Inferno: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (10 page)

Renegade turned to Tessa with a fierce look in his eyes. “Name’s Renegade,” He reached out to shake her hand and then turned back to his drink. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he finished off the last of his beer. Ace’s death and Taylor’s visit only seemed to make him worse. He had been drinking more than usual, and it was only a matter of time before his short temper was going to get him into trouble. He was obviously hurting over the loss of his friend, and Bishop needed to talk with him, soon.

Bobby approached the bar with a huge smile on his face. “Did y’all just see that? I just smoked Doc at a game of 8 ball. I think he’s losing his touch in his old age.” He glanced over at Tessa and tipped his head, “I’m Bobby. Guys around here call me Crack Nut, but that’s a story for later. You must be Myles’s teacher. He talks about you all the time.” He had a boyish charm that made him easy to like.

Tessa tilted her head as she looked at Bobby with curiosity. “Mmm…nope, that story isn’t gonna be able to wait until later. I’ve got to know how in the world you ended up with an awful name like Crack Nut.”

“Let’s just say that when you wreck your motorcycle, not only do you get a serious case of road rash, you can cause major damage to the man goods. I had to learn the hard way that there’s only so much your balls can take. When I had my accident, the swelling ended up causing me to lose one of my nuts.” He took a moment to readjust himself, obviously thinking back to the day his balls swelled to the size of a large grapefruit.

“Oh my god! That’s terrible. Jeez, that hurts just thinking about it,” she said with a grimace. She actually seemed to feel sorry for Bobby. Bishop had always thought it was his own damn fault for driving too fast on a curvy road. It served him right for not thinking, but then again, Bobby rarely seemed to
think
about anything.

“Come on. I’ll show you around.” Bishop took her hand and led her through the bar and down a narrow hall. Jessica and Cindy gave her a scathing look as they began to whisper back and forth. Their snarls made it obvious they were not happy about her being there. Tessa didn’t seem to be fazed by their glares. Instead, she focused on the closed doors that lined the hall.

“What are these rooms?”

“Each of the guys has a room here. Most of them have a place of their own outside of the clubhouse, but it’s good to have a place to crash when there’s been too much drinking or when they need some
privacy
.” Her eyebrows raised at that, so he knew she understood what he meant.

“Where’s your room? Can I see it?” Tessa asked.

Bishop didn’t respond. He opened the last door at the end of the hall and motioned for her to enter. The room was simple and clean. The bed was made with a slate gray comforter, and his clothes were neatly put away in a small dresser in the corner of the room. A large flat screen TV hung on the wall, and a picture of Myles and Bishop riding on the motorcycle sat on the table beside the bed. It was simple, but homey. Bishop quietly shut the door and gave her time to become acquainted with her surroundings. She quietly walked around the room, softly touching the bedspread as she passed by. She peeked her head into his bathroom, and turned to him and said, “It’s really nice. I like it.” She smiled and walked back over to him.

“That’s good. I want you to feel comfortable being here.”

“The guys seem really nice. Bobby is a hoot! I think I’d definitely like to come back sometime,” Tessa said bashfully.

Bishop swept her hair off of her shoulder and eased his way closer. He brushed his lips across her earlobe, and said, “Oh, you’ll be back. But the next time you’re in this room, you’ll be staying the night.” He began kissing her neck, and she moaned with anticipation. Goosebumps rose on her flesh as she inched closer. His thumb brushed across her jaw as she glanced up at him. His lips met hers, and the kiss instantly became frenzied. Her hands roamed over his broad chest, and she gripped the sides of his t-shirt. His hand found the curve of her ass, and he pulled her closer to his growing bulge.

“I’ve been thinking about having you in this room, touching you… kissing you…. You’re all I can think about.”

