Wild Nights (Hell's Highway MC) (11 page)

To my surprise, he flung his towel off and slipped on a clean pair of boxers followed by a ripped up pair of jeans and a v-neck t-shirt. His standard uniform.

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I didn’t have to fuck him, but I did wonder what we were going to do. Knowing him, he had something up his sleeve.

He plopped down on the bed next to me, the smell of his soap and aftershave filling the room, and he kept his hands off me. I was in shock.

“So what’s the plan for the rest of the night?” I asked. “You just going to leave me all tied up here forever?”

He seemed a little agitated that I was asking questions, and he turned the volume up on the T.V.

“Blaze,” I said. “Hey.”

He turned towards me and sighed.

“If you want this to work, you have to at least untie me. I want to be comfortable. It’s really hard to like you when you have me tied up like this,” I hoped I was making an ounce of sense to him, but it was hard to tell.

“If I untie you, don’t do anything stupid,” he said. “Or you’ll really, really regret it.”

“I know,” I said as my heart began to flutter with excitement. We were making progress. Finally.

“I’m serious, Molly,” he said. “You throw one wrench into my plan and you’re done.”

I wondered what he meant by “done”, but I knew I was better off not even asking. I was pretty sure I already knew what he meant anyway.

“Molly, I need you to give me your word,” he said.

“I promise, Blaze,” I said with the most sincere smile I could muster. “I’m not going anywhere. You went to all this trouble bringing me here. I just want to see if we can make this work.”

“We WILL make this work,” he said as he looked at me with crazy eyes.

He pulled his knife from his pocket once again and cut me free. I massaged my wrists and shook them a bit to try to get some of the feeling back. Then, as much as I hated to, I curled up next to him, the way a girlfriend would do.

He slipped his arm down around me.

“I’m cold,” I said as I snuggled in close. I also hoped it’d remind him that I was still pretty much naked, but I was sure he knew.

He channel surfed a bit, passing several shows I would’ve loved to have watched, and he eventually settled on some biker documentary.

“How real is that stuff?” I asked.

“Real,” he said. “This is a documentary.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen some pretty fucked up things, huh?” I asked.

“Yep,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the screen.

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen?” I didn’t know why I was asking that. I guess I was trying to get him to open up a bit more.

“Can you stop talking for one second?” he seemed annoyed at me.

I instantly zipped my lips. Annoying him was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d already come so far in just a few short hours.

We finished watching the biker documentary in complete silence. He stood up off the bed for a second and stretched. I glanced over at the alarm clock on the bedside table and saw that it was almost nine o’clock at night. That entire day had vanished in almost an instant.

“Wow, almost time for bed,” I remarked as I stretched my arms up and yawned.

Blaze let out a laugh and ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh, no.”

“No, what?” I asked. I was confused.

“The night is young, baby,” he said with a smirk. “We’re going out. I’m introducing you to the gang.”

“I thought we weren’t quite there yet,” I said, still confused. “Don’t you want to wait to introduce me until we figure out what we are?”

“Oh, we’re there,” he said as he looked me up and down. “The decision’s been made.”

He wasn’t making any sense. I don’t know how you can declare someone your Old Lady when she didn’t even want to be your Old Lady, but regardless, I played along.

“Oh, okay,” I said. “I guess you’re right.”

“Go get dressed,” he said as he pointed towards the bathroom where my suitcase was still lying open on the floor. “Pick out something sexy. I want to show you off tonight.”

The naïve me loved that he wanted to show me off, but the logical me was utterly creeped out by it. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal.

I sauntered up with a smile on my face and made my way to the bathroom. I slipped on a pair of tight, dark skinny jeans and a low cut tank top covered in shiny sequins. I touched up my makeup, applying a shade of red to my lips, and fluffed up my hair. He had thrown in my tallest pair of nude pumps, so I slipped those on as well.

“Looking good,” he said with a grin as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching me. He was always fucking watching me.

“Thanks,” I said as I spritzed on some perfume. “I just want the guys to be jealous of you.”

