“Yes, I have been for the past month. Life isn’t perfect, but I seem to be able to handle things with a little more grace now. I have been thinking about getting my own apartment even.”
Charlie gave her a forced smile as he leaned forward to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed her his credit card, his fingers barely touching hers as she grabbed the card. She tried not to flinch as she pulled back, tried to act like his touch didn’t affect her anymore. After she had finished running his card, he leaned over to sign the sales slip. He was so close to her, and she couldn’t help but take a deep breath and inhale his delicious fresh scent.
Charlie chuckled as he handed her the sales slip, standing up from the desk. There was so much more she wanted to say, but he was getting ready to leave. She needed to let him know one more thing before he walked away again.
“Charlie, I hope you realize that I didn’t mean to offend your sister. I know I’m not good enough for you, but I really don’t make a habit of trashing other people’s family.” Charlie had made it to the door, ready to pull on the handle before he stopped. He let go of the door, spun on his heel and stormed back over to her. Bryn braced herself, waiting for Charlie to agree with her that she wasn’t what he needed.
“Why do you think that you aren’t good enough for me, Bryn?”
“You’re every woman’s dream, Charlie. You are sweet and gentle, but firm and unyielding. You’re patient and caring, yet tough as nails when needed. You’re not so bad to look at either. Me, I’m just a broken mess.”
Charlie carefully picked up her hands, placing soft kisses on her knuckles. “You’re not a broken mess, Bryn. You are strong, independent and beautiful as hell. Any man would be lucky to have you. Including me.”
The backs of Bryn’s eyes burned as she tried to hold back her tears. Her lips quivered as silent tears started to fall from her eyes, dripping onto her shirt.
Charlie let go of her hands, looking down at the mascara stains it left on her shirt. He looked back up, with determination in his eyes, “The guys from the shop asked if I wanted to ride with their pack out to Sturgis. Would it bother you if I came along?”
Bryn could feel her heart swelling as she thought about being able to spend more time with Charlie. Maybe they weren’t a couple anymore, but he still was a great guy.
“That’s fine. It’s safer to ride in a group anyway.”
“You riding with Corey? I could still put the backrest on my bike if you want to ride with me.”
Bryn couldn’t help but frown when she thought about the wonderful weekend Charlie had planned with her in June, right before she blew him off. It made her sad to think about what might have been.
“Actually, I have a bike of my own now. I’m either going to ride that, or I will ride with Mitch’s wife Marley, in the chase vehicle.”
“Cool. Well, I’ll see you in the morning then. I still have that awesome carbon fiber helmet if you want to wear it? Or are you going bad-ass and going without a cover?” Charlie’s eyes held his amusement.
Bryn already had this argument about wearing a helmet with Corey and the guys from the shop. It took some time, but they had convinced her that she would much rather ride in August without a helmet on. Otherwise, she would pass out from the heat inside a black helmet, no matter how expensive it was. “I’m good, but thanks anyway.”
He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek before walking out the door.
Bryn jumped and high fived the air after Charlie pulled out of the parking lot. She felt something she hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. Hope.
Chapter Eighteen
It was almost eight o’clock in the morning when Bryn finally pulled into the parking lot of the shop. It looked like Harley heaven with all the hogs lined up along the edges of the parking lot, her friends decked out in their riding clothes. Bryn smiled as she carefully pulled her Sportster in at the end of the line. There was no way her eyes could avoid Charlie, as he sat sideways on his seat, black ribbed t-shirt, tight jeans, chopper boots and a Double M skull cap on his head. He was playfully teasing Corey about something, and they both barked out a laugh. As they continued to laugh, they both turned to look at Bryn, abruptly stopping when they saw she was watching them. Great, they’re talking about me.
Ever so cool, Bryn walked over to the pair, tugging Corey’s goatee, flicking Charlie’s nose. “It’s not nice to talk behind someone’s back, dickheads.”
Charlie smiled at his boots and Corey reached down to pinch the skin under her arm. She squealed as she reared back and slapped him across the chest. “Ouch, Corey.”
