We rolled in the dirt, punching each other. Pretty soon I stopped fighting back. It was good just to feel the pain. It was my own way of doing penance for hurting Krista. I let Skeeter beat the shit out of me.
Finally he pulled his punch and sat on my chest. “Is that enough Hail Marys for you?”
I nodded and he rolled off. We both lay covered in dirt, bruises and blood. He was right, though. She didn’t deserve what I had done. I was the fucking asshole.
Skeeter turned his head and looked at me. “If you wanna have something real with her, go ahead. No one is gonna stand in your way. If you wanna pay her, well, that’s her choice. But keep it fair. Don’t hurt her just because you didn’t know the score. She doesn’t deserve that and I’m not gonna let it happen.”
Raindrops splattered on my face. Goddamn Washington State.
Skeeter held his hands up to the sky and yelled, “Sweet Mary’s benediction!”
We both laughed. I gave him a hand up and we went to work unloading the van. We were soaked through by the time everything was in the warehouse. Skeeter was a crazy fucker, and a good guy. He was an excellent fighter and pretty funny too. Setting up the security cameras went quickly, and then we turned around and went home.
The miles back to the clubhouse sped by. I liked Skeeter. I even liked him better for beating the shit out of me.
“Thanks for kicking my ass. I needed it.”
Skeeter grinned. “If you need another beating, you just come to me. I’m your guy.”
I laughed. Yeah, I liked this asshole. “How about we get a beer? After a shower.”
Krista wasn’t behind the bar when we walked into the clubhouse. I looked around, but she wasn’t anywhere. I’d seen her car on the way in, but she was nowhere. Shit.
I hit the shower. I’d talk to her later.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Colt
Hell, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. I knew I wanted to tell her I was sorry for the stupid shit I pulled last night. But I didn’t want to pick up where we left off. I couldn’t be with someone who fucked other guys all the time. I needed to be the only dick in her life. I could ask her to quit, but I wanted her to want to quit.
With Tina, I didn’t see the whole picture, I only saw what she portrayed. I loved the person I wanted her to be, not the person she really was. I wanted to love Krista for who she was, but she was a whore.
As I got out of the shower, I heard something. It was a woman, crying out.
“No, no!”
The screams were soft, but still there. Shit. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I ran out into the hall. I listened at a couple of doors before finding the right one.
“No, no! Please, no!”
It was Krista, pleading. Fuck. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I took a few steps back and slammed into the door. The lock burst and the door flew open. I followed the momentum right onto the bedroom floor, with my towel lost somewhere in the hall.
“Colt? What the hell?” Krista screeched.
She was splayed out on the bed wearing black lacy panties and nothing else. Her wrists and feet were each tied to a bedpost. One of the brothers I met at church, Russ, was standing there stark naked, holding a whip and his dick.
“What the fuck, man?” Russ yelled. “Wait your fucking turn!”
“Are you okay?” I asked her. I needed to hear it from her. “I heard yelling. Is he hurting you?”
She waved a hand. “I’m fine. We’re...working.”
I covered her up with a small blanket that was hanging over a chair. She wasn’t being raped, she was in the middle of providing a service, just like yesterday. Except today was different. It wasn’t just a quickie in the hall where I knew she was thinking of me. This was intimate. Her beautiful tits had been displayed for the fucking asshole who stood naked in the corner. She was his for an hour, even when her body was covered with fading hickies from me. She was mine, except she let this asshole touch her for money.
“Look, we’ll talk later, okay?” She blushed.
We’d never really had time for much more than quick tumbles—I was completely jealous of the hour Russ had with her. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was mine...but those black panties weren’t for me.
Images of her flickered through my brain. Her face as she came while she was riding my dick, her face as she came while I sucked on her clit.
Fuck, all my blood was rushing to my dick and I was fucking naked. I covered my chubby with my hand. “Sorry.”
I turned to leave, and saw Bear and a few other guys standing in the hall.
“What the hell kinda shit are you guys into?” Bear crossed his arms over his chest. “We heard a big crash.”
The guys were enjoying the spectacle. Fuck. I had intended to apologize to Krista, but instead she would be the butt of every joke at the club.
“Didn’t think you boys knew each other well enough for this sorta thing,” Bear cracked.
Shit. Me and Russ were both naked and Krista was chained up on the bed. The crowd in the hall busted up laughing again.
Russ put down his whip. “Just untie her. I think I’m done for the afternoon.” He turned and walked into the bathroom. Leaving just me, Krista and the whole damn club as an audience.
I let my dick swing in the breeze and untied her. She sat up and I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.
“Hey, man, you want this?” A damp towel hit my back. Someone had thrown it at me.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered it. I didn’t want the whole crowd to hear me and make it any worse.
She just shook her head and stood up and handed me my towel. “Glad you liked what you saw.” The last word ended in a sob, and she left me standing by the bed.
