Tag Archives: romance

Lunch with a Stranger

5 Replies

2016-06 Pic v2 (1)Alice sat on a bench, against a wall, under the shade of the tree to her right, and the tree to her left, and the trees lining the wall behind her. She opened her lunch bag to pull out a tuna sandwich she had packed the night before. It was her routine action of her routine day of her routine life.

She took a bite of the sandwich then raised her head to watch people strolling on the wide, brick sidewalk. As she started to focus on a man dressed in khaki pants and a casual shirt, Alice found him looking at her. They both jerked their heads away and looked in different directions. Alice’s face flushed red in embarrassment. After daring to look back again, she saw the man had continued walking and was fading into the distance. Alice sighed. Cautiously resuming her people-watching, she finished lunch without further incident and went back to work.

Feeling confident that she would not see the man again, Alice sat on her usual bench the next day. She took a bite of her sandwich. The man did not appear. She glanced about as she chewed then swallowed. As she raised the sandwich for a second bite, the man came into view. Their eyes locked upon each other. Alice thought it would be foolish to turn away again, so she smiled politely. He smiled, nodded and continued his walk. She finished her lunch then returned to work.

Over the weekend, thoughts about the lunch encounters interrupted the normally methodical execution of her chores. The dreamy way she kept feeling, however, would quickly be displaced by self-reproach for getting distracted from the tasks at hand. So on Monday when Alice saw the man coming in the distance, her heart rate jumped and her palms felt wet. “Get ahold of yourself,” she chided. “Quit acting like a schoolgirl. You need only smile politely.” And that’s what she did. He smiled, nodded his head and kept walking.

For a month, weather permitting, this became part of the daily routine for Alice: lunch, smile, smile, nod. The complacent structure of her life fell back into balance, until the day the stranger did not show up. “Odd,” thought Alice. “Oh, he’s probably just taking the day off from work.”

One day turned into three and Alice found that she missed the man whose habits seemed as fastidious as her own. A week went by, then two, causing Alice to worry and hope he was okay.

On Wednesday of the third week, Alice sat on her bench and heard a strange sound. Clump then a footstep. Clump then step. Clump then step. Alice turned, looking for the sound, and saw the man walking much slower than his usual pace. A cast on his left foot made the reason clear. Alice’s emotions swirled as she felt both happy to see him and concerned over what happened to his foot. Fear quickly took over as the man left the brick walkway and made his way toward her.

“Hello,” he said after stopping a few feet in front of Alice. He looked more timid and shy than she imagined of him from afar.

“Hello,” she said as her mouth went dry.

“This is only my third day with this walking cast and I think this is as far as I should go.” He cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I share your bench for lunch?”

“Please do,” she said smiling politely.

He smiled, nodded, and joined her on the bench.

Hot Blacktop Ch. 12 – Danny

6 Replies

Dannys House

Saint’s heart tripped in his chest. Something didn’t feel right. His eyes opened, and he reached for Sienna. His hand went to the bed. Still warm. He listened. Experienced with the worst, his past with his sister and her drug abuse, Saint’s hearing narrowed for any disturbance. Sienna was in the living room. His feet automatically hit the floor. Too quickly he found his boxers and tripped over his shoes. It was too soon after Sienna’s mother’s appearance for him not to worry.

He found her and what he saw was abject fear.

“I don’t have that kind of money,” she said. Her alarm coalesced and took shape into uncontrollable tremors. He watched it happen and was at her back, his arms wrapped around her in an instant. The screen image on her phone, after seeing it, he understood why she couldn’t stop shaking. Her mother was in deep shit.

“Please, Sienn…” she’d been cut off. There’d been a knife at her throat. The phone went black.

“Mom!”

Saint blinked. “Holy shit! This is a mess.” Saint turned her around, and she burrowed her face into the hollow of his neck. All he could do was hug her close as she cried.

“What am I going to do?” she whispered. “I have to go. I have to get to her.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” The two stared at each other, and then Saint said, “not alone, anyway.”

*****

Danny hunched on the floor in the corner of the closet. The small four wall box a familiar prison. She’d locked him in; he couldn’t remember how long now. The cut on his lip and cheek ached like a son of a bitch. He didn’t dare move too much. The last kick he’d taken to his ribs had caused him to pass out. Luckily she hadn’t been wearing boots. She’d been wearing her red-soled high heels.

His mother’s outfit was pristine, no flaws in appearance. The perfect mom to anyone that knew her outside of the house. On the inside of her watchful sphere, though, his mom was the devil’s sister, her heart as hard and dead as a piece of coal.

Danny had just gotten back from school, his bag hitting the kitchen floor, and the next thing he knew he face-planted on the wood planks next to the marble island, his cheek bleeding…somewhere. “You broke my nail!” She’d screamed, he’d rolled into a protective ball holding his gaping skin so she couldn’t have another go at him. But she always found a way when she was like that.

Danny wiped the wetness from his cheek. “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” He yelled into the bleakness.

She’d played with him until he whimpered in the closet like a stupid girl. She dragged him up the stairs and into the dark room, walked out and locked the door. And by play, Danny meant beat the shit out of him. Again. His father had just stood there.

“Bastard!” he screamed at the locked door. He grabbed his ribs as he tried to catch his breath.

His father was a weak asshole.

To distract himself, Danny made a list in his head about everything he loved about motorcycles. The most important thing on the list, Saint. “Saint is nothing like my father,” he whispered over and over. But then he got angry.  Then he asked himself, why was he with Sienna? He shook his head and then regretted it. He hurt everywhere.

“I need to get out of the fucking closet.” He crawled with the energy of a sloth and leaned into the corner, propping himself up, so he could breathe better. The wood paneling was hard and cold, and the cedar smell made his nose itch. One day she would go too far? The fists, the nasty screaming rages, they were getting worse and harder to hide from people at school. Maybe he was better off if it did. Maybe she would finally kill him. Blinking his heavy eyelids, they finally drifted shut. The last thought he had before he fell asleep made him smile. Freedom on the back of a motorcycle with Saint. He imagined a long road winding away from here.

When next he opened his eyes light spilled into his prison. Water spilled in rivulets down his face as he blinked.

“Get up Danny. It’s time for you to go to school.”

“School?” He wanted to kill his father. “Are you serious?”

“You have to,” his father slurred.

“Fuck you!”

“Quiet.” He looked over his shoulder. Probably seeing if dear old mom was coming to beat the shit out of him too. Danny would have laughed if it didn’t hurt so much. Waving his hand Danny’s way, his Father said, “Tell them you got into another fight.”

Danny went to his hands and knees. He groaned through the pain and caught his breath. Grabbing for the wall, he lost his balance and struggled to get up. “I can’t keep giving the same excuse. Look at me,” his voice rumbled as he winced every time he moved to get out of the closet. Unlike his mother’s closet, it didn’t hold designer clothes and shoes that cost more than everything in his closet. He always had to beg for things he needed. Always.

When he was little, he’d dreamed he was adopted, which would have been a blessing. Danny had run a few times; his birth parents were out there somewhere, he’d thought. The last time he’d left, he’d screamed in her face. “I’m leaving to find my real parents.” His mother had laughed until tears had formed in her eyes. “You think you’re adopted,” she’d said.” He thought she wouldn’t give him any more explanation, but the light in her eyes gleamed with hatred that felt like a creature boring under his skin. To his surprise, she said, “Your Grandfather said I wouldn’t inherit what is rightfully mine unless I gave him a grandson. Your Daddy sure couldn’t get it up.” His father had been standing in the room with a far off look in his eyes that Danny hadn’t understood until she spoke again. “I fucked my way through my Father’s men and finally pushed out a kid.” His father had flinched and looked away. Then all Danny could feel was the pain. She punched him in the face. It was the first time she’d locked him in the closet. Danny was seven. “You’ll stay in there until you understand who has the power here.” After he’d screamed himself silent, his mind had blanked, and the darkness consumed him.