Holding up his hands in surrender, he feigned innocence. He started to slowly back away from her as he said, “Life has gotten pretty dull around here, baby girl. Just trying to raise your hackles.” The last word had barely left his mouth before he took off across the parking lot, laughing as he jumped on his bike. “Okay, fuckers, let’s do this!”
A collective whoop followed his words and the entire crowd scattered, readying themselves for the first leg of the ride. Marley stood on the running board on the driver’s side of the Double M pickup with a very large trailer sitting behind it, resting her hands on the roof. Bryn knew that Marley and Mitch had been married for almost thirty years. Marley was as rough as Mitch was, her bleach blonde hair spiked on top of her head. She was the epitome of a biker momma, with her overly tanned and wrinkled skin, her smoker’s voice, and all black apparel. She let out a shrill whistle before yelling, “We are stopping every two hours, and taking a fifteen minute break to fuel up and stretch out. We are stopping at noon for a full hour for lunch in Minnesota. Don’t fuck with my schedule or you will be left behind. I want to make it to the hotel tonight, by ten o’clock. There are four spots in the trailer if you need to park out for a leg. Don’t be a dumbass and try to go beyond…”
Mitch cut her off, “Jesus, Ma. Shut up already.” Everyone laughed, except Marley. She proudly showed Mitch her middle finger as she climbed into the truck. “Let’s roll,” Mitch yelled before firing up his bike, twisting the throttle enough to let a deep roar burst out of the engine. The rest of the crew repeated the action, with Mitch being the first one to pull out onto the street.
Bryn made it back to her bike before her row had started to depart, quickly hopping on and kick starting her bike. Her Sportster had a turn-key start, but she loved the feeling of the power pulsing through her leg when it fired up. Waiting for the rest of her row to inch backwards and take off with the rest of the group, she watched as Corey signaled to Charlie. He pulled over, Corey yelling something into his ear. The noise from all the Harleys was deafening and she had no idea what they were saying. Corey slapped Charlie on the back as he pulled out into the street, gunning it to catch up with the group. Bryn was one of the last ones to pull out, with Charlie close behind her. Marley eased the pick-up and trailer out of the lot, coming up the behind as the chase vehicle.
Charlie stayed close by either directly on her side, or right behind her the entire first leg of the trip. Her back and butt were starting to ache as they neared the end of the first stretch and her neck was stiff. Bryn mentally kicked herself for not preparing better for the physical exertion that riding a bike across two states would do to her. She had only decided late last night that she needed to see this through. I have to show them that I can do this. My demons aren’t gone, but I won’t let them control me anymore.
They all pulled in to the first pit stop off the interstate with most of the crew parked at the gas pumps to fill up. Bryn waited for Marley to pull in behind them all, and she eased up next to the truck when it stopped. Marley hopped out, walking over to Bryn as she gingerly climbed off her bike, stretching her back out.
“You ok, Bryn?” Marley asked with a panicked lock on her face as she waved Mitch over.
“Need a break. Can I park out?” Bryn answered.
Mitch didn’t say a word; he pulled open the trailer, letting the door slowly fall down to make
a ramp. Bryn went to undo her kickstand as Charlie brushed her hands away from the handlebars, “I got it, Bryn. Go for a walk, kitten. Your back is going to get stiff if you just stand here. Walk around and stretch.”
Bryn could feel her face heat up when Charlie used his nickname for her. She smiled broadly as she walked around the lot, kicking her legs out occasionally to get her blood flowing again. As she neared the truck, the guys ambled over to give her high fives, and pats on the back. It was a rush to know that she had done it, even though it was just the first leg. It really was an adrenaline rush to ride in the open. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from the permanent smile that she wore.
Charlie was leaning against the passenger door of the truck, waiting for her. He looked up when she approached, giving her a big grin as he held his arms open. Bryn dropped her riding gloves on the ground, running the rest of the way to him. Jumping up as she reached his arms, Charlie pulled her up in a crushing hug, swinging her around. “You did it, Bryn. I’m so proud of you.”
