Rescue Me (Demon Riders MC #1) (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

It’s only when Elyse is out in the cold night air that rational thought seems to penetrate her brain. She plants her feet, and Dane looks at her questioningly. “Doesn’t your girlfriend mind you taking strange girls on your bike?”

“Girlfriend?” He says the word as if it were a foreign concept and Elyse makes a note to herself that it should set alarm bells ringing. Dane is clearly not the kind of guy that stays with one girl for long. Between his impossibly good looks and his confidence, it’s not hard to imagine that he probably has his pick of girls and is more of a love ‘em and leave ‘em sort. She doesn’t know why that makes her feel a little deflated.

“The waitress…Suzi.” She gestures vaguely behind her, releasing her arm from his grip in the process to allow her to think a little clearer.

Dane laughs, a deep warm chuckle that she feels right down to her core. She folds her arms over her chest, and her chin goes up, not enjoying the fact that he seems to find her so wholly amusing. Dane catches her expression and seems to register the fire behind her eyes. He holds his hands up in a surrender pose and has the decency to look a little contrite.

“Hey, don’t get mad, although it kinda works for you.” He throws her a cheeky wink and Elyse finds it hard not to smile. His expression sobers, like he wants her to take on board what he’s saying. “Suzi is a friend, that’s all. We’ve known each other a long time. She’s not my girlfriend.” Elyse feels the tension go out of her body at his words and the green-eyed monster of jealousy goes back into her box. Dane watches her as if he can see through her and knows what emotions she’s going through. The thought of that is both disconcerting and exciting. “Better now?”

Elyse gives him a warning look, but it’s hard to keep up when a smile is creeping onto her lips.

“Good.” He nods, like he hadn’t expected any other outcome. “So tell your friend you don’t need a ride and let’s get going.” He strides purposefully towards one of the many motorbikes sitting outside the bar, clearly expecting her to follow.

Elyse looks down at her cell where she’d already drafted a text at the start of the night with the word ‘Monopoly,’ ready to send at the first sign of trouble. Without analyzing what she’s doing, she deletes the word and fires off a message to Jen to say that she’s making her own way home and not to worry. She shoves the cell back into her bag, knowing Jen will be lighting up her phone with message after message quizzing her and she’s not quite ready for that yet.

She takes a deep breath and follows Dane who is now straddling his gleaming black and silver bike and holding out a helmet for her. They lock eyes and there’s a definite attraction between them. It’s an undeniable pull that clouds her mind.

“Don’t be scared, Elyse.” The serious look that Dane gives her makes her wonder if he’s talking about the bike or something altogether different.

“I’m not.” She grabs the helmet, pulling it on and settling herself on the bike behind him.

He lets out a low chuckle. “Where we headed, Elyse?”

She smiles at the way he says her name. It feels almost intimate. She rattles off her address and he lets out a low whistle.

“So you’re a ‘right side of the tracks’ kind of girl. I can work with that. Hold on.” She doesn’t have time to ask what he can work with or to protest at the fact that he’s classified her as an ‘uptown girl.’

As the bike starts to move she lets go of any reticence and wraps her arms around his waist, feeling the warmth of his body through his leather jacket. He guns the engine and she holds on even tighter, partly out of a sense of self-preservation and partly because she just likes the feel of his strong body against hers. Between that and the powerful engine vibrating between her legs, it’s hard to concentrate on anything but how good she feels.

They zip through the streets and Elyse feels a euphoria that she hasn’t ever experienced before. It isn’t exactly a stretch to understand why bikers love the rush. By the time they pull up outside the little house that she and Jen are renting, the adrenaline is still pumping around her system. She pulls off her helmet and jumps off of the bike feeling pumped.

“That was amazing!” She’s breathless and her eyes sparkle with excitement.

Dane looks at her in a way that makes her heart do somersaults in her chest. Zing, she thinks to herself. She breaks eye contact, handing him back his helmet and trying to get her brain back under control and stop it from going off on tangents to do with Dane’s eyes, his strong hands and what she’d like him to do with them.

