Joyride

by DD Prince

  He held up the key between his index and middle finger.

  “Gonna be good?”

  I batted my eyelashes at him.

  “Behave yourself.” He undid my cuff.

  I pulled my wrist close and glared at him.

  “I just want you safe. The other shit, what’s real, what may or may not be over, we’ll figure that out. Okay, babe?”

  I blinked some more. Benign. Chastised. I winced at a cramp in my wrist.

  He must’ve thought I was docile because he moved in and reached for my face.

  “Hey,” he said gently.

  “Back off, asshole,” I smacked him right across the face. Hard enough that my hand was stinging.

  He looked incredulous. He grabbed my wrists and pushed back, pinning me to the bed, holding them above my head. His lip curled. My fingerprints were on his cheek.

  “What the fuck? What if I’d done that to you?”

  I glared at him. “Get your hands off me.”

  “No, really, Jenna. What if I smacked you? What is it with bitches thinking they can hit a guy, but he can’t hit back? Reverse sexism is what that bullshit is.”

  “Did you just call me a bitch?” I hissed.

  “Did you call me an asshole first?” He challenged.

  “Oh, so what? You’re gonna hit me? Typical biker piece of shit. Smacking their women around.”

  His eyes glittered with anger.

  “You know nothing about bikers and you know sweet fuck all about me.”

  “I know you’re a lying, cheating, piece of shit.”

  “What lie? Who did I cheat on? Are you my woman, Jenna?”

  I glared.

  “You and I aren’t in an exclusive relationship, are we? Or are we and someone forgot to give me the memo?”

  I huffed.

  “Cuz if we are and I missed that notification, we have a problem, baby. And that means you’re a hypocrite. I saw you on a fuckin’ breakfast date with a guy the other day. So, if you thought we were beginning a relationship, did you cheat on a lyin’, cheatin’, piece of shit lowlife biker? What would that make you, Jenna?”

  What?

  “A date? I haven’t---”

  “Was that not a date with that suit you were having a coffee with who touched your fuckin’ hair, what, eight or nine hours after I fucked you? And news flash, I haven’t slept with anyone since sleepin’ with you that first time, so if we were in a relationship, or if we were starting one, I’d have a clear conscience. How ‘bout you, baby?”

  “I… that was… Dan is…” I huffed. Wait. I didn’t owe him an explanation! “We weren’t starting one, though. Were we, Rider?”

  He eyed me sourly. “Naw, we weren’t, Jenna. ‘Cuz I can fuck a materialistic selfish hypocrite bitch a coupla times to get my rocks off, but that’s my limit. Definitely my limit if I barely get off.”

  I blinked as I absorbed that. Hypocrite, materialistic, selfish? Wow.

  Wait. Barely get off?

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He shrugged, “You’re so good at drawing conclusions, go ahead and draw one.”

  “Barely?” came out in barely a whisper.

  “Barely,” he confirmed, his eyes were hard and cold.

  My chin started to tremble. I was having trouble fighting off the tears.

  “Oh. So, I’m not just a selfish game-playing bitch, I’m a selfish bitch who’s lousy in bed?”

  “You’re the one that said it, babe.”

  “You weren’t complaining.”

  “You weren’t payin’ all that much attention or maybe you’d have noticed that yeah… I kinda was. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back for seconds. I did, to see if maybe I could work with you a little, since you get my motor runnin’ and fuck, you kiss better than any bitch I’ve ever kissed. Seriously hot fuckin’ mouth on you.”

  I was breathing hard and my chest was burning. I was trying very hard not to burst into tears.

  “And you talked a good game. Things were hot when we made out, but it fizzled out fast. Too fast. I’ve never done monogamy before, certainly don’t plan to do it if it’s also lookin’ like monotony.”

  “Then why are you he-ere?” my voice cracked. I held my breath and willed my chin to stay still, to not tremble.

  “Told you. I’m here ‘cause there are people out to hurt me and the brothers. They might target you to accomplish that. I don’t wanna be responsible for that.”