She stood, facing the crowd of assholes who were still gathered in the hall. Her gorgeous ass, covered in black lace, peeked out of the bottom of the damn blanket. Hell yes, I liked what I saw, and I saw my woman.
“Krista, wait. We should talk.”
The guys in the hall hooted. “We should talk,” someone said in a high-pitched voice.
I didn’t give a shit. They could make fun of me all they wanted, just as long as they weren’t poking fun at her.
Skeeter stepped out of the crowd and put his arms around her. He glared at me over his shoulder and escorted her out into the hall. Bear and his buddies parted ways and let her through. I was left stark naked, standing in Russ’s room. Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Krista
My legs were cold as I sat on my bed. Skeeter sat next to me with his arm over my shoulders.
“You’re the first guy to be in my room,” I told him.
What I meant was that he was the first client to be in my room. Colt didn’t count. After tricks, I took a shower and took some time for myself. In the beginning, I’d cried after every guy. This room, it was my haven, and now one of my johns was sitting here with me.
“Do you want me to leave?” He squeezed my shoulders and I scooted away from him. I knew he meant well. He wasn’t going to try and rape me or anything scary. Skeeter was a good guy, but he was still in my space.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Skeet, but I wanna be alone.”
He nodded and got up. “I like Colt. I hope you two work it out.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze and the door clicked as he left.
I didn’t want to work it out. I was done. Our time together had changed me. Changed me so much that I didn’t know how to live my own life anymore. I had two weeks left of this old life and it was going to goddamn kill me.
Russ and I had met up a few times over the last year. He liked to whip, but he paid extra—that’s why I’d sought him out today. But the moment he tied me up, I felt like I was going to be sick. I could
n’t stand the thought of anyone but Colt. Touching me. Inside me.
I ran to my tiny bathroom and puked. The last time I had thrown up was after a foursome took a turn I wasn’t expecting. Sex with women was not my favorite, but it didn’t leave me emotionally scarred. Men paid a lot and women were usually nonthreatening. But this particular foursome was with three other men and I was used. I was willing; the price they offered was more than a year’s tuition. I never said no, not once during. But I should have.
Someone knocked on my door. It had to be Colt. Everyone else knew that when I’m in my room, leave me alone.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t see his eyes. I couldn’t see him standing there, smelling vomit on my breath. The sad little whore. I couldn’t do it anymore. Colt had ruined me.
He knocked again.
I pulled the blanket closer around me, as if it would somehow protect me from this shame I was feeling about myself.
There was silence for a long time, and then I heard boots thump back down the hall. He was gone and I was glad.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Krista
I couldn’t sleep, so I turned on my ancient computer and filled out as many job applications as I could. Not that I had much to put on those applications. Most companies didn’t care how many years you had spent fucking bikers. My previous experience—other than stripping—had been a burger joint, a diner and a lawyer’s office. I got fired the first day at the lawyer’s office, so I couldn’t put that on my resume. Apparently they get real touchy when you fax things to the wrong number, especially when it is the opposing counsel. Damn.
Tomorrow I would go around to all the bars in town. I could make a few decent drinks and tap a keg. Maybe even the liquor distributor where the club bought their whiskey would have something. I would ask Tate if he could talk to them for me.
Rain was pounding on our shared porch roof when I knocked on Janice’s door just as the sun was rising. She wasn’t answering, so I left a note. It wasn’t ideal, but I could ask Janice for a job at Jiggles. I couldn’t give dances or work on the pole, but even as a bartender or waitress, I could probably make enough money to support us.
When there were no jobs left for me to apply for, I dropped Becky off at Señora Lopez’s early. I was going to cram as many hours into these two weeks as I could. Same with tricks. I decided to give myself tonight off, but tomorrow it was time to get back to work. Rent was due in two days and I needed the cash.
I never wanted to look at a guy and try to figure out how to make him want me ever again. I never wanted to figure out some guy’s triggers to make him come faster. I wanted a guy to be with me because he loved me. But the reality was, I didn’t have that luxury. If I had to go back to crying after every trick, I would. I needed to pay my rent.
To keep my family together, I would do any job necessary. Right now, that was cleaning a toilet shared by multiple bikers. I tried to clean the bathroom at the clubhouse every other day, but with yesterday’s embarrassment from hell, I was overdue. I daydreamed as I scrubbed the toilet bowl. Instead of scrubbing a nasty toilet shared by six bikers, I was going to a job interview. Of course, it was a professional job. They were dazzled by my tenacity to graduate with my associate’s in accounting as well as raise my beautiful daughter.
“Please tell us about your skills.”
I talked about accounts payable and receivable, even the tax laws that applied to corporations versus small businesses. I rocked that fucking interview.
“She’s great at blow jobs and regular sex. She’ll even do anal, but that’s extra.”
That bit came through in Skeeter’s voice. He’d already witnessed the ruin of my personal life, he might as well be there to watch me fuck up my professional life as well. My interviewer frowned.
“I’m sorry, we just don’t have anything that fits your skill set.”
