Force: Blacktop Sinners MC (4 page)

Like she’s not just putting on an act.

“You can’t save everyone, blondie.”

“My name is Tess, like I said.”

“Okay,
Tess.
You can’t save everyone, and I just need to get out of here.” He stretched out slowly, letting the scrubs tighten around his frame so she could get a good look. “So examine away.”

“Great, I’ll do the neuro then call in Dr. Malek to agree. Then, we can call you a cab. Your wallet and other belongings are in lock up, and once I get the okay, I’ll do it for you myself.”

“So you do care.”

She sighed and, even if her tone was light, the sincerity was still ringing clear in her voice. “Of course I do. You gave us a scare when you couldn’t remember anything, had turn you over to the MRI and everything. That hit you took according to the paramedics…well, you do know the sapling you hit was cracked in half, right? You’re lucky as hell it wasn’t a full grown tree.”

“Felt like a goddamn full-grown tree.” He muttered and reached out to squeeze her hand. It was a soft gesture, something he didn’t do, but it felt right at the moment. Something about his accident had worried this gorgeous woman deeply, and he might as well throw her a bone.

In fact…

“Did you stay all night watching me sleep?”

Her ears went scarlet. Caught. “I had a double shift, and you were the most high risk patient on my docket. It’s not what you think.”

He grinned widely back at her, even as she shined that damn pen light into his eyes. Blinking, he held up his hands and shirked away. “Don’t worry, Blon—Tess, I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Look, I just wanted to make sure your pupils were still normal. We ran an MRI and also a CAT scan later on last night. We didn’t detect any cerebral hemorrhaging, but better safe than sorry,” she said, holding up one finger. “Now follow this without moving your head, just move your eyes.”

He rolled them first but focused on her once she started. It wasn’t difficult, but all the lights and commotion as well as the lack of meds was turning the pounding into a team of Clydesdales stomping through his brain. “Is that good?”

“Yup, you really are incredibly lucky, Derek. You could have been killed.” She stilled then and reached under her scrub top. He frowned at the medal she pulled out. He’d never been religious, so he didn’t know what faith it was from. He assumed based on the area probably Catholic, but he didn’t know it. “What?”

“The medal? What is it for?”

“I…it’s a St. Christopher. He’s the patron saint of travelers among other things. Are you Catholic?”

“I’m not much of anything,” he replied, honestly. “Seen too much ugly in the world to believe in anything either. I couldn’t see anyone or anything letting it go like that.”

“Some days, well, I almost believe that too, but I keep fighting to think there’s someone watching over all of us. I don’t bring this out on the floor, I apologize. It’s just a nervous habit.”

“It’s fine. I’m not offended. Honestly, I think it’s sweet,” he said, smiling back at her. “So what else is St. Christopher for?”

“Well general transportation, sailing, and, well, you’ll probably like this one---bachelors.”

He snickered at that. Was this flirting? He hadn’t done this in years, not like that. Again, the hookers were a freebie, and the sweet butt at the club was looking to jockey for position. He didn’t have to try, and a lot of them weren’t as quick as Tess was. This was different, what other guys experienced, wasn’t it?

“I might have an old lady, um, a wife.”

“No ring, no one had to cut it off you, and even if you were the cheating type, there are no obvious tan lines, but it’s a nice bluff there, Romeo.” She smiled and pushed the medal back under her shirt. “So what date is it?”

“June 12, 2015.”

“And,” she said, holding up the peace sign for him. “How many fingers.”

“Two.”

“Who’s president?”

“Not who I voted for,” he huffed.

“I’m serious.”

“Barack Obama, and he still has a few years to go. His wife is named Michelle and they have a dog name Bo. I heard it’s hypoallergenic. Is that good enough to prove my brain’s not scrambled?”

“It proves you’re about to overdose on sarcasm for what it’s worth,” she finished. “Remember these numbers: 3, 8, 12, 2, 5.”

“Can do.”

“Now which fruit is usually red: an apple or an orange?”

“Orange.”

“Spell ‘loose.’”

“L-O-O-S-E. Good thing you didn’t ask for accommodate. I lost on the second round of the fifth grade spelling bee on that one. We all had to do it, but never liked that damn word.”

She chuckled. “Okay give me the numbers.”

“3, 8, 12, 2, 5.”

“And can you do it backwards?”

“Of course.”

She snorted. “That’s not what I meant.”

“It was what you asked,” he replied, smirking back at her. If he had to go through such stupid tests, then she had to suffer too, damn it.

“Repeat them.”

“Fine, it’s 5, 2, 12, 8, 3.”

“Perfect. I’ll go tell Dr. Malek that you’re ready for everything, and she’ll double check your mental faculties as well.”

Derek nodded and smiled to himself as she sashayed around. She sure was cute, and her ass wasn’t a bad view either. If he didn’t have a president to check in with, a bike to find, and a best friend to worry over, he’d almost be happy that he found her.

Even if she was a bit of an uptight, by the book type.

Maybe that was what he needed.

