Hard Ride, Part 1

by Opal Carew

  “Come on, Liv. Are you saying you wouldn’t like several hot bikers touching you … caressing you?”

  Her eyes widened. “Several? I assumed you meant one. At least, at a time.”

  “Is that your boundary? Just one at a time?”

  “No! I have no boundary.” At his smile, she stuttered, “I mean, I’ve never thought about it. I don’t know where my boundary is.”

  “Really? You’ve never fantasized about being made love to by several men at once?”

  Her cheeks flushed even darker.

  “The clause stays in.”

  She bit her lip, obviously wanting to argue.

  “Look, Liv, I’m not saying we’ll do all of these things, but I want you to at least be open to them.”

  “This is a contract. If I sign it, I have to do them.”

  “If I tell you to.”

  “Yes.” She sounded doubtful.

  “Look, I’m not going to demand that you do each and every thing on that list whether you want to or not.”

  In fact, he wouldn’t push any of them. Nothing in the sexual contract was enforceable by law, and in fact he wouldn’t do anything she clearly didn’t want to do. He just wanted to get her thinking about pushing beyond her limits.

  “I tell you what,” he said. “You go through and mark off the things you’re willing to do and we’ll see what compromise we can come up with.”

  She pursed her lips. “Okay.”

  She fetched a red pen and started going through the list. Each item had a place to indicate if Liv was willing to receive the action, to perform the action, and if there were limitations, and what those limitations were.

  He watched her while she gazed at the list and crossed off item after item. “Vaginal fisting” and “anal fisting.” Not surprising.

  “Performing sex with another partner or partners.” “Anal intercourse.”

  When she lowered the pen to cross out “fellatio,” he protested. “Really, Liv?”

  She glanced up at him, her cheeks now a deep crimson. She pursed her lips and shifted the pen, leaving the item unmarked. Then she crossed out “swallowing semen.” Damn.

  When she was finished, she handed him the sexual contract, which was an addendum to the contract itself.

  He glanced over the paper and realized she’d vetoed everything but “kissing,” “vaginal intercourse,” and “fellatio,” and the latter only because he’d called her on it. She hadn’t even agreed to “cunnilingus.”

  He glanced at her. “Let me use your computer and I’ll print out a new agreement.”

  She stood up and retrieved a laptop from a shelf and set it on the table. He sat down and pulled up the copy of the agreement from the e-mail his lawyer had sent him, then began modifying it. He sent it to the printer and few seconds later a little printer on her bookshelf chugged out the page.

  Liv picked it up and scanned it. She frowned as she walked to the table.

  “You didn’t take any of my changes,” she protested.

  “I took out the fisting. And a few of the toys.” Mostly medical devices, which he wasn’t interested in anyway, and would clearly freak her out.

  She stared at the list. “So basically, because I’m borrowing money from you, I’m your sex slave?”

  “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I just want you to be open to trying new things.” He took the paper from her. “And I want you to trust me.”

  She scowled. “There’s nothing on this list I want to do with you.”

  Annoyance buzzed through him.

  “Sign the contract, Liv. Then my lawyers will release the money into your bank account this afternoon.”

  She glared at him, then picked up a pen and sat down with the contract in front of her. She put the pen to paper, then hesitated.

  “Wait. There’s one more thing,” she said.

  “I’m listening.”

  “The contract states that I’m to be … uh … with you for one month. Does that mean you’ll be coming over here every day? Or I’ll be going wherever you live? You know, I work pretty long hours at work, so it’s more practical if we see each other only on weekends.”

  “No.”

  “Well, as I said, we can meet in the evenings, but—”

  “That won’t work.” He flipped through the contract and frowned. “I’m sorry, there seems to have been on oversight.” He glanced at her. “There was supposed to be a section in the contract about the fact you will be available to me twenty-four hours a day. I’ll have to have an addendum added.” He glanced at her. “Not only will you not be going to work, but you’ll be riding with me. We’re only staying here another couple of days, then we hit the road. Your month with me starts in three days.”

  “But I can’t do that. That’s too short notice to get the time off and I couldn’t get a whole month anyway.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “It is a problem. I’ll lose my job.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ve arranged to hire you as a consultant from your company. All they know is that you’ll be working for my company for one month.”

  “But I’m not a consultant.”

  “I know that’s not your usual role, but I offered enough money that they accepted. They’ll let you know first thing tomorrow and you’ll continue to draw your salary for the month.”

  At the flush starting across her cheeks again, he said, “Don’t worry. They have no idea what our real arrangement is.”

  “So it seems I owe you even more money.”

  He should have realized she’d take it that way.

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “As we’ve already established, I really have no choice, do I?”

  At that, she picked up the pen and signed the contract.

  * * *

  Liv continued to be angry and embarrassed about the contract and the way Shock was treating her, but she pushed the feelings aside while she dealt with everything she needed to do before she left with him.

