It was a fucking shame she had to go, because to be perfectly honest, she would have taken a patch over Fox or Moose by a long, long shot.
Duke had a place because Duke had some secrets. He had some information we very much valued. He had led the kind of life that meant he had absolutely no childhood, every moment of his time on Earth being about hard work, fights, blood, money, business, and evading police.
Renny got a place because, while he was young and maybe a bit too laid-back for a typical biker, he was whip-smart. He hadn't had a normal upbringing by any accounts. On the surface, there was nothing even mildly criminal about his parents. In fact, they were both really renowned psychologists back in Maine where he was from. Which likely explained his ability to read people fast and accurately. But some dark, twisted, awful shit went on in his house and when he was seventeen, he ran away, found himself in Navesink Bank, fell into a rough crowd, found out about The Henchmen, and wanted in. We had all been ready to dismiss him until he had been at the compound for about a week. After that, well, it was clear he was on a fast track for a patch.
Maze was a wild card. When we ran her name, not much came up but some brief employment history at a few bike shops and bars. She had no record and no social media. We didn't know shit about her.
I sighed as I shifted her up and out of the water, cradling her against my chest and making water pool all across the bathroom as I walked to get a towel. She woke up enough to lean against the counter so I could dry her off. I grabbed a tee, slipping it over her head then reaching up under and pulling off her wet bra and panties, saving her vanity. She probably wouldn't remember the whole encounter, but that wasn't the point. Seeing some unconscious girl's tits seemed creepy as fuck, no matter how sick she was. No matter how much I may have been wondering about said tits in private.
As I reached around her to dry her dripping hair, she leaned forward, resting her head against my chest and nuzzling into my neck, making a low, contented sound in her throat. I paused slightly in the drying of her hair, looking at my reflection in the mirror and seeing the confusion in my own eyes. Confusion because as I felt her snuggle into me, there was a strange warm sensation spreading across my chest that felt comforting, right.
"Fuck," I said, shaking my head and focusing back on my task.
So, yeah, Maze was fucking hot. There was no denying it. She was tall and fit with those great hips, thighs, and an ass a man would kill for. She had incredibly long and soft hair. Her lips were just begging you to taste them.
It was shallow of me, but the second I saw her, I wanted in. Meaning, inside. Her. And every day that followed, watching her step up to the plate, never waver in her tasks, and doing so with a lifted chin and a smile (or alternately, a giant 'fuck you' on her forehead), yeah it only made the attraction grow.
Aside from doling out jobs and riding her ass about doing or redoing some task, I spent very little time with her. Actually, I spent less time with her than I did the other probates. I'd shoot pool with Renny or let Duke lend a hand with my cars. I even bullshitted with Moose and Fox on occasion. I didn't do any of that with Maze. Part of that was because I knew that being close to her was dangerous. It would be an unnecessary temptation. It was also because she avoided me almost as a rule. Even when she was around me, she seemed to shut down. While I'd seen her laughing and joking about with Renny or having seemingly serious conversations with Duke, when I was around, she shut her mouth and only spoke when spoken to. And even then, her answers were clipped.
I wondered if that was because she was trying to avoid fucking up or because she also had an issue with the lines between us. I wasn't stupid. I knew she was attracted. If I didn't know from the jump, I definitely knew when I caught her checking me out while I was working on my car that day.
Or maybe she was quiet because she was keeping secrets.
Fuck if I knew.
All I knew was that being around her, even when she was out of her mind sick, was a problem.
I put her back down on the bed, tucking her in even though she wasn't chattering anymore, grabbed the tray and headed out of the room.