Hard (14 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lindy swam up out of the clinging darkness of sleep, a pleasant tickling on the side of her breast urging her awake. She breathed deep as the last tendrils of sleep fell away.

“Mmm…that’s nice,” she murmured.

He kissed her shoulder again. “Yes, it is.”

“How long did we sleep?”

“Only a couple of hours.”

“What time is it?”

“Nearly ten.”

She groaned and stretched, languorously. “Too late for breakfast then?”

He smiled. “Not if that’s what you want.”

She smiled and snuggled in a little closer. “Maybe later. I’m pretty content right here.”

He continued to hold her while lightly stroking her breast. “So am I.”

She could feel her eyes growing heavy again, but she knew if she went back to sleep she wouldn’t sleep tonight, and tomorrow was a workday. She roused herself, fighting off the encroaching sleep. She thought about having another go with Treble, but not only was she finally fucked out, but after that pounding she took in the shower, she was pretty sore to boot. But give her a few days to recover and she would be ready to go again. She yawned and wondered if Treble would still want her around after this weekend.

“What does the patch on back of your jacket mean?”

“Black Aces? Just the name of our motorcycle club. It doesn’t
mean
anything.”

“What does a motorcycle club do? I mean, is it like on television or in the movies?”

Treble chuckled. “Hardly.”

“Are you the President or anything like that?”

“Why all the questions? Does it matter?”

“No, not really. Just curious about the man that fucked me stupid this weekend. Wondering if he would want me around after I leave.”

Treble smiled. Normally, that wouldn’t be the case, but Lindy was something special. He might have to go another couple of rounds with her. It wasn’t the first time a woman made him want to come back for another taste. “I think he might. The question is, does Lindy want him around her?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Treble chucked. “I’m not exactly you’re type, am I? From what I could tell, I would be more your sister’s type.”

“I didn’t know I had a type. And, yes, I think Bridget would go for you in a big way. But if you throw me over for my sister, I’m going to come back here and kick your ass.”

“I can’t see that happening,” he murmured as he kissed her shoulder again.

“It’d better not. What do you think is my type?”

He shrugged. “Educated. Rich. Reliable. A doctor, maybe. Someone like that.”

Lindy giggled. “No, that’s Bridget’s type. You just described her fiancé.”

“Did I really?”

“Yes you did.”

“Tell me something, then. What do you think of him?”

“Terry? I think she’s lucky to have him. He’s just an intern, so he’s not rich, yet, but he probably will be. But he is good looking, kind, and she said he was good in bed.”

“So you could go for someone like that?”

“Sure. Who wouldn’t?”

“I’m just asking. What do your parents think of him?”

“They love him, why?”

“Just pieces of the puzzle. What do you think they would think of me?”

Lindy wanted to lie and say they would love him, too, but she knew that wouldn’t be true. They would be totally put off by the tattoos, long hair and the fact that he rode a motorcycle. Now that she thought about it, she realized that had she not been well lubricated with tequila, she would have been, too. But that was before she got to know him and seen what was behind all that.

“It would probably be a problem,” she finally admitted.

He chuckled. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. I just wondered if you would. So, Linda Willis, what do you think of people like me now?”

She smiled. “Well, you’re not like I expected, that’s for sure. Okay, yes, you picked me up in a bar then we spent all weekend partying horizontal. That much fits with what I expected. But the rest, not so much. You’re not nearly as crude as I thought you would be, for example.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No!” she cried in teasing exasperation. “Despite what you see in porn, most women don’t want men talking about big fat cocks and tight little pussies. At least I don’t. That stuff, for me, is like salt…add a little and it increases the flavor, but add too much and it ruins it.”

Treble nodded his head as he thought about her words, and decided it was a good analogy. “So, how’d I do?”

“Perfect,” she purred.

“What do your parents do? I can’t remember if you told me.”

“They own the Willis Early Childhood Development Centers.”

“Oh yeah, you did tell me that. And you’re working for them over the summer.”

“That’s right.”

“Is that what you want to do? Work in a daycare?”

“I do enjoy that, yes, but I have bigger plans.”

“Like what?” he asked. He didn’t understand why he even cared. In the past, all the women were for his amusement and nothing else. But he was actually interested in Lindy and wanted to understand what made her tick. It was a new and interesting feeling to actually be curious about someone, to want to know more about them than how much they wanted to fuck.

“Well, for starters, I want to take the company nationwide.”

He chuckled. “Nobody can fault you for not thinking big.”

