He paced a few times and stopped to pick up their clothes that were in his kitchen a few feet away. He came back over to toss them on the bed before turning and disappearing down the hallway. He had grown so silent, and the air was pressurized around him. The hairs on her arms stood up when he came back with a wet rag. He looked so unsure for a few seconds as he stood in front of her with the washcloth, but she took it out of his hand and thanked him. She sure as hell wasn’t about to clean herself in front of him. She stood and went into the bathroom. Once the door was shut she hurriedly cleaned herself and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The woman that stared back at her looked like she had been thoroughly fucked. Dark hair a hot mess around her head, a blush covering her cheeks, and lips that were red and swollen was her current appearance. She shook her head again and left the bathroom. He sat on the bed with only his jeans on, but they were left unbuttoned. The defined ridges of his six pack and that V of muscle that disappeared beneath the denim were clearly visible. He glanced up at her, and she quickly went to the bed to get dressed. Standing in front of him naked while he was dressed was not an option.
“I’m clean.”
She slowed her movements and looked over at him once those words left his mouth. Pulling her shirt on the rest of the way, she sat on the bed now fully dressed and played his words over in her head.
“I always wear a condom, but I also get tested weekly.”
Her stomach cramped at that thought. Someone would have to have a lot of sex to need to get tested that frequently.
“I got tested last week and haven’t fucked anymore since then. Not until you at least.”
She saw the image of that skank all over his lap just earlier tonight, and her thoughts must have shown on her face because Diesel responded.
“Yeah, I may touch those club whores with their clothes on, but I don’t fuck every one of them that rubs her shit all over me.” Diesel growled out the words, but he didn’t sound angry.
She looked away, because even if she knew he slept around a lot, she shouldn’t think such vile things about what he did in his sexual life.
“You said you always use a condom.”
He nodded.
“But you didn’t even consider it with me.”
He glanced over at her. “I didn’t hear you saying anything about it either.” No, she hadn’t, and that had heat rising to her face. He sighed heavily. “Listen, what we just did was irresponsible in every way, and I have no excuse except to tell you my bear was in control. That was the first time in my life my animal had ever been so fucking intent on taking part, and my human side wasn’t strong enough to keep it back.” He ran his hand through his hair and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs. “It’s a piss poor excuse, but that’s the truth.”
“Listen, it isn’t just one person’s fault. I was just as frenzied as you were.” There was a small part of her that felt a bit awkward having this conversation and feeling these things, especially after what they had just experienced together, and to say it was a big bucket of ice water over their once raging wildfire was a pretty accurate description. He didn’t say anything, but he was still focused on her.
She stood and searched for her shoes. She had kicked them off in the kitchen, but she couldn’t find them now. She gave up momentarily and rested her ass on the back of the couch. “I’m clean, too.” God, it was almost shameful for her to be having this conversation. She had been with a total of two guys, both of whom had come within ten minutes of sticking it in her. They certainly weren’t as potent or masculine as Diesel, but having to tell someone that she didn’t have any STDs was bizarre and humiliating, in a way.
“I know. Maggie?” He must have been waiting until she looked back over at him because he didn’t say anything else until she did. “Listen, it is what it is. We can’t go back and change anything. You’re clean, I’m clean, and you’re on the pill. No worries, okay.” He didn’t phrase that as a question. He stood, and although he was trying to go for this unconcerned persona, she could see that his was angry. Whether it was with himself or with her was left to be determined, but right now all she wanted to do was go home. This experience hadn’t been what she thought. Physically it had been so, so much more than she ever expected or dreamt about. But there hadn’t been any cuddling, and no pillow talk or soft caresses along her bare flesh. Even if their conversation hadn’t gone down this path and they were a hell of a lot more careful, she had known that there wouldn’t have been that stuff afterward anyway. But she had at least hoped to sleep beside him and not feel like one of his one-night stands, even though that was exactly what this had been.
She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” Of course she would. She might trust people to an extent, but this little sexual encounter had earned her a trip to the doctor. “Maybe you could just take me home?” She didn’t expect Diesel to ask her to stay, but she also didn’t expect him to all but jump up, put his shirt and cut on, and haul ass toward the door. He grabbed the keys to his Harley and opened the door, but stopped and looked over his shoulder.
“I think taking you home is probably a good idea. Tonight was … nice, Maggie.”
She looked away when he said the last part. She would not get even more humiliated.
You knew this was the outcome, knew that this would only be a short experience with him, and if you’re disappointed at the outcome it is your own fault.
Maggie nodded and spotted her shoes on the other side of the butcher block. Once on she followed Diesel out of the cabin and to his bike. He had a cigarette between his lips and lit the end. She watched him inhale, and he flicked his eyes toward her. “I don’t normally smoke.” She didn’t respond, because really she didn’t care. He didn’t smoke, yet he had a pack? Or he only smoked when he was stressed or pissed like some people did? He straddled the bike and handed the helmet over to her without looking at her. Yeah, she just needed to get home, put this behind her as one of those experiences that was good and bad, and move on. She had given herself to Diesel, helped to ease this ache deep inside of her to have him—which hadn’t vanished in the slightest—and now knew that maybe playing it safe was the best option. She didn’t say anything as she put the helmet on and sat on the bike behind him, but then again neither did he.