Danny pushed past the memory and the man that wasn’t his father sucking air through his teeth with every needling breath. When his so-called father tried to reach out and give some support, Danny weaved the other way and almost fell. “Don’t’ touch me,” he squeaked. He wrapped his arm around his ribs and walked toward his bathroom.

Most people thought he was a trouble maker so steered clear of him, but no one knew the extent of the control his mother had over him, when he could come and go, how he did it, what he wore, ate…everything. He wasn’t to have friends over, he wasn’t allowed to be seen going in and out of the house, so nobody knew the hell he lived. His mother hid the carnage she’d made of his life well. If he did go out, he couldn’t tell anyone what was happening to him, and his mother had too much power in their small town. Danny knew that much. But he’d told Saint.

“Stupid.”

If his mother or grandfather ever found out what he’d told Saint, Saint would be in danger. Danny knew it. He just knew it.

Danny had been able to sneak out of the house a lot more lately. His mother had to go on more business trips. It was the only time he was nearly happy until Saint put him on a motorcycle. When Danny wrapped his fingers around the grips of the bike and finally revved the engine for the first time, feeling the power underneath him, it was the first time in forever he was truly happy.

He sniffled and wiped his face. “Shit!”

Danny would chance running away again, but he thought someone watched him now. So he gave up. He’d given up on a lot of things. Until Saint.

He would find a way to race, though. Sitting on the motorcycle had been a revelation. Saint said being smaller was a good thing. He hated being smaller than other kids. But in racing, it gave him an advantage. He would do whatever Saint said if he could race. He’d find a way to get out of the house, do what he needed to, have a life. He would die trying if he had too.

Danny’s body jerked to attention. The banging on his bathroom door turned into a great thud. His father probably hit the wall. “Hurry up, Danny. Don’t keep your mother waiting.”

He moved as fast as his body would let him. Danny didn’t want to give her any reason to hurt him again. He winced as he finished washing the dried blood off his cheek and the fat lip. He grabbed the hat that hung from the door. Covered his head, didn’t bother to change clothes. He didn’t care if he was dirty or not. It kept everyone away. He couldn’t afford to have anyone ask questions.

Through the door, his father gripped his shoulder hard trying to hold himself up. He leaned in too far. The smell of booze was making him sick to his stomach. “She’s going on a trip, Danny. Run Danny. Don’t come back.” Danny’s mouth gaped open.

“Run! Are you crazy!” No answer. His father slid to the floor and passed out.

“Pathetic.”

Danny jumped when he looked up and saw his mother. He sucked in a breath, hit the wall and bit his lip so he wouldn’t cry out in pain. A cold sweat broke out across his skin as an acidic wash swirled in his stomach.

His mother jerked her head. Danny skirted around his father’s crumpled body and hurried toward his door, out of his mother’s reach. But she grabbed onto his neck digging her pointed nails into his skin. A hiss escaped his lips. She laughed.

“You’ll be back here after school. One of my father’s men will pick you up.” His shoulders slumped under her grip. “Did you hear me?” Her fingers gripped his hair, and she forced him to nod.

“Yes, Mother.”

Danny’s day was shit. He’d run into possibly every person that had been at the Speedway the day of his only lesson. When he hit the parking lot at school, the only girl from class, Tina, showed up.

“What do you want?” he snapped.

Tina’s eye’s narrowed, and she crossed her arms. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Whatever.” He started to move away but then she grabbed his arm before he turned away. His body jerked and he jumped away like a scared cat. “Shit!”

“Are you afraid of me?” He looked up at her face to see the look of disgust in her eyes, but they were full and bright.

“No!” Danny couldn’t look her in the eyes when he said it. He peeked up long seconds later.

Her eyebrows angled down, and she bit her bottom lip. She stepped back with a complete look of confusion, “Are you really okay?”

Danny took a stuttering breath. “I’ll be fine.” He needed to get away from her. Tina seemed nice. She was really pretty too, and her boobs were bigger than most of the girls in his classes, but he couldn’t trust anyone. No way. Not a girl. Especially Tina, because every time he was around her, his stomach got all weird. It wasn’t right. He wasn’t right.

“Will I see you at Paulson’s?” she said at the same time he heard his name called from the parking lot. He turned too fast and clenched his teeth so he wouldn’t scream like a girl.

“Shut up!” he snapped at her. He looked over his shoulder and saw one of his mother’s minions marching across to him. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Danny?” Tina asked just as a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“I gotta go.”

“Who’s your friend, Danny?” He looked up and saw Gunner’s eyes on Tina. His mother’s guard was not to be messed with, but he couldn’t let him know who this girl was.

“No one.” He watched Tina frown.

“Huh,” he grunted. “Let’s go.” Another wince, along with Gunner’s fingers on his shoulder, and he was turned toward the car waiting off a nearby alley school. No one would be the wiser to how rich he was. How rich his mother was.

“Bye, Danny. I hope I see you at the Speedway for riding lessons,” she yelled. Great! He thought.

“What Speedway, Danny?”

He shrugged.

Gunner opened the door to the Lincoln MKZ when they reached the hidden garage. He helped Danny into his seat gentler than he ever expected. Danny looked up at the big man and saw that he was taking in every nick and scratch that marked him. Gunner backed up and slammed the door. Danny looked straight ahead. The bigger guy had never reacted to his injuries this way. Why was it happening now?

“Did your mother take her fists to you again?”

Duh! Danny didn’t answer. The guy would tell his mother what he said anyway.

Danny watched him straighten his arms on the steering wheel like he would push it through the dashboard. “Tell me,” he roared. Danny pulled back and hit the passenger door. He watched Gunner ease a couple of breaths in and out.

“Danny, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Coulda fooled me,” he snapped back. Gunner’s head snapped around his eyes narrowing. He braced for him to strike. The air was thick in the car and the minutes seemed to slow right into the heaviness that was his life. And then the guy smiled. Danny took the time to figure this guy out. Danny had trusted Saint. He’d said the same thing. Should he answer? But there was no way he could trust one of his mother’s men. Was there? The way Gunner’s anger had spiked when he’d seen him. Maybe he could trust the guy. He nodded.

Gunner’s chin tipped down, and he inhaled real slow and blew it out even slower.

“What’s at the Speedway?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on Danny, tell me. I told you not to be afraid of me.”

Danny laughed and regretted it. His ribs hurt like hell. “Afraid?” He laughed some more and then for the life of him he just broke. His shoulders slumped and shook as he cried. He looked away and wiped his face.

“It’s freedom on two wheels,” Danny finally whispered.

“All right then.”

Gunner put the car in gear, and they quickly left the dark garage. When he headed in the opposite direction of home Danny started to freak out. “What are you doing? Where are we going?”

Gunner looked over and smiled again. The man kept driving.

When they pulled up at Paulson’s, Danny sat stiff and unsure. “What are we doing here?”

“We’re going to talk to whoever’s in charge.” Gunner sighed. “I’m not who you think I am, Danny.”

What did that mean?

“Now get out.”

“But,” Danny started, and was soon talking to air. He got out as fast as he could and followed Gunner. When Danny saw Saint come out of Paulson’s main office, he didn’t know what he should do, but evidently Gunner had no problem figuring out what was what.

“You the man in charge?” Gunner asked.

“Yeah. Who’s asking?” Saint crossed his arms and stopped moving.

“Gunner Phillips. You’ll continue to give him lessons.”

Danny watched as Saint’s eyes narrowed on Gunner, and then turned to him. Danny could see his jaw get tight and his eye start to tick in the corner. Saint looked back to Gunner, and they stared each other down. What, were they havin’ a secret ‘convo’ or somethin’. Jesus! What was going on?

