by KB Winters
“Since this is Las Vegas, no, no Hollywood party.” The rest of that statement didn’t warrant a response. Though Vegas had its own over the top culinary flair, Landry pretended like this was New York in the eighties. The only cutthroat person around was him, but his toxic personality turned the culinary press against him. And he was powerless to change it because he saw himself as flawless.
“I hear Dinah and Dean have booked a table for Saturday, I should call and let them know it’s not my dessert they’ll be eating,” I said.
“Absolutely not! Worried they’ll like my food better than yours?” he taunted like the sniveling little shit bastard he was. “Let’s see what they have to say.” Meaning he would lay the blame on me when they hated it.
“Sure,” I told him easily because the truth was, one of their production assistants had already called and I let it slip. Totally accidentally, of course. “So, next Saturday?”
He was already distracted, probably thinking of all the desserts he could fuck up and blame on me. “Yeah, sure. Take it off.”
I turned on my heels with a smile, walking away quickly before he remembered he changed his mind. My shift was over and I was ready to go home and put my feet up. Landry had me come in early to help with egg whites but I knew he really wanted to punish me for getting another mention from a critic. It was nice, but none of it really mattered because when I left Knead for good, I’d still need a recommendation from Landry.
I stopped just inside the exit to send a quick text to Teddy, letting her know she could count me among the guests for Jana and Max’s upcoming wedding. Now I had to find a dress and shoes and all that other crap that went along with dressing up, since the last time I dressed up it was to put my brother’s body in the ground. I wasn’t about to wear a funeral dress to a wedding.
The temperature had been in the high eighties all day, making the kitchen even hotter than the ten million ovens going at once. Now that the sun was so close to the horizon, the weather and the view was just about perfect. The light breeze whipped through my red V-neck tee, cooling my damp skin underneath. Cool air smacked against my nipples and just like that, I was back there, the night I buried Ammo, with Savior’s mouth closed around one stiff peak, staring at me with that wicked smile I couldn’t resist. Especially not in the thick of my grief over losing my older brother. My protector.
Even in my haze I made it to my car without being assaulted or accosted by anyone. Then a fucking brick came sailing through the back window, luckily, on the passenger side.
“Son of a bitch!”
I looked over my shoulder just in time to see some asshole in a hoodie running away. I didn’t know who it was, but I knew what he wanted.
To send a message.
Yeah, yeah. They wanted my skill at counting cards. I got it. Too bad they couldn’t have it. I put the car in drive and made my way home. I still hadn’t figured out what to do about Krissy and her thugs, but I would. And then this shit would stop.
“Hey, Mandy!”
I froze at the unfamiliar voice, clutching my keys between my fingers as I turned and stepped back.
“Oh, shit, Teddy. What’s up?”
“Not as enthusiastic as I was hoping for, but we’ll work on it. Shopping. I figured you probably wanted to do some shopping for San Diego and I came as support.”
“Who said I needed support?”
“Oh please. We both know you’ll go into the first boutique you find, grab something black or maybe plain blue you can wear again and again. I can help without taking all day.”
I was still skeptical. I liked Teddy just fine, yet, the last thing I wanted was to spend more time shopping.
Then, she sweetened the offer. “I’ll buy you a burger and a beer after.”
One look at her welcoming smile and my resistance melted in the Vegas sun. “Sold.”
She flashed a satisfied grin. “Good. I’ll wait until you’ve had a drink or two before I ask you what the hell happened to your window.” I groaned and she just laughed. “I’ll even let you take a shower first.”
“Wow, Teddy, and they say models are mean.”
She laughed at my deadpan delivery. “I’m a former model so maybe I’m losing my edge.”
“Yeah, right. You’re the type of chick born with an edge.” She was confident and tough, beautiful but not all in your face about it.
“Nah. Trust me, it was hard earned.”
There was a story there but we didn’t know each other well enough to share those kinds of secrets. She got in her car, followed me home and I welcomed her inside my apartment. “Now go get clean,” she said, “and I’ll wait out here.”
“Sure,” I said uncertainly as she began to look at my few books and pictures.
It didn’t take me long to scrub the kitchen stink off me and it had very little to do with the fact that Teddy was wandering loose inside my apartment. I didn’t waste time in the shower, ever.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t snoop,” she assured me when I returned to the living room. “I prefer to pry the info from my prey.”
The gleam in her eyes would’ve frightened me if there were anything remotely interesting about me. “You’d be disappointed.”
“Somehow I doubt that. Especially considering the energy I saw zapping between you and Savior.”
I shook my head. “Don’t even think about it. There’s nothing there and there’s nothing interesting about me.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
I guessed this was what I got for wanting friends.
Chapter 8
Savior
“You’re an old fucker if you need a pee break again. We’re practically back in Mayhem now,” I chortled, setting the stand on my bike and reaching for the gas nozzle.
Max glared at me and I just laughed back at him. He damn near ripped the cap off the bottle of water, probably imagining it was my head.
We were on our way back from a gun show just outside Reno, but the prospects had probably already made it back to the clubhouse with the guns.
