Scum (Wrong Side of the Tracks 1)

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” the biker hollered, quick to push at Shane’s chest.

The woman tried to grab at his jacket, but the biker brushed her off, his shoulders rising like pauldrons, to protect his neck. He was massive, like a truck about to trample the lean yet beautiful sports car, but when he reached forward to grab his opponent’s collar, Shane ducked, escaping the grasp and spun, cutting the giant’s legs from under him with a swing of his leg.

A scream died on Ros’s lips when Shane shot up, grabbed the small plastic trash can from next to the server’s counter, and then pushed it on the biker’s head along with its contents.

Ros wasn’t sure if he should laugh or run away in terror. Even Brad, the frat president, didn’t have that kind of audacity. Shane wasn’t lying. He really wasn’t afraid of anything.

The fight had started so fast the waiter who appeared on the steps with plates of fancy salad froze, as if unsure whether he should back away or interfere. Heat spun inside Ros’s head as he watched the scene, shocked that he’d been the one to cause it.

“Shane!” he yelled when he noticed the biker’s woman grabbing a fork off the table, but Ros’s date had stepped away already.

“Goodbye”, Shane told her and sped beyond the reach of the large outdoor umbrellas.

He grabbed Ros’s hand in his damp palm. His grin was bright enough to set the world on fire, and Ros wanted to savor its warm glow so much he refused to consider what the hand-holding meant to him. To everyone.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Ros yelled but didn’t question Shane when he was led to a silver sports bike. His car was parked on the other side of the lot, but he didn’t have the brain capacity to worry about leaving it when sitting close to Shane was on the cards.

“I told you,” Shane said, settling on the bike like a charming action movie hero about to take him on an adventure. “Not afraid of anything. Now hop on and let me take you somewhere special.”

Ros hesitated, glancing toward his blue Ford, but when the biker stormed out of the café, he sat behind Shane, hugging him tightly. The scent of earthy cologne enveloped his senses when Shane turned on the engine.

They were off a heartbeat later.

Ros had no idea where they were going, and he didn’t care.

Chapter 5 – Shane

Shane had missed this.

Maybe.

A bit.

The danger seemed so much less dangerous when there was a whole world to run off to, and when the other guy couldn’t pay Shane’s cellmate to stab him in his sleep. But that rush of adrenaline? It was addictive and tasted sweeter when there was a beautiful boy cheering him on.

He wanted the moment to last, so instead of taking Ros back to campus, he chose the road through the nearby woods. As soon as they were out of sight, Ros had shifted closer, his hands squeezing Shane’s pecs shamelessly and his hardening cock pressing into Shane from behind.

The air smelled of falling leaves and upcoming rain, but he felt so hot moisture would have evaporated straight from him the moment droplets hit his skin.

Shane sped up as the wind shook more brown, yellow, and faded green confetti off the trees, and he followed the glistening asphalt road farther away from the angry biker and his girlfriend, farther away from the noise, farther from people. He’d gotten so used to never being alone that the empty spaces in nature felt like voids that might claim him forever, but today he had his bike. And the best-looking boy he’d ever gotten his hands on. As long as they were together, it would be easy to pretend that he was twenty-two and had never gone to prison.

The air here had an unfamiliar quality. It was damp, smelled of dying undergrowth and dirt, and was so fresh it burned in Shane’s lungs, but he wanted to breathe more of it regardless.

He should have expected the rain, going by the darkening clouds, but it still somehow took him by surprise when the first droplets hit his helmet. Ros pushed his head into the crook of Shane’s neck, silently reminding him that he had nothing to protect himself from the drizzle, which made the decision to pull into a small picnic area by the narrow road the obvious choice.

A dark red truck was parked on the other end of the muddy layby, but Shane saw no sign of its owners and figured they must have gone deeper into the woods. He drove up to the wooden gazebo and unfolded the kickstand, prompting Ros to rush under the roofing as the woods around them hummed ever louder.

Ros’s happy laughter made Shane snort. While his intentions were less than savory, he had no trouble admitting that Rosen Beck was stupidly cute.