“Did his mother do that to him?”

Gunner nodded.

Danny sucked in a breath. Gunner admitted his mother beat the shit out him. He bunched over and grabbed his ribs his breaths turning into coughs. Soon there were more hands on him then he could deal with, and he started to struggle to feel trapped.

“Leave me alone,” he gasped. He backed away from both of them. Saint stood and watched his face easing. Gunner put his hands up and took a step back.

“You okay?” Saint asked. It was Danny’s turn to nod. “Who is this guy, Danny?”

“I don’t know,” he said looking right at the man that worked for his mother. Maybe he had more friends than he knew.

Hot Blacktop Ch. 9 – Sharp Corners

8 Replies

Mature content. Saint’s mind moved at warp speed when he woke, then he recalled the night before, the body wrapped around him warm and silky, Sienna gave him a peace he’d never felt before now.

He remembered how she turned her back to him before she’d fallen asleep, something dark entering her eyes. Now she was wrapped around him, skin to skin from head to toe. He smiled. Saint had made Sienna come several times before he had taken his own pleasure. But he worried. Would she tell him what haunted her sleep? Was their relationship too new?

He closed his eyes and held her close for a second more. Saint was falling hard for this woman. But just when he wedged his foot between the door that she finally had opened, Sienna seemed ready to close it. After all the flowers and small notes, the phone calls and romantic words to show her how he felt, she still was reluctant to commit to a relationship. Maybe he was going too fast. Or, maybe he had to push harder. Did her ex’s betrayal destroy what trust she had left? He’d be damned if he would allow her to get swallowed up by that kind of thinking.

Inhaling deeply the sweet, musky scent of Sienna filled Saint’s nose. His need for her rose again, but he wasn’t going to disappoint the kids scheduled for their first lesson. He had to get moving otherwise he would be late.

Saint snuck out somehow without disrupting her. It made him smile. Her body told him what he needed to know, that he wasn’t making a mistake starting something with Sienna. But was she scared? He thought her reactions to what he wanted to give her was more than just a bad break-up with that jackass on her front lawn. No. There was something deeper under all that gorgeous skin. And Saint would figure it out.

At Paulson’s, Saint moved into his routine. He checked and double-checked all the equipment that his mechanics had laid out for his inspection and they moved out as a team to inspect the bikes themselves.

He smiled when the first students showed up with tired eyes. Smiles were joined by yawns as their excitement grew and they joined the fray. So, his focus turned to the riders, and how to get Sienna to understand that his interest in her was for the long haul. The thought lurked in the shadows of his mind. It was something he never wanted before her.

Saint lined up the students. As they got on their equipment, he noticed Danny. He wasn’t in the grandstand this time; he was at the fence adjacent to the starting line. Saint made an on the spot decision. He wouldn’t let Danny hang back. Saint walked over to have a word.

“Danny,” Saint said and nodded. He put his hands in his pocket.

“Saint,” Danny said, and Saint tried to hide his smile just in time to see Danny look up at him.

Danny wore a black eye.

Several choice words went through Saint’s mind for whoever had given it to him, but Saint wasn’t going to mention it. He didn’t want Danny to run again.

“You want to learn how to ride?” Saint asked through clenched teeth and pointed over his shoulders to the other kids waiting. “You’re what…about eleven?”

“No! I’m thirteen!” Saint couldn’t believe it. Thirteen? What the hell was his family feeding him? Did they feed him? Christ! He ran fingers through his hair. Saint needed to get the boy away from whoever was hurting him, and soon.

“Okay, Danny. Let’s get you some leathers and a helmet and you can join the class. We’ll get you up riding in no time,” Saint rolled his shoulders and neck to release the tension that squeezed his muscles tight after Danny’s approach. Saint relaxed his closed fists, finger by finger, feeling the crescent nail marks left behind on his palms.

Danny looked up at him. Saint ignored the fact that the boy’s lips trembled. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve been watching from the grand stand for a while now, maybe it’s time to get you in the classroom. It’s just a beginners’ class today. We won’t be riding, but you’re welcome to join us.” Saint would get them accustomed to a motorcycle, how it felt under them, and start teaching about all the parts and pieces. They would be in the classroom the second half of the day, which Saint knew they would groan about, but the riders needed to watch a few videos and go over some things in the textbook that they couldn’t learn on the blacktop. He waited for Danny’s answer.

“Okay,” Danny said and used his long sleeved shirt to wipe the wetness from his eyes, which Saint also ignored.

“Come on then.” They turned toward the garage. Saint would make sure the kid had a meal before he left. He said over his shoulder, “Alright guys, and girl,” he smirked at the lone girl whose eyes narrowed on him, reminding him of his sister when she was little. “Here’s your equipment list. Make sure you’ve got everything on, and it fits snug, especially your boots. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Danny was eager to get started, Saint could tell, and neither one spoke as he got ready.

“Stand beside Tina, Danny, and we’ll get started.” Saint got right to it when he returned with Danny. Saint looked to all the eager faces–those faces he could see, since some had their helmets on, even Danny–in leather tops and bottoms. He wanted to laugh, but kept it in.

Danny looked up at Saint and crossed his arms, but dropped them just as quickly. When he got close to Tina and gave her a wide birth, Saint frowned. He watched her say hi, and Danny looked like he said something back, but it was tough to tell.

“Let’s get started.”

*****

“I think I’m falling in love with him, Megs” Sienna told her best friend over a lunch of sushi and lotus blossom martinis. “And I’m more afraid than I’ve ever been.”

Megan gave her a wink and lifted her glass. “Now that’s a problem worth toasting.” The two women were on their second drink and, after last night, Sienna was already feeling light headed.

With another sip Sienna laughed along with Megs, at first, but then her smile faded and she said, “What if I give him my heart and he throws it away?” Sienna shook her head and tried to hold back her tears. “I’ll go straight off the rails.” She took a healthy sip and shuddered, thinking about what they’d shared last night. “I know I will.” She never got shivers thinking about Layton, or the other two before him.

“You’re talking like it’s already happened. Why? What did that bastard say to you? Did he tell you he loves you?”

“No.” She turned the martini glass around watching the flower slowly be consumed by the vodka. “But the way he looks at me, touches me…I know there’s something deeper between us than I’ve ever experienced.” Sienna tried to hold her breath but the subtle shiver would not subside. The thought of being with him again made her insides go all fluttery.

“Look, baby cakes, you need to find out if this guy is for real, and you need to find out fast. You’re not a goodtime girl, and I’m not going to let some bastard that you just met hurt my best friend.” She turned to the waiter and said, “Two more, please.” Then she turned back. “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

*****

Saint was pleased with everyone in the class by the time the sun started to fade for the day. Danny, whom he was worried would feel uncomfortable around all the other kids, some from his school that stared at him more than not, got through the class like it was second nature. He couldn’t wait to get Danny riding a bike of his own.

Saint walked into the equipment room and saw Danny putting some gear away. Some of the other students left right after they put the bikes away. Saint watched him work. He was meticulous, almost compulsive. Saint ran his fingers through his hair and eased out a silent breath. Danny looked even skinnier from behind. It would be to his advantage on a bike though, his small size, and if the kid’s coordination was tight… But Saint worried Danny wasn’t healthy. “You hungry,” he asked a couple feet behind Danny.

Danny hunched his shoulders and turned fast with his fists at the ready, but dropped them just as quickly.

“Hold up champ.” Danny’s whole body seemed to deflate. “You okay?” Saint asked. He wasn’t going to stay quiet this time. But he wouldn’t start by asking him who hit him. Danny nodded once. “Come on.” Saint moved to another door. Danny hadn’t moved. “You coming?” Saint turned around and faced him, waited, his hands in his pockets. He looked right into the boy’s eyes and said, “I would never hurt you, Danny.” Saint waited never taking his eyes off Danny.

