Chapter 8
Zoey
I got back home and caught my mother just as she was leaving the house. She gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before she ran to her car. She was always late for her morning shifts. No matter how many alarms she set and no matter how many times her boss cussed her out for it, she could never get in there on time. My mother had held her second-shift job down for almost twenty years. But her first-shift jobs? Switched usually every couple of years.
“Gotta run, sweetie. I love you! I’ll be home for dinner!” my mom said.
“Want me to cook?” I asked.
“That sounds good, honey. Whatever you want!”
I watched my mother race out of the driveway before I shook my head and started for the inside of their home.
“Dad?” I asked. “You here?”
“Dad left about an hour ago,” Colt said.
“Colt!”
I ran down the hallway and launched myself into my brother’s arms. He smiled and hugged me close, and I drew in a deep breath. He smelled like leather and sweat, a smell I had associated with him for years. I could feel him smiling into my neck as I released him, dropping to my feet.
“Where the hell have you been?” I asked.
“Around,” Colt said. “I actually came in last night though. Where the hell were you?”
I knew better than to mention anything about guys around my brother. Even though he was mostly absent, he was protective to his core. He’d drag who it was out of me, and he’d find some reason to go beat his ass. Plus, with meeting him in the club’s bar, there was a slim chance they were scouting him to be a prospect. He had been sitting with guys who also had leather jackets, and even though I couldn’t see if they had official leather cuts, I didn’t want to take the chance at ruining something for this guy.
After all, he knew how to wield his cock, and he treated me decently enough.
“Went out for some food since no one was around for dinner. Got a few drinks, didn’t think I could get home safely, so I crashed in a motel.”
“Why the hell didn’t you call me, Zoey? I would’ve come and gotten you,” Colt said.
“When the fuck have you ever picked up the phone for me? I haven’t seen you since my graduation, and before that, it had almost been a year. I’m glad you wanna help and all, but you’re not the billboard poster child for ‘reliable.’”
“Shit, Zoey. You’re my sister. If you need help, I’ll be there to help.”
“I was fine last night. I slept it off, paid my tab, and now I’m here.”
“Well call me next time. Okay? I was worried about you.”
“Then why didn’t you call to check on me?” I asked.
“Because you’re a grown ass woman who can take care of herself. Doesn’t mean I don’t get to worry about you, though,” he said.
“I’ll give that argument to you this time. But you won’t win every one of them that easily.”
“Don’t I fucking know it. You got any plans for the day?” he asked.
“I’ll let that quip slide. And not really. Just putting in more job applications and paying a couple of bills. Why?”
“You finally strong arm Mom and Dad into accepting help?” he asked.
“I think I finally got through to them, yeah. They aren’t happy about it, but I showed them I could get around things if I needed to.”
“I don’t doubt that one bit. When you want something, you go after it. How did you manage to do it this time?”
“I went down to the bank when I got back into town and schmoozed my way into their bank account. Told the account manager that I wanted to pay something off as an early birthday present for Dad. I paid off the house.”
“Holy fuck, sis. Are you serious? The entire thing?” he asked. “You got the money to do that?”
“See, now if you were around to talk with, you would’ve known this,” I said with a grin.
“I knew you were working at that bar, but enough to pay off their house? What did they have left on it? Sixty grand?”
“Not even close. It was only eight grand.”
“Still. That’s some serious fucking money.”
“And if we talked more, or if you ever came to visit. Or hell, if you even picked up the phone when I did call, you’d know all this shit,” I said.
“I got it, I got it. Enough with the guilt trip.”
“Oh, you think you can finish me up? That’s funny. I thought you knew who you were talking to.”
“I’ve missed you, too. Things have been busy with the club.”
“Like always. How are they, by the way? Not that I’ve seen them in, oh… five years? Six years?”
“Something like that, but I keep you away from all of that for a reason. It’s not the nicest lifestyle to lead, and it could get you into trouble,” he said.
“But fuck forbid you get into trouble,” I said.
“Zoey, come on. You’re graduated. You’ve got your own life. I thought you’d be done trying to run around with mine,” he said.
“I didn’t want your life, Colt. I just wanted to be a part of it. I’m your sister, and all you did was shut me out. The moment I got close with the guys, you put a stop to all of it. You know how that came off as a teenager? That my own damn brother didn’t want me around.”
“You know that’s now how I meant it,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter how you meant it. What matters is how it came off and how I felt about it afterward.”
