Page 13

Pippa

“I figured you’d marry a senator or a diplomat,” I said to my sister.

Gabi stood next to me and leaned against the counter. Outside the window, Dozer, Blade, Romeo, and Vance drank beers, laughed, and worked on my car. They had it up on ramps. Parts and tools littered the area.

Romeo wore a gray T-shirt. Dirt and oil stained the front and back. He had his hair pulled into a man-bun and a cigarette clamped between his lips. He strode to the work truck with a flatbed blocking my driveway.

Blade, Dozer, and Vance squatted beside Dozer’s motorcycle, pointing out something mechanical. I may be intelligent, but I knew nothing about engines.

As if he could sense my stare, Dozer lifted his head. Just a glance had my legs turning to jelly. Warmth slipped through my veins, and my core clenched.

“Once Leo figures out that you’re dating Hellers, you’re going to be sent to a convent or married off to one of his business associates.” Gabi rarely referred to Leo as dad. They weren’t pretending anymore. He wasn’t her biological dad, and she’d tired of being blamed for our mom’s infidelity.

And I was tired of being their princess.

Next time I took Dozer home, I was taking the real Dozer. The one who wore a cut, rode a motorcycle, and watched me with a dark intensity that stole my breath. His sharp edges kept others away, everyone except me.

“I’ve never seen Vance like this,” Gabi said, her voice laced with a touch of dejection. “This part of his life doesn’t include me.”

Hana came up behind her. “Gabi, you’re his fucking unicorn. He doesn’t want what he left behind. When Razor and the Hellers took his patch, they took his best friends. I don’t think he realized how much he missed them. But don’t think that means he’d go back.”

The smile fell from Gabi’s lips. “I can’t be part of a motorcycle club. Not even the hint of an association, but how am I supposed to ask him to walk away again?” She turned to Hana. “You’re involved. Pippa’s involved. I’m not delusional. He’s not going to walk away again.”

I turned her toward me. “He’d have to be involved to walk away. He’s not. He’s fixing my car with friends. Nothing illegal. Nothing to do with the MC. Just hanging out with his best friends.”

“Is anyone hungry?” Jazzy asked coming into the kitchen.

All four of us stood together, gawking out the window.

“Are they just going to let Romeo do all the work? ”

Romeo rolled under the car on a creeper.

“Do you know where they got the parts?” I asked Jazzy.

“No, but don’t ask for a receipt. Pretty sure they didn’t come with one.”

Gabi turned to Jazzy. “Seriously?”

Maybe not totally legal. “Vance is just welding the parts. He’s good,” I said.

Jazzy laughed. “I’m going to order a couple pizzas.”

I left the girls in the kitchen and walked outside. Butterflies filled my belly. I hadn’t been with both Dozer and Romeo since our night together…since before Dozer and I had staked claim on each other.

Now, I wasn’t sure how to act with Romeo. Before he’d have pulled me close, kissed me, and teased me. I still wanted that, and I wanted Dozer to know I was his. My emotions were on a fucking roller coaster. I couldn’t just turn off my attraction to Romeo. No matter how strong my connection to Dozer.

Squatting down next to Romeo’s legs, I peered at him under my car. “Can I help with anything?”

Romeo slid out from under the car. “Not yet.”

Like always, his gaze raking over me sparked a flare of awareness between my legs.

“I’d touch you, but I’ll get you dirty.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” I sat on the concrete and pulled my knees to my chest. “Tell me you’re not angry.”

Strands of his dark hair had come loose from his bun and clung to the sweat on his brow and the side of his face. Those full lips pulled into a smile. I could smell cigarettes and exhaust. Those scents shouldn’t have had my belly tight and my nipples hardening. He was a beautiful, dirty sight.

He tugged on my ponytail. “Wait until later. I’ll show you how I’m not angry. I’m going to miss not being able to grab you and kiss you whenever I want.”

“Negotiated point. You can still kiss me.”

