Steel Justice (A Romantic Suspense) (5 page)

I hope the rest of the guys are sober enough to make it the short distance back to the hotel. Not that we are doing any actual driving at the moment. More like walking our bikes along with the heel of our boots in the traffic.

Hell, walking might be faster.

The good news is, as long as my crew doesn’t pass out and tip their bike over, nobody will get hurt tonight. Guess I shouldn’t be bitching about the stalled traffic, considering how wasted most of them are.

Up ahead, I spot a cowboy hat bouncing along with the crowd of people on the sidewalk. I do a double take. Surely it isn’t the beer tub babe from the bar? What the hell would she be doing wandering around the streets this time of night?

I motion to Flint to get his attention.

“Take the crew on back to the hotel,” I yell over the roar of motorcycles. “I’ll catch up.”

“Where are you going?”

“Tell you later.”

I pull off to the side to allow the other members of the Steel Infidels to go by. I wait until they pass me before I begin slowly trailing behind the cowboy hat.

It’s her, alright.

She’s wearing the same clothes she had on at the bar, except now she is carrying a big heavy bag slung over one shoulder.

I pull the bike up alongside her.

“Hey gorgeous! Where are you going?”

She doesn’t speak or even acknowledge that she hears me. Instead, she looks straight ahead and keeps walking.

“Wait up a minute! Where are you headed? I can give you a ride.”

No response.

Fuck! She is one tough cookie.

Not to be deterred so easily, I pull ahead then run the front wheel of the bike up on the sidewalk in front of her, blocking her path.

“Jesus, man!” says a man walking close behind her. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Fuck off,” I say.

He gives me a long look, as if he’s considering confronting me further. Thinking better of it, he walks around me without another word.

She abruptly stops walking and crosses her arms in irritation. She obviously isn’t as pleased to see me as I had hoped.

“What the hell do you want?” she asks. “I already told you ‘no’ a half dozen times. I’m not interested, get it? Nothing personal. Please just leave me alone.” Her eyes are shooting daggers at me. She looks even hotter when she is mad.

“I thought you might need a ride,” I explain. “That’s all. The bag you’re carrying looks awfully damn heavy. Hop on the back of my bike and I’ll deliver you wherever you want to go. Where are you staying?”

“None of your damn business,” she replies, a little out of breath from the walking.

Her breasts are heaving, and I can’t help but stare at them. She’s still wearing the white bikini top as before with an unbuttoned short-sleeved jacket over it. 

“What if I said I’m making it my business? Look around. Everyone else is partying and having fun. You, on the other hand, look like you’re about to burst out crying any second. What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

She waves a hand in front of my nose.

“Do you mind looking at my face instead of my boobs when you’re talking to me?” she says. “That is, if you really want an answer. As far as I know, they don’t respond to questions.”

I grin at her. “So what do they respond to?” I tease, reluctantly tearing my eyes away from her tits.

“Is your filthy mind in the gutter all the time?” she asks with a disgusted look on her face.

I start to reply with an even dirtier comment about the things I could do to make her tits respond then stop when I notice the dark circles under her eyes. She’s clearly on the verge of falling over from exhaustion.

I feel a tinge of regret for teasing her. This might not be the time or the place.

“I’m sorry, okay? Let’s start over. You’re obviously beat and I’m offering you a ride. No strings attached. What do you say?”

She lets out a tired sigh and slings the bag off her shoulder on to the ground.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I had a falling out with my roommates, so I split. I’m trying to find a cheap hotel with a vacancy and I’m not having much luck. Everything is booked up for bike week. I’ve already checked every hotel on this end of the strip, so I’m going to keep walking until I find something.”

“Where is your car?”

“Obviously not here.”

The thought of her not having a sure place to go in the middle of the night or even a reliable way to get there worries me. Even so, I’m willing to bet there is more to her story than she is letting on. I also suspect there is a guy involved that she isn’t telling me about, a guy that will soon be history if I have anything to say about it.

