Read More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel) Online

Authors: Autumn Jones Lake

Tags: #Lost Kings MC #6

More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel) (6 page)

BOOK: More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel)
10.17Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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Not wanting to leave me alone on my birthday, he stops at Stewart’s for my favorite ice cream and we make a plan to stay up late watching cheesy eighties horror movies.

After the last movie, he turns to me. “You’re falling asleep. Time for bed.”

“I’m eighteen now. You can’t tell me when to go to bed,” I tease.

He groans and runs his hands through his hair.

At my bedroom door, he pulls me in for a hug. “Love you, baby sis. I’m proud of you, too. I hope you know that.”

Tears prick my eyes and I squeeze him tight. “I know. I love you, too.”

“Did you have a good birthday at least?”

I mentally run over the day. Almost having sex with Murphy. Rejecting Murphy. Spending time with my club family. Fighting with Axel. Not the best birthday ever, but certainly not my worst.

“Yes.”

“Good.” He hesitates and runs his hand over his cheek before continuing. “I need to make a quick run out to Syracuse tomorrow, so I’ll probably be gone when you get up.”

“Okay.” I don’t bother asking what he’s doing. It must be club business, otherwise he would have told me.

“I’ll leave some money on the counter for you, so you can get breakfast. There’s nothin’ in the fridge.”

On impulse, I reach up and give him another hug. “Thank you for always taking good care of me.”

He seems surprised and shakes his head, but I rush to explain. “I mean it. I’m an adult now. I can get a job and help out around here.”

“No. Your job is doing well in college.”

“But—”

“No.” He flashes a quick smile to cancel out the harshness. “I need you to get good grades so you can graduate and land a good job. Then you can take care of me in my old age.”

I can’t picture Marcel ever being old enough to allow me to take care of him. “Deal,” I answer.

He places another kiss on my forehead before going into his own room.

I didn’t have a drop of alcohol last night—you’d think the clubhouse would be the perfect place to sneak drinks, but you’d be oh-so wrong—and still, I wake up the next morning with a pounding headache.

Some of the pounding, I realize, is someone banging on the front door.

Annoyed at whoever decided to drop by this early, I turtle-walk my way into the living room. If it’s one of Marcel’s muffler bunnies, I’m getting out the shotgun.

It’s Murphy.

For some reason, I didn’t expect to see him for a while. A shiver of happiness throbs through me. I can’t help it. It’s how I always feel around him.

Then I remember seeing that girl clinging to his side and it pisses me off so much, I throw on a mask of indifference while he tries to talk to me about last night. I’ve got plenty of things to say about last night, but I’m too mad to have my words make any sense.

So instead, I act like the brat everyone thinks I am and piss him off. The slam of the front door jolts my heart, as if Murphy took a piece of it when he stormed out. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m up and running after him.

 

 

 

Last night did not go the way I’d planned. Not even a little bit. Nope. Heidi stayed glued to Axel’s side all night, then I caught her sneaking him upstairs. I had no right to stop them. Her brother wasn’t around for me to tattle on her. For a second, I thought Wrath would intervene. But he was no help either.

Confused by my inattention, Serena left the party early. Honestly, it was a relief. If I can’t have the girl I want, then I’d rather be by myself at this point. Maybe it’s too little too late as far as Heidi’s concerned. I don’t know.

I
do
know if I gave up every time life threw a challenge at me, I’d be dead in a ditch by now. So first thing the next morning, I ride over to Teller’s apartment. Wrath casually mentioned how Axel left early last night and Marcel had taken Heidi home a while later. Words that gave me some hope. Maybe she ended things with him?

I know Teller’s got club business to take care of, so he won’t be home. I’m praying like fuck Axel’s not using the opportunity to reconcile with Heidi or sneak in some alone time.

No other bikes in the parking lot’s a good sign.

Heidi taking for-fucking-ever to open the door is not.

“Hey. What are you doing here so early?” she asks in a low morning-rough voice that has me thinking about what it would be like to wake up next to her every day.

I aim for cheerful, instead of the pervy bastard who threatens to make an appearance. “It’s almost noon.”

“In case you forgot, my birthday party was last night. I got in late.”

At least I know the “got in late” applies to her brother giving her a ride home and not her boyfriend. I ignore her sarcasm. “We still need to talk.”

She yawns and opens the door wider. “You could have at least brought me breakfast.”

Jesus Christ. A braless Heidi in tiny flannel shorts, tank top, and not much else is not what I need in front of me right now.

“I’ll take you out for breakfast later. First, we need to talk.”

“About whaaat?” she whines as she walks back into her bedroom.

I’m trying not to drool over her long bare legs walking away from me or notice the swish of her ass in the tight flannel.

