  “Everything OK?”

  “Yeah, just stupid shit. He’s pissed I gave Leelee a job.”

  “Good, I liked Leelee. I only met her for a minute, but I could tell she was good people.”

  He leaned in, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I got the same vibe from her, too, Princess. Plus, she’s more than qualified to work at SRK.”

  “Win, win,” I whispered against his lips. He grabbed my head, holding me close while his lips moved against mine, demanding and hard.

  “We need to go,” he whispered.

  “OK. I just need to lock up, and we can go.” I pulled away, grabbing my purse and turned off all the lights. He grabbed my hand as I made it around the desk and he pulled me to the door.

  “So, how is this race thing going to work tonight? How many times do you go?” I locked both doors and stuck my keys in my purse.

  “Sixteen people are racing tonight. We’ll draw to see who races who, then there will be eight races. The winners of those eight races will then draw again to see who
races who, and then we’ll be down to four races. Then two, then one race.”

  “So, we’re hoping that you make it past the first three rounds and win the fourth, right?” He pulled me to his truck and opened the door.

  “Yup. We’re definitely looking for a win tonight, Princess.” He helped me up into the truck and closed my door. “Hey, how come you don’t have your car?” I asked as he climbed up and started the truck.

  “Kurt drove it for me. He’ll drive it home for me afterward, too.” Oh, well, that made sense. I had to assume that Luke was coming home with me since he just said Kurt was driving the car home. I tossed my purse in the back and spotted his duffel bag. Hmm, he definitely must be spending the night tonight.

  “Next question,” I chirped. “Where exactly are you racing? The track?”

  “Nope. We’re headed past Skid Row Kings, over where we had to pick up Frankie the other night.”

  “Really? Over there?”

  “Yeah, Princess. Don’t look so scared, you’ll be with me. Plus, racing over there is the best place. The cops barely ever go over there unless they get a call and believe me, the people who live in Skid Row do not call the police.” He winked at me, trying to reassure me we were going to be fine, but it didn’t exactly work.

  “Frankie told me you’ve worked hard your whole life to get out of there, and now you’re racing there? It seems like you’re not exactly out of there, then.”

  “You and Frankie talk about me a lot?” A smirk was playing on his lips, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Did you even hear anything I said besides that Frankie and I talk about you?”

  “Yeah, I heard you, Princess. I guess you never really get out of there, it’ll always be a part of you, making you strive to be a better person. I think I need to go there every now and then to get my butt in gear and remind myself I don’t want to end up there again.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “It doesn’t really make sense, Princess, but thanks for acting like you get it,” he laughed.