An hour and a half later, when the movie came to an end, I lifted my head off Torin's shoulder where it had come to rest at some point during the evening. Torin had dozed off early in the movie, and without moving, he cracked an eye open, husking, "Just stay put." The evening hadn't gone anywhere close to the direction I'd expected it to. Yet, I couldn't deny more snuggle time was damn tempting. Giving in to my desires, I settled back into Torin's arms, and placing my head back on his shoulder, I gave a huge yawn and a contented sigh. Floating in that moment that comes right before the blissfulness of sleep, I heard Torin whisper to himself, "I'm so fucked!"**~TORIN~**I should be sent straight to hell. I had to fucking stop this shit. Out of Marlowe's presence, I had it together, my mind set. But when she was around me…yeah…no, my dick got to sniffing and I followed where the hell it led like an idiot, skipping along with it as if I were its damn sidekick. God, I loved what she
My head jerked up, and I stared at Torin over the bar's countertop. Not fucking again! If this shit kept up, he was going to need to be wrapped in bubble wrap for his own damn protection. Lord help the man! With a shake of my head, I ran around the counter, heading towards Torin; at least he was walking this time, which was a plus. As I neared, he looked in my direction. Then, holding up his hand, he assured me, "I'm alright, Marl." "You don't look alright!" I argued. "There is blood—"Before I could finish, Torin shook his head. "It's not mine, Marlowe."I gaped at him. "Then who the hell's is it?" I exclaimed..Torin just shrugged, then asked, "Does it matter? It's not mine, that's all you need to know."**~TORIN~**I'd hope to make it to my room and change clothes before Marlowe saw me. Yeah, so didn't happen. Now, she gazed at me, her eyes curious. I was making things worse with my evasive answers, and I knew it, but she didn't need to know what had gone down. I'd set out gunn
The scrape of a shoe had my head jerking up, and my gaze traced the length of the legs standing before me upward until my eyes collided with the green ones gazing back. After a few seconds, Torin stated, "Let's go for a ride."Fifteen minutes later the rumble of a bike engine filled the air. The wind was warm as it brushed across my arms and tugged with a gentle caress at my clothing, gliding across my skin like a lover's touch as we traveled at a sedate pace down the road. Torin seemed to enjoy the wind as well and was in no hurry it appeared to be any particular place. The road he had chosen was vacant of other vehicles, and with a contented sigh, I laid my head against his back, feeling the bunching and tightening of his muscles beneath my cheek. The night whispered to us, calling out a siren's song as it seduced with its beauty. The moon shone down on the scenery beneath it, flushing everything within silvery lighting and the breeze weaved through tree branches that danced at its
The next morning arrived with another nearly sleepless night passing as my thoughts were centered on Torin. After we'd made love, he'd become distant, avoiding any eye contact. Climbing on his bike, he'd helped me climb on behind him, Then with a small shake of his head, he'd started the engine and we'd headed back toward the compound without another word passing between us. The longer the silence grew between the more used I'd felt. When we'd reached the compound, he'd brought the bike to a stop. Remaining seated, he'd offered a hand to help me dismount. Afterward, he growled, "I fuckin' screwed up. I should have never been with you," then shifting the bike into gear, he roared off, leaving me shredded and pissed off.My anger carried me through the rest of the night and most of the next morning, his words reverberating over and over within my head as I tended bar.After splashing whiskey into a tumbler, I pushed it at Houseshoe, then, setting the bottle back in its place, I hissed
As the sun rose the next morning, I pushed the blankets off my legs, then stood, stretching my muscles and relieving the tightness the night had brought, afterward, bladder screaming at me, I made my way toward the bathroom.With my morning ritual complete, having pulled the snarls out of my hair, as well as washed my face and teeth, I made my way out into the hallway. When I reached the common room, I glanced around. It held only a few members this early in the morning, and I received several nods in greeting. After returning the greetings, I followed the essence of freshly brewed coffee that was teasing my senses. Seconds later, arriving in the kitchen I gave a contented sigh, and grabbing a cup, I poured the dark brew into the container's depths. After having added my usual amount of creamer and sugar, I raised it to my lips, taking a sip. Pleased with its strong flavor, I glanced at a barstool, considering whether to sit, but decided against it. Since coming to the bomb shelte
**~TORIN~**Drawing my eyes away from Marlowe, I looked toward Jitter, my jaw tightening when I saw the woman walking a short distance behind him. Sobain? What the fuck was she doing here? Eyes swinging back to Marlowe, I murmured, "See you later?"At her nod, I returned it, then turned my attention toward the other woman. Sobain had started her life as the daughter of a fully patched member of the Raven's MC. The Ravens had been around a long time and had had many skirmishes with other well-known biker gangs. It was during one of them that Sobain lost her dad.At seventeen, Sobain had found herself fatherless and having a mother that hadn't known a damn thing about her. Nor apparently, had she wanted to, as she'd never even tried to see Sobain after she had walked out, leaving the then six-year-old Sobain with Carl, Sobain's dad. Sobain had claimed it was no loss, for Allie Reynolds had been less than mommy-dearest when she had been around—which made Carl, and the Ravens MC, the o
**~MARLOWE~**I didn’t recognize the teen who walked into the common room, but it was obvious he wasn’t new to the place, nor to the members, as several called, “Reif! What you doin’ here, man?”Silky, dark-brown strands of slightly wavy hair reached the teen's shoulders, and as his head lifted at the greetings, I sucked in a small breath. His eye color was devastating to the senses: liquid gold shot through with striations of cerise.Unable to help myself, I stared. I had never seen eyes so beautiful. They were surrounded by thick, almost black lashes, causing their unusual coloring to practically jump out at a person. The thought passed through my mind that he was going to draw the females like a magnet as he grew older: from his dark hair, to the olive tint of his skin, to his slightly taller than six-foot frame, he was stunning—but angry. Oh, so angry.As I drew my eyes away from the beauty of the teenager, my thoughts fell to the dark-headed woman Torin had been speaking with. Wh
**~TORIN~**"So, what you been up to?" I asked Reif, pulling him into my side in a friendly hug as I began moving us forward, and out of earshot of the others.With a shake of his head, Reif muttered, "Living in Hell!""Sorry, kid. It really been that bad?" I questioned, though I had little doubt it had."Yeah, man. It was bad enough before Mom started dating that piece of shit, but after..." his words trailed off as he gave a shrug. "Let's just say I irritated the hell out of him and leave it at that," he growled.I didn't need to be told. Reif's clamming up told me just what he had gone through without him having to say it. I wanted the bastard's name, but I wasn’t going to push. Reif would tell me when he was ready. And when he did....I hated slimy pieces of crap like whoever this low-life was. They didn’t deserve a place on earth, in my opinion. Oh, yes, I was a killer, and most likely would meet each slimeball I had taken out over the years in Hell when I arrived there—but I wou