Romeo shifted his gaze to Dozer. “He doesn’t look pleased.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “How can you tell? He always looks mad. He has that resting bitch face only the guy version of I’m-going-to-kick-your-ass-because-I-hate-everything face.”

Romeo chuckled.

“Everyone here knows we’re involved,” I said.

“That doesn’t mean he’ll want to see it.”

I raised a brow.

“Yeah, so he would want to see it, but he might not appreciate everyone else seeing it.”

“Kiss me, Romeo. Show me we’re still good.” I leaned in, and Romeo pressed a tender kiss to my lips. No tongue, no passion, just a meeting of mouths that expressed so much more.

“That was barely a kiss. I want tongue.”

He wagged his brows. “I plan to use my tongue…on your pussy later tonight. Now go. I need to work.”

I stood and dusted dirt from my butt with my palms.

“Vance, you ready to work?” Romeo asked.

Vance had his welding equipment set up. Blade and Romeo grabbed damaged car parts off the drive and carried them to the hearse. Dozer grabbed me by the bicep, his touch giving me goosebumps as he tugged me into the garage.

He spun me around and backed me against the wall. With his arms and his body, he caged me, pinning me between the hard slope of his chest and the bite of the wall.

“It was just a kiss. Are you mad?” I asked, my lungs working to draw breath.

“Is that how you wanted to be kissed?” He breathed against my neck. His lips barely touched me, just a whisper of temptation. I slid my hands along his tight T-shirt, the soft cotton clinging to the hills and valleys of his torso like a second skin.

“No.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and relished in the slick wetness between my legs. I shifted from my right foot to my left, attempting to get the seam of my jeans to rub my clit.

“No secrets between us. Don’t hide what you want. Did you want to kiss him? Everyone will know you’re fucking us both.”

Good, because I was a territorial bitch. Dozer was mine, and Romeo was ours.

“I wanted him to kiss me like before. Because I want more with you, doesn’t mean I want less with him. I don’t care what people think.”

“I’m sorry, Dozer.” Romeo had followed us into the garage.

“You should be. If you’re going to kiss her, kiss her like she deserves.”

Romeo waited less than a beat of my heart, then he shoved Dozer out of the way and slanted his lips over mine. I melted into the heat of his mouth as he glided his tongue along mine. His fingers dug into my hips as he ground his thick, rigid cock into me. The kiss was wild, reckless, and fast.

“Better?” he asked and licked my taste from his lips.

I smiled. “Much.”

“I’m still eating pussy tonight.” He slapped Dozer on the shoulder, then walked back out of the garage.

“I need to get back to work.” Dozer sipped my lips, then joined the guys.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

“You’re fucking crazy.”

I snapped my gaze to the door leading from the garage into the house. Hana crossed her arms over her chest.

I approached her. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. We’re all getting what we want. Why does it have to be wrong?”

“It’s not, but someone is going to get hurt.” She wrapped her thin tattooed arms around my neck and crushed me tight.

What was I supposed to do? One made me happy, and the other made me hungry for an intangible emotion I couldn’t explain. Dozer had crawled under my skin. “I don’t want to hurt either one of them.”

“Not them. You. Eventually, one of them will go.”

“I know.” Romeo would move on, but I wasn’t ready to think about that. I just had to hope I’d be ready when the ground gave out with the force of an eight-point earthquake because I had no misconception. I would crumble .

Twenty minutes later, Vance had the muffler and tailpipe welded onto the car. Tools were back on the hearse, and Vance had his welding equipment back in his truck.

The sun was low on the horizon when the pizzas arrived. We sprawled out on the soft grass in the front yard. Blade rested his head in Hana’s lap. His eyes closed as she ran her fingers through his tousled, sun-bleached hair.

“My car is going to need to go into the body shop,” I said around a bite of pepperoni pizza. With my legs crossed, I sat next to Dozer. Without touching, I still felt the heat of his body drawing me closer. Romeo rested his head in his palms as he lay on his back, a perfect picture of living in the moment.

