Page 8 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

Chapter six

You're Ruthless

Rafferty

She stared at me, looking gobsmacked. That expression shifted and I suspected she wanted to dismiss me out of hand, but those wheels were turning. I wanted to kiss her more than I ever had in my life.

Her brows lowered. “Then why aren’t you scared?”

I grinned. “We grew up together. I know firsthand that you’re all bark and little bite.”

She turned her head away from me and muttered, “I should bite you .”

“Have at it.”

With her hair flying and wide eyes, she whipped her gaze back to mine. “You’re trouble.”

“The best kind though, Lex.”

“I’m not scary,” she muttered.

I laughed. “Right. Answer this: did you befriend that chick who cheated with Simone’s ex-boyfriend? Just so you could find out which one of them made the first move?”

Her eyes slid to the side. “That doesn’t matter. Simone’s perfectly happy now.”

She was trying to be funny, but I stuck to my guns. “Did you go out of your way to meet Tennyson?”

“Not out of my way,” she muttered.

I raised my eyebrows at her. “Right. That’s what makes you scary. What was it you once said to Jasmine? ‘Lead with love, but master the throat punch?’ You’re ruthless and not only do you not take any shit, you won’t let your friends take any shit either - not if you can help it.”

She stood and wandered half-way down the hall to a small closet. “Speaking of not taking any shit, I’ve got a set of locks to switch out.” She brought back an entry combo set and put it on the end table. “I don’t want to keep you from anything, Raff.”

I stood and grabbed the package from the end table. “I’m not leaving, Lex. It’s great that you’ve got a set of locks at the ready, but after the vibe I picked up from him… I don’t trust that asshole.”

“He isn’t coming back,” she said, and just stopped herself from rolling her eyes at me.

“If you’re right, then I’ll eat those words, but at least you’ll be around to make me do it. Because if you’re wrong… then a new lock won’t keep him from breaking in to hurt you.”

She dipped her chin. “He cares about Ines, not me. Besides, hurting me would be a red flag to Ines.”

That might be true, but I wasn’t going to argue with her any longer. “Get the screwdriver and let’s get this done.”

I couldn’t help but watch the sway of her ass as she went to the kitchen, opened a drawer, and plucked out a tool. As she came back to the living room, I cleared my throat and focused on the locks.

She drew even with me and tipped her head toward the door. “I appreciate you hanging around, but I can take care of this.” She paused to shoot me a grin. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but my dad installs doors for a living.”

I smiled. “Part of being a prospect means I work alongside your dad at least once a week, so yeah, I know about his business, and I can help you get this done faster.”

She shook her head twice, went to the door, and began removing the screws.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to handle this.

After her blow up with Brantley, I didn’t want Lex to think I was suddenly interested in her because she still had her v-card.

I also didn’t want her to think I was coming on to her out of pity or worse, just to be her first. There was something instinctive, almost primal, inside me, though, that reveled in the notion that I would be her first - and possibly her only lover.

Unless she was still convinced the MC life wasn’t for her, I would make it my mission to prove to her that I was the only man she needed.

“You gonna stand there staring at the locks all day, or you think you can bring me the doorknobs?” she asked.

“I’m coming, Robertson,” I said, closing the distance between us in three strides.

I fitted the two pieces together after some jiggling and held them still. Alexandra scooted in close to tighten the screws. Her long dark hair brushed against my forearm.

“I didn’t realize you had… you’ve almost got a full sleeve of tats on this arm.”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice husky.

Usually I could control myself around her.

She chuckled and stepped back. “That’s cool, but will you even have room for the Riot MC tat?”

I twisted the knob to make sure it would hold, closed the door, and then I picked up the old locks. “There’s room.”

I needed to let her study. But I wanted to take her out to lunch.

“Are you okay?” she asked, moving in front of me.

“Yeah. I want you to think about something. Don’t say anything now.”

“Is this about Brantley?”

I took a deep breath. “No.” She would likely think this had to do with him, but it didn’t.

“Yesterday… Lex, there was a moment I thought you were in ICU. I walked into that ER and you were being guided out…” I dragged a hand down my face.

“The relief I felt was so damned overwhelming it was all I could do not to fall on my knees. Then you said you and Porter were done. I wanted to ask you to give me a shot right then, but it was the wrong time.”

“Rafferty—”

I shook my head. “No, Lex. Just think about it. I’m gonna get out of your hair for a few hours so you can study.”

She squinted one eye at me. “Why aren’t you going back to Jacksonville?”

For a moment, I twisted my hands up. “For a couple reasons. One, I think Brantley will try to come back. Second, you’ll think I’m selfish, but I wasn’t joking yesterday. I’ve wanted to get in your pants for a long time, and after what happened earlier, I want to be your first.”

Her eyes widened and she spluttered, “Tonight?”

I shook my head. “No, not if you aren’t ready. But for now, you don’t have a roommate to time shit around, worry about her overhearing us, or anything else - so just think about it, will you?”

She took in a deep breath. Then I noticed the deer-in-headlights look on her face. “All right. I’ll think on it.”

I nodded and stepped closer. “Good. It’s been a few years for us, but do you mind if I kiss you before I leave?”

“You’re not fooling around,” she muttered under her breath.

I leaned toward her. “No, I want to be fooling around, but you need to study.”

She grinned even as her warring thoughts played out on her beautiful face. “You’re right. It’s been a while. You can kiss me.”

I didn’t let myself think about it. I grabbed her left hand, pulled her to me, and put her hand on my back.

I drove my right hand into her mass of thick dark waves, while I rested my left hand on her hip.

She tipped her head up, those gorgeous hazel eyes full of curiosity.

That curiosity told me we were on the same wavelength.

We’d done this once before, but we were teenagers.

So we both knew this would be different.

