Thunderclap (Steel Infidels MC) (Bad Boy Romance) (Steel Infidels Series Book 4)

by Burke, Dez

  She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a dubious look. I take it as encouragement to keep talking.

  “In the morning, I’ll take you out to breakfast and we’ll figure out something. I know your boss pretty well. I’ll talk to him and see if any of the other girls needs a roommate. Roger will help you out. I’m sure of it. He’s a decent guy.”

  She doesn’t answer right away.

  I can’t tell if she’s considering my offer or if she’s getting ready to tell me to go to hell and never show my face near her again.

  A deep boom of thunder rumbles in the distance, far out over the ocean. I cock an eyebrow at her.

  “My generous offer is about to expire in ten seconds. I suggest you make a decision quickly. I’m not a fan of riding in the rain, and I'm guessing you aren’t either.”

  “I’m not having sex with you,” she blurts out.

  I burst out laughing. “Suit yourself. I don’t remember asking you to. I wouldn’t have sex with you anyway. Not even if you got down on your knees and begged. I have high standards to uphold.”

  A smile tugs around her lips that she quickly hides. “Glad to get that settled then,” she says.

  I feel a tiny glimmer of hope. There might be a chance with her after all. Reaching for her bag, I securely strap it to the back of the bike. Surprisingly, she doesn’t protest or argue with me. I rev the throttle.

  “Climb on, if you’re coming. I don’t have all night to stand around chit-chatting.”

  She hesitates, still unsure if she’s making the right decision. I can’t blame her. She’s taking a big risk riding off with a stranger. For all she knows, I could be a serial killer.

  I’m not kidding myself. If she wasn’t desperate, going with me wouldn’t be an option. I’m usually not a man to take advantage of a woman’s bad situation. Sometimes though, like now, it’s the only way to move things along quickly.

  “I don’t even know your name,” she says. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  “It’s Jesse Mason, and now you know.”

  She takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m Trish, short for Patricia.”

  After sliding a leg over the back of the bike, she tentatively places a hand on each side of my waist.

  “You had better hold on tighter than that, Trish,” I say to her over my shoulder. ”Sorry I don’t have a helmet for you. The beautiful state of Florida says we don’t need one. I’ll drive careful so you won’t have anything to be scared of.”

  She grips me tighter and my cock starts to swell.

  “It’s okay,” she breathes into my ear. “I’m not afraid of motorcycles. Bikers, however, are a whole different story.”

  ***

  When we reach the hotel, my crew is waiting outside for me in the parking lot. They raise their hands in greeting and openly stare at the pretty girl riding behind me.

  Trish slides off the bike and quickly tugs down her short skirt. Sam lets out a low whistle of appreciation.

  “Cut it out,” I say curtly. “That’s enough.”

  He blinks in surprise and the rest of the crew breaks out into laughter. For a reason I don’t understand myself, I want the guys to know this girl is different and not like the low-class broads we usually pick up.

  I won’t tolerate any disrespect toward her.

  “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  I take her bag and point toward the door to my room located on the street level. I usher her in and turn on the lights.

  Trish takes two steps inside and goes dead still when she sees the oversized king bed in the center of the room.

  “Don’t start freaking the fuck out now,” I say. “Trust me. I’ve never had to force a woman in my life to have sex with me, and I don’t have any plans to start now.”

  She raises her eyebrows at me. “Never had to force a woman, huh? I can believe it. You have some smooth moves, I’ll give you that. Doesn’t mean I’ll fall for them, so don’t get any ideas.”

  “At least you noticed. That’s a start.”

  Moving past her across the room, I throw open the door to the bathroom. “You can put some of your stuff in here on the sink. There should be plenty of fresh towels, soap, and shampoo. I’m going to check in with my crew. Give you some privacy while you take a shower and change.”

  She nods and I turn to leave.

  “Jesse?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. Saving ladies in distress is my specialty. I have a business card and everything. It’s a booming business these days. I’m thinking about starting up franchises in other cities.”

  She frowns and chews on her bottom lip.

  “Look, you didn’t save me. I was doing perfectly fine on my own. I would have found a place eventually.”

  The words had no sooner come out of her mouth when a big streak of lighting popped, followed by a roll of thunder that shook the building. The power flickered off for a moment before coming back on.

  I hide a grin. “If you say so.”

  There isn’t any reason to argue. We both know her situation was looking dire when I came along. I’m just glad I did.

  For both of our sakes.

  “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  I leave the room to give her a chance to settle in. Sleeping arrangements are going to be tricky. My cock has been rock hard from the time she climbed on the bike and pressed her breasts close against my back. Lying next to her all night and not touching her sweet body is going to take every bit of willpower I possess.

  I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it through.

  It will be a testament to my strength if I can.

  ***

  After enduring an hour of good-natured teasing from the men, I head back inside. Between the lingering effects of alcohol and my own wishful thinking, I’ve almost half-convinced myself that the girl waiting for me in my hotel room wants a good hard fuck as much as I do.

  Maybe that's her intention all along.

  To play coy and act disinterested when in fact she wants nothing more than to wrap her legs over my shoulders and pull me deep into her tight pussy.