“So what’s your plan?” I ask. “To walk the streets until you’re ten miles from the strip? Everything is booked solid. Most people made their reservations a year ago. You look exhausted. Come on. I’ll take you back to my room where you can grab a shower, change clothes, and get a couple hours of sleep.”

She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a dubious look. I take it as encouragement to keep talking.

“In the morning, I’ll take you out to breakfast and we’ll figure out something. I know your boss pretty well. I’ll talk to him and see if any of the other girls needs a roommate. Roger will help you out. I’m sure of it. He’s a decent guy.”

She doesn’t answer right away.

I can’t tell if she’s considering my offer or if she’s getting ready to tell me to go to hell and never show my face near her again.

A deep boom of thunder rumbles in the distance, far out over the ocean. I cock an eyebrow at her.

“My generous offer is about to expire in ten seconds. I suggest you make a decision quickly. I’m not a fan of riding in the rain, and I'm guessing you aren’t either.”

“I’m not having sex with you,” she blurts out.

I burst out laughing. “Suit yourself. I don’t remember asking you to. I wouldn’t have sex with you anyway. Not even if you got down on your knees and begged. I have high standards to uphold.”

A smile tugs around her lips that she quickly hides. “Glad to get that settled then,” she says.

I feel a tiny glimmer of hope. There might be a chance with her after all. Reaching for her bag, I securely strap it to the back of the bike. Surprisingly, she doesn’t protest or argue with me. I rev the throttle.

“Climb on, if you’re coming. I don’t have all night to stand around chit-chatting.”

She hesitates, still unsure if she’s making the right decision. I can’t blame her. She’s taking a big risk riding off with a stranger. For all she knows, I could be a serial killer.

I’m not kidding myself. If she wasn’t desperate, going with me wouldn’t be an option. I’m usually not a man to take advantage of a woman’s bad situation. Sometimes though, like now, it’s the only way to move things along quickly.

“I don’t even know your name,” she says. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s Jesse Mason, and now you know.”

She takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m Trish, short for Patricia.” 

After sliding a leg over the back of the bike, she tentatively places a hand on each side of my waist.

“You had better hold on tighter than that, Trish,” I say to her over my shoulder. ”Sorry I don’t have a helmet for you. The beautiful state of Florida says we don’t need one. I’ll drive careful so you won’t have anything to be scared of.”

She grips me tighter and my cock starts to swell.

“It’s okay,” she breathes into my ear. “I’m not afraid of motorcycles. Bikers, however, are a whole different story.”

***

W
hen we reach the hotel, my crew is waiting outside for me in the parking lot. They raise their hands in greeting and openly stare at the pretty girl riding behind me.

Trish slides off the bike and quickly tugs down her short skirt. Sam lets out a low whistle of appreciation.

“Cut it out,” I say curtly. “That’s enough.”

He blinks in surprise and the rest of the crew breaks out into laughter. For a reason I don’t understand myself, I want the guys to know this girl is different and not like the low-class broads we usually pick up.

I won’t tolerate any disrespect toward her.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

I take her bag and point toward the door to my room located on the street level. I usher her in and turn on the lights.

Trish takes two steps inside and goes dead still when she sees the oversized king bed in the center of the room.

“Don’t start freaking the fuck out now,” I say. “Trust me. I’ve never had to force a woman in my life to have sex with me, and I don’t have any plans to start now.”

She raises her eyebrows at me. “Never had to force a woman, huh? I can believe it. You have some smooth moves, I’ll give you that. Doesn’t mean I’ll fall for them, so don’t get any ideas.”

“At least you noticed. That’s a start.”

Moving past her across the room, I throw open the door to the bathroom. “You can put some of your stuff in here on the sink. There should be plenty of fresh towels, soap, and shampoo. I’m going to check in with my crew. Give you some privacy while you take a shower and change.”

She nods and I turn to leave.

“Jesse?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Saving ladies in distress is my specialty. I have a business card and everything. It’s a booming business these days. I’m thinking about starting up franchises in other cities.”

