“It’s not until you’re gone that you realize what you miss, even jealous, moody bikers.” – Luxe

 

 

“Come on! Jesus. You can drive any time today, Miss Daisy! Imbécil. Dios.” The Chrysler crawling at a snail’s pace in front of Luxe didn’t have the first clue how wound up she was by his driving skills or lack thereof, she’d been behind him for more than a mile without room to overtake him.

Any fricking slower and she’d roll to a stop on i-76, as it was, this guy was well under the speed limit and she had places to be, she’d already been on the road longer than she’d wanted to with barely a rest stop in between to grab a salad wrap and a latte, she really needed to find a job closer to home, one that paid as much as she was going to get paid from Jamie. But Grinder isn’t in New Mexico and you like him---his body. Hm, thought provoking, one she couldn’t give the proper time to when the car in front slowed further, for Christ sake. “Try walking next time.” She muttered finally taking the exit that would lead her back toward Fort Springs … the question still and had been for the last hour, which turn would she take; the one heading back to The Apollo Kingsmen quad compound which was where her actual job was waiting for her OR take the exit and go into Armado Springs to see the biker with the body she liked so much.

It shouldn’t be that difficult of a decision. Money over hormones. Easy, right?

She’d had fun.

They’d had a lot of fun.

She wouldn’t mind a little more fun with him before she had to leave again.

Maybe she could check in with him, see what he was about, maybe he was seeing someone already. Her stomach churned greasily. It had been several weeks.

Just thinking of Nathan and his beard and cocky all too arrogant smile twisted an invisible screw at the apex of her thighs, a sharp pulse to go with the already too warm interior of her car that just rounded off the constant ache she’d had in her body since she’d left his bed.

Some would have said her happy sex vibes should have gone some way to decreasing her anger issues. Who could get mad when they were having self-induced orgasms every night just from the memory of that one fantastic night, right?

Wrong.

Everything lately was bugging Luxe, more so than usual.  The baby-boy barista, no older than kindergarten from the fuzz on his chin, who served her morning drink still didn’t spell her name right. It was four fucking letters and she’d spelled it for him no less than five times already. And the angry irritation didn’t stop today when she climbed out of her car to refuel, the jackass in the car behind honked his horn.

Fucking honked at her to hurry. She turned and glared at the young kid through his Camaro windshield. Her glare was about as violent as it could get while she was holding a pipe full of gas. Maybe boy-racer sensed danger because he shrank back and lifted his hands in surrender.

What in the hell did he want her to do, pump the gas faster? Right, chico.

She couldn’t afford more court dates and anger management classes, if anything those things pissed her off more, can’t a person just be naturally cross and not have do-right citizens crawl up her butt about it? So, with her temper in constant check she didn’t do what she wanted to do by reaching through his window and throat-checking him with her palm.

She paid and drove off without getting into a fight; fist or verbal. Yay, progress. Mimi would be so proud.

After delivering the sketches into the grasping hands of an art collector, she’d mentally set that aside ready for the next job. It was the criminal circle of life. Luxe knew some questionable people and because of her flare for flying off the handle when things didn’t go according to plan …. well … she was one of those questionable people to some who had encountered the sharp tongue of her temper. She thought nothing of cursing someone out if they were in the wrong or trying to scam her no matter their place in hierarchy in the underground circles.  If you were a dick then Luxe was going to call it like it was.

She didn’t suffer fools lightly and never stood for anyone trying to make her into one either.

In her profession, it was better they think she was a crazy bitch and to tread carefully when dealing with her, than for them, criminals and thieves alike, to assume she was a pushover. Women got such a rough fucking deal in this world without allowing people to treat her like a hallway rug. All she wanted to do was earn her money fair and square (and illegally) only among thieves honor was thin on the ground, she had to keep her wits about her.

Her bank balance was all the fatter since she’d supplied the sketches and now she was heading back to Colorado, after the brief stop to check in with her abuela, to help Jamie with his new chop-shop.

The latest news on Mimi was she’d dumped one of her gentlemen friends when he dared suggest they become exclusive. The nerve of the old man, it was as though he didn’t know Mimi at all.

Luxe had to laugh, her Mimi was a pill, if not a little bit of a wild player.

The decision as to where she was going first was fast approaching, she put a call through to Jamie on speaker. “Yo, pocket-rocket. Thought you’d be here by now.”

“I’m not getting into the saga of the slow bastard I was stuck behind. I’m nearly there. Am I good to drop my bag at the apartment?” she asked.

“Sure. But I’m over at Rider’s place in Armado right now. Can you let yourself in?”

Rider? The cogs in her head went through the series of names and places she knew and found who she was looking for. “You’re playing with another MC, Jamie? Did we all die and fall to Hell?” Jaime Steele wasn’t knowing for his friendliness with another MC.

She went on. “I dropped the key with Amos before I left last time.”

“Okay, swing by, I can give you mine.” She caught him ask someone if that was okay. The deep voice answered sure. “You know where the Renegade Souls compound is?”

Oh god. Nathan. Everything clutched all at once, her pulse sped up and she felt the beginning stirring of desire in her belly. She was going to see him sooner than anticipated after all.

And that tender ache she was experiencing suddenly turned into a fresh wave of sticky hell between her legs.

Her breathing became a little shallow.

She hadn’t stopped thinking about him in two long weeks.

Walking through the double doors ten minutes later, she ignored the rising anticipation of seeing the stud-biker bubbling within her skin, he’d done the impossible with his sex, and made her want more of it. Sex was fun and all, but Luxe never became addicted.

