Lucky: The Irish MC (29 page)

I waited until the water was steaming hot and all the mirrors were fogged before climbing in. It had been ages since I’d had a really, legitimately hot shower, and it felt amazing. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, inhaling as much of the steam as I could. My senses felt clearer than they had in days, but every time I closed my eyes, my brain was burned with Lacey’s naked body. I tried thinking about all of the other women that I’d slept with since leaving prison—and some of the ones before, they were that good—and nothing helped. Not even thinking about Talia, the hooker with a vacuum for a mouth and heaven for a pussy. She was one of the only women that I’d fucked more than once, and I’d never even paid her for it. But even Talia’s redheaded charms couldn’t get sweet little Lacey off my mind. I let my thoughts wander to the way her labia had peeked out from the cheeks of her ass, sweet and innocent, just waiting for me to fuck it. Realizing that Lacey was asleep in bed not ten feet away from where I stood turned me on even more, and before I knew it, I reached a hand down and began stroking my hard cock.

The water felt abrasive against my skin and I opened my eyes. Lacey was a typical girl; her shower was well-stocked with various half-full bottles of shampoo, body wash, and conditioner. I picked up a bottle of conditioner and sniffed it cautiously. It smelled like her hair and my chest seized with desire. Squirting a generous amount into my palm, I rubbed my cock and closed my eyes as pleasure filled my body. Closing my eyes, I tilted my face right into the spray of the water as I jacked off, feeling every inch of my powerful cock pulsing with desire for Lacey. I tried not to think of her as I became more and more aroused, but it was impossible not to recall her expression, her pussy, her beautiful pale little body. When I came, it was almost painful. I wondered if I’d been dreaming about her all night.

Either way, this had to stop. I toweled myself off and opened the bathroom door, determined to see if this little girl had anything with caffeine. If I was staying here for more than a few days, I really would have to see about stealing a coffeemaker for her.

“Hi.” I heard Lacey’s voice before I saw her. Turning around, I saw a vision of perfection. She stood in the doorway of her room, wearing an oversized t-shirt. Her pale legs stuck out from her and her knees looked knobby. I wanted to bite them. She raised a hand and scratched her back, raising the shirt up and exposing even more of her creamy skin. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Never better,” I said drily. “Now get me some fucking coffee.”

Chapter Eight

Lacey

The first night that Chase slept over, I had weird dreams all night. They weren’t bad, necessarily, but when I woke up, I had a strange taste in my mouth. They weren’t sex dreams, more like… we were running from something, and I was scared, but Chase was protecting me and keeping me safe.

When I woke up, my heart was thudding like a drum. It was the day of my final exam, and I was nervous about telling Chase that I had to go to class, especially since he woke me up demanding coffee.

“I don’t drink coffee,” I told him sincerely. “Sorry.”

Chase had grumbled and swiped all the dishes into the sink, sending a crash that had echoed through the whole apartment. I’d felt bad, but not that bad; after all, he was the one who forced his way into my apartment. And into my life.

The way he’d been looking at me in my nightdress made me feel like he knew what I looked like naked. It was a curious feeling, and if I had to be honest with myself, I didn’t really hate it. When Chase stared at me like that, I felt a tingling between my legs. I realized that I
wanted
him to want me, and that made me blush more than anything else.

I changed into a sweater and jeans. It was snowing outside, and I thought glumly about walking to class with Chase hulking behind me. I couldn’t even think about my final. I’d studied, but this was days ago. Already the thing with Chase seemed like it had lasted forever. It was hard to believe that three days ago I didn’t know he existed.

Chase knocked on my bedroom door. “Lacey, I need caffeine,” he grunted. “I’m going to buy some coffee.”

“Good!” I chirped brightly. “You can drop me off at school and pick me up after my exam.”

He shook his head. “You’re not fuckin’ leaving my sight, little girl,” he said. “Sorry to disappoint. Didn’t want you get any funny ideas.”

I groaned. “Chase, do you know what the security is like on my campus? They have metal detectors everywhere. And I’m not supposed to bring people into the buildings who aren’t registered as students.”

“Tough shit,” he said in a short breath. I watched as he stretched and rubbed at his back with a pained expression. “You have to deal with me now because you couldn’t keep your cute little nose out of trouble.”

“But this is a final,” I whined. “They’re not going to let you in!”

“Then I guess you don’t get to take it,” he said, grinning at me. I felt my rage boil over; I couldn’t believe that only a few minutes ago I’d been thinking about Chase in a sexy way.

“Fuck off,” I spat, stalking back into my bedroom and collecting my school things. “Just keep your head down and don’t say anything.”

“We’ll see,” he teased as we walked out to his car. “I have a big fuckin’ mouth sometimes.”

“I know,” I said icily. We drove to school in silence. Chase made a huge deal about stopping at a 7-Eleven and buying coffee. He spent the car ride drinking it in tiny sips and talking about how good it was, and I felt my irritation growing with every passing minute. I tried to shove all thoughts of Chase out of my brain and think about the final, and school, but I couldn’t.

