Carmen beckoned for me. Oh no, not again. I heaved an inward sigh and fixed a smile on my face.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Terrence wants to see you in his office.”
I tried not to look worried. “But I just seated a five-top.”
“I’ll take care of them for you. Shouldn’t be too long, right?” Her smile was sympathetic.
“Yeah, thanks.”
I pushed through the kitchen and made my way toward Terrence’s office. It was only my second week of work, and I’d been called back there nearly every day. My new co-workers thought I was just getting chewed out for being a bit slower than everyone else. I was actually getting pretty good at waiting tables, but I didn’t mind if they thought otherwise.
The truth was a lot worse than that.
I stood in front of Terrence’s door and took a few breaths before knocking. I could hear the heavy steps of his boots echoing inside as he crossed the room to answer. “Who is it?”
“You know who it is.”
“Oh, hiya Aspen,” Terrence said. His face peered through a crack in the door. He swung it wide once he was assured that I was alone. “Come on in.”
I entered the small room. Unlike the dining room outside, Terrence’s office was untidy and disorganized, littered with old order forms and coffee cups. However, he always made sure to clear off his desk whenever he planned to call for me. I sat down on the edge of it, just as I’d been instructed for every one of my office visits.
“You know what to do,” Terrence said, standing in front of me with his arms crossed.
Steadily, I began to unbutton my shorts and slid them off. I’d learned a while ago that panties were only a nuisance, so my bare pussy was exposed to the air. Terrence licked his pink lips, coating them with saliva.
Without missing a beat, Terrence knelt on the floor between my knees and buried his face in my thighs. I threw my gaze at the ceiling, counting the seconds until I could get back to work.
“Mm,” he intoned, his voice muffled by my flesh. He took my hand and put it on top of his head.
I turned my hand into a fist, gripping his sand-colored hair.
Terrence’s tongue traced a line up my slit, and I suppressed a shiver. Even though I hated him, he really did know how to work his tongue. I bit my lip, choking back the moan that threatened to push out of me.
“You like that, don’t you? You little slut,” Terrence muttered.
“Yes,” I whispered. It didn’t matter if it was a lie or the truth. It was what he wanted to hear.
Terrence drew my folds apart and flicked his tongue at my clit, making me gasp. He chuckled when he heard the catch in my breath and quickened his pace. The room filled with the sounds of his slurping and suckling, and I could hear my own hollow breaths echoing inside of my head, growing louder by the second. Heat flushed through my body, concentrating in between my legs where Terrence was eating me out.
“You’re getting so wet for me, Aspen,” Terrence said.
I felt myself twitch inside as I leaked juices onto the desk. Terrence rolled the flat of his tongue over my slick folds, nibbling gently with his lips and teeth before moving back to my clit. I widened my thighs, giving him more access as his mouth clamped over my pussy. He pushed his finger inside of me, all the way down to the knuckle. I grabbed the edge of the desk and leaned back.
“Oh, god,” I whispered.
“Yeah, baby. Come for me. You know you want to.”
My hips rose and fell in front of his face, almost on their own accord. I could feel something coiling up inside me, craving for a release. Terrence slurped and licked, keeping a masterful rhythm while stroking his finger at my g-spot. My pussy was clamped around him, clenching tighter and tighter in anticipation. We both knew I was getting close.
“Come on, Aspen, you little bitch,” Terrence muttered in between licks. He bared his teeth as he spoke, making him look like a wolf kneeling in front of me.
I grabbed his head and drove his face into my pussy. He attacked my clit with renewed energy.
“Oh,” I whispered. My eyelids fluttered.
Terrence reached up with his free hand and grabbed my breast, squeezing it through layers of fabric. My nipples peaked inside of my bra, awakened by his violent touch. He slid his fingers between the buttons of my shirt, brushing them against the fleshy tops of my breasts. I resisted the urge to flinch away from him.
“I’m close!” I finally cried.
I clenched my eyes shut and heaved, forcing myself to be quiet, as I came in Terrence’s mouth. He didn’t move away and continued to lick at my pussy, even after I finished coming. He liked to torture me that way, stinging my hyper-sensitive clit with his tongue and watching me twist and squirm on his fingers.
“Please,” I whimpered.
Terrence was panting when he raised himself to his feet. He grabbed my head and forced his finger into my mouth, making me suck my own juices off of him. His breaths were short and ragged as I dragged my tongue around his skin.
“That’s right, bitch. Lick it clean.” When he leaned in for a kiss, I turned away.
“How much longer will I have to do this?” I asked.
Terrence snorted. “For as long as you want to work here, darling.”
My eyes locked onto his, brimming with fire. “That wasn’t our deal.”
“What deal?” Terrence asked. He laughed at my shocked expression. “Did you really think I would risk my business for some drifter whore like you? I hired you to work under the table, no questions asked, no social security number. You know how much trouble I could get in for that? So here’s the deal as I see it. As long as I’m putting my ass and business on the line, keeping you safe from whatever you’re hiding from, you’ll be at my beck and call showing me just how much you appreciate my generosity.”
A flurry of emotions rushed through me: disbelief, fear, rage, confusion.
“Now,” Terrence continued, “come give your boss a kiss.”
* * *
Hours fell off of the clock as I worked through the lunch rush, and I was able to keep Terrence out of my mind. But things slowed down by four, and all of Terrence’s cruel words came rushing back.
“I have parent-teacher conferences next Thursday,” I heard Carmen say. “Could I have that off?”
“Sure,” Terrence replied. “I bet Aspen could use the extra hours.”
I tried to look busy as Carmen strolled out from the kitchen, looking grateful.
“Honestly, I’m glad that Terrence bought the bar off of Harry. He’s actually a decent boss to work for.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I said.
“Wouldn’t you?” Carmen cocked an eyebrow suggestively.
“What?”
Carmen leaned her elbows onto the bar. I could feel her gaze on my shoulders as I rolled up forks and knives inside of napkins.
“I know you’ve been fucking Terrence,” she said.
I felt my stomach turn to lead. A knife fell out of my hand. “What?” I choked out.
Carmen laughed. “Don’t worry. Nobody else knows but me.”
“How did you know?”
Carmen leaned close, invading my space with the floral scent of her perfume. “Every time you come out of that office, your skin has this rosy glow. I used to look like that right after...you know.”
