***Simi***

Zack, Dams, and Ransom stroll inside and I close the door behind them. Before I can ask what they are doing here, Zack starts to talk to Sico. “Sorry to say this, man...but your bike is toast.”

“What?” Sico roars.

“You left it at the tattoo shop right next to Brandlee’s bike, both are burned to a crisp, totally destroyed. We watched the security tape but it doesn’t show shit. It shows a shadowed figure spraying accelerant and after that a sea of flames,” Ransom adds. “I should have brought them to the clubhouse or called Nerd to get the flat back over to pick them up. Sorry, man.”

“Not your fault.” Sico’s voice is flat. “It is what it is. Any chance it was connected to the Cape Town crew?”

Ransom shrugs. “Dunno, man. Casey told me that some other cars and bikes have been set on fire over the past few weeks. Some might be connected to that shitass gang, but we might just have a troubled kid or a pyromaniac running lose in town.”

“Great. Fucking great,” Sico mutters and rubs his neck.

A strange feeling burns in the pit of my stomach. I want to go to him, slide my arms around his waist and snuggle close. But on the other hand, I want to throat punch him. He’s such an asshole and his mood is like a freaking coin, flipping heads to tails with a nudge of your thumb.

So, I steer clear of all of this and make my way into the kitchen to make some coffee. I can still hear them talking when I’m staring at a full pot of coffee. Dammit. I’m actually hiding in my own freaking house, how weird is that?

“I’m heading out.” Calix’s voice pulls me out of my staring match with the coffeepot.

“Okay.” I shrug, not meeting his eyes.

“Ransom will take my place and I’ll be here tomorrow to relieve him. But, Everleigh?” Calix waits for me to meet his gaze before he continues. “Ransom likes to nag people. He’s going to try to stir some trouble between you and Sico, purely for his own entertainment.”

I shrug off his statement again and reach for a cup to get myself some coffee.

“In life you can choose to walk away, do nothing, or grab it by the balls. Open your damn eyes and grab life by the balls, Everleigh. You’re allowed to do that, even if it means you have to lay your trust in someone to stand up for you as well. But you have to do just that first, darling...stand up for yourself and don’t be afraid of the risks.” Calix sighs.

My heart is pounding in my ears, fury laced with fear flows through me in waves, making me nauseous. “The last time I did that? Take a risk? I let my ex blindfold me and we all know how well that worked out, right? Thanks for the brilliant advice, you can leave now.”

“Fuck,” Calix snaps.

And that’s actually the first time I’ve heard that word fall out of his mouth. Either he’s careful with throwing curses around or he feels he doesn’t need them to give his vocabulary some strength. What do I care? He’s too complicated for me to figure out.

“It all comes down to fucked up moments in our past, huh? The pebble that’s in your shoe you can’t seem to remove.” Calix’s voice sounds like a caress. “Remember what I told you about me? That my past doesn’t define me? Come on, darling...open your eyes and look past the thick wall you built. The world is filled with assholes but even in that amount there are some fuckers you can polish up so they can shine some.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I can’t help but chuckle at his last statement.

Calix takes a step closer to me. “You know that saying ‘get on his dick, not his nerves’? You’re not an easy one and neither is Sico. You two bump heads like magnets that push each other away and yet when they flip...yeah, I might need to remind him about the saying ‘a way to a woman’s heart is to make her pussy wet and not her eyes’ but I don’t think that would do any good. What I’m trying to say is that Sico might be an asshole, but he’s your asshole. The fucker inked over his own life’s motto and replaced it with a face that is clearly it for him. The day he claimed you? He did so because he didn’t want anyone else touching you. And that fucker shares every pussy he bumped into in his life. He’s never cared for one nor did he even give one another glance. Yet you? You’ve been his since the day you two met. Instant lust, or a spark of something more. Like I said...open your eyes, then you’ll see he’s all yours and what that idiot has to give. I can tell you there’s more to him than the asshole side you know. But that’s something for you to find out...but if you won’t...cut him loose, Everleigh. The both of you will be the only two who will get hurt in the end. Hate fucking only goes so far until there’s nothing left. You’re a strong woman. One who crawled out of a dirty pit, but darling? It’s time to brush the dirt off yourself too. You’re allowed, you know? Oh, and if you’re all ‘I don’t know where to start’...go dye your hair. That’s a nice first step.”

Calix spins around but right before he leaves the kitchen, I tell him, “Thanks. Appreciate it.”

With his back still to me I can tell he nods, smacks his flat hand against the wall and walks out of the kitchen. Well, shit.

Grabbing my cup of coffee, I stroll into the living room. “Anyone want some coffee?”

“Sure, no need to add sugar to it if you’re the one serving me,” Ransom quips.

Okay, I’m seriously thinking about throwing my cup at this guy, coffee included. “I’m Sico’s ol’lady, not yours. You can either get it yourself or let your throat turn to sandpaper for all I care, because I won’t ever be serving you.”

There. That was good, right? Taking some of Calix’s advice...calling myself Sico’s ol’lady should score points, right? Shit. Except when the asshole isn’t even in the room to hear me voice the words. Where did he go?

Everyone is still silent when Sico stalks back into the living room. He comes to a stop and looks at everyone. “What?” he questions.

“Your ol’lady doesn’t want to get me coffee the way I like it. She practically said she only serves you,” Ransom tells Sico with a smug smile on his face.

