Atone (The Disciples 2)

Spitting out the toothpaste, I run my fingers through my hair and pull on my jeans. Charlie is sitting on my bed typing away on her phone. She glances up and gives me a shy smile, which makes me feel like shit.

I pull on a navy blue T-shirt, my cut, and motorcycle boots. I hold out my hand and she takes it immediately. Lacing our fingers together, we quietly descend the stairs.

“David?” She pulls back. “There’s a guy sleeping over there.” She points at Blade’s door.

I look toward his room and sure enough, Dewey is slumped over, arms crossed, snoring. “He’s fine,” I whisper as I drag her forward. “He likes to sleep near Eve.”

We pass the game room. It’s crowded with bikers, their loud cursing indicating most haven’t gone to bed yet.

As I swing open the front door, I squint. The summer morning sun is already heating up the yard, and the chrome from our bikes makes me see spots.

“Who’s your friend?”

Charlie screams. We both turn to see Blade. He stands outside smoking on the side porch, sneaking a cigarette since Eve disapproves.

“Oh my God, you scared me.” She breathes out as she digs her nails into my hand.

Blade pushes off the side of the house and walks over, his green eyes taking her in from top to bottom. Fucking dick—he’s trying to intimidate her.

“I wouldn’t be scared of me, pretty girl.” He snorts then looks at me and points with his middle finger. “The man whose cock you wrapped your mouth around should be the one you’re scared of.”

“Excuse me?” Her eyes are huge as she looks at me.

“Charlie, this is Blade, my cousin and our president.”

“You own the diner, right?” He barrels right over, ignoring my introduction as he starts to question her. Again, his eyes scan her body, so I take a breath. He’s testing me. If I engage too much, he’ll know this girl is special and for some reason, I don’t want him knowing anything right now. His eyes narrow as he looks at both of us then shakes his head as a small twitch ghosts his lips.

“I do,” she snips and cocks her head. Her long waterfall of black curls tickles my arm.

“Interesting.” He inhales and flicks his cigarette onto the dirt.

“Let’s go.” I shake my head at him and pull her to my bike. She quickly hops on.

“Here.” I hand her my helmet.

“I need sunglasses. I’ll be right back.”

“Wait.” She twists the huge bag that’s slung over her shoulder and pulls out a pair of aviators.

“What exactly do you have in there? That thing weighs more than you.”

She starts laughing and shakes her head. Somehow, I stand there grinning at her. She’s adorably sexy. Everything about her is perfect. The screen door slams, and she jumps and looks over to where Blade used to be. The game has begun and he has the most to lose. I don’t blame him for being curious about Charlie. After all, we trust no one, not even ourselves.

“Is he always that much of an ass?” She pushes the bag toward her back and pulls her incredible hair into a low bun.

“I don’t remember him acting like that.” She nods at where Blade was standing as she puts the helmet on.

Ignoring her comment I ask, “Where do you want to go for breakfast?” I push aside her hands as I strap on the helmet.

“Anywhere that is not my place.” She smiles and I wonder how it’s possible for someone to be that happy. It’s not like I’m all that nice or even pleasant to be around. Hell, I wouldn’t like me if the tables were reversed. I flip the visor down.

“Hold on tight and move with me,” I say over my shoulder as I adjust myself since my dick seems to stay somewhat hard around her.

The sun is hot as shit already and my leather cut is not helping. Charlie wiggles closer and it feels right. A lifetime ago, all I wanted was to have her on my bike. I was a boy who liked a girl and thought he could have it all.

I was wrong.

I make a right turn and pull into Norm’s. It’s old and retro but has great hangover food, and something tells me Charlie could use it.

I park us next to a crappy red Jeep and help her off the bike. She did much better this time. Granted we were on the bike for no more than five minutes, but she held on and moved with me.

Reaching for my helmet, I help her take it off. I watch as she runs her fingers through her dark tresses. It shines in the sunlight and my heart tightens from looking at her. Reaching down, I lace our fingers as we walk.

I’m not going to ignore what happened this morning. I hold the door open for her and she happily walks in, and I can’t help but admire her. She’s tall and thin and so fucking gorgeous it almost hurts to look at her. I need to tell her I can’t do this. I’m attracted to her, but I’m not ever going to be what she needs.