As he pushed her against the wall, the vibrations of her moans only magnified his need to possess her. He ground his hips into hers as her hands slipped inside his shirt, brushing over the muscles in his back. His hand slipped down, and she didn’t protest as he began to undo the button of her jeans. She arched her back, pressing her breasts into his chest. She leaned back so that he could release the zipper and slide his hand into her lace panties. He dragged his finger over her slowly.

“You’re wet for me. You want this as much as I do,” he whispered. He thrust two fingers into her and began to fuck her with his fingers. She rocked back and forth against his hand, encouraging him to move at her pace. He quickly found the spot that made her legs become unsteady. He continued to kiss her as the sensation overwhelmed her. Her entire body became tense as her orgasm took over. “Oh my god, Cole!”

He was surprised that she called him Cole, but he liked it. He wanted her more than he realized, but he didn’t want to move too fast with her. He wanted her to know that she was different from the women in his past. He wanted more from her. More than just one night. He didn’t want her to be filled with regret for rushing into things with him. She obviously felt the same intense attraction towards him, but he needed to take his time with her.

He slowed the kiss and removed his hand from her panties. When his lips broke from the kiss, she looked at him with apprehension. He redid the button on her jeans as her feet became steady back to the floor. “I want you to call me that from now on.”

“What?” Tessa asked, confused by his withdrawal.

“Cole. I want you to call me Cole from now on. I like hearing my name come from those sweet lips.” He kissed her once more before he said, “I have someplace I’d like to take you. Let’s take a ride.” He took her hand and led her out of his room. Disappointment crossed her face briefly, but she only nodded and followed him to his bike.

Chapter 16

Tessa

What the hell was that?
Tessa was totally confused by Bishop’s actions back at the clubhouse. It had been such a long time since she had been with a man. She began to wonder if he had changed his mind about her.
Did I do something wrong? Maybe he didn’t like the way I kissed
.
Maybe he wasn’t attracted to me the way I was to him
. As they rode along the old curvy road, Bishop didn’t even speak to her. He seemed preoccupied, so she waited patiently for them to stop.

She enjoyed riding on his bike. His scent surrounded her as she clung to his body. She couldn’t hold back her smile as he drove faster through the night. It was hard to have negative thoughts sitting so close to him with the wind whirling around her. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She tried to keep her hands still, but she couldn’t help exploring his defined chest. Her fingertips gently caressed the unmistakable outline of his six-pack.

“Tess, you keep touching me like that, and I’m gonna have to pull over,” Bishop told her with a deep chuckle. She smiled when she felt the vibrations of his laughter on her fingertips. She liked hearing him call her Tess. Until tonight, he had only called her Teach. Hearing him say her name triggered her traitorous body. Her arousal only intensified as the vibrations of the seat moved through her. She inched closer to him, seeking the warmth of his body. She loved being this close to him, and it surprised her how her body reacted to him so quickly. She was in a constant state of arousal whenever she was near him.

As they crossed the Paris Landing Bridge, she was astounded by the absolute beauty of the night. All of the stars seemed brighter under the darkness of the night. The reflection of the moon bounced across the water. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Bishop pulled into the boat dock and cut the engine. He got off the bike and took her hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

She followed him over to a bench facing the water. She felt so comfortable just being there with him, holding his hand. Without thinking, she nestled into the crook of his arm. He was still quiet, but she wasn’t bothered by his silence. She looked around at all the boats at the dock. She was amazed by the size of several of the larger houseboats. They must have cost a fortune and seemed so out of place here in their small town. They were beautiful nonetheless.

Tessa asked Bishop, “Do you have a boat? These houseboats are out of this world. I can’t imagine who could afford something like this. Must be nice to have that kind of money.”

“Yeah, we have a ski boat, but nothing like these. We haven’t been out on the water lately. I’ve just been too busy with club stuff to take it out on the water. Maybe we can take the kids for a ride sometime soon before it gets too cold.”

“They would love that. My parents have a pontoon boat, but they don’t get it out much anymore. It’s harder for them now that they are older. My brother, Sam, and I loved to come visit here in the summer. We would spend every day out on the water. We used to be really close…. I miss spending time with him.”

