Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (30 page)

Ghost took a
deep breath. “Yeah, fuck it. Come with me. It’s gonna be boring
otherwise.”

Luca grinned at
him. “I’ll keep you entertained.”

Ghost:
You
approach them from the left. I’ll distract the guard, and you shoot
at the door.

Zara:
You’re the
better shot.

Ghost:
You have
more firepower ;D Burn that door!

Zara:
OMG,
they’re coming at me!

Ghost:
Shoot
them! Shoot them all!

Chapter 16

They ended up
stopping at a gas station and left town with a plastic bag full of
food and drink, including a bottle of water for Luca to dilute the
soda and ice tea, which he found far too sweet. Ghost’s face hurt
like a bitch, and there was definitely some swelling, but he chose
to wear it proudly. At least he’d spared Luca any more pain.

It only took
half an hour to get close to the Rabid Hogs clubhouse, but they
needed to stay vigilant, and so Ghost hid his motorcycle between
nearby storage units, and they walked the rest of the way.

“At least we’ll
get some alone time,” Ghost whispered as the moved along the backs
of the buildings across the street from the clubhouse. “I don’t
mean like sex, I think, but you know, time without being called off
somewhere. Too bad it’s getting so fucking cold. You need to get
gloves. Here,” he said and took off his to give them to Luca. “I’m
from here, so I’m used to lower temperatures.” It was a blatant
lie, as his fingers instantly turned into stiff branchlets, but he
hoped Luca wouldn’t notice.

“You sure?”
Luca leaned his head on Ghost’s shoulder as they walked through the
wild grass to reach a building that might offer a great view on
their target.

“Sure, I just
needed them for the motorcycle.”

The Rabid Hogs
clubhouse had a few people hanging around, but there wasn’t even
any music. The place was dead, and conveniently, well lit in
contrast to where Ghost and Luca were. “It’s gonna be a long night.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to take any fucking pictures in this
darkness.”

“Maybe he
doesn’t really want any pictures,” muttered Luca, staring at the
simple door at the back of the building. “Otherwise he’d give you a
proper camera, right?”

“Yeah, he
probably wants to make sure I’m where I say I am.” Ghost sighed and
walked up to the door. He pushed on the handle. “Locked.”

Luca shrugged
and lowered himself to one knee. “Give me the house key?”

Ghost gave him
the key but watched with a frown. “What if someone’s in there?”

“It’s too bare.
I don’t think anyone lives here.” Luca got to work and opened the
lock all too quickly for Ghost’s liking.

Ghost looked
around once more to make sure there was no one there. “Um, you know
how to pick locks?”

Luca grinned at
him. “It’s one of those locks that just shut automatically when you
close the door. All it takes is to push it slightly aside. Easy
peasy.” He slowly opened the door and looked inside. The house
greeted them with the smell of concrete, and all they saw in the
dark corridor were bare walls and floors, with some bags and tools
lying around.

Ghost cleared
his throat. “Let’s see if there’s any way to get to the roof. We’d
have a good view on the clubhouse. Any other skills you wanna tell
me about?”

Luca chewed on
his lip and propped the door with a bag of lime. “I hack.”

Ghost rubbed
his forehead and was now glad he’d taken the flashlight with him.
“Christ, is that why Priest wants to pull you in? Computers are
magic to him.”

Luca shrugged
and pulled on Ghost’s hand. His gloved fingers made Ghost sigh with
relief, so warm in contrast to his own. They moved slowly through
the dark corridor of the unfinished building until a ray of light
cast on a wall revealed the staircase.

“I don’t know.
I’m there to keep an eye on my man.”

“I thought it
was something you wanted. With you shooting so well and all,” Ghost
groaned, but led the way up the stairs. It smelled of dust, but he
could take that when at least they were relatively safe.

Luca bowed his
head, watching their feet. “I’m not interested in shooting outside
of video games. It was a necessity for me to learn.”

“Anything else
you’ve never told me as Zara?” Ghost sighed, but never let go of
Luca’s hand. The floor on the second floor creaked, freaking him
out slightly, but the place was empty, with just a few storage
rooms along the way.

Luca squeezed
his hand. “I do kickboxing.”

