Biker's Bride: A Bad Boy Romance (Demons MC) (Includes bonus novel Kinged!) (33 page)

Rex adjusted himself next to me. “It’s not a great story.”

“Where did you live?”

He sighed, eyes still out on the water. “My parents died when I was young, and I grew up in the foster system. Philly is a tough place to live when you don’t have much.”

I felt myself go still. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

He looked at me and grinned. “It’s not a big deal. It was a long time ago, and I didn’t have it that bad, really. People were pretty nice, but I had to learn to take care of myself early on. Guys I knew ended up much worse off than I am, believe it or not.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“Most people can’t. I got lucky though, and was adopted by a really nice family when I was ten. I was pretty old to get adopted, but I guess they liked me. They tried for years to conceive and couldn’t, and finally my foster dad put his foot down, and I guess they adopted me after that.”

“What were they like?”

“Mitch was my stepdad. He was a good guy. He taught me how to fight. Apparently he was a great boxer when he was younger. He was really good to me. Made me into the man I am today, minus all the drugs. My stepmom was a little less interested in me though.”

“What do you mean, less interested?” I moved closer to him. I could feel the heat growing off his body and wanted to breathe him in.

“I never really found out, but it always felt like Mitch was the one who wanted me. He took care of me, made sure I had what I needed, taught me to fight. Cindy wasn’t around much, mostly just worked and stuff. She was more interested in her television shows than in trying to raise me.”

“Do you still see them?”

He shook his head. “When I was seventeen, Mitch died of cancer.”

“I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t believe how terrible his early years were. What I went through was nothing compared to what he had to endure.

“It was hard. When he was gone, Cindy basically dropped out. She stopped giving a shit, stopped working, more or less fell apart. One day, I woke up for school, and she was gone. I have no idea where she went, no note or nothing.”

“She just disappeared?” I couldn’t even imagine the kind of person that would do that to a child.

“As far as I know. After that, I found ways to take care of myself. I fell into some pretty bad shit pretty fast, and now here I am. I did what I had to do to survive, but I’m not proud of a lot of it.”

I could hardly believe his story, but I knew it happened all the time in big cities. Still, his life was way harder than anything I experienced. No wonder he fell in with the people he did. I couldn’t even come close to judging him for his decisions, especially when he had to deal with what he did, and at such a young age.

I reached up to his face and felt the stubble along his cheek before kissing him softly on his full lips. He pulled me closer and kissed me back, and I fell into our embrace with hunger. We broke apart and I felt my breath catch, the desire for him intense.

“So what’s with your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He laughed. “It means ‘king’ in Latin.”

“Is it a family name?”

“I’m not really sure, honestly. The orphanage said that’s what my mom put on the birth certificate, but I never got a chance to ask her.”

“I’m sorry. It’s a good name.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, that’s my sob story,” he said quietly. “What about you, spoiled girl?”

“Not all that much to say.”

He cocked his brow at me. “Your turn to share now.”

I laughed. “Fine, alright. I guess we should start with the big stuff. Remember, maybe ten years ago, those commercials for The Amazing Lucille?”

Rex looked confused, but then recognition bloomed across his face. I knew he’d remember; most people our age remembered The Amazing Lucille. Her huge blond hair, her kitschy scarves and crystal balls, and the incredibly catchy jingle were tough to forget. They were deeply burned into my mind from a young age, at any rate. Those commercials were a part of our generation’s childhood, as much as Power Rangers and Pokémon. They ran all day and all night, and people used to hum the tune at me all the time, especially when they found out who I was. The Amazing Lucille was incredibly popular for a few years, and regularly did the talk show circuit. She was basically everywhere.

“Yeah, I remember that. She was a psychic or something, right?”

“Yep, Lucille was supposedly psychic. She was my mom.”

Rex laughed. “Are you kidding me? That was your mom?”

I let out a long sigh and nodded. I was used to that reaction. People only knew what they saw on TV, and for the most part, they saw good things. Everyone assumed I must be rich, because my mom did talk shows and commercials. The truth was, we were very comfortable, for a while at least. Then things went to shit.

