“So, you knew it was me?”
Wincing, he tried to remove her claws when they sank in even deeper. “I just said I did.”
“If you knew it was me, then where are my panties?”
34
Jo stared down at the drop cloth that had rows after rows of bike parts splayed out on them. Picking the engine parts out to work on, she carried them to the worktable.
“What are you doing out here?”
Startled, Jo turned to see Rider coming inside the garage.
“What are you doing up? I thought you would still be sleeping.” She had left him sleeping in her bedroom. She had ended up falling asleep on his lap in the security room last night, with him nudging her awake in the morning. After his shift had ended, they had come back to her house to crash in her bedroom. It was only twelve, so she had assumed he would be sleeping much longer.
“Why didn’t you bring your computer?”
She frowned at his annoyed expression. “I didn’t think I needed it with you sleeping in the bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t be much help sleeping if Curt, Tanner, or Justin showed up.”
“I wouldn’t need your help anyway. I keep my gun in the garage now that I’m no longer having to keep it in the tow truck.”
“I’m going to schedule you for a conceal and carry license.”
“Don’t bother. I won’t carry it. The thing gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
She felt him coming up behind her as she arranged the engine parts. Then she leaned back against him when he slid his arms around her waist and rubbed his rough cheek against hers.
“Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you before you have to go to work.”
“I’ll never get back to sleep. Want some help?”
“Depends if you’re going to pick on me for the way I do things.”
“Would I do that?” Giving her a lingering kiss, he moved to the side to stare down at that mangled parts.
“Constantly. You can’t help yourself.”
She enjoyed working beside him, to have someone to bounce ideas around with, and especially when he helped her scavenge for the parts she needed. She wished she had more motorcycles in the graveyard to work. She decided to take one day next week to go through the junkyard in Jamestown. It could be fun picking through another yard like hers.
“You want me to fix you some breakfast?”
“No, I ate some cereal.”
“Which ones? The Froot Loops or the Cap’n Crunch?”
“The Cap’n Crunch. The Froot Loops box was empty.”
Jo gave him a censoring gaze. “That’s because you put it back in the cabinet instead of throwing it away.”
“Me? I’m pleading the fifth.”
Jo rolled her eyes. “It’s just not fair that you look so good when you eat like a garbage disposal.”
“What can I say? Genetics.”
“Does your family look as good as you?”
“Better.”
“Of course they do. Life is never fair. Do you get to see your family often?”
“Often enough. We should go to the grocery store. I finished off the Cap’n Crunch.”
She took the change of subject in stride. He kept any discussion of his family to a minimum. She had almost asked Rachel several times if his parents were living, and if they were, where did they live, but then had decided against it. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her. She didn’t talk about her mother. Not that there was much to say. They had grown distant since her remarriage had her growing closer to her stepchildren than to her.
It was two hours later when they stepped back to survey the work they had done.
“You want to fire it up to see if it works?” Rider asked, wiping off his hands.
“No, I’ll wait until tomorrow. Why spoil the rest of the day if it doesn’t? I’m going to fix us some lunch. I’m starving. You coming?”
“In a minute. I want to check it over again and make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
“You’re going to see if it works, aren’t you?”
He grinned.
“Then I’ll leave you to it. Just don’t tell me if it doesn’t.”
“Coward.”
“Nope. I’m about at the point of telling Cash that it can’t be fixed. I’m giving him another day of keeping the hope alive.”
“Okay,” he drawled out. “That’s a little nutty, but I won’t say anything if it doesn’t work.”
“I’d have to be a little nutty to love you,” she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “Don’t take long. I’m making steaks and potatoes.”
She turned on her heel, rushing toward the open garage door.
“Whoa!” he yelled out. “You can’t say that to a man, then take off running!”
“Say what?” Assuming an innocent expression, she poked her head back inside the garage, keeping her body outside.
“You just told me you love me.”
“Did I? Do you want yours medium or well-done?”
“Yes, and I like it rare.”
“Cool.” She hurried away, this time not stopping when she heard him swearing inside.
After taking a quick shower, she put the steaks on the grill and checked on the potatoes she had put in the microwave before getting dressed. She was putting them on the plates when Rider came in the door.
“Smells good,” he complimented, going to the sink to wash his hands.
“It does.” She stared proudly at her accomplishments. The steak and potatoes looked picture-perfect.
Rider enthusiastically sat down at the table with her.
Sliding the butter close to him, she watched his face as he cut his steak. Her shoulders dropped when she saw he was having trouble cutting it.
“I may have gone past the rare stage.”
“Bluebonnet, you blew through that stage and went to the charcoal stage again,” he said with laughing eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it; my teeth need the workout.”
She threw her napkin at him. “It’s not that bad—” She broke off what she had been about to say when she saw he was having a problem opening the potato.
“You like your food well-done, that’s for sure.”
Jo covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sooo sorry.”
