Riders - The Road To Ruin (I) (4 page)

“I tend bar, I'm not an exotic dancer.” I
tried to wriggle out of it, but the look on his face was hard as
stone.

“You do what I say, when I say. And right
now I say you dance.
Get the fuck up there.
”

I scowled at him as I made my way around the
bar to a stool and climbed up. All the girls were lined up in their
black hotpants, asses to the audience. Half our backsides were on
display at the upward angle they had.

I had a quick peek at the girls, they were
all doing their thing, shaking it down, trying to outdo each
other.

I sniggered to myself. One thing I was real
good at was shaking my ass. I was actually a very good dancer, when
I was in a club, on the dance floor.

I tried to pretend I was somewhere else, and
let rip with my brand of hump, bump and grind. After a minute or
two I lost all inhibition and went for it, bending right over and
moving my assets like I never had before. The air was full of
rousing, loud music, whistling and filthy comments and the girls
high pitched squeals. As the dance ended I couldn't avoid him.
Joshua stood before me, his eyes smoldering, about to catch
fire.

He moved forward, holding up his arm to help
me down to the ground.

I took his hand and hopped down to his side,
turning to face him. It would have been so easy to fall into his
arms and give up the fight. But I wasn't about to.

“You're driving me crazy,” he groaned.

“Go see a doctor.”

“
I don't need a goddamn fucking doctor. I
want you.
” His voice was an angry growl.

As well as exciting me, he scared me so
much.

His face was dark, so passionate and
serious; his eyes, fathomless depths I wanted to drown in.

One hand slipped around my neck, drawing me
much closer.

I swam in his presence; his smell, his
touch, his heat.

My eyes closed as his mouth touched mine. It
was the sweetest, hottest kiss. The kind of kiss I wanted to last
forever. Little stars shone brightly in my head.

Hell, my body's betraying me so badly
tonight.

I had to work real hard to stop myself from
responding like I really wanted to.

I couldn't believe the strength of
attraction I had to Joshua Lyle.

Why did it have to be him for crissakes?

He wasn't Prince Charming.

He wasn't about to carry me off to his
castle.

He wouldn't offer me a happy ever after.

He'd throw me away, like a piece of
trash.

Why the hell I craved him so much was beyond
reason.

I started to sweat with the hunger he'd
awakened inside of me. It was something I'd only ever experienced
in my wildest dreams. The dreams that I could never speak of, to
anyone, ever.

Dreams where I wasn't in control of what I
did.

That's what he did to me. He ruined all my
self control.

Oh God, I need to escape. And right now.

“
Excuse me. I'm at work.
And as I said, we are done,” I said coolly.

I pulled away, returning to the bar. Mickey
gave me yet another one of his glares.

But far worse than that, was the raging
hatred I could see, so clearly written on Christie's face, as I
passed her by. A cold chill invaded my heart.

I slipped my leather jacket over my brief
top. Grabbing my purse, I left the bar quickly. I didn't want to
hang around for a second longer than I had to. I scooted around the
back of the bar, and down the side to avoid both Mickey and
Joshua.

I headed toward my bike, at the front of the
bar.

A voice startled me.

“Sneaking off home without saying goodnight?
That's real bad manners, Tiffany.” Joshua came out of the darkness
and moved toward me. I took in the black jacket which completed his
persona perfectly. A tiny spot of bright orange light flared as he
took a last draw on his cigarette, stubbing it out with his booted
foot before he arrived at my side.

“I can sneak wherever I like. And my manners
are my affair. Not yours.”

“I think you need a good old spanking. That
smart mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble one day.” His grin
was just about as wicked as they come.

“
WHAT
? Ooooh... fuck off, you
arrogant bastard!” I seethed.

“Now there's the problem. I can't.”

If that grin of his hung around much longer
I'd have to slap him.

“
You can't what
?” I snapped.

“I can't fuck off. I'm hooked on your knock
backs. I haven't a clue why, but I can't get enough kicks in the
balls.”

“Come back tomorrow night, I can keep them
coming forever. But right now, I can't be bothered. I'm dog tired
and going home.”