I reached out and grabbed her wrist. A look of surprise flashed across her face.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I said.
Carmen patted my hand. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Your secret’s safe with me.” She winked. “By the way, just between us girls—”
The bell on the door jingled, cutting her off mid-sentence.
“I’ll take it,” I said, jumping off of the barstool. “Welcome to Buddy’s!”
A man in a leather jacket strolled through the door and made a beeline for a corner booth. Oh, no. I rushed ahead of him, cutting him off from his path.
“Sorry, that’s Liam’s table,” I said.
The man turned to me, his eyebrows raised in a look of surprise. “Aspen,” he said in a deep, throaty voice. “It’s me.”
I recognized the three large rings he wore on his right hand. My eyes turned round. “Oh!” I couldn’t help but stare. I was used to Liam with a beard and a mop of unruly curls, but today he was clean-shaven with his hair trimmed to his ears. It took years off of his face, and I was surprised to see that he actually looked closer to my age than my dad’s, which was what I initially thought.
Liam smiled, lighting up his eyes. Why hadn’t I ever noticed his eyes before?
“What? Do I look that bad?” He rubbed his chin self-consciously.
I snapped my mouth shut, realizing that I’d been grinning like an idiot. “No,” I began faintly, “I’m just surprised.” I gulped as he slid down into his usual seat. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you’re protecting my special table. You deserve a raise.”
Don’t hold your breath, I thought at him. “What’s with the new look, anyhow?”
“Oh, you know. The weather’s warming up, and it gets kinda hot under my helmet.”
“I see.”
I could feel a blush creeping up my neck as Liam regarded me. He was a regular and someone I knew pretty well, so why did I feel like I was standing naked in front of him? My skin tingled, aware of every breath that left his parted lips. I felt the sudden urge to collapse into a chair and fan myself.
“So, will you be having your usual?” I squeaked.
Liam grinned and knocked his rings against the table. “You know me so well.”
It was just me, Terrence, and two cooks on Thursday. Terrence stayed in his office most of the time, leaving me free to breeze through a light lunch shift without watching for him over my shoulder. Just as I finished busing my last table, the door jingled.
“Sorry, we’re closed for lunch,” I was prepared to say, but the words never left my mouth.
A trio of young, tattooed men with shaved heads stood in the doorway, regarding the restaurant with defiant expressions. They were dressed in leather and chains, and at first glance looked like Skull Kings, which were Liam’s crew. But after a moment, I noticed that these men had red sleeves rather than black, and an unfamiliar pattern of patches decorated their jackets. I didn’t know much about motorcycle clubs, but I knew that they weren’t wearing the Skull Kings colors.
Which meant they were part of another club.
And even if we were closed, I knew that Liam wouldn’t appreciate a gang of non-Kings sitting at his favorite table, which seemed like what they intended to do.
“Um, excuse me,” I began.
“They’re fine, Aspen.”
I turned around. Terrence stepped out of the kitchen, wearing the wide, twitchy smile he reserved for customers.
“We’re having a lunch meeting. Why don’t you take your break in the back?” Terrence said. He walked past me and shook hands with the men, urging them to sit anywhere. They chose Liam’s table.
Immediately, I imagined Liam and his gang, a tightly-knit group of burly men whom the townspeople seemed to fear for some undetectable reason. They made the other waitresses nervous despite their generous tipping habits, but these guys today were somehow...worse. And my boss was giving them Liam’s table.
My anxiety dissolved when I pictured Terrence with a few ring-shaped cuts in his cheek.
I strained my ears from behind the kitchen doors, trying to hear what was going on, but the men talked in hushed, careful tones. I chewed on my lip as I considered whether or not Liam should know about this. Finally, I just shook my head.
Let Terrence deal with him on his own.
* * *
“Slow day, huh?” Terrence said conversationally as he closed out the register.
“Uh-huh.” I extended my hand, not in the mood to linger.
Terrence handed me the day’s tips. “Well, good night.”
That’s it? I stared at him curiously, but he was concentrating hard on receipts. He didn’t seem to be in the mood for blackmail at all. With a shrug, I turned on my heel and hitched my purse over my shoulder.
“Good night,” I echoed. And good riddance.
I let the door swing shut behind me and paused on the sidewalk as I dug for my keys. The lights in the restaurant blinked out, which meant Terrence was almost done closing shop and was about to step out. I walked into the parking lot to avoid him.
“Hey there.”
I jumped. My heart jackhammered through my chest. “Jesus!”
The man on the motorcycle held up his hands. There were red sleeves on his leather jacket. “Whoa. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Ryan.”
I squinted at him through the darkness. He was one of Terrence’s associates from earlier. My blood pressure eased back down. “It’s fine.”
When I turned toward my car, Ryan’s two friends were leaned up against it. The shorter one pushed himself off and strolled toward me.
“What’s your hurry? Don’t you want to hang out with us?” he said. His smile was cold.
I kept the restaurant in the corner of my eye. The lights were still off, but Terrence had yet to step through the door.
“Don’t worry about your boss,” Ryan said. “We have a little arrangement.”
“Arrangement?”
“Let’s just say he owes us a favor,” Ryan’s burly cohort explained.
“And we’re taking what’s owed to us,” added the third.
I never thought my heart could possibly pound as hard as it did that moment. I felt my pulse in my arms, in the soles of my feet. I took a few steps backward. The two men in front of me jerked their arms, maneuvering themselves around me, while Ryan swung off of his bike.
“This is Terrence’s business, not mine,” I said.
The men laughed. I gripped my purse strap in my fist. Ryan took two steps forward, hooking his thumbs in his pockets and wearing a sinister grin.
“Let’s go for a ride,” he said.
I saw movement in the corner of my vision. Without even a second thought, I lifted my purse and heaved it in an arc. It connected against a jaw, cracking through the air. The man groaned and crumpled to the ground.
“What the—”
Crack—
The second man flew backward, ricocheting off the hood of a car.
“Hey!” Ryan bellowed.
I was high from my adrenaline, buzzing on a different plane of existence. There was no logic, no reason, only fear and instinct. The men on the ground were getting back on their feet, and Ryan’s rage-red face glowered, cutting through the darkness.
I took off into the night.
