Glory (6 page)

Last night I had approached things all wrong. I was a stranger to her. Had I been foolish enough to think she would willingly open up to someone she just met? Cornering her with questions wouldn’t get her to tell me what was really going on with her. So with that in mind, I hoped to switch gears. Tonight would be as worry-free as I could make it.

All was perfect until Beck, one of the club’s sergeant at arms, caught a glimpse of me as he exited the bar. “What are you doing out here?” he asked, taking a drag from his joint. “You waiting for that chick? I saw you drive her home last night.” A curvaceous woman exited the bar right after him, letting out a small giggle as she found Beck. By her expression, you would’ve thought she hit the jackpot.

“Yeah, now fuck off.”

Beck went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “Did you fuck her last night?”

My head snapped up. “Jesus Christ, what part of ‘fuck off’ don’t you understand?”

A very rare smile spread over Beck’s face. No wonder the woman was all smiles. The sergeant at arms was rarely in a good mood. “Relax, bro. I saw her inside getting ready to leave. She’ll be here in a few. Just chill.” He paused and grinned as if a thought had just occurred to him. Reaching into his leather jacket, he pulled out a baggie. “Matter of fact, you can have the rest. Got a haul bigger than a fucking planet.”

I caught the thing that came flying into the air towards me with one hand. Eyeing it, I recognized the shape as pot before tucking it into my jacket. “Thanks.”

Beck tipped his head before retreating, wrapping his arms around the woman’s middle and guiding her to his Harley. I watched as he straddled the bike, the woman wrapping her arms around him. Beck tipped his chin towards me before he walked it out of the parking space and zipped out of there.

Blaring music escaped through the door once again as the back exit to Neptune’s opened. Upon seeing me, Indy froze. “Hey,” I said, pushing off her car. I dropped the cigarette and extinguished it with my boot.

Indy glanced around. “What are you doing out here? Were you talking with someone?”

“Just Beck.” I moved towards her. “So what’re your plans for tonight?”

“I was going to head home.” Indy looked more in control today. While she wasn’t running away from me, her eyes still held a touch of uncertainty that I had witnessed the other night. I wanted to wipe that expression away with my fingertips.

“You still owe me a night,” I said with a grin. It had come out more suggestive than I meant it to be but there was no need for clarification if she wasn’t going to comment on it. I needed to keep this light, touching on nothing serious that would cause her to put barriers back up and shut me out.

Her eyes met mine and I smiled, hoping that I looked innocent. Or at least convincing. “Come on, what happened to the girl from last night?”

Lush lips curled up into a lopsided grin. Extending a hand, I put myself out there. Tonight, Indy was wearing the same jacket from the night before. A formfitting pair of ripped jeans encased her luscious ass and her feet were shoved into the same sexy ankle boots. Her hair was a mass of loose waves around her face, and when she stepped forward to place her hand in mine, I grinned wolfishly like a predator snaring his prey.

The sun had set a while ago taking the humidity with it. But the air was still warm. On my bike, it would feel like you were facing a furnace at full speed without a helmet. Not the kind of thing I was going for tonight. Smiling as an idea came to me, I ran with it before I could change my mind. “Do you mind if we take your car?”

Indy shook her head, sending the loose waves fluttering around her face. She immediately tucked them back behind her ear. Why did she keep doing that? I liked her hair flowing all messily around her face.

As she released ownership of the keys to me, I guided her to her Chevelle and popped the door open, holding it open for her. As she slid into the passenger’s seat, I watched her long, toned legs. Damn, those legs could spur a lifetime of fantasies. “Where are we going?” she asked as I tried to cram myself into the car.

“Have you ever raced before?”

“No.” Her eyes grew wide. “Are you going to race my car?”

I laughed. “Relax, we won’t race anyone if you don’t want to. We can just run the track ourselves.”

Her hand shot out to touch my arm. “Wait. But if we did, do you think you could win?”

My smile grew at this adventurous side of Indy. “Hell yeah.”

“Okay,” she said. The smile she shot me relayed her excitement.