Stop it, Powell. Get a grip.

“Thanks for the ride and for your help earlier.” She waits a beat. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

Dane doesn’t say anything. He just keeps looking at her until his eyes slide past her to the car behind. His eyes widen and he jumps off his bike to take a closer look. “Holy shit! Is that a ’75 Mustang?” He runs his hands along the damaged bodywork, looking like a kid at Christmas.

Elyse tries not to sigh at the realization that Dane is more interested in her classic car than her. It’s a sobering thought and enough to snap her out of her daydreaming. “Yeah, it’s seen better days.” That’s probably the understatement of the century, she thinks to herself as she looks at the dented and rusted bodywork. “It was my mom’s. She’s had it since forever. It was my graduation present.” Elyse can’t help but smile when she talks about her mother. They had always been close and the fact that she would give Elyse the car that had meant so much to her completely outweighed the fact that the car was more or less a wreck.

“Helluva present.” Dane plants his hands on his hips and surveys the car, looking impressed despite the sorry state it’s in.

“It was. I just wish it didn’t cost me so much to keep it on the road. I feel like I’m taking it to the garage for one thing or another more than I take it anywhere else!” She hugs herself to keep warm.

“You take it to a specialist? Someone that deals with classics like this?” Dane squats down, inspecting every inch of the Mustang.

Elyse huffs out a laugh. “Specialist body shops cost money that I don’t have. I just take it to whoever will give me the best deal.” She shrugs. “I’m taking it in again tomorrow. It’s been making this weird sound and I’m just waiting for the day when the engine falls right out.”

Dane looks at her as if she’d just told him she was a serial killer and shakes his head. He pulls out a card from his back pocket and hands it to her. She takes it automatically and reads the address of a place called ‘The Shop’ in the Pearl District, one of the trendier parts of town. She looks up at him with a raised, questioning eyebrow.

“It’s the body shop where I work. Bring her by tomorrow and I’ll take a look, see what I can do.” He gives her a measured look.

“Her?” Elyse teases him.

“The car.” He gestures towards the Mustang. “Trust me, it’s a she.”

“You’re a mechanic?” Elyse looks between him and the card she’s holding as the wheels in her brain start turning. She hadn’t thought about the Demon Riders having real jobs outside of their illegal dealings. But it made sense. They would need legitimate businesses to launder their money.

Dane shrugs. “I’m pretty good with my hands.” It’s a line, but it’s a good one and Elyse feels the heat rushing to her cheeks. “So you’ll come by tomorrow?” He watches her expectantly and it’s the hint of vulnerability in his question, the fact that he seems to care about her answer that cinches it.

“Sure, that’d be great.” Elyse tells herself she’s going to go to the body shop because seeing Dane is a good way to learn enough about the club to write a really good story. He just might be her way in. She tries to persuade herself that her decision has nothing to do with how handsome he is, or the way he makes her feel.

Dane nods like he hadn’t expected any other answer from her and she wonders if she’s imagining the look of relief that flits across his face. A purring sound coming from Dane’s feet breaks the moment and Elyse watches as he breaks into a smile, scooping up the grey ball of fluff that’s been entwining itself around his feet.

“Hey, little lady.” Dane scratches behind her ear making her purr even louder. “She yours?”

Elyse swallows hard. The sight of this strong, sexy man going all soft over her kitten is enough to knock her off her feet. “Yeah, that’s Cat. I found her and just couldn’t bring myself to take her to a shelter.”

Dane raises an eyebrow at her. “Cat? So how many times exactly have you watched
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
?”

Of all the things Dane could have said, that is the one that she was least expecting. “You like Audrey Hepburn movies?”

He looks embarrassed, like he’s just been caught out and the sheepish grin makes the butterflies in her stomach take flight again. “Suzi likes Audrey Hepburn movies. That’s one of her favorites.” He shrugs and Elyse feels a stab of jealousy again at the intimacy he shares with the petite blonde waitress. A buzzing sounds from his pocket and he pulls out his cell, frowning at the message before he places Cat gently back down on the floor. “I have to go.”