I ran, blind with fear, until my legs gave out. I collapsed against a wall, heaving, and blinked at my surroundings. I perceived the shape of the buildings on the street, some of them familiar. My hand groped along the brick wall.
Eli’s Gardening Store, read the sign on the window.
I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. I knew where I was. I was safe, but damn, my car was still in the lot of Buddy’s Sports Bar. Still, I was closer to my apartment than work, anyhow.
Not long after I started walking, I heard the unmistakable growl of a motorcycle in the distance. My heart flew into my mouth and I side-stepped into a shadowed alleyway. The growls grew louder, closer, and I saw the beam of a single headlight slicing down the center of the road. I retreated further into the shadows with my purse gripped to my chest.
The motorcycle’s engine rattled as the driver slowed. The headlight crawled along. Then, the motorcycle was right in front of me.
I jerked myself to action when I saw the flaming skull logo. “Hey!”
The driver stopped. I ran out from my hiding place, waving wildly. Everything that happened earlier was crouched inside of me, wound up like springs and ready to explode.
“Aspen! Jesus, I’ve been looking all over for you!”
I’d been meaning to tell the Skull King member what had happened at Buddy’s until I recognized Liam’s voice. My chest swelled. My muscles felt heavy and leaden, and I was suddenly exhausted. I ran right to the middle of the street and stopped beside his bike, close enough to touch the leather sleeves of his jacket. The heat of the engine was comforting, somehow.
I threw myself into his arms. “You’ve been looking for me?” I whispered. I wanted to burst into tears out of sheer gratitude.
Liam’s body tensed under my hands in surprise. Then, his shoulders relaxed, and he collected me in his arms. I looked up at him. In the uneven lights cast by the street lamps, the planes of his freshly-shaved face were even more dramatic than before. His expression seemed to morph between angry and frightened.
“Terrence gave me a call. Said he saw you being attacked.”
“What else did he say?”
“He said you knocked out the thugs and took off before he had a chance to intervene. The guys got away.” He put his hand to my chin and tilted my face to the side, then the other. “Are you hurt?”
I shuddered at his touch. It had been so long since a man had touched me that way, out of genuine concern. I closed my eyes.
“Aspen.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re shaking.”
I stared at the T-shirt stretched across his chest. The logo was of a stylized human skull encased in flames, the symbol of his motorcycle club. I concentrated hard.
“Can you take me home, Liam?”
Liam gently pushed me off of him and whipped off his jacket. It was surprisingly heavy when he dropped it on my shoulders. The leather was still warm from his skin, and it smelled like him. He unbuckled the strap of his helmet and handed it to me with a nod.
“Hop on.”
* * *
For such a large man, Liam was surprisingly quiet in the kitchen. I could barely hear the water in the kettle beginning to boil, the scrape of a spoon in the sugar bowl. He brought the tray out to the living room for me.
“Thanks,” I said, staring at the spread. The only two mugs in my possession were from the gas station just outside of town. They were the first actual things I’d purchased for my new life here in Canyon City.
“You don’t have a lot of stuff,” Liam said as he sipped his tea. He glanced around the room. It was sparse, as if I still hadn’t bothered unpacking, but there were no boxes.
“I’ve just been busy at work,” I said.
“Not that busy, from what I’ve seen,” Liam said, shaking his head. He set his mug back on the coffee table.
I cringed instinctively when he didn’t use a coaster, but I smoothed back my agitation a second later.
Liam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Is Terrence paying you enough?”
My tea tasted bitter all of a sudden. I spooned sugar into the hot water, all the while entirely too aware of Liam’s gaze fixed on me. I remembered what he’d said about Terrence calling him from the restaurant, about his intentions to “intervene,” the so-called thugs who’d gotten away. Why had Terrence even bothered to call? Had it been out of guilt? Or perhaps to cover his ass?
“Something on your mind?”
I laughed uncomfortably. “You’re pretty perceptive for a tough biker.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liam’s tone was curious, not defensive. He smiled crookedly.
Are we flirting? I wondered. My cheeks warmed, and I disguised my grin in the rim of my mug as I sipped. “I’m just surprised at how emotionally in-tune you are,” I finally said.
“I have three sisters, no brothers,” Liam offered as an explanation. He shrugged. “So you can kind of take what you will from that.”
“That’s cute,” I said.
“Thanks. And don’t you dare tell anyone.”
I chuckled, feeling warm and soft inside. It almost felt like the past couple hours, the past couple years hadn’t even happened. Almost.
“So. Do you feel like talking about what happened?”
I cupped my hands around my warm mug, feeling myself go still. I tucked my feet up under myself. Where did I start? All of my bad luck was nested one inside the other like onion peels. I just couldn’t explain one thing without peeling them all away, exposing the center.
Those three guys had attacked me because I worked for Terrence.
I could only work for Terrence if we continued our arrangement.
And the arrangement was better than the possibility of being found.
I shook my head. “No. Not yet.”
Liam touched my knee. “Well, if you ever do want to talk...” He let the sentence fall away unfinished. His earlier words echoed in the back of my mind. Take what you will from that. He grazed his thumb back and forth over my kneecap, the touch almost like a question. His eyes seemed to be asking the same thing when I met them.
Is this okay?
I glanced down at his hand touching me, drawing in a slow breath. It’s been so long... But it wasn’t all that bad. The same, familiar cringe from earlier returned, stronger than ever, and I had to fight it back. Liam wasn’t Terrence. Liam wasn’t Alex. I realized that, for the first time in a while, a strange man was touching me, and I was perfectly fine.
The warmth of Liam’s palm burned through my pants, awakening me. A familiar feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach. Want. Need. I licked my lips, and my eyes locked onto Liam’s hazel orbs. Maybe if I was okay with this, I would be okay with much more.
I reached for Liam’s hand. The one small movement on my part was all he needed. With much more force than I expected, he grasped the back of my head and pulled me toward him. A shock of white flashed through my closed eyelids as our lips met, leaving me dazed and breathless.
Liam’s scent invaded my head immediately, a pleasant, comforting mix of cigarettes, leather, and whiskey. I folded my arms around his neck, drawing him closer. Our kisses were tentative at first, cautious and probing. Then, I parted my lips, and Liam’s tongue dove in, touching against mine. I thought I felt sparks pass through our bodies.
