One Wild Ride Read online

“Oh fuck you.” Joey gave them the middle finger, and they laughed. She didn’t mind being the butt of the joke when comic relief was needed.

  “Evonne should be getting here soon, shouldn’t she?” Juliette wondered. Her brows drew together.

  Joey frowned. “What’s up, Jul, you look worried.”

  “Nothing, I’ve just been thinking about our last conversation a lot recently. I want to meet this guy, and I want to hear her side of it. If I even get the hint something’s wrong…”

  “We go to operation lockdown,” Hil said. The determination in her voice left no room for argument.

  “Operation, what?” Joey asked. “Did I miss something, because I know of no such plan?”

  “Not a plan, just a concept,” Juliette said.

  “Well, she’s a grown-ass woman, so I don’t know how we’d make her do anything.” Joey said. “I don’t want her to feel like she walked into the Spanish Inquisition. If we make her feel cornered, it could push her even closer to him.”

  “I don’t care if we cock-block her ass to death and dodge her every move. We have to look out for each other. Besides, with Gadget’s skills it wouldn’t be hard,” Hil said.

  Joey exchanged a surprised look with Juliette. “Whoa, we’re on favors territory?” Joey asked.

  “Do we have another Mayhem love connection?” Jul said.

  “No, nothing like that. He’s a great reference for my books,” Hil said, delivering a dismissive wave of her hand.

  Juliette huffed, rolling her eyes.

  Joey laughed. “Of course, what were we thinking?” she said.

  The doorbell rang. Showtime.

  “Don’t bum-rush her, we’re going to ply her with drinks first, remember,” Hilary said.

  “You know you’re starting to get scary with the plotting and cloak and dagger bit. We need to get you away from your computer more,” Joey said.

  They made their way downstairs, and Joey opened the front door to reveal a woman she almost didn’t recognize. Evonne could only be described as radiant. Her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled, and her outfit was on point. The little black dress hugged her full hips, showed off her slender waist and accented her large breasts.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” Joey asked.

  Evonne laughed. “You like it? Levi bought it for me on our trip. I wasn’t going to wear it, but then, I thought, what the hell? We promised each other we’d live a little.” She stepped inside and exchanged hugs and greetings with Juliette and Hil.

  “Now, we’re all here, we ready to head out?” Joey said.

  A chorus of yeses made her laugh.

  Three drinks in, the girls were outside on the patio for air, a fresh set of margaritas in assorted flavors in everyone’s hands, except for Hil, who had water.

  “It’s crowded tonight,” Juliette said.

  “Yeah, this place hasn’t lost any of its popularity,” Hil said.

  “Funny thing. I swore I saw some bikers,” Joey said shaking her head.

  “You would.” Evonne rolled her eyes.

  “Shut up. I have my man.” Joey nudged her playfully.

  “Speaking of that. I need to be filled in pronto,” Evonne demanded, turning to face Joey.

  “Only if you do me the same favor,” Joey said, quickly taking the opening.

  “Deal, but mine’s a hell of a lot less interesting, I’ll wager,” Evonne said.

  I’m not so sure about that. “I don’t know about that. Moose and I are dating,” Joey said.

  “Since when? How did this happen?” Evonne said.

  “A little bit after we got named best man and maid of honor. I kept it to myself because I wasn’t sure if it was worth mentioning,” Joey said.

  “And now?” Evonne arched her eyebrow.

  “It’s official, so I figured it was time to come clean because this won’t be over for a while,” Joey said.

  “How serious is this?” Evonne asked.

  “We’re having a good time and we like where we are. That’s all we really care about. You know I was never one for labels,” Joey said with a shrug.

  “True, wow. Congrats, girl,” Evonne said. She smiled, and the tension ran from Joey’s body. She had another supporter in her corner. Hilary might not be on team Moose and Joey yet, but she had time to come around.

  “Thank you, now dish. Who is this mystery man who’s kept you away from us and remains shrouded in shadows?” Joey said.

  “Okay, I expected that sentence to come from, Hil, not you.” Evonne chuckled.