Elyse shakes herself out of the doe-eyed staring she knows she’s probably doing. “Right, sure. I didn’t mean to keep you.”

Dane smiles at her and closes the short distance between them. For one delicious moment she thinks that he might kiss her, but he just reaches up and tucks a strand of wayward auburn hair behind her ear, his fingers tracing a hot line along her cheek. His eyes flick down to her lips that she’s just moistened with her tongue and she feels the warmth of his stare. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Elyse.” His voice is husky and she knows hers would be the same if she had recovered the power of speech.

Without a backward glance he heads to his bike, guns the engine, and is gone, leaving Elyse staring after him. She forces herself to turn around and head towards the house, picking Cat up as she goes. The events of the day play through her mind, from her conversation with MacIntyre to the electricity that shot through her when Dane touched her cheek.

You’re supposed to be investigating the Demons, Powell, not going all gooey over one of them.

She has to remind herself that the Demons are the bad guys, that they believe they’re above the law. But it’s hard to think of Dane as a bad guy. Something inside of her won’t let her believe it. Her mother had always told her that she sees the good in people, no matter what, Elyse wasn’t sure if that was a failing or a virtue. When it came to Dane, she knew what she wanted to believe.

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Elyse pulls up outside the body shop, she’s still buzzing with energy and adrenaline that she doesn’t know what to do with. She had thought that her karate class that morning would have helped her work out some of the tension and frustration from the night before, but even that hadn’t seemed to help. She’d relayed the events of the night to Jen, who had reminded her that she was working on a story and that the Demon Riders weren’t exactly the most eligible of men.

“You’re right. I know you’re right. This is just business. I’m taking Dane up on his offer for the story, not for anything else.” Elyse had been impressed with how certain she’d sounded but the look Jen gave her told her that she was far from convinced. She wasn’t alone.

In the cold light of day, Elyse had given herself a strict talking-to. She can’t afford to get mixed up with the Demons. Not only were they the subject of her story but they were dangerous criminals and Dane was one of them. No amount of sexy smiles was going to change that.

‘The Shop’ takes up an old warehouse that’s been remodeled and, from the number of cars and bikes outside, it looks like business is booming. The front door is open and she slips through, looking around for some signs of life and taking in the huge shop floor. Her eyes dart around the place, cataloguing it, thinking about how she will describe it in her story. The floor is all but empty and Elyse realizes she’s probably turned up just when everyone had broken for lunch.

But the sound of metal clanging in the far corner alerts her to the only two people there. She steps a little closer, keeping out of sight and sees Dane twirling a wrench in his hand as he chats easily with a platinum blonde – Suzi. Dane is standing there with his top off, looking all masculine and hot and steamy and her stomach does a little flip flop. The breath catches in Elyse’s throat and she swallows hard as the desire bubbles up.

Get a grip, Powell.

She knows she should probably just walk over and let them know she’s there. But her curiosity gets the better of her when she hears what sounds like Suzi giving Dane relationship advice. She freezes, not wanting to call attention to herself and strains to hear what they’re saying.

“You worry about me more than my mom does, Suze.” Dane shakes his head, but there’s warmth in his complaint and Elyse feels another spark of jealousy.

“Whatever. All I’m saying is that you don’t want to get in too deep, especially with a girl you don’t know anything about.” Suzie shrugs and twirls a strand of hair around her finger absently, but her attention is focused on Dane. From the intense expression on her face, Elyse wonders if Dane’s description of their relationship as ‘just friends’ was a sentiment shared by Suzi.

“Too deep? I’ve just met her, Suze. I think it’s a little early for that.” Dane waves off her concern and bends over the engine he’s working on so Elyse can’t see his face.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Fletcher. I’ve known you way too long for that. I saw the way you were looking at her last night and the little white knight routine at the bar.” Elyse feels a little thrill when she realizes they’re talking about her. Suzi huffs a sigh as if she’s well aware that her words are falling on deaf ears. “I just don’t want you to lose sight of the end-game. You’ve wanted to be a Demon Rider for as long as I can remember. Now is the time to put your head down and concentrate on getting patched. Anything else is just a distraction.”