“No worries. It’s nothing that a lot of ketchup and butter won’t make better.”
“I need to add that to the shopping list, too.” Miserably, she promised herself she was going to learn to cook, even if she had to buy a new stove.
He earned another piece of her heart when he cleaned his plate and asked if there was any more.
Jo went to the kitchen cabinet, digging into the back. She took out a small box of Cookie Crisp cereal.
He gave her a disappointed expression. “It’s a sad day when your old lady has to hide your favorite cereal.”
“It’s self-preservation for when you get on my nerves,” she said, reaching for the milk jug and a bowl for him.
“How do I get on your nerves?”
“When you call me old lady, and when you eat the last of the Cap’n Crunch.”
“That’s only because they’re my favorites.”
“Judge, I rest my case.” Joking, she stole one of the cookies from the box before giving it to him.
Rider ate two bowls before patting his stomach. Taking his cell phone out, he glanced at it. “That should tide me over until morning. I need to be going, or Train will kick my ass for being late again.”
“I agree. He didn’t seem happy last night.” She tipped her chair forward, stealing another cookie. Then she stood up to put the box back in the cabinet, but Rider caught her arm before she could move away from the table.
“You want to come and keep me company again tonight?”
She had been dreading him leaving, though feigning unconcern. She didn’t want to appear too eager to spend the night with him instead of watching another boring movie or trying to read a book she
had no interest in.
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure.” He gave her a tender grin that had her giving the cereal box back. “Give me five minutes to change.”
He plunged his hand back into the box, taking out several cookies. “You don’t have to change.”
“I’ll just be a second.” Dashing into her bedroom, she changed her sweater to a flannel shirt, then grabbed a sweater for added comfort, buttoning it closed.
Rider stood up, laughing when she came out of the bedroom.
“How many layers did you put on?”
“A few,” she answered primly.
“Damn, woman, you’re taking the fun out of spending the night with you.”
“That’s the plan.” She went into the kitchen, grabbing an empty grocery bag from the drawer to pack his favorite popcorn and what was left of the cereal. “I’m ready.”
“You didn’t put in any snacks for yourself?”
“Jerk, you’ll be lucky if I share one kernel with you and don’t ask you to swing by and pick up Mag. She keeps asking when you’re going to keep your promise to me.”
“You can tell her the truth. That hell will freeze over first.”
Jo munched on her popcorn as she swung her foot back and forth, watching the cameras.
“Do they ever give it a rest?”
Rider was sitting on the computer chair next to her, turning his head at her voice.
“No.”
“You could have humored me and lied.”
“How could I lie? You have a bunch of cameras in front of you, telling you that I was.”
“Ember is being friendly again.”
“When she isn’t, I’ll get worried,” he said matter-of-factly.
Her elbows on the desk, she propped her jaw on her hand.
Ember was standing on the bar, dancing as the men egged her on, all except for one man. Moon was sprawled out on the couch with his mouth buried in a woman she had seen sitting at a table with the night before. F.A.M.E was standing beside the arm of the couch as the woman fucked Moon while giving the other man a blowjob.
“I saw her last night.”
“Who?” Rider looked at the camera she was watching.
“The woman on the couch with Moon and F.A.M.E.”
“That’s Mercury.”
“Mercury is her nickname?”
“Yes.”
“Who gives the women their nicknames.”
“The brothers do.”
“I see.” Biting her lip, she watched Mercury’s experienced mouth that made her embarrassed at her novice efforts when she had given Rider one. “How do the men make up their nicknames.”
“Don’t ask questions—”
“I want to know.”
“Stori got her nickname because the brothers had a story each time they fu—did her. Ember got her nickname because she set them on fire when—”
“I get the picture.” She cut him off. “What’s Rachel’s nickname?”
His expression became guarded. “You trying to get my ass kicked?”
“I won’t tell anyone, I swear.” Jo mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
“Vixen.”
“What’s Winter’s?”
“Shy Girl.”
“Lily’s?”
“Angel.”
“Willa’s?”
“Siren.”
“Beth’s?”
“Kitten.”
At the rapid questioning, Rider swung his chair toward her.
“I call you Bluebonnet. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s better than old lady,” she mumbled into her hand.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.”
“I answered your questions; the least you can do is answer mine.”
“It isn’t sexy. It isn’t special like Angel, or Kitten, and for sure isn’t Vixen.”
“It could be worse. It could be Killyama. And I think you’re sexy when your bluebonnet eyes get all murky when you give me a blowjob.”
“Do I look that gullible?”
“A man can only hope.”
She wasn’t amused by his wiggling eyebrows.
“Well, it’s only going to be a forlorn hope until you come up with a better nickname.”
“Well,” he mocked wickedly, “I may need some inspiration.”
Jo glumly watched Mercury sucking F.A.M.E’s cock like she was determined to keep the men’s attention on her instead of Ember dancing on the bar. The thought had her swinging her chair around to study him.