She frowns and chews on her bottom lip.

“Look, you didn’t save me. I was doing perfectly fine on my own. I would have found a place eventually.”

The words had no sooner come out of her mouth when a big streak of lighting popped, followed by a roll of thunder that shook the building. The power flickered off for a moment before coming back on. 

I hide a grin. “If you say so.”

There isn’t any reason to argue. We both know her situation was looking dire when I came along. I’m just glad I did.

For both of our sakes.

“I’ll be back in a little bit.”

I leave the room to give her a chance to settle in. Sleeping arrangements are going to be tricky. My cock has been rock hard from the time she climbed on the bike and pressed her breasts close against my back. Lying next to her all night and not touching her sweet body is going to take every bit of willpower I possess.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it through.

It will be a testament to my strength if I can.

***

A
fter enduring an hour of good-natured teasing from the men, I head back inside. Between the lingering effects of alcohol and my own wishful thinking, I’ve almost half-convinced myself that the girl waiting for me in my hotel room wants a good hard fuck as much as I do.

Maybe that's her intention all along.

To play coy and act disinterested when in fact she wants nothing more than to wrap her legs over my shoulders and pull me deep into her tight pussy.

The sight of her body snuggled sound asleep under my sheets erases that thought quickly. Well hell! Looks like I’m not getting lucky tonight after all. Not unless I want to be a great big asshole and wake up a woman who is dead to the world.

She looks peaceful with her dark hair spread out on the pillow. My fingers itch to run through the long strands. I imagine how it would feel wrapped around my cock.

She’s right.

My mind is in the gutter most of the time.

At least when she’s around. 

With each breath, her long eyelashes flutter on her cheeks. Without the disguise of heavy makeup, she looks even sweeter and more innocent than before.

I reach over to pull the sheet up higher around her. On her upper arm, just below the sleeve of her t-shirt, is a dark purple bruise. A fresh one too, newly formed. Maybe even from today.

White-hot rage fills me.

Someone hurt her, and it wouldn’t have been at the bar. Roger takes good care of his employees, and he would never let a girl be manhandled. All an employee has to do is whisper a hint that a customer is out of line and security will throw them out on their ass in an instant. No questions asked or explanations given. So it had to have happened somewhere else before she came into work.

Who did this to her?

The thought of a man grabbing her arm and squeezing it hard enough to make a bruise that ugly makes my blood boil.

Tomorrow, I’m going to get answers.

And when I find out who hurt her, I’m going to make them pay.

––––––––

T
he sensation of a warm hand settled on my stomach slowly invades my brain, breaking through the deep dreamy fog of sleep. I open my eyes slowly and blink.

It is still dark outside and eerily quiet. No sounds of motorcycle engines revving or drunk people yelling.

Where am I?

The naked body snuggled close behind me is warm and hard. The only thing I want to do is close my eyes and sink back into sleep. Just for a few more blissful minutes. 

Suddenly, the memories of the previous night’s events flood back in a rush.

Oh crap!

I remain perfectly still so as not to wake up Jesse. The man who I now realize is spooned close with his hand on my waist. 

Surprisingly, he is a man of his word.

He didn’t attempt to put the moves on me last night or even try to kiss me. A tad disappointing. Not that he would have been successful. Still, the effort would have been nice.

I meant what I said. No way was I sleeping with him. A one-night stand isn’t something I would consider doing. Not even for a man as drop-dead gorgeous as Jesse.

For a brief moment, I wonder what would happen if I turned over and wrapped my hand around the thick cock pressed against my ass. It would be so natural and easy to go with the flow.

Until it was all over.

And I was left with nothing but regrets.

Stop thinking about it, Trish. Don’t even go there.

I must have been totally wiped out to not wake up when he climbed into the bed next to me. Vaguely, I remember trying my best to stay awake while waiting for him to return. I closed my eyes for just a second, and that is the last thing I remember.