Chapter Three

Cherie

It might sound old-fashioned to some people, but being in the kitchen relaxed me. Soothed me. And I needed it after everything that had happened at the hospital a few days ago. I was able to get Monica settled and checked in on a few other patients before leaving. The nursing administrator, Darla, insisted I take a few days off and I happily obliged, cleaning and tinkering around the house. Looking for jobs. In fact, I kept to myself. Mostly. I would’ve done a damn good job at it except Roddick stopped by every day with some excuse or another.

Whether I wanted him to or not.

Today I just wouldn’t open the door for him. I’d ignore the ringing bell, the sound of the knocker. The man disrupted my ability to think or be smart. Act smart. Which was why I found myself in the kitchen whipping up my famous spicy fajitas with the habanero salsa Torch had taught me to make when I was far too little to enjoy the heat. He’d taught me a lot including how to cook, how to shoot a gun, and how to curse like a sailor. Which had been a million years ago before he’d taken a twelve-year-old me bra shopping. I’d just added some mint to the salsa when the doorbell rang, and I groaned.

Wiping my hands on a towel, I pushed through the kitchen door into the living room and to the front door. I knew who it would be, but I still peeked between the curtains before reluctantly opening the door. “Roddick, what a surprise,” I told him, not sounding at all surprised.

“Really...” He smiled as he pushed past me to get inside. “I’ve been checking on you every day.”

“I’m aware, but you do realize that I am a grown woman, perfectly capable of looking after myself, right? Tell Baz you have better things to do.” His gaze raked over me so thoroughly I was sure he’d grown another hand that caressed me.

One side of his mouth kicked up in that lazy grin, drawing attention to the days of stubble he hadn’t bothered with. “Oh, I’m aware that you’re all woman, Cherie. Well aware. And Baz didn’t send me.”

“So, why the hell are ya here?”

“What smells so good?”

I rolled my eyes at his change of topic. “That would be the meal you interrupted.” He just stood there smiling at me, casting his bright light like always. “I suppose you’re angling for an invitation?”

With a deep, rumbling laugh, he pulled me into his chest and dropped a kiss on top of my head, pulling me through the living room and into the kitchen. “So kind of you to offer, Cherie, I would love to stay for dinner.”

“Grab the soda from the fridge, then.”

“No beer?” He frowned as he asked the question and looked at me like I was an alien.

“Haven’t been to the store.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve gone for you.”

“If it were that important, I would’ve gone myself.”

He gave me an odd look and then a loud laugh erupted from him that included pounding his large fists on the table so hard the silverware shook. “I’m glad to see you’re still as fiery as ever. I was worried at first that this might have shaken you.”

“It did, but no more than anything else in my life.” Torch was part of CAOS when he took over caring for me while Baz was away, and when Baz returned he joined CAOS too. I’ve been surrounded by the club most of my life, and adding the ER on top of that just meant nonstop crazy. “I just felt like being at home, Rod, nothing else.”

“Okay, but if you’d called, we could be gettin’ drunk right now.”

That did sound really good. “Aren’t you worried I might use your drunken state as an opportunity to take advantage of you?”

“Hopeful,” he said, serious blue eyes looking at me like they wanted to undress me.

“Be serious, Rod.” To stop my stupid heart from hoping, I took a big, unladylike bite of my fajita. He’d been flirting with me more and more lately, but ever since Baz had woken me up in the middle of the night with news that Roddick had been shot, he’d kicked it up a notch. Or maybe it was just that his wound meant we spent more time together. I’d love to believe he meant it, that he wanted me. But I knew better. So I chewed. And chewed again.

Roddick finished off three fajitas before pushing his plate away and patting a midsection I now knew was rock hard. “That was delicious, Cherie. Thanks.”

“No problem. I made it just for you.” I tried to stop from laughing, but the look on his face was priceless.

“In that case, I really loved it, but fuck, that salsa is spicy!” He pulled another can of soda from the fridge and drank half of it in one gulp. His big body took up so much room in my tiny kitchen that I couldn’t pull my eyes from him, especially the way he leaned against the counter with his legs crossed at the ankle. “What’s this?”

