“What about Annie?”
Shit! Fucking mother of the year.
“She’s probably hiding out at a friend’s. She forgot her phone. I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”
Troy didn’t sound convinced. “You sure?”
“Yeah, Sorry, I had a freak out because of the girl that died, but I’m overreacting.”
“If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll get Martin out. Okay?”
Smiling at the dark room Danielle reflected on how nice it was to be friends with cops. “I will. I promise.”
“Okay. You’re probably right, she’s crashing at a friend’s. But call if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Thanks. Drive safe.”
“Too late. I’m talking and driving.”
She laughed. “Good night, Troy.”
“Night, Dani.”
After hanging up, Danielle sank down onto the sofa, glaring at her daughter’s phone. Christ, bad enough to sneak out. Forgetting her phone on top of that?
She had to have snuck out while Danielle was out here reading. That’s how the phone got left behind to begin with.
Grounded. Until she hit menopause. At least.
When the bike arrived next door, Danielle had been waiting half an hour. 4:18am was way too fucking late for a sixteen-year-old to be out, she had to go looking. She knew where two of Grace’s girlfriends lived, she’d start there. As reluctant as she was to go waking people up, the party had been broken up before midnight. Grace should have been home.
After tucking her phone in her purse, she pulled on a fleece jacket and stepped out the front door. Usually Knuckles parked his bike in his garage, but today he’d stopped at the end of his driveway, close to the sidewalk.
Just as she was about to call out to him, still sitting astride his bike, she noticed someone definitely female climbing off the back.
Jealousy was such an ugly thing. Her stomach rolled as Knuckles helped his passenger stand, then swung one long leg over the back of his bike to dismount.
The girl pulled her helmet off as Danielle realized they hadn’t noticed her yet, she could just head back inside—
“What the hell?” Her surprise topped her in her tracks, voice loud enough to carry.
Grace swayed on her feet and smiled, waving. “Hi Mom!”
Stalking to her daughter, Danielle evaluated the oblivious grin on Grace’s face. The girl was clearly intoxicated, and next to her Knuckles looked almost as pissed as Danielle was.
“Mom, that was the first time I’ve been on a motorcycle. It was awesome!” Grace told her breathlessly, still unaware of the shit storm heading her way.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Mom, listen. I’m sorry—”
“Not what I asked, Grace. You snuck out and went to a party, and now you’re drunk.”
“Not that drunk, Mom.”
“Sixteen, Grace. Remember? You promised me this shit was done.”
“Mom—”
“Not arguing anymore. Go to bed. You are so grounded.”
Grace staggered past her mother, then turned back to Knuckles who had stayed silent but present while this had gone on. “Thanks for the ride. And your friends are all hot.”
Knuckles didn’t answer, just stared. Yep, pissed off. Still oblivious of the mood in the yard, Grace made it up the steps and into the house.
“What the fuck?” Danielle eventually asked, crossing her arms and turning on her neighbor.
Only then did Knuckles’ face soften, even breaking into a smile. “She and her friend wandered into the clubhouse, Momma. All tanked and hopped up from a house party getting busted.”
Danielle sighed. “Even better. Sneaks out, get drunk at a party, runs away from the police and ends up at a biker bar. I’m sure there’s awards for mothers like me.”
With a chuckle, Knuckles stepped closer and set his hands on her hips. “Not a bar. Our clubhouse. I think she’d been there over an hour before I even knew she was there.”
Honestly, she felt the color drain from her face. “What? Who was she with?”
He gave her hips a squeeze. “Easy, Momma. My boy was interested, won’t lie. But then the girls started going on about school and he clued in. We don’t roll like that.” Then his eyebrows went high. “But your girl was ready to double up on a guy with her little friend.”
“Jesus.”
He smiled again. “Spaz isn’t an asshole. I’m the sober driver, he came to get me to get them out of there. I recognized Grace, called her friend’s dad to come and get her. They were gone and I got Grace home. Didn’t want to bother you.”
“Did Grace tell you about the party?”
Pulling her closer yet, he linked his hands at the small of her back. She had to uncross her arms, unsure of what to do with her hands, she set them on his chest.
“The girl passed out? Grace’s friend was the one that saw the pictures. She called the police. Grace went after the dude.”
That knocked her air out. “What?”
“Grace’s friend—Tina—was chatty. Went on and on about how Grace got a football player to kick the door in, then she knocked that little shit around a bit before the football player took over for her.”
Danielle’s mouth was hanging open, incredibly unattractive, no doubt. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Knuckles brought his face close enough that the smell of him, leather, and root beer on his breath blocked all else. “She snuck out, got drunk. Stepped up to help a classmate, then headed to the clubhouse when 5-oh showed up. I bet she was looking for me, Momma.”
Fuck, he was right. And he got her baby out of there, even though his friends weren’t the kind to take advantage of drunk teenage girls. At just the thought her insides turned to goo. It was even hard to remember why she was mad.
“Momma had a bad night,” he observed, head tilting.
“That girl died,” she whispered, lost in his eyes as her own filled with water.
“Come again?”
