My car made a horrifying noise and then sputtered to a stop as I frantically pulled to the side of the road. Smoke poured out of the engine. This was not what I needed. My roommate’s brother had promised this car would make it to California, no problem. The last state sign I could remember seeing was North Dakota. I was going to have words for him.
I turned off the engine and stepped out. The sky was darkening with thunderclouds. I could already hear the distant rumble of the approaching early summer storm. Great. Just what I needed. Rain and a broken car.
I popped the hood and coughed at the acrid scent of burning metal and engine. I had no idea what I was looking for. The only thing I knew about cars was that you put gas in them. But, even knowing only that, I knew this car was in bad shape. It needed a mechanic.
I sighed. I had a nasty feeling the mechanic was going to use up most of my savings. I had planned on using the money to get to Hollywood, go on a couple of auditions, and see if I could make it big over the summer. It was something I had always wanted to try my hand at, and this would probably be my last opportunity. In the fall I was returning to college as a sophomore with junior credits and thus my program was going to accelerate. All my energy would need to focused on my degree and not pie in the sky dreams.
Thunder rumbled again as I slammed the hood down. Not a single motorist had passed by. I had taken the detour through North Dakota because I was promised the scenery would be worth it. I was regretting that choice. At least I had AAA. I opened the door and reached for my phone.
It flickered the red battery image and then died. I cursed- the damn thing had been plugged in! Or not, as I discovered. The connector was loose. A big raindrop splattered on the windshield. I wasn't sure what else could go wrong, but I wasn't about to ask.
Pocketing the phone and grabbing a light jacket, I got back out of the car and locked the door. Not that there was anything worth stealing. I was a poor college kid in a crappy car. Another raindrop splattered on the roof of the car.
Up ahead I could see the roof of a building. It didn't look like much, but I hoped it at least had a phone. I could call a tow from there and maybe even figure out a place to get the car fixed. With a deep breath, I started walking.
A row of shiny motorcycles were the only vehicles parked out in front of what was apparently a biker bar. The sign where the name should have been was worn away to the point where it was unreadable. Cigarette butts and empty beer bottles littered the ground around the drab building. I could hear loud music coming from inside. Apprehension prickled at the back of my neck. This was not the best place for a sweet little college freshman in jogging shorts and a tank top to be walking into. My dad would have flipped his lid if he knew I had even driven by a place like this, let alone was considering going inside.
But I didn't have much of a choice. I hadn't seen another building within walking distance of my car; I had no cell service, my car was busted, and it was about to start raining. I zipped up the jacket, trying to hide skimpy top, squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
Cigarette smoke curled around the edges of the room, the haze obscuring the neon lit bar. An older woman working the bar turned and frowned at me. She had long, dark hair and tattoos covering almost every inch of visible skin. Her nose was pierced. She looked like she could kick my butt without blinking an eyelash.
The rest of the patrons were even more intimidating. Two men with ZZ Top style beards turned to look at me. Their studded leather vests had some sort of emblem on it, but I averted my eyes. I hoped they were like wild dogs: if I didn't make eye contact they wouldn't attack.
Two men playing pool stopped their game to stare as I walked toward the bar. Three more in the back watched me with silent, dark eyes. Sweat dripped down the curve of my spine and my heart was pattering like a scared rabbit's. The tension in the room was palpable. They really, really did not want me there.
“Hi,” I squeaked at the woman working the bar. “My car broke down, and my phone's dead. Can I use yours to call a tow?”
The woman stared impassively at me for a moment, as if deciding if I was worth the effort of speaking to. I swallowed on a dry throat. I was going to kill my roommate's brother. If I lived through this.
“It's just a phone call, Jenny,” a male voice behind me said. I tensed. I hadn't felt anyone come up behind me.
“Whatever, Tech.” The woman rolled her eyes. “She's your problem, then. I'm not taking any responsibility.”
I frowned. What kind of responsibility would she need to take for me just making a phone call to AAA? I turned around slowly.
Tech, though I doubted that was his real name, was not what I was expecting. For one thing, he was barely older than I was. Boyish blonde hair fell across eyes that I couldn't pin a color on in the smoky room. He was tall with broad shoulders and the leather jacket adorning them wasn't hiding that he was pure muscle.
