Chaser (A Category 5 Knights MC Romance Book 1) (3 page)

The back of my skull is throbbing.
 

All I want is to do is get into my bed and rest.
 

Shit!
 

Dave punched the party girl out of me.

“I wanna go home,” I say.

“Alright,” Belle tries to hide her disappointment.
 

She’s probably ordered dinner already and this is one of the few treats she allows herself. All her money is put away for her secret project she will not even talk to me about.

“No, stay, I will…” I stop at mid sentence. Everything is spinning. Trying to get up quickly was a bad idea.
 

There’s no way I’m driving home.

“That’s what I thought,” Chaser says. “How did you get girls get here?”

“We took her car,” Belle says.
 

“What do you say if I drive her home in her car and Piston will drop you home later?” Chaser asks.

“Well,” I can see Belle is hesitating but her dutiful side takes over. “Nah, I’ll drive her back. She’ll need someone to watch over her, you know, just to be sure she’s okay.”

“I wasn’t thinking about leaving her alone,” Chase protests.
 

“Hey, I have an idea,” Piston says.

“You do?” The surprise in Belle’s voice is so genuine I would laugh if I were not feeling so crappy.
 

Piston takes it in stride.

“Yeah, I know. Looks and brains. It’s a rare combination but I’ve got it!”
 

Belle giggles and shakes her head. “Next thing you’re going to say is that we should let Chaser watch over her for a couple of hours or that the four of us could go home right now?”
 

“The woman can read my mind,” Piston answers. “I was gonna suggest we pick up a pizza and hit your crib.”

I look into Belle’s eyes and half frown. No way are we going home with those two guys.
 

Flirting with them in a public place is one thing, taking them home is another. For all we know those bikers are dangerous. The sheriff wouldn’t have shipped three members of his crew to sit in a bar on a Friday night if he didn’t think so.
 

Belle seems to share or at least understand my concerns.
 

She shakes her head and says, “Nah, I think we’re gonna call it a night.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Chaser says.

He’s right.
 

It is for the best.
 

Then why am I disappointed he didn’t try harder?

Despite the heavy make-up pasted on by Belle every single morning, no one misses my shiner.
 

Studying the reaction of the usual crowd gives me new insight into what their true personalities are about.
 

Early on when it was fresh, some men saw the bruise as a free pass to make their moves or tell me about their sexual preferences.

Those I want to slap silly.
 

Funny how being knocked out once has turned me in a relatively more violent person.

But then I never knew before there were guys who had such lame pick-up lines as “Honey, if I had known you liked it rough I would have made my move earlier!”
 

Others act as if they don’t notice anything but I can tell they do. Yeah, the way they look at my face when they think I can’t see them says it all. They’re curious but act as if they couldn’t be bothered. They simply ignore it since it’s none of their business.

A few surprise me. They ask if they can help.

Volcano is one of them.
 

“You just need to say the name Holly, and I’m gonna make sure the bastard remembers he is never to hit a woman.”
 

He also grumbles something about making an exception for his mother in law who’s the devil incarnate.
 

I pat his shoulder.

Poor sweet Volcano, saddled with a mother in law from hell.
 

He squints while I bent over to pour some coffee.
 

“You’re almost as good as new but the offer still stands.”

“It’s good to know there are still knights in shining armor left in this world!”
 

“Thank you man,” says a deep voice behind me. “But from now on, I’ve got her back.”

I spin on my heels and look up at Chaser. He’s not wearing his biker’s leathers but the regular clothes I first saw him in.
 

“Hey stranger.”
 

I try to sound cheerful but I fail.
 

The sound of my own voices surprises me.
 

I’m mad at him. Resentful because he didn’t check in on me all week.
 

“I think there’s an empty table over there,” I say pointing to the other side of the diner, in Belle’s section.
   

He tilts his head as if he can’t figure out why I’m upset and decides to ignore my bad mood.
 

“Nah, I’m good,” he says. “Except for one thing, I don’t have your phone number so…” he doesn’t end his sentence.
 

Right, I get it, I never gave him my number and if Belle didn’t give it to Piston, then he had no way of calling me.
 

Now, if he cares, what’s his excuse for not dropping by earlier?
 

“I’m sorry didn’t get a chance to check on you before I left.”
 

My anger deflates like a cartoon balloon.
 

The man was on the road. He studies the change of expression on my face and I hate myself for being so transparent.
 

“Yeah, right, so anyway, I’ll pick you up at seven, tonight. I just need to know where.”

“Wha-at,” I stammer.
 

“Come on Honey, it’s not so complicated, where do you live?”

“Next door to here,” I say. “Why don’t we meet at the diner?”

He shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

I watch him walk away and can’t help but admire how great he looks. Broad shoulders, nice waist, incredible legs … I shake my head and come back to earth.
 

“Do I need to punch him out too?” Volcano asks when I return a few minutes later with his order.

“Nah, I think I can handle him,” I say.
 

Volcano laughs at me. The guy’s old enough to be my father but he knows where it’s at.
 

The rest of the shift passes by quickly enough.
 

As usual the Friday crowd doesn’t linger and soon enough I rush home for my shower and nap.

At six thirty Belle barges in my bedroom startling me in my sleep.
 

“Come on Holly!”
 

I yawn and hide my head under my pillow. Tomorrow I’m not working and the only thing I wanna do is hide in my bed until Sunday when I have to be at the diner at 6 a.m.

But Belle is relentless, she sits next to me and shakes my shoulder.

“Come on princess, your knight will be here soon and I think this one’s a keeper…. Unless you want to jump back in bed with Grumpy now that the sherif has let him out.”