I froze at his words and the confusion in his tone because I knew exactly what he’d found. The classified ads I’d printed out so I could highlight the requirements. “Those are job ads.”

He glared at me. “But none of them are even in California.”

“Yes, that’s kind of the point. As soon as I fulfill my specialty hours at the hospital, I’m leaving Brently.” I knew instantly he didn’t like that idea, and I wanted to know why. But I was a chicken shit, so I didn’t ask.

“Why?”

There were plenty of reasons, but the main one was staring at me with confusion and hurt in his eyes. I could give him any of the other reasons I’d come up with to tell people when they found out, but I didn’t want to lie to Roddick. “Why not?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me like he was trying to figure me out, which was weird because there was no mystery to me. “Why don’t you like me, Cherie? Have I done something?”

“What?” I couldn’t possibly have heard him right. “I like you just fine, Roddick. In fact, I’ve had a pretty big crush on you for most of my life.” I’d been a little obsessed from the moment I saw him, so big and tall and tough. “I’ve been taking care of you, making sure you don’t die, and endured all of your teasing flirtations, so what makes you think I don’t like you?”

He shrugged and leaned on the table with flat palms so his face was so close I could see the flecks of gold and silver mixed into the blue of his eyes. “You always seem frustrated around me, and I want to know why.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because it was more sexual frustration, but he didn’t need to know that. “You’re always teasing me.”

“It’s called flirting.”

Now I really wished I had a beer or two around. “No, it’s called flirting when you want something to come of it, otherwise, it’s just teasing.”

“And you think I don’t?”

I nodded. I couldn’t even open my mouth to admit that I knew he didn’t want me, that he just teased me like I was still that little girl with a crush. Which I guessed I was. “I know it, Rod.” Pushing my chair back with a little too much force, I stood and began to clean up.

“You don’t know shit, girl.” Before I could tell him to watch how he talked to me, big hands grabbed me and spun me around, trapping me between his big, hard body and the sink.

Then his lips were on mine, so soft and so firm. Commanding. Spicy, as his tongue dragged against my bottom lip and pulled it between his teeth, forcing a gasp from me. Then, sweet heaven on a platter, his tongue swept into my mouth hungrily, tangling with my own and exploring the depths of my mouth. God, his mouth felt like…everything. His lips teased me while his tongue drove me straight out of my mind, a spicy, sweet frenzy a girl could get used to.

My hands slid up his abs and over his pecs before curling around his neck to bring him closer. My hands played in his hair, and in an act of bold sensuality I pulled his tongue into my mouth and sucked it, the way I’d dreamed of sucking him for so long. The feel of his big hands gripping my ass sent my mind swirling with thoughts of getting naked with him. But he pulled back entirely too soon. “I wouldn’t joke about wanting you, Cherie. I’ve spent too many years denying myself.”

I stood there like a silent fool while he brushed his thumb across my bottom lip before turning on his heels and leaving me a pile of lust and want.

And totally unsatisfied.

Story of my life.

***

Roddick

“Not that I’m not completely giddy with excitement that I’ve lured you over to the dark side, Roddick, but why the change of heart?” Lazarus had been teasing and flirtatious to the point of discomfort, but I knew his game so I played it cool while he played with the fancy scarf tied around his neck.

“The boys are getting older and have families, and just a year of this shit could set us all up nicely.” It would’ve been the truth if the whole club knew about this, but since it wasn’t a permanent thing, just a select few were in on it.

He looked skeptical in his shiny gray suit with a pink silk top opened to the sternum to show off a bony, hairy chest. “I’ll give you a few kilos to start, see how fast you can move them. You do well and Lazarus will hook you up nicely, okay? Okay.” He twirled and clapped twice, sharply to move his men into action.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Lazarus.” Despite our differences, we’d managed a decent relationship all these years because the man was like a spinster aunt—a smile and a few good manners went a long way.