“Nah, we’ll fix you up,” Romeo said.

“We’ve got a couple rebuilds ready for paint. We can take care of your car at the same time.” Blade laced his fingers with Hana’s.

Vance stretched his legs out. “When are you going to do the work? I’ll clear my schedule. I’ve got a couple projects about wrapped up.”

Gabi smiled, but I could read her thoughts. She was worried that Vance was more than talk about wanting back into the MC.

I worried, too. I’d seen the violence in the MC, and Vance had a history with fighting.

“Where’s Levi?” Blade asked.

I kept quiet. I didn’t want in this conversation.

“She’s dating,” Dozer said.

“What?” Romeo leaned up on an elbow, and his brows furrowed. “Dating who? ”

Dozer grimaced. “An Eminence football player.”

“It’s not serious though, right?” Romeo’s brows pinched, and his mouth formed a hard line.

Gabi pulled a slice of cheese pizza from the box. “Greyson is a good guy. He’s smart and super talented. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s courted to the NFL draft this year.”

Hana leaned back on her arms. “Levi’s in good hands if the way he handles a football is any indicator.”

“How long have you known she was seeing someone?” Romeo asked Dozer.

“Not long. I warned him, made sure he understood she was ours.”

Romeo sat up. “I’m not going to let some jock douche take advantage of her.”

“Hot jock douche,” Gabi added.

Vance tugged her onto his lap. “You think he’s hot?”

“He was hot at fourteen when Pippa dated him.”

Dozer paused in taking a slice. “You dated him?”

“Dated as in going to the movies and hanging out in junior high. He lost interest in me when he discovered Diego.”

Blade’s eyes widened.

I rolled mine. “He’s not gay. Diego played football. He mentors Coop.”

“I didn’t know Diego played football,” Vance said .

“He played for the Rooks. Coaches thought he had a good shot as a first-round pick in the NFL draft, but he tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL in his knee.”

“I’m not sure what all that means, but it sounds serious,” Jazzy said as she cringed and wrapped her arms around her shins.

“He still watches game reel every weekend with Coop. Football would have been great for Diego, but he’s happy working for my dad.”

“As riveting as this conversation is, I need to get back to the MC,” Jazzy said. “I told my dad I’d play cards with him and the guys tonight.”

“We know you’re full of shit,” Romeo said. “The only reason you’re playing cards with Sully is to break down Rogue.”

Vance choked on a bite of pizza. “Rogue,” he said with a cough.

“It’s never going to happen,” Romeo said. “Sully will take his balls.”

Jazzy stood. “I’m tenacious. Is everything on the hearse? I’ll drive it back to the MC.”

Gabi shivered in the evening air. Vance wrapped his arms around her. “We should go, too.”

“Thanks for the help,” Dozer said.

Hana tumbled Blade from her lap and leapt to her feet.

Vance hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “Be good. Stay out of trouble.”

“I’ve got appointments this week at Inked Out, but if you want me to touch up your shoulder, I’ve got time,” she said to her brother.

“Call me.” Vance held Gabi’s hand as they crossed the lawn to his truck .

I gathered up the pizza boxes, and Hana collected empty soda cans for the garbage.

Romeo pulled my car into the garage while Blade and Dozer moved the bikes.

Hana followed me into the house. “I can’t believe going over a curb caused so much damage to your car.”

“I called it a curb, but it was more like a ledge.”

The garage door rumbled as it closed. Romeo entered the house and pulled his filthy T-shirt over his head revealing his smooth, inked skin. Rooted to the floor, I waited as he crossed to me. A torrid wash of memories flooded through me. He pinched my chin and lifted my face.

“I smell like hard work,” he said, pulling me close and nuzzling my neck. “I’m going to grab a shower, and after, all I want to smell is your pussy on my face.”

I glanced at Dozer, then tilted my face to Romeo. He lowered his lips to mine and sealed our mouths. His hand fisted in my hair. I sucked his tongue and trailed my fingers over the taut muscles of his chest.