Why then were her eyes skimming left and right, not taking in her surroundings, but searching out the heads of people in hopes it was him she saw?

“Your boy is through there.” An old guy with silver hair pointed his thumb right as Jamie came out of an office, flanked by the RS president himself.

 

******

 

“You might wanna drop the drill and head inside, G.” Preacher called out through the noise, walking back into the garage, can of soda in one hand and a shark smirk on his face. If he was about to brag he’d just got laid on his lunch break Grinder was likely to punch him.

“I got more shit to do before this gets collected tomorrow.” It was only his sex life taking a dive, bikes he could fix in his sleep. With oil coated hands, he hunkered down again to work on the carburetor.

“Okay. If you don’t wanna see your girl.” Whistling, Preacher began pulling on his overalls.

Grinder’s attention halted, his head reared up. “Say what?”

“Just saw your kidnap participant heading inside.”

Disbelief and heat punched him in the gut. Tools forgotten he was on his feet. “Luxe? Luxe is here?”

Preacher bust out laughing. “Damn, man, you look like you’re about to start jacking off all over the floor. Yeah, that’s who I saw with my two pretty eyes. But like you said, you’re busy, so…” smug bastard grinned at Grinder.

He was already heading out the door. “Oh, hey, and Jamie is inside, so play fucking nice with my brother in law, Ruby will have my guts if I let you kill him.” Advised Preacher to halt Grinder. Fucks sake. “Maybe just rough him up a bit. I saw nothing.”

Jamie fucking Steele could go fuck himself was Grinder’s consensus.

Sure enough, there was her Lincoln parked next to an unknown hog. He felt the crunch of his jaw as his teeth mashed together.

Of course, he’d play nice with Preacher’s BIL, he had no grudge against the other prez, after all, he just-------- that shot to hell as he strode inside and saw Steele’s hand touching Luxe’s fingers.

It didn’t matter they were both standing with Rider in a main room full of members, didn’t matter at all she wasn’t leaning her gorgeous body into Steele, all Grinder saw was the connection between two hands and felt the rise of blood from his gut into his eyes, filling his vision, his gait increased and everyone turned at once to look at him as if he was… oh wait, he was growling.

Fuck.

He experienced brutal jealousy plow into his sternum and nestle there like a damn rodent in its nest. Oh, hell no, this wasn’t right, this wasn’t an emotion he was equipped to deal with, what did a man do when he saw his woman giving a smile to another man that was solely for him? What did he do?

Ice doused the flames cooking his blood. I’ll break that hand off and feed you your own fingernails.

The mood changed in an instant and both Rider and Steele seemed to recognize it. Only the dirty rotten thief didn’t.

He wanted to go kamikaze like a demented dickhead, that’s what his roaring instincts were telling him to do, then pull Luxe into his chest and make sure she understood all those sweet genuine smiles were just for him, she had no right giving them to someone who didn’t appreciate them, who wasn’t working his ass off to get every last one.

Grinder didn’t run. He didn’t even sprint. He was a rolling prowl of a bastard, eyes stuck to the Kingsmen president. One long stride in front of the other. His eyes didn’t waver.

Rider give him the what-the-fuck-you-doing glance.

Taking in Luxe’s face, he was floored with her intense beauty and the need to claim her. Whatever she read in his face it made her smile drop.

“You mind getting your hand off her, Steele.” He clipped between clenched teeth.

Rather than jump to do as he was fucking told, Jamie arched a brow and moved closer to Luxe. Grinder almost went nuclear. Luckily for Steele, it was Luxe who scowled confused and moved away, keys jangling in her fingers.

“What’s going on with you?”

Nostrils flared, he caught her scent, the same scent that drove him nuts when she’d been under him. Don’t get in the way of my dream woman, that’s what’s going on.

“I think I kinda do mind, if that’s the tone you’re choosing to use.” And didn’t the shithead move himself towards Luxe just to bait him.

Rider’s gaze bounced between Grinder and Steele.

Luxe’s gaze bounced between them.

Grinder’s back molars itched, he felt his hands fist tightly and that was when Rider sounded his voice. “Grinder…”

“Nah, let him speak, Rider. I’m dying to hear this.” And just as Grinder was about to adhere to his prez’s command, not to cause trouble in their clubhouse Steele slung his arm around Luxe’s shoulder, grinning as he did.

A shift went through Grinder. It was dark and sticky and the possessive tendrils felt like knives in his fucking skull. This shit wasn’t him, he didn’t go apeshit over dumb things, he didn’t act out, he was the cool brother, the one that did the forward thinking and preparation, he wasn’t the one to be found brawling on the floor like he fucking wanted to in that angry second.

“Give me a reason to send you to the emergency room, Steele. Just fucking do it, I’m dying for it in all honesty, I won’t say it again, get the fuck off her now.” Air became a highly sought-after commodity as it huffed its way in and out of his clenched teeth, snarling, how fucking dare he even put a fingertip on Luxe, let alone touch her like he had the fucking right to do in that comfortable way between people who were close. Grinder never got in a jealous rage in his whole life, it seemed fitting now when he was on unstable ground ready to free fall into the emotion with no escape route.

“Threatening me?” Jamie fucking Steele dared to sound amused.

Grinder growled and held his stare.

“Ay dios mio, save me from ill-mannered gorillas.” Huffed Luxe, drawing Grinder’s eyes at last to see the scowl etched deep, she bumped Steele’s arm off her and took a step forward, turning towards him. “Thanks for the key. I’ll be at your place in a while.”

And she walked off, ignoring Grinder altogether.