One of his men dressed in black from head to toe handed two kilos to Mick, and we headed out of the same building in the center of the same crowded market we’d met at in the past. The place was empty except a few tables and chairs along the scuffed wood. “I hope you know what you’re doing, man. This is a dangerous game after all of the shit we’ve been through.” Mick let out a long, low whistle, and I nodded because he was right. This shit would either clear the club of the police for a long time and set us up for a good long while, or we’d all end up dead.

“I know and that’s why things have to be this way, Mick. If we don’t do this now we’ll be fighting the cartels, specifically the Mexican Devils, until the day we die. I can’t live knowing CAOS died on my watch.” I didn’t want it to be this way, none of it, but I loved my club enough to ensure they still had a future. “It’ll work out, Mick, you’ll see.”

His response was a dissatisfied grunt as he started his bike. I did the same, and we met up with Cash and Torch a few blocks over for the quick trip back over the border into Brently. The boys were done, but I still needed to call Brockton, which I did as soon as I made it back to my place, which smelled suspiciously like chili. And cornbread.

I pulled out my piece because while I doubted a killer would break in and cook me a meal, someone had still been inside my fucking house without my permission. “Anybody in here?” I’d hate to shoot one of the prospects, but they’d better speak up. “Shit,” I sighed when I found the kitchen empty and clean with a note anchored down by a jar of jalapeno peppers.

“Maybe I’ll invite myself over for dinner next time,” the note read. It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who had written it.

With a goofy smile on my face, I called Brockton. “We made another buy, not even an hour ago.”

“Great. We’ve already got some intel from your last one. I’ll swing by tomorrow to get them.”

“Yeah and make sure you’re discreet.” The last thing I needed was for my neighbors to think I was working with the cops. Or dating a dude.

“Yeah, I always am,” he joked, and we both laughed. The man couldn’t not look like a cop if that were his job.

“I guess that’s why they don’t let you do undercover work.”

“Right. Tomorrow then, Roddick.”

When the call ended, I was too keyed up to sleep. Too restless to sit on the sofa with my feet propped up on the nicked coffee table to watch TV and unwind.

Somehow, I found myself in the truck I kept for errands, and ten minutes later I was parked outside the little ranch house with yellow and blue shutters Cherie had moved into a few years ago. She could have stayed with Baz but the man was a pussy hound, and she’d gotten sick of dealing with spurned lovers, outraged exes, and all night fuck sessions. I didn’t want to just show up unannounced, but I needed to see her after that kiss we shared. I sent her a text with just one word. “Outside.”

Fuck, I hadn’t stopped thinking about that kiss for the past couple days. Her sweet, succulent lips so ready to receive pleasure, so ready to taste me. Touch me. My dick grew hard just thinking about the way her round ass felt in my hands. The weight of it, the softness.

“Do you want to be inside?”

I smiled at her message. “So bad.” Then I was at the door, and she pulled it open looking all sexy and fuckable in tiny workout shorts and a fitted tank that showed off every one of her mouthwatering curves.

“Yes?”

“Invite me in, Cherie,” I growled, my gaze glued to hers as we stood staring at each other and wondering if tonight would be the night we finally acted on the chemistry we both tried to deny for years. Too many fucking years.

“Why?”

“Invite me in and see,” I told her and held up the pot of chili she made for me. “This might be a good place to start.”

Cherie stepped back and brushed a blonde curl from her face. “Or maybe to finish,” she said, punctuating the final words by turning the lock. “Why are you here, Roddick?”

Why was I here? We both knew why. Setting the pot down, I turned to her and grinned. “I came for you, Cherie, for this,” I told her and fixed my mouth over hers, kissing her deep and slow until I felt the hitch in her breath when my hand found a beaded nipple to play with while my mouth roamed the playground of hers. She tasted sweet and salty, like sex personified. I used my height advantage to press her against the wall, to press my growing cock into her. “Feel what you do to me, Cherie. How hard I am for you.”

