Talkin' Trash (The Bear Bottom Guardians MC Book 2)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  There were quite a few people in the area. Two women were sitting at computers at the nurses’ station, and two doctors were also writing something—one of them was Tyson McFuckFace—in patients’ charts.

  My eyes did a second scan of the room, and I finally came to a stop at the curtained off bed all the way to the right. Conleigh had a stethoscope in her hand, and she was leaning both fists at her hips as she nodded her head at a patient.

  She was wearing navy blue scrubs with bright turquoise tennis shoes. Her brown hair was up in the familiar bun that women could accomplish in half a second with very little effort, and she had a slight smile on her face as she nodded every few seconds.

  “Can I help you?”

  I looked over to find Tyson glaring at me, and I smiled. “Yes, actually. I’m here with Conleigh’s lunch.”

  “You can leave it here,” he suggested.

  I wasn’t born yesterday, moron, my look said.

  “I’m sure I could,” I said. “But I want to talk to her. I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

  Tyson’s face soured, but it was the woman beside him that caught my attention.

  “You’re Linc?” the woman asked.

  She had curly blonde hair that reached mid-back, and she had a beautiful face. She was gorgeous.

  But…she wasn’t Conleigh.

  “Yep,” I confirmed, my eyes going to her name badge on her left breast pocket. “Pru. Pru Mackenzie, by chance?”

  The woman beamed. “That’s me!”

  I laughed and offered her my free hand. “Nice to finally meet you. Conleigh talks about you all the time.”

  Pru’s eyes shined. “Good things, I hope.”

  “Well,” I hesitated. “Mostly.”

  Pru threw her head back and laughed.

  She was really pretty, and when she laughed, she was even prettier.

  But, I had a thing for a foul-mouthed little pain-in-my-ass who was in a perpetually bad mood. One with a heart of gold, a killer smile, and a touch that threw me off balance.

  “Linc? What are you doing here?”

  I turned to find Conleigh hurrying toward me.

  I took her in, studying everything.

  She had a pen mark in her right hand, and a pocketful of what looked like Band-Aids, alcohol swabs, and pens. It was her eye that caught my attention, though.

  I placed the food on the tall counter at my side and walked forward until I came to a stop directly in front of her.

  She didn’t back away but looked at me quizzically as I lifted my hand and touched one finger to her puffy eye.

  “Looks bad,” I said softly. “Did you get whatever was in your eye out?”

  Conleigh grimaced. “I had Dr. Fernaldi look at it. It’s an abrasion on my cornea. It’ll hurt for a few days while it heals.”

  “She’s a trooper,” who I assumed was Dr. Fernaldi exclaimed as he too held out his hand to me. “I’m a big fan. It’s nice to meet you.”

  I took it, shook it twice, and then dropped it to turn back to Conleigh.

  “Ouch,” I told her. “Good thing you have tomorrow and the next day off…is the redness from you touching it?”

  She nodded. “It should be all cleared up for the banquet this weekend. Don’t worry.”

  That was the last thing on my mind. “I’m not worried about it. You’re the most beautiful woman in the room regardless of what you wear or what your eye looks like, honey.”

  The ‘awww’ from Pru, as well as the gag from Tyson, had me grinning at the girl in front of me.

  She drifted closer to me, but not because she was happy about what I said. She moved so that she could lower her voice so that only I could hear what she had to say.

  “Laying it on thick, aren’t you?” She snickered so only I could hear.

  If she only knew that I meant every goddamn word.

  In time, she would.

  I was totally in love with the girl and had been since I could remember.

  What would she say if I told her that there’d been nobody but her since I’d met her? What would she say if I told her that every single woman that the media said was my latest fling was a lie?

  She’d probably call me a liar.

  But I wasn’t.

  It’d only been her for me and that was something she’d have to come to terms with sooner or later.

  But for now, my game was different.

  She’d continue to be left in the dark until the perfect time came to make her aware that she was mine and would be for the rest of my life.

  But this time, I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t feel every single word that I’d just said.

  The woman really was beautiful, no matter what she wore or what she thought she looked like.

  “I meant every word,” I told her, lowering my voice. “Now, let’s eat…unless you’re busy.”

  “She’s free for a break.” Pru broke into our conversation. “But she only has thirty minutes because that’s all we can spare, so you’ll have to eat fast.”

  I winked in her direction. “I can do fast.”

  And we all knew exactly what I meant with that innuendo, even McFuckFace who was staring at me like I was a cat turd pulled out of the litter box by his dog.

  I grabbed the food just as Conleigh grabbed my hand and led me to the staff break room that was just outside of the ER.

  “Before I forget,” I said as I followed, her hand still in mine. “The security guard said that you give him special cookies…please tell me you’re not giving that old man pot brownies or something.”

  Conleigh rolled her eyes as she turned to look over her shoulder at me. The move made a wisp of her hair fall out of her bun, and I wanted nothing more than to curl it around her ear, but that would mean letting go of her hand, something that I definitely did not want to do.

  She’d remember that her hand was in mine eventually and try to let it go, but until then I’d revel in the fact that she actually took my hand and was not letting go.