  Shock had followed through with his promise to move the money to her account immediately, even before she signed the addendum he added about the consulting contract. She arranged for Julia’s surgery, which was scheduled within a week. Shock wanted her to start her time with him right away, but she told him she had family business to attend to and she needed some time.

  A week after the surgery, to Liv’s delight, Julia seemed to be recovering quite nicely. Liv didn’t want to leave while Julia was still in the hospital, but Julia insisted Liv head off on her business trip. Since Julia was so weak, her doctor said they were going to keep her in the hospital for at least a month anyway, so Julia suggested that it was better that Liv go while she was still in their care and be back by the time she was ready to go home.

  Liv finally acquiesced. Of course, Liv didn’t tell her that she was really traveling with a gang of bikers for a month.

  She let Shock know that she would like to leave as soon as possible and he informed her that she needed to go out shopping to buy clothing for the trip. He wanted her to fit in with the biker gang he was traveling with, so he sent a personal shopper to pick out clothes for her. It amazed her that the cost of such seemingly casual clothes was so exorbitant.

  Shock had personally picked out the jeans she was to wear, and just one pair of those jeans cost more than her most expensive business suit for work. But they fit her perfectly and made her ass look fantastic.

  They also had a zipper that traveled the full length of her crotch.

  Then there was the lingerie, if items made of leather were actually considered lingerie. Although he had chosen some lace and silk items, too. She wasn’t even sure what some of the other things were. Mostly they consisted of leather straps, studs, and chains.

  The day before she was to leave, she packed everything up in the backpack he’d also bought for her, then went to visit Julia again, but she didn’t stay long because her sister was tired.

  Li
v then stopped by the facility where her grandmother was staying. Gran was suffering from dementia, and Liv had had to put her there a year ago, as much as it broke her heart to do it. But she just couldn’t take care of Gran well enough by herself. She had been dropping by a few times a week, until Julia wound up in the hospital. Since then, Liv’s visits to Gran had been sporadic, which left her guilt-ridden. She would do better when she got back, she promised herself.

  When Liv got home, she made dinner from the leftovers in the fridge, then busied herself with cleaning out the fridge of perishables, tossing the garbage, and doing last-minute tasks in preparation for her departure.

  When she finally climbed into bed, she stared at the ceiling, sleep eluding her.

  What was the next month going to be like? What demands would Shock actually make of her?

  She pulled the covers closer.

  And how would he react when he found out she was virtually a virgin?

  * * *

  In the morning, Liv got up and showered, trying not to think about the adventure she was about to embark on. But despite the anxiety that gripped her about the relationship she was about to enter into with Shock, she was a little thrilled at the idea of having a month off from her usual worry-filled existence.

  It would be exciting to ride on the back of Shock’s motorcycle and to meet his friends, although that also filled her with trepidation.

  As she sat and drank her coffee, her phone bleeped. She checked the text message she’d just received.

  Will be there in 20 minutes.

  She sighed and finished her coffee, then dressed in a pair of the designer jeans and a T-shirt with glittery skulls and roses. She brushed her long blonde hair, then threw her backpack over her shoulder and headed downstairs.

  Shock pulled up in front of her building right on time. His gaze heated as he glanced up and down her body appreciatively. The high heels on her leather boots were spiked and sexy, with metal tips, and the feet were adorned with studs. The boots, along with her jeans, which were tight in all the right places, made her legs look long and her behind look shapely.

  She was very conscious of the zipper along the crotch of her pants. It wasn’t uncomfortable—the pants were very well designed—but she felt conspicuously sexy in them, as if they were an invitation to him to unzip them and have his way with her.

  Which maybe he intended to do.

  “Good morning. Had breakfast yet?” he asked.

  “No, just some coffee.” She hadn’t been very hungry, and she’d cleaned out the fridge yesterday, so there hadn’t really been anything on hand.

  “It’s about a ten-hour drive. You need to eat. We’ll stop and get something on the way.”

  He handed her a helmet and she climbed on the bike behind him.

  The heat of his body between her legs sent warmth humming through her. He started the engine and she wrapped her arms around his solid body, the leather soft and supple against her hands. Soon they were speeding along the highway.

  The wind whipping against her cheeks was exhilarating, and she loved watching the scenery, mostly trees and meadows, flashing by. After about an hour, the lack of sleep got to her and she leaned her head against his back. The scent of leather and warm male filled her nostrils as she closed her eyes and rested.

  Time seemed to drift by, then she felt the bike slow and pull off the road.

  “Time for breakfast,” he said, stopping in front of a diner. “I didn’t mean to drive so long. Maybe some food will revive you. I don’t want you drifting off to sleep and falling off the bike.”

  She glanced at her watch and realized they’d been riding for two hours. Her stomach rumbled.

  Inside the diner, she glanced at the menu, then ordered an omelet and toast. Shock ordered a huge plate of bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes.

  “So, where are we going?” she asked.

  “We’re staying at a country house I own north of here. It’s on a lake, with a great view. The others will arrive tomorrow.”

  “So it’s not just the two of us?”

  He smiled. “Would you prefer that?”