He gestured with his hand toward the back of the bar. I could see a grungy phone hanging on the wall by what I hoped were the bathrooms. Not that I would have used one of them if you had paid me. I wanted to make this phone call and get out of that bar as fast as humanly possible.
I took a tentative step toward the phone. One of the ZZ Top guys snickered slightly as I walked past. He wore dark shades, even though he was inside, but I could feel his eyes undressing me. I felt a little sick.
I glanced back at Tech before reaching a tentative hand for the phone. He nodded and leaned up against the wall next to me. He was going to listen to my conversation. His eyes never left me as I pulled my AAA card out of my wallet and dialed the number.
A shrill woman answered the other line. I gave my name, account number, and said I needed a tow to a mechanic.
“Address?” the woman asked. I had no clue where we were.
“6999 County Rd. 7,” Tech answered. He was definitely listening to my conversation.
I repeated the address and added that I was about half a mile away from the bar.
“The tow-truck will be there in forty-five minutes,” the woman said. “Thank you and have a nice day.”
I hung up the phone. Thunder rumbled over the music in the bar. The storm must have hit. Turning, I glanced out a tiny, grimy window to see rain coming down in sheets. I was thinking about walking through it anyway, just to get out of the bar, but then lightning flashed. It hit a tree close enough for me to see blue sparks and smoke. Thunder shook every board in the bar. Nope. No walking through a lightning storm. I was desperate, but not stupid.
“Is it okay if I wait back here for the storm to slow down? The lady said it would be forty-five minutes for the truck, but I'm fine waiting at my car. Just once the lightning stops.” I turned to face Tech, his face impassive. “I don't want to cause any problems.”
Tech appraised me, his eyes capturing mine. He was about to say something when the bar door flung open and four, very large, very scary bikers walked inside.
“Fuck the fucking rain!” one of the men yelled. Even his voice was scary. Tech glanced their way and every muscle in his body tensed. He reminded me of a hunting tiger.
“You sure picked an awesome time to break down,” he mumbled, pushing me toward the back. The four other patrons stood from their seats to greet the newcomers. If the tension in the bar had been at a high before, it was fever pitch now. Something big was happening.
I didn't fight him as he herded me down the dark hallway. He fumbled with the door to the manager's office before pushing me into the room. “Whatever you hear out here, do not come out. Jenny'll be in here with you. You do whatever she says, understand?”
I nodded quickly, my eyes growing big as saucers. The man was serious as a heart attack. The corners of his mouth lifted in a confident smirk.
“Don't worry. You'll be fine.” And with that, he closed the door.
I stared at the heavy wooden door for a second. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I startled when the door opened and Jenny walked in. Through the open door I could see the four men coming in from the storm facing the four patrons. The lightning outside was nothing compared to the energy flickering between them.
Jenny closed the door and went to the sole chair in the office. She sat down and stared at me. She wore black slacks and a black tank top that displayed her tattoos. I tried not to stare at her chest, but it was hard with the intricate designs all pointing at her cleavage. I guessed that was probably the point.
“You're lucky Tech has a thing for blondes,” Jenny finally said. Her eyes kept dissecting me like I was some sort of mutant.
“What's going on out there?” I asked. My voice came out as a whisper.
“Prairie Devils are negotiating with the Raging Skulls. No one is terribly pleased at the moment with current arrangements.” Jenny shrugged like it was nothing. She looked down at her hand and started playing with her fingernail.
“Raging Skulls?” That did not sound like a friendly group.
Jenny laughed. “Oh, you are a peach. So sweet and innocent.” She laughed again and went back to her nails.
Jenny had the only chair in the room, and she was giving off the aura that she was guarding the desk, so sitting on that was out. Besides, it was covered in neat stacks of papers that I didn't want to mess with. I hoped they were just the books for the bar, but I wasn't about to check. I leaned against a patch of bare wall and tried to calm myself. My knees were still knocking together, so I slid down and sat on the floor. I didn't want to think about what I might be sitting on.