I swung my leg up and over, mounting my
bike,

“That's a cool little classic, I've always
liked the Trident,” he said, running his eyes over my ancient
motorcycle, and me.

“It's shite horsepower, compared to yours.”
I cast my eye across to his.

“C'mon, babe... let me me see you home
safely.”

“I'm fine, thanks. I don't need a
bodyguard.”

I removed my pony tail band and shook out my
hair. A blatant tease, but whatever. I didn't want to wait around
to put my helmet on, so I left it in the box. I turned the key,
switched on the engine and lights and kicked up the stand.

“Bye... for now....” he said, his voice
carrying above the gentle revving of my engine.

Reversing out, I gave him a last look as I
pulled away, crouching low, and speeding off like a bat out of hell
in the direction of Preston.

One minute later he appeared, noisily, at my
side, like a vision from my dreams.

I glared at him as his eyes twinkled at me
in the moonlight.

There was no point whatsoever thrashing it
home, trying to lose him. He could twist the wick and go ten times
faster than me. Probably twenty times faster.

His Harley V-Rod Muscle was mouthwatering.
It had the menacing look of a raging bull with a brute power of a
hundred thoroughbreds. It would eat my little bird alive.

The journey home seemed to go by in an
exchange of challenging, hot looks, steaming back and forth between
us. His amused, raised eyebrows, and wicked grin, contrasted with
my superior expression as I tried, in vain, to ignore him.

I pulled off my street and rode under the
side porch. I took the key from the ignition, and kicked the rest
down, dismounting and walking toward him.

I guessed our modest two bedroom home was a
world apart from his sprawling ranch at Mill Creek. Sally, who
cleaned Riders bar, told me she'd been there once, to help with the
extra clean up, after the family had a party. She'd said it was
stunning; very impressive. Even the bunk house, where the ranch
hands lived, was fitted out like a palace. No expense spared for
the Lyles, apparently.

“Okay, I'm home and I'm safe, job done,” I
said, in an irritated voice.

He switched the engine off and sat back. “No
problem... anytime,” he replied smoothly.

“You'd better be off then, go get some sleep
somewhere.”

“I'm on a late turn tomorrow. I'll get
plenty of shut eye... or not... that kinda depends...” he
grinned.

I laughed at his cool cockiness.

“That's a helluva bike.” My eyes were
devouring all the detail and the way his thighs were spread apart
over it.

“I've had it a year now, it's a hot ride...
smooth and fast... totally responsive.”

“Have you always had a bike... not a
car?”

“I did used to have a car, but I discovered
bikes are my thing. What about you, is that your first?”

“Yeah, and I've got the bike bug real
bad.”

“You ride well. I'm impressed. You took that
tight bend like a dream.”

“I could do it blindfold. I've had a lot of
practice on that route, I use it most days.”

He folded his arms, and his eyes ran over
me.

I felt naked before him.

“What about horses. Can you ride those?”

“I've ridden a lot in the past.”

“Have you now? I like to see a girl
ride.”

His innuendo wasn't lost on me. But I
pretended not to notice.

“I guess you and the Riders spend a lot of
time on horseback?”

“Most of the day. There's a ton of ground to
cover and it's the best way to get around the terrain. It's
peaceful and it don't scare the livestock.”

“It sounds like a great job.”

“It's more a way of life, than a job. And
it's hard work. Real hard at times. But yeah, I absolutely love
it.” His genuinely warm expression and smile touched me, but I
managed to stay very cool.

“Much as I'm enjoying chatting with you, I'd
best go in. It's one in the morning.”

He ignored my hint to leave.

“Real pretty house you have here.”

He cast a glance around the newly
whitewashed boards, the graveled front yard and the dozens of pots
of flowers Mom loved so much. “The flowers are a nice touch. We
don't have much in the way of flowers at the ranch.”

“Mom does her best. She likes to keep things
looking pretty.”

