Her heart cracked in the middle. The elephant in the room just appeared.
“I know it’s not what you deserve. You’re a marriage-and-kids kind of woman. Eventually, you’ll get sick of my bullshit and move on. I get that. But I want every minute I have with you until that happens.”
“Why?”
“Because even a thick-headed asshole like me recognizes a dime piece when he sees it, and I’m talking about more than that banging-ass body you have.” He winked.
Unsure what to say, Joey studied him. What had happened to make him shy from commitment?
“You want the story, but now’s not the time. Later?” he offered.
She nodded, dumbly.
“We square?” he asked, eyeballing her cautiously.
“Yeah, we’re square, Moose,” she said.
“Good.” He set her on the ground. “Let’s finish getting ready, so we can meet them out front, and go see the land they’re thinking of having the ceremony on.”
“Okay.” She loved his steady dependability. It sounded funny, considering he was a biker, but she’d never known a more loyal man. His mind was always three steps ahead of hers and his strength seemed infallible. Tall and curvy, she didn’t often have cause to feel petite, dainty or light as a feather. Moose gave her those three gifts without trying. Do you really need a label to be happy? Her head said no, but her heart, little rebel that it was, refused to fall in line. Careful that denial doesn’t wind you up as a broken, bombed-out shell like Mommy dearest. Disgusted with the war splitting her mind down the middle, she hurried to the bed and busied herself with the business of getting ready.
Joey ignored the feel of his eyes on her. Let him wonder. A friend with benefits didn’t get rights to her heart or her mind. She slid on her black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and the soft pink sweater with a black heart in the center. Clothes were armor. They shielded her from the elements and elevated her to the bad-ass woman status that made her feel as if she could take on the world. She sank down onto the edge of the bed, slipped on socks and pulled on knee-high boots. Opting to go without makeup, she fluffed her hair and glanced over at Moose. “I’m ready.”
He devastated her senses by wearing a simple pair of worn blue jeans, a black long-sleeved thermal that accentuated the breadth of his chest and the rock-hard planes of his stomach. Over it, he wore his cut, and the ever-present pair of black biker boots.
She licked her lips and tried not to drool as she looked up to his face. His beard was trimmed close to his face.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jo-Jo. We’ll never leave the room.”
“Look at you like what?” she said.
“Like you want to eat me.” He smirked. “Or be eaten.” He licked his lips. “You know I can never get enough of that wet pussy.”
His blunt words made her panties wet. “Stop,” she said. The breathy tone of her voice spelled out her desire.
“Let’s get out of here. I don’t trust myself with you.” He shook his head, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his body.
Solid and warm, he lulled her into a sense of calm and rightness.
Then the door opened and they pulled apart, stepping back into their false roles. It was her fault. He could give a fuck less. She was the coward with enough baggage to fill up a small airplane hangar. When he finds out. She shoved the thought aside and focused at the task on hand. Hiding was something she was good at; she’d been doing it her whole life. There was no reason to believe her long-kept secret would be exposed now.
* * * * *
The day he’d been dreading had come up and blindsided him. Stupid to not think it would be around the corner. She wanted to know where they stood. What could he tell her? You’re my current fuck buddy? He hadn’t lied. There would be no other women while he was with her. Just the thought of trying to stick his dick in anyone else damn near made him impotent. Her pussy had him on lockdown.
Since he wasn’t in the habit of lying, he admitted to himself it was more than that. The brassy woman could’ve been tailor-made for him. Horror movies, rock music, whiskey and laidback evenings were the staples they existed on. With her job, she could work from anywhere, and often did, hanging out in the clubhouse so much, her presence didn’t cause anyone to bat an eyelash. The Prez hadn’t asked him about it yet. But he’d seen the curiosity in his eyes. An unclaimed girl was asking for trouble.
He ran his fingers through his beard and signaled Red. I need a drink to deal with this bullshit. It’d been going so well, he’d half-ass convinced himself she felt the way he did about commitment.
Red swayed over to him and grinned. “What’ll it be, Moose?”
“Beer, whatever we have on ice is fine.” He peered at Joey.
“I’m fine,” Joey said with a shake of her head.
Red cut her eyes at Joey and turned on her heels to get a beer from the fridge behind the bar.
“One of these days, I’m going to put that bitch in her place,” Joey grumbled.