“Look, I didn’t come here to fight, okay? I’ve got some shit I gotta do at the bar, but I’ll be there for most of the day getting stuff done. Why don’t you stop by? We’ll have lunch. Some drinks. Catch up and shit.”
“If you’ve got shit to do, won’t the guys be there?” I asked. “I thought you didn’t want me interacting with them ever in the history of ever.”
“You said it yourself, Zoey… you haven’t seen them in years. You’re obviously holding your own life down well if you can swoop in and pay off a mortgage. The guys would love to see you again, and I’d like to have my sister around. And now I don’t have to worry about you wanting to suddenly be a part of this lifestyle.”
“That’s never what I wanted. Stop thrusting that on me,” I said.
“Just trying to get you to understand where I’m coming from. I’d really like you around today, sis.”
“Really? You would?”
“Of course, I would. You’re my little sister. My sassy compatriot. You can beat asses alongside the best of them. I’d bet on you against any of those guys any day.”
I smiled as I threw my arms around Colt.
“I’d love to stop by,” I said.
“Good. We’re talking to someone today who could become a new prospect. Having you around to intimidate him would be good for our mojo.”
“What the fuck did any of that just mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Colt said with a chuckle. “I’m just glad I’m gonna get some time with my sister. See you at lunch time?”
“See you then.”
I watched as Colt left the house, his leather jacket slung over his shoulder. I was beginning to get nervous. New prospect? Why was he so excited about me meeting a new prospect? I didn’t have a good feeling about this, but I knew if I went back to the bar there was a slim chance I could spot Rider again. He had my number and everything, but men were always shit at calling women. It was always better to see them again, and sooner rather than later.
I could run across Rider, maybe slip him a sly look or two, and meet up with him again after I had lunch with my brother.
I felt excited butterflies multiplying in my gut as I bounded up the stairs. I needed to take a shower and make sure I didn’t have any marks to cover up. I still couldn’t shake the nervous energy in my bones. The looming voice in the back of my mind. The little whisper telling me this was all about to go very wrong.
What were the chances that Rider was Colt’s new potential prospect?
Slim. But this was my life, and it always had a funny way of fucking me over when I least expected it.
I scrubbed my body down as I relived the memories of last night. The way Rider’s cock felt as he filled my body with his. The way his lips felt on the nape of my neck. The way his skin electrified mine as we writhed together in the bathroom of the bar.
Colt would be so pissed if he knew I’d been kicked out of it for shit like that.
I felt my pelvis heating with lust as I thought about Rider’s tongue between my legs. There were so many things I still wanted him to do to me. So many positions I wanted that man to have me in. I wanted to ride his cock until he groaned my name. I wanted him to fuck me against the wall again and pin me with his chest. I wanted to suck his cock in the shower as water rushed down my back.
I even wanted him to tie me down and explore my body any way he desired.
My hand slipped over my soapy breasts and traveled towards my pussy folds. The thought of him was too much, and I would never be able to focus on lunch if I didn’t relieve the aching want I had for that man. My fingers found my clit as I slid my ass to the floor, the hot water beating down on my flushed body.
I felt the ghost of his lips against my neck as my fingers circled my clit. I felt his hands pressing into the swell of my tits as I bucked into my own palm. I felt my juices pouring out, seeking the warmth of his tongue as they pooled on the shower floor. I opened my eyes and watched it all swirl down the drain as I rose to my climax, my fingers plunging into my depths as I thought about Rider’s cock.
His thick, pulsing, leaking cock.
I pressed my head into the shower wall and climaxed with his name falling from my lips. My legs shook and my back arched. My tits bounced with every jolt of electricity that ricocheted through my body. I closed my eyes, and I could see him. I could see his rippling body and I could feel his scars of war. I could see the sly grin on his cheeks, and I could feel his cock pumping me full of his hot, juicy come.
I wanted to be close to Rider again.
I needed to be in his presence.
I sat there, my hand limp between my legs as I sighed. I was in a lot of trouble. If Rider was someone that frequented the club’s bar, then he was associated with them somehow. I didn’t know how, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever figure it out, but there was something about him I couldn’t place. And my inability to place it was going to get me into trouble before I could sidestep the issue.
Now, I had to go to Milo’s. If only to solve the mystery of Rider and why he seemed so damn familiar.
The only way I would sidestep trouble with my brother was if I could answer that question.
The question of why his eyes rushed me with such comfort that seemed so natural and customary.
But first, I had to catch my breath. Because even the simple idea of him rendered me breathless.