  “I make him keto cookies,” she said. “He has to have a low carb intake or it messes with his blood sugar. I played around with the recipes until I found one that didn’t taste horrible. I bring them to him once in a while. He seems to like them.”

  I grinned. “That’s nice of you. Keto getting so popular has changed a lot of lives.”

  She nodded and stopped beside a keypad, poking the 0911 into it before the green light blinked and unlocked for her.

  It was when the door closed behind us that she finally let go of my hand.

  I felt the loss like she’d taken part of me with her when she went.

  “How do you know about keto?” she asked suspiciously.

  I shrugged. “Bread’s a no-no when you’re on a fitness routine like I am. So is sweet shit. But keto makes it possible to actually enjoy some food without having to give up all the flavor that you normally would on a low carb diet…that’s not to say that I’m on one, because I’m not. I just like some aspects of it, like the bread substitutions, and the fact that you can eat as much bacon as you want.”

  She snorted. “That would be your reasoning. You and bacon.”

  I grinned as I walked forward and placed the bag on the table. “Anyway, maybe I shouldn’t tell you that I got us some barbeque from Holt’s and that the baked potato I got us has chili, bacon, and all kinds of other good shit on it?”

  Her eyes went wide. “You went to Holt’s? Yes! That place is always so good, but I don’t ever have the patience to stand in line and wait for them to get to me. A thirty-minute wait is ridiculous and annoying, especially when your time is precious. Speaking of, we really only have about twenty minutes. We’re slammed right now, and we’re down two nurses. We’ll need to hurry.”

  I started pulling out containers, divvying them up between her and me.

  “I didn’t bring us drinks,” I muttered as I realized my mistake. “Shit.”

&n
bsp; Conleigh abandoned her recently opened potato with the barbeque sauce practically dripping over the sides and went to the fridge.

  “I have some Kool-Aid.” She looked at me with a grin. “I make it at the beginning of the week—which was yesterday—so I have something to drink. Want some?”

  The way she held up the pitcher so cutely had my heart thumping weirdly in my chest.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’m already going to have to spend three hours in the gym working this lunch off. What’s one more hour?”

  She snickered. “I was headed to the gym today, too. But I was only going to do an hour on the elliptical. I’m always too scared to do the weights because I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  An idea formed in my mind, and without thinking, I blurted it out for her to hear.

  “Want to go with me?” I asked. “I have an interview tomorrow, but afterward we can go. It’ll be around ten o’clock. I can show you how to do a few exercises, and you won’t have to be embarrassed at all because I can take you to the gym at the center where the team works out. It’ll be abandoned that late in the morning.”

  She snorted. “That late?”

  I nodded. “That late. The players are usually there early, before six. Some of them go late, after five. During the day it’s a ghost town.”

  She pursed her lips. “I guess I could do that…as long as they don’t force me to come work on my second day off, that is.”

  I prayed that that wouldn’t happen.

  “Good.” I paused. “Would you be interested in going to an MC party tomorrow with me? It’s a birthday celebration for a club member’s son.”

  Conleigh scrunched up her nose. “I’m not really good with kids.”

  I felt something inside of my chest flip funny. “Me neither but this is going to be a little bit different from what you’re used to. Rome’s son, whose birthday we’re celebrating, lost his battle to leukemia about eight months ago. Tomorrow would’ve been his fifth birthday. To ensure that Rome’s not alone, we decided to throw him a birthday party. We’re going to watch the kid’s favorite movie, eat some of his favorite food, and just celebrate his life.”

  Her face fell. “That’s awful…and really sweet.”

  It was. It was really, really awful.

  “Rome was in a bad way for a while there,” I told her. “But Izzy, his girlfriend, is helping him through it, but he still has his bad days and we think Matias’ birthday might be one of them.”

  Conleigh sniffled and wiped away a tear that’d slipped from her eye, then cursed. “Owww.”

  I got up and took the pitcher from her and stole two foam cups off the counter before heading back to our seats.

  “I eat fast, woman,” I told her as I poured us both cups filled to the very top. “If you don’t eat yours, I will, and I’ll enjoy it, too.”

  She snorted and sat down, digging in without another word.

  We ate in silence, the only thing that could be heard was our chewing and the way the fork protested when we scooped too much onto them.

  I finished in seven minutes. Conleigh took fifteen.

  After enjoying a second glass of Kool-Aid while she finished hers, I took the opportunity to just watch her.

  Conleigh didn’t beat around the bush. She enjoyed her food and didn’t make any attempt to pretend like she didn’t.

  And when she was done, she leaned back in her chair and groaned, patting her belly.

  “I can’t finish anymore,” she whined.

  She’d eaten merely a quarter of her potato while I’d downed the entire thing.

  I smiled and got up, tossing my shit into the trash—all except for my fork.

  Conleigh got up and did the same, but instead deposited hers into the fridge so she could eat it later.

  When she went to throw her fork away, I stopped her. “No, I brought dessert.”

  Her eyes went wide. “What did you bring?”

  I pulled the last box out of the bag and held it up to her.