The metal rasp of Dozer’s lighter cut through the fog of my lust. I untangled my arms from Romeo and turned around.

Dozer sat on the kitchen counter and lit a cigarette.

“We’ll finish this later,” Romeo said as he slipped around me and headed down the hall to the bathroom .

I stepped between Dozer’s widespread legs and rested my hands on his thighs. “You didn’t tell me how it went with your dad today.”

“Good.” He picked up the bottle of whiskey next to him and swallowed a mouthful. Then he handed the bottle to me.

I stepped back as Dozer slid off the counter. He held my hand and led me into the living room.

Blade sat in the corner of the couch, smoking a blunt, with Hana in his lap.

He offered it to Dozer.

Dozer handed me his cigarette and took the joint from Blade.

“Do you want to catch a ride?”

I nodded as he took a long pull off the blunt. Then I breathed in his exhale. My blood warmed. He took one more hit before handing it back to Blade.

Again, I breathed in his exhale.

Dozer smashed his cigarette into the ashtray and set the bottle of whiskey on the table. Then he sat on the opposite end of the couch. With his hands on my waist, he brought me close until I straddled his lap, my knees at his hips.

“Is it okay if we crash here tonight?” Hana asked me as she curled into Blade and yawned.

Blade tunneled his fingers under Hana’s top as he slid kisses along her neck.

“Sure, and for future reference, you never have to ask.”

Blade pivoted Hana in his arms. Her legs locked around him as he lifted her and carried her down the hall to the spare room she’d claimed as hers the day I moved in .

“We’re alone,” I said to Dozer. “What do you want to do to me?”

Dozer

Twice he’d kissed her. Twice she’d whimpered into his mouth. Both times she’d connected with me first.

“We’re not going to be alone for long.” I reached around her and grabbed the bottle of whiskey.

Pippa slid from my lap and dropped to the floor. On her knees, between my thighs, she bunched my T-shirt out of the way, unhitched the buckle of my belt, and popped the snap.

“I’ve been thinking about this since you left this morning.” Her knuckles pressed against my dick as she lowered the zipper.

I lifted my hips, and she tugged my jeans and boxers down my legs.

“You think about sucking dick?”

She curled her fingers around the base and squeezed. “I think about sucking your dick.”

My buttocks clenched, thrusting my cock through the curl of her fingers. I slid my hands into her hair. She was soft and feminine, and the curves of her body tempted my mind into darkly erotic depths.

I wanted her to crave the taste of my cum. “Fuck, Pip, take me in your mouth.”

My gut tightened. Tangles of her hair tickled my thighs, and her warm breath teased the slit. I vibrated with want of her mouth on my dick. Finally, she rolled her tongue around the edge and smeared my cream on her lips .

“Take off your shirt.” I wanted her tits in front of my face. Everything about her turned me inside out. I tipped the bottle to my lips for another drink.

She ripped her shirt over her head, twisted her arm behind her back, and unhooked her bra. The straps slipped to her elbows as she bent forward and closed her mouth over the thick head of my cock.

She swirled her tongue, licking and tasting, taking me deep. I wanted all of my cock in her hot, wet mouth.

“Look at me.”

Her soft gaze lifted to mine.

“Take it all. Suck me in. Make me feel good with your mouth.”

She moaned, relaxed her throat, and swallowed more of my cock.

“That’s it. Show me how much you like sucking my dick.”

Encourage by my words, she sucked more, holding her breath as I fucked her mouth. She gagged, slid her lips along the shaft, flared her nostrils with a deep inhale, then swallowed me deep again.

“You’re so good at sucking my dick.”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Ragged breaths shuddered through her.

I lifted my gaze. Romeo leaned against the wall with a towel wrapped around his hips and watched. Water dripped from his hair and trailed along the muscular cuts of his torso. He wasn’t built like me. Romeo was tall and lean. They called him pretty boy for a reason .

I was road rough, scarred, and sharp edged. But I think we understood each other. I gulped more whiskey.