I was excited and nervous, having this
normal conversation with him. Butterflies flew around in my stomach
like crazy. We were at the point of an unspoken truce. My smart
mouth refused to be smart. Stupid words came out instead. “Come see
our back yard, it's full of flowers.”

“Sure, I'd like that,” he replied,
dismounting, and following me down the driveway, past Mom's
battered old truck.

“Here we are. A yard full of flowers.
Pretty, aren't they?” I turned to him in the moonlight. You
couldn't see too many of the flowers, but their heady scent hung in
the air. This was Mom's little oasis in the world. The one place
she felt at peace and good about herself.

“They're real beautiful,” he said, coming
close, standing before me.

My breath caught in my throat as he reached
out for my hands and took them in his.

He lifted one hand to his mouth and after
brushing his lips over it, he kissed my fingers. The feel of his
warm breath, his fingers and lips on my skin, and his beautiful
eyes locked on mine, sent me rocketing into a heated fantasy.

I couldn't help the sigh of pleasure which
escaped from my lips.

His arm slipped around my waist and he
pulled me close.

Oh no... goddammit... oh yes...
I
argued with myself.

My arms wrapped around his waist, unable to
resist the feel of him.

I wanted one more kiss, a little blast of
his steam, before he went home.

His face moved toward mine slowly and his
head dipped sideways.

“Still thinking of someone else?” He
breathed heavily into my ear.

“Absolutely.”

“And still cold as ice?”

“Frozen solid.”

His eyes met mine and he chuckled at me.
“You're a fuckin' awful liar, Tiffany.”

Fingertips lightly pressed on my cheek; the
touch of his roughly stubbled chin grazed the other.

I closed my eyes, absorbing his masculine
scent.

Traces of leather, cologne, cigarette and
bike mingled with the essential, irresistible him and sizzled my
brain.

He overwhelmed my senses.

A warm sensation rolled through me like a
breaking storm.

The warmth and the sound of his breathing...
soft kisses brushing my neck and ear... his hard body pressed up
against mine... nothing else in the whole damn world, could
possibly feel this good. Heated shivers ran up and down my spine.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up in pleasurable
anticipation.

The erotic meal he was making of my neck,
undid me.

My mind flew away somewhere as his wet
tongue traced over my heated skin, back and forth, in a
spellbinding rhythm.

I was entranced. I wanted him to lick me all
over, all night.

“
Oh God... what are you doing to me
?”
I gasped, unable to control my reaction a second longer.

He sank into me, with a kiss so needy. He
probed every part of my mouth, smoothing my tongue into submission
with his.

His hands were all over me, mine all over
him, in a noisy, moaning, grasping frenzy.

Hair, skin, mouths... it became a blur as we
explored each other with a wild ferocity.

The heat between us, was beyond description.
We were on fire.

At that moment, we both lost it.

Desperation and insanity set in.

We staggered to the porch, tripping up the
step and bumping against the old oak table. Our bodies were
entwined, a tangle of limbs and tongues, and desperately seeking
hands.

I was beyond myself when he laid me down on
the table. I wanted him like nothing else mattered.

Every cell in my body thrilled when he
pulled my shorts and panties off. I was full of raw, base need and
he was going to satisfy it.

He unzipped, lifted my hips and in seconds,
he was inside me, taking me hard and fast.

“
Josh! ...OMIGOD!...
” My eyes rolled
back in my head as his sizable cock filled me to the point of pain.
The kind of aching pain I wanted a whole lot more of. I arched up
to him, wriggling my hips and getting him in as deep as I
could.

He leaned over me, his hands either side of
my head, looking into my eyes. I drowned in them, disappearing into
their sparkling depths.

“
Oh hell... you're so goddam
beautiful...
” He thrust into me, stroking my sex with a
deliberate, hard precision, his body grinding against mine. I
clamped my legs around him, moaning like a madwoman, hardly able to
take a breath before he pounded it out of me again. He upped pace
and pumped into me, giving me everything he was made of.

It was hard, fast and harsh, and my God, he
sent me somewhere.

My hands yanked handfuls of hair, pulling
his head down. I wanted to eat him, to devour every part of
him.