“Where’s your bedroom?” Liam asked in a husky voice, his breath warm against my face.
I was shaking again. I pulled away from him. “This way.” My voice sounded foreign, floating outside of my body. I grabbed his hand and led the way before I had a chance to lose my nerve.
Liam pushed me against the wall and captured my lips in another deep, passionate kiss. He pressed his hips against my thigh. Heat washed down my body when I felt how hard he was for me. I was already wet inside of my panties, waiting and ready for him.
Somehow, we made it to the bedroom with our clothes on. Liam eased me down onto the bed and climbed on top of me, the weight of him deliciously heavy. The hallway light fell across his face, and the hunger in his eyes bore right through me. I stifled a moan when I felt a twitch in my stomach, my own hunger begging to be sated.
“You know how long I’ve waited to do this?”
My chest tightened. I shook my head.
“That ass in the tiny uniform, the apron...” Liam’s voice was hoarse and cracking with need. His mouth slid down my neck to my collarbone. He squeezed my breasts through my shirt, making my nipples perk up, and poked his tongue into my cleavage. “Oh, god, I want you.”
I concentrated on the ceiling fan, willing myself not to convulse wildly in pleasure. Every cell in my body ached to be touched. I drew my hands across Liam’s wide back, slipped them into the collar of his shirt to feel the knots of hard muscle he wore underneath.
Liam pulled off his shirt to make things easier for me. I gasped when I saw his tattoos for the first time. They flexed on his skin every time he moved. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them even as he worked on getting me undressed.
“Did those hurt?” I asked.
Liam chuckled. “Of course they did.” He tickled my bare ribs with his tongue as he worked on my pants.
I had to catch my breath as his head roamed lower. Anticipation flooded my veins. I parted my legs when Liam finally yanked off my pants. He immediately cupped his hand over my mound and slid a finger past the elastic lining of my panties, touching lightly against the wetness.
“You’re dripping. I’m flattered.”
I gasped in delight as he dug into my lower folds. Liam drew closer, studying my face as he worked his finger through my wet heat. I jerked under his hands when he touched my clit. Liam smirked triumphantly.
“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious.
Liam twirled his fingertip around my clit. “I love the look on your face.”
“What look?”
Suddenly, Liam plunged his finger into my pussy. “That look.”
I cried out in surprise as Liam slid another finger inside of me and began stroking. My hips rose, aching for more. The insides of my thighs were already wet with my juices, and Liam’s touch was more than I could stand. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Liam, please! Fuck me!” I surprised myself with how loud my voice was, but I couldn’t help it.
Liam glanced up at my face with a neutral expression. He pulled off my panties, grabbed for my hand, and placed it between my legs. My fingers wandered into my pussy, taking Liam’s place as he pushed himself off of the bed.
“God, that’s hot,” he muttered as he began unbuckling his belt. His forearms and chest bulged with veins as he fought himself out of his pants. He wore them low on his hips, at the perfect level to draw my eye to the V-line at the base of his abs.
I moaned as my pussy dripped around my fingers. I couldn’t wait to be under him, staring up at his muscled body. My eyes were trained on his bulge. My breaths grew shallower when he slipped out of his boxer briefs.
Liam stepped toward me, holding his veiny, hard shaft. He stared at my pussy and licked his lips. I scrambled upright and reached back to unhook my bra. I barely had time to toss it on the floor when Liam was back on the bed, forcing my legs apart.
Finally. I arched my back and screamed when Liam penetrated me. My pussy strained tight around him. Liam lowered his face to my chest and licked at my nipples as he drew himself out.
“How does that feel, baby?” he murmured. He drove his hips hard, pounding a beating into my pussy.
I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pushing myself down to meet him thrust for thrust. Liam bit down on one of my nipples, making me cry out and tighten my grip. He grunted in response and quickened his thrusts, practically nailing me to the bed. I closed my eyes, lost in the dual pain and pleasure of his marble-hard cock, delivered with enough force to leave me bruised.
“So tight,” Liam groaned, lost in his own sea of pleasure. He pushed himself up just far enough so he could watch his own cock slipping wetly in and out of me.
“Ah—”
“You’re a bad girl, aren’t you?”
“Ah—”
“That tight little pussy—”
“Fuck!”
“Yes, baby!”
Liam gripped my neck, holding me down. The tattoos on his chest and abs rose and fell, rippling against his muscles. He grimaced, burning with effort as he drove his cock deeper and deeper, rubbing it against every tiny inch of my gushing pussy.
I grabbed his arms, moved my hands up to feel the strain in his shoulders. I squeezed my eyes shut, hypnotized by the rhythm. The sounds of our breaths melted together, heaving in and out as one.
Then, Liam released my throat. He planted his fists on either side of my head. A look of complete helplessness flashed across his face. He yanked himself out of me and groaned, pumping his thick cum over my stomach.
“Oh, baby,” he whispered. He grabbed his shining cock, squeezing and pulling, smearing my juices all over as he milked himself. He exhaled heavily and fell to the side.
I threw my arm over my wet forehead. For a few minutes, we were completely still, filling the room with our heavy breathing.
I was the first to break the silence. “Damn. I could really use a cigarette right now.”
“Me, too.” Liam tilted his head to look at me through heavy eyelids. “I have a pack in my jacket. Got a lighter?”
I nodded. “In my purse.”
Liam slid out of bed and rubbed his eyes as he walked across the room. I gaped at his tight ass, at the columns of his wide, muscular thighs. His presence was so absolutely masculine, scenting the air with his thick, heady testosterone, that I felt myself getting wet again. As he disappeared into the hallway, I got up to get dressed.
“Um, Aspen?”
“Yeah?”
Liam walked back into the doorframe, silhouetted against the hallway light. He had a pack of cigarettes and a lighter clutched in one fist. In the other, he held a brick.
“I found this in your purse.”
“Oh.”
“Is this how you fought off the guys in the parking lot?”
I nodded.
“Well, okay then.”
“Okay.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when Liam dropped the brick in the hallway and pulled a cigarette out of his pack. There was yet another nested layer of trouble to worry about. Luckily, Liam didn’t seem to think that a girl with a brick in her purse was very strange at all.
“This seems wrong.”