I expected her to shut her bedroom door, change, and come back out. But the door stays open. Cautiously, I stick my head inside and find her under the covers.

“Heidi?”

“What?”

“Can we talk?”

One of her hands flails out from underneath her comforter. “Speak.”

Is she deliberately trying to tick me off?

After yesterday, I think it’s best I stay away from her bed. But I’m irritated that she won’t look at me.

“It would be easier if you’d look at me.”

“Blake, I’m tired. Spit it out or let me go back to sleep.”

“Never mind.” I don’t fuckin’ need this shit. She made it clear last night, and she sure as fuck is making it clear right now, she doesn’t give a fuck.

The slam of the front door behind me isn’t as satisfying as I expected.

 

I
’m halfway to my bike when I hear the light
thud, thud, thud
of Heidi running down the stairs behind me. “Blake, wait!”

Everything in me stops moving. I turn around in time to catch her as she throws herself at me. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. I can’t stand when you’re mad at me.”

Ah, shit.

I wrap my arms tight around her and squeeze. “I can’t ever stay mad at you.”

After a second, I realize she’s still wearing the tank top, sorry excuse for a pair of shorts, and no shoes. “You shouldn’t be out here like this.”

By
this
I mean the barely-there clothes, but also the bare feet. “You’re gonna get a splinter or something in your foot.”

“I think I already did.” Her mouth turns down. She picks her foot up and wraps her hand around it, inspecting for damage. The movement means she’s hopping around on one foot. Braless.

Jesus. Eighteen or not, she’s fucking clueless.

“Come on.” I crouch down and she wraps herself around me for a piggyback ride, the same way she’s done since she was little.

The pleasure of her body plastered against my back barely registers before the rumble of another bike enters the parking lot.

Fucking Axel.

“Shit,” Heidi mumbles and tries to scramble off me. But I’ve got an iron grip on her legs.

“Blake, let me down.”

“No.”

“Blake, come on. He’s gonna get pissed.”

Something about her tone stops me. I don’t know how to express the rage welling up in me, though. I find out Axel’s ever laid a hand on her, I’ll fucking murder him—slowly and painfully. I allow her to slide down, but wrap my hand around her arm. “What do you mean?”

“What do you think? We had a fight last night.”

“About what?”

“What we always fight about.
You
.”

I’m too distressed that she spends a second being unhappy to take any pleasure in finding out they fight about me. “Did he hurt you?”

“No! Knock it off.” She shakes out of my grasp about the same time Axel pulls into a spot next to my bike.

I have to give Axel credit. He’s a brave little bastard, because he strolls right up to us and nods at me as if nothing’s wrong. “Morning.”

I fold my arms over my chest and acknowledge the greeting with a nod.

“You okay?” he asks Heidi.

“She’s fine. We were in the middle of something.”

Heidi smacks my arm, but it might as well be a tap from a butterfly.

Axel’s done being polite. He ignores me and focuses on Heidi. “Are we going to Penny’s or not?”

“Yeah, later. Just let me…”— her head swivels between the two of us—“take care of this. I’ll call you.”

Axel narrows his eyes at Heidi. “Fine,” he says. I’m really not liking the disrespect in his tone. No one, don’t give a fuck who, should talk to Heidi like that. But since I’m hoping soon it won’t be an issue, I let it go.

He takes off without another word. You’d think a real man would stay and fight for his girl. “See, even he knows it’s pointless to fight this.”

“God, you’re a caveman. What’d you want to do, fight to the death for me?”

Yeah, kinda. If that’s what it takes.

By the look on her face, she knows what I’m thinking and it isn’t appreciated.

She groans and turns to head back upstairs. I have to run to catch up with her. “Still want your piggy back ride?”

“No.”

We don’t say anything else until we’re inside. I make the mistake of trying to kiss her and she wriggles away from me.

Confused, I reach for her again. “What’s going on?”

“I explained last night. I can’t do this.”

“Heidi—”

“No. I made a mistake. I’m not
that
girl. I don’t want to be. I don’t cheat on my boyfriend.”

“Then break up with him.” There. Seems pretty simple to me.

She stares at me for a second—probably to see if I’m joking, which I’m not.

Her face screws into what at first seems like anger. “Does Serena know you’re here?” By the soft tone she uses, I know she’s hurt.

“She has nothing to do with us.”

“So you invite her to family weddings and birthday parties, but she’s not your girlfriend?”

“No,” I answer evenly.

“Why the hell did you invite her to
my
birthday party? After you said… After we…?” She chokes on the last word and points at her open bedroom door. I’m furious at Axel for pulling that prank, but I don’t offer him up as an excuse. Even though I’m one hundred percent positive he’s the reason Serena ended up there last night, throwing the blame on him seems like a pussy thing to do.

BOOK: More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel)
10.17Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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