A sexy, tortured moan escaped her, and I swear my cock grew harder. “Oh, I feel,” she said, sounding all breathy like I’d already fucked her senseless.

Not yet.

“My turn to feel.” I grabbed the hem of her tank and pulled it over her head, casting my gaze on her big tits squished together in a sports bra. I tugged on the zipper in front and took that off too, and damn near choked on the breath I took. They were big, a D cup and shaped like a tear drop so her nipples aimed right at my mouth. “Fuck, Cherie, your tits are gorgeous.” Grabbing them in my hands, squeezing the soft, milky flesh so I could taste the raspberry buds now hard and straining toward me.

“Oh god,” she moaned right in my ear, sending another shot of lust straight to my cock. “Yes, please!” Her delicate hands speared through my hair to hold me close. Like I was going any fucking where with those gorgeous tits on display, growing harder and heavier as I worked them over.

But goddammit, it wasn’t enough. I lifted her in my arms, loving the way she squealed my name in surprise. “I need to lay you out, Cherie. Taste and love you properly.” Before she could say a word though, we were in her room, and I tossed her on the bed. “I love the way your tits jiggle.”

She smiled up at me, chest heaving with the effort it took her to breathe through her arousal. “Do you?” she asked innocently and gave a little shimmy that made them jiggle more.

“Don’t,” I yelled at her when she went to remove her shorts. “Let me.” I grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the edge of her queen-size bed. “Your skin is so fucking soft, like rose petals.” My hands grazed up and down her soft, feminine body. It was these curves that had done me in the year she turned seventeen, wearing a short plaid skirt with calf-high Doc Martens looking like my own twisted version of the naughty schoolgirl. Now I had her right here, trembling under my hands, and I planned to make the most of it.

“Rod,” she moaned when my knuckles brushed against the swollen lips of her pussy. “Please.”

“Please what, Cherie?”

“Stop teasing me.”

I laughed and dropped to my knees. “Oh, I haven’t even started to tease you, sweetheart.” Grabbing the waistband of her shorts, I pulled them off along with the lacy panties she wore underneath and inhaled. “So sweet.” Spreading her legs, I groaned at the sight she made, all pink and bare and wet. Throbbing. “So fucking wet. Is that all for me?” I knew it was, and I couldn’t wait a second longer to bury my face in that sweet, fat pussy and lick her until she screamed my name.

“Oh shit!”

Her fingers twirled around my hair, not pulling or pushing me either way, just holding on to me like I was the only thing keeping her tethered to earth. She was soaked and dripping down my throat and chin, but I didn’t give a shit. I thrust my tongue deep inside her cunt, fucking her while she squirmed under my mouth.

“Roddick, I—” She didn’t finish the sentence because she couldn’t. Because I sucked her clit and speared her pussy with my fingers until she flew apart wildly, clenching my fingers and flooding the space between us with her juices. “Oh. My. God. That was amazing,” she shrilled as her body continued to shiver and convulse.

“And that was just the warm up.” I kissed my way up her body, giving her tits extra love before I descended on her mouth. “Want to know how good you taste?”

She was hesitant at first but then I spotted it, that gleam in her eyes that said she was ready to accept the challenge. She grabbed my face with both hands and she didn’t just kiss me, she devoured my mouth, licking and sucking my tongue until it was clear of all traces of her. “Different but I like the taste of us together.”

I groaned, “Sweetheart, you’re killin’ me.” She didn’t even know how she had me going, my dick was trying to break out of my pants.

“Then I’d say it’s time for you to dress for the party.” Her gaze landed on my fully clothed body, and she flashed me a sexy grin.

I jumped off the bed and made quick work of my clothes, only pausing when she sucked in a breath at the sight of my cock jutting out before I climbed back on the bed beside her. “Like what you see, Cherie?”

“You know I do, Roddick.” She reached for my cock, soft hands stroking gently until my balls pulled up tight. “I like it a lot.”

“Take it.”

“Give it to me,” she groaned when I moved between her legs, rubbing the tip of it against her drenched opening. “Now.”