She giggled. “That’s a long way off, of course. We should have the greater Charlotte, Mecklenburg area covered with only two more campuses, not counting the one under construction. I have been trying to convince ,Mom and Dad to expand in Raleigh and Greensboro after that. Then, if that works out, we began to spread through the Southeast to build a name. Atlanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, places like that. When we have the name recognition, we offer our curriculum and business model as franchises. Mom has gotten her PhD in Child Development and developed the curriculum specifically to jump start kids in the modern world. Languages, technology, things like that. We’re expensive, but we have a two year waiting list for each campus, and it would be longer if we didn’t limit it.”

Treble was glad her back was to him so she wouldn’t see his face. This was one put together chick that knew exactly where she was going and how she was going to get there. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but what does this operation bring in over the course of a year?”

“Last year we had a net profit of a little over four million dollars.”

He was stunned. That was more money than he could make in a dozen lifetimes and he wondered why, with her money and looks, she had anything to do with him. “And Lindy Willis is right in the thick of it,” he finally said.

“Yeah. Bridget has a degree in marketing, and I am going for a double in finance and business.”

“What about your dad? What does he do? Run the whole show?”

“He’s pretty involved now, but he started out working as a loan officer in a bank. We’ve been lucky. But what about you? You said you were a handyman, but somehow I think there is more to it than that.” She rolled over to look at him. “Tell me about Jack Johnson.”

“Nothing to tell, especially compared to you. I told you my dad works pipelines. I never went to college. I work in a cabinet making shop.”

“I thought you said you were a handyman.”

“I work in the cabinet shop for my regular job, and I do handyman projects on the side.”

She couldn’t understand how you can be a handyman on a motorcycle. “Why do I think you aren’t being totally straight with me?”

He kissed her quickly on the lips. “Honest to god, that’s all I do. You want me to show you where I work?”

“No, it’s not that important. Then what do the Black Aces do? Drugs, guns, porn?” she teased.

He smiled. “You watch too much television. No, we’re just regular guys that hang out together. No drugs, no guns, no porn. You met Stiles when he tattooed your sister’s foot. That’s what he does. Derik, he works at Lowe’s, Rich drives a fuel truck.”

“How many Black Aces are there?”

“Eight: me, Stiles, Rich, Colin, Jeff, Derik, Alex and Will. We take turns being President and Treasurer, with one year stints.”

“Who’s the President now?”

Treble smiled. “Stiles, and he hates it.”

“Why?”

“Because he is the one that has to handle all the problems. Derik is the Treasurer, and handles the money. I’ll probably be the Treasurer next then President. We take turns because we hate it.”

“So you’re all just a bunch of regular, blue collar Joes?”

“You have a problem with that?” he asked.

She heard the warning in his tone. “Not at all! It’s just not like, well, like on television. I guess I had some preconceived notions about how motorcycle gangs—”

“Club,” he corrected.

“—clubs,” she amended, “worked. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

He relaxed a bit. “It’s okay. I just get tired of people judging me by what they see on television. If I were to judge you by how smart, driven, business women were portrayed on television, I would think you were some back-stabbing bitch walking over bodies to get to the top.”

She giggled. “Fair enough. Truce?”

“Truce,” he agreed just as her phone began to ring.

“Mom,” she said as she reached for the phone, recognizing the ringtone. “So behave yourself,” she warned before pressing the button. “Hey, Mom!”

Treble could hear Lindy’s mother’s voice though he couldn’t make out what she was saying, but gathered by Lindy’s side of the conversation that Lindy was late for some event. He began to kiss down her side as she talked, dragging his fingers along her stomach as he moved lower. She pushed his hand aside a couple of times, but he brought it back each time after a moment’s pause.

He was going to have to be careful around her. She was exceptionally bright and seemed to know instinctively that there was more going on than he was telling her. But how he could he? The Black Aces guarded their secret closely…they had to for their protection.

When Lindy hung up, she turned on him.
“You…
are going to get me into trouble,” she growled playfully. “Do you know how hard it was to sound normal with you doing that?”

“This?” he asked as he dragged his fingers down her stomach again. “Or this?” he asked as he kissed her softly on her naked thigh.

“Both! Now stop it! I have to go. Mom is expecting me for dinner.”

“You could stay and have dinner with me.”

Lindy groaned, remembering the last time she and Treble had dinner. “I want to, but I can’t. I have to go.”

“You’re sure?” he asked as he slowly slid his hand along the inside of her thigh.

“Kiss me, then I have to go,” she moaned as she pulled him to her.