Carmen snatched the napkin out of my fingers. Her eyes flitted between the address scrawled in Liam’s slanted hand and the building we’d pulled up to. Her laugh was high and ironic.
“This is the place, all right,” she said.
I gaped at the windowless building. Its façade was painted in a fluorescent orange, flaking off in some places. A flickering neon sign in the shape of a busty woman’s silhouette marked the entrance. Beside it were the words, AMAZON GENTLEMEN’S CLUB.
“Why would he ask me to meet him here?” I wondered aloud.
Carmen was already unbuckling her seat belt. She paused to check her make-up in the flip-down visor mirror. Her words came out distorted as she wiped excess lipstick off the sides of her mouth. “Nearly a month in town and you still don’t know anything, do you?” At my blank stare, she continued, “Skull Kings own this joint. How do you think they pay for all their rad parties?”
My jaw dropped. I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed them before, but suddenly, there they were. A small herd of Harleys were clustered in the prime parking spot closest to the club. From this distance, I couldn’t even tell which one was Liam’s.
“I’ve never been to a strip club before,” I said before I could stop myself.
Carmen’s eyes went wide. “No way. What are you waiting for, then? There’s a first time for everything!”
A lanky bouncer leaned against a stool by the door. He perked up when Carmen drew close. He had the flaming skull logo tattooed on his neck.
“Yo, Carmen,” he said. “And Carmen’s friend.” He eyed the generous slope of her hips. “Are you two old enough to be here?” he asked with a sly smile.
“Shut up, Logan,” Carmen said, waving him aside. She grabbed my elbow and tugged me into the darkness.
The girls were the first thing I noticed. Girls on tables, girls on poles, and all of them wearing nothing but Lycra thongs and glitter paint on their nipples.
Where did they all come from? I wondered. I stood there, dazed, overwhelmed by what seemed like twice the town’s entire population stuffed into this tiny club.
“There he is,” Carmen piped up, cutting into my thoughts. She pointed her chin toward a corner of the room.
Liam stood against the stage, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest, speaking to a lithe, topless brunette. My shoulders tensed a little bit when she said something that made him laugh. Then, he caught sight of me, and his smile grew even wider.
“Hey, Aspen,” he said, pulling me into a hug.
I caught Carmen grinning at me over his shoulder and blushed. “Hi.”
“Noah’s tending the bar. Come on, I’ll buy you two a drink.”
Carmen raised her eyebrows at me as we followed him across the room. “He’s taking us to Noah?” she whispered behind his back. “What’s going on?”
I shook my head. I don’t know. “Liam asked me to come after I told him about those guys Terrence met with. Who’s Noah?”
“He’s the Skull Kings president.”
“They have a president?”
“Somebody’s got to keep the boys in order,” Carmen said with a shrug. “He’s right over there if you want a look.”
I followed Carmen’s gaze to the bar. A large, hulking man stood behind it, pulling beer out of the tap. He was completely bald on top but had a wild, thick beard on his face. He stood a head taller than Liam and looked twice as wide. It was no wonder he was the president.
I honestly felt a little scared.
However, Carmen greeted him like a brother. “Hey-o, Noah. Doing the bitch work today?”
Noah’s expression was hard to read in the dim lighting, but his voice sounded good-natured enough. “Had another bartender flake out on me today. I need a fucking day off already.” His steely eyes turned to me. “This her?”
“Yeah,” Liam said. He passed me a frosty mug of beer and patted the stool beside his. “Aspen, this is Noah. Tell him what you told me.”
I tried smiling, but it shriveled under Noah’s gaze. “I was just closing up for lunch on Thursday when these three guys walked in,” I said. “They were wearing leather jackets with red sleeves. They had some sort of pow-wow with Terrence.” I gulped, and my gaze slid toward Liam. I hadn’t told him the next part. “They sat at Liam’s table.”
“What.”
Noah closed his eyes and groaned. “Did you hear what they were—”
“You didn’t tell me that they took my table,” Liam interrupted.
“I tried my best—” I began.
“Those fuckers—”
“Shut up,” Noah said, raising a hand to cut Liam off. He returned his attention to me. “Did you hear what they were talking about?”
I shifted in my seat. Carmen and Liam watched me intently, but how could I find the words? I took a long pull of beer. “No.”
“But something else happened,” Liam prompted. He touched my hand. “Didn’t it, Aspen?”
Carmen’s eyes widened into dark pools of concern. “Aspen?”
I sighed. “I couldn’t hear what they were saying during the meeting. But they were waiting for me in the parking lot. Said something about an arrangement they had with Terrence where he owed them a favor.” Tears of outrage sprang to my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I guess they figured I was the favor.”
Carmen gasped softly. Noah and Liam exchanged a look.
“Fuck,” Noah said.
“What’s going on?” Carmen asked.
I took the moment to drain the rest of my beer. Noah shook his head, clearly disheartened by whatever I’d told him.
“Those guys that came into your work were Scorpions,” Liam explained. “We’ve had them stop by this club a few times. They’re bad news.”
“How so?” Carmen glanced at me, as if I knew all the answers.
“They’re mostly bored rich kids who think they’re badasses,” Noah said. “Bunch of yuppie, wannabe outlaws. They tried bringing drugs into Canyon City once, but we put a stop to it.”
“So why’s Terrence hanging out with them?” Carmen asked.
“It must be money laundering.”
Three pairs of eyes turned onto me.
I cleared my throat. “If they’re dealing, they have to find some way to clean their drug money. A restaurant is a perfect front.”
“You’re right,” Noah said slowly. He stared into the distance as the gears turned in his head. “To separate the cash from the crime, you need to funnel it through a legitimate business.”
“Like a strip club,” Carmen piped up. She glanced appreciatively at her surroundings.
“I bet Terrence is taking a cut, too. Scumbag,” Liam said. It warmed my heart to hear him say that.
Noah set his jaw. “Well, we’ll take care of it, won’t we?” he said
Liam punched his fist into the opposite hand. “That’s right. You, me, and the Skull Kings MC.”
Liam and I stepped out to have a cigarette as Carmen tucked into her second beer. Dusk was beginning to settle on the town, casting everything in shadow. Liam loaned me his jacket for the second time, and I was reminded of the night we’d spent together.
“I’m sorry about the table,” I said.
“Nah.” He exhaled a long plume of smoke and leaned against the wall. “We’ll get those fuckers back.”