Danny must have seen something in his stare because the boy moved and stopped right next to him. When he looked up at Saint, Danny’s chin was up, and his lips pinched together, and he showed his pride through the directness of his eyes, and managed to say, “Okay.”

“Okay.” Saint opened the door next to his office where stairs of metal and wood led up to his flat. He’d converted it just like everything else at the Speedway, but getting to this part took a bit longer, and he needed to be in the black longer than he’d been in the red, so it had taken some time. “I hope you like sandwiches, cause that’s all I’ve got.”

“Yeah, I like sandwiches.”

They reached the kitchen, and Saint smiled as Danny’s mouth fell open. His flat was big, opening up in the kitchen and spreading out across the entirety of the garage and offices below. The surfaces were all distressed recycled wood, metal, and glass, plus a man could sink into his sofa and sleep for days.

“Wow!”

“What do you like on your sandwich?” Saint pulled out ham, beef, Swiss cheese, salami and started to pull together a sub that could solve world hunger it was so big. He grabbed some bread for Danny. “You want to make your own?”

“Yeah, sure.”

When he looked down at Danny’s sandwich he said, “You sure you got enough there?” and laughed. The sandwich was bigger than his. But when he saw Danny’s shoulders slump and his arms fall he wished he’d held the words back.

“Let me get a knife and cut it in half.” When he plated it and put on the burnished metal island, Saint had to tell Danny to sit down. “Sit. Eat.” The kid didn’t move. “Go ahead and sit down. You want a pop?” He went to the refrigerator. “I got Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite.”

“Pepsi, please,” he said into his plate as he sat.

Damn he looked small compared to the other boys in class today. Danny needed to eat, but he didn’t pick up his sandwich. Saint went and sat next to him and started to eat his own. Finally, after Saint was already halfway through his, Danny picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He inhaled it, for the most part after that, starved as Saint came to understand.

“You have enough?”

Danny answered by nodding as he gulped down the rest of his drink. When they finished, Saint cleaned up and turned toward his new charge. And he would be his new charge. The more he could get him to hang around, the safer he would be, plus the more he would learn. Because one thing he knew, Danny was starved for attention that wasn’t followed by a fist, and he was hungry to know about racing. Saint was anxious to resolve both issues. He was just about to tell him that when a knock came at his door. Thinking it was one of his mechanics he told Danny to go clean up, and he would take him home. The kids face fell, but Saint knew it was too soon to ask him to stick around longer. There was nothing else he could do. Legally. Yet. Saint rubbed his hands over his face. He would figure some way to help. He just needed to apply a little creative thinking.

Saint opened his door, and his arms were comfortably filled with a warm and soft… “Sienna!”

Sienna’s lips slammed against his, her aggression surprising him. When she nipped his lips and pressed in hard with her tongue he couldn’t help but open up to her. Her arms came around his neck, her hips became flush with his rising arousal, and she ground her hips against his. What was going on here? He enjoyed her, but this just felt all wrong.

Saint watched her eyes lock closed and her brows draw down like she was in pain. His mind reeled. He pulled her off him holding her at arm’s length to figure out what the hell was going on with her. Her lips came away puffy, parted, and red as she tried to press against him again. Her eyes flickered open and blinked.

She blinked again, “Why’d you stop? I thought you wanted this.” She tried to press into him again. He gripped her harder, and she pushed back with enough force that his feet shifted backward. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he held her arms with a firm grip, not letting her move away which she now tried to do.

“Sienna. Stop!” he said a little louder than he wanted to.

“It was good last night,” she snapped. “Don’t you want more of that, more of me.”

“Yes,” he said and was once again moved. His back hit the wall, and he grunted in pain. He was caught off guard. “Sienna, stop!”

“Ahhh!”

Saint’s entire body jerked, as small hands tore Sienna from his grip. He watched her body slam up against the door. “He said stop! Leave him alone.”

“Danny! Stop!” Saint yelled, stunned at what he witnessed.

Saint tried to jump into the fray and pry Danny off Sienna, but Danny wouldn’t respond. Saint didn’t want to hurt him either. He reached for him again.

His small fists were a blur of fury. Sienna’s hands blocked her face. They moved a second later, but to slowly, and a blow darted across her ribs. She moaned. Saint grabbed Danny. The kid wriggled like a cornered wildcat with more strength than a boy twice his size. He pulled him off Sienna just as his hand passed an inch away from her face. She fell into the door and sank to the ground. Danny screamed and raged at Sienna. Saint wrapped his arms around the boy and locked him in his grip, not enough to hurt. He looked up to see if Sienna was okay.

Sienna’s shook her head. Her hand covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. She caught Saint’s look and then looked back to Danny. She went to reach out as if to tell Danny it would be okay, but Danny started to shake as soon as her hand started to move.

Danny’s limbs quaked like he’d never been still before, violent tremors like his body was about to crack apart.

Saint had had enough and picked the kid up. It was awkward. He had to get Danny to calm down.

Sienna followed, but she was smart enough to stay out of Danny’s sight.

Saint eased him down on the couch and moved to sit next to him, but didn’t let go. Some of the shakes lessened, and he finally let him go but stayed close with one hand clamped down on his ankle.

“Danny,” he sighed and closed his eyes for patience. Looking back at the boy he said, “Can you look at me please.” Minutes passed. Saint waited. Danny eventually did what Saint asked, but it took everything in Saint to stay calm after the kid attacked Sienna. He looked up at her and then back at Danny. “Want to tell me what the hell just happened?”

He said nothing and curled into a protective ball into the cushions in the corner of the couch.

“Danny, listen to me. Look at me,” he snapped. Danny’s eyes came to his. “Sienna wasn’t hurting me. We just had a misunderstanding.”

“No. No. She was hurting you. She pushed you and…and…” His voice died, and he looked down.

“Danny, please look at me.” When Danny looked up, his stare was haunted, and made worse by the tears that spilled from his swollen eye, now more prominent than ever, Saint had to ask, “Who hit you, Danny?” If the boy could have gotten even smaller, he would have. “Danny, please tell me who hit you.”

Dread filled the room, it an oozing darkness that lingered around everything that had been said. Sainted waited. He wasn’t going to let Danny leave his place until he knew.

“My mother.”

“No!” Whispered across the floor like a physical blow from where Sienna sat. Danny’s body jerked to the sound. Saint turned. Sienna’s eyes focused on something only she could see as mascara stained her cheeks.

Hot Blacktop Ch. 8 – Twisted Metal

4 Replies

Mature Content. Sienna’s hands shook. She was tired, but she needed to finish this necklace. The silver metal fired orange as Sienna soldered the second medallion to the first. She hadn’t slept well the whole week, and her mind still stuck on Saint’s words as she left him at the Speedway.

Rotating her shoulders, she glanced at the jewelry that lies on a velvet pad, the fruition of a week’s worth of work and worry. The designs were good even if her creative drive came from the ride she’d taken with Saint. All she’d thought about the past week was him. The way he made her feel, the things he said to her, or did, the flowers and short notes that hadn’t stopped since the first. There was no possible way to forget that he wanted her. He didn’t need to continue the romantic barrage, but she secretly loved it. Sienna couldn’t ignore their chemistry any longer. Even now, thinking about him got her stirred up.

Sienna lay the tip of the soldering tool against the short lip where the stone would sit, and dabbed it with solder to hold another petal in place. With everything that had happened between her and Saint since they met, she was glad she could concentrate enough to adapt the designs that blazed through her mind after their ride. Their ‘stargazing’ not at all influencing her mad dash to draw. “Right!” She snorted.