  “Well, I release you from any obligation.”

  “Don’t work that way.”

  “Well---”

  “These guys can’t get ahold of you. I won’t let that happen. A good friend of mine, a brother Lick, he’s dead. My sister almost got dead. She’s gonna have scars. The kind you can see and the kind that keep her up at night that she feels. The only reason she survived is because they didn’t know she meant something to him.”

  I frowned.

  “They’d hurt you bad. You won’t get off as easy as Ella did. And Deacon’s girl was traumatized by what happened. Shoulda seen her.” He shook his head in memory and my heart ached. ”You won’t even get off as easy as Scoot did. And Scooter was severely beaten and ass-raped by a coupla Jackals on the side of the road.”

  I straightened my shoulders. “Tell them I mean nothing to you, then. Send that message.”

  “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  “That might not work. And did I say you mean nothing to me?”

  I held his stare.

  “And you mean a fuckuva lot to Ella and Ella belongs to my brother so now she’s my sister, too.”

  “Let. Me. Go.”

  “I let go, you gonna hit me again?” he asked.

  I glared at him.

  “Hit me again, I hit you back,” he warned and released my wrists and pointed at me.

  He waited a beat, watching for my reaction. And then as he was getting off me, still pointing at me, I scrambled out of the bed, smacking his hand away and then I found myself spun, my back against his chest, his body pinning me face first to the wall.

  “Fuck. You don’t believe me?”

  “Fuck you, Rider Valentine.”

  “You need a good old-fashioned spanking, you know that?”

  “Let go of me.” I wriggled and struggled, but couldn’t move.

  “Or what?” His voice vibrated against my neck. The scruff of his cheek was on it. He slid his chin across the area by my collar bone and then he tightened against me, against the wall.

  My eyes bulged. His pelvis was against my backside and there was a definite erection pressing against my tailbone. I jolted. But, my body was out in goosebumps. His chin rubbed back and forth across my exposed shoulder.

  “Throw you over my knee, jeans and panties tangled around your ankles. You’ll be at my mercy,” he whispered and then touched his tongue to my collar bone and then he sucked on my neck. Hard.

  I shuddered. Or shivered. Or both. I don’t know. I grunted with a bit of struggle and he knew the effect he was having on me, his tongue running over my goosebumps, making me quiver. And then, he clamped his teeth down.

  “Rider,” I said, meaning to come off bitchy but instead coming off breathy. He must’ve taken that as some sort of permission, because then he started grinding into my backside and sucking on my neck some more. Against my will, my neck rolled, and my head dropped back against his shoulder and a whimper bubbled up and out.

  His hand dove into the front of my jeans and straight into my panties, his middle finger doing a curl right against my clit. He slid it down and put that finger inside me. He slid in with absolutely no resistance.

  “Mm,” he moaned against my throat.

  “Ah,” I tightened everywhere and felt the ridge of him pressed between my butt cheeks. My clenching had clearly extended back there by the sound he made. His free hand slid up my belly, over my breasts, to my throat and his palm rested over my throat at the front, his mouth suckling on my neck at the side. His fingertips t
ouched my jawline. Then, his mouth released my neck and latched onto my ear a little bit roughly. “Fun playin’ this game with you, gorgeous. I need to fuck you,” he told me in a rough-sounding voice. “Need to fuck you hard and rough. Wanna spank you, then make you scream for me. Want a verbal consent this time so you can’t throw out any more accusations. I have your consent?”

  Rational thought was slowly seeping back in. What was I doing? I had to make this stop. I had to, despite the fact that I was out in goosebumps and my panties were drenched. I wasn’t playing games. He was. I didn’t know how to play this game.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No.” I confirmed.

  “No to some of that or all of it?”

  “You don’t have my consent, not for any of it,” I said. And he let go of me and backed away.

  My heart was racing. I was out in goosebumps, and I was, oddly, almost disappointed that he backed away. I turned around to face him. My face was hot.

  “Why would you even want to, if I’m so bad at it?”