Spit trickled onto my balls. Shivers chased down my spine as the smooth heat of her mouth and throat surrounded my cock.

“Fuck, Pip.” She bobbed on my cock, gasping and gagging. “Suck me dry so I can watch Romeo eat your pussy without coming on myself. Do you want Romeo to suck your clit?”

She whimpered as her lips slid along my shaft.

“Do you think about him eating your pussy?”

“Yes, but it’s all twisted up with thoughts of you,” she said, then swallowed me again.

Romeo dropped the towel and stroked his length.

“I can feel how much you like my cock with the way you’re sucking me off. Does it make you wet to know we both want in your pussy?”

She moaned, and her slim fingers slid along my shaft, twisting and turning. Her other hand disappeared into the open fly of her jeans.

“Two fingers, baby. Show me how wet you are.”

She gulped a breath and continued to curl her tongue over and around the head.

“I’m going to come.” I gripped the bottle with one hand and fisted her hair with the other.

She slurped me deep, ripped her drenched fingers from her cunt, and offered them to me. I gripped her wrist and sucked her flavor. Nerves exploded, and my orgasm shot from my balls, firing through every synapse, sizzled along my spine, and surged through my cock.

Pippa kept me in her mouth, swallowing my cum, until I crashed on the other side of the white-hot release. I gasped a breath, hauled her onto my lap, and crushed her lips to mine.

“My turn,” Romeo said.

Pippa glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry, pretty boy, but it’s my turn.”

She slid from my lap. I jerked my jeans over my hips.

Pippa left her bra on the floor and walked to Romeo. Her long hair cascaded down her back to the two dimples above the worn blue jeans riding low on her hips and hugging her ass.

Romeo’s hands cupped the rounded cheeks and pulled her flush against his cock.

“Dozer isn’t the only one who likes watching,” he said and walked backward with her toward the bedroom.

She laughed. “I only want you and Dozer. Blade and Hana will have to find their own entertainment.”

I expected the surge of jealousy firing through me as I followed them into the bedroom…and the slow smoldering of lust and possessiveness heating the blood in my veins.

Romeo’s inked arms banded around her waist and supported her as her feet struggled to find the floor. He tossed her onto the bed and launched on top of her. He nipped at her hips and the tuck of her waist .

She grabbed his hair and pulled his head away from her as she laughed. “Dozer, don’t let him tickle me.”

Romeo growled and pinned her arms to the bed. He laved her beaded nipple. “He’s not going to help you.”

“He will.”

“You think so?” He licked her ribs, making her squirm and giggle.

The smile on her full lips, the lilt of her voice, and the glint in her eyes unfurled a deep longing in me. The more she laughed, the more I wanted her writhing with pleasure and crying from the force of my cock splitting her apart.

Romeo held her arms as I approached the bed. She stilled as I stared down at her. The smile fell from her slightly parted lips. Her bare chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.

“I make you laugh,” Romeo said. “He makes you burn. Baby, you can’t fight this.”

He sucked her nipple and lowered the zipper on her jeans.

Pippa’s back arched, but her gaze never wavered from mine. “I make him burn,” she whispered to Romeo about me, darkness flickering in her eyes.

I’d changed her, made her more like me. I reached down and grasped the cuff of her jeans. With a hard tug, they flew down her legs and dropped to the floor. Snagging the edge of her panties, I ripped them off in the same way.

Romeo’s hair feathered over her smooth flesh as his kisses migrated from her tits to her quivering belly. I drank a hearty swallow of whiskey .

“Spread your legs.” I wanted to see his tongue against her glistening folds.

“Fucking love your pussy.” Romeo spit on her clit and circled it with the tip of his finger. “Fuck, Dozer, I can’t tease her for you because I need to taste her.”

Romeo closed his mouth over her clit, sliced the blade of his tongue into her heat then sucked her folds.

With a hand on each of her thighs, he spread her wide and buried his face in her pussy. She arched, grabbed his hair, and rolled her hips into his mouth.