I could hear angry shouts from outside. Men's voices rose and the fell. I couldn't make out the words but they didn't sound nice. Even with Tech's warning, there was no way I was going to open that door. If bad-ass Jenny didn't want to be out there, then neither did I.
Thunder shook the walls and roared against the ceiling. I hoped I had remembered to close the windows off the car. More yelling. The sound of breaking glass. Something hard slamming into something equally as hard. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block it out. Jenny just sat examining her nails like this was usual.
The office door opened and Jenny had a gun pulled and trained on it faster than I had time to blink. I didn't even see her pull it out, let alone know she had one. No wonder she had seemed so calm. She had a colt-45 backup plan.
“Easy, Jenny. We're done.” Tech's voice was low.
“That was fast,” Jenny replied. The gun was gone. I had no idea where she was hiding it.
The door swung open more to reveal Tech shrugging. He had a red mark on his cheek forming. “They saw reason pretty quick.”
Jenny rose from the chair and brushed past him. “Get her out of here. This is no place for a good girl like her.”
I looked up at Tech. In the fluorescent light of the office, his eyes were blue. Or maybe brown with blue? I couldn't decide anything other than that they were gorgeous.
“You okay” he asked, reaching a hand down to help me up.
“Yeah,” I said shakily. His hand was strong and warm. “This has been a weird day.”
His smile lit up the room. When he smiled, he glowed with boyish charm that looked completely odd against the leather jacket and dangerous vibe. My heart started to beat faster and it wasn't because I was nervous.
“Let me get you a drink for your nerves, and then we'll get you to your car,” he offered.
“I, uh, forgot my ID,” I lied. I didn't want to tell him I wasn't twenty-one.
Tech laughed. “Like Jenny cares about ID's?”
He let go of my hand. I hadn't realized I was still holding onto it, and I felt a physical pain at the loss. I liked touching him.
The atmosphere in the bar was almost jovial. The pool game was back in session and the two bearded guys were laughing and toasting with beer. Things must have gone well. Outside the rain was letting up and the thunder no longer shook the walls.
“Two whiskey shots,” Tech told Jenny. She blinked slowly at him until he put some money on the bar. She took his money and poured out two generous shots, which Tech than handed me one. “Cheers.”
I slammed it back, feeling the liquid burn down my throat. A little shiver passed through me, but I put the shot glass upside down on the bar. I had been to enough frat parties to make that easy. “Thanks.”
“Girl can take her whiskey,” Jenny noted. “Maybe not so sweet after all.”
Tech laughed again. The sound heated my belly more than the whiskey. “Another?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said with a nod. “I'm not driving. The tow-truck is.”
“I'll take the bottle then, Jenny,” Tech said, putting a bill on the bar. Jenny handed him a glass bottle.
“We should get you to your car.” He took a swig of the whiskey and offered me the bottle. I took it with a grin and took a gulp. The alcohol was certainly helping with my nerves.
“It's just down the road,” I said motioning in the general direction. “You know a good mechanic and a place to stay for the night?”
“What's wrong with it?” Tech asked. He let me keep the bottle.
I shrugged. “Smoke coming out of the engine?”
Tech grimaced. “That's never good. You want me to take a look at it?”
“I figured you for a biker, not a car guy,” I replied.
“I'm good with my hands,” he said with a silky voice.
“I bet you are.” My voice came out far more husky than I was intending. I had no idea how he was doing this to me, but I wanted to bring him home. Maybe it was just the stress of the day, the excitement of being in a biker bar, or his pure animal magnetism, but I was incredibly attracted to him. He oozed danger and sex, yet I kept getting glimpses of something sweet underneath.
“Joker!” Tech called out, his eyes never leaving me. One of the pool players raised his head.
“Yeah?”
“Would you make sure this young lady's car gets towed to Franks? She's had a rough day.”
“Yeah, no problem,” the pool player responded and then finished his pool shot.
“What are we doing? Won't the tow guy need my card?” I asked.
Tech smiled that heartwarming smile again. “I am taking you to Anna's Inn so you have a place to stay for the night. Joker will make sure your car gets to Frank's. His brother runs the tow service. I'll make sure it gets taken care of.”
“Thanks.” I took another sip off the bottle. “Why are you being so nice to me anyway?”
