Ride of Desire

Mercy finished her orientation at the old bar, which consisted of a short tour and a quick run-through of the drinks they served.

The rest of the night she shadowed Jackson, the barkeep’s son.

He was younger by a couple of years but built just like his father with the voice to match. The way he acted also showed the maturity he had that most guys didn’t at his age.

She had already been hit on by two old drunks while passing along their beers, but it wasn’t hard to play it off and get on their good side.

Overall they seemed like an easygoing lot, and she left with a pocket full of tips so she couldn’t complain.

Smiling, she took off her borrowed slippers at the end of the night and handed them back to Mack.

“Thank you for your hospitality and being so patient with me.”

He grinned big, shaking his head as he spoke in an amused tone.

“Girl, all I did was lend you some old slippers and toss you onto Jackson for training.”

She shrugged as he took the small slippers into his large hands. She remembered that he had mentioned the slippers being his wife’s.

Throughout the night he said this and that about the woman, always in the past tense.

Mercy wondered what the woman had been like, how she had adapted to this life. Perhaps she was born into it all. A biker wife, rough and deadly protective.

“Maybe, but I’m still thankful for you and this opportunity.”

He nodded. The innocence of this woman had his protective nature kicking in.

His wife had always wanted a daughter, a doll of a child that she could raise up into a sweet and caring woman.

He wondered, looking at his new employee, if his wife would’ve seen in her what he saw now. The child they had never had but had always wished for.

“Shift starts at seven each night and ends at three when we close. I’ll make sure you get a break in the middle to sit for a minute, and you won’t have to stay after ‘cause I like to clean the place myself.”

She nodded, smiling up into dark green eyes that twinkled with mischief. He was a good man, that much was for sure.

Still, she had to keep her wits about her. She knew from experience that bikers were anything but simple guys.

As she slipped out the front entrance she pulled on her black ballet flats, vowing to trade up for a pair of boots. She forgot how muddy her hometown was.

No matter how dry the season it never failed to be a mess of wet earth, a blessing and a curse.

She carefully made her way around the cursed puddle that had almost sucked her in earlier in the night. It was quiet save for the crickets playing their nightly lullaby.

Her mind was a million miles away as she walked to the back of a small parking lot that had been full when she arrived but was now desolate.

Grabbing out the keys to her old pickup she moved to open the driver’s side door, only to freeze at the sound of footsteps behind her.

Memories flooded over her in a suffocating motion as a hand grabbed onto her hip like a deathly vise. Would this be it?

Her heart pounded out of her chest, thoughts on how she would escape this time. The scream that had clawed its way up her throat quickly died at the low voice that rang within her ears.

Safe. Safety.

“We need to talk. Now.”

The breath she was unknowingly holding in slipped out, her trembling figure turning to face a dangerously sexy man.

It wasn’t him. She was safe.

“Tommy.”

His name slipped from her tongue with ease.

Anger flashed across his dark gaze as he closed in on her to press them both hard against the pickup she had forgotten her keys in.

A large hand moved to her flesh as if repeating his actions from before, rough fingers wrapping around her throat as he leaned his face in closer to hers.

“Don't fucking say my name.”

She raised an eyebrow, tired and unamused by his actions. She had so many things to fear, but he would never be one of them.

What was he playing at anyway? Why was he so mad at her?

So they had a past, so what? That was ten years ago, but he was acting like it was yesterday.

She understood they had chemistry, that they had loved each other deeply years before.

Still, why was he so high-strung? It’s not like he knew what she’d done.

Now that was something he could be pissed about.

“What should I call you then, huh?”

Her pupils dilated as he growled, as if reading her mind as soft lips parted once more. Gods, how he wanted to claim that mouth with his own.

“Come on, lover ~boy~, I don't have all night.”

That did it.

In the next second she was hoisted up by two large hands on her hips, thick thighs wrapping around his waist as he pressed her spine against the truck once more.

His mouth claimed hers in a kiss so deep it resonated within their souls. One hand moved to hold up her rear as the other found the base of her skull and slid deep into silky curls.

When their mouths parted she was panting, heart racing as she looked up into his darkening gaze.

She knew that look, emotions blooming deep within as she tried to rope in her crazed lady parts.

She wanted him, like an addiction; he was hard to quit. Even after ten years her body answered his touch like a drought begging for rain.

“I can’t...not now.”

