Chapter Three

Torch

“Where the fuck have you been, man?”

Baz stood at my door smiling like he’d just gotten laid and given what a man whore he was, he probably had come here from some chick’s bed. “Good to see you too, princess. You gonna let me in?”

My eyebrows rose. “What’s in the bag?”

He flashed a toothy grin. “Let me in and find out, or I’ll take my food, my sketchpad and get gone.” The fucker didn’t even wait, just brushed past me with a grin. “Damn, man, this looks like a classy ass prison.”

I laughed at Baz’s way with words. “Feel free to go at anytime. After you finish what you came here to do.”

He looked over his shoulder with an amused grin. “I came to piss you off, everything else is just gravy. Now where is baby Darlington?”

“For starters she’s not a baby,” Kyla said as we entered the kitchen where she was bent in front of the open fridge. She stood and turned, green eyes lighting up at the sight of Baz. “Oh good, you have food!” Or the food. She snatched the bag from his hand and took it to the table. “Gyros? Bless you, whoever you are.”

Baz shot me an amused look, and I knew what he was thinking, but I had to shut that shit down. I didn’t know why I objected so damn strongly, and I wasn’t in the mood to think about it either. “Baz, meet Kyla. Kyla, this is Baz, the guy we’ve been waiting on. For three goddamn days.” My scowl was met with a toothy grin.

“Good to meet you, Kyla. How are you holding up?”

She nodded while she chewed, her tongue darting out to snatch up the cucumber sauce at the corner of her mouth. “Okay. Torch’s been great to take me in, even though we haven’t left this place in days.”

“You think I could get one of those gyros, doll face?” Baz put on his most charming grin, and I waited to see if Kyla would bite.

She froze and red rose up her cheeks, but it seemed to be embarrassment rather than arousal. “Shit, yeah. I’m sorry. That’s a fine thanks, right?”

Baz just laughed. “If you weren’t so pretty I might have just snatched the bag out of your grasp.”

We ate mostly in silence until Baz was finished and updated both of us on Cherie and Roddick even though Kyla didn’t know either of them. He darted back to his car and came back with a few jars that brought a smile to my face. “Is that what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s habanero salsa then hell yeah.” He shoved the jars at me, washed his hands, and got down to business with Kyla, who had stolen everyone’s leftover fries.

“What? You guys just left them sitting there, and I’m happy to make sure they don’t go to waste. There are starving children, you know.”

I laughed and shook my head. “So those are philanthropy fries?”

She flashed a smile and goddamn, she was so beautiful she took my breath away. It was the kind of sensual, ethereal beauty that almost made her hard to look at, especially those perky tits and perpetually hard nipples and those long legs. The worst part was, she was nice and kind, far too good for the likes of me, but I was a man and I appreciated her whole package. Inside and out. “Yeah,” she said, “I like that.”

“So, baby Darlington, you ready to get to work?”

She narrowed her green gaze at Baz. “Don’t call me that.”

Baz smirked, but he listened to her speak and made changes as she suggested them. I moved to her side when her voice began to quiver and placed a hand on her thigh, a really bad move because it was warm and firm, and my fingers itched to crawl up higher. “You’re okay,” I told her and shoved the rest of my beer in her hands.

Baz turned around his sketchpad. “That look familiar to you?”

Fuck yeah it did. I nodded and kept my gaze on Kyla who suddenly looked like the scared, trembling woman I’d met days ago. That tat looked a lot like the one worn by the Celtic Monster, an Irish street gang who mostly worked in Orange County. “Where did you go to school?”

“San Francisco, but Chase is from Newport Beach. Do you know these guys? Are you friends with them?”

I turned her chair to face me and squeezed her thighs. “Calm down, Kyla. Yes, we know who they are, but they’re not our besties if that’s what you’re thinking. You’re safe, I promise you that.”

She snickered. “Did you just say besties?”

“I did.” She and Baz cracked up like it was the funniest goddamn thing they’d ever heard, and I waited for them to settle. “Grow up. Take this to Mick and Darlington, let them know what we know.”

Baz stood. “Nice to meet you, Kyla. Try not to let this grumpy bastard get to you too much.”

She grinned, and I scowled. “Grumpy? I’m a ray of fucking sunshine, goddamnit.”

Kyla patted my chest in a move that shouldn’t have been erotic but set my body on fire anyway. “Yes you are, but you’re also a little bossy.”

Baz chuckled and gathered his drawing supplies. “I’ll see you guys later. Holler if you need anything.” I walked him to the door and returned to the kitchen.

“You guys have a weird way of relating to one another.”

“What do you mean,” I asked with a scowl.

She shrugged and pulled two more beers from the fridge. “You’re obviously close like brothers, but you talk to each like frenemies.”

I laughed. “That’s just how we are.”

“I haven’t said it enough, Torch,” she emphasized, and dammit, I liked the way my name sounded on her lips. “But thank you for taking me into your home. For protecting me.”

“No problem. How’d you get mixed up with this Chase character, anyway?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t anything special. We had a couple classes together and became friends. One night we got a little high and ended up in bed together. It was just physical, but we were friends.”

I hated to hear that shit, but it was in the past. “Did you know he was dealing?”

“Of course. He had the best pot on campus.” I gave her a sideways look, and she laughed. “What? It’s legal.”

“Not judging, just not how I pictured Darlington’s daughter acting.” Then again, no one would believe a senator’s son was the enforcer in a motorcycle club.

“He had to pay for school somehow. If Mom hadn’t died and left us a shit ton of money, I might have had to do the same. Or maybe turn to stripping.”

Shit, that was the last thing I needed to think about, Kyla taking her clothes off and gyrating on a pole. Swinging on the pole, showing off her sweet little pink pussy. Those long legs wrapped around me as I fucked her hard and fast. Everywhere.

“Whoa. Your thoughts just turned very wicked, Torch.”

I blinked, and she came back into focus. “Happens when a sexy woman is around.”

She leaned back and sat on the table, laughing. “Well now I need to know what you were thinking.”

I laughed. “Sweetheart, you couldn’t handle it.”

She laughed and leaned forward, giving me a perfect look right down her top. “You have no idea what I can handle. Try me.” I told her and watched her skin flush pink. Nipples hardened to stiff peaks under her tank top. “You like my legs?”

“Fuck yeah,” I growled.

She kicked her legs up and slid off the table. “Good to know,” she grinned and left me standing in the kitchen, imagining those damn legs all over again.