Romeo devoured her. He growled as his eyes closed, and he ate our girl. My girl . She was mine as she writhed on the bed, chanting his name. Hot jealousy coursed through me. Wild desperate rage flowed like poison through my blood. This was the need that twisted in my gut. Jealousy fed my hunger. I fucking needed it. I loved it.

My breath caught, and my cock hardened. She was fucking breathtaking, beautiful, and careening toward release. Her gaze locked on mine.

I unzipped my jeans, untucked my cock, and stroked the length.

Pippa groaned and pinched each of her nipples between a finger and her thumb.

Romeo gripped her ass and pulled her hard against his mouth. Lips, teeth, breath, and tongue drilled into her, playing her pussy like a Stradivarius, something only a master could do. He drove her to the precipice of ecstasy, pushing her higher.

“ Fammi venire! Make me come,” she begged as she dug her feet into the bed .

Romeo lapped her folds and pressed the flat of his tongue against her clit. Every muscle strained as she crashed over the edge. Shudders rippled through her, making her thighs tremble.

“Sweet,” he said and wiped his mouth with his palm.

I set the bottle of whiskey on the nightstand, grabbed a condom, and crawled onto the bed with them.

Romeo stretched out on the right side of her, and I was on the left. As he sucked on her nipple, he curled a finger into her cunt. I claimed her mouth, cupping her cheek, and gliding my tongue along hers in languid strokes.

Then it was my turn to worship her breasts with taste and touch as Romeo ate her mouth. The wet sounds of their tongues tightened my gut. The pressure radiated out, straining my muscles.

Reaching between her legs, I gently pressed my finger against her swollen clit as Romeo curled two fingers into her passage.

“She’s dripping wet.” I gathered her cream on my fingers and painted her nipples.

Pippa leveraged up and pushed me to my back. She snatched the condom from the bed, tore the wrapper with her teeth, and rolled it down my cock.

“Get on,” I told her.

She turned and straddled me backwards. Her luscious ass slid along my stomach, her pussy leaving a trail of juices. The heavy scent of sex clung to her skin. I rolled my palms over her flanks, onto her ass, and then I gripped her hips .

Hovering over my cock, she poised the head at her entrance and slowly sank onto my length. I growled as her hot sheath enveloped me, squeezing along my dick. With my cock buried inside her, the knots of tension gripping my chest slipped a bit.

Before she could move, Romeo knelt in front of her, his legs on the outside of mine, and angled his cock toward her mouth.

With her riding my dick and Romeo fucking her mouth, Pippa was a mess of whimpers and wetness. I held her hips and rocked her, sliding my cock in and out of her. Glistening cream from her cunt slicked the condom.

Those long dark curls I loved to wind around my fingers tumbled around her shoulders.

“Suck my cock while you fuck your boyfriend, Pip.” Romeo cradled her head in his palms.

She moaned, her inner walls clenching me tighter. Fuck, I wasn’t sure if it was his cock, my cock, Romeo calling me her boyfriend, or a combination of all three, but a warm gush of fluids drenched my lap.

“She’s about to come,” I said.

Like an approaching storm, small tremors from her pussy rippled along my shaft. Clenching my buttocks, I thrust deeper into her, anchored her harder to my groin, and aggressively rocked her on my cock.

“We go together,” Romeo said.

She hummed her need for the same. Slopping sounds of sucking and fucking filled the room.

“You want to go together, go now. She’s fucking creaming all over my dick.” I gripped her hips and bounced her on my cock. Muscle and tendon in my neck strained. My balls tightened. A hot flare of heat scorched through me, pooled in my guts, surged lower, and erupted in hard pulses from my cock as I came.

“Fuck.” Romeo followed, his body becoming rigid as we filled our girl with cum.

Pippa mewled, slurping and swallowing. She trembled, shivered, and struggled for breath.

Breathless and shaking, Romeo sat back on his haunches. “Fuck, Pip.”