Ghost had to
laugh. “So I hope you punched Grim well.” As they walked along the
corridor, he was looking for a way to the roof, and he did an inner
victory dance when he found a rusty metal ladder on the wall with
his flashlight.

Luca chuckled,
and in the darkness, his fingers curled around Ghost’s nape,
pulling him back. Their mouths met, and Ghost instantly relaxed
into the controlled embrace. “I’d have loved to punch his nose in,”
Luca whispered into Ghost’s throbbing lips.

“He wouldn’t be
that handsome anymore, would he?” Ghost chuckled before giving Luca
another concrete-scented kiss. A part of him wanted to take a
selfie with Luca and send it to Tooth, but he didn’t dare.

“He’s a dick.”
Luca laughed the moment he said it and went on, “I mean, his dick
is all he is.”

“Go on, you
first.” Ghost pointed to the ladder with a smile. “I wanna have the
best view.”

“Oh, I get it,
you need to figure out where to touch it first,” said Luca, swiftly
climbing up the ladder, his round bottom flexing in the ray of
light.

“I know exactly
where I want to touch it.” Staring at Luca helped Ghost forget the
pain in his cheek. He was so, so lucky to finally have his beloved
with him. He’d been lonely for so long, surviving on just virtual
touch, but it had been all worth the prize at the end of the
road.

There was a
rusty, metallic clang, and then a square of the ceiling above
opened up into the sky. “Where?” asked Luca, climbing outside.

Ghost’s face
went aflame at the memory of Luca rimming him. That was so fucking
hot. “Everywhere,” he said and began a quick climb up.

Luca pulled him
up, and the cold air swiped through Ghost’s hair as he took a look
around the empty roof. There was one broken plastic chair lying in
the corner, but that was all. At least it was dry.

“I should have
taken a blanket,” he whispered and got down on all fours to make
his way to the edge unnoticed. There was a concrete parapet
surrounding the roof, so it should be all right.

“Yeah, we’re
gonna freeze out here.” Luca kneeled in front of the parapet and
looked at the few men gathered in the backyard of the Rabid Hogs
clubhouse. The scene was nothing out of the ordinary―guys sharing
beers and cigarettes on a night off. Who wouldn’t sympathize with
that?

“You wanna risk
working for the club?” Ghost asked, trying to find a good place to
settle his ass. He pulled out his phone, took a blurry picture for
Tooth, and sent it along with a short text.

Luca folded his
arms on top of the parapet and rested his chin on top of them.
“It’s for the best.”

“What is ‘best’
though? You should be free to do what you want. Sometimes I feel
like I’ve pulled you out of your life, but didn’t give much for you
to hang on to.” Ghost swallowed and wouldn’t dare look into Luca’s
eyes.

But Luca was
right there, pulling him into a tight hug, his warm lips moving
over Ghost’s cheek. “No, don’t say that. Never say that. What do
you think would have happened to me once Frederico wanted a change?
And even if I stayed with him, what kind of life would that be? You
have no idea how many times I just wanted to... leave,” he uttered,
breathing warm air all over Ghost’s cheek.

Ghost sighed
and stroked Luca’s face with his cold fingers. He’d give Luca the
sun and the stars if he could, and yet he could not take away any
of the horrible things that had happened to him so far. “You had a
few weeks to adjust now. Did you think at all about what you’d like
to do? I really wouldn’t want for you to get trapped in the club
life.”

Luca turned his
head and kissed the middle of Ghost’s palm, nuzzling it gently.
“But you’re with them. I don’t want you to be alone with no one to
take care of you.”

“It should get
more stable once I get patched in.” Ghost sighed. “Is there nothing
you always dreamed of doing?”

Luca chuckled
and pulled Ghost’s cold hands under his jacket. “Not having to
answer to anyone.” He looked toward the clubhouse. “I didn’t allow
myself to think about the future much. How sad is that?”

Ghost smiled at
him, melting on the inside. He’d allow Grim to hit him in the face
again, just to keep seeing that smile on Luca’s handsome face.
“That I can give you for sure.”

“I’m doing the
jobs I told you about, and I hope that when the Nails help me with
my legal status, I’m gonna find a job in programming. Maybe even
have my own company? I could work from home then and adjust my
schedule to yours,” Luca said, with that sweet, loving expression
on his face.