My cock sank into her slowly. Inch by torturous inch until I met with… impossible. “There something you want to tell me, sweetheart?”

“Besides I’m a virgin?”

“No,” I groaned, struggling to remain still, but she was so fucking wet and tight and hot. “That’s what I meant. Why didn’t you—”

“Say something? You were making me feel too good, and if you stop now I might kill you myself.”

“Yeah,” I laughed and kissed her while my body sank deep inside her tight sheath, swallowing her cry of pain. “You okay?”

“I will be,” she exhaled a long breath. “If you move. Please.”

That was all the permission I needed to plunge balls deep inside her body, clenching and squeezing me. “Cherie,” I growled because being inside of her made me feel like an animal. Pulling out I plunged in again slower and deeper, again and again as her cries grew louder. More tortured. Fuck she felt too good, and I knew I wouldn’t hold out much longer, so I lifted her thighs and tossed them over my forearms, plunging deeper and faster while my thumb rubbed circles into her clit. “Come for me, Cherie.”

She nodded, mouth open and swollen, eyes glazed over with lust. One more thrust and she flew apart, crying my name until her voice went hoarse. “Wow. Holy shit.” Her body shook with laughter that was quickly interrupted by my continued strokes into her body. “Oh, oh wow. I think I’m—” Her words were cut off once again, lost forever to the way I made her feel. Another rough thrust and a pinch to her clit, and she was coming again, all over my cock.

“I can feel you pulsing around me. Milking my cock dry because you want it all, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

I thrust again, harder. “Don’t you?”

“Yes. I want it, Roddick. I want it all.”

And fuck if that didn’t send me up and over the edge, one final thrust into her as I emptied myself into her pulsing cunt. “Fuck, Cherie.” Hell, I couldn’t think coherently.

“Oh, God, Roddick. That was un-fucking-real. My body is still buzzing.”

That made me want to stay here forever. Right inside her tight, wet cunt. I rolled over and brought her with me, taking her mouth in a kiss that had me hard and pulsing all over again. Fuck, I was already addicted to her. “What I need to know, Cherie, is how in the hell are you still a virgin?”

“I’m not anymore. You took care of it for me.” She grinned in that cheeky way she had that made me want to shake her and kiss her.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

She sat up and rested her hands on my chest and her chin on top of her hands so we were eye to eye. “When would I have had the chance with a big bad biker gang harassing any guy I wanted to go out with? You guys made it impossible to date, so it’s only fair you gave this gift to me.”

“Fuck that, Cherie, you gave me a gift and don’t ever fucking forget that.” She nodded and laid her head on my chest. Moments later I could tell she’d fallen asleep by her deep breathing.

Then the fucking guilt hit me. As amazing as this night was, as incredible and life changing as it had felt to be buried deep inside her, I felt like six kinds of asshole. She was Baz’s kid sister, and he was my brother in arms, which meant she was off limits. Only tonight I couldn’t resist her. Twenty-two-years younger than me and a fuckin’ virgin to boot, and I couldn’t fucking resist her. I never fucking stood a chance, but fuck me, I didn’t regret it. I couldn’t regret it, even now.

But I needed to think. To wrap my mind around what had happened and figure out what would happen next. What could happen next. I held her in my arms a little longer, letting the smell of her seep into my skin, into my soul.

Then I got dressed and went home.

***

Cherie

The long drive back to Brently was just what I needed after the tension of the past two days. I had an interview at St. Angeles hospital, and it went very well. They were impressed with my credentials and my age, not to mention the fact that I had no husband and children to impact my dedication to the job, though they didn’t say that last part. I could tell.

Unfortunately, I also knew I would not be accepting the offer when it finally came because the hospital didn’t heave nearly enough nurses to handle the incoming patients. I didn’t go to school to spend my whole life inside the four walls of the hospital. I wanted a life, a real life, that included friends and nights out, maybe a few dates, and eventually a relationship. With a husband and kids, too. Maybe. What I knew for certain was that I needed to get the hell out of Brently. And away from Roddick.