Those words made me sick to say, but I had to play his twisted little game.

“Oh, yeah, they will,” he agreed. “Believe me. They’re all going to want a piece of you.”

His words struck me as a bit bizarre, but I brushed them off.

I followed him out to his truck, his arm clenched onto my arm the entire time, and he forced me to sit in the backseat. He said it was for my own safety, but I knew better. There were no doors back there. No doors meant I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to. I played dumb and went along with it.

A short drive across town brought us back to the scene of the crime – the bar across from the motel where we first met.

“Look familiar?” he asked as he pulled up and slammed the truck in park.

I looked at the faded and cracked brick exterior and the line of bikes parked up and down the sides of the building. I cringed. This was where I made the worst decision of my life. The decision that brought me back here against my will.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. I forced myself to sound chipper. “This is where we met. How sweet.”

He climbed out of the truck, flipped the back seat forward and let me out, immediately grabbing my arm the moment my feet touched the ground.

“Remember,” he murmured into my ear. “Don’t do anything stupid. Stick with me the entire night. I don’t want you out of my sight. You’re my girl. I want them to know that.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry,” I said as I tried my hardest to reassure him. I knew, though, that if I had the chance to flee or ask for help, I was going to take it no matter what.

We walked into the bar and were greeted with clouds of cigarette smoke and music booming from speakers in every corner of the place. I could barely think straight, it was so loud.

I glanced around to see nothing but a sea of black leather jackets with “Hell’s Highway MC” embroidered across the backs. This must have been Blaze’s club.

He jerked me by the arm and led me to a booth in the corner, pushing me in so I was trapped between him and the wall. I wasn’t going anywhere.

“I have to pee,” I said as we sat down.

“Are you fucking serious?” he asked. “We just got here. What is it with you and that bladder?”

I didn’t have to go that bad, but I figured the ladies room was someplace he couldn’t go with me or stand in the doorway. It was a chance I was willing to take.

He rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the booth and pulled me towards the bathroom. There was a line about five people long, and much to my dismay, it was a one-person, unisex bathroom. He would totally be able to go in with me.

So much for that plan, I lamented.

“Shall we order some drinks while we wait?” I asked, trying to distract him. “Old times’ sake?”

His eyes locked in on the bar tender.

“We’ll lose our spot,” he said. “I thought you really had to go.”

“I do, but it can wait,” I said. “I can stay here or I can go get the drinks. It’s up to you.”

“No, no, no,” he said as he shook his head. “I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight. Not for any reason.”

“Okay, fine,” I replied, pretending to act like it didn’t bother me at all.

He looked torn for a bit and then suddenly pulled us out of the line and towards the bar.

“Yo, Jonah!” he yelled out as he slapped his hand on the bar. “What’s a guy gotta do to get a drink around here?”

He sounded like he was suddenly from New Jersey or something. His accent came out of nowhere that was for sure.

“Ay, Big Blaze, what’s crackin’?!” the bar tender said, replying in what I could only assume was a genuine Jersey accent. Maybe it was their thing? “What can I get ya?”

“Gin and tonic for her and whiskey sour for me,” he said as he pulled cash from his wallet.

“Ah, your money’s no good here,” Jonah said as he mixed up our drinks. “At least let the first round be on me. Pretty ladies always drink free anyway.”

He winked at me, though it was a friendly wink. He seemed nice. It made me wonder what someone like him saw in someone like Blaze. They were from opposite ends of the spectrum. Jonah wasn’t creepy at all. He was a big, friendly guy from New Jersey who tended bar in Tulsa. That was all.

He placed our drinks on the bar and carefully slid them towards us.

“Enjoy guys,” he said as he moved onto the next patron.

Blaze grabbed my arm and pulled us back over to our booth, pushing me in by the wall once again. My urge to use the restroom had suddenly disappeared after realizing it was a unisex room. I crossed my fingers that Blaze would forget. I didn’t want him to call my bluff. That would be the worst that could happen. All trust would be shot for sure.