Charlie released his hold, allowing her to slide down his body, but not enough that her feet touched the ground. He was holding her up so that their faces were even, their lips a breath’s width apart. They were both gasping, as they studied each other, gazing deep. This man was her everything. The sun rose and set around him. She needed him, like she needed air.
Charlie must have been seeing the same things in her eyes. Letting go of her body enough so that she could stand, he wrapped her face in his hands, taking a deep breath, before passionately kissing her. His kisses grew more urgent as he continued to possess her mouth. Bryn could only hold on as he assaulted her mouth. Charlie’s tongue was sinuously moving from side to side, teasing her to follow. When he pulled back, they were both panting hard, passion darkening Charlie’s eyes.
The sounds of bikes roaring to life again pulled them out of their lust-filled haze. “You keep this up and we won’t finish the ride to Sturgis, hottie,” Bryn said as she turned around to retrieve her gloves.
Charlie dug his fingers into her hips as he yanked her back against his chest, grinding his arousal into the small of her back. He growled into her ear, “I don’t really care about riding right now, kitten.”
Bryn tried to stifle her laughter as she tried pulling away from Charlie. After two failed attempts at escaping his grip, she finally relented, “I’ll make you a deal, hottie. You let go of me, and I promise that I will ride you when we get to the rally.”
Charlie let go of her hips, smacking her playfully on the ass instead. Bryn grabbed her gloves off the ground and started walking backwards to the truck. She curled her lips, letting out a playful growl as she climbed into the passenger side of the truck.
“I’m counting on it, my ferocious tigress.” Charlie answered playfully.
Bryn waved off the nickname, grinning madly as Marley pulled them out of the parking lot.
Bryn and Marley rode the next leg of the trip together, animatedly talking about the shop, bikes, how Marley met Mitch, and Bryn’s relationship with Charlie. She gave Marley the barest snippets of her history with Charlie, not wanting to let everyone know that she had almost lost the love of her life because she was a moron.
Silence stretched on for a few minutes, and Bryn tried closing her eyes to rest. The truck was pulling an extremely heavy load, and the constant pitching made it hard to get comfortable. Seeing Marley’s Kindle sticking out of her purse, she seriously considered passing the time with a book.
“Marley, do you have any books on your Kindle I could read? I haven’t read a book in ages.”
Marley pulled the e-reader out of her purse, handing it over the console. “Sure thing, but I gotta warn ya, I read some pretty heavy stuff. That baby is chock-full of BDSM. There’s no Twilight books in there.”
Bryn laughed at the gruff tone her boss’ wife was using. “I’ve Googled BDSM before, but I’ve never read a novel about it.”
“Well, I know the perfect book for you to read then, if you are a BDSM virgin. It is basically a tutorial on how to be a good submissive. The author is Red Phoenix, and it’s an entire series of short stories called Brie Learns the Art of Submission. Excellent reading, and it’s really hot.”
Bryn didn’t see anything else in Marley’s reading list that sparked her attention, so she took the recommendation and started reading about Brie and how she trained to be a submissive. It wasn’t long before Bryn was absolutely enthralled in the series, frantically flipping pages as she read about the ins and outs of being in a Dominant/submissive relationship. More than anything else, the sex scenes in the book were making her extremely hot. Bryn was more than mad when they had to stop for lunch. She set the Kindle back in Marley’s purse, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.
“You’re right, Marley. That was hot.” Bryn didn’t finish her sentence aloud, but if she had, it would have been, and very educational. I could use another good spanking from Charlie tonight after reading that book.
Charlie didn’t leave Bryn’s side the entire time they were in the restaurant. The large Double M crew took up most of the truck stop restaurant in the small town in Minnesota. Charlie and Bryn shared the same side of a booth across from two of the younger playboys from the shop. Both of them were barely 21 years old, and certainly fit the saying, “dumb, young and full of cum.” After flirting shamelessly with the waitress, Bryn could only laugh when she turned down their offer to meet out back for some tag team action. Smart girl. The two men quickly exited the restaurant, looking for another upright female.
