One Wild Ride Read online

  “There’s not much to tell. I’m in editing hell and you all know how that consumes me.” Hil shrugged.

  “Do we ever,” Juliette said.

  Joey narrowed her eyes and studied her friend’s face. Tension thrummed just beneath the surface. She could see it in the pinched set of Hil’s lips and the strained areas around her eyes. Even her jaw seemed tensed. “You sure about that?”

  “Damn your intuition, Brooks.” Hil sighed.

  “I knew you were hiding something.” Joey pointed her index finger across the table at the curly-haired woman, who rolled her eyes.

  “Why lie?” Juliette asked. “Haven’t we had enough of secrets?”

  “It’s not personal. I just don’t want to drag anyone else into it,” Hilary said. She blew curls out of her face as she leaned back in her seat.

  “Start talking, now,” Joey demanded.

  “I’ve been doing research on Peter’s victims,” Hil said.

  “Why?” Juliette asked. Her face twisted into a mask of confusion and horror.

  “I don’t know—morbid curiosity? It’s a mystery I have to get to the bottom of,” Hil said.

  “Even for you that’s a little much. What’s really going on?” Joey asked, not fooled by the excuses she flung their way.

  “Like I said, I’m not sure the retaliation from Peters’ buddies is over. And if it isn’t, I want to have something substantial to fight back with. These are powerful people. They had Peter killed in prison.” She snapped her fingers. “For peace of mind, I need ammunition that’ll take them down.”

  Juliette gasped. “You’re that concerned about them? Did something happen I don’t know about?”

  “No, of course not, Juliette. No one is keeping anything from you,” Joey said, glaring at Hil.

  “Men like that don’t just disappear after being threatened. Which is what we did when we exposed Peter. We know there’s more and now they want blood. I can feel it in my gut,” Hil said. She shook her head. “Look, I didn’t want to worry you. That’s why I kept it to myself. But for me, it’s the same concept as Horror Movie 101, the killer always comes back for one last scare and Peter’s ghost hasn’t come back to haunt us just yet.”

  “Speak for yourself. His memory haunts me plenty,” Juliette whispered.

  “I’m sorry, Jul.” Hil reached patted Juliette’s shoulder.

  “No, it’s good you’re on top of things. Maybe I’m naïve, thinking it was over so easily.” Juliette sighed and closed her eyes.

  “No, you want it to be. Hell, you deserve to walk away and leave the past there,” Joey said. “If anything pops off, the boys will handle it.”

  “Exactly,” Hil concurred. “I’m just trying to be ready from a legal point of view.”

  Juliette gave a shaky smile and nodded. “I appreciate you looking out for me, Hil. Thinking ahead is smart. But the thought of anything else happening pushes me to the edge. I mean what else can he take from me? What other sick ways have his friends thought up to add to my suffering to avenge the dead bastard?” Juliette said.

  The words tore at Joey’s heart. Juliette had been to hell and back again. “Hey, she’s just covering an extra base. There’s no need for anyone to worry. You have other things to be focused on, like your wedding, which is coming up rather quickly,” Joey said redirecting the conversation.

  Juliette smiled and sat up straighter. “You’re absolutely right. I’m not letting anyone take away from that day.”

  “That’s my girl,” Hil said, nodding her approval. They were all a little protective of Juliette right now.

  “Don’t think you’re off the hook either. We both know you’re playing a dangerous game. You need to be careful,” Joey said to Hilary.

  “I know, I know,” Hil said.

  “Hil—”

  “I know, Joey. Trust me, I’m covering my tracks and treading lightly,” Hil said.

  Joey nodded, but made a mental note to keep an eye on her spunky friend.

  They played catch-up as they polished off the bottle of wine and a cheese plate. With her secret out in the open, a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Joey wasn’t the type of person to keep secrets, and keeping track of what she said had grown old weeks past.

  * * * * *

  Moose parked his bike in the driveway and grinned when the door swung open moments later.