  “Ditto,” Hil said.

  “You can’t blame us for wondering what the hell is going on. It’s not like you to be so closed off,” Juliette said.

  “I know, and I’m sorry for that. I was too busy arguing with myself to bring my relationship with Levi to the table,” Evonne said. She swirled her margarita and peered into the glass.

  “Why? What’s going on?” Juliette said as she placed a hand on Evonne’s arm.

  “He’s rich. Sickeningly so, old money, blue blood, trust accounts that he could live off for the rest of his life without working,” Evonne said. She ran a hand through her hair and frowned.

  Red flags waved in Joey’s mind, and alarm bells went off. It couldn’t be a coincidence, a guy like that coming around after Peter. Joey glanced around at her friends. None of them looked overly concerned. Maybe I’m paranoid.

  “And that’s a bad thing, why?” Hil said, eager to defend her friend if she put herself down.

  “Because it made me wonder what the hell his game was. I mean what would he want with me? I’m sure his future wife has been picked out since he was born,” Evonne explained in a subdued voice, tinged with uncertainty.

  “You should’ve told us. We would have reminded you how intelligent, independent and sexy as hell you are,” Joey said. She wanted to offer her friend support. Even if everything in her said Evonne should approach the situation with extreme caution.

  Evonne laughed. “I knew that, but I wasn’t ready to hear it, so I sort of dodged all of you. He called me out. We talked about things openly and I decided to give things a chance.” Evonne glanced down bashfully.

  Joey smiled. Technically it all made sense. They had their explanation for why she’d been so secretive. It should take the sinister tone away from the situation, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that had settled in her bones.

  “I’m happy for you. You deserve this, E!” Hil said as they all hugged her.

  “When can we meet him?” Juliette asked.

  Joey glanced at Juliette, and saw the concern in her eyes. So I’m not the only one still worried.

  “As soon as we can sync our schedules. Truth is, I’m lucky if I see him once a week between the two of us working so much,” Evonne said.

  “Leave it to you to find another workaholic,” Hil said.

  “Hey, go with what you know, right? I did a pros and cons list before I agreed to do this, you know?” Evonne said.

  Joey laughed. Their friend was doing just fine, regardless of how this played out.

  The familiar electronically altered voice floated outside, and Joey quickly downed the last of her strawberry margarita. “This is my song, guys. We have to get out there.” Swaying her hips to the beat, Joey closed her eyes as Take It Off by Kesha drifted to her ears.

  Like a child enthralled by a pied piper, Joey danced her way through the people to the center of the dance floor. Arms held above her head, she lost herself to the syncopated beat. She rocked her body down to the floor popping her chest as the freedom only music could bring flooded her. A warm, muscular body sidled up next to her, and she did the practiced spin and the smile all girls mastered in their club days. The sight that greeted her made her snicker. Like attracts like, I suppose.

  The golden-skinned warrior had a tattoo sleeve, a broad forehead, and a face that would make you think twice about trying him. The leather cut he wore boasted a yellow-and-black emblem she didn’t recogn
ize.

  “Sorry, friend, I’m very taken,” she said over the music.

  “I don’t see a ring, pretty lady.”

  She rolled her eyes. “We both know that doesn’t mean anything.”

  Joey saw the others approach and danced away, gesturing to them. They formed a protective wall, flanking her as they moved deeper into the crowd.

  “What was that about?” Juliette yelled over the music.

  Joey shrugged. “Barking up the wrong tree.”

  They danced for a few more songs before they headed to the bar.

  Hil waved down the bartender.

  The kind-faced brunette woman hurried over and smiled. “What can I get you ladies?”

  “Can we get a round of waters?” Hil requested.

  Joey fanned her face, shifting her weight as they waited.

  “It looks like you’re a biker magnet now,” Juliette said.

  “I don’t know why.” Joey shook her head.

  “Might be the outfit,” Evonne said.