“She sure was. My dad was her business manager, and together they ran their little scam for years.”

“What do you mean, their scam?” he asked.

“Have you seen their commercial on TV for a while? Heard her name anywhere?”

He shook his head, eyes concerned. “I figured they just weren’t popular anymore.”

“Well, remember how I told you we lost all our money? My dad was arrested for fraud, and that destroyed my mom’s career. Apparently, my dad was trying to pass her off as the real deal, and was giving out stock advice to businessmen based on her predictions. Eventually, people lost money, and the Feds got involved. I haven’t seen my dad since the trial. He’s been in jail ever since I started high school. He’ll be in there for a few more years at least. The longer the better.”

“That’s pretty fucked up,” Rex said quietly.

I nodded. “Very fucked up. It basically destroyed my mom. She lives in a trailer down in Florida now, cleans motels during the day, and gives readings at night still.”

“Is she for real? I mean, a real psychic?”

I shrugged. I had been asking myself that question my entire life, and still had no good answer. The truth was, Lucille could do some freaky things, and her advice was sometimes dead on. Sometimes though, she was completely full of it. The fraud trial destroyed any reputation she had, and tarnished her image forever in my mind. Still, I remembered the creepy predictions that came true, and never knew for sure. Part of me wanted to believe, but most of me wanted to forget she even existed.

“I honestly don’t know. She’s probably not, but I never found out for sure.”

“Don’t see her much?”

I shook my head. “Pretty much gave up on the two of them when my dad got arrested.”

He wrapped his arm around my hips and pulled me against him. The river spread out before us, and I reflected on our stories. He had it much harder than I did, that was a given, but we both experienced losing a parent, even if it was in very different ways. Our stories were oddly similar, even though they ended up in completely opposite places.

“Sorry about your people,” he whispered.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry about yours.”

I felt him shrug, but he didn’t respond.

“Can I ask you something?” I said.

“Go ahead.” I wasn’t sure why I needed to say it out loud, but I felt strangely compelled. He was in a sharing mood, and I figured then was probably the time to ask.

“Are you part of a gang?”

I felt his body stiffen in response. He pulled away slightly and looked down at me, his face a stony mask. I couldn’t read his expression at all.

“Who told you that?”

“Well, my friend Amy. She’s engaged to Shane Green, and I guess you knew his brother.”

His expression didn’t change. “Fucking Greens.”

“I just wanted to know, I guess. To understand you better.”

He looked back out over the water. “I wouldn’t call it a gang, exactly. It’s the Irish mob. At least that’s what they call it.”

“And Michael’s the boss?”

“Yes, he is. It’s all dangerous shit. And it’s why I want you to stay away.”

“What do you mean, stay away?”

He looked back at me, his eyes sad and pleading. “This is a really bad time, Darcy. The fights are getting harder, and Michael is getting more serious about me paying back my debt. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I lose.”

“You wouldn’t let something bad happen to me.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. But I can’t control everything around me.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to see me anymore?”

He let out an exasperated breath and grit his teeth. “I do want to see you, but I don’t want to put you in any danger. This isn’t schoolgirl shit, Darcy. This is serious.”

“I know it’s serious. I’m not an idiot.”

“Maybe you are, if you want to be with me.”

“Fuck you.” He could be such an asshole sometimes.

His face softened. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

He was quiet again, and we lapsed back into silence. I could feel the tension radiate from his body, and I was a mess of conflicting emotions and confusion. He seemed genuinely afraid of Michael, and he was obviously looking out for my safety. But I still trusted him, and found myself even more drawn into his world, despite the danger. Looking out at the city, sitting on a secluded rock, I felt more alive than I had in years. His strong body beside me was more solid than the stone we sat on.

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” I said quietly.

He looked at me, his eyes unreadable in the darkness. “I don’t want you to go anywhere, either.”