Arriving home that night of the ride, images of new jewelry had been a saving grace. Trying to sleep had been useless, so she holed up in her design studio, to draw the barrage of images for a new jewelry line. The only reason she’d stopped was the sun had peaked over the hillside, washed the landscape with a warm fiery red, and her stomach growled.

She’d rubbed her eyes and stretched her back and stared at the flashes of color and metal on vellum she’d drawn. It was her best work. Sienna took a nap after she ate and jumped in to start sculpting each form at Twisted Metal, her and Meg’s jewelry store. And now it was the end of the week and Sienna was wrapping up the last piece in the series getting ready for the next phase.

Each piece in some way came from the shape and contours of materials on Saint’s bikes, not just the one they rode last weekend, but the many she’d glimpsed in his garage.

The bottom medallion she worked on was a solid piece of silver about .8mm thick, and the top circle was a play on positive and negative space using the wheels of the motorcycle as her example. In the center, a stone of black onyx would sit and rise above what she was calling petals for a more feminine touch, whereas the medallion she had designed for the men’s line was a bit chunkier and would be held by a leather cord, the onyx an inlay instead. It was delicate but strong, with the look and feel of motorcycle wheels.

After the last connection, Sienna stood and lifted her hands high over her head. She arched her back and then returned her arms to the front and then moved them down to clasp behind her back to stretch her shoulder blades.

Megs poked her head in the back her work studio location. “Hey baby-cakes, how goes it?”

“Just finishing up,” Sienna said scanning to see everything ready for finishing work.

Megs walked over. “Fantastic,” she nodded toward the work and crossed her arms. Sienna watched her head angle this way and that. “Damn girl, this is some of your best work!”

Sienna laughed. “Yeah,” is all she said.

“Sales were great today.”

“With the holidays coming on strong, I’m glad to hear it.” Sienna sat down to clean up some tools and got lost in her thoughts.

There was a tap on her shoulder. “Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere good, Megs.”

Sienna’s friend frowned, and her eyes narrowed. “Your dad was a shit!” Sienna laughed with little humor. Megan came around to Sienna’s back and wrapped her arms around Sienna’s shoulders to link them in front, and her cheek rested next to hers. Sienna sighed.

“I love you. You’re my best friend, Sienna.” Megan kissed her on the cheek and then stood up. “Speaking of happy, have you talked to Saint?”

Sienna put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands covering her face but then turned her head toward Megs. “No.” What Sienna wanted to say was that she’d called him and told him to stop sending all his beautiful presents, the flowers, and poems and that it was never going to happen between them. But somewhere in the middle of the week, she’d decided that she would jump into the deep end of her bottomless pool of lust—she’d convinced herself that’s all it was–and, at least, enjoy the sex. But who was she kidding. She was already emotionally involved. She was always emotionally involved. The damn man was under her skin. “I’m going to call him tonight.”

“Oh, really,” Megs dragged out.

Sienna stood up and gathered her purse and jacket, nodded once toward her friend as if she were still trying to convince herself. She reached to turn off the light, but Megs stepped in front of her. “Megs, it’s been a long day and my back is killing me.”

“Want to go to dinner, have a drink?”

Sienna took a deep breath and thought about her comfy bed and the sleep she needed. But she hadn’t spent a lot of time with Megs that week and said instead, “I could eat.”

“Good. Mexican?”

“Sure.”

When they headed out, she came up short. Saint stood in the showroom. She blinked not sure if he was real when her eyes drifted to the other person that stood next to him, what was his name again. Hot Guy No. 2? She could barely remember the night at the club.

She blinked again and turned when Saint strode toward her.

“Hey sweetheart,” he said and leaned over, drawing his lips softly over hers.

“What are you doing here?”

Saint glanced at Megan, she shrugged and walked toward Hot Guy No. 2. The man she recognized but didn’t know looked at Megs like she was a spoonful of the most decadent chocolate mousse he would soon devour. The heat in his eyes, so similar to the way Saint looked at her, was so strong, it made her tingle in all the right places. “Wow!”

Saint chuckled at her barely whispered comment and wrapped an arm around her to pull her close.

“If I weren’t so confident about the way I do it for you, I’d be a little jealous of the way you looked at my friend over there.”

He did that thing again where he kissed her neck, and she shivered. Yeah, Sienna had to concede that Saint really did do it for her.

“You ready to eat, baby?”

“You want to introduce me to Hot Guy No. 2?”

“What did you call him?” he asked with a laugh. But before she could repeat herself he said, “Never mind.” He guided her toward his friend. “Sienna this is Christof Yeager, MOTO Racer Extraordinaire,” he said and bowed with greatt plumage.

Megan giggled.

“Thanks for the intro, my friend. But your bow could be a little deeper,” Christof said with what sounded like a German accent laced with a lot of humor. The man looked back at her with a crooked smile that turned to concern and drawn down eyes glowing a surreal emerald, almost hypnotizing in their beauty. “It’s good to see you’re feeling better, Sienna.”

“Huh?” she stammered. Then Christof smiled, and a lone dimple creased his cheek. Damn he was good looking, she thought and blinked. “That night was awful.” Saint squeezed her closer. She elbowed him so he would give her some space. Christof’s smile grew even bigger as she watched him try and stifle a laugh.

“Ready to go?” Megs asked. Megan had scooted away and was just now coming back toward them with her purse in hand and stood next to Christof. Not too close, she noticed.

Just then Saint’s stomach let out quite a rumble. She looked at him as her eyebrows shot up. “I take it you’re ready to eat.”

“I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” His lip quirked at the corner. “My board track racer had all my attention today, I was supposed to be going over the Paulson Speedway financials, but I was too distracted thinking about a particular female to crunch numbers today. That would have been a total failure. So it was the café bike or nothing.” He kissed her on the nose and guided her toward the front of the shop. She heard Megan speak to Christof in clipped tones, not catching a bit of their conversation. She would have to corner her best friend for the details.

When they arrived at Over the Border, since it was an unusually warm night, they were able to snag seats on the front patio, and soon, each had a margarita with a lip of salt. “Mmm,” she groaned, then sighed.

“That good?” Saint asked.

“Yeah,” is all she said and went back to listening to Saint and Chris, which Saint called him for short, talk about motorcycles and the racing season. She didn’t understand a lot of what was said, but she enjoyed the way Saint’s voice got excited and the way his laugh rippled across her skin.

When their food came, they dug in and by the time she finished her last bite of quesadilla she was stuffed and ready to sleep. Just as she was about to tell Saint that she really needed to get home, she felt an odd tingle at the back of her neck and looked over her shoulder to see what it was that caught her attention, but when she looked around, there wasn’t anyone there.

“What is it?” Saint asked, his demeanor now totally alert.

“Nothing.”

“Your body says the opposite,” Saint returned. “You tightened up all over.”

She hadn’t noticed his arm around her. It felt natural so natural, unlike the times when Layton had shown similar affection.  “I don’t know.” She looked around. The shadows were deep, hiding anything and everything. “It felt like someone was watching me.” She looked up into his eyes and saw that the lines drawn down with worry. “Maybe it’s Danny.” His eyebrows shot up. Now Saint looked around. He squeezed her shoulder.

“He wouldn’t wander this far from home.”

“Who’s Danny,” Megs and Christof said over one another.

Saint explained how he’d met Danny. Concern lit both their faces.

“We’ve got to get him out of that home.” Saint froze next to her. When she turned toward him, he looked down at her. There was a pain in his eyes, and she thought of his sister. But how did the two relate? Christof looked angry. But why? What was wrong with helping the boy? “You said it was bad, Saint. Right? We can help him.”