“Really?” I couldn’t hide my own eagerness.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?” I didn’t want to give her another reason to hate me.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

The engine roared to life as I pulled out of the parking lot. I zipped through the narrow roads, taking us quickly to the deserted area where most of the street racers hung out. Fire cans lined the sides of the road, illuminating the track and the finishing line. People stood off to the side. Some were racers, looking for a way to earn some credits. Others were just spectators eager to watch and learn.

As I approached, it took a moment for Eno to recognize me without my Harley. When he did though, he tapped his knuckles against mine. “Hastie, my man. Looking to race?”

“Yeah, just once though. Hoping to give her a ride,” I said with a smile in Indy’s direction. She rolled her eyes at the innuendo but smiled at Eno gamely.

“All right, let me hook you up. Wait here.” Giving one tap to the car’s body, Eno moved to do whatever the hell he did to make this work. Since racing wasn’t technically illegal anymore, I didn’t feel too guilty about bringing Indy here. Tonight was just supposed to be about fun. I turned to face her, studying her expression. Did she think this was corny? Too cliché? “You still sure about this? We can still back out.”

“No, I want to. Just as long as you don’t crash us.”

“Babe, you gotta have more faith in me than that,” I said with a grin.

Moments later, Eno returned. “Got you all covered. You’re racing Sloane over there.”

I looked in the direction he was pointing to and nodded. “Thanks, my man.”

“You know the rules?”

I grinned. “There are no rules.” Out here, you did whatever it took to come out on top.

Eno nodded, a huge grin spreading across his face. “Good luck, bro.”

“Thanks.” I pulled away from him, made a quick turn, and drove to our starting line. Indy had been unusually silent this whole time. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

She flashed me an excited smile. “I’ve never raced anyone before! This is so cool. How many times have you done this?”

I shrugged, trying—and failing—to come up with an accurate answer. “A few times,” I said instead. “Before I was in Glory MC, I raced. So you don’t need to worry.” I wasn’t going to let any harm come to her.

“Will you let me drive?”

“No fucking way. You heard me back there. No rules. That means anything goes.”

Indy folded her arms over her chest and pouted playfully. “No fun.” Damn. She had no idea how that one simple action made me want to kiss her.

“Don’t worry. When we’re going over a 100 miles per hour, you’ll love it. It’s like a high.”

I took in Indy’s profile as she faced the track. Long lashes curled up towards the sky. She had eyes that were slightly doe-eyed. Dreamer’s eyes. Her nose was small yet perfect for her heart-shaped face. Lips the color of rubies were parted in a smile that transformed her face.

Last night, there had been a darkness to her as if life had gotten the best of her. Tonight, Indy looked like she was grasping life in her hands.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had innocent fun like this. Before Glory MC, this was who I was. A fast car and nothing but endless road was enough to keep me a happy man. After joining the club though, things got more serious, leaving no room for recklessness like this. I had seen this side of Indy once before at the dive bar the other night with those men, the one that fed off adrenaline and the threat of danger. She’d love the sixty seconds it took to win.

Our opponent, Sloane, pulled up next to us and gave me a nod that I returned. “To the baseline and back?”

I nodded in answer. The sudden roaring of engines filled the air as we got into position. I revved the engine a few times, making it a show, creating anticipation and excitement. A crowd gathered as Eno’s girl, a tall Asian strutted between the two cars and turned to face us. Holding her arms up in the air so that her silhouette made a Y shape, Eno nodded once at her. I turned to face Indy again except her eyes weren’t on me but on the road ahead of us. Her expression looked excited, but determined, as if she was counting on this moment to make or break her.

I hadn’t realized then, but this race aptly described us: fast, scary, and a little dangerous.

Eno waved his arms to get our attention. At my nod, he yelled, “Ready, set, go!”

Wasting no time, I fucking floored it.

Indy

I felt weightless. The sky above us blurred together as if we were faster than the speed of light. I gripped the handle bar and braced myself as Hastie gunned it. The roaring of the engine was a constant beat in my ear, a pulsing soundtrack that sent me soaring.