Before I could speak, he leaned forward and kissed me hard. I wrapped my arms around him as he turned his body against mine, kissing me deeply. His tongue parted my lips and ran against mine, soft and smooth. He adjusted his body and pressed me back. I felt his weight shift and his hips press against mine. I was laying back on the rock, its cold hard weight pressing against my back as Rex’s warmth pressed against my front. I felt my passion rising, running up my spine, and his hands roamed across my body as he continued to kiss me. His hips began to grind against my spot, and I groaned quietly. Part of me was afraid we would get caught, but that part was a quiet minority. All I wanted was Rex and his body. He could have me wherever he wanted.

As I felt myself falling deep into the motion of our bodies, his phone began to vibrate. I moved my mouth away from his.

“Is that a new toy,” I said. He shifted his weight and started to dig the phone from his pocket. He gave me a wicked grin.

“Hadn’t considered it, maybe we can give that a try.”

I watched as he checked the caller-ID, and his face immediately went from playful to serious. He opened the phone and answered it.

“What’s up?” I looked back toward the spiral staircase, but couldn’t see it through the trees and the night.

“Right now? Are you sure? Fine. I said fine.” He flipped the phone shut.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

He looked angry. “I have to go.”

“What’s going on?”

“That was one of Michael’s people. I have a job.”

“You don’t just fight for him?”

He stood and shoved the phone back into his pocket. I could see the hard outline of his cock straining against his shorts, and I assumed he didn’t want to leave.

“I told you I work for him. I do whatever I have to do.”

I stood up and followed as he walked quickly in the opposite direction of the spiral staircase. At the other end of the path were large stone stairs that led up toward the Water Works building and its Roman columns. We climbed the stairs quickly, and then started to walk back toward the Parkway. He didn’t hold my hand, and I had to work hard to keep pace.

“When can I see you again?” I asked.

He grunted and shook his head.

I didn’t want to press him, but I hated waiting between seeing him without any word.

“Can I see you after this job?”

“Not tonight.” His tone was firm.

“What are you going to be doing, anyway?”

He stopped walking and faced me. I nearly toppled directly into him. I felt like such a needy idiot, pressing him, but I was annoyed that we had been interrupted, and I wanted a straight answer from him.

“Listen, don’t ask any more questions about what I do for Michael.”

I looked up into his hard, beautiful face and realized that what I was mistaking for anger was actually fear.

“You can talk to me,” I said softly.

He shook his head. “No, I can’t. You don’t need or want to know what I do.”

“I’m here for you.”

“It’s too soon. Just, trust me.” He looked around the area as cars passed us on the left. “I have a bike just ahead. Do you need a cab?”

I shook my head. “No, I can walk.”

“I’ll call you soon.” He leaned in and kissed me. I breathed his smell deep and savored his skin, afraid it would be the last time I felt him. Finally, we broke apart, and he hurried over to a nearby bike rack. I watched him unchain his black bike, jump on, and speed off into traffic. I stood there for a few minutes savoring his still-lingering touch, until finally I realized I looked crazy daydreaming in the middle of the sidewalk. I hurried off toward my apartment, frustrated and uncertain.

I
still hadn’t heard from Rex by Saturday. I was worried, but I knew he would message me when it was safe. Or maybe he wouldn’t message me at all; everything he said suggested he thought it was best if we didn’t see each other. I honestly wasn’t sure what I wanted. If I was trying hard to be rational, I wanted nothing to do with him. Like Shane and Amy both said, he was a dangerous man involved with even more dangerous men, and being around him put me in a situation I didn’t think I could control.

But there was something pure about him that I couldn’t put into words. We couldn’t have come from more different backgrounds, and yet I felt like he understood what I had gone through. The specter of my past that kept haunting me was a part of his life too, even if his ghosts were different from mine. He may have had it harder, but we both understood what it meant to fend for yourself. Plus, when we were together, no matter what he said, I felt safe and secure in his arms. He did something to my body I had never felt before with anyone else.

Work flew by in alternating moments of pure boredom, characterized by Marissa’s droning stories, and moments of intense anxiety, defined by my daydreams about whatever dangerous job Rex was doing for Michael. Saturday rolled around, and I knew I needed some kind of distraction, so I called Amy up.