Page 20

(Axel)

“How was your day at the shop?” Axel asked when Creature stepped through the door.

The man turned to throw the two extra locks he always kept on the door when they were at home, his voice filled with amusement when he spoke.

“Pretty damned good, considering I arrived to find a package in the delivery bin,” Creature admitted. “Turns out Scout had gotten his hands on the Knucklehead engine and transmission I’d been after, along with fenders and old-school springer front forks.”

“Are they hard to get?”

“Oh yeah.”

The timer on the oven beeped, and Axel grabbed a pair of potholders before removing the homemade deep-dish pizza he’d made for supper.

“Something smells amazing.”

“Thanks, it’s one of the few things I can make from scratch,” Axel admitted as he carried it to the table and set the pan on the two metal star-shaped trivets he’d placed on the table to keep the pan from burning it.

Heavier than he’d expected, Axel was almost certain they were homemade and made of bike chain, probably down at the shop when Creature had time on his hands.

“Looks better than anything I could cobble together,” Creature admitted as he grabbed a couple sodas from the fridge and set them down beside their plates. “Did you enjoy your day off?”

“I feel a little like I wasted it,” Axel said as he cut pieces for them.

“How so?”

“Just used to spending my days off trying to get the trailer back to some halfway livable condition in between laundry and a mound of dishes and trash that never seemed to shrink,” Axel admitted.

“There wasn’t much to do here once I finished the laundry and the breakfast dishes.

I swept and mopped the kitchen floor just 'cause I found the Swiffer wet and dry mops in the supply closet when I was looking for fabric softener.”

“I think we’re out.”

“We were, so I grabbed some,” Axel said. “Since I was already out, I decided to grab the fixings for the pizza too, along with more grape juice, milk, and cereal. Oh, and I picked up meatballs and garlic bread, sauce, and pasta since you said you wanted to make a batch of spaghetti.”

“Thanks, but I don’t expect you to spend all of your free time doing housework,” Creature pointed out as he dug in. “Holy shit, this is good.”

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you,” Creature said. “But I meant what I said. You’re not here to be the maid service. On a nice day like this, you should have been out doing something fun.”

“Ech,” Axel replied, shrugging.

“Is that an Ech? You’re right, but I don’t want to admit it.

Ech, you didn’t think about it because your old man has you so conditioned to pick up after him that you think you have to do that here, or Ech, you haven’t had the chance to figure out what you like, so you didn’t know what to do with your time off? ” Creature pressed.

Sighing, Axel ran his fingers through his hair while he finished chewing the bite he’d shoved in his mouth.

“All three,” he finally admitted. “I just, I don’t really have any friends left around here. The one who could leave left a year ago, and the one who got married is busy with his new kid.”

Creature nodded, chewing. Axel was pleased to see that he was taking the time to savor the food instead of woofing it down the way he usually did with the meals he cooked.

“I can see where that would suck,” Creature said. “So how about we introduce you to some new friends? Wanna drop into Joker’s Wild with me tonight?”

Whoa.

What he’d seen of the clubhouse, when he’d dropped off Saint’s patch, had been really cool. Between the pool tables and several guys chucking darts at a board, it looked like a lot of fun.

“Are you sure no one would mind?”

Creature chuckled and pointed his fork at him. “After what you did for Saint, no one would have an issue with you being there.”

“Then hell yeah, I’d love to go out with you tonight.”

The moment he realized what he’d blurted, he felt his face heat up, and he ducked his head, turning his attention back to his plate.

“Done deal then.”

Relief washed over him when Creature said nothing about his choice of words.

Mounds of cheese, meat, mushrooms, and onions made for a thick slice, filling his belly so there was no need to take a second one.

Once he finished eating he excused himself and washed his plate so he could go change while Creature finished eating.

By the time he’d returned to the kitchen, the man had covered the rest of the pizza with foil and was busy rearranging the contents of the fridge so the dish would fit.

“First time I’ve ever had to pass on a third piece of pizza, Creature admitted, “but that just means I can take a piece with me tomorrow and not have to send for takeout.”

“That’s what my dad always did too, when he had a job, anyway,” Axel said, shuffling from one foot to the other.