  The sight of her body snuggled sound asleep under my sheets erases that thought quickly. Well hell! Looks like I’m not getting lucky tonight after all. Not unless I want to be a great big asshole and wake up a woman who is dead to the world.

  She looks peaceful with her dark hair spread out on the pillow. My fingers itch to run through the long strands. I imagine how it would feel wrapped around my cock.

  She’s right.

  My mind is in the gutter most of the time.

  At least when she’s around.

  With each breath, her long eyelashes flutter on her cheeks. Without the disguise of heavy makeup, she looks even sweeter and more innocent than before.

  I reach over to pull the sheet up higher around her. On her upper arm, just below the sleeve of her t-shirt, is a dark purple bruise. A fresh one too, newly formed. Maybe even from today.

  White-hot rage fills me.

  Someone hurt her, and it wouldn’t have been at the bar. Roger takes good care of his employees, and he would never let a girl be manhandled. All an employee has to do is whisper a hint that a customer is out of line and security will throw them out on their ass in an instant. No questions asked or explanations given. So it had to have happened somewhere else before she came into work.

  Who did this to her?

  The thought of a man grabbing her arm and squeezing it hard enough to make a bruise that ugly makes my blood boil.

  Tomorrow, I’m going to get answers.

  And when I find out who hurt her, I’m going to make them pay.

  CHAPTER SIX

  TRISH

  The sensation of a warm hand settled on my stomach slowly invades my brain, breaking through the deep dreamy fog of sleep. I open my eyes slowly and blink.

  It is still dark outside and eerily quiet. No sounds of motorcycle engines revving or drunk
people yelling.

  Where am I?

  The naked body snuggled close behind me is warm and hard. The only thing I want to do is close my eyes and sink back into sleep. Just for a few more blissful minutes.

  Suddenly, the memories of the previous night’s events flood back in a rush.

  Oh crap!

  I remain perfectly still so as not to wake up Jesse. The man who I now realize is spooned close with his hand on my waist.

  Surprisingly, he is a man of his word.

  He didn’t attempt to put the moves on me last night or even try to kiss me. A tad disappointing. Not that he would have been successful. Still, the effort would have been nice.

  I meant what I said. No way was I sleeping with him. A one-night stand isn’t something I would consider doing. Not even for a man as drop-dead gorgeous as Jesse.

  For a brief moment, I wonder what would happen if I turned over and wrapped my hand around the thick cock pressed against my ass. It would be so natural and easy to go with the flow.

  Until it was all over.

  And I was left with nothing but regrets.

  Stop thinking about it, Trish. Don’t even go there.

  I must have been totally wiped out to not wake up when he climbed into the bed next to me. Vaguely, I remember trying my best to stay awake while waiting for him to return. I closed my eyes for just a second, and that is the last thing I remember.

  Now I need to slip out and leave before he wakes up.

  It will be awkward if we’re both here in the morning, making polite small talk and feeling weird around each other. He’ll have questions for me that I don’t want to answer. He might even offer to take me to breakfast, where we’ll sit across from each other in a greasy diner and tell lies about our life over bacon and eggs.

  Or if not lies, then at least not the whole truth.

  What can I say about my life anyway? Oh, by the way, I’ve been hanging out with a motorcycle gang who is on the run from the Feds. The president wants to bang me, so I split in the middle of the night. Now I am two hundred dollars away from being homeless and broke. You want me for a girlfriend? I’m a great catch.

  Jesse would be out the door so fast he'd leave skid marks on the carpet.

  It’s time to end this little adventure before it even begins.

  No need to start something I can’t finish, and certainly no reason to drag someone else into my disaster of a life.

  I carefully remove Jesse’s arm from across my body and slide out of bed. I don’t take time to do anything except slip on my shoes and grab my bag.

  At least I knew better than to unpack any of my things. It was a nice gesture for him to offer sink space. Most men wouldn’t have thought of such a thing and instead would complain about a woman’s stuff cluttering things up.

  At the door, I turn to look back at him one last time.

  What on earth am I doing? Leaving a naked, sexy hunk of man in a warm bed all alone?

  Full of regret, but knowing I am doing the right thing, I slip out the door and leave him behind.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  JESSE

  I wake up with a start and discover she’s gone without a trace. Can’t say it surprises me. Trish is skittish as hell and running from something. This morning was when I was going to find out exactly what that something is.

  A man for certain.

  A man with a very bad temper.

  Might be a dead man if he ever crosses my path.

  I’ve never had much tolerance for men who physically abuse women. Picking on someone smaller and weaker is for pussies. I’ve beaten the shit out of plenty of men for doing less than bruising up a woman.

  The thought strikes me that she might have run straight back to him, whoever he is, full of apologies and promises to do better. I hope for her sake that she didn’t.

  An image of the mottled bruise on her arm pops into my mind. If nothing else, I kept her safe for the night. Whatever happens today is completely up to her. If she’s fool enough to go running back to him, then there’s not much I can do to stop her.

  I roll over and instinctively reach for my wallet on the bedside table. Looking inside, I check to see if anything is missing. When chicks sneak out in the middle of the night, they usually take something that belongs to me with them.