“That girl died. She took Sunshine. I think. It likely reacted with something else. Toxicology won’t come back until tomorrow or the day after. Then I got home and Grace was gone—”
“Oh, Momma,” he grumbled, pulling her into a hug. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You helped.”
“I did?”
“You took care of my girl,” she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut and feeling the warm tears run.
His arms tightened around her, then eased up. “Of course I did. I like your girls. Even though Grace swears like a dockworker and can’t hold her liquor for shit.”
Danielle’s laughed escaped on its own, feeling his chest shake as he did the same thing. “You’re so good to us. Thank you.”
“I haven’t done anything extraordinary, Momma. You just deserve having someone at your back every now and then.”
She lifted her head, keeping both arms around him. “Thank you.”
His smile faded, and her foolish romanticism fancied that he really understood how much she wanted someone at her back, even more than she needed someone in her bed.
“I’m here for you, Danielle. I don’t know what we’ve got going on exactly, all I know is I like it. You tease me a bit and it fucking works for me, big time.”
“I’m not a tease!”
Now he was grinning again, squeezing her. “I said I liked it, Momma. You making me work for it makes me really curious about what I’ll get once I’m in there.”
Her cheeks were flaming, but luckily it was dark. “I’m not a tease, I’m careful.”
“And I like all of that.” He brushed his nose along hers. “But Momma’s tired, so she should go to bed.”
“Do you want to come with me?” She’d shocked him. She could tell because he had no smart-ass reply. “I mean, wait a while until Grace passes out but—”
“You sure?” Smile gone, his voice now hoarse. That alarmingly colorless stare was i
ntense and serious. A fantastic look for him, to be honest.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
She barely had the words out and he was kissing her, arm up her back and holding her neck in place. She opened her mouth with a moan, hands winding up in his hair. His other hand clenched her ass, pulling her against his erection.
Holy shit. Where had that come from? A couple of seconds of kissing was apparently all it took. But who was she kidding? That tight hold, thrusting tongue and hard, lean body had her wet the second he’d wrapped her up in his arms.
“Ugh. Blarg! Do me a favor and never do that again!”
Danielle tried to pull away, but, although he ended the kiss, he held her tight as he shouted, “Go to bed, Grace.”
“Whatever. Fornicators!” Then she was gone from the doorway again.
“You still sure about that invite, Momma?”
Her blood still thundered in her ears, her heart raced, and her body throbbed with want. “I’m sure. Fifteen minutes, then come in the back door.”
As clueless as she was, it confused her further when he laughed. “Promise you’ll let me?”
Her face heated again. “Shut up.”
“Don’t get embarrassed.”
“I’m not!”
“I bet your ears are red.”
He’d win that bet, but she’d never admit it. “No.”
“And your neck. All the way down.” He dropped his head to nibble at her neck, beard brushing at her collarbone. “Down to these little tits. Fuck, I can’t stop thinking about them, Momma.”
“Knuckles...” She had no idea what she’d wanted to say.
“So perfect. I could fit a whole one in my mouth. I want to try that.”
It bore repeating that no one had ever spoken to her like that before, but no one should ever suggest she didn’t fucking love it. As long as it was Knuckles, that is. Danielle felt certain no one else could possibly render her a panting, dripping mess with this simple method.
When he straightened up and smiled down on her, she felt the wobble in her knees. “Go get ready, Momma. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He dropped his voice again. “But don’t you dare touch yourself. Getting you off is my job, yeah?”
The state of everything between her legs was a disgrace.
With a grin that indicated he was aware of the state of her underwear he headed back to his bike, to move it into the garage no doubt.
It proved to be a task but she returned to the house, locked the front door behind her, and hung her fleece back up. Her purse she slung over it, but she dug her phone out to charge it. After that, she walked through the kitchen, stepped down to the landing, and paused, hand on the back door’s dead bolt.
What the fuck was she doing?
She was letting this man into her bed, that’s what. So, fuck off, conscience.
The backdoor stood unlocked as she moved down the hallway to her bedroom, stopping to check on Annie. Still sleeping in the same position, unaware of any drama.
Grace’s room was dark, too. Danielle closed the window, then turned to gaze down on her first born, still fully dressed, asleep on the covers.
Danielle carefully removed her shoes, then her prosthesis and the sock underneath. When a thin throw was settled over her girl, Danielle closed the door and returned to her own room.
Now she had nerves. What the fuck did a person do in this situation? Slip into something more comfortable? That’d be an oversized beer shirt with sensible cotton panties.
Panties. Didn’t even have nice ones, and she wasn’t wearing her best. Actually, there was a hole along the elastic waistband.
Danielle grabbed a newer pair from the drawer and dashed into the bathroom. The pale pink Hanes somewhat matched her T-shirt. She pulled off her bra. Maybe he liked her comfortable and unfussy. He certainly hadn’t seen another version of her yet.
She tidied up some other laundry that had been laying around, then pulled the bedding into order. After an awkward moment, standing in the middle of the room staring at everything, trying to imagine it all through a man’s eyes, she turned off the overhead light and switched on the bedside lamp.