I mirrored his stance, angling my back into the wall and facing the parking lot. The sides of our arms touched. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Are you going to ask me why I love that table so much?”
“Yeah.”
“If I answer, I get to ask you a question.”
I watched the smoke rising from my lips. So, we were about to play the question game. It sounded promising. “Sure.”
Liam tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped it under his boot. “It was my dad’s favorite table. He was friends with the old owner. We used to drive into town once a week when I was a kid, and we’d always stop by Buddy’s. Harry gave him his favorite table every time. After he died, it was like...” Liam trailed off. “It was like I earned that table. Me and my dad.”
I watched Liam’s profile. The more I got to know him, the more there was left to discover. He had only sisters and one dead father. Where were his sisters, now? His mother? Unfortunately, it was Liam’s turn to ask a question, and I could tell it was going to be a doozy.
He grinned. “Why do you carry a huge ass brick around in your purse?”
I rolled my eyes. “If I told you it was a long story, can I leave it at that?”
“No.”
I scoffed, feigning offense, but my smile broke through. “Fine. Self-defense.”
Liam looked skeptical. “That’s it?”
Kind of, sort of. But it really was a long story. “That’s it,” I lied. I took a sip from my cigarette. “Now it’s my turn again. How did your father die?”
Liam ran his fingers through his shorn hair, looking uncomfortable. “Lung cancer.”
I dropped my cigarette. “Good god, Liam.”
“I know, I know. I’m bad, I’ll admit it.”
“Why are you still smoking?”
“You could say I have an oral fixation,” Liam said, his eyes on my lips.
I covered my mouth instinctively. Liam pulled my hand away and stepped close.
“I like how you look wearing my jacket,” he said.
A number of witty retorts crossed my mind, but my brain was fried. Liam wouldn’t stop staring at my mouth, and he was invading my space, standing so close I could feel his body heat. I opened my mouth to say something, but Liam cut off my words with a single finger pressed against my bottom lip.
“Look at me,” he said.
I looked at him, and my heart stopped. His eyes were soft, half-lidded, with honey irises set ablaze by the setting sun. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach, an uneasy yet exciting feeling. It had been so long since a man had looked at me like that, and it was Liam looking at me. Liam, whose smiling face put me at ease if he ever walked into my work on a busy day. Liam, whose arms circled me after I was ambushed by Scorpions.
I sighed as Liam closed the distance between us.
* * *
Liam’s bike vibrated between my thighs as we rode through town. Buildings and trees flashed by in a blur, but I wasn’t aware of them, anyway. I gripped Liam around his tight middle and held myself close. I could still feel the ghost of his kiss on my lips, hear the breathless invitation he murmured into my mouth.
“Come home with me.”
We crossed the railroad tracks and turned onto a dusty access road. Chain-link fences topped with barbed wire loomed on either side of us.
“Where are we going?” I asked, yelling over the growl of the engine.
“Home!” Liam called back. But the steel warehouse we finally pulled up to didn’t look like anybody’s home.
I felt a stab of disappointment. “You live here?”
Liam slid off of the seat and reached for me. “Pretty much. I’m never at my apartment. This is the Skull Kings clubhouse.”
I gaped at the rusty, ramshackle monstrosity as Liam unbuckled the helmet strap under my chin. It stood almost two-stories tall with nothing but corrugated metal siding for its walls. I followed Liam to the entrance, deflating myself of all hope for a romantic evening at his place.
Then, he opened the door.
Wow.
Light flooded the room when Liam flipped a switch, shining from an impressive collection of neon beer signs. Harley-Davidson memorabilia lined the walls, interjected with framed photos of whom I assumed to be Skull Kings, past and present. I examined everything with the reverence of a museum patron.
“What can I get you?” Liam asked. He sauntered over to a gleaming mahogany bar and gestured to their liquor stash, which only consisted of tequila and something else that was clear and tinged a suspect electric blue.
“I’ll have what you’re having.”
“Tequila it is,” Liam said.
I didn’t take the shot until Liam knocked his back, revealing the tender, sinewy underside of his neck. I had to swallow to calm myself.
“Liam, to be honest, this isn’t what I expected.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“It’s...really nice in here.” Though, “nice” didn’t even halfway cover it. Sumptuous was more like it. Luxurious. I smoothed my hand over the gleaming, lacquered bar to illustrate my point.
Liam laughed. “Oh, that. Well, this place is kind of the club’s pet project. The old owner was running a junk yard out of here, sold it to Noah to bail someone out of jail. Skull Kings did all the restoration, installation, everything.”
I quirked an eyebrow, imagining Liam shirtless with a tool belt, hammering nails while covered in a sheen of sweat. “So what did you do?”
Liam laughed and poured us another shot. “I grew up with sisters, remember? I picked out the furniture.” Instead of handing me my drink, he picked up both glasses and walked away. He paused to look back at me. “Want to see?”
I noticed the door on the opposite wall. By the way Liam was staring at me and licking his lips, I had a feeling there were more than just beer signs on the other side.
I smiled. “Where are you going with my drink?”
Liam extended the shot glass, as if he were handing it to me. When I stepped forward, he retreated. “Here, kitty, kitty,” he said.
My head rushed when I saw his devilish grin. His smirk was all it took to push the tequila into my system, get my engine going from zero to sixty. I pursed my lips.
“Just a little further. That’s it,” Liam whispered, drawing me closer.
When I was a hair’s width away from the rim of the shot glass, Liam yanked it back and dove forward to capture my lips in a kiss. I opened my mouth immediately to let him invade me with his tongue. He pulled away a second later, and I could see that his pupils were wide, darkening his gaze.
His next words were spoken in a deep, gruff voice I hardly recognized. “Get inside.”
We fell through the door. I attacked his clothes, tugging and pulling, and managed to drench myself in two shots of tequila. Liam tossed the empty glasses aside and went to work salvaging the liquor off my skin with his tongue. I gasped when he licked at the inside of my elbow.
“You like that?” he whispered. He dragged his tongue up my arm to my shoulder and tore off my sleeve.
I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to growl in his ear. I grabbed his arms and circled them around my waist, delighted when he tightened them to pull me close. Our lips smacked together when we kissed. My heart drummed wildly with each bite, the sensations amplified by the darkness pressing in around us.