“Sienna, there are a few things that you don’t know about Danny’s situation. He didn’t react well when you showed up at Paulson’s.” She was going to tell him they could figure out how to help, but then he put her off and said, “I’ll know how to help Danny.” He sighed. “If he doesn’t want help, though, I can’t force it on him.” Her heart hurt for the boy. Saint stroked her cheek, and it made her feel marginally better. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Christof and Saint argued over who would pay the bill. Christof won, Saint told her. She relaxed when Saint got her into his truck, the margaritas, and food making her sleepy. She’d left her car at the store, but Megs promised to pick her up in the morning. Though she was smiling, at the time, with a humorous light in her eyes Sienna was very suspicious.

Saint pulled into her driveway, and she turned toward him ready to say goodbye when he reached out and pulled her close. Or as close as the console would allow. His lips danced across hers so softly that she almost didn’t feel it, but she felt it in other places. Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes met in the almost dark. Stars glittered alongside the moon, and Saint’s eyes joined them in their nighttime folly.

Tonight was a turning point. She was going to push off into dark waters, pray they didn’t pull her under and beat her heart to a pulp. Leave her heart out of it, she kept telling herself. But she knew the truth. She wasn’t going into this focused only on lust. No. She liked him. The conversation was good at dinner. He had talked about teaching racing; his face lit up when he spoke of his students and how it felt when their race times decreased. Saint loved teaching. She could see it in his smiles and the pride behind his words.

“Invite me in, Sienna.” She was about to tell him, yes, but he took her words away as his mouth came down on hers. She opened for him giving him everything. She wasn’t sure who groaned first when he pulled away. “Invite me in,” Her breaths came hard and fast and all she could give was a nod. Before she knew it Saint was at her side of the truck, the door open and her in his arms.

“You don’t have to carry me!” He flashed a smile. She leaned back and looked up at the sky, resigned to his Neanderthal ways. She secretly loved it.

They reached the front door, and he set her down, she pulled out her keys and fumbled them as he came up behind her, dropped kisses and swipes of his tongue along her neck. So turned on she could barely get the key in the lock. They practically fell into the house. He lifted her before she took a nose dive and pulled her back to him. His hands at her hips glided up the sides of her torso under her coat and brushed along the outside of her breasts. She leaned back and let him take over.

Coats hit the floor, and Saint moved them toward the stairs. He didn’t stop touching her. Just before they would have reached her room, he grabbed her hips and spun her around his lips coming down on hers. It wasn’t soft. It was feverish and possessive. What had been building between them for the past few weeks exploded in a torrent of motion, fingers splayed, mouths nipped, kisses deep and wild. His tongue joined the foray, and she didn’t disappoint him, tangling hers with as much force as Saint’s. Her lips would bruise. She didn’t care. Sienna grabbed his shirt, forced him to slide across the wall. They bumped past the door jamb and stumbled through the archway, only to catch themselves when they hit the top of the bed.

Both wrestled for the advantage over the other, arms and legs tangled and laughter filled the room until their eyes met and the heat between them flashed and came to life again. Saint grabbed Sienna’s shirt and pulled it up over her head. He groaned because of what she wore. The sheer red shelf bra had been the only thing clean. It wasn’t her favorite because it made her skin a pasty white.

“Holy shit!” Saint licked his lips. Sienna just about had a spontaneous orgasm from the primal look he gave her.

“Saint?”

He didn’t answer. But he responded to her question, his eyes intent on hers until he closed in on a straining nipple. When his tongue darted out and skimmed across her covered taut flesh, once, twice, all she could do was groan his name. Sienna sank her hands into his hair and held on for dear life. His whole mouth covered her breast, and she arched into him. He sucked harder, and couldn’t help but grind her sex into his hard length through their layers of clothing.

She bit her bottom lip to hold in a scream. He continued to torment her other breast, and she said, “Clothes off, clothes off. I need to feel you.”

“Sweetheart, I’m not done playing yet.”

“Please,” she pleaded. Saint took to her other breast again, but when she arched against his mouth, straining to get closer, his hands went to her back, unhooked her bra and she was bare to him, as he drew it down her arms, well, at least, her top half. She was small, and her hands automatically went to cover her breasts, but he grabbed her hands, and she had no time to react, he pressed her hands above her head onto the mattress. Sienna started to shake from the inside out, the walls of her core pulsing to catch up with the blood that pumped so hard through her veins she thought she would pass out from pleasure.

Saint released his grip, but she wanted his mouth back on her breast and grabbed onto his head. He would have none of that. “Leave them, Sienna. I know what you need.”

“But…” He shook his head.

As he started to lick his way down her body, the starting line each breast again, she let him do what he wanted. She never had it so good, not with Layton, not with any of the other men she’d been with, which hadn’t been a lot. Her fingers clawed at the comforter, his tongue circling each nipple in turn but not consuming each again. She needed to hold onto something or she would lose herself. Was that her that mewed like a desperate animal. “Oh, God!”

Saint laughed and he didn’t stop. He came within an inch of her panty line…wait when did he take off her pants. “Ohhhh!” His tongue touched under the lace that lined her panties. “Saint, please! Do something, anything. I need…”

“I’ll get where you need me to go, but in a minute.”

“No!” Her hands came off the bed desperate to get him naked. How quickly she would do that she didn’t know, but he needed to have fewer clothes on. She reached for his zipper.

He flipped her onto her stomach, and Saint’s body covered hers immobilizing her, she let out a frustrated scream, but then he whispered in her ear.

“Baby. Sienna. I’m gonna fuck you so good, you’re gonna sleep for a week. Let me take care of you.”

Something in her seemed to answer his non-question and her body sank into the bed. He must have felt her relax because he took over her pleasure again. His lips kissed a line down her body starting at her neck and didn’t stop until he reached the divots at her lower back. His tongue circled, and his lips kissed, when he moved his fingers down and caressed the top of her butt and slowly drew down her panties that were just as sheer as her bra, his lips never stopped touching her. She was soaking wet, and Saint had no problem letting her know just how wet she was.

“Mmm,” he hummed along her skin. She was going to die. There was so much pleasure, she couldn’t fathom what came next, and he hadn’t even touched her pussy yet. And then he did. With his mouth. He grabbed onto her hips and pulled her up. “On your knees.” It was then she noticed that his voice trembled. He was affected as much as she. Sienna looked over her shoulder, and he came off the bed and fell to his knees on the floor pulling her back to him in the process, and she had a hard time staying up on her knees. But he took control again, their eyes met, and his mouth was right there, her core spasmed. “Ahhh!” He didn’t let up, the sucking, the laps of his tongue, her juices flowing into his mouth. She was going to die from orgasmic pleasure.

“That’s it baby, rock on my mouth.” Sienna didn’t stop. Saint proved he could rock her world with just his tongue, and she came undone. “Come, now!” He whispered, but she heard.

“Saint! Saint!” His name was a litany of thanks as Sienna’s orgasm spiraled up and coiled tighter and tighter until her body splintered apart. The brittle stability of her control exploded outward like the universe had made a new star. She fell to her stomach.

Her hot breath puffed on the comforter, her hair wet and tangled over her eyes. She body felt heavy and sated, and she couldn’t catch up when Saint grabbed her hips and helped her flip over onto her back again. She looked up at him as he towered over her at the end of the bed, his body shadowing hers as he looked down at her. His fingers grabbed the back of his shirt, and he pulled it over his head. Next off, his pants. Her heavy-lidded eyes tracked every muscle as they rippled, every hard line of flesh that her lips would kiss in mere seconds. There was so much to touch and taste that she didn’t know where to start. She went to sit up, but Sienna froze as he took down his boxers, his hard cock a pulsing beacon. He was thick and long and all hers. She wanted him in her mouth, but before she could scoot to the end of the bed and take hold of his hard length, Saint pushed her back down on the bed and crawled up her body and started all over again. When she had had another orgasm, even better than the first one, she thought she wouldn’t survive the night, but Saint made it clear she would make it through the night and into the morning. At some point, Saint had found a condom and rolled it on. He came down on her body but didn’t enter her right away. He took her lips again and managed to glide his sex across her parted labia, and she couldn’t help the groan that came with the easy glide, she was so sensitive she couldn’t help it.