  “Ohhh,” she said, looking at the clear packaging. “I love chocolate cake. I’ve heard their chocolate cake is to die for.”

  It was. I’d had it a couple times and had been dreaming about it ever since.

  Sadly, since it was so high in calories and carbs, it was one of those ‘you shouldn’t have that’ items that I saved for a rare occasion.

  Like wooing the girl that I was in love with.

  I flipped open the lid on the container and set it down between our two chairs, taking a bite before she could even sit down.

  I groaned at the flavor.

  “God, this shit is like crack,” I told her. “Maybe you shouldn’t eat it. You’ll crave it like I do then.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You just want to eat it all by yourself.”

  That was true, too.

  “I’m just trying to save you. Trust me on this,” I countered.

  She rolled her eyes. “It can’t be that good,” she said as she took a forkful and brought it to those perfect lips of hers.

  Her pink tongue poked out of those perfect plump red lips, and I nearly orgasmed on the spot.

  With my hand the only thing to keep me company, I was a little bit like a firecracker. Explosive and ready to go off the moment the fuse was lit—and boy did Conleigh Reins light my fuse.

  Once she closed her mouth around the chocolate, I felt like everything slowed to a standstill as I watched her eyes roll back in her head. Then that goddamn moan left her mouth, and I knew that the moment I got somewhere that I could whack off privately, I would.

  “Oh, God.” She breathed shakily, her eyes full of pleasure coming to me. “You’re not lying. This is better than anything I’ve ever had in my life.”

  I knew that she’d think that. I also knew that she would taste better than that cake—by a landslide.

  “It’s good, isn’t it?” I croaked, trying to downplay my arousal. “I’ve always thought the same. Since they’ve opened, I’ve gotten the cake twice. This’ll be my third time. It’s been just as good each time I’ve had it.”

  She groaned as she finished licking the fork, then eyed the rest of the cake.

  That’s how we spent the next three minutes. Each of us took a bite, moaned and groaned, and then watched while the other performed their task.

  It was when the last bite was on my fork that I turned it and offered it to her.

  She leaned forward and closed her mouth around my fork, and I swear to God, I felt it in my soul.

  “So good,” she breathed, licking her lips.

  Her eyes were dilated, and her breathing accelerated.

  Her breasts were swollen, and I could just barely make out the tips of her nipples behind her loose scrub top.

  It was at this point that I was wondering if she was doing this to me on purpose.

  My dick, however, didn’t care if she was doing it on purpose or not. All it cared about was the fact that she was making the kind of noises that I was sure she would make if I was inside of her…

  “Shit,” Conleigh sighed, placing her fork into the container. “I better go. I’ve been longer than I intended to be. Linc.” I finally looked at her face. “Thank you so much. My day hasn’t been all that great, and it’s only going to get worse because the cafeteria is serving stupid tuna sandwiches. Those are the worst.”

  Her eyes were so sincere that I just knew that having a tuna sandwich really would’ve made her day worse. She wasn’t kidding about that.

  “You’re welcome,” I rumbled. “Anytime.”

  The forty-five-minute drive over was worth it. Rescheduling interviews for really early in the morning was worth it.

  Conleigh was worth it.

  Chapter 9

  I need a double shot of whatever a toddler is on.

  -Conleigh to Linc

  Conleigh

  I was on my way to Linc’s house, and I couldn’t begin to tell you why.
/>   I had just come off of a long shift, and I was tired.

  Tomorrow, I had a final at twelve, which meant that I had to study at least for a little bit, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  After the nice things Linc had done for me that day, I couldn’t deny it. I wanted to see him.

  Therefore, I didn’t take any time to second guess my decision. I just decided to go with it and hopped in the car.

  Hopefully he’d be where he was supposed to be.

  I was doing this.

  I slowed my car, looking left then right, and tried to remember if the road that I was about to take was the correct one.

  The road to Linc’s place was hard enough to find during the day. It being night made it that much harder.

  Something shiny caught my eye, and I stared at it, trying to decipher what it was out of the corner of my eye while also trying to stay on the dark and winding road.

  I’d nearly passed it when it finally became apparent what it was.

  The spokes of a wheel.

  I pulled over about thirty feet past and prayed that nobody came around the corner too fast. If they did, they might hit my car.

  But since there was a massive ditch on both sides of the street for as far as I could see, I could only do so much.

  Pulling my emergency flashlight out of my glove compartment, I bailed out of the car, switching the flashlight on as I ran.

  At first, I couldn’t find what I’d thought was a wheel again, but then my light pinged off another shiny thing—this time belonging to a tailpipe, and my heart skipped a beat.

  It was a motorcycle.

  A big, mangled one.

  And it was smoking as if the thing had just crashed.

  But there was nobody around it, and I started to question whether someone had wrecked it, and then started walking because they had no way of contacting anyone.

  But then I saw the wallet on the ground next to the wrecked bike and realized that it was attached to a chain. A chain that trailed a short way to a large ravine next to a set of guardrails that kept you from falling into said ravine.

  I looked to the side and saw the chain links dangling into the ravine, snapped off at the base of the concrete piling holding the fence up.