Chapter Six

“Thank you,” he said, as she handed him his bag of possessions. “I really appreciate you getting Dr. Malek in here within an hour. I just need to check up on the friends I was riding with. We got split up in the woods, and I’m scared they’re hurt too, you know?”

“I do, and here’s a post-it with the impound lot’s address. We called you a cab already, since you won’t be able to get there any other way.”

“Thanks,” he said, opening up the bag and spilling out the contents onto the bag. To his relief his switch blade and boots were still there as was his cut, the jacket he’d worn for a decade. It was sliced into two halves. Mournfully, he picked up both and sighed. “I loved this jacket.”

She frowned at the flaming rose pattern that was hard to make out on the back of the ripped halves. “That’s a distinct jacket. Did you decorate it yourself?”

He shoved it quickly into its bag, not wanting to deal with too many questions. “It’s more a sentimental feeling,” he said, trying to ignore her questions as he scooped his other things up and shoved his wallet in a pocket of the scrub pants. He was reaching for the shredded denim that had once been his jeans when she squeezed his wrist.

Turning, he frowned down at her. She was such a spit fire and so bossy that it was hard to realize, all things aside, she was a tiny little thing. “What?”

“I…just take care of yourself out there, Derek. I have a feeling you’re in more trouble than you’re telling me. I won’t press because it’s not my place, but I’d hate to have you back in here again.”

“I promise that you won’t see me
here
again,” he finished. “But I’d like to see you off the clock.”

He couldn’t believe he was saying that at first. She was a nurse, the type who ran with cops and paramedics, someone who’d never really understand him, even as nice as she was. Still, she was the first person he’d met who seemed to care about him, someone that he found so refreshing as an alternative to all the old lady wannabes at the clubhouse. Maybe he could keep her separate from his life as a Blacktop Sinner.

That might be a lie because being a Sinner was his full identity, but he wasn’t sure.

All he knew was that he couldn’t leave her here without at least giving it a shot.

“I can’t.”

“I’m discharged, not your patient anymore, so don’t even try to use that as an excuse.”

She groused and threw her hands up in the air. “It’s not…I don’t want to love someone who risks their life so much.”

“Life’s all about risk, and you either take them or sit on the sidelines. I’m not into sidelines.” Reaching down, he cupped her cheek. “I want you to take a chance on me. You just think I’m tough or some wild man, but I’m more than that, I promise that, Tess. Just hand me your phone,”

Biting her lower lip, she handed him her cell. “You can add your number. I won’t guarantee I’ll pick up. When I have some sleep, better judgment is going to win out.”

He finished entering in his own cell and grinned. “I’ll be calling. Glad I left that back at my home.” A lie. All cells were kept at the clubhouse. They didn’t want a risk of losing them; too many numbers were incriminating. The only one of them who’d taken a disposable to runs like that was Spike. Always in secret, always in stealth. “But I’ll call you; you can bet on that,” Derek finished by leaning down and kissing her cheek.

It was beyond gratifying to see her go fire hydrant red as he pulled back. Oh, she was going to play reserved, maybe even believe she was in her heart of hearts, but he knew better. Tess was a woman with spirit, who clearly was spoiling for more adventure than nursing had offered her. He wasn’t about to throw her in to life with the Blacktop Sinners, but she could be his oasis, and he could be her source of fun for a little while.

As he strolled out and sat in his cab, even he was grinning like some goofy loon. It wasn’t until he checked his bags outside the impound lot that he realized he’d left his damn knife behind and that Spike was going to kill him.

Chapter Seven

“Make love to me.”

The words were out of her mouth, just naked and raw before her and before Derek. She’d never been that direct before. Tess had had lovers, and she’d had sex, of course. Still, she’d never felt the urge to take control like this before, to demand of her lover. There was something about Derek that burned into her veins, that made it feel like a river of lava escaped from Vesuvius itself was rocketing through her blood stream.

Derek didn’t need to wait. Those mischievous yet encouraging brown eyes, as deep and rich as melted chocolate, were boring into hers. He was standing before her, the moonlight filtering through the window, and her mouth was watering at the sight, at the way the light played across the planes of his abdomen, highlighting every ridge and valley, even the dip of his perfectly sculpted hip bones. His erection bobbed freely in the light, and she licked her lips at the sight of his cock, erect and ready for her. It was as long as she’d have guessed from his height and as thick as any she’d ever seen.

Wetness flooded from her core, and she leaned up against her headboard. “I need you so much, Derek.”

“Blondie, you only had to ask,” he called, his voice a low rumble that made her clit throb with need and anticipation.

Striding across the expanse of her bedroom, he slid into bed and angled himself over her. His cock bobbed against her hips, and she shivered under his ministrations. He began to kiss her neck, his tongue lapping at the small dip in her collarbone. Goosebumps erupted over her skin, and she shivered beneath him. He continued to kiss her, adding small love bites to her clavicle, to the thin skin there. Then he felt his dick sliding over and tickling her slit.

She gasped and dug her nails into her back.

“God, yes!”

Then her damn alarm went off.

