“Not just you. You and your friend. She’s a brother’s little sister, so…respect, you know?”
She nodded. “I see.” Chuckling, she glanced over to where her outgoing friend, Letty was hitting on one of the brothers. “Not sure that’s going to stop Letty, though.”
A grin pulled at the corner of Shades’ mouth. “Maybe not. But he’s a full patched member. I’m just a prospect. They’d take my crossing that line a little more seriously I think.”
“Am I going to get you in trouble by standing here talking to you?” Just then, Letty called to her and waved her over. Skylar turned to look, and then looked back at Shades as she began backing away. “Gotta go. It was nice spending time with you, Shades.”
The soft way she said the last bit had his cock responding. He cleared his throat. What the hell was wrong with him? He held his own with some of the baddest of the bad every fucking day, and this little girl had him on the ropes. Fuck.
“Take care, Skylar. Thanks for the water.”
He couldn’t stop himself from watching the mesmerizing sway of her ass as she moved back toward her friend. And damned if she didn’t turn and wink at him before she disappeared into the crowd.
Late that night, as the party was dying down, Shades was finally told he could knock off and go home. He made his way inside to say some goodbyes, and if he was being honest, to look for that little babe, Skylar, telling himself he just wanted to make sure she was okay.
About twenty minutes later, unable to find her, he fired his bike up, headed out the gate and down the street. He didn’t get half a block when he spotted her. She was walking down the street. Alone. At 3am. What the fuck? He let off on the throttle and coasted up beside her.
“Skylar. What the hell are you doing out here?” She turned, almost jumping out of her skin. And then he could see her relax when she realized who it was.
“Oh, Shades. Hey.”
“Babe, this is not a nice side of town. Why’d you leave the clubhouse?”
She shrugged. “Letty was my ride, and she hooked up with someone. And I couldn’t find Cole or Crash.”
“Climb on,” he ordered, hoping she’d be quick so they could get out of there before someone from the club came along and spotted him with her. She didn’t hesitate. He liked that. And he really liked the way her arms came around him, holding tight. He took off down the street, riding a couple of blocks away from the clubhouse before pulling over and asking her, “Where to, darlin’? Where do you live?”
“I was supposed to be spending the night at Letty’s house.”
“I guess that’s out. I can take you to your house,” he offered as he pulled his helmet off and handed it to her.
She took it and quickly strapped it on. “I can’t show up now. It’s 3am. My foster dad will kill me.”
“Foster dad?” he asked, frowning.
“I live in a foster home,” she admitted softly.
“Really?” He twisted on the seat to get a better look at her, kind of shocked by her response. He’d never have guessed that. Not in a million years.
“Yeah.” Her eyes looked away, and her chin came up, and he realized it was a touchy subject for her. He wondered why she’d admitted something so personal to him. They barely knew each other. A fact he’d love to remedy.
“Ok, home’s out. Guess that just leaves my place. You can stay tonight and hook up with Letty in the morning. That work for you?” At the nervous look on her face, he added, “No strings, sweetheart. Just a place to crash. I promise. Besides, I owe you for the water.” He grinned.
She nodded, and he hit the throttle.
He took Interstate 65 over the mountain and south of town, exiting on Route 31 he continued south. It was late, and the streets were deserted. When they neared Shelby hospital, he turned off into a parking lot next to what looked like an auto repair shop. It was a cement block building that sat close to the road. It was painted gray with two bay doors. The parking area to the side and behind the building wa
s gravel and surrounded by a privacy fence and gate. There were about four parking spots out front. He unlocked the gate and they rolled into the lot.
As they dismounted, a dog trotted over to them. “Hey, boy. How you doing?” Shades squatted down, taking the dog’s head in both his hands to scratch the dog’s ears. Skylar, who seemed a little uneasy around the large white pit bull, froze. Sensing her fear, Shades turned to her. “Hey, don’t be afraid. He looks tough, but he’s just a softy. Aren’t you, Toby?”
She hesitantly held her hand out for the dog to sniff, and then she looked up at the building, asking, “Where are we? What is this place?”
Straightening, Shades replied, “This is my shop. I have a small apartment upstairs. Come on.”
“Shop?”
“Auto-body shop,” he explained. “I also do a little mechanic work. Bikes mostly.”