“Fuck you, it’s ten thousand goddamn degrees out here.” He chugged one bottle before he stomped inside the gas station and came back out with two more bottles. “Too fucking hot!”
“Relax and drink your water. I won’t tell Jana she’s marrying a senior citizen as long as you promise to be generous with those early bird specials.” I laughed again when he flipped me off. “You ready to get married, man?”
Max’s face softened, setting the bottled on his saddle. “Fuck yeah. I mean, me and Jana are solid. I can’t wait to make her mine, you know? She saved my life, wouldn’t let me get lost in my bullshit.”
His smile was so genuine, so sincere it brought up a memory I hadn’t thought about in too long. The last time I saw my mother.
I was eleven and Mom was crying, thick black mascara or maybe it was eyeliner streamed down her cheeks, so she looked like the mess she was. Her latest loser du jour had threatened to leave because he hadn’t signed on “to be saddled with a brat.”
Strong words from a man who sat in his underwear all day before sneaking out after midnight to play pool and sell dope.
She was filled with tears and a genuine horror I’d never seen before. The thought of that asshole — Cal was his name — leaving had her so filled with fear she could barely form words. Then it got worse. She begged. On her goddamn knees, she begged that fucker not to leave her. And he looked at me with a gleam in his eyes and drew one side of his mouth up in a snarl and told her simply: “It’s him or me.”
I knew my fate before she even turned to look at me. Her eyes pleading with me to understand. I knew she wanted me to give her some sign it was okay to choose that prick over me. Even at eleven I was a stubborn little shit. I didn’t want her to go with him or to leave me, but even as a kid I knew I couldn’t let her see it. I couldn’t let her or Cal see that weakness.
I went to my room and when I came out the next morning, they were both gone. No note or
memento, just a coffee can with three hundred and forty-six dollars and two rolls of quarters.
“Damn man, where’d you go?”
Max’s voice pulled me from memories best left buried. “Some different variation of hell.”
“No shit,” he commiserated. Max was all fucked up with PTSD when he came to Mayhem looking for his brother, but with the help of a head shrinker and a hot little blonde, the man was weeks away from getting married. “Never goes away, but when the day ends and there are more good memories than bad, it’s a good fucking day.”
That was about all most of us could hope for. More good than bad, because there was no fucking chance the memories went away. They sometimes hid for a while, took a break until you thought that shit was behind you, then they crept up on you like a fucking sniper’s bullet. “Waking up to a beautiful woman doesn’t hurt.”
“Definitely doesn’t.” He flashed a satisfied grin. “What’s up with you and Mandy?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” He grinned like he knew something but Mandy didn’t strike me as the girl talk kind of woman.
“I overheard Jana and Teddy talking. Teddy says something definitely happened between you two,” he said, his gaze too damn studious for my liking.
“Nothing did.”
“Since the funeral,” he finally added.
“Smug prick.” A laugh roared out of him, startling the young couple in the VW bug at the air pump.
“So, you fucked her after her brother’s funeral and then you told her it was a huge mistake, is that about right?”
I nodded.
“Then I left town and I hadn’t seen her until she showed up at the clubhouse last month.” Shit, had it already been a month? Why the fuck was I counting?
“And in the last month you’ve been reading the Bible together?”
I laughed. “Well we’ve both spent time on our knees.”
“So, Teddy was right? Do you like her or are you just getting your dick wet?”
“Does it matter?”
We had rules in the club, but we also didn’t get all up in each other’s personal business unless it interfered with club business.
“No, I’m just curious.”
That pulled another laugh out of me. “When did you become such a gossip?”
He shrugged and got back on his bike. “It’s fucking Jana and Teddy. No, it’s women. They have this way of making everything sound like shit you just have to hear. And the worst part? It’s always juicy gossip, about people I don’t fucking know!”
I laughed and kicked my engine into gear. “You domesticated pussy.”
He flipped me off with another laugh as he mounted his own bike. “Yeah, but I go to sleep and wake up with a warm, sexy woman in my arms. Half the time she makes me breakfast.”
“And the other half?”
“She makes it for me,” he said with a smug grin and took off, leaving me to catch up with his crazy ass.
We were only about a hundred miles from home; I used that time to clear my head, even though Max’s words kept playing in my head. The way he looked when he talked about Jana and their future was a far cry from the shell-shocked half a person he’d been when he first got here. I was happy for him, but that future wasn’t for me.
When we made it back to the clubhouse, Max stomped over to me looking as serious as I’d seen him in a long time.
“I got sidetracked by that fucking gossip,” he grumbled and raked a hand through his hair. “Teddy said someone busted Mandy’s window out. She was cagey about it, said it was random but Teddy didn’t believe her.”
I knew who’d done it, even if I didn’t know their names. Yet. “Thanks, Max.”
“She all right?”
“She will be. Let’s go handle our business so you can get home to your woman.”
That stubborn woman was enough to drive a man to drink, and I was already a drinkin’ man.