“Everyone’s checkin’ you out,” he said with a proud smile. “They haven’t stopped staring at you since I brought you in here.”

I wanted to say that maybe it was due to the fact that he was parading me around and not letting go of me. I wondered if that’s what they were really staring at, but I didn’t say anything.

“They all want what I’ve got,” he said in the cockiest tone I’d ever heard.

“Hey, buddy,” a short, blonde guy in a motorcycle jacket said as he walked up to our table. My heart sunk down into my stomach when I realized it was Ace, from the weekend before. My face instantly turned ten shades of crimson, and I looked away.

“What’s up?” he said as he looked at me, wagging his tongue out like some sort of dog.

“Hi,” I said, still avoiding eye contact.

“I, uh, think, R.J. wants to have a word with you,” Ace said to Blaze in all seriousness. His smile from a few seconds ago had left his face in an instant with those words.

“R.J.? Really?” Blaze said. He looked a bit nervous, and I’d never seen that look on his face before.

“Yeah,” Ace said. “When you get a chance.”

Ace patted the table, took a swig of his beer, and walked off.

“Who the hell is R.J.?” I asked Blaze.

“The president of the club,” he said. His look had gone from anxious to bewildered. I was confused.

“What do you think he wants?” I asked.

Blaze’s face lit up. “Who knows? Maybe he wants to formally offer me membership?”

“You’re not already a member?” I asked. “I’m confused.”

“Not technically,” he said. “I’m still an initiate.”

“Oh,” I said. Just another one of his bold faced, manipulative lies.

He rubbed his hands nervously against his jeans. They must have been sweating a bit. His eyes scanned around the room, presumably looking for this R.J. guy.

“What’s he look like?” I asked.

Blaze shrugged me off, as if he were annoyed with my presence.

“Okay…” I replied. I took a sip of my drink.

From across the room, I couldn’t help but spot a tall, handsome drink of water staring at us. I’d seen him stare at us when we first walked in, and we had passed him on our way to the bathroom line earlier. We’d made eye contact several times, now that I’d thought about it, and he was probably one of the most gorgeous creatures I’d ever laid eyes on, but I wasn’t there to pick up men. And I had vowed to myself never to get involved with anyone in a “biker club” ever again. I needed to get far away from this seedy little world.

I locked eyes with the guy, turned away, and then turned towards him again. He was still staring at me. At least I was pretty sure he was staring at me. My face blushed, and I hoped to God Blaze didn’t notice.

I looked away and resumed working on my drink. I was pretty much stuck there. Part of me wished I could get away for just two seconds, tell that guy I was being held against my will, and get the hell away from Blaze. It would be nothing short of a miracle, but I knew it wasn’t realistic. It would take an act of God for that to happen. A divine intervention.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome making his way over to our table. The way people moved and got out of his way told me he was a man of some sort of power or influence. His presence alone commanded respect and boy did he get it.

“R.J.,” Blaze said as he stood up the moment the man reached our table.

So that was the infamous R.J. The closer he got to us, the less I could take my eyes off him. I never wanted to stop staring at him. He was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. His full lips pursed the moment he saw me, and his intense, dark eyes were framed with long, black eyelashes. His jaw line was chiseled like some sort of Greek God sculpture, and his eyebrows were strong and furrowed. He stood a few inches past six feet tall, and his shoulders were broad while his hips were narrow. His cut wore his nickname alongside the title “president” and the logo for the Hell’s Highway Motorcycle Club.

R.J. ignored Blaze at first, staring deep into my soul it seemed, and then took a seat in the spot across from me. Blaze seemed irritated at first but then sat back down next to me.

“I heard you wanted to talk to me, sir,” Blaze began.

I’d never heard him call anyone “sir” before. This guy was important.

“I did,” R.J. said as his eyes never left mine.

Part of me wanted to plead to him with my eyes. Part of me wanted to shout out to R.J. to help me, save me, and get me out of there, but the truth was I didn’t know if I could trust him. And given my string of poor decisions over the past week, I didn’t know if I could even trust my own instincts.