Bryn was finding it extremely hard to keep her hands off Charlie now that the door to intimacy had been opened again. Bryn nestled into Charlie, and he reciprocated by putting his arm around her as the rest of the crew left the restaurant. Charlie leaned back in the booth, stretching out his legs as he pulled her tighter into his side. Bryn pulled her lip in between her teeth as her eyes started wandering down his body, her hand itching to follow. Deciding it was too hard to resist, she rested her hand on his flat stomach, feeling his abdomen tense. Bryn moved her palm over the ribbed t-shirt from side to side, feeling his cut muscles. When he didn’t protest, she moved south, running the length of her hand across the growing bulge in his jeans. Curling her fingers around as much of his shaft as she could hold through his jeans, she squeezed his straining erection. Charlie didn’t make a sound, only showing his reaction by laying his head back on the booth.
Bryn decided to keep provoking him, but Charlie stilled her hand. He growled in her ear when she groaned in protest. “Later, kitten. I have a cabin reserved in Sturgis where I plan on reacquainting myself with your body.”
Bryn pulled one eyebrow up as she furrowed the other one, making a puzzled face as she thought about his statement. “How did you get a reservation? I made ours for the whole crew in early June, and all we got was a cheap motel half an hour away from the rally.”
Charlie shrugged his shoulders, as he stood from the booth. “I made my reservation last year. Well actually, I have a standing reservation at a resort that has cabins near the rally. It’s a really nice place, family-oriented so you can actually sleep at night.” He turned to face her as he adjusted his jeans, obviously very aroused. Bryn tried to stifle her giggle, failing miserably.
Pulling her out of the booth, he smacked her on the rear as she walked towards the door. Bryn rubbed her butt cheek through her jeans, smiling as she thought about being a submissive like the woman she had been reading about. It seemed as if the characters were very well satisfied most of the time. Charlie was an excellent lover, but she wouldn’t mind trying some of the kinkier things in the book. Well, maybe she wasn’t ready for anal sex, yet. But damn, if the author didn’t make it sound like it was enough to make her eyeballs roll clear back into her head.
Charlie led her out of the restaurant, speaking quietly enough so that only she could hear, “Don’t think I have forgotten what you look like when you are thinking about sex, kitten. Your face is flushed, and your breat
hing has changed.”
Once they got outside the doors, Bryn turned around to challenge him, but ended up trapped in his mesmerizing gaze. The blue-green color of his eyes darkened as his pupils dilated, and his chest started to rapidly rise and fall as they stared at each other. It wouldn’t take long before one of them was going to combust right in front of the restaurant.
Charlie reluctantly turned to look away as the rest of the group had started to leave the lot. Bryn watched as everyone, including Marley and the trailer with her bike, took off onto the interstate again, honking and whooping at them. The only option left was to ride with Charlie on his bike. Bryn could feel her heart racing as she thought about riding again with Charlie, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. Just the opposite in fact, she was giddy with excitement.
It didn’t take long for Charlie to reach his bike, almost carrying Bryn when she failed to keep up. The bike didn’t have a backrest, but she didn’t care. Bryn wanted so badly to feel close with Charlie again, feel like they were the only two people on the planet. The wind caressing her skin, the feel of the engine vibrating through her body, the freedom only riding could give her. No. The feeling that only riding with Charlie could give her.
“For your sake, Bryn, I hope the rest of this ride is quick. I need to get you into a bed, now,” Charlie said as she straddled the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Knowing that she was only baiting the bear, Bryn tugged on Charlie’s earlobe with her teeth. She could feel the growl vibrating in his chest as she reluctantly let go of his ear.
“You’re gonna pay for that woman.”
Bryn playfully smiled as she whispered into his ear, “I’m counting on it.”
Chapter Nineteen
The rest of the day was filled with peaceful stretches of time as Bryn either rode with Charlie or in the chase truck. It hadn’t taken the two of them long to catch up with the rest of the group after lunch. Her own bike was trapped in the front of the trailer, blocked in by other bikes whose drivers were parking out to ride in the truck instead. Every time they would stop, Bryn would find herself mercilessly teasing Charlie until they were both pawing at each other through their clothes. The last stretch of the ride was finally upon them, and Bryn wanted to be riding with Charlie when they made it to the rally.
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