He continued to rock back and forth, slicking himself up. “Sienna, look at me.” When had she closed her eyes? “Sienna, sweetheart?” When he said her name like that followed by the endearment her eyes fluttered open, and that’s when he entered her. She gasped as he filled her in one easy stroke and held himself fully in her. His groan, this time, matched her own and then he started to move. At first, it was a slow easy slide in and out, but soon it wasn’t about taking his time, it was about the pleasure that was consuming them both. She could see it on his face, his jaw in a tight snarl, his eyes burning for her. She knew what it was to feel that much because he had just taken her on the same ride and he was doing it again. When his hips started to slam into her and his face sank into her hair, and his mouth went to her neck, and his teeth opened to grip the spot he liked to kiss, he was more animal than man, letting his body take over, Sienna couldn’t get enough of it. She had never had a man take over her body, as all-consuming as Saint. It was glorious in its light.

And it was light. She was out of the dark. Saint had brought her out of the dark she’d been trapped in for too long. But as her mind spun she got lost in her fear. Did he really want her or was he using her for his pleasure? Saint must have felt the change in her because his mouth came off her and he lifted his head and looked down into her eyes. There was too much there, in his stare, and she tried to shut him out, but Saint held her chin in his fingers, the fierce gaze he set on her never leaving her, forcing her to match his stare. A tear spilled over onto her cheek, and he caught it with a finger and started to move again. It was slow, in and out, his focus never leaving her, with each heated press of his hips meeting hers she became lost to him. Soon, too soon, her orgasm was just out of reach again, the walls of her core dancing with each thrust from Saint. His length surged deep inside her over and over, the kinetic energy between them almost a wild thing now. Flesh against flesh, the grunts that came from him and Sienna, the slick skin under her fingers, the only thing that existed in her world was this man inside her.

“Are you ready to come for me again?”

She nodded, but her mind screamed that she needed to hold on longer, her head moved back and forth now. This might be the last time they would be together. People didn’t stay around to be a part of Sienna’s life. she wasn’t worth the time. Saint would leave.

“No Sienna,” he grunted on another push and a groan followed as her inner walls gripped him so hard that Sienna thought she would have lost it, but somehow she pulled it back, waiting for Saint, his voice somehow grounding her. “I want to hear you say it aloud. Say it,” he finished as he gritted his teeth.

“Yes, I’m ready to come,” the words a breathy entreaty that thickened the air in the room. “Make me come, Saint. Make me come.” When the words ended, Saint gripped her hips and lifted them to bring her closer. He slammed into her harder than she thought possible and that’s all it took. He held tight to her hips and ground down on her pussy making her clit flair, hot, cold, she didn’t know. She went off the edge of the precipice she had been hanging on and fell. Her backed arched and Saint held her tight, grinding against her taut nub when his cock started to pulse inside her, his roar, one of satisfaction and that of a conqueror.

They panted in time with one another when Saint came down on her rolling them both to their sides. He wrapped his arms around her, and she felt safe for the first time in her life. But could she trust the feelings he brought to her. Could she trust him? She shook her head.

“You okay?”

She burrowed into the pillow making it seem like that’s what she’d been doing in the first place. Sienna didn’t want to answer because she didn’t know if she was or would ever be alright again.

Saint pulled away and got up to take care of the condom. “Sienna, baby?” he asked once beside her again.

Still she didn’t speak.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He kissed her at the base of her neck where his teeth had gripped and controlled her. Silent tears ran hot down her cheeks and she shivered in fear of what came next?

 

Hot Blacktop Ch. 5 – Burned

2 Replies

Mature content

“You need to leave,” Sienna said, and pushed Saint away before his lips touched hers.

Saint straightened to his full height. Sienna froze as his narrowed gaze locked to hers like a taught cable. She tried to hide her reaction, but her body burned for him. Then she blinked and he turned away, to leave, she hoped. She walked toward the kitchen when the snick of the front doors lock sounded like a detonation. Tingles of heat swarmed through her body. A tsunami of need washed over her, an uncontrolled response. Sienna thought she’d convinced herself she wasn’t at all interested in the sexy man, but her body disagreed. Her nipples tightened. The moisture between her legs grew until she pressed against the cool tile at the edge of the kitchen counter and her legs pressed together. If only she didn’t feel as if the door he just closed and locked was one she could open. But no, she wouldn’t open that door again.

She didn’t want to like him so much though. The fact they met the night before didn’t mean much at the moment. Her mind and body were a contradiction. Sienna shook her head, her fingers gripping the counter until they turned white. She’d tried hard to lock her heart away after Layton betrayed her, but somehow, the small snick on the lock on her front door, sounded more like a bomb that signaled an emotional implosion. Saint’s action minutes ago and his actions last night seemed to break down all the walls she’d built. She didn’t want to build them again. Sienna knew she would have to if she let him in. Dammit!

Her mortar crumbled bit by bit. It’d broken down so many times she’d gotten used to what came after, the loneliness, the heartbreak, the rebuilding. She’d let Layton in after she’d promised herself, after her mother left, she would never let herself love someone again. She always hoped though, one day, someone would stay. But people always walked away in the end. Everyone had.

The one who hadn’t was Megs. Being best friends like they were…Megs had saved her. Without Megs, she would have spiraled into a bout of depression in her teen years when her mother disappeared from her life. Her mother hadn’t cared enough about her to stick around. Instead, she’d lied about going to the grocery store, took what money they had in savings, and had left her with nothing. She feared if Megan hadn’t been there, Megan’s family taking her in, it would have been Sienna’s undoing.

Lost in the past, not wanting to be there and ignoring Saint, Sienna looked around on the counter. She needed coffee. Right now. The automatic task in mind, she went to work. The cabinets banged as she grabbed her favorite mug with the gold star on it, she scooped coffee in robotic movements. Dark grounds fell into the gold filter. The water, cold to her touch, she measured, poured it into the water tank. She pushed the start button and moved to go to the pantry for cereal when she heard Saint’s boots slide across the carpet in a soft cadence. As he drew closer, she swore in her head again. Sienna didn’t want to deal with another man right now. Not for a long time. Maybe ever. Layton’s theatrics had been enough to last her a lifetime. But Saint had been so sweet the night before. She should at least give him a thank you? No! Her doors were closed. She would get her mental mortar out, fill the holes as soon as she had her morning coffee.

Sienna heaved a sigh, resigned. Getting rid of him was going to take longer than she wanted. Before she could move to the pantry, Saint crowded in behind her. Oh boy, she thought. He nudged her with his hips. Then she said without thinking, “Crap on toast!” shivered and tried to hide a groan.

“What’d you say?”

She didn’t respond for a second. Nerves coalesced. She blurted, “Do you want some coffee.” Why she asked him to stay for coffee she didn’t know. She wanted to get rid of him not keep him around. Say no, say no, say no.

“Sure,” he responded, then thankfully, stepped back. “How’s your head?”

“Fine,” she said not turning to look at him.

Sienna got her second favorite mug down–this one with a green circle and a splash of an abstract wash of blue’s–and waited with her back to Saint. Maybe if she didn’t ask him any questions he would drink his coffee and leave. But too soon, Saint asked, “So, what do you do, Sienna?”

She licked her lips, took a deep breath, gathered up her courage to face one of the sexiest men she’d ever seen and turned around.

