Chapter 4: Jocelyn
The weekend had passed quickly, as always. I spent a lot of it thinking about Bull. He’d made me feel things I’d never felt with a man. However, I was afraid. He was a biker. Everyone knew bikers were not into serious relationships. I wanted to get to know him better, but what was the use in spending time with him? I wasn’t one for casual hookups. I hadn’t trusted a man enough since Devyn’s dad to let one close to me, but there was something about Bull that wouldn’t let me pull away. I knew I was setting myself up for heartache. I only hoped I’d be able to pick up the pieces after he was through with me, because I knew I couldn’t stop myself from being with him, in whatever way he wanted.
Devyn had fun teasing me about Bull. She’d asked about our date and then asked if I’d kissed him goodnight. My blush was enough to confirm we had kissed. Monday had been a typical workday. Jonathan was still throwing me pissed looks, but he’d kept his distance. I’d thought about telling Lloyd about him like Bull said but decided to see how he acted. He still undressed me with his eyes, but no touching had occurred. Maybe he had gotten a clue!
The rest of the week had passed without any drama. Bull and I had texted and even talked on the phone several times throughout the week, every day, actually. We talked about anything and everything. It was amazing and made me only want to know him more.
Today, I could barely wait for the workday to be over. Bull would be over for dinner tonight. I raced out of the office at the end of the day. As I came through the door at home after work, I rushed past Devyn. “I’m gonna change then get started on dinner. Bull will be here at seven.”
She smiled at me. “Good. I hope you two have a wonderful time.”
I stopped to look at her. “What do you mean, the two of us? Aren’t you going to stay for dinner?”
She shook her head. “No way! I’m not horning in on your date. I’m going out. I’ll be home later.”
“Where are you going?” She hadn’t said anything yesterday about going out tonight.
“I have a date. He’ll be here in a few minutes.” She looked excited. That’s when I noticed her dressed in her favorite jeans, boots and a cute top.
“Who are you going out with?” She wasn’t seeing anyone, nor had she mentioned meeting anyone. I was curious. Before she could respond, I heard the roar of a bike. Damn, had I gotten the time wrong? I went to the door and opened the door. Pulling in front of the house was Ace. I looked at Devyn. She shrugged.
“He came by yesterday and asked me out. I said yes.” She was looking at me expectantly. I knew I didn’t have a real leg to stand on when I’d gone out with Bull. But I still had to warn her. I was her mom.
“He’s a biker, Devyn. They don’t do permanent. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She stared at me for a moment. “Mom, I know they usually don’t, but I like him. And you’re giving Bull a chance. I could say the same to you. You’ve never really dated that I can remember. How about we both agree to be careful and see what happens? I’m not saying I’ll sleep with Ace. You know I’m still a virgin. But it doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun.” She said right before he made it to the porch. We both stepped outside, and I greeted him. He smiled at me and said hello as he took her hands. I could see the look he gave her. She told him she needed to grab her jacket. As soon as she went inside, he turned to me.
“Ms. Atkins, I want you to know, I’ll take care of Devyn. I won’t let anything happen to her.” He must have seen the question in my eyes because he continued, “And I can assure you, I have no plans to hurt her. Bull has already warned me, he’ll beat my ass if I do. Even if he hadn’t, I’d never do that to her.” I could hear the sincerity in his voice and see it in his eyes. I only hoped it was true. I nodded.
“Thank you, Ace. I appreciate you telling me that. But know this, if you hurt my daughter, you won’t have to worry about Bull. I’ll kill you myself.” He grinned. Devyn came out and kissed me goodbye. I was nervous to see her on his bike, though he pulled out a helmet for her to wear. I waved as they took off. Back inside, I hurried to get changed and then started on dinner. I’d put together the lasagna last night, so all I had to do was pop it in the oven and then do the garlic bread later. I’d also fixed a salad last night.
A few minutes before seven, I heard a bike. I went out on the porch to wait for him. He pulled in, looking hot as hell on his bike. I didn’t know a lot about bikes, but his bike was a beast and beautiful. I saw the word Harley on the side of it. It was red with what looked like a bull painted on the gas tank. He came sauntering up the steps and took me in his arms. His mouth took mine in a deep kiss. I felt my knees get weak! He took his time kissing me. When he stopped, I had to gasp for air. He gave me a smirk. “Hello, my duchess. How are you?”
I didn’t know what to make of his duchess comment, so I let it slide. “I’m great. How about you? How has your week been so far?” We walked inside as I asked him. He rubbed his hand along my low back.
“It’s much better, now that I’ve seen you. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you since last Friday. Something smells good.”
I went over to the stove. “It’s lasagna. I hope you like that. Let me set it out to cool for a few minutes, then we can eat. What can I get you to drink? I have water, iced tea, soda, wine, or beer. Not sure if the beer is what you like or not. I took a chance.” He came up to wrap his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“I’d love a beer, and lasagna sounds great. Can I help with anything?” I told him no. As soon as I got out the lasagna to cool, I grabbed his beer and myself a glass of iced tea. I gestured to the living room.
“You can watch TV. It shouldn’t be more than ten minutes until we can eat.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather stay here with you.” He took a seat at the table. I fluttered around, getting out the plates and silverware. I could feel his eyes following me. I had butterflies in my stomach. He took them from me and set the table. It was weird to have a man around to help.
Before long, we sat down to eat. He seemed to enjoy it. He went back for seconds. We chatted about what we’d done that day. Nothing too heavy. When we were done eating, he insisted on cleaning up the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. After we cleaned everything up, we went to the living room. It was too cold to sit outside. It was still February and central Tennessee was still cool at this time of year. He pulled me down next to him, so our thighs were touching.
“I should have asked this earlier, where’s Devyn?”
“She went out on a date with Ace.” He didn’t look surprised. He shrugged.
“I’m not surprised. I knew he was interested in her. I told him not to pursue her unless he’s serious about dating her. She’s not someone you want to play around with. But I couldn’t very well tell him he couldn’t see her, since I’m seeing you. You’re the same kind of woman as she is.” I gave him a surprised look.
“He said you threatened to kick his ass if he hurt her. Could you really prevent him from seeing her?” He nodded.
“Yeah. If he wants to stay a Warrior, then I could. If I told him he couldn’t and he did anyway, I could strip him of his cut. He’d be done with us. But I don’t think he will hurt her intentionally. He’s young, but not irresponsible. I know how irresistible you Atkins’ women are.” As I looked at him in wonder, he leaned over and kissed me. Soon he had me forgetting everything, even my name. His mouth was fiery and firm against mine. He threaded his hands through my hair, and he tugged on it. My nipples were hard, and I could feel the wetness pooling in my panties.
He eased me back on the couch and followed me down. His mouth never left mine. His hands ran down my sides and hips. At first, I was so lost in the pleasure he was creating, that I didn’t realize he’d slid his hands under the bottom edge of my top. His hands had stopped there. When I said nothing, he slowly eased them up my body until he could cup my bra-clad breasts. His fingers teased back and forth over my nipples through the silk fabric. They were hard nubs. I shuddered.