  Joey locked the house quickly and jogged over to him. She leaned in and devoured his lips, making him moan.

  That’s the kind of welcome I want to see. He brought his hand up and clutched the dark silk of her hair. Her mouth tasted sweet and addictive, like an apple turnover, fresh out of the oven. She sucked on his tongue and his jeans grew tight.

  After a week on the road, all he wanted to do was slip into her tight sheath, but they had somewhere to be. He ended their kiss, nipping her bottom lip as he pulled back. “You keep that up, and we won’t make it to the movies.” He grinned. He’d been forced to leave town after their heart-to-heart and hadn’t been one hundred percent on what he’d be walking into with her.

  “Afterward?” she asked.

  “All the dick down you can handle.” Moose gave her a wink.

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said, shaking her keys. “Ready for me to be the one behind the wheel?”

  “I don’t know, never seen you drive before,” he teased as he swung his leg over the bike and got off, following her to the sedan parked on the street in front of her house. They’d bought tickets to a horror-movie marathon at their local drive-in. The chance to see the Wolfman, Frankenstein and Dracula on the big screen was an opportunity neither of them wanted to pass up. He was cursing that decision now. Her ass looked fucking edible in the body-hugging dark jeans, and the maroon leather jacket set off her mocha-colored skin.

  On the way to the drive-in, she turned on classic Metallica and he relaxed in the seat, almost grateful for the reprieve from being the one in control. The trip up north had worn him out. Reconfiguring routes for gun trading and meeting with other MCs to negotiate new terms had them all stressed.

  “How was your…business trip?” she asked.

  Moose snorted. “Long, tense and draining,” he said.

  “Sounds like a barrel of fun,” she said with mock excitement.

  “Oh yeah, a male version of a beauty spa.”

  She laughed. “This is why you’re my favorite person. You don’t just get my humor you revel in it with me.”

  “Your smart assery is what caught my eye in the first place. Well, along with that banging ass you’ve got,” Moose said.

  “Such a romantic, careful or you’ll give me the vapors, sir.” She fanned her face.

  He burst out laughing. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?”

  “May have been told it a time or two, but I think it’s in my blood.”

  “Trying to pawn it off on the gene pool?” he joked.

  “If you met my mom, you’d understand. She’s not exactly ’fifties housewife material. Still, I love her to bits and pieces and wouldn’t trade her for the world.”

  Her words triggered the orphaned child inside. In that instant, he missed his mother more than he had in years. Memories of the sweet smells of baking, her kind voice and constant encouragement to get out and explore the world assaulted him. Confined to a wheelchair in the last years of her life, the once vibrant woman had become a shadow of her former self. Stifled, embarrassed and beaten by the disease that stole everything, she’d been nothing but a shell toward the end.

  “It’s good you appreciate her. You never know how long you have with the people you care about.” His soft-spoken words were out of his mouth before he could think better of saying them. Fuck.

  “You sound like you speak from experience.”

  “Yeah, I do. My mom passed when I was pretty young. She was actually the catalyst for my move down here. She lived in the States before and always talked about how amazing it was. I figured, I should come and see what
the hype was about,” he said.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.

  His body tensed as he waited for the third degree to start.

  “Do we live up to the hype?” she asked.

  I’d better be careful, ’cause I could fall in love with this girl. She read him like a book, which was no easy feat.

  “I think so. Miss the free health care though.”

  She laughed, and the darkness that had crept into the car was banished. They arrived at the drive-in, and she parked in the last row. “We have to do this straight Outsiders style. Neither of us would be Socs, and Greasers always had to be in the back.” She grinned at him.

  Moose shook his head. “You want me to start calling you Ponyboy?”

  “Come on now, we both know I’d be Two-Bit.” She winked.

  He chuckled. “You hungry?”

  “Nope, I stuffed my face with the girls earlier at Corked. How about you?”

  “Naw, I’m good. The only thing I really need is to relax. Shit was balls to the walls for seven days straight.” He rolled his neck, loosening the stiffness that had settled into his muscles.