“Twisted Metal,” she responded.

“You twist metal?”

“No, I co-own Twisted Metal. It’s the name of my jewelry boutique I co-own with Megan. My job is to design the jewelry; Megan takes care of the business side.”

“Cool name.”

“Yeah, we think so.” The coffee beeped, Sienna quickly turned around, and grabbed the coffee pot to give her hands something to do.

“What do you do?”

“I test motorcycles, racing bikes.”

She stayed quiet and poured, stared at her hands as they shook. Wasn’t that dangereous? She cleared her throat. “Oh?” The coffee splattered over the edge of one cup. She was barely able to do a better job with the second one.

“You okay, Sienna?”

“Yeah. Fine.” She heard him move toward her. She turned around and held up both mugs so he couldn’t come any closer. “I guess Layton’s little temper tantrum upset me more than I thought.” That was a lie, of course, but Saint didn’t need to know he made her nervous. Saint’s lips pinched down and his jaw tensed again. “I’m fine, really.” He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it, held out his mug, and asked, “Do you want any cream?”

He reached out and took the mug from her hand. His skin brushed hers, slow warmth spread out from the tips of her fingers down to all the right places. Leather and man permeated her senses. She inhaled deep, turned around to reach into the frig for some whip cream and chocolate syrup to doctor her coffee. It was a mocha morning. When she turned around, Saint glanced down to her mouth and watched as she took a sip. Her gaze met his. What she saw made her nearly choke on the whipped cream she’d licked off the top of her coffee. She coughed a few times and Saint took a step forward. Slow as molasses, he took the mug from her hand, set it down next to his own.

“You know I have to taste you now, right,” he whispered.

Sienna shook her head back and forth. She tried to back up but the counter and his arms surrounded her. She shook her head.

“Oh yes. And I think you want me to, don’t you Sienna?”

“Na…no I’m good.” But it was too late.

His hands inched closer becoming a fiery vice. Her breaths grew heavy and her tongue swept across her parched lips. She needed another drink of coffee, preferably with a bit more kick. When one of his hands moved, he captured her head in his palm and stilled her. Her breath caught in her throat. Saint leaned into her, his cock hard, an insistent presence against her belly. It made her want to groan with need but she could control herself, right? She wouldn’t kiss him back. He needed to leave. Her hands moved up to his firm chest ready to push him away, but instead, her nails curled into his shirt and she yanked him closer at the same time his mouth took hers.

Saint controlled the kiss the instant their lips touched. His fingers combed through her hair, the methodical movement added fire to the kindle that already burned. When he wrapped the long locks around his wrist, Saint’s grip constricted any movement. Sienna gasped then moaned into his mouth, trying to hold back, but it was no use. He bent her head back further and she was lost to his demands. Saint nipped her lip, his tongue pressed for entry she obeyed and opened for him, her mind a blank space, her body a willing participant. Sienna would give him anything in this moment. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped the harder he pulled her hair. She begged him for more with small mews that crowded her throat. Saint released her hair. She would have fallen but rough fingers danced up to bare back the dress exposed, he kneaded, molded her curves. His other hand took full advantage of the dress she woke up in, it meandered lower, inched over sensitive, aroused flesh. It maddened her until he grabbed her ass and ground his cock in just the right place. “Ohh!” She hummed into his mouth. He pressed even harder, circling, circling, his hips, with each sound she made. Sienna’s clit throbbed. The molecules of pleasure gathered, tightened, and drew her closer and closer to the apex, that tipping point just out of reach. She edged closer to the precipice, desperate to come. Her body became more frantic as each second passed. The orgasm was almost…almost. Saint pulled away.

“No! What are you doing?” she breathed and tried to pull him back to her.

“I want to watch you come.”

“What?” She said, breathless.

Her breaths came harder, faster, when she realized he hadn’t stopped. His body still tight to hers, her breasts ached against his hard chest. Saint yanked her away from the counter and gripped her ass almost painfully. She cried out. There wasn’t even the tiniest space between them. Her head fell back. His movements got smaller, shaper. He thrust forward and back over and over. Her breaths came in pants now, short, painful. She looked to him, her eyes hooded, his lust for her made her blood boil. That’s all it took. She detonated like a grenade and her body filled with an erotic haze. Inner walls spasmed. Fingers clamped down on his biceps and he held her weight taking her mouth again. That was the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had, she thought.

He never let up the pressure on the small bud. Oh God, he has to stop. The sensations made her spasm over and over and then, not taking his eyes off her, he bit her lip at the same time he reached down under her dress, took her clit between his thumb and index finger, and rolled it with enough force, ripples of pleasure continued its assault. Her whimper echoed in his mouth as he kissed her again. Mini orgasm’s rolled over her one after the other. She lifted her head. “Oh, sweet baby Jesus, no more, no more.” She begged.

Saint chuckled, as his lips brushed down across her jaw. His teeth scraped her neck. He tapped her lips with his own, a playful gesture, and then he rested his forehead against hers.

“So responsive.” His head titled back and forth when he leaned back to take her in, his finger followed the same path his mouth did. “I want you at the raceway.”

“Huh,” she said dazed, his words so off topic, the topic being her body still on fire for him. She licked her lips, dry from her screams. He watched the movement like a predator stalking prey. He blinked when she asked, “What raceway?”

“Paulson Raceway. I want to take you out for a ride.”

“A ride?” She squeaked and then swallowed trying to get some kind of composure back.

“My ride.”

“Your what?”

He smiled. “My bike. You got to meet her.” and touched his lips to hers again. She panicked at the affection, pulled back and Saint frowned.

“What? No!” she said flustered. “I’m glad you were here when Layton showed up and I appreciate you bringing me home last night, but I’m not going out with you.”

“I have to disagree.”

“What’s there to disagree about? I don’t know you. And as you saw with Layton I make poor choices when it comes to men. And you’re a man. So, I’m not going to go out with you.” She crossed her arms and dared him to disagree again. She knew she shouldn’t go out with him. Sienna liked him too much. That was the problem. If they went out, she’d make room for him in her life, start to care for him even more, until one day, she wasn’t good enough for him anymore. He’d walk away. No, she wasn’t going to go out with him.

“Right,” he said and shook his head. “I don’t believe you want to disagree.”

His gaze went down to her chest and she tipped her head down, her nipples poked through her dress. She lifted her arms higher to cover the taut peaks. She glared at him. “No, no, no,” saying it over and over again so he’d believe it. “Well that’s too bad, because as I said, I am not going out with you.”

“Hmm. But you want to.”

“No I don’t,” she snapped. “You need to leave,” she said before she could do something stupid, like grab his shirt and drag him up to her bed so she could take full advantage of his big, strong, hard…she glanced down. His erection strained against his slacks.

She must have hummed her pleasure again, because she was startled when Saint said, “I’ll see you in one week. That’s all the time I’ll give you to adjust to the idea of being mine.” And then he headed toward the front door.

“No you won’t,” she said like a frustrated child. Did I just stomp my foot?

“Oh, you’ll see me again, Sienna. If you don’t, who’s going to give you one of the best orgasm’s you’ve ever had.”

Had she said that aloud? “Gah!”

“One week, Sienna,” he called over his shoulder not even looking at her. Then he walked down the front porch, got into his truck and drove away.

She stood there so long she started to get goose bumps on her skin when the clouds divested her view of the sun. Sienna backed up, closed the door, and started toward the kitchen.

She was not going to go to the Paulson Raceway.

Sienna reached for her coffee, but groaned instead. She leaned into the counter. What had she done? Her internal walls warmed again, and she flushed and shivered with a greater need than she’d ever known. The irresistible problem was, she just had had the best orgasm of her life and Saint wanted to give her more.

“Arrogant rock-hard jerk!”