  His gaze darkened, and he eyed me from head to toe and back to head again. He licked his lips and opened his mouth to say something, but then a phone started ringing faintly, from somewhere in the cabin.

  He moved away. I followed. He went to the kitchen, reaching up into the cupboard above the refrigerator, pulling out his ringing phone. I wondered if my phone was hidden up there, too.

  “What?” He answered and then his eyes narrowed as he listened.

  And then his eyes were on me and his jaw was ticking as he continued listening.

  He whipped his phone. It bounced off the stone fireplace and hit the rug. It was definitely broken.

  I took a step backwards and backed into the wall.

  My eyes focused on his face. His lip was curled, his eyes were fiery mad, and they were on me.

  My heart was racing.

  “You gonna let me keep you safe if I take you home?” he snapped.

  I shook my head slowly. “You don’t need to. I want nothing to do with you or your biker gang.”

  “Then I’m not takin’ you home. You’re staying here.”

  “Uh…no.”

  “Uh… yeah.” He had a ‘don’t mess with me’ look on his face. He looked 100% serious and ready to bite my head off if I argued.

  “What was that phone call?” I asked, my back still plastered to the wall.

  “That was Mantis, Prez of the Wyld Jackals Sioux Falls chapter, telling me how they can’t wait to get their hands on my foxy fuckin’ hairdresser piece. And how they can’t wait to blow their loads on your heart-shaped ass before slitting your throat and watching you bleed out.”

  Oh, my fucking … my hand came to my mouth.

  “We’re stayin’ here and that’s final.”

  “I’ll let Bronto be my shadow,” I whispered from behind my hand.

  He crouched down and lifted his phone. The screen was cracked. He pushed buttons a few times and then tossed it to the coffee table. He moved back to the kitchen cupboard over the fridge and pulled one of those cheap phones out that was still in a package. He tore the package open and was fiddling with it. He pulled another phone out that looked like my phone. He plugged it into a phone cord that was already plugged into the wall beside the toaster.

  “Rider?” I asked.

  “I don’t believe you’re bein’ straight with me, so no. You’re stayin’ here, tonight at least.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. I was shaking. This threat was real. And what if they found us here?

  The phone he plugged in lit up and made a bunch of noise. I knew those noises. It was my phone.

  I heard a noise outside, a car was coming!

  I screeched and started to run toward the bedroom. He caught me.

  “It’s Bronto and Jess. Look.” He had his arm hooked around my neck. He pointed me toward the window and I saw them stop the truck. Bronto opened the passenger door and he had two big pizzas, boxes stacked. Jesse shut his door, carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels by the neck.

  I was shaking. Hard. But, I felt my shoulders unclench and I involuntarily sagged against him in relief. A reflex.

  “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’ll keep you safe. Promise.” He kissed my temple and let go of me. I stared at him a beat, frazzled at the show of affection and protection. Especially after those words he’d just spewed.

  If they were coming here with booze and pizza then he’d already decided we were staying here, obviously.

  I turned on my heel and went back to that bedroom. The bed was unmade. The cuffs were still linked against the headboard by one side, the other side dangling. I shook my head and my eyes rolled ceilingwards. But, I was still shaking.

  I made the bed and then I curled up on it, staring out the lace-curtained window, which pointed at nothing but forest. I closed my eyes and chewed on my lips, willing my body to stop shaking. It wouldn’t listen.

  There was a magazine rack in the corner of the room. It was filled with my kinds of magazines, plus some crossword puzzle books, so I decided to leaf through some and try to keep my mind busy.

  ***

  “Still pizza left in the kitchen if you’re hungry,” Rider said, hours later, as he came in and closed the door.

  It was also darkening outside, probably around dinner time. And I felt exhausted. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. My stomach rumbled.

  I had to pee. And I was thirsty, too, so I stomped out and found my bag sitting on the coffee table. I took it with me to the bathroom.