  She scrolled through the radio stations, finding the one the theater broadcasted over. Sounds of previews filled the car.

  Halfway through Frankenstein, Moose found his eyes glued to Joey’s rack. The scoop-neck shirt teased him with a view of her cleavage and he wanted a closer inspection. He eyed the backseat and decided to test his luck. Slyly, he slipped his hand onto her thigh and slowly made his way higher, massaging her through the denim as he went. She moaned, and he moved up to the inseam of her jeans, going in for the kill. Her heat radiated through the fabric and he growled. “I bet you’re wet for me,” he said.

  “Moose, what are you doing?”

  “Making it a night neither of us will forget. What’s a drive-in experience without a little make-out?”

  “I’m looking into those blue eyes of yours and I’m convinced what you want is much more than a little groping.”

  “You scared?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh no, I’m game if you are.”

  The determination visible in her locked jaw and dark eyes made him laugh. They were an island on their own in the back row. The light from the massive screen lit the car up just enough to glean her expressions. “Then open your legs for me, Jo-Jo.”

  A heartbeat passed and her legs parted like the gates of heaven.

  “That’s my girl.” He rubbed her, pressing the material and her panties against her clit. “Does it feel good, baby?”

  She lifted her hips and rocked with his motion. “Yes.”

  “I think we can do even better.” He paused and she whimpered. “Shh.” He unbuttoned the top of her jeans and slid his hands down inside, past the soft silk of her underwear. Her heat warmed his fingers as it coated them. “So damn wet.”

  “See what you do to me, lover?”

  Her whispered endearment went straight to his dick. The more he saw of her, the more he liked. “That’s nothing compared to what I have planned.” Moose circled her clit and moved down to dip inside her center. Her walls clung to his fingers as he watched her come to life.

  Her head fell back, and her breath came in small puffs. Her lids lowered, and she bit down on her bottom lip. She lifted her hips, impaling herself on his finger.

  He added another one, tilting his hand to penetrate deeper.

  Her chest rose and fell and she reached up to wrap her hands around his wrist. “More.”

  Moose added a third finger and increased his speed. “You’re so pretty when you come, baby. Are you going to do it for me?” He leaned down and nibbled her neck, sucking the skin into his mouth. He’d never been the hickey type, but he wanted everyone to know he had her shit on lock.

  “Moooose.” She stretched out the O’s, shaking as she ground onto his fingers. Her muscles flexed and he groaned as a gush of liquid flooded him and she put his fingers in a chokehold. He continued to manipulate her supple flesh as she came down from her high.

  “Jesus, Moose.” She turned her head to face him and gave a shaky smile.

  He removed his fingers from her jeans and brought them to his lips, holding her gaze as he sucked them clean. She licked her lips and his cock swelled. Joey wasn’t shy in the bed and had never said no to any of the things he wanted to try. He removed his fingers with a pop. “Best snack I ever had at the movies,” he teased.

  “You’re so dirty,” she whispered.

  “And you love every minute of it.”

  “I do, never claimed to be squeaky clean.”

  “Then come taste yourself.” He issued the command and mentally held his breath.

  Joey leaned across the seat, cupped the back of his neck and licked at his mouth, like a cat seeking cream.

  The delicate flicks of her tongue set off tiny bombs in his nervous system. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and climbed over the console to sink into his lap. He gripped her hips and ground up.

  A gasp left her lips as she pulled away. “I taste delicious.”

  “Yes you do.” He framed her round face with his hands and pulled her back down for a searing kiss.

  Her hand snaked down between them and cupped his hard-on.

  Moose jerked and broke their lip-lock. “You’re feeling adventurous, eh?”

  “Very,” she purred.

  “Then don’t let me stop you, Jo-Jo.”

  She hesitated and searched his face.

  “Go ahead, baby, make me come.”

  The tension eased and she positioned herself between the dash and his knees.

  He pushed the seat back as far as it would go, then watched spellbound as she unbuttoned his jeans. His dick sprang forth.