“Never mind. All of you can go out and get your own coffee. I’m not sharing mine,” I mutter and head back into the kitchen.

Shit like that always happen to me. Offer an olive branch and someone will rip it out of your hands and smack you in the face with it.

I can only manage two steps inside the kitchen when Sico grabs my coffee from my hands and sets it on the counter before dragging me into his arms. “Can we stay like this for a while? I’m afraid to open my damn mouth because everything always comes out wrong.”

That makes me snort. “Well, we could try to have a normal conversation later tonight. You did mention something about one normal conversation a day, right?”

“Yeah, beautiful,” he croaks, sliding his fingers up to my jaw where he tilts my head back and covers my mouth with his.

I’ve really missed being kissed, although I don’t think I can compare Sico’s kisses to one I’ve ever experienced. He puts a lot of attention into it and it’s even hard to catch up. Not to mention his hands that roam my body, the rumble low in his throat making it clear he’s enjoying every microsecond.

A throat clears behind us. “Dude...you’re supposed to grab a cup of coffee, not drink it straight from your ol’lady.”

Sico’s lips leave mine but everything else stays the same when he growls out his words, “Fuck off, Ransom.”

Sico’s green eyes are captivating. He’s looking at me with such fierceness, all I want to do is jump in and let myself drown in them. Calix is right. It’s the both of us who bump heads in this relationship and unless we do something...until the both of us let everything go and make an effort together, it will never work.

“You heard my ol’man, Ransom. Fuck off,” I say and manage to whisper out my next words. “Now finish that kiss.”

His left eyebrow raises. That’s right. I said finish the kiss. I’m not asking for another because the devilish man would count it as two. Meaning one more and he’ll be able to ask for a blow job. I’m all for the give a little get a little...but I have my limits here.

He doesn’t complain but crashes his mouth to mine with a hunger that makes my fingers dig into his skin to draw him closer. The moan that leaves my throat is swallowed hungrily as he lifts me up and puts me on the counter.

Slowing the kiss down, he mumbles his words against my mouth, “I want to fuck you so bad right now. But I don’t have a rubber in my damn wallet.”

“Then no fucking,” I croak with regret. “We’ll just have to make due with kissing.” I trail my tongue over his bottom lip before I bite down and give it a slight pull.

A growl rumbles through his chest. “My damn wallet isn’t giving me any options since there isn’t a damn condom in there. I think the only thing in there right now is a meager ten bucks. But I’ll give you that ten bucks if you suck me off.”

“Asshole.” I chuckle into his mouth. “I don’t care about the ten bucks. I’d suck you off just for my own pleasure...if you reach the three kisses. There’s only been one so far today so...tough luck, stud.”

Sico’s about to say something when Zack says, “Can you two come out here for a minute?”

The regretful sigh that Sico releases kinda warms my chest. “Come on,” I tell him. “Let’s go see what he has to say.”

When we get to the living room, we see Dams pacing back and forth with his phone glued to his ear.

“We just heard that Jean was attacked. He’s in the hospital,” Zack tells us.

Jean is a...well, I should say a ‘guy’ but the truth is, he’s such a sweet person he just radiates enough personality to be all human and does not fit the category of male nor female. Meaning he could wear high heels and make up one day with his long hair styled to make any cover girl jealous. While the next his hair could be tied up, sneakers, lose jeans as he tries to work on his car. He’s in the comic business along with Ridley, Tyler’s ol’lady.

Dams hangs up. “Tyler is with Ridley at the hospital. C.Rash and Nerd went with those two when Ridley got the call, she’s listed as next of kin that’s why they contacted her. C.Rash doesn’t have any information yet about Jean. Other than he’s in surgery. But he wasn’t fucking conscious when they brought him in.”

“What the fuck happened?” Sico growls. “Was that around the same time as the bikes lighting up? Is there any connection or was it random? Their comic store is across from the damn tattoo shop.”

“Too soon to tell. We don’t have any other information except what we just discussed. We need for Jean to pull through and tell us what happened if he’s capable. Then we need to know if Casey could gather more intel about the bikes. Until then I’m going to double up every fucking member and those attached to it. No damn solo flights, got me?” Zack’s voice is fierce. “Now, Everleigh...can we use your living room for a moment? I need to talk some things through.”

Well then. That’s a nice way to say ‘get the hell out of your own living room’. Sico’s chest rumbles and when I look at him it’s clear as day he took it the same way I did. Choosing to ignore Zack, I step toward Sico and try something different. Actually doing something I’ve seen the other ol’ladies do...going for a normal relationship.

“I’m going upstairs. I need to do my hair. Talk later?” I murmur against his lips but the flare of his nostrils while his eyes dilate is all telling. 

His hands fly up and cup my face before he’s crashing his mouth against mine. There’s an intense passion to this kiss where I feel like my body is floating. His tongue strokes mine while he’s tainting my body with overloaded lust. Groaning, I dig my fingers into his leather cut and try to freaking crawl inside him, anything to get closer.

He chuckles against my lips before he pulls back. “I want nothing more than to get lost in you but I have to talk to my brothers and you...you need to do your hair, beautiful. We’ll pick this up later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I answer, and dammit...I have a freaking swooning tone.

“And that’s a count of two kisses.” Again, with the chuckle before he steps back and strolls past me, smacking me on the ass. Hard.

“Asshole,” I grumble and rush out of the room.