I felt so high then, my own brand of drug, suddenly awakening inside of me. I was hyperaware of everything around me. In that moment, I felt like I was sharing my mind with Hastie. Last night I had felt the same thundering, racing thoughts alone in my head. Tonight, Hastie and I were racing together with the world watching. It was less lonely here, as if being with Hastie in this car lessened the pain and worry in me. How did Hastie know that this would be cathartic for me?

Adrenaline coursed through my system, making me feel giddy. I laughed out loud and Hastie’s intense green eyes darted over to me for a brief second before he shifted gears again, his lips curling into a devilish smile.

Sloane’s GTO was ahead of us by a bit, but the turning point was coming up. We could pull in the lead if we timed this perfectly. As we rapidly approached the turn, Sloane made a go for it first. His car went wide, giving us that small space to squeeze in and cut him off. With just seconds to spare, we gunned it, pedal to the metal, zipping through without lessening our speed. The spark of danger and threat catapulted me into a mental tailspin as I egged Hastie on.

Yesss!
my mind screamed. The whole thing was exhilarating, causing my heartbeat to beat loudly in my ears and my breath to come out in fast, shallow spurts. I screamed as Hastie floored it for the last five seconds it took to cross the finish line.

We won!

But he didn’t stop. Instead, Hastie kept going as if we hadn’t crossed the line yet. Spectators rushed back to move out of our way. My head shot towards him, but his eyes were still on the road, that devilish smile still firmly in place. I didn’t know where we were going, but in that rush of excitement, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to chase that high, to feel it again.

The road became less smooth as we maneuvered past the racing tracks. Out here, it was darker, the shadows offering little way of light. Hastie decreased speed until he fishtailed the car to a stop. By then, my breath was coming out in short huffs, my feet resting against the dashboard as I braced myself for the rush that followed. Hastie looked over at me, eyes wide with adrenaline. “You okay?”

“That was amazing!”

Eyes meeting in the dim light of the moon, I took in Hastie’s expression. His lips were parted slightly as his breath sawed in and out, his chest pumping as he breathed in air. His green eyes were an intense shade, reeling me in like a beacon.

I had a total weakness for men with strong jaws. The fact that Hastie’s was locked tight as if he was trying to hold back his words turned me on more than I had ever been in my entire life. He was looking at me like he wanted to devour me alive. Without thinking, I reached for him, the need to touch him the only thought in my mind.

His eyes tracked the movement and then slid to my face. I found myself inexplicably drawn to him, as if it was a necessity to touch him. Deciding not to fight it, I leaned over the space between us to brush my lips against his.

I had never kissed anyone with a lip ring before. But because he had one, or maybe because it was Hastie, it felt like an electric shock through my entire body as our lips met. I jerked back, but Hastie drew his hand around my neck and held me there, holding me for his kiss. The second time his lips descended on mine, fireworks erupted in the back of my eyes. My hands curled in my lap, desperate to hold onto something as my control continued to slip from my grasp.

“Come here,” Hastie said as he leaned back in his seat. He tapped his thigh with his right hand. “I want to feel you against me.”

Feeling fearless after that adrenaline rush, I moved towards him, desperate to fill the space between us. My body felt hot and tight, almost as if the air outside was having an effect on me.

As I slid into his lap, I pulled my leg over so that I was facing him, straddling him completely. I was immediately aware of how our bodies fit against each other. After this, one couldn’t exactly call us strangers anymore. This position left little between us but a sliver of heated air.

I could feel his erection pressed up against me and the heat of it seared right through my skin. My nipples pebbled in reaction, and I bore down on him in a slow grind that made him groan. “Fuck, Indy,” he grunted.

Kisses traced my jaw and then I felt him running his lips down the column of my throat. Every drag stoked the fire within me, burning my control until they were ashes in the wind. My own fingers found their way to the bottom of his shirt to pull it up, needing more space to roam. Beneath my hands, his body was rock hard and warm.

From behind me, his hand threaded through my hair and tugged roughly on it, causing me to tilt my head back and arch my spine. I was completely at his mercy and the question of what he would do next flashed in my mind. His low growl of approval was the only thing I registered as his mouth fastened onto my nipple through my shirt. A gasp ripped from my throat.