He remained still as a statue, but it didn’t escape his attention how shaky she was.

The emotions in his eyes had her chest growing heavy as she thought back to their teenage years.

They had been the hottest couple in town, and also the craziest. They were trouble with a capital T, but it had been a wild ride while it lasted.

Another shiver ran up her body. Shaking her head, she bit her bottom lip against the threat of tears in the back of her eyes.

She had messed up, and if he knew the truth, it would only cause more pain.

“Tommy...you don't understand.”

His fingers in her hair closed into a fist, pulling the soft strands to force her head backward.

His mouth moved to her exposed neck, her eyes closing as he gently kissed a lustful promise into her skin.

“Please…”

Her voice had dropped an octave and felt rough leaving her throat.

Soft hands held onto his shoulders, fingernails digging into light fabric as his tongue left a burning trail of need up her flesh. Damn, the man was a danger to her sanity.

She forced her hands downward, palms flat as they pushed against his shoulders.

He leaned back, allowing her to lift her head in order to look up at him.

His pupils had dilated and her panties were soaked with desire. The man was a demon of sex, and she was in need of a sin or two.

“Why now?”

She frowned. What?

His voice was deep and full of unveiled emotion. Those eyes may look empty, but she knew better.

He was an open book to her, a mist shimmering over her vision as she bit down on her lip once more.

She couldn’t do this.

She wanted nothing more than to tell him everything, but what would it change? Wouldn’t everything become more complicated?

That was the last thing she needed, another man to chew her up and spit her out.

Besides, she had something to protect and if he knew the truth, it may hurt them more than help.

“Please, don't do this. It's been ten years Tommy. Can't you just...forget it?”

His brows drew together.

“It? You mean forget us.”

Her lips parted, no words escaping as her head moved up and down. She didn't want to hurt him, but if she didn't do something now, they might both pay for it later.

Hell, if she had to be honest, it was a selfish matter. She couldn’t bear the thought of him hating her. Despising her.

“There can't be an us. I didn't come back here for you.”

Hurt claimed his gaze, quickly replaced with confusion and anger. She could handle mad, it was an emotion she was entirely used to by now.

“Why DID you come back?”

She released her hold around his waist, slipping down the length of him before her feet touched the ground. His hands refused to leave her body, moving to hold her hips.

“Father passed away and left me the house.”

He frowned, moving a hand to cup her face.

“I’m so sorry.”

She was quick to shake her head. The thought of him being gentle with her made her stomach churn. She couldn’t allow him back into her heart.

“You and I both know the bastard wasn’t really a father to me.”

He nodded.

“True, but he was the only family left for you.”

She looked away, a slender hand removing his touch as she took a calming breath.

The only family...boy, was she in for it. Her karma was already revving to knock her into the next century.

“I have to go.”

His hands moved to lay flat against the truck on either side of her, refusing to give in until he had some real answers.

“So he’s gone. Why come back for the house? You’re right, I remember all the shit he put you through. I also remember you wanting nothing more than to get out of that hellhole. Why not just sell it and never come back?”

She wrapped her arms around her waist. She couldn’t get into this with him, not now. What would he think of her if she spoke the truth?

“This isn’t any of your business. Now move. I have to get home.”

He felt frustrated beyond all reason, but common sense peaked out its head and he was moving away from her without a second thought.

The way she held herself felt like a wild animal ready to pounce at any moment.

He would get his answers, whether they came from her mouth or not was her choice.

He let her leave, already forming a plan as the little black pickup pulled out of the parking lot to make its way down a long dirt road.

He knew she felt what he felt, the intense need between them like an ever-growing inferno.

Either it would pull them together or consume them, but he would be damned if he lost her again. Through hell and back, that was the promise.

Their promise.

***

In the shadows at the door of the bar a bear of a man stood watch, his heavy boots planted firmly in mud.

He knew who the woman was when he hired her, because he knew the backstory of everyone in town. He might be starting a fire he couldn’t put out, but he had no choice.

Perhaps he owed the girl for all those years he knew of her torment but never stepped in.

At the time he had been getting his own shit together. He wouldn’t have done the child much good.

Maybe this was repentance, or perhaps he hoped something good could grow from the pain of the past.

He knew Mercy’s secret, at least one of them, but he would let her decide when to speak of it. For now, he would do his best to earn her trust and show her what a real family could feel like.