Bliss frowned across the room at him. “What does that mean?”
“That you’re used to having sex regularly.”
“Then, yes.”
“How much?”
“That’s kind of personal…” Bliss evaded.
“You don’t strike me as being shy.”
“I’m not,” she admitted. “When I lived at the clubhouse, I was used to having sex any time I wanted it. Does that answer your question?”
Yes, it did, and he wasn’t surprised. He had heard the gossip around town without taking part in it. He really didn’t care how many men she had fucked before him as long as she didn’t continue to since he was seeing her. That was a deal breaker for him.
“How often since you left the clubhouse?”
“None.”
That was what he had hoped to hear.
“Is that why you want to have sex with me, because you’re horny?”
“Yes.”
“I see.” Drake stared at the little blonde glaring back at him petulantly. He wanted to fuck her senseless, but that wouldn’t accomplish his goal. If he stood there much longer, though, his resolve was going to break.
She had lost her bitchy attitude and was back to being cute.
Drake gripped each side of the counter, his knuckles white from the pressure he exerted. “It’s time I left. I need to pick Jace and Cal up from work. Their car wouldn’t start, so I’m playing chauffeur until Jo’s finished with the repairs.”
Bliss jumped up from the chair. “I thought Stephanie was picking them up and dropping them off at your house.”
“I’m going to save her the trip.” Drake carefully released the counter after he regained enough self-control, brushing past her as he headed for the living room.
“Wait!” Bliss grabbed his arm. “I don’t understand. Why are you leaving? Aren’t you attracted to me?” Her confused expression had his dick pressing against the zipper of his jeans.
“Bliss, this isn’t the time—”
Her hand dropped from his arm. “You don’t have to say anything else. I understand.”
Drake stopped. “You do?”
“Yes, you should have told me. I’m cool with it.”
“With what?”
“You’re gay. I can see how it would be difficult to come out in a small town like Treepoint.”
“I’m not gay. You think I’m gay?” He wasn’t insulted, but he thought it was sad as hell that the only reason she could think of for why he wasn’t having sex with her was because she believed he was gay.
“Not many men run away when I ask them to fuck me.”
“I’m not running away.” Drake shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from spanking her ass. “I’m just not going to become a dildo to get you off because The Last Riders got tired of you.”
She jerked as if he had struck her. “I think you’re right, it’s time you left.” She moved past him to open the door.
“Bliss…” His anger at her dissipated. He had seen the puppy-dog eyes that had followed after Shade the night of the basketball game, so he should have realized the remark would cut her deeply. Drake intended to be in her bed; he just wasn’t going to be at her beck and call simply because she no longer had the one she wanted there.
“Good night.”
Drake sighed. The only way to calm her down at that point would be to give in and take her to bed, and if he did that, then everything he had been trying to accomplish with the little spitfire would be lost.
“Good night, Bliss. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
“You do that,” Bliss snapped before slamming the door in his face.
Drake almost opened the door and showed the woman she had nearly pushed him too far. As an alternative, he went to his car, sliding behind the wheel.
Bliss had no idea she was pushing him. When she did, she would realize how kind he had been. Regardless, if she kept it up, she would find out he had a way of dealing with her that would put her where she belonged—in his bed, begging him for forgiveness.
He drove through town, first picking up Jace at Pizza Shop, where he was making pizzas instead of delivering them due to the car issue, and then swinging by to pick up Cal from the grocery store. The boys filled him in on their days as he travelled the dark streets toward his home.
Making a left, he drove up the side road that led him through the affluent area of town. The houses grew larger and farther apart as he continued down the street. Drake made a left onto the last driveway, seeing a red sports car sitting there. His lips tightened when he saw his ex-wife sitting behind the wheel.
Drake parked his car next to hers.
“Why is she here?” Jace groaned. “I called and told her you were picking us up. I have homework. I can’t deal with her tonight.”
“Go inside. She’s not here to see you.”
The boys climbed out of the car. Jace flung his hand up in a wave toward his mother as his only acknowledgment of her before going into the house with Cal. Drake knew he wasn’t going to be as lucky.
Getting out of the car, he made sure to press the lock button. Stephanie had gone through his car several times when she wanted to snoop into his life. He then walked toward his front door without giving her a glance.
“Drake! We need to talk.” Stephanie jumped out of her car.
“We have nothing to talk about. Jace has homework.”
“Drake, please, can’t I at least come in? We need to talk.”
Despite knowing the manipulative bitch she was, how she could look all soft and sweet still surprised him.
“We have nothing to say. The last time I let you in to talk about Jace, it took me a week to get you out.” The manipulative bitch had pretended to trip over an extension cord and sprain her ankle. She had spent the week in his spare bedroom, until he had thrown her ass out.
“I’m not here to talk about Jace. I want to talk about the new woman you’ve been seeing.”
“It’s none of your business.”
Stephanie ran a shaky hand through her dyed platinum-blonde hair. “I heard you’re seeing that slut from The Last Riders. Is it true?”
“Her name is Bliss, and you’re the last person who should be calling another woman a slut.”