He drove her back to her house, and although she knew it wasn’t that far of a drive, it felt like an eternity with this weird vibe moving between them. He pulled up to the curb in front of her dad’s house, and she climbed off and handed him the helmet back. For a moment all she did was stand there, and she should have said bye and headed inside, but even that felt weird. Maggie had never been in this situation where there was this after sex awkwardness. All of the guys she had slept with before, she had been in a relationship.
“I’ll see ya around, Maggie.” He was watching her, and she glanced down and watched as he kept curling and uncurling his fingers around the handlebars, but he must have noticed where her focus was because he stopped. She lifted her eyes back to his eyes and felt her mouth go dry. There was heat in the light blue depths, but there was also this almost frightening quality in them. “Take care of yourself.” But he didn’t wait for her to say anything, just put the helmet on, pulled away from the curb, and headed down the street until he turned the corner and his headlights disappeared.
She stood there for several seconds just staring at the now empty street, breathing out and turning to head into her father’s house; she didn’t miss the movement from the living room curtains. The porch light flickered on and the front door open, and she groaned internally when her dad stepped out onto the porch. His beefy arms were crossed, and his face set hard, but with his light blue velour bathrobe the whole intimidating appearance was lessened. Of course her night would end like this. It seemed fitting.
She didn’t say anything as she moved past her dad and stepped into the house. He followed her inside and shut the door. And the tension in the small foyer intensified. Going to bed and not having to talk
to her dad about this would be ideal, but it was also not going to happen. She turned around, just wanting to get this over with.
“I tried calling you, Maggie.”
She breathed out. “I’m sorry, Dad. I left my bag here with my phone in it. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
He didn’t move, didn’t even respond to what she said until several moments had passed. “Care to tell me what in the hell you were doing out with a Grizzly member?” Her dad was in his early fifties, but for his age he was still in shape. Being in the military for years had him following certain rules when it concerned his life. He could be just as scary as any MC member.
“I was just out for a ride, Dad. It isn’t like Diesel is a stranger. I’ve known him nearly my whole life.”
“You’ve known of him nearly your whole life, honey. There is a big difference.”
She supposed there was, but she sure as heck knew a lot more about him now. That random thought was totally misplaced, not what she wanted to be thinking about right now while standing in front of her dad, and she felt her whole body flush. Ever since her mother died ten years ago in a car accident it has just been her and her dad. He had been protective before, what with her being an only child and a girl on top of that, but after her mom died it had gotten even worse. But he had had to let her go when she had gone off to college, for the last four years, and then when she got a job right after college and stayed away. But now she was back in her hometown, laid off, kicked out of her home where her piece of shit ex-boyfriend lived, a twenty-three-year-old living with her dad again. He dropped his hands and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was something he did when he was annoyed.
“You’re an adult, Maggie, and don’t need rules binding you, even if you have moved back in with me.” He let go of his nose and stared at her with eyes the same color as hers. “You’ll always be my little girl, and I will always worry about you, but I don’t have to tell you that any member of the Grizzly MC is dangerous.”
“I know, Dad, but I can handle myself, and as you can see I’m in one piece.” She smiled, hoping to soften the fact her dad wasn’t pleased with the fact she had been out at this hour with an outlaw biker. “He is really a nice guy, Dad.” She didn’t really know much about Diesel on a verbal level, and aside from the very dirty things he had said to her, she knew just as much as she did before.
“You going with that guy now?”
Wow, let’s take it to the next level of awkwardness.
“Dad, no, I am not going with anyone. I don’t need to jump into a relationship right after John.” Her dad made a gruff noise, but she could see on his face that he wasn’t a fool. He knew what she had been doing this late with Diesel. At least he wasn’t calling her out on it.
“I don’t like the fact of you hanging out with those bikers.”
“You’ve known them forever.”
“I don’t care, Maggie. They are dangerous. Being acquaintances and selling them parts for their Harleys doesn’t mean I want my daughter getting comfortable with them.”
She pushed her hair off her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I don’t think I’ll be seeing Diesel again.” On the outside she knew she was doing a good enough job on portraying the fact she was fine. But on the inside saying those words aloud did bother her. Because even if deep down she had known that she wouldn’t have had more than a few hours with Diesel, there was this small, very naive side of her that thought maybe he would see something different from the other women he was with. Yeah, it was stupid and she had known better, but it was an inevitable feeling and one she had pushed deep down inside of her so she could enjoy her time with Diesel. Now that it was over with she just felt like shit, and even worse when she thought about the crap that happened after that.
“Okay, honey.” But she could hear in his voice that he wasn’t all that convinced. He moved past her and kissed her on the head before making his way toward his room. The sound of his door shutting behind him filled the silence.