  “Someone missed me,” she cooed.

  “More than you can imagine. Now wrap that soft hand of yours around me and stroke.” She gripped his base, and he moaned his approval. “Good girl. You like taking orders?”

  “I do from you.” The breathless quality of her voice made his dick twitch.

  “Gets me off thinking about you doing anything I say.”

  “Me too.” The words were spoken so low he almost didn’t hear her.

  “Let’s play a game of Moose says, then baby. Move faster, faster, that’s it.” He struggled to maintain control as she worked him over. “It’s so good, Jo-Jo.”

  Joey gave him a tiny smile.

  Pleasing me actually makes her happy. A heady sense of power swept in and forced him to test the unchartered waters. “I want you to take me in your mouth.”

  Her head jerked up, and she stared at him with eyes as round as bowling balls.

  “Now.”

  She blinked and rubbed his thighs.

  His heart knocked against his ribs. Is she really going to do this?

  Leaning forward, she flicked her tongue at the sensitive spot under his tip.

  He buried his fingers in her hair as she swallowed him into her mouth. “That’s it, baby, better get Daddy off fast. We don’t want to get caught, do we?”

  “Uh, uh,” she hummed around him, sending tendrils of fire throughout his body. The powerful suction of her mouth and the magic of her strokes in time sent him straight toward bliss. It had been too long since he had that talented mouth of hers at work on him. “I’m going to fuck that pretty mouth of yours and come down your throat.”

  Joey moaned, and he pushed her head down. She took him deep, gagging as she adjusted to his girth. He’d never been this rough, but the submission did something funny to him. To see this strong, independent woman willingly give her power over to him for safekeeping blew his mind. She hummed, and he released the load he’d been holding in for over a week.

  Chapter Five

  “Are we really going back to the scene of the crime?” Hilary said.

  “Crime? I met my future husband here.” Juliette shoved her lightly and she laughed.

  “I kid, I kid.” Hil held her hand up in surrender, and Joey shook
her head.

  Lunch hadn’t worked out with Evonne’s schedule, so they decided to ease the path to ambush with cocktails and dancing.

  “Where is the ball and chain? I’m shocked he let you out of his sight,” Joey teased with a wink.

  “Are we talking about me or you? You and Moose were holed up the entire week,” Juliette retorted.

  “He was gone for a while.” Joey shrugged.

  “A whole week,” Hil repeated.

  “Someone’s got it bad,” Juliette taunted.

  “Shut up,” Joey mumbled, putting on a finishing coat of red lip gloss. “I declare myself beautified and ready to party my ass off. You still playing DD, Hil?”

  “Yeah, I have no desires to lose my inhibition. Lord knows I’d end up a sobbing, mascara-smeared mess.” Hil shook her head.

  “’Rents still playing tug-o-war?” Joey asked, wrapping an arm to give her friend a quick hug.

  “Yes, which is stupid. I mean, it’s not like I have to choose one of them to live with.” Hil rolled her eyes. “I understand my mom feels betrayed and Dad royally fucked up. But he’s still my dad. I can’t just cut him out completely.” Hil sighed. “I’m also not ready to cozy up to his home-wrecking hussy either. I mean how cliché, the secretary? It’s insane how I look at them now and think maybe I never knew them. Because if they were the golden couple they appeared to be on the surface, how the hell could this be going on?” She tucked a few curls behind her ears. “Makes me doubt my ability to judge people, and I don’t even know what I think about true love now. They were always my example…ugh.” She shook her head. “This isn’t where I want my head to be tonight.”

  Juliette added a hug of her own. “There’s no way you could’ve known if your mother didn’t. Some people are good at playing a role, and your dad’s job took him away a lot. It made it easier.”

  “I know that logically. But since when do emotions follow logic?” Hil concluded.

  “Never, that’s why they fucking suck,” Joey said.

  Juliette laughed. “Oh yeah, Moose is rubbing off on you. Any minute now, you’ll be hitting us with an eh.”