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“The president of the Colorado chapter’s old lady is a lawyer,” Sunny says, finally. “Let me ask Grudge if she will take a look at it for you.”
“A biker married to a lawyer…that feels like a conflict of interest.”
I take a large bite of pizza. The sharp, ripeness of the tomatoes hits my tastebuds hard.
Sunny shrugs. “She’s a legal advisor to the club, now. Works with bikers who need legal advice and helps the club when…well, when we dance a little close to breaking the law.”
“Can I ask a question, Sunny?”
He looks over at me, his green eyes reflecting the flames from the fire. “Anything you want. I’m an open book to you.”
“How dangerous is your life, really? Have you been arrested? Ever been to prison? Killed someone? Nearly been killed? Do I have long-term reason to worry about what our life could look like?”
The pizza that he was lifting to his mouth freezes in midair. “Those are some serious questions.”
“They aren’t the ones I intended to ask. Not tonight.”
“What were your original questions?”
I try to be nonchalant but fail miserably. “They were likely to be of a more sexual nature, but it feels wrong to just ask them out here. They’re more heat-of-the-moment type questions.”
Sunny reaches out and tugs on the end of my braid. “Not sure the other questions are suitable for out here either, but here we are. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll answer your first round of questions, if you promise to ask me the second round.”
My mouth feels dry, so I take a sip of ice-cold beer. “Okay.”
He rips off a big mouthful of pizza and chews quietly. When he’s swallowed, he begins. “How dangerous is my life? I do illegal things, Indy. That isn’t always safe. But there’s not a serious scar on my body and I don’t intend for that to change.”
“I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse. A bit of both, maybe. It suggests you can take care of yourself, but what about the odds? Have you just been lucky, so far?”
“Let’s keep going and see if the answers help. Have I ever been arrested? Yes. Have I ever been charged? No.”
“Because you didn’t do it or because they couldn’t prove it?”
“Depends on which time you’re asking about.”
I take another bite of my pizza while I try to process what he’s saying. The reality that his world is so different to mine is a slap across the face. I’m so torn. “There’s a piece of me that’s proud of you for evading. And a piece that’s…This world is so different from anything I know.”
Sunny reaches for the back of my neck and tugs me to him, landing his lips on mine. He tastes like cold beer. “You know what else is so different from anything I know?”
“What’s that?” I ask, a little breathlessly.
“You and me. The way the world goes quiet while I kiss you. It’s okay for you to be uncertain or unsure or need answers. But I don’t want you to ever be scared, especially not of me.”
I force myself to think logically, something that usually comes so easily. But even the easiest form of data sorting into pros and cons seems to escape me. For once, I rely on my instinct. “I’m not scared of you, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of your world.”
“Then let me get through the rest of your questions. Ever been to prison? Only to visit friends. I’ve never been found guilty of a crime. Killed someone? Yeah. But I can promise you it’s only because they came for me or someone I cared about, first. And I pride myself on having never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it. Contrary to popular belief, it’s a biker’s worst nightmare to be locked up. No bikes. No fresh air. And a fucking government overlord telling us when we can eat, shit, walk, and go to sleep. No one wants that. And have I nearly been killed? I mean, define nearly.”
I roll my eyes. “Sunny, if it needs defining, it’s still too close, because the answer isn’t never, like most normal people.”
He takes my pizza off me and puts the plate on the outer shelf around the fire pit. Then, he reaches for my arms and tugs me to sit astraddle his lap, resting his hands on my thighs. “Are you asking because you don’t want anything to do with this kind of life, or are you asking because you’re concerned about you and me staying alive?”
“There’s a difference?”
His hands slip to my ass, squeezing my cheeks firmly. “Yeah. The first is about caring which side of the law you’re on, the rules, of defining morality in arbitrary binary terms. The latter is just about you and me, existing in the chaos, finding joy and something soulful in creating any kind of life we want without any rules. Two different questions requiring two different answers.”
“Is it that easy to make a separation, though?”
Sunny slides his hand around the back of my neck and kisses me. His tongue seeks mine, and I sigh against his mouth. He wriggles on the couch a little, then tugs at my hip with his other hand to line the seam of my khakis over his hard cock, and…