“I don’t want her around my son.”
“Why?” With each woman he dated, she had a different reason for him to stop seeing them. It was usually worse when she was between men. And Jace had told him after his last visit to her house that her husband of two years had moved out, which meant she was between men at that moment.
“Because she’s a slut, and Jace is at an impressionable age. I don’t plan on my son getting his sexual education from a woman like that.”
“You’re really fucked-up, you know that?” He would rather have Bliss tell him honestly about her sexual past than a woman like Stephanie, who would still attempt to pretend she was a virgin if everyone in town didn’t know Jace was her son and she had been married numerous times.
“Don’t talk like that to me! I have the right to control who is or isn’t allowed around my son!”
“You didn’t give a damn about bringing in every asshole in Treepoint and fucking them behind my back when he was a kid.”
“I told you it was only one time.”
“Stephanie, you don’t have to lie anymore. We’re not married. I quit caring how many men had fucked you when I walked in and saw Jared fucking you doggy-style while my kid was eating a bowl of cereal in the kitchen!”
Stephanie had probably been with as many men as Bliss, but she considered herself above her. She was lying even to herself. Bliss, on the other hand, was blunt about what she wanted from him, making no effort to lie about the men in her past. She painted the darkest picture of herself and made no apologies about it. He could still see her defiant face when she had told him about having sex with all of The Last Riders. Truth he could respect; it was lies that destroyed.
His ex-wife took a step forward, pre
ssing her breasts against him. “Please, Drake, I’ve never gotten over you. I made a terrible mistake—”
“Yes, you did. You made another if you think I would ever give you another chance. I’ve told you to keep your nose out of my business. Bliss is no concern of yours. Don’t make me regret giving you visitation with Jace.”
“He’s almost eighteen. It will be up to him how often he sees me.”
“Yes, it will,” Drake agreed, knowing Stephanie would be lucky to see Jace once a year when the decision was left up to him.
“I didn’t come by to start an argument. If you change your mind, just call me. I’m willing to take you any way I can get you, Drake.”
“I won’t be calling. I’m giving you a heads-up now. I like Bliss, and I plan on seeing more of her. I don’t want you to give her any shit. If you do, you’ll be dealing with me, and you know how I’ll deal with you, don’t you?”
Since Jace lived with him full–time, he didn’t have to pay child support. In fact, she owed him a large amount he had never collected on in order to stop her from the continued threats of taking him back to court for more visitations and to lower her child support payments. She owed him a huge sum of money, and with Jace being so close to eighteen, her threats of getting more visitations were going to be ignored. If she messed with Bliss, however, he would go after her for the money.
He was looking forward to when Jace turned eighteen. Then he would let the boy handle his mother himself and cut his last connection with her.
Stephanie went pale at the threat, taking a step back. “For Christ’s sake, she lived with a biker gang. That trash doesn’t need you to defend her. She won’t make you happy. No one woman is capable of making you happy. I should know, I tried hard enough.”
“You want to make me happy, Stephanie? Stay away from me.”
“I still love you.”
Drake shook his head. “You don’t love me. You became pregnant after swearing you were on the pill. I was stupid enough to believe you and put a ring on your finger. You told me lie after lie, and I always believed you. The men, the money you were always promising Jace when he needed something… You couldn’t tell the truth if your life depended on it.” He had sworn to himself to never tolerate another woman lying to him ever again. “You’re still lying. The only difference is I’m not a kid anymore, and I don’t give a fuck.” Drake turned, not caring if she had anything else to say. He had already given her more of his time than she deserved.
She had done him one favor—his dick was no longer driving him crazy. Any desire for caving in and returning to Bliss’s house had died when Stephanie opened her mouth.
Drake shook his head at himself as he walked inside and slammed the door on Stephanie’s lying face. He had obviously made a habit of picking complicated women. He needed to warn Jace. If he had inherited Drake’s propensity for choosing aggravating women, he was heading for trouble.
“God help him, because he’s going to need all the help he can get.”
Chapter 6
“Going out?”
Bliss watched in the mirror as Ginny threw herself on the bed, settling herself comfortably.
“Yes, I’m going to Rosie’s. Want to go?”
“I’ll pass. I don’t like going to bars.”
“Why not?”
“They’re pick-up joints.”
“Yes, they are.” Bliss smoothed her red top down to show more of her cleavage. Her black leather pants and knee-high boots perfectly accentuated her diminutive figure.
“Aren’t you seeing Drake?”
“Not anymore. I’m tired of waiting for him to put out.”
“You’re breaking up with him because he won’t have sex with you?”
“Pretty much,” Bliss confirmed.
“Why?”
“I just told you.”
Ginny sat up on the side of the bed. “No woman breaks up with a man for not having sex.”
“I do.” Bliss turned away from the mirror and picked up her purse, ignoring Ginny’s narrow-eyed stare. “I won’t be back tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow or whenever.”
“Bliss, you can’t just go home with someone you don’t know. It’s not safe.”
“Don’t worry, I use protection.”