  Money, cigarettes, knives.

  One time even a pair of my leather gloves.

  You name it, fucking broads will steal it if it isn’t tied down.

  All of my cash is here. This really doesn’t surprise me either. Trish didn’t strike me as the type of gal to rob and run. Not her style.

  Doesn’t matter.

  It would have been nice if she could have hung around longer, but I have enough on my plate today dealing with MC business without worrying about some girl and her problems. These days I try to keep my life as drama free as possible. It isn’t always easy to do, especially where women are concerned.

  A knock comes at the door. I hear a keycard slide into the lock before Sam opens it and sticks his head inside.

  “Where’s your lady friend?” he asks, looking at the empty bed. “Gone already?”

  “Yeah, she split,” I answer. I pull on a pair of jeans and slide the wallet into my back pocket.

  “You struck out?” Sam claps his hands together in surprise. “Hot damn! That’s a first. You’re losing your touch, big brother.”

  “I wouldn’t call it that. The girl has issues, and I haven’t got time to deal with them right now. I’m meeting with the Rebels today to hammer out a distribution deal. Want to ride with me?”

  “Sure,” Sam replies. “Don’t have anything better to do except prowl the beach for babes. They’ll still be here when I get back. Bros before hoes, and all that.”

  “Speaking of hoes, who else have you invited to Flint’s bachelor party? Roger told me to let him know by tonight how much booze we’ll need and how many strippers we want working the party.”

  “Just a few guys. All friends of the MC. You know them.”

  “Try to keep it under fifty guys. We don’t want things to get out of hand. Let’s not screw this up. We only get one chance to throw our brother a bachelor party he won’t forget.”

  Sam grins. “Or won’t remember.”

  “Either way, let’s make sure he has a fucking blast.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  TRISH

  Things are definitely looking up.

  Here I am, less than twenty-four hours from breaking away from the Liberators, and I have a better job and hopefully a new place to stay.

  Jesse was right about Roger being a decent man. When I told him about my housing situation, he offered to give me extra hours before my regular shifts setting up the bar.

  He also tipped me off that several of the other girls rent a big townhouse together. With his encouragement, I approached the group, and they were thrilled to have an extra person to split the rent. The more the merrier, they said.

  I’m beginning to let myself think about the future beyond this week. If Roger would be willing to hire me permanently, I might be able to stick around Panama City for the rest of the summer. Save up enough for a decent car and decide what I want to do with my life.

  All of my adult years, I’ve been so caught up with taking care of my mother and her addiction problems that I’ve never thought about what I want to do. It’s past time I give it some serious consideration.

  The annoying crackle of the bar’s loudspeaker turning on jolts me out of my thoughts.

  “Hello, beautiful ladies!” Roger’s voice rings out over the bar. “Are all stations ready? The doors will open for business in three minutes. Knock ‘em dead tonight.”

  After checking my station one last time, I stick a few more beer bottles into the large cooler and tighten up my bikini top in preparation for opening.

  “Good luck, Trish!” a girl calls out from across the room.

  “You too, Jessica.” I smile and wave back at one of my new roommates. It f
eels good for a change to have female friends and be almost normal.

  I plump up my boobs and apply a final coat of lip gloss.

  Bring it on, gentlemen. I’m ready for you.

  The bouncers unlock and swing open the wide oak doors. The bikers who have been waiting outside in the hot sun begin to pour in and make their way to the multiple bars.

  If the initial crowd is any indication, business is going to be very good tonight. Now that I’m working for myself and not handing over all the money to Ty, I bet I can make five hundred dollars a night if I really try.

  CHAPTER NINE

  JESSE

  It is almost midnight before Sam and I make it to the Silver Shark Saloon. The bar is crowded again tonight, with bikers squeezed in tight from one wall to the other. In the middle of the room is a roped-off stage for special activities.

  Sam nudges me and points to the pink blinking neon sign hanging from the ceiling announcing the next event - ‘Ladies Chocolate Pudding Wrestling at Midnight!’

  I do a double take at the sign to make sure I read it correctly.

  “Wonder how long it took Roger to come up with that idea?” Sam asks. “Too bad the rest of the crew couldn’t make it tonight. Just look at what they’re going to miss. I bet they will be pissed.”

  “Nobody forced them to start drinking shots of tequila before lunch,” I say. “They’re a bunch of pansy asses and should learn to pace their drinking. Like us professionals.”

  Sam and I had hung around the hotel all evening hoping the rest of the Steel Infidels would sober up enough to come with us. When it began to look like a lost cause, we left them passed out in their rooms and decided to carry on without them.

  I scan the room and wonder if Trish is working since I haven’t been able to get her off my mind all day. If not, I don’t have a clue how to get in touch with her.

  This is an unusual dilemma for me, and one I’m not sure I like. Broads always leave me their phone number, either scribbled on a note left by the bed or scrawled in bright red lipstick on the bathroom mirror. If I’m out at a club, they’ll whisper in my ear and slip a piece of paper into my back pocket. Women go out of their way to make sure I know exactly how to reach them later.