Because my skill set included knowing which lube worked the best for having sex when you weren’t aroused.
I threw down the toilet brush and stretched. I needed a break, more than just one night. From cleaning, from sex, from life. Too bad I wasn’t gonna get one. I needed to pay my damn rent. If I didn’t have an apartment, CPS would swoop in and take Becky without a second thought. I could take today off, but then I needed to come up with some cash, fast.
Someone pounded on the steel door downstairs. Usually I let the guys get the door, but I was the only one at the clubhouse. I ignored it and went back to my cleaning. The pounding continued and I had to see what was going on.
The porthole in the steel door was dirty—I made a note to clean that later. So I opened the door a crack.
It was Robby. Holy shit, what the hell was he doing here?
I threw the door wide open. “Where the hell is my money?” I demanded.
“Uh...” He paused. The wheels inside Robby’s brain weren’t very powerful, so they had to crank extra hard to do anything other than eat, sleep, fuck, or smoke. “I came to tell you that your investment will be paying off in a few days. I’m gonna give you part of my cut.”
“My investment?” I looked around for something to throw at him. There were a couple of empty highballs on a little table. I grabbed both of them. “I didn’t invest anything. You stole every cent I had. How the hell am I supposed to pay rent?”
I threw a glass. Robby danced out of the way and the glass shattered on the wet concrete.
“How am I supposed to afford food for my daughter? Our daughter? You ever think of her, you piece of shit?” I threw the other glass.
“Stop throwing things, you crazy bitch!” Robby backed up farther into the parking lot. “Look, I’ll get your money, but you gotta help me out. I just need your help to do it.”
“I’ll fucking help you into the grave!” Spit flew out of my mouth. It wasn’t very ladylike, but there was no more glassware to throw.
I walked outside. There had been many times in my marriage that I packed an overnight bag, bought some duct tape and a big kitchen knife, and planned to cut off his dick in his sleep. But I’d just ended up with a drawer full of butcher knives.
Today was different.
My vision arrowed to him. To his greasy, nasty face full of meth pocks. I walked straight through the shards of glass toward him. There weren’t any weapons nearby, so I would just have to use whatever I could. His face was still a little bruised from where Colt had punched him at my apartment. I would hit him there first.
Somehow my walking turned into a run. I cranked my arm and shoulder back as though I were in the majors and let fly. I missed. Fuck. The little weasel started to run and laugh. He was laughing at me.
There was nothing else for me to do except follow. I ran. He was never going to give me back that money he stole. Hell, it was probably already gone by now.
About halfway across the parking lot, he stumbled, and I was ready for it. I drew back my arm again and swung. This time, I connected with his back and sent him tumbling, facedown, into the pavement. Kneeling, I prepared for another swing, when I found myself eating pavement, too, with a heavy leather-clad weight on top of me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Colt
It was too late. I couldn’t change course; I was running too fast and too hard. When the guy tripped, I knew Krista was gonna go for blood. Her arm flew back and the only thing I could do was slam into her.
Hitting the ground is always a surprise when you’re in a fight. Your field of focus shrinks and the only thing you see is your target. You always start out swinging, but everything becomes slick with blood and the fight quickly deteriorates into a slow-motion ice skating competition. If you have the better balance, you win. Often you end up hitting the ground, hard.
But Krista didn’t lose her balance, I smashed into her. I wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready, we just collided. I should
have tried to cushion her fall, but I didn’t. I just didn’t have time to think, only to act. She ended up flat on the pavement, and I landed on top of her soft body, smelling her shampoo.
“Get off of me!”
I rolled off, but still kept my hand on her. I needed to keep her away from the asshole she was preparing to kill. She wasn’t just trying to punch the guy, I could see it in her face. She was out for blood, lots of it.
It looked like Robby, her asshole ex. But he was moving quick and I only saw his back as he hauled ass out of the parking lot. Skeeter ran after him and they both disappeared out the gate.
As soon as she stood, she tried to take off. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but Krista was losing her shit all over this asshole on a public street. No matter what happened, this wouldn’t end well. I threw an arm around the front of her waist and hauled her up against me.
“What happened?” I asked. I tried to stroke her hair, but she fought me. Fingernails in my hands, kicking at my shins. I just held her against me and let her thrash.
She tried to twist around in my grip. No way I was letting go of her. She was pissed enough that she didn’t care who she hurt right now. She wasn’t going to do any damage, but she would feel bad that she lashed out when the red haze cleared.
“Let me go. I’m gonna kill that fucking asshole.”
I asked twice more and got the same answer. Skeeter was still chasing after the guy, so I did the only thing I could think of.
I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder, and brought her up to my room.
“Put me down!” She kicked the entire way up the stairs. But after she nearly hit her head on a sprinkler pipe, she stopped trying to fight me.
I set her on the edge of the mattress and stood by the door while she fumed. Not at all how I envisioned our first encounter in my bed.
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