“There’s a couch behind you,” Liam said. His hands drifted to my hips, urging me back.
It was completely dark, but I closed my eyes, anyway. I wanted to shut myself off completely, sink into every crevice of pleasure that Liam gave me. I shuffled backward until my legs hit something solid. Then, Liam gave me one final push. I was on my back a second later.
Liam didn’t waste any time after that. He put his hands up my shirt, groping toward my breasts. He cupped them in his warm hands and squeezed, groaning and thrusting his hips. Already, I could feel his hardening knot in the crotch of his jeans. I put my hand there and squeezed back.
“Fuck!” Liam hissed. He unzipped his pants and forced my hand inside.
I slid my fingers toward his heat and circled my hand around his shaft. It shot straight against my palm, going from semi-flaccid to hard in an instant. I opened my eyes wide, blind in the darkness. But when Liam groaned, I thought I saw a flash of white.
“Goddamn, Aspen.”
He pushed up my shirt, tore at my bra to bare my nipples. His mouth was cold at first when he licked them. I arched my back in shock, then sighed back down as he circled my nipples with his tongue. His kisses roamed farther down my belly to the waistband of my jeans, which he swiftly unbuttoned.
“Liam.” I sucked in a long breath before saying his name again. And again. In the back of my mind, I was still the scared, new girl in town, the first time waitress at Buddy’s, and Liam was just too good to be true.
He wrestled my pants to my ankles. My panties quickly followed them. I kicked them to the floor, and suddenly my entire body was on fire. The fever flushed from my head down to my pelvis, burning and itching, and I needed Liam more than anything else.
Immediately, Liam put his face to my pussy, as if drawn by some sort of primal scent. His tongue lashed out, attacking my already wet slit, digging into the folds and whipping across my clit.
My spine curved, shooting me upward. “Oh!”
Liam’s lips pressed against my lower ones. He touched his fingertips to my opening. “So sweet,” he whispered. His index finger slipped right in, and he penetrated me with a second and third with ease.
I bucked my hips, riding his hands and mouth. “Oh, fuck!” I heard him slurping at my pussy, heard the thup-thup of his fist around his cock, jerking away. I craved seeing his face, the wild look in his eyes, and at the same time I was glad for the veil of darkness. His next oral maneuver left me spasming in ecstasy.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Liam! God, Liam!” I couldn’t stop screaming.
Liam lifted his head and bit my thigh. He gave his fingers one last push before sliding them out of me.
I strained my eyes, searching.
“I want to fuck you,” his disembodied voice said. “I want to make you come while I’m inside you.”
“Yes,” I found myself agreeing. I reached for him, found his fingers, and squeezed. “Fuck yes.”
I rolled on top of him. Our mouths crashed clumsily together as I held him throbbing in my hand. His chest rumbled beneath mine, heavy with breathlessness under all his hard muscle. I traced his flat nipples, his ridged abs. There were so many angles to his body that I longed to explore with my mouth, my lips, my tongue.
All in due time, I told myself as I kissed his neck. I rubbed my pussy on his dick and felt him shudder.
Liam cupped my ass in his hands, lifting me up. He maneuvered himself under me until his tip just barely grazed against my wet folds. “Baby...”
I slid down carefully. I wanted to feel every inch of him going in. My muscles slackened as I collapsed on him, as I felt his hardness slowly filling up my cavity. My nipples tingled, and somehow Liam knew. His mouth was on my breasts, sucking and biting. I pushed myself all the way down. I needed him. All of him. When our hips crashed together, Liam took off pounding.
My hand darted out for the armrest. I braced myself against the frame of the couch as Liam began thrusting. Already, I could feel his skin dewing up with sweat and smell the cocktail of our sex mingling in the air. I undulated my hips, matching his rhythm. My clit grazed against the patch of hair just above his shaft. I threw my head back and rode harder.
Liam cursed loudly and spanked me. The sting broke me. All I wanted to do was come, now. And I was very close.
My muscles clenched tight. The walls of my pussy closed around Liam’s shaft, sucking him in deeper.
“You close, baby?” Liam asked. His voice was strained with effort.
I didn’t bother answering. Pleasure licked up and down my body. It wouldn’t stop. I heard a dull roar in my ears every time Liam stabbed into me, pushing the button that made me go wild. My left knee dropped off the couch, leaving me impaled on Liam’s cock and entirely at his mercy. He took advantage of his new position and grabbed my hips, clenching me down against him.
“Oh...”
“That’s right, baby,” Liam muttered. He crunched his abs, aiming his cock in exactly the right spot.
My body shuddered. I grabbed his shoulders. Feeling his muscles tensing and relaxing, tensing and relaxing only made me more anguished. I bit at him and felt a tug of triumph when he screamed. He hammered on with even more intensity.
“Yes. Yes. Yes!”
I heard myself screaming before I realized what I was saying. First, a knife of heat tore up my body, obliterating all coherent thought from my mind. Then, cool waves of bliss washed back down. My arms shot straight, pushing me off of Liam’s chest and locking me in place. I moaned and thrashed as I came, harder and fiercer than any time I’d ever experienced before.
Liam tossed me off of him. His warm cum streamed out, staining us on our stomachs. Our hips slid apart. Then, he leaned forward and gave me one last kiss. This one was different, sweet and thankful.
“Aspen?”
“Yeah?”
He kissed my bottom lip, then my top lip. His fingers touched my jaw.
We heard it at the same time: the hollering, the cheering. Moving as if a switch had been thrown, I scrambled blindly for my clothes as Liam leaped off the couch and disappeared into the darkness. A square of light popped into my vision as a door was thrown open, and I squinted at the figure of Liam struggling to put his pants.
I clutched my jeans to my chest, barely enough to cover me.
“Have fun, kids?”
I shaded my eyes. “Carmen?”
Logan, the bouncer from the club, stood a few paces behind her, grinning lewdly with his arms crossed.
“What the fuck, man?” Liam said.
“Hey, Noah told me to drive her here in her car,” Logan said, jerking his chin at me. “Not my fault Carmen got so wasted.”
Just as he said so, I noticed Carmen was teetering on her high heels. Her next few words came out a little slurred but were coherent enough. “I don’t drink and drive.”