“He likes blondes,” Jenny cut in. Tech gave her a dirty look.
“You remind me of a friend of mine's little sister.” He got a sad, faraway look in his eyes. “If someone had done this for her...” He shrugged.
“I'm sorry,” I said quietly. He shook his head slightly as if he were freeing himself from spiderwebs of the past.
“Let's go get you checked in,” he said, changing the subject.
“Okay,” I said, standing up. My knees buckled slightly as I stood. Lunch had only been a protein bar and a diet soda, so the alcohol on an empty stomach was going straight to my head.
“Whoa there,” Tech said, catching me easily in his strong arms. Wrapped up in him, I could feel just how much muscle there was under his jacket. There was a lot. He also smelled really good.
“I should probably eat something,” I murmured.
“We'll get a hamburger on the way,” Tech said, letting me go once I had my feet. I thought about falling again just to get him to catch me again, but the look Jenny was shooting both of us told me not to.
“Sounds great.” I straightened my jacket and did my best to walk in a straight line to the door. I managed to mostly pull it off.
Outside, the rain was down to a light drizzle. It wasn't quite yet night, but with the dark rain clouds the lights outside the bar provided most of the light. Tech went to one of the motorcycles on the end and motioned me to get on the back.
I wrapped my arms around his middle, my fingers brushing his belt buckle. He was warm and solid and making my insides heat just by holding on to him. He revved the engine, adding a vibration to my thighs that only fanned the flames growing in my belly.
With a roar, the bike sped down the empty road, away from my broken down car and toward what I assumed was Anna's Inn.
***
Anna's Inn was the most pathetic excuse I had ever seen for a hotel. The pale green paint was peeling off the building and only half the sign lit up over the sagging roof. The sad little collection of buildings was on the outskirts of a small town. But, it was cheap and clean, or at least that's what Tech promised.
Tech had stopped at a little McDonalds and gotten me a hamburger and fries. I could smell the food and it was making my mouth water. He handed me the bag.
“You eat, and I'll go get you a room,” Tech said, handing me the bag. The rain had stopped and it was actually nice out, other than the mosquitoes that were starting to buzz. “I know the owner. It'll only take a minute.”
I nodded and dug into the bag. I was starving. I wolfed down the hamburger and fries and was licking my fingers by the time Tech came back.
“You were hungry,” he observed, eying the empty bag. I blushed slightly and he smiled. “You're in room 112.”
He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me forward. A thrill went through me at his touch. I was safe with him. I wanted him.
He pushed open the creaky door to reveal a very worn orange bedspread and banged up dresser. But, it at least smelled clean. I glanced around and closed the door. The room seemed suddenly very small with just the two of us in it.
“Thank you, by the way,” I said slowly. “For the hotel, and dinner, and everything back at the bar.”
“You're welcome, Claire.” His voice was low and powerful, and the way he said my name sent heat straight to my core.
“What was going on there anyway? I get the feeling I picked a horrible time to break down,” I said. Tech pulled out the whiskey bottle and took a sip before offering me some.
“You have no idea. Twenty minutes either direction and you wouldn't have had a problem,” he said, his eyes focusing on me.
“I get the feeling I shouldn't ask more. That it's Prairie Devil business,” I said slowly, my eyes meeting his. He nodded.
“You don't want to get into this world, Claire. It's not safe.”
“Are you safe?” I whispered. I wasn't sure what I wanted the answer to be.
“No.” He said it simply. Looking in his eyes, I believed it. He was dangerous.
I took another swig of whiskey and took a step closer to him. The liquor was making me bold. He was tall and dangerous, but I wanted him. I wanted to feel his hands on me, I wanted to have that danger touch me and take me. Without stopping to think of the consequences, I leaned forward and kissed him.
His lips were soft compared to the burn of stubble on his cheek. He opened his mouth, kissing me back and taking charge. His hands went to my hair and his tongue entered my mouth. I moaned slightly at the invasion. He tasted like whiskey and desire.
“Tech,” I whispered. “I want you.”
He pulled back on my hair, making me suck in a gasp as he pulled me back. His eyes went to mine and he searched them.
“Gregory,” he said. “Call me Gregory King.”
And then he made me his.