  Joey peered down at the black jeans she’d paired with a black corset and three-inch-heeled boots. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “Nothing, but you’re giving out the badass chick vibe. It brings all the bikers to the yard,” Hilary sang, mimicking the Milkshake song.

  Joey snorted, rolling her eyes. Their waters arrived, and they moved over to a tall table to hydrate and recharge.

  “So, we meet again,” a masculine voice said.

  Joey glanced up at the biker and rolled her eyes. “You fly the wrong colors and belong to the wrong set. Let’s leave it at that,” she said.

  “You an old lady?” he asked, eyes widening.

  “Why do you need to know? You plan on contacting him?” Joey said. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

  “In case you’re too dense to get the hint, she’s not interested,” Hil said, lending her support.

  “All I’m trying to do is get a name, and I’ll take my leave of you lovely ladies,” the biker explained.

  Joey narrowed her eyes. “Joey,” she said.

  “Was that so hard?” the biker asked.

  “Isn’t this the part where you leave?” Joey said, folding her arms beneath her breasts as she studied the patch on his vest. “Snubs.”

  “I’ll be seeing you, beautiful.” Snubs turned on his heel and walked away.

  “Okay, that was weird,” Evonne said as she shivered.

  “I think you should tell Moose,” Juliette said.

  “Why? So, we can start some shit?” Joey shook her head.

  “Because it didn’t seem random. Why did he only want your name?” Hil said.

  “I don’t know, shits and giggles?” Joey shrugged. “Don’t read too much in this. We’re here to have a good time and not leave the bullshit behind.”

  “I’m not saying we need to leave now, but when we get home you need to hit him up,” Juliette offered.

  “Deal. For now, let’s hit up the dance floor, and keep on dancing ’til the world ends.” Joey shimmied her hips to the Britney Spears song, and the girls laughed, following her back onto the floor.

  * * * * *

  High from a night out, and freshly showered, Joey sank down onto her bed and grabbed the cell phone on her nightstand.

  You up? she texted Moose.

  Yeah, you home?

  She smiled. He’d been waiting to hear from her. Despite his need for space, he always kept tabs on her.

  Home showered, and about to turn in. Something strange happened at the club. I wanted you to hear it from me first. The phone rang, and she cringed. “Hello?”

  “What’s going on, Joey?”

  “I picked up an admirer in the club, which wouldn’t be worth mentioning, except he had a cut.”

  “What?” The word sounded clipped. “Did you tell him you were taken?”

  “Yeah, more than once. Told him he didn’t fly the right colors too.”

  “And the douche bag kept pressing the issue?” Moose’s voice lowered.

  “Even asked me if I was an old lady. He wouldn’t leave me alone until I told him my name.”

  “Son of a bitch.” A thud came over the phone line. “Who was this asshole and what was his M.C.?”

  “I didn’t see the back of his vest. But the patch said Snubs.”

  “Shit. I don’t even like the sound of that. Did you see colors?”

  “Black and yellow, I think.” Silence fell between them. “Moose.”

  “Jo-Jo, are you sure it was black and yellow?”

  The concern in his voice made her stomach ache. “Yes. What’s going on, Moose?”

  “The only M.C. in the area with those colors is the Crazy Eights. That’s hardcore one-percenter territory. They do their thing, and we do ours, respectfully keeping our noses the fuck out of their business. Did you catch his title?”

  “No.” Her voice shook.

  “Was he with his crew?”

  “I don’t know. I only saw him.”

  “Okay, probably a brother out for a good time and looking to score. Did you tell him I was with Mayhem?”

  “No.” Because I didn’t want to turn this into a battle. “I didn’t want to give him that much. I figured he’d get the picture and step off, which he did after I told him my name.”

  “That shit’s weird,” Moose spoke low.

  “I figured dude had one too many.”

  “Maybe. If you see him again anywhere, I need to know immediately.”

  “Done,” she said, toying with a frayed edge of her blanket.

  “Fuck, Jo-Jo, I don’t even like leaving you alone tonight.”

  “Then, come over and let me work out all that energy I accumulated dancing.”