“But I drove,” I said.
“Yeah.”
Liam looked at me over his shoulder. With the light spilling in from behind him, I could only see half of his face. He was smiling.
“I’m sorry, Aspen.”
“Don’t be.”
Liam scratched his head and frowned, deep in thought. “Do you need to drive Carmen home?”
“I was actually kind of hoping I could stay here.”
Liam beamed. “Then, stay. I’ll take her home.” He ambled forward and planted his fists in the cushions on either side of me. I sank down a few inches when he leaned in for a kiss. “But I’ll be back before you know it,” he whispered.
Terrence poked his head out from the kitchen. “Is Carmen here, yet?”
“Nope.” After last night, I imagined Carmen was still in bed. “I could cover for her today. It’s not that busy.”
“Good,” Terrence said distractedly. I could feel his eyes on my back as I rang up an order. “By the way, would you come see me in my office when you have a minute?”
My jaws locked together. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. A torrent of choice words whipped through my mind, but all I could manage was, “Sure.”
Asshole.
I took drink orders, delivered drink orders, and ran plates, but eventually, I was out of things to do. I smoothed my apron over my knees as I made my way to the office.
“Aspen’s in trouble again, fellas! What’d she do this time?” a cook yelled as I passed through the kitchen.
I gave him a smile. It was an actual, genuine smile, too. In spite of Terrence, of having to pick up the slack on Carmen’s behalf, I was happy. After last night, the first night in a long time I actually felt worthwhile, I knew that I could accomplish anything.
Well, I was going to accomplish something, all right.
I knocked on the office door. Terrence answered right away and waved me in. My usual spot on the desk was cleared off, ready for me.
“You know what to do,” Terrence said. He was predictable as clockwork.
“Guess what?”
Terrence grimaced, half-annoyed and half-curious. “What?”
“I’m putting on a special show today.”
His sour expression eased away. “Oh? Then, get your tight ass up there and show Daddy your new tricks.”
A flare of disgust prickled my skin, but my excitement wore it down. I had to bite back my smile as I untied my apron, as I reached into my shorts and whipped it out—
“What the—”
The pistol was heavy in my small hand, but I held it firm.
“Like a baby bird,” Liam had said. “Don’t let it fly away, but don’t crush its bones, either.”
I aimed it right at Terrence’s face.
“Are you crazy?” he screeched.
“This is a message from my new boyfriend,” I began. “Liam Olsen. You might know him, Terrence. He comes here a lot.”
Terrence held up his hands and slouched forward, shaking.
“Anyway, he sure loves to come here because this is where his special table is. And now his girlfriend, too.” I hopped off the desk and planted my feet on the floor. “Liam would be disappointed if his girlfriend wasn’t the one serving him his burger and fries.”
Terrence nodded. Flecks of spit flew out of his mouth as he struggled to speak. “O-okay, then. I understand.”
“Do you?” I asked, my voice rising an octave. I lunged forward with the gun, coaxing a squeal out of him. “As I understand it, we have an arrangement, and as of now, that arrangement is over.”
“Christ! I won’t fire you, okay?”
I glared at him, focusing all of my energy into a laser beam of hatred. Terrence lowered himself to his knees.
“And you’ll continue paying me under the table?”
Terrence clasped his hands together. “Completely off the books, I swear.”
Satisfied, I buttoned up my shorts and picked up my apron. It was perfect timing, too, because I could just make out the sounds of motorcycle engines coming from outside.
“By the way,” I said, “Noah wants to talk to you.”
* * *
I thought I deserved a break, so I went outside just in time to witness a throng of motorcycles circling the parking lot. They walked toward the entrance in an intimidating pack. Their pace slowed when they saw me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Then, I realized I still had the gun in my hand. I froze awkwardly before jumping to hide it behind my back.
Noah’s confused squint turned into a scowl. “Is that mine?” he bellowed.
A portly man with hair down to his waist looked incredulously at Noah. “I thought you didn’t like guns.”
“I don’t. I collected replicas.”
Liam shouldered his way to the front and joined my side, chuckling nervously. He took the gun from me. “Noah, I assure you there is a very reasonable explanation for this. We just can’t tell you what it is right now.”
Noah continued scowling. Actually, I was sure that was just what his face looked like all the time. “You’re lucky we have bigger fish to fry.” He pointed at the gun in Liam’s hand. “That better be in my locker by the time we get back to the clubhouse.”
Liam and I stared wordlessly at each other until the rest of the MC were safely closed off inside of Buddy’s.
He grabbed for my hand. “How’d it go?”
“Better than I hoped.” I couldn’t stop grinning.
Liam kissed my fingers. “Good. How about taking the day off?”
I flinched. It was so very tempting, but at the same time... “I have a few tables, left.”
Just then, the doors banged open. I caught a glimpse of Logan herding customers out of the restaurant with a mop handle, like a sheepherder. They rushed out the doors, avoiding my gaze as they fumbled for car keys.
“Um...”
“Things are about to get uncomfortable, so Noah thought it’d be best for Buddy’s to close for the day.”
“Well, then.” I took off my apron once again. “Looks like I’m off early. What should we do?”
“Before we do anything, we really should return this,” Liam said. He tossed the gun replica into the air and caught it. “You have to admit, though, it’s much lighter than a brick.”
I felt a pang. Liam caught the flicker in my expression instantly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“The brick wasn’t for Terrence,” I began. I was surprised at how easily the words came. Immediately after saying them, the bands of my secret loosened their grip over me. I took my first carefree breath in a while.
Liam’s eyes darkened. “Then who?”
Alex. “My ex. He was...a little crazy. He stalked me through four broken leases in my hometown before I got away. That’s why I moved here.” At the look of murderous rage filling Liam’s face, I continued quickly, “but he’s far, far from here. The brick was insurance, just in case.”
Liam shut his mouth. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he nodded. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and pulled me into the crook of his neck. His skin vibrated on my temple as he spoke. I heard his voice from inside of my own head.
“He’ll never hurt you again, Aspen. I promise you, that.”
“I know, Liam.” I turned my head and let my lips brush against his throat.
“And if he does, he’ll answer to me—”
Somewhere inside, there was a loud crash that sounded suspiciously like a Terrence-sized somebody being chucked through a wall—
“And to the Skull Kings MC.”