Hard Miles Ahead (Black Mountain Bikers 4)

Chapter 3

“Where are we going now?” Tavia saw another crush of people ahead on the street and on the sidewalk. There was loud music and topless women dancing around with their hands above their heads.

“Don’t worry. I won’t get you lost down here. I know my way pretty good.” Daric grinned down at her.

The temperature climbed steadily as they walked and Tavia sweated profusely, droplets turning to rivulets trickling down the center of her back and sides of her face.

Soon, they were in the crowd and Tavia noticed more topless women, tits bouncing and gleaming under the bright sun. It seemed that nearly everyone in the crowd had started shedding their clothes. The pungent smell of alcohol was heavy in the humid air and somewhere, it smelled as if someone was cooking out with pot instead of charcoal.

The five minutes it took them to work their way through the throng of people, Tavia had been rubbed by enough bare boobs to last her a lifetime and she was more than slightly buzzed from the free range pot smoke.

As they exited the crowd, Daric pulled her hard toward the building side of the sidewalk. Stumbling, a grumble jumped to the front of her mouth, but was halted as she saw what Daric had roughly helped her avoid. A woman was bent over a blue postal drop box and there were three men standing around her, the first one was fucking her and the other two were waiting in line, it seemed.

Gasping, Tavia put a hand on Daric’s arm, stopping in her tracks. “What the hell? Help her, Daric.”

Laughing jovially, he said, “I don’t think she needs help, Tavia. It’s just something that happens during the rally. The heat and the Harleys and the pot make people horny, I guess.” He pulled her along.

“That’s some crazy shit. I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Tavia tried to shake the light buzz from her head as they walked on along the sidewalk.

Daric stopped in front of a single door. The glass was blacked out on the inside. The sign simply stated The Lodge. The other windows had blinds closed over them, so there was nothing to give any hint of what the place might be.

“You can back out now, if you want and we’ll just go sit in the cool, darkness of my room and drink beer and talk. You can run away back to the alley where I found you, too.” He stepped up, took hold of the door handle with one hand and ran his other hand down the center of her shirt. “Or, we can go up and find out if you’re a tease or not.”

Debating what she was about to do, Tavia bit her bottom lip and looked in each direction up and down the sidewalk and street. She’d met Daric a few times but had never been alone with him. It seemed that all the members of The Black Mountain Bikers that she’d met so far were horn dogs. Not that she was complaining.

Breaking into a grin, still feeling the contact buzz, Tavia decided to do exactly what she’d gone to the rally to do—have fun! She nodded at the door.

Daric paused only for a second to take in her nod and grin and then he pulled the door open, stepping aside to allow her to step inside first.

The blast of icy air made her gasp as she stepped into the dim interior. Bohemian ambient music thrummed through unseen speakers, surrounding them in its relaxing, rhythmic throbbing undertones that she found sexy. Something about the way the sound vibrated on her overheated, sensitive skin.

The room was covered in black plush

carpeting over the floor and three feet up each wall, adding to the dimness incurred by the blocked windows and the dim bulbs glowing dully in the overhead sockets. The walls above the carpeting were dark maroon and the only thing on the walls to break the monotony was a cheesy print of The Scream in which the subject had been replaced with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from one of the original Ghostbusters movie.

A window that looked like the old bank teller window was situated to their right and it was covered from the other side with a shade pulled down tight. A few steps past the window, a set of stairs curved to the left and ascended up and out of sight.

Daric stepped in front of her and led the way up the stairs. “My room’s up here. I’m the only one checked in so far.”

“This is the oddest place I’ve been in, I think. What is it, a hotel?” Tavia stepped lightly up the carpeted stairs, noting that there wasn’t a single creak or squeak as they ascended to the second floor.

“Yes and no. It’s more of a private establishment. People off the street who wander in are turned away. It’s an exclusive place for members of the club to stay in while they’re in town. Never any official records of which members might be here and the registration book is marked only with the letters CI and CO for check-in and check-out. Bob established this place and others like it around the U.S. years ago and he pays the owners and the people who run the places so that none of us have to pay rent when we stay.” He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door to his room.

His room turned out to be just what he said—a mini apartment. There was a phone that could only be used to dial the kitchen staff and the front desk. Each of the two buttons had been plainly labeled and all other buttons removed.

The same black plush carpeting covered the apartment in the same fashion as the downstairs carpeting. The walls were the same deep maroon color and were also devoid of decorations. The furniture was all black leather and cushioned.

The coffee table and matching end tables were novel and unique. Two pistons welded together by the ring side formed each leg and there were four legs. A black chain crisscrossed under the center of the glass forming an X. The end of each chain had been welded to a piston. The overall look was chic and she liked it very much.

A dark wood desk sat in a corner with a laptop open but turned off. The desk lamp’s shade was imprinted with the word Chevrolet and she was sure it was an original Chevrolet valve cover. Also unique and novel.

“Have a seat and I’ll grab us a couple of beers. The TV remote is on one of the tables, I think.” Daric disappeared into a small room off the side of the living room and Tavia supposed that was the kitchen.

“Anything you want to watch this early in the day?” She searched out the remote and clicked the set on.

“Not particularly. Thought it might help you relax into the mood, though.” He reappeared, shirtless and without his shoes. “Was I wrong?” He handed her a beer and sat heavily on the cushion beside her.

“Yep. I don’t watch a lot of TV. I prefer music to television any day.” She took the beer. “Thank you. And thank you for thinking of my comfort.” She laughed.