  “You feeling adventurous?”

  His words worked something slumbering inside her. A need she couldn’t quite place rose in her belly. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Uh uh. You’re either in or out.”

  His playful tone piqued her interest. “I’m in.”

  * * * * *

  His body has been poised and ready to either fight or fuck since she dropped the bomb about Snubs. A name like that spoke volumes, especially in a one-percenter crew. What the fuck would he be doing sniffing around Joey? She didn’t exactly scream biker bitch material. A part of him wanted to chalk it up to a one-off, but the dude’s insistence on knowing her name bothered him.

  Moose needed to be careful how he handled this. If he wronged the Eights and it came back down on Mayhem, Tiny would have his head. The thought of any man putting their hands on his woman as if he had a right to anything she possessed pissed him off. He tightened his grip on the handlebars. He’d have to do his research. It seemed off that the Eights would even be at a club like that.

  Shoving the concern to the back of his mind, he approached her home and thought of all the wicked games he planned to play with her body. She’d given him the green light. The act of trust meant something. With the other girls willing to do anything to be seen on the arm of a lord, he never cared. The title he’d been forced to give her had pushed them to a level of intimacy he’d wanted to avoid but was man enough to admit he needed. It settled him. Took the sharpness off an edge he’d been developing. It felt good to have a feminine presence in his life who accepted him as is and understood his lifestyle.

  You couldn’t trust many people to watch your back or keep your business to themselves. So far, Joey had done nothing to raise a red flag. He pulled into her driveway, cut the engine and pushed out the kickstand before he stood, dismounted and walked over to the keypad on the side of the garage. How domestic. He punched in the proper sequence, pushed his bike inside, and lowered the door. Grabbing his saddlebags, he entered the house through the garage. They hadn’t been together long, but he had a key. With his odd hours, it was easier. He walked through the dark house, easily maneuvering around the layout in the kitchen, until he came to the stairs.

  At the top, he smiled at the line of light visible und
er her door. She wouldn’t be sleeping tonight if he had anything to say about it. He strode to the bedroom at the end of the hallway, pushed open the door, and froze.

  Joey lay across the bed in lingerie made of tiny pieces of lace that highlighted every curve. The black cups displayed her full breasts, and sheer black lace ran down her abdomen, stopping just above her pelvis as it webbed out. “I’ve been saving this for the right night.” She shrugged.

  Moose laughed. “I think you picked the right one, Jo-Jo. We’re going to have so much fun, you and I.”

  She licked her lips and shifted in the bed.

  “Are you nervous?” Moose asked.

  “A little. I’m not…” She cleared her throat. “I haven’t had many beaus, and none of them was anywhere near as—adventurous as you.”

  “Because they were idiots or unskilled. A woman like you inspires creativity.” He dropped his saddlebags by the door and walked over to kneel on the floor, running his fingers down her legs.

  Joey watched him from beneath her lashes.

  “Last chance to say no, Jo-Jo.”

  “No, I want it.”

  Her automatic response made him smirk. “And you’ll have it.” He leaned back and met her gaze. “We’ll start slow. I don’t want to frighten or overwhelm your senses. If you don’t like something, say ‘red’. You need me to slow down, say ‘yellow’. If you really, really like it.” He massaged the supple skin of her thick thighs. “‘Green’. Can you do that for me, baby?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Good. For now, sit there and look pretty. Ever since I saw you nude, I wanted to see you painted in more than my come.”

  Joey moaned, rubbing her thighs together.

  “I love the way you respond to me. I think you’ll like this, maybe as much as I will.” He removed his hands from her legs, stood, and walked over to his saddlebags, pulling out a lighter and the specialty candles that burned at a lower temperature than regular. The set mirrored the rainbow, ranging from red to a deep blue. He wanted to see them spread across her back in a tangled web of art that brought her pleasure on the edge of pain. A careful balance he would achieve to please her. “Do you know what these are?”

  “Candles. Are you trying to set the mood?”

  “Funny… No. I want to drip wax all over that beautiful brown skin.”