“That’s good, but that’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Ginny shook her head. “You always do that¸ Bliss. You become a smart-ass when you know it’s something you shouldn’t be doing.”
“Why shouldn’t I go to a bar and pick up a guy? Men do it all the time. Why is it any different for a woman?”
Ginny’s face held such sadness that even Bliss’s cold heart was touched. “Because women leave a piece of themselves behind with each man, whether it’s taken or given. Women aren’t hardwired for emotionless sex.”
“I am,” Bliss denied Ginny’s assertion.
“I don’t believe that. I believe that’s what you tell yourself to keep your heart from breaking.”
“Geez, don’t try to make a mountain out of a molehill. I’m going to get laid. When it’s over, I’ll come home and won’t be any different than before I left.”
Ginny stood up, going to her bedroom door. “Keep telling yourself that and you may make yourself believe it, but I won’t. You’re a nice person, despite how hard you try to hide it.”
“No, I’m not. Every woman at the clubhouse who tried to be my friend will tell you that.”
Sadly, Ginny shook her head. “All the wives, I’m sure, but what about the women who weren’t old ladies? What would they say about you?” She didn’t give Bliss time to answer, closing the door behind her.
Bliss pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose as she fought back the twinge of pain she was beginning to feel in the region of her heart. She wasn’t going to cry. She hadn’t cried for herself in years, and she wasn’t going to start then … well, except for the day she had gotten kicked out of The Last Riders.
Going downstairs, she went through the front door without a backward glance at Ginny’s recriminating face. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
The drive to Rosie’s was a short ten minutes, and the parking lot was filled with familiar motorcycles.
Bliss parked her car to the side before striding confidently into the busy bar. The Last Riders took up the first half of the establishment, sitting at the tables and at the bar. She walked past them as if they didn’t exist, going to the other side of the room to take a seat at the bar.
“What can I get you, Bliss?” Mick, the bar owner, greeted her with a friendly smile.
“I’ll take a beer.”
She ran an experienced eye over the men sitting nearby. There wasn’t much to choose from. In fact, the pickings were pretty slim. She hated fucking weak men, which they all were; she liked it when the men were strong enough to pick her up. She didn’t want coyote ugly, either.
“Here you go.” Mick placed her beer in front of her, and Bliss went to dig some cash out of her purse. “No charge.”
Bliss gave Mick a sweet smile. “Thanks, Mick.”
“No problem. You’re good for business.” He winked before moving along to wait on another customer.
“I was going to offer to buy you a beer, but Mick already took care of it.” The male voice caught her attention, and she turned to see Greer Porter take a stool next to hers.
Bliss lifted the bottle to her lips, taking a long drink. “You can buy me my second one.”
“That works for me.” Greer grinned before taking a sip of his own beer.
“You here with your brothers?”
“Nope. Tate is holed up with his new girlfriend, and Dustin’s working, trying to save up some money for Christmas presents.” The expression on his face made her laugh.
“You don’t like Christmas?”
“Don’t like spending hard-earned money for presents that aren’t going to be remembered the next day.”
“Depends on the present,” Bliss said suggestively.
Greer looked her over from head to toe, the sexual interest in his eyes increasing. “Yes, it does. I know I’d never forget anything you gave me.”
Bliss lifted her beer toward him. “Let’s make it a night neither one of us will ever forget.”
* * *
Drake was watching television when he heard the knock at his front door. Standing up, he hoped it was Bliss, who hadn’t answered his calls all day. He was going to give her another day to get over her anger before going by her house. He was glad she had stopped by to see him first.
When he opened the door to see his cousin Rachel, he tried to hide his disappointment. However, his perceptive cousin wasn’t easily fooled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just thought you were someone else.” He should have known the little firecracker wasn’t going to get over him throwing The Last Riders at her. She might no longer be one of them, but her loyalty remained with the club.
“I’m sorry.” Despite her words, Rachel’s happiness shined through her beautiful eyes.
“Forget about it and come in. Tell me what has you so damn happy.”
Rachel walked inside, tugging off her thick coat. “Don’t be so grumpy. It’s not my fault Bliss isn’t here.”
Drake narrowed his eyes at her. “What makes you so sure it was Bliss I was hoping to see?”
“Well, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you always have to be right,” Drake snapped.
“You’re in a terrible mood. I’ll come back when you’re in a better one.” Rachel began to put her coat back on, but Drake took it away before gently gripping her arm and leading her to the couch.
“Sit down and tell me why you’re at my house at nine o’clock at night.”
Rachel sat down, grinning up at him. “All right, you forced me!” Rachel quipped. “Cash and I are expecting.” She was practically bouncing on the couch cushions.
Drake bent down to lift her up, giving her a bear hug. “Congratulations, Rachel. I couldn’t be happier for you and Cash.”
His cousin had married the notorious ladies’ man of Treepoint after Cash had nearly managed to lose her following his blowout when he told practically the whole town he had slept with her. The Porter brothers had been so angry at her that Rachel had run off. If Cash hadn’t crashed his motorcycle, Drake didn’t think Rachel would be sitting next to him right then, glowing with contentment.