She went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Turning the light on and staring at herself in the mirror showed that she looked like she’d just gotten fucked, and if she could see that then she knew her dad could see it as well. Maggie got undressed and started the shower. She went back to the sink and got her toothbrush, but when she glanced at the mirror again it was to see the marks Diesel had left on her body. She had known there would have been bruises, had felt the pressure and pain from his hold as he slammed into her repeatedly, but now to see the marks of his “affection” toward her had her insides liquefying. She ran a finger along the finger and thumbprint sized bruises on either side of her waist. They were barely formed, and she knew by tomorrow they would be a stark contrast to her pale flesh. Maggie turned her attention away from the sight and headed into the shower. The sooner she put Diesel and what they had done behind her, the better. But it was going to be damn hard with the memories of him, the marks on her body, and the soreness between her thighs.
Chapter Seven
Diesel sat at the club table and listened to Jagger go over usual daily business concerning the bar and underground fighting. The money was lucrative, especially with the hype moving around Steel Corner and the surrounding towns. More guys were training to fight, and more were coming in to place their bets. Stinger and Court chimed in on some of the less favorable things, included a local gang that was trying to butt heads with them on a small part of territory that was just outside of Steel Corner, but still within the city parameter. Diesel had tried calling Jagger last night after he dropped off Maggie, mainly to fill him in on the unknown MC that he had seen at the barn, but also because he had needed to occupy his mind. It had been hard to just drive off, because as much as he knew seeing her again wasn’t a good idea, he also knew that fucking her hadn’t eased any of his need for her. If anything it made it stronger. But he had seen the way she had looked at him, all freaked out and shit because he hadn’t used a condom. He couldn’t blame her, that had been stupid as hell, but he hadn’t been lying when he said he had no control while he had fucked her. His bear had been the one taking control, and all his human side had been doing was enjoying the ride. And shit had it been one hell of a ride. He should have known he hadn’t put a condom on when he felt the intense heat of her cunt all the way around his dick, and the slickness of her arousal coming from her and soaking the area between them.
“Yo, D, my man?”
He looked over at Jagger. All the members were staring at him, and he shifted, realizing that he had been thinking too hard about Maggie and screwing her, and now he was sporting massive wood. He reached under the table and adjusted himself since his dick was digging into his zipper, and cleared his throat.
“D, I said I missed your call, but you didn’t leave a message. This have anything to do with that MC you and Stinger saw at the fight last night?”
Diesel looked at Stinger. “Yeah. I didn’t want to leave that shit over a burner, and knew I’d see you today, but looks like Stinger got to you first.” Stinger grinned and brought the joint he seemed to always be smoking back to his lips and inhaled. “You know anything about the Brothers of Menace MC?” He looked at Jagger and watched as his President leaned back in his chair.
“I know they are originally from Arizona, but heard from McNamara and his gang that they are trying to set up a club in River Run.” Diesel nodded. “I just found that shit out this morning. After Stinger let me know about them showing up on our turf and going to the barn I called McNamara to see if he heard anything.” McNamara was one of the local thugs that were stationed out of River Run, the next town over. McNamara and his crew ran smaller, illegal operations that had to do with drugs and petty theft. No one could get to Steel Corner without passing through River Run, and no one passed through River Run without McNamara knowing. “When I got that news from him I did a little digging on that MC. Seems like that MC is made up of a bunch of Nomads from different charters of the Brothers of Menace. They got together, patched ea
ch other in for Colorado, and are now making River Run their home.”
“What the fuck were they doing in our town and hanging at our fight center without letting us know?” Brick said with that hard edged tone he always had. It was common knowledge that if someone was hitting up another MC territory they were to inform that crew of their presence to show respect. Clearly these Brothers of Menace hadn’t put the call in to get in touch with Jagger or the Grizzlies, and that was a major problem. Clearly these human assholes needed a lesson on MC territory etiquette.
“Right now let’s just sit on the information. They should have made themselves known instead of just hitting up the barn and coming into Steel Corner like they owned the shit, but I don’t want to make an enemy of them … just yet.” Jagger looked at each of them. “We don’t know what their intentions are in River Run, and they might be a good MC to have in our corner.”
“Jagger, man, if they are in River Run there isn’t any doubt they heard of us, especially if they are setting up shop there.” Brick had calmed down marginally since getting with Darra, but he was still this dark and hardheaded bastard on the best of days. But Diesel had seen the way Brick’s whole demeanor softened when he was with Darra. That female had this pretty fucking powerful hold on their Sergeant at Arms, but then again Sonya had the same kind of power over Jagger. Diesel shook his head at the thought, because although he didn’t have a female—and frankly didn’t think he needed one—that didn’t stop him from thinking about Maggie. Staying away was good, really damn good, and he needed to realize that sooner or later, and get it through the thick skull of his bear that spending that one night with her was it. There would be no more of sticking his dick in the female, no matter how much he wanted to.
One Night in the Outlaw's Bed Page 6