“I keep meaning to ask. Is that monitor broken?” She missed the start he gave at her question to check out if he was getting excited from what was going on in the clubroom.
“Yes, I have a new one ordered. It hasn’t come in yet.”
“Oh, is it one of the cameras at my place?”
“Yes, it’s not an important one. It just shows the side of the garage.”
“That’s good to know.”
Damn, she couldn’t tell if the bulge in his jeans was the normal size or not. She promised herself to check him out when they were watching a movie at her house.
“Are you staring at my dick?”
Flushing, she swung forward. “No.”
“You were.” His laughter filled the small room.
Giving him a dirty look from over her shoulder, she admitted, “Okay, I was. I was trying to see if you were getting hard watching Ember and Mercury.”
He kicked his chair out from under the desk, leaned back, and held his arms to the sides. “Come and find out.”
35
Mercury and Ember didn’t have a problem making their desires known. When they wanted something, they reached out and took it. None of the men on the cameras had made a move on the women that hadn’t been initiated by them. Now she could understand how no one had hit on Aly when she had been pretending interest in becoming one of The Last Riders’ women. She had never initiated the contact.
She could sit here and wonder if Rider was getting excited, or she could be brazen enough to find out in a way that might earn her a new nickname.
Sliding out of her chair, she dropped to her knees, falling between Rider’s thighs. Then she slid her hands up his thighs to audaciously unbutton his jeans and pull out his soft cock. As she stroked his length, it became aroused.
Wetting her lips, she leaned down, giving small breaths to provoke the response she wanted. As his cock stiffened, straining upward to his belly button, she let her tongue come out to trace the veins that began appearing, following the most prominent one that led to the helmet of his cock.
She explored the head as if she had never given him a blowjob before, and truthfully, she had been so nervous she hadn’t given him the attention he had deserved. She made up for it now, searching the front before investigating the back. Then she sucked the head into her mouth, letting her salvia wet the spongy tip as it rested on her bottom lip. Blowing her breath on him again, she couldn’t resist giving him a smug look when she felt his cock jerk.
“Personally, I think your nickname is too tame.”
“You do?” he hissed out between clenched teeth. He might have been watching the cameras, but his body was giving her all his attention.
“I do … I would have nicknamed you something more legendary.” Sucking his cock into her mouth again, she curled her tongue so she could encase him in the warmth of her mouth.
“Like what?”
She didn’t answer him, moving her head forward and sucking his cock farther back into her mouth, like the way she had seen Mercury do. Bobbing her head over him, she mouth-fucked him, using her fingers to gauge how deep she was taking him. Each time she went down, she was determined to take him in deeper and suck harder. When he clenched a fistful of her hair, she knew his desire was escalating.
Needing oxygen, she released his cock with a pop, using her hand to mimic what her mouth had been doing.
“Something like Dragon or”—she
rubbed the head over her bottom lip, watching him from lowered lashes—“Titanium.”
Twin emotions of conceit and doubt crossed his face. It was priceless to watch him try to decipher if she really believed what she was saying or just heightening the pleasure of his blowjob.
She might not be a bubble-headed blonde or a sexy siren, but she knew one quality Rider had in abundance was conceit.
Playing to his puffed-up ego, she tried to think of another nickname that would boost his pleasure. The only one she could come up with in her blank mind was Thor, and she didn’t think that even Rider would believe she thought of him as the Viking god.
Deciding to quit while she was ahead, or until a better nickname came to her, she sucked him back into her mouth. The velvety softness of his cock was aided by a thrust from him. Taking her cue, Jo moved her mouth over his cock rhythmically.
She slid her free hand inside his parted jeans, reaching for his balls and squeezing them softly, afraid she would hurt him. Hearing a low growl from him, she began squeezing them with firmer pressure.
“Stop. I’m about to come, and I want to finish in your pussy.”
“What if I want you to come in my mouth?” Letting his cock slide out, she moved her hand faster over his slippery length.
Another growl escaped him. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll come in your mouth, but if your panties are wet, you have to stand by my chair for an hour, then let me fuck you.”
“You’re going to lose that bet.”
Clicking his tongue, he increased her punishment. “Make it two hours.”
“If I win, you have to keep your promise to let Mag come to a party, a much tamer party. And you have to pinky swear to keep it.”
“Deal.”
Grinning, she increased her assault on his cock, determined to win. Rider tangled his fingers in her hair, dragging her head back down and setting the speed he needed to climax. It worked for her. The sooner she could make him come, the better. She had been fighting her own arousal, trying not to remember how good it had felt last night when he was fucking her.
Trying to find something to distract herself, she removed her hand to pinch her thigh.
“That’s cheating.”
She hastily went back to squeezing his balls, counting backward as she worked her hand and mouth to wreck his control. Then it hit her.