Next, she returned to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. It was after spitting out the minty foam and rinsing that she straightened, wiping her chin with a hand towel, that she saw Knuckles leaning on her doorframe.
For just a second she mentally cursed him for looking so chill. He’d ditched the leather and was just in his long-sleeved thermal and jeans, hands in pockets, certainly not as worked up or anxious as she was. What a jerk.
His grin was one-sided, and his eyes ran down her body. She kept her gaze on his reflection, almost like this might stop being reality if she turned around, because the look on his face gave away nothing but heat and lust.
“You snuck up on me,” she accused softly.
“Not hard. You’re not very aware of strange men wandering into the house,” he chided.
“I never said you were strange.” That was rewarded with a full grin, then he pushed off from the frame and slunk towards her. The way he moved suggested a lack of bones.
As he drew close enough to brush against her back, her hands tightened on the edge of the sink. Her throat constricted and she swallowed.
“These are cute,” he grumbled, hooking a finger in the waistband of her panties, running it back and forth.
“Thanks.”
“You sound nervous.” His eyes jumped up to hers in the mirror.
“I am.” She couldn’t believe she admitted that, but this nervousness made her honest.
His hands held her hips. He did that a lot, she realized. It was grounding, intimate, and supportive, all at once. As she watched his reflection he nuzzled her neck before softly kissing a spot behind her ear. “Why should you be nervous?”
At that kiss her eyes closed, now they opened again. “I just...am.”
“Are you scared of me?”
“Maybe a little.”
Another kiss, then his chin rested on her shoulder, beard prickling over her bare skin and through her shirt. To continue the intimacy, his arms crossed over her stomach. With no other options, she rested her hands on his arms. The move relaxed her, which had to be why he’d done it.
“You don’t have to be scared of me.”
“I know. It’s not that I’m scared of you, it’s just been such a long time.”
“How long?”
With a short laugh, she looked down at her hands. “How old’s Annie?”
He inhaled, arms tightening. “Are you serious?”
The next swallow was a hell of a lot harder. “Over nine months before that.”
Meeting his gaze again proved harder than she’d expected. Sweat broke out along her back. But she’d come this far.
“Annie and Grace’s father was...not well after Iraq. He drank, but he never got physical. Then he started taking barbiturates.”
“Jesus, Danielle.”
Saying her name softly, with such concern, was what prompted her to go on. “One night he got angry. Grace was sick, moody. I was trying to keep her from bothering him. I don’t know what set him off, but he...” Jesus, what an ugly word this was. Honestly, she’d never said this to anyone.
“Momma, can you tell me? Cause I’m imagining the worst.”
She nodded, heart racing. “He raped me. In the living room. Grace saw the start, I yelled at her to go to her room. There was no stopping him.”
The words were far too hollow, not nearly big enough to really encompass the internal destructions of that night. And yet, in the arms of this man she was only beginning to know, a slight weight eased out of her chest, off of her brain.
With a deep breath, she looked up into his eyes again, realizing then her mind had wandered off and her head had gone down with it. She couldn’t decipher his expression, but his hold and posture didn’t change.
“I got pregnant with Annie that night. The next morning, I packed up Grace and left.”
He maintained eye contact with her, then gave a deep exhale. “Momma.” Another kiss pressed to the side of her neck had her eyes closing. “You’ve been on your own ever since.” Not a question, a statement.
“Yeah. Man wise, yes. I had my girls.”
He stood straighter and turned her around, again gripping her hips. Back in his arms, she wound her own around his shoulders. That felt so normal. Natural.
The expression on his face seemed off, but she had no idea what it could mean. Maybe he was trying to nicely untangle himself from her messy drama and didn’t want to appear to be an asshole while doing it. She couldn’t blame him.
“How many people have you told that to?”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Until now, no one.”
Another squeeze. “Momma. I hope I’m worthy of that trust.”
“I think you are.”
They stood that way for a while, then he stepped back and took her hand. “Change of plans, Momma. I think you’re feeling a little too raw for our previously planned activities.”
She was, absolutely. And yet the disappointment still swelled.
“But I don’t want to leave you alone with that, either. So, we’re gonna cuddle and sleep.”
She had to smile. “Cuddle?” The word sounded funny coming from him.
“I’m good at it. Swear. And if you want, I’ll be out by the time the kids are up. Or I can stay. I’ll leave that up to you.”
She didn’t answer but, apparently, that was good enough for him. He pulled the blankets back on her side of the bed—which surprised her, but then she realized this side had a book, reading glasses and a glass of water next to it so no real mind trick to know what side she slept on—and tugged her by the arm towards the mattress.
“Come on, Momma. I’ll tuck you in.”
She climbed into bed and he flung the covers over her. As she watched he closed the door and circled the foot of the bed, pulling off the leather bands on his wrist then pulling the thermal off over his head.
Not staring wasn’t an option. She’d expected those clothes to come off in a much more emotionally charged moment, rife with lust. Turns out she could catch this first eyeful without any hormonal interference. Or, too much, anyway.
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