“What happened? Why don’t you see him anymore?”

“We grew apart back when we were younger. He started getting into trouble when he turned eighteen, and even got arrested a couple of times. After I had the kids, he slowly stopped coming around. I’m pretty sure he was dealing drugs the last time I saw him. I haven’t heard from him in years. Mom has been heartbroken about it, but my dad still believes he’ll come back around one day.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

Bishop pulled her closer as they continued to sit quietly, looking at the boats. They were enjoying the comfortable silence when Bishop’s phone began to make a strange buzzing sound. It reminded her of the alarms they had at school for fire drills.

He quickly removed it from his pocket and panic spread across his face. “I gotta get back. There’s a fire at the garage.”

They quickly made their way back to his bike. Before he pulled out, he punched several numbers on his phone, and shouted, “You at the garage? Good. Is everyone alright?” He paused before he said, “I’ll drop Tessa off and get there as fast as I can. Any idea how it got started?” He paused briefly before saying, “Well, fuck. Get Bobby on it. I’m on my way.”

As they raced away from the dock and entered the highway, Tessa held on tightly to Bishop’s waist. The muscles in his body were tense as he sped across the highway. He didn’t speak as Tessa tried to keep her focus on holding on. When he pulled into her driveway, she hopped off the bike as quickly as she could.

“I hope everything is okay,” Tessa said backing away from his bike.

“It’ll be fine. Keep your phone with you. I’ll text you when I know more about what’s going on.” He pulled her over to him and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Courtney was waiting at the door when Tessa made her way to the porch. “Whoa, where’s the fire?” Courtney chuckled as she listened to Bishop’s bike roar as he sped away. “You okay? It’s late, but not late enough.”

“I’m fine. Actually, there’s a fire at his clubhouse. His phone had some alarm on it that let him know there was something wrong, and he had to get back to make sure everyone was alright,” Tessa told her with concern in her voice.

“Wow, that’s crazy! Well… I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she continued, trying to comfort Tessa. “It’s cool that his phone could let him know that there was a fire. It’s amazing what those things can do now. I heard they have stuff like GPS’s to locate you just by your cell number. You know you can actually track your kids with those things. They’d never even know you were doing it. I would have never survived high school if my mother knew how to track me. It kinda freaks me out.”

“I just hope everything is okay. He looked really worried.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they’ll be able to put the fire out. You know how crafty men can be. How ‘bout a beer while you tell me about the date? The kids seemed to have a really good time at the game. Izzie has been telling me all about it. I think she really likes Bishop.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d really like to get some sleep. I’ll tell ya all about it in the morning.”

“That’s fine. Get some sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m going to head home,” Courtney said as she gathered up her purse. “I have to ask. Did you have a good time? Were the guys nice to you at the club?”

“I had a really good time. Better than I ever thought I could. The guys were very nice and funny, and I’m looking forward to going back. It’s just a lot to take in. I didn’t really plan to feel like this about a guy so soon. He’s got me all worked up and confused. I feel like I’m going out of my mind. We just met a few weeks ago, and now I start missing him as soon as he pulls out of the driveway. That seems crazy to me. I just need to get my shit together.”

“Nope, that’s definitely what you
don’t
need to do. For the first time since I met you, there’s a spark in your eye. You actually seem really happy, and I can tell you actually really like this guy. Enjoy the moment, and see where it takes you. This is a good thing. Now, go on to bed and call me when you wake up.” Courtney gave her a big hug before walking out the door.

Tessa went to check in on the kids before she went to bed. She sat the phone on her nightstand in case Bishop called. She was worried about the fire and wondered if anyone got hurt. She thought back to his reaction to the phone call. He was pretty upset with whatever they told him about how the fire started. She needed to get a better understanding of how things worked in his club. She got the feeling that things might be more dangerous than she thought.