After years of bottling up my feelings for him, I’d finally done it. I’d changed the nature of our relationship. Only instead of going from his buddy’s little sister to his girlfriend, I’d made the much smaller, much more insignificant leap to one-night stand. Not even the kind of one-night stand where you have sex again before breakfast is finished cooking, but the kind where you sneak out in the middle of the fucking night.

But I wouldn’t be upset about it. Or hurt. I’d treat it as a lesson learned because that would make leaving California easier. Even though the job interview was a bust, it had taken the edge off, and now I wouldn’t be nervous for future interviews.

The only thing that made my heart ache was the thought of leaving Baz. Other than his stint in the military, we hadn’t spent any significant time apart. Hell, even his stint back east was more time than we’d spent apart in our whole lives, and it would be hard to live without him. But I had to do it. Maybe I would end up in Chicago or St. Louis or maybe some small town in Michigan. Anywhere, really. The world was my oyster as they say.

By the time I arrived home I felt like I needed a stiff drink and a horror movie marathon, but as soon as I got settled on the sofa my phone rang. I looked at the screen and groaned because I knew what was coming next. “Hey, Darla.”

“Cherie, how are you doing?”

I rolled my eyes. Darla meant well, but what she really wanted to know was if I was ready to work. “I’m fine, Darla. All good.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Is there any way you could pick up an extra shift today?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.” This would be another ten to twelve hours closer to meeting my obligation to the hospital. Ten hours closer to leaving Brently. “I’ll see you soon, Darla.”

She let out a long sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you, Cherie. We can always count on you to pitch in.”

Yeah, because nearly every other nurse had a family or had one in the works. I was one of a handful of single and unencumbered nurses everyone looked to fill in, as though having a family was the only reason I might not want to work a shift. “Bye, Darla,” I told her and hung up. I took a minute to catch my breath before pushing off the sofa and padding to the bedroom where I changed into a pair of clean scrubs. I dumped yogurt, granola, and berries into a bowl and packed it in my bag for lunch, then grabbed my sweater before heading out. A quick glance at the clock told me I didn’t have time to stop at Black Betty’s for coffee so I went back for a soda even though I was trying hard to get over my love of the sugary carbonated beverage. It was the last one in the fridge so I promised to keep it that way as I pulled open the door and found Roddick standing on my doorstep with his fist ready to knock.

God, had it only been two days since I’d seen him? I drank in the sight of him, every delicious inch of his broad shoulders and long muscular legs. My mind instantly recalled the way the tattoo on his neck tasted on my tongue, the way his muscles bunched and flexed under my hands. The sight he made naked, the Roman guard tattoo making him look every inch the fierce warrior he was. And as quickly as those images came so did the feelings he evoked—the heat, the tension, the need to have him inside me again. The humiliation of waking up alone. “What are you doing here?” I asked, hip checking him aside so I could step out and lock the door.

“What’s the hurry?” He smiled under that day old scruff that made him look even sexier, damn him.

“Work,” I answered, refusing to look up at him again if for no other reason than my own sanity. I jogged down the five steps on my stoop in my hurry to put some distance between us.

“You don’t have time to talk?”

“I don’t.” Talking wouldn’t help anything anyway.

“Cherie, we need to talk.”

I shoved my bag across to the passenger seat and stood, looking at him over the hood of my car. “There’s nothing to talk about, Roddick. It happened. You left. It’s done. Goodbye.” I jumped into my car, started the engine, and peeled out of the driveway much faster than I should have, but I needed to get away from him before he convinced me to hear whatever bullshit reason he’d taken two days to formulate about why he left in the middle of the night.

I could feel his gaze on me, but I chanted to myself—I will not look back, I will not look back. Because I didn’t care that he was left standing there confused and maybe a little hurt. I didn’t kid myself that he was hurt at all, probably just pissed that I didn’t let him control the situation.

I looked back anyway.

And I hated myself for it.

The man would always have a piece of me, which meant the sooner I got away the better it would be for my heart. My peace of mind.