She wiped her mouth with her hand. I lifted her from my lap, spun her to her back and claimed her mouth. I kissed her hard, tasting her and tasting the bitter essence of Romeo. I powered over her, showing her how much I fucking needed her.

She groaned into my mouth, her fingertips ghosting over my flesh in a gentle touch. Those perfect nipples beaded on her chest as she pressed closer to me. Scents of sex and the subtle fragrance of her perfume swirled around me. I was drunk on her mouth and sated from being lost inside her.

With our faces still close together, I stared into her eyes. “You remember?” I’d told her I’d taste his cum as long as it was on her tongue. But I recognized I couldn’t share her with anyone else. Only Romeo.

“I remember. Do you want to kiss me again?”

I kissed her again, sucking her mouth, drowning in the dark flavor of knowing she’d swallowed Romeo.

Romeo stretched out behind her and draped his arm over her hip. He chuckled against her shoulder. “I knew he wanted me, too.”

I groaned as I rolled out of bed, stripped off the condom, and tossed it in the garbage .

“It’s because you’re so pretty.” Pippa giggled, sending a tingle over my flesh. He was pretty, but that wasn’t my fetish. It’s that he’d been in her mouth, and I wanted every part of her, even Romeo.

***

The bed rustled. Romeo leaned over Pippa and kissed her head.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

Romeo gathered his hair and pushed it off his face. “The MC.”

I sat and rubbed sleep from my eyes. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I’m just going to my own bed.”

“Weren’t you the one giving me shit about running out on her in the middle of the night?”

Romeo stuck a cigarette between his lips. The wheel spun, and the flame painted his face in a warm glow. Then the steel lid snapped closed.

I reached over the side of the bed, grabbed my jeans, and shrugged them on. My cigarettes were in the living room. Hellers had fully taken over Pippa’s house. Cigarettes, weed, booze. Bikes in the garage and bikers in the beds.

I sat on the couch, and Romeo sat next to me.

“Why are you leaving?”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He rolled the filter of his cigarette between his finger and thumb, then took a long pull. “Because if it were me, I’d want to know some aspects of my relationship were just mine.”

Silence stretched out between us .

“Don’t let her romanticize some version of me, you, and her,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt her when this all ends. We both know it will because as soon as she catches feelings, I’ll be gone.”

I wanted Romeo to know that this wasn’t about a threesome at all. This was just about the three of us. “When you leave, there won’t be anyone else. I know I’m fucked up when it comes to relationships. I believe her, that this is what she wants.”

“She’s not playing either of us. Fuck, Doze, that night at the playhouse hit her hard. She couldn’t not tell me because of the way you made her feel. Then she turned around and promised you she wouldn’t fuck me without you. That says everything you need to know.”

Maybe she was as drawn to me as I was to her.

“I saw my dad. I asked him why he puts up with Faye’s bullshit. He just takes it because he thinks he deserves it.” That wasn’t love. If it was, I’d stick to hanging with Bullet and his girls.

“It’s not the same.” Romeo smashed the last of his cigarette into the ashtray. “Go sleep with your girl. I’ll see you later.”

I did. And when she woke, I had her under me again for a slow morning fuck.

Pippa slid out of bed.

I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “I’ll be at the shop today, working with Blade and Romeo. Do you and Hana want to come by after class?”

“I…I can’t. I need to take care of something.” She crossed to her closet and pulled a plaid skirt and black tank top from a hanger.

“Something? ”

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal,” she said and glanced over her shoulder.

If it wasn’t a big deal, why was she avoiding telling me what she was doing? I slid out of bed.

Her brows pinched. “I need to take care of some school stuff.”

“Sweet, I’ll meet you on campus and take you to lunch somewhere close.” I stepped into my jeans.

She opened a drawer for a pair of tiny black panties and a bra that matched. “Dozer, I can’t.”

