CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Brick
Six o’clock thenext evening, I wait on my bike while Starlet finishes getting ready inside her house. Nothing happened overnight, I woke up several times and checked on her—even kissed her forehead without disturbing her. The woman looks completely edible when she sleeps. I had to talk myself out of crawling into bed with her several times. Not an easy thing when you get a hard on just thinking about a girl.
The thought makes me smile. As I look up from the ground, she’s in the process of locking her door. When she turns around, my cock stands at full attention. She’s wearing a short black skirt, a leather halter top, and pink and black cowboy boots. The damn skirt looks spray painted on—highlighting her hour glass figure. Dark sunglasses hide her green eyes, but I know she likes when I stare. Starlet was made for sex, put together like a fucking Valkyrie—that natural red hair a crown of glory. I like curling my fingers in it and pulling her head back so I can pillage her slim neck and shoulders.
“Is everything okay?” she asks as she approaches my bike, offering her backpack to me.
“Perfect,” I say, licking my lips. “Get on, sweetheart.”
I take her bag and give her the helmet. Once she straps it on, she slips her backpack over her shoulder, and then climbs behind me, instinctively locking her arms around my waist. Unbeknownst to her, she’s the only woman to ever sit behind me on this bike. If that doesn’t say something…
I take the exit before the private driveway to the compound and park at the trailhead to a hiking path that leads to the Red River. Starlet hops off.
“This isn’t the clubhouse.”
“No,” I agree while I unbuckle the chin strap on her helmet. “Thought you could use a minute before you meet everyone.”
“That’s very considerate. I’m definitely nervous. I feel like my life is about to begin or end depending on what Eagle decides.”
I hang the helmet off one of my hand grips and then face Starlet. “Eagle doesn’t have the final say. This will get a club vote, sweetheart.”
She swallows. “The air is so much fresher out here, don’t you think? All the greenery and the river makes it an ideal place to live.”
She’s babbling, so I know she’s afraid. That’s my fault. I put the integrity of the club first, as I should. But that doesn’t mean I can’t feel sympathy for Starlet. From what I can tell, she’s a good girl. I watch as she starts to follow the trail to the water. Being a woman in this world is hard enough, but being an old lady, that shit is serious. Though the Iron Norsemen treat females better than most MCs, they have no rights. I’ve seen too many old ladies make themselves small so there’d be no retaliation if they caused problems.
One of Starlet’s most attractive qualities is her independent spirit—she’s a certifiable rebel. I’d have to kill any motherfucker who tried to break her.
I walk lazily behind her, until she stops beside the rocky shoreline, wedged between a couple trees. The river narrows in this area, providing a great place to fish.
“You’re lucky,” she says.
“How so?”
“You live out here.”
“Why’d you choose the city, then? From what I hear, rent is fairly cheap around here, better than Shreveport.”
She clicks her tongue. “Nowhere in Louisiana is cheap, Brick. Not after Katrina devastated the state. Beyond that, Juanita is my only friend on the outside. She offered me a job and a place to live.”
“Do you have any money, Starlet?”
She twirls around. “That’s a very personal question.”
“Everything about us is personal.”
“Not anymore.”
I step closer, surprised by her words. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t make me explain what you already know, Brick. We were doomed the night we met. I didn’t care up until this point, I wanted you.”
“You still do.”
She averts her eyes. “That doesn’t matter. You reported me to your prez, which puts me in a precarious position if we’re still involved. Hell, it puts you in an awkward position, too.”
“Don’t,” I warn. “You don’t get to speak for me, Starlet. And this isn’t over yet…” We still have some time left together. She gazes up at me, and I pull her sunglasses off so I can see her eyes clearly. I tuck them in my vest pocket. “Never hide your eyes from me.”