“Nice campus,” Chase said when we pulled up. “Looks safe, nice.” He made a visor with one of his hands and gazed around. “Definitely doesn’t look like anything bad could happen here,” he finished sarcastically, glaring at me.

I knew he was fucking with me; the campus of my community college wasn’t very nice at all. It was littered with trash and homeless people always snuck onto the grounds overnight and slept there. There were lazy-looking rent-a-cops at every entrance, and metal detectors at almost every door. As we walked, I kicked at a chunk of loose concrete with the toe of my shoe.

“Okay,” I said breathlessly, watching the condensation fog out into the cold. “Just stay in the back, and don’t bother anyone.”

“Aye, aye,” Chase told me as he gave me a mocking grin. “I’ll be quiet, yassir!”

“Shut up,” I mumbled, pushing open the door to the classroom building. The guards waved me past with the usual indifference. If they noticed Chase, they didn’t say anything about it.

He shot me a cocky grin when we got to the right room.

“Don’t say anything,” I warned again. “I’ll be done as soon as I can.”

Chase nodded, looking serious once again. I took a deep breath and walked to the front of the room, grabbing a bunch of stapled papers, and took a seat. The professor nodded at me. He didn’t acknowledge Chase, and I didn’t volunteer information.
Maybe everyone thinks that he’s my boyfriend,
I thought.
Anne did.

The thought of Dawning Center made me cringe. I had only received a terse message from Anne asking if I was okay. I’d texted her back, saying that I’d explain everything soon, but I hadn’t volunteered yet and she hadn’t called me back. If I was lucky, I’d still have a job when all of this mess was over.

The final was mostly multiple choice, with an essay section at the back. I mechanically moved through each page, checking the appropriate option, and sneaking the occasional glance backwards. Chase appeared to be bored out of his skull; every time I looked at him, he was cleaning his fingernails or picking his teeth.
Ugh
, I thought, rolling my eyes.
This is awful
.

But the more I thought about it, the more I felt kind of…special. It was true that I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know anything about Chase, but for him to protect me like this was something else. I couldn’t believe that he’d risk his life to save me, a girl he’d only seen a couple of times. I was dying to know what his backstory was, but I had a feeling that he’d never tell me. At least, not for quite some time.

My hand ached by the time I’d finished writing the first essay question and I looked at the rest of the exam with dismay. I’d been in there for over an hour and I still had three essay questions to go. I’d written five pages on the first one, and I turned to Chase with a mopey expression on my face. He was scowling and looking down at his phone, and as he saw me watching, he held up a finger and got up from his seat and walked out of my room. I thought my heart was going to pound through my chest; was it possible Chase had been right? Was I really in danger at school?

***

Chase

I skulked down the hallway of Lacey’s school building, looking for a pay phone. There was a bank of them in the lobby and I grabbed one, dialing the number that Peyton had just texted me. It rang for a long time before anyone answered.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end was gruff and hardened, just like my own.

“It’s me,” I said quietly. “Codename C.”

“Ahhhh, yes, Peyton told me you would be calling,” the voice drawled in a low tone. “And how can I help you on this fine day in Detroit?”

“I’m looking for the leader of The Machetes,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “If he didn’t tell you that, you’re not going to be any help to me at all.”

“Ah, but I can,” the voice purred. “Meet Peyton tomorrow, and he’ll give you some information from me.”

“I can’t wait that long,” I protested. “I have to get it now.”

“Impatience won’t help you, Mr. C,” the voice said in a silky tone. “Bye bye.”

The line went dead and I heard a dial tone in my ear.

“Fuck!” I yelled out loud, slamming the receiver back down onto the pay phone. It clanged and jangled and made the receptionist a few doors down come out into the hallway. She frowned at me with grandmotherly concern.

“Is everything all right, dear?”

“Sure,” I lied, kicking some dust with my shoe. “Just waiting for my…girlfriend to get out of a final.”

“Oh, how sweet,” she cooed. “Young love!”

I rolled my eyes, not even knowing what to say to that. The idea of calling anyone—even jokingly—my girlfriend was too much to handle. Peyton and the guys would have a shit fit if they saw me now, waiting in the hallway for Lacey like a nervous husband. I swallowed a lump in my throat and swaggered back down the hallway, slipping into the classroom and taking my seat at the back.

When Lacey heard me come in, her head snapped up and I watched with pleasure as her cheeks pinked and flushed. She shot me a quick smile before turning back to her test, her silky dark hair draped over her face.

Chapter Nine

Lacey

“How did it go?” Chase asked gruffly when I finally stood up. My bones ached from sitting in the cramped desk for over two hours, and I rubbed my right fingers with my other hand.

“I’m not sure,” I said, biting my lip. “That was a lot of writing.”