“I’m going to the MC. I’ll have a cup of coffee, check on Pike, probably make a call to Willy to see what the deal is with the plea. Then I’ll get on my bike, ride over to the shop, and see what we need for the bike rebuild. Somewhere in there, I’ll grab a bite to eat. Since I won’t be doing that with you, I’ll probably get stuck with street tacos with Romeo and Blade.”

She paused. “Okay.”

“See, that’s what it sounds like when a person isn’t being evasive. If you don’t want to tell me what you’ve got going today, that’s fine. I’ll see you later.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I guess we’re still figuring out how this is going to work between us. Later then?”

She dropped her clothes on the bed and stepped into my arms. “I’m not trying to be evasive. I do want to see you later. I need to meet with one of my professors. I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

I threaded my fingers under her hair and tipped her face to mine. “That sounds good. I’ll be around.” I pressed my lips to hers. “I’m not trying to get in your business, but I want to know where you are, and I want you to care where I am. ”

“Starting today. I promise. I just need to…settle an issue with a professor.”

“I’ll see you later.”

She gripped my T-shirt at my waist, stood on her tiptoes, and aligned her body with mine. “Take the spare key so you don’t have to keep breaking into my house. You can take the extra garage door opener, too. It’s in my glovebox.”

A fist banged on the door, and Pippa jumped.

“Dozer, are you ready?” Blade asked.

“Two minutes,” I said to Blade.

She rested her forehead on my chest and shook with laughter. “Sheesh, that scared the shit out of me. I guess I’m just anxious…about talking to my professor. Go. I’ll see you this afternoon. I’m going to get in the shower.”

I kissed her one last time, then found Blade in the living room with Hana.

“I’m staying here,” she said. “I’ll catch a ride with Pippa to school.”

“You might want to have Blade pick you up. She has to meet with some professor after class.”

Hana sat forward. “She told you?”

“Yeah.”

“We gotta roll,” Blade said. He planted a quick kiss on Hana’s lips. “Don’t go anywhere alone. You see a Crawler, you go the other way.”

“I can’t take the gun on campus,” she said.

“Leave it under the seat in Pippa’s car. Keep your knife in your boot.”

She smiled. “Always. ”

On our way out the door to the garage, I grabbed the spare house key off the counter and tucked it into my pocket.

We rolled our bikes out of the garage.

“I need to get something out of Pippa’s car.”

I rested my bike and jogged back into the garage. Sitting on the front passenger seat, I popped open the glovebox.

My girl had a lot of shit crammed into a small space. I shifted around tampons, lip balm, and lotion looking for the opener. She had a strip of condoms and a bunch of folded up papers.

My eyes caught on the Eminence U letterhead. I skimmed the note.

I’ve missed you. When can I see you again? Q.

My stomach knotted. I unfolded another note.

You looked beautiful today. Red is your color, but you’re my favorite shade of pink. Q.

I glanced up at the door leading into the house. These notes were none of my business. We both had a past, but I couldn’t stop reading.

To my favorite student,

When you bent over for me today, I wished I had you bent over my desk again. Next time you’re in my office, wear the skirt. I’ll have you screaming in Italian. Q.

What the fuck? These were from her professor. I clutched the paper in my hand. No. Fucking. Way. I glanced at every note. A date? A name? A fucking receipt with a poem written on the back.

Feel me like a shiver in an icy rain. I’ll come quietly in the night.

You’ll tremble as you spread your thighs. I’ll taste. I’ll touch. I’ll fuck.

Because you’ll always be mine .

Q.

Every nerve in my body wanted to find her professor and beat the fuck out of him. Rage burned through my veins. The receipt was from last weekend. She fucking lied. Fuck. Fuck Fuck!

Fuck her and fuck the professor. I pulled the key from my pocket and left it with the crumpled notes and the clicker on the front seat. I grabbed a pen and tore a page out of her owner’s manual.

Give the key and the clicker to your professor when you see him today. D.

I tossed the condoms onto the note, slammed the door, and stormed over to my bike.

“Did you get what you needed?” Blade asked.

“No.” I started my motorcycle. Just what I fucking deserved.