It still felt a bit like betrayal to have left him the way he had, but staying there with Creature was far better for his nerves.

There was no denying that he slept better on the bed Creature had found for him, without worrying about the old man slamming around in the middle of the night, bellowing curses and breaking things.

“All set?” Creature asked.

“Yeah.”

When Creature eyed him from head to toe, Axel couldn’t resist picking at the sleeve of his jacket and averting his gaze from the older man’s intense scrutiny.

“It’s a short ride, so you’re fine for the night to be on the back of the bike unless you’d prefer for me to take the SUV.”

Shaking his head, Axel felt excitement coarse through him at the chance to ride on a real motorcycle.

“No way, I’ve always wanted to ride on one.”

“In that case, we’ll pick you up some boots, and you can come with me on longer runs if you want. I’ve missed having someone ride with me.”

“Hell yeah.”

Creature chuckled then, looking pleased, so Axel headed for the door, having to settle himself down so he wouldn’t go bounding down the stairs making a bunch of racket and disturbing one of the cranky old guys who lived on the first floor.

He’d already overheard one telling off the mailman for talking too loud on his Bluetooth device while he was dropping off a package.

“What kind is it?” he asked as he followed Creature around to the garage on the backside of the building where he also kept his SUV.

“Harley Fat Boy,” Creature said, running his hand over the bike when they reached it. “Smooth as hell and easily maneuvered. All you’ve got to do is hold on and remember to lean with me when we take a corner, but not too much; just follow my lead and keep your feet on the pegs.”

He pointed them out so Axel could see where his feet should go.

“Don’t take your feet off of those until we’re parked.”

“Okay, yeah, I can do all of that,” Axel said, but as he studied the machine, one question quickly came to mind. “But what am I supposed to hold on to?”

“Me.”

The word sent a surge of warmth through his belly as Creature swung his leg over, started the engine, and motioned for Scout to get on.

Carefully, he tried to imitate the ease with which Creature had mounted, without kicking him and found that it was easier than he expected.

When he rested his hands on Creature’s hips, the big man reached back and tugged him closer until his arms were all the way around Creature’s waist and he was pressed snug against his back, his cock giving a little twitch in his jeans when he rubbed against Creature’s backside.

“Just like that,” Creature murmured, hand lingering on his thigh a moment, lightly caressing. “If you need to tell me something, remember to yell; it’s hard to hear over the engine.”

“Got it,” Scout said, as he pressed his head against the back of Creature’s shoulder, nose immediately filling with the scent of leather and sunshine.

The first moment of motion was terrifying, and he clung, hair whipping into his eyes as they rode past shops and streetlights in a blur.

He’d feared the leans would be sharper, but it was different from riding a bicycle.

He found himself enjoying the moment and the sheer size difference between him and Creature, which left him feeling safe and protected.

The only downside to the whole trip was driving past the liquor store and spotting his old man with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, a woman who’d come on to Scout more than once.

If he hadn’t already known for certain that he was gay, he’d have had all the confirmation he needed after dealing with her.

There was a reason he didn’t drink. Karen’s whiskey breath wafted beneath his nose, forcing him to hold his breath so he didn’t inhale too deeply.

The whiskey didn’t mask the stench of unbrushed teeth, the rotten odor having already left him gagging once tonight.

His stomach heaved, and for the fifth time that night he regretted not finding another place to sleep.

“It’s too bad this color doesn’t come in a bottle,” Karen said, long fingernails tangling in his hair as she tugged a strand beneath the naked bulb dangling overhead. “I’d pay ten bucks for a shade like this.”

His dad snorted, but the look in his eyes when he glanced up to see her petting his hair was filled with pure hatred. Axel batted her hand away, not that she got the hint; she just grasped another piece and rubbed it between her fingers.

“And so soft too, I swear this hair would be completely wasted on a boy if you didn’t wear it so long,” she said, giggling as she slid her nails up the back of his neck.

“Of course, as pretty as you are, I might need proof that you are a boy and not just hidden in boy’s clothes so you’ll be left alone.

No shotguns for Daddy if the world doesn’t know what it’s looking at. ”

He backed into a chair that a little shove from her sent him sprawling into, right before she parked herself on his lap and ran her fingers up his chest.