“Something I can do for you?” A heavy hand settles on Elyse’s shoulder and she whirls around to face a solid looking man in his late forties. With his muscular build and tattooed arms, he looks like someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley but his eyes are kind.

Elyse cringes as she realizes she’s been caught eavesdropping. She feels the blood rush to her face and notices that the big man’s eyes are now twinkling with amusement.

“I’m – uh – here to see Dane. He said he would check out my car.” She tries to stand a little straighter and shake off her embarrassment but the wobble in her voice gives her away.

“Elyse?” Dane’s questioning voice from behind her makes her turn around slowly. She takes in Dane’s lopsided grin and has to stop herself from staring at his taught pecs and defined abs. Suzi stands next to him, hands on her hips and looking at Elyse as if she’s sizing her up and probably wondering how much of their conversation she’d overheard.

“Well, any friend of Dane’s is always welcome here.” The big man from behind her steers Elyse towards the others with practiced ease, only stopping to turn to her when she’s directly in front of Dane. “I’m Rick.”

“Pleasure to meet you, sir.” Elyse shakes his offered hand and watches as a smile breaks out over his face.

“Not sir, just Rick is fine.” He looks between Elyse, Dane and Suzi and seems to sense the situation. “I guess I’ll go take a peek at that car of yours.” He gives Dane a pointed look that Elyse can’t read and marches back out the way he’d come in, leaving the three of them standing in awkward silence.

“Sorry, I guess I should have called. I didn’t want to interrupt. But I didn’t have your number…” Elyse trails off, feeling more than a little out of place

“You’re not interrupting.” Dane gives her a serious look. “Elyse, this is Suzi. Suzi, Elyse.” He waves between the two of them and seems oblivious to the tension rippling off of Suzi in waves.

“We met last night.” Suzi bristles a little, clearly not happy about Elyse’s presence.

So Elyse does the only thing she can, she adopts her default setting of killing with kindness. “That’s right, we did. Suzi was nice enough to warn me about some of the guys at the bar.” She flashes a brilliant smile at the other woman who seems caught unawares by Elyse’s tactic.

“D, can you give me a hand here?” Rick’s voice comes booming out from the parking lot.

Dane gives Elyse an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.” He jogs over towards the door and Elyse has to actively force herself to stop staring after him.

When she turns back to Suzi, she’s giving her a knowing look that isn’t quite as combative as it had been before. “Wow, I love your nails! They’re amazing.” Elyse zeroes in on the intricate designs on Suzi’s fingertips. They’re like little works of art. “Where do you get them done? My friend Jen would love them!”

Suzi flushes with pleasure. “Thanks. Actually I do them myself. It’s sort of a hobby.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal but Elyse can tell that it’s something she’s secretly proud of.

“You did those?” Elyse’s eyes widen and she doesn’t have to pretend. She really is impressed. “You’re seriously talented! What are you doing working in a bar? You’d make a killing with your own salon.”

Suzi smiles at her, but it’s tinged with sadness and Elyse wonders what it is that she’s said. “Thanks, that’s sweet of you. But you need money to open a salon, so in the meantime…” She trails off, shrugging and Elyse wonders if she’s got Suzi all wrong. Elyse gets the feeling that the tough exterior is just an act that she puts on, when really she’s as insecure as the rest of us.

Elyse nods in understanding. “Well, if you’re ever looking for clients, let me know. I know a lot of girls that would pay top dollar for nails like that!”

Suzi’s eyes widen, as if she’s shocked at Elyse’s offer and a warm smile cracks through.

“Sorry about that.” Dane appears at Elyse’s side, his warm male scent playing havoc with her insides.

“No worries. Suzi and I were just getting to know each other.” Elyse smiles warmly at the blonde and feels a blast of triumph as Suzi returns it.