  She didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t know how to act around his biker friends, and she was worried about the idea of him wanting to share her with the other men, but being alone with him seemed worse.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll get along fine with the guys. And there are two other women traveling with us. I think you’ll like Raven and Tempest.”

  She just nodded and sipped her coffee. The waitress brought their food.

  As they ate, they made small talk about the trip and the weather, then they hit the road again. The day sped by like the miles they put behind them. When they stopped for dinner, they still had another three hours to go.

  * * *

  A couple of hours later, Shock pulled off the road again at a gas station and stopped in front of the gas pump.

  “Go inside and grab a couple of bottles of water,” he said, “while I fill the tank.”

  Liv dismounted the bike and walked into the convenience store. A group of three guys lounging around the snack bar glanced her way, eyeing her jeans and black leather jacket, the helmet tucked under her arm. One of them laughed and made a comment about how hot the zipper on the jeans was, and she could see in the security mirror that they were looking at her ass.

  She kept walking to the cooler at the back of the store and opened it, then pulled out two bottles of water. She could still feel their gazes on her, though, and it sent a chill through her.

  She turned and caught one guy staring at her with a leering smile, then he pushed himself away from the counter he was leaning against and started to walk toward her.

  The bell over the door chimed and the guy glanced around to see Shock, who looked particularly intimidating, his leather-jacketed six-foot-five-inch frame filling the doorway as he sent the guy a menacing glare.

  The guy turned nonchalantly and began talking to his friends. Shock headed her way.

  “Got the water?” He stared at her almost accusingly, as if he thought she’d sent a blatant invitation to the guy.

  “Right here.” She held up the cold bottles and he took them from her, then walked to the cashier and paid.

  They stepped outside into the warm night. He led her to the bike, which he’d parked near a picnic table on the grass. He put his helmet on the wooden surface and sat down, then opened one water bottle and handed it to her. She sat across from him, placing her helmet next to his.

  She drank her water, watching him, but he paid no attention to her. Crickets chirped in the background and the occasional car passed by on the road. She shifted on the wooden bench seat, annoyed at the silence hanging between them.

  “I didn’t do anything to encourage that guy, you know,” she finally bit out.

  He took a swig of his water and nodded.

  She narrowed her eyes. “The way you looked at—”

  His sharp gaze pivoted to her, stopping her cold. “I was looking at him, not you.” He gulped back the rest of the water. “You can’t help it if guys look at you. But no one messes with my woman.” He crumpled the empty bottle in his hand. “He was lucky he didn’t try and touch you. If he had, he’d be a bloody pile of broken bones by now.”

  She didn’t argue with the “my woman” crack. According to their agreement, for the next month, that was exactly what she was.

  A part of her wanted to feel affronted by his possessive behavior, which seemed to imply that he didn’t think she could take care of herself. But in truth, she found his possessiveness and protectiveness … nice. It made her feel taken care of. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  “It doesn’t help that you’ve dressed me in these come-hither jeans.”

  He chuckled. “Really? ‘Come-hither’?”

  She stared at him, surprised at his change in demeanor, but then she realized it was pretty funny. “I suppose that did sound like something from an old-fashioned romance novel.
Would ‘fuck-me’ jeans work better for you?”

  His grin faded and heat blazed in his eyes. “If you only knew.” He stood up. “Ready?”

  She took another sip and recapped the half-empty bottle, then handed it to him. He stared hungrily at her lips, then turned and tucked it in the side bag. She tried to ignore the heat crackling between them as she put on her helmet and climbed on the bike.

  He pulled on his own helmet. “We still have an hour on the road ahead of us.”

  And she knew what was at the end of that road. The first time she and Shock would be alone together. In a bedroom.

  Would he be tired after the long ride and want to wait, or would he take her right away?

  He mounted in front of her. “It’s all quiet, forest roads. There won’t be much to see.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, ready for him to start up the engine and take off.

  “It could get a bit boring, and I know you wouldn’t want me dozing off.”

  She frowned. What was he getting at?

  Then he took her hand and drew it under his jacket and shirt, then pressed it flat against his sculpted abs. The warm, hot flesh was stretched tight over hard muscles.

  “I want you to help keep me awake.”

  Oh, God, was he kidding? She glanced at the convenience store, but no one was looking their way. All they’d see would be her arms around his waist anyway.

  The engine roared to life, then he drove from the parking lot and turned onto the road. She clung to him as he accelerated, one hand still flat his hard stomach where he’d placed it. Soon they were driving full speed down the dark, deserted road.

  After a few moments he placed his hand on hers and slid it down, over the growing bulge in his pants. He pressed her hand tightly to him, then encouraged her to move it up and down, but the feel of his thick column against her palm was overwhelming. She froze, uncertain what to do. He squeezed her fingers around him, until she was gripping him, then he moved her hand up and down until she continued on her own.

  She could feel the outline of his big cock, hard and thick inside his pants. And growing bigger. God, it was impressive. She couldn’t imagine that thing inside of her. The thought sent trepidation through her.