***
“So, you are alive,” I said as soon as Mandy opened the door, looking good enough to eat in short pink shorts and tight white top that cupped her tits perfectly. One little bead of sweat trickled down her jaw to her neck, making a straight line down her chest and between the little shadowed spot between her breasts. Fucking delectable.
“Have you heard otherwise?”
“Always the smartass. I wasn’t sure, since you’ve been doing a pretty good job of ignoring me.”
She rolled her eyes and walked away, giving me a long look at the sweet curve of her ass. Firm but meaty, enough to hold on to when the fucking got way too good.
“I didn’t realize you were looking for me.”
“Even with that pretty little face of yours honey, you ain’t sellin’ innocent.”
She shrugged and grinned. “It was worth a shot. Look, I told you I don’t need you checking up on me and I figured Teddy told you about my window and you were coming around to He-Man someone over it.”
I laughed. “With these good looks, I’m more of a Batman.” She wasn’t far off the mark otherwise though. “Who says I didn’t come for sex?”
“Did you?”
Her nipples poked through the tank top and my mouth watered because I knew she had a bra on; the blue cotton peeked over the swell of her cleavage.
She was turned on by my suggestion. “Would that be all right?”
She shrugged. “Other than the fact it would be a massive mistake? Hell yeah.” She stood, half eager and half hesitating before her shoulders fell. “What are you doing here, Savior?”
“Did you get your window fixed?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to the wedding?” She nodded and I had to clamp my teeth together to stop from screaming at her stubborn ass.
“I am.”
“Did you make sure you got a room at the hotel with us?” I knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, because it was like her fucking mantra, never wanting anyone’s help. But San Diego was a tourist town and she was a petite woman who stood no chance against a strong, determined man.
“No. I’m coming the day of the wedding and leaving that night.”
“Fuck no.”
She took a step back. “Excuse me? Who do you think you are?”
“I don’t want to hear it, Mandy. You’re not driving all that way, not alone. I’ll pick you up.”
Why the fuck was I being so high handed with her?
“Go to hell, Savior. I’m not your kid, not your sister and I am not your responsibility!”
She began to push at me with everything she had, which was a lot, but we both knew I only moved because I wanted to. “Get out and go find someone else to babysit and harass!”
“But you’re my favorite person to harass,” I told her with a wry grin.
“Go away,” she groaned but I could see the way her lips twitched, like she was hiding her smile. “I’ll see you around.”
“You will. I’ll pick you up at nine on Thursday morning. Don’t be late.” She grunted at me and continued to push me toward the door. When we were close I flipped our positions and pressed her against the door, pushing my body against her enough to make her react but not enough to hurt. “Got it?”
She looked up at me and those icy green eyes darkened to jade to go along with that sexy gasp she couldn’t stop if she wanted to.
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
Her voice was husky because she couldn’t control how her body responded to me, but she meant what she said.
“Damn you’re so fucking frustrating.” Her eyes lit with mischief as my mouth crashed down on hers, devouring the sweet lemony flavor on her tongue, the soft slick of her plump lips against mine. The way her fingers looped through my waistband possessively sent all the blood in my body straight to my cock. Her small, wiry arms wrapped around my neck and she jumped into my arms, wrapped her legs around my waist so her hot pussy was right where I wanted it. I squeezed her ass and she sucked on my tongue, moaning from deep in her belly.
She felt so good in my arms that I wished we were both naked, so I could thrust deep, impale her on my cock. And I knew she’d let me and she wouldn’t even be self-conscious about being all sweaty from working out or cleaning. I didn’t care, in fact I liked her like this. My mouth watered to taste more of her. She pulled back, her eyes hazy with desire. Slowly surprise took over.
“You . . . you are dangerous. I’ll see you when I get to San Diego, Savior. Not before.”
She pointed a finger at me. I bit it.
“Stop that.”
“I’ll let you think about that kiss for the next few days. And then I’ll see you bright and early Thursday morning, sweetheart.”
I let her slide down my body, gritting my teeth the entire time to keep from taking what we both wanted.
“Do what you want and I’ll do the same.”
Mandy and her smart mouth were gonna get her in trouble. “Don’t test me, Mandy.”
“Don’t boss me around, Savior.”
Damn she was hot when she got all pissed off, which she did a lot.
“Nine o’clock.” I pulled the door open and walked through it. “Lock the door.”
She muttered angrily from the other side of the door and I smiled, wondering if her skin was all flushed like it was when she got pissed off. If her nipples were tight little beads. But still, the door didn’t lock.
“Mandy.” I gave her one full minute. A full fucking minute and still she didn’t lock the door, not even the one inside the knob. I pushed the door open and watched her eyes light with surprise as I pushed her into the wall with my body.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“What you wanted when you decided not to lock the fucking door.”
I dipped my hand into the waistband of her shorts, past the small scrap of cotton and right into the dripping nectar between her thighs.
“So fucking wet.”
I slid my finger deep until it was coated. She pulsed around me as I pulled it out and we both groaned.
She watched, with her lips slightly parted as I put that finger in my mouth and sucked it clean. Mandy choked on a gasp and then licked her lips in desire. “You came back just for that?”