She may not have wanted to like Elyse but it was hard to be angry with someone who was such a sweetheart.

Dane nods, fixing her with that stare of his that makes her feel as if she were standing in front of him naked. “I almost didn’t recognize you back there with Rick. You look so different from last night.”

Elyse is suddenly self-conscious of how she must look to him. She was wearing slim fitting jeans and a figure hugging blue sweater. She’d come straight from her karate class so her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her face was devoid of make-up and probably still flushed from the heat of the shower. Instantly she wishes she’d taken a little more time over her appearance.

“Don’t remind me. My housemate and I had a good talk about that outfit when I got home! I don’t think it’s going to see the light of day again, at least not with me in it.” She plants her hands in the back pockets of her jeans for the lack of anything else to do and rocks back on her heels slightly, feeling supremely unsexy. “So today I figured I’d come as myself!”

But Dane’s expression tells her that he isn’t disappointed by what he sees. “That outfit was something else and you looked pretty great in it. But I think I prefer the real Elyse.” He shrugs, paying her the compliment without at hint of self-consciousness.

Suzi looks between the two of them and seems to see the connection. She shakes her head slightly, as if she knows something that they don’t. “I better go.” She picks up her bag from the floor and turns to Dane. “Don’t do anything stupid.” Then she turns to Elyse. “You should come by the bar later. Saturday’s always a big night.”

“Sure, I’d like that.” Elyse tries to play it cool but she can’t help feeling triumphant at having won Suzi over.

“Suze, you dancing today?” He frowns at her, like it’s something he’s not happy about.

“Afternoon shift, also known as the lousy tippers shift.” She laughs but there’s no humor in it.

Elyse doesn’t think about what she’s doing, she just reacts. She doesn’t even try to resist the urge to give the other woman a hug. It’s a tight squeeze that Suzi takes a few seconds to return before pulling away.

“What was that for?” Suzi tries to pretend that Elyse’s action hasn’t affected her.

Elyse just shrugs. “You looked like you needed it. And I give good hug.” She smiles kindly at Suzi and sees the emotion swirling in her eyes. Elyse wonders absently if she has any close friends outside of Dane.

“Be careful, Suze.” Dane gives her a pointed look. He’s protective of her and that doesn’t inspire jealousy anymore. If anything, it gives Elyse the warm fuzzies and she’s not sure if that isn’t worse.

“Always.” Suzi walks off, waving behind her as she goes and Elyse gets the impression it’s not because she’s in a hurry, but because she doesn’t want them to see the emotion on her face.

Dane gives her a look, as if he’s about to say something before he’s interrupted.

“D, I’m closing up early. Why don’t you go on and take that pretty girl out of this grease pit?” Rick’s voice startles Elyse and she wonders how long he’d been standing there watching the exchange between the three of them.

Elyse flushes at his words and Dane scratches the back of his head, looking embarrassed. It’s the first time she’s seen that expression on his face and it’s adorable.

“I can stay if you need me to…” Dane’s offer is at best half-hearted.

“Go on, you two, leave before I change my mind!” Rick waves them off and then disappears through another door.

Elyse laughs out loud at how blatant Rick is being about giving her and Dane an opportunity to be alone. “Is he always this bossy?”

Dane smiles at her, clearly grateful that she isn’t going to mention Rick’s outstanding lack of subtlety. “Well, he’s the boss so I guess it’s kind of his prerogative.” He shrugs and then assesses Elyse with that intense way of his, pulling her towards him with his eyes. “You want to get out of here?”

Elyse is nodding before she’s even fully aware of what she’s doing. It’s all for the story, she reminds herself, all in the line of duty.

Dane smiles and then looks down at himself, takes in the grease-stained overalls that he’s only really half wearing and he gives her a dubious look. “Give me a sec to run up to my place and grab a shower?”

Elyse tries to stop herself from imagining Dane in the shower, the water rippling over his hard muscles. She shakes her head in an effort to dispel the thoughts from her brain. She still has to clear her throat before she can speak. “You live around here?”