Well of course, when she puts it that way, it’s clear that I have to get up. I’m not sure if Chaser is a keeper but, for sure, my ex, a.k.a Grumpy, is on my shit list forever.
 

Pulling my head from under my pillow I notice that she’s all dolled up and looking even prettier than usual.

“What about you?” I ask. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Didn’t Chaser tell you?”
 

I shake my head and make a face. If he had I wouldn’t be asking, duh.
 

“Tonight there’s a big party at the MC and we’re both going,” Belle says.

“At the old Macmillan farm house?”
 

“Yeah, tonight it’s like, you know their inauguration,” she explains opening my closet and looking through my clothes in search of something she deems worthy of my wearing tonight. “Black, black, black,” she complains. “Are you sure you’re from here and not from New York? Who lives in Florida all her life and doesn’t know there are actual colors you can wear.”

I laugh and run to the bathroom.
 

When I come out a few minutes later, with presentable hair and some color to my cheeks, she’s made my bed, tidied up my room and set out black pants and a black shirt on my bed. She’s added a red belt and a red scarf from her room to give me a touch of color.

“Thank you Mum!”
 

Belle winks at me and says, “Now get dressed, I think we’re going to have a swell time.”

The weather is fabulous, it’s one of those perfect Florida spring evenings when the temperature is just right. It feels like the perfect time to enjoy the wind in my hair but Chaser won’t hear of it.
 

“Not that I plan to drive you into a ditch or get hit by a truck Sweetheart,” he says while putting a helmet on my head. “But I want my girl with a brain inside her head and not splattered on the pavement.”

What a sweet thing to say.
 

Especially the my girl part.

So I let him baby me as I watch Belle hop on behind Piston.
 

I notice the two metal thingies that she uses to rest her high heel pumps.

Good, there’s the same on Chaser’s bike.
 

I was wondering what I was going to do with my legs.

It’s my first bike ride ever but I’m not about to let anyone know that. I climb up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. There’s a weird static sound in the helmet and I hear his voice. It’s like he’s surrounding me whispering in my ears.

“Grab on to me as tight as you want honey. Yeah like that, it’s good.”

The bike roars and the ride starts. Wheeee!
 

My breath catches and I fall head over heels in love.

In love with riding this crazy machine, of course.
 

Now I get why girls fall for bikers.
 

It’s not only the guy, it’s the entire package.
 

What’s not to love? This incredible monster vibrates between my legs. I’m flying like the wind holding on to the most handsome devil I know.
 

“If you keep on breathing like that, we’re not gonna make it to the club house,” he growls.

“You can hear me?”
 

Stupid me thought this was a one way com system.

“I sure can.” I hear the laughter in his voice. “And if this what you sound like now, I can’t wait to hear those you’ll make when I’ll be taking care of you.”

“Oh!” My voice is breathier than I thought it would be but there’s no hiding my reaction. I hold on to him a bit tighter as the vibrations continue to work their magic in me.

“That’s my girl,” he says and I now understand that I passed some sort of test.
 

I got an A+ for true enjoyment of the ride except that when we get there, I’m in an advanced state of frustration.

We enter into the compound and Chaser waves to the crowd as we pass an open field on which huge tables are set up.
 

We roll past the main building to a smaller construction that was probably a barn when the place was still an operating farm.
 

Chaser parks his ride under an awning that has been added to the side of the building and helps me remove my helmet.
 

I shake my head and run my fingers through my hair.
 

So much for any attempt at a fancy hairdo!
 

Note to self, biker’s dates need to keep hairstyle basic.

Turning around I search for Piston and Belle. There were right beside us on the road but they sort of vanished as we drove onto the property.

“Piston’s place is on the other side,” Chaser says as if reading my mind. “I’m not sure we’re going to see them right away.”

“Oh!” My vocabulary is severely limited in his presence but I don’t know what to make of his answer.
 

Does he think that Belle and Piston won’t attend the party or that we’re not joining the crowd right away? I take a deep breath in a vain attempt to get some oxygen back to my brain. “So, is this where you live as well?”

“Yeah, this shack is all mine,” he says gesturing to the barn. “I would give you the grand tour but I’m pretty sure we would never make it to the party if I did…”
 

He takes one step in my direction, catches me by the waist and pulls me against him. He does this with a lot of ease. It’s probably his signature gesture but I don’t care how many times he’s done it before and with whom. I just love how it sweeps me off my feet.
 

There’s no doubt that the ride got his engine running as well.
 

Feeling bold, I raise myself and brush his lips with mine.

“So now you’re going to tell me that a President’s life is not his own and that you owe it to your men to show up at your own party?”
 

I bat my eyelashes like I’ve seen Belle do a thousand times and then I lose it and laugh.
 

Playing coy is so not me!

Chaser laughs too. A big belly laugh that shakes his entire core and warms me up inside.
 

“You nailed it babe!” he roars. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to walk around all the tables, I’ll show you off to my brothers and then I’ll feed you because later you’re gonna need all your strength.”
 

His predatory smile melts the little of what was left of my brains and the only thing I can do is nod.
 

The following hour is a blur.
 

Belle is nowhere to be seen but I soon forget about her. Belle’s a big girl who can take care of herself.
 

True to his word, Chaser feeds me as we walk around the tables. I feel like visiting royalty. I only catch half of his crew’s name and appreciate the respect they show. Being the girl of the boss goes a long way. As far as I can tell most of the woman seem to be fair game to all bikers who never lose an occasion to cop of feel. They make an exception with those who are wearing the same type of leather jacket as the men.