“Are you kidding?” She asked, throwing herself out of the bed and heading straight for the shower. There was no way she was going to be able to deal with being this frustrated all day. That wasn’t an option.

Rushing into the shower, she pulled the door shut and let the heat of the water pour over her. Grabbing her watermelon-scented bath scrub, she reached between her legs with her left hand and grazed her other hand over her right nipple. Closing her eyes, she imagined those large, broad hands of Derek’s cupping her breast. In her mind’s eye, she knew that he’d be able to hold her tit in one hand, to fully cup it. Her smaller hand wasn’t good enough, but she tried, twisting the rounded bud of her nipple in her grasp.

Her other hand parted her wet and eager folds. For a bit, she traced her fingers over the lips of her labia, feeling the sensation spike and ebb through her nerves. It was like pulses of electricity, like a live wire running through her. Venturing higher, she slid in her middle finger and then pressed her thumb against her clit. Keeping her eyes slammed shut, she started to rub against her bundle of nerves, to work that clit with all the skill her hand had to offer. As she did it, she imagined it was Derek’s hands plumbing her, that it was his thick fingers deep inside of her. The feeling crescendoed through her, spiraling up from her pussy and leaving her knees buckling beneath her.

She came then, screaming his name so loud she was scared her neighbor in the duplex would notice.

When she was done, Tess still enjoyed an extra-long shower, using the second, portable head to rinse herself well. Hopping out of the shower, she lowered her head and pressed it against the cool tile.

God, what was happening to her?

She’d never ever let herself fantasize about a patient, and even with his brazen stunt, Derek was far from the first one she’d seen naked.

He was, however, by far the most attractive, the most toe-curlingly gorgeous.

***

“So,” Lizzy said, sitting across from her at the table at the Java Hut. “You need to spill, and you clearly need to spill now.”

She frowned. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh please, you worked thirty hours and took someone else’s shift just so you could keep a look out on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Yes Please.”

She sighed and glared back at her friend. Lizzy meant well, but she could come on so strong. Tess wasn’t sure she could channel that kind of confidence or embrace the strength her friend had, at least not where men were concerned. Her last boyfriend had been five years ago, and he’d tried to stay with her, to weather the tragedy, but after a year of her melancholy and morning, he’d left her too.

Sometimes it felt too scary, that if you loved someone, family or lover, that it was too easy for them to be snatched away from you. It was also hard to be the happy go lucky person she’d been before, to remember what it was like to be that carefree and relaxed.

“We shouldn’t date patients.”

“Oh don’t pretend that we don’t bend those rules, especially after they’ve been discharged. That’s how I met Carmelo, that hot construction worker!”

“I know, but I just…”

“You don’t have to do more than have a date. I know you’ve had a one night stand or two since David, back when---”

“Believe me, I know when,” she said, thinking back to Jason’s loss. Unbidden, she placed her hand on the St. Christopher’s chain at her throat. Sometimes, as much as she loved and missed her brother, the chain felt like a damn albatross around her neck. “It’s just, what would we even have in common? He’s clearly the biker type, lives for danger, and I’m miss study-a-holic.”

“You’re a tough, smart nurse, and guys have fetishes for the Nurse Ratched type, believe me.”

“Ugh, I so don’t need to know more about Ricardo’s preferences.”

“Oh, not him. He’s a bit too beta male for that, but a big guy like Derek, all surly biker dude? He totally needs a tough by-the-book woman to bring him to heel. Besides, he’s hot, you’re fairly smoking.”

“Hey!”

“You know you’re a catch, but don’t think I’m not the better one,” she said, winking at her.

“I know, but I don’t even…” She floundered, setting her phone on the table. “Just because he gave me his number doesn’t mean that anything is ever going to come of it.”

“He what? Is that in your phone?”

“Um, maybe,” she said reaching for it but cursing when Lizzy outreached her.

“I’ve got this handled, chica,” she chirped, pressing a button and already Tess could hear the speed dial ringing.

“God, no, you can’t!” she said, lunging for her friend.

The Latina jumped up and rushed to the other side of the coffee shop. Tess hurried after her, but it didn’t matter, by the time she was over there, Lizzy was shoving the phone back to her.

“He didn’t answer, but I left a voice mail with
your
number and told him he’d be loco not to ask you out and I quote, ‘rock your world.’”

“Man, why would you do that to me?” She asked, shoving her phone in her pocket again.

“Because I worry about you. You need to have fun STAT, Tess, and I know you keep thinking about Jason and how you lost him. I know this is such a hard time of year for you because of your brother and the accident, but he’d never want you to become a nun for him. You have to know that.”

“I do,” she said, starting back to their table and slumping down at her seat. “Believe me I do, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t change how sacred I get. Besides, now he just has a weird message on his voicemail. He’ll never call.”

Lizzy sat down and sipped her iced coffee. A bit of the whipped cream covered her upper lip and she licked it back off. Casual as always. “I bet he will, and if I’m betting correctly, then you need to do yourself a favor and say yes because, chica, some chances only come so often.”

She didn’t have a pithy reply to that one.