  I used the facilities, fixed my high ponytail, and found my birth control pills in my bag. I took it religiously every evening and was 100% relieved that I had my bag with me. I took one to the kitchen and washed it down with some water while I ate a slice of pizza over the sink. My phone was no longer on the kitchen counter. I opened the cupboard above the fridge and couldn’t see all the way in, so I dragged a stool over and stood on it. The cupboard was a junk cupboard, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous crap, but my phone wasn’t in sight. No other disposable phones, either.

  I was still rooting around in that cupboard when I felt hands on my hips and startled. I was lifted off the stool and set on my feet and then spun around by my shoulders. Rider.

  I stared into his eyes and my heart nearly stopped, because the way he was looking at me? Softness. And then something else. Lust? He was leaning in to kiss me. I stumbled back, to get away, my hands going up against his chest.

  I heard laughter outside as the door was opened to the side patio. Bronto was heading toward us, eyes aimed at the pizza box stack on the counter. I could see out the window that Jesse and some other guy, another biker, were lazing in lawn chairs around a campfire, Jesse with a beer in his hand, the other guy, a big blond guy that I could only see from the back, drinking straight from a JD bottle.

  “Come out and hang with us, Jenna,” Bronto called cheerily as he swiped another pizza slice. “I bought marshmallows and s’mores stuff.”

  I scooted around Rider, and marched back to the bedroom and slammed the door.

  ***

  The door opened. I’d been lying there, deep in thought, not asleep. But, in the dark. I tensed, knowing Rider was moving to the bed and then my wrist was grabbed and there was the sound of a clink. The lamp was flicked on.

  “You’re effing kidding me,” I moaned.

  “Nope.”

  “I’m just minding my own business!” I pleaded my case. And I had been. This was hours after that kitchen incident.

  “Not takin’ chances you’ll fuck off. I gotta go. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “You what?” I demanded.

  “Brady’ll have the key. Be a good girl. He’ll uncuff you in the morning.”

  “Brady? Who’s Brady?”

  “A brother. Jesse’s comin’ with me and we’re not leavin’ Bronto alone with you; you’ll terrorize him.” He snickered.

  “You’re leaving and you’
re leaving me cuffed? With a stranger? Rider, no.”

  “Can’t trust you, gorgeous. Gotta go take care of something with Deacon and the boys. And it’s not a stranger. It’s Brady.”

  “I can’t believe you. You’re a fucking jerk.”

  “Then I’m a jerk. But I’m a jerk who’s goin’ to take care of your best friend’s trouble right now, and I need to do that while not worryin’ you’re gonna be getting yourself into trouble, ‘cuz I can only be in one place at a time. You being cuffed for the night is no different than if I was sleepin’ here anyway. I’m goin’ to take care of shit, I’ll sleep a coupla hours at the clubhouse, then I’ll be back.”

  “Trouble? What trouble does Ella have now?”

  “No time to explain. Be a good girl.” He moved to the door.

  “I hate you.”

  “There’s a fine line between hate and love, gorgeous.”

  I gasped in shock. “Not for me. There’s a gap the size of the Grand Canyon.”

  “You don’t hate me.”

  “Don’t bet your Harley on that or you’ll be walkin’,” I huffed.

  “I can deal with that if it means you’re breathin’ in order to hate me.”

  “Go. And don’t come back then. Leave me with these babysitters until I can go home. I don’t wanna see your face again!”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Ever again. Fuck off and die.”

  “You don’t mean that,” he said, and he came back to me, leaned over and kissed my temple.

  “I do mean it, Rider Valentine. Fuck off and die.”

  He shook his head at me, rolled his eyes, and then he left.

  Left!

  9

  I heard his car start and then the noise faded away. It was only a moment later when the door opened, and the big light was flicked on. I jolted in fear.

  Standing over me was a massive blond Nordic God-looking guy wearing jeans and a sky-blue t-shirt that was the same shade as his eyes. He had short blond hair and a blond trimmed mustache and beard, and his veiny arms were the size of tree trunks. They were also completely covered in black tribal patterns.