“I’d like that.
We’d get a house together… Detroit has some dirt cheap places. I
think I’d like to come out when I get patched in, so I can avoid
getting shit from people. They nudge me enough already.”

Luca pulled
Ghost’s hand even closer to his body under the jacket. “Yeah? You
want us to be official?”

“I do. I don’t
want Grim or anyone else hitting on you and thinking they can get
into your pants.” Ghost checked his phone and took another pic for
Tooth.

Luca nuzzled
Ghost under the jaw, snuggling up to him. “Will I get a vest like
Lucky’s?”

“Would you like
one?” Ghost kissed the top of his head, enjoying how they shared
warmth in this godforsaken chill. He had been worried that even
seeing the property jacket on Lucky might be triggering to Luca
after all he’d been through with Frederico, but that didn’t seem to
be the case.

Luca chewed on
his lip. “Unless it entails something weird that I don’t know
about? Lucky told me something about giving himself into Tooth’s
hands, but I don’t think... our relationship is like that.”

Ghost cocked
his head to the side. “I don’t understand. What did he mean?”

Luca shrugged.
“That’s what he said. Tooth’s pretty commanding to Lucky, if you
ask me.”

Ghost hadn’t
really noticed that, though he had to admit that Tooth was a
dominating figure in general. “I’ve already put my heart in your
hands, so it’s too late for that.”

Luca’s mouth
twitched. “Maybe you should be my ‘property’ then?”

Ghost bit his
lip. “I’m afraid the privilege of ‘owning property’ only extends to
members.” Though the idea of subverting that gave him a thrill. “I
suppose the patches on my back already mark me as club
property.”

Luca kissed
him. “I’m only messing with you. If ‘property’ is club talk for
‘life partner’, then I want it, though it would be nice if it
wasn’t this exact word. Is that customizable?”

“It’s not,
sweetie. But it might be something that would be good for you to
wear after I come out. People won’t mess with you. Lucky’s this
slim guy with the face of a teen and model hair, and no one dares
tease him.”

“If that’s the
case, I want to be your property. I am yours anyway, right?”
whispered Luca. The sincerity in his voice made Ghost melt on the
inside.

“I would never
abuse the privilege.” Ghost gave him another kiss. Luca’s eyelashes
fluttered against Ghost’s skin like the wings of a tiny bird.

“Did
you
hide something from Zara?” Luca whispered.

“Well, I
claimed to be a doctor, so that’s a big letdown right there.”

Luca swirled
the tip of his nose against Ghost’s skin. “Come on, I’m closer to
you than Zara was.”

Ghost
swallowed. “I didn’t tell her about my girlfriends.” Was that too
much information?

Luca didn’t
seem angry though. He gave Ghost a toothy smile and nudged him with
his shoulder. “Start at the beginning.”

“I lost my
virginity at seventeen to a girl who hung around the club, only to
later find out my dad set it up.” Even now Ghost’s cheeks heated up
at the memory.

The smile
dropped from Luca’s face. “Sorry...”

“I mean, the
sex was hot, but it left me feeling weird. I waited until college
after that, to do it on my own terms.”

Luca slowly put
an arm around Ghost’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Okay.”

Ghost shifted
so they could sit thigh to thigh and watch the clubhouse. He put
his head on Luca’s shoulder. “It’s not a big deal.”

“So... what
girls did you date in college?”

“There was a
girl I met when I did a semester of rock climbing. I wasn’t very
good at it.” Ghost laughed at the memory of his lame pickup
attempts.

Luca shrugged.
“Go on. I wanna know what was wrong with her,” he chuckled.

Ghost pouted.
“She dumped me so… yeah.”

Luca pulled
Ghost even closer. “Why?”

“I didn’t want
to go on a gap year to Asia with her. She said I wasn’t adventurous
enough.”

“Her loss. And
then?”

“Come on, I’m
not gonna list my exes. The last one dumped me because I was
spending too much time online, so guess who was actually on my mind
all the time.”

Luca chewed on
his lip and glanced into the sky above them. “Was this... when we
were already... kind of dating?”

“Yeah,” Ghost
played with Luca’s gloved fingers. Should he have kept it
secret?

Luca’s chest
trembled against Ghost’s fingers when he took a shuddery breath.
“Sure. It wasn’t like any of us believed we could ever meet. Living
across the Atlantic, and so on...”