And I couldn’t wait to see how different it would be.

I lowered my lips to hers and groaned. This kiss felt like home and I didn’t want to leave.

Her lips parted on a gasp. I swept my tongue inside. She tasted of orange cream lip balm with hints of the Kombucha she drank in my truck. Glimmers of our first kiss hit me as I recalled how timid we both had been.

Rather than letting one take from her, now, Alexandra was assertive and slid her tongue against mine until she could explore my mouth.

Instinctively, my hand at her hip slid around her waist, pulling her tight to my body.

Her free hand slid up along my beard and into the short hair along the side of my head. She must have risen up on tip-toes, because her lips pressed harder against mine and her breasts smashed against my chest.

Reluctantly, I broke the kiss and steadied my breathing. Her eyes stayed closed for a beat and when she opened them, it took her a moment to focus on me. “I didn’t want to stop, Lex, but it would have gotten out of control fast if we didn’t.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Her warm, lush body was still plastered to mine and her hand was still cupped around the side of my head. Then again, I hadn’t moved my hands either.

“You think you can let me go, babe?”

Her eyes slid to the side and she lowered down on her feet. “Think that goes both ways, Raff. You’ve got a pretty strong grip on my waist right now.”

That little bit of sass made me want to kiss her again, but I gave her hip a squeeze instead. “Smart-ass.”

With her eyes locked on me, she stepped back. “I think what they say about bikes needs to be revised - even though it’s true.”

I wheezed out a laugh. “What are you talking about?”

She smirked. “That was just like riding a bike…but it was vastly different from back in high school.”

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I chuckled. “Yeah, definitely a change. I’ll be back at five-thirty with sushi unless you want something else.”

She waved a hand in front of her stomach. “To-go sushi isn’t ideal. A burrito would be better, thanks.”

I traced the underside of her lower lip with my finger. “You got it, Robertson.”

While I sat inside my idling truck, my cell rang before I could decide whether to call Cal, Blood, or Volt. The display showed my sister was on the line.

“Hey, Jasmine.”

“Hey, Raff. Are you gonna be around for dinner tonight?”

“Not likely, why?”

“Mom’s acting weird, and so is Dad.”

That probably had to do with me, but I didn’t want to tell Jasmine anything yet.

For all I knew, Alexandra would stick to the idea that we had to go our separate ways because of her education or because I was prospecting.

After that kiss, there was no way she’d mean a word of it, but I still didn’t want to end up with egg on my face, especially not with my younger sister.

“Don’t worry about it, Jazz. They act weird all the time. I’ll be around tomorrow.”

“I heard you picked up Alexandra. Is she all right?”

I clenched my teeth and forced myself not to think about the bruising on her face. “She was banged up, but she seemed much better on the drive back to her apartment this morning.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you drove her back.”

“I did. Is there anything else? I gotta check in with the brothers, they don’t give prospects a ton of free time,” I semi-lied.

“No. If you talk to Alexandra before I do, tell her I’m glad she’s okay.”

“I’ll do that, but you can text her.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that, too. Ride safe, Raff.”

I ended the call and pulled up Cal’s contact. Even if it earned me Blood’s wrath since he was sponsoring me as a prospect, I owed it to Cal to talk to him first.

“Raff, everything okay?”

“It is now.”

“What’s that mean?” Cal asked, his tone steely.

I quickly told him about Brantley having a key to the apartment, but not being there to gather a bag for Ines.

“Then what the fuck was he there for?”

Shit.

“He never said, and frankly, I was more concerned that he give back the key and I forgot to ask.”

“Did he give back the key?”

“No, so I helped Lex change the locks and the doorknob.”

Cal scoffed. “She didn’t need your help.”

“Yeah, she mentioned that, too.” I sighed. “I hate that I didn’t tell you about my plan yesterday or this morning, but I’ve asked Alexandra to give me a shot.”

The line went silent. Tension built along my shoulders.

“Cal? Are you there?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Not exactly surprised… Mallory saw you napping in Alexandra’s bed.”

I hesitated for a beat. “Sorry about that, she had a nightmare. Um, do we have problems?”

Cal kept quiet for another lengthy moment. “If you hurt her, I’m going to kick your ass until you wish you didn’t have an ass for me to kick.”

I fought a grin. “Understood. I don’t have any intention of hurting her.”

“Are you going to report in tomorrow morning?”

“That’s another thing, though I don’t know if I have to talk to Blood, but my gut says Brantley isn’t done in that apartment.

It sounds crazy, but Lex mentioned him making her uncomfortable before the accident.

He damn sure makes me uncomfortable, now that I’ve met him.

I want to stay here until midnight at least to be sure she’s safe. ”

“You’re damn lucky that I like you.”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered.

Cal went on as though he hadn’t heard me. “Because I know that’s an excuse to stick close to her and I don’t want to think about what else you want to do to her.”

He was right and wrong. I wanted to be close to her, but I wasn’t about to force anything on her.

“That isn’t likely, sir—”

“Don’t start that ‘sir’ bullshit, and don’t lie to me.”

I paused.

“I’m not lying. Before I told her what I wanted, she made it clear she thought the timing was wrong and me being a prospect in Jacksonville wasn’t great either.”

“You don’t agree?”

“It may not be great, but she’s worth dealing with bad timing and long distance - though the distance isn’t that long.”

“He comes back, you call the cops. Got it?”

“Absolutely. Will this be a problem?”

“Not right now. I might change my mind later.”

“I’ll call Blood—”

“No, I’ll let him know. Be sure to get your ass back to the clubhouse by four tomorrow afternoon.”

I put my phone in the cupholder and reversed out of the parking lot. If Lex decided to take a chance on me, then I had a number of errands I needed to run because I fully intended to show her how good we could be together.