“I won’t make up a story. And I won’t ruin a girl’s reputation over some stolen product. It’s not gonna happen.”
“When did you start getting all righteous and shit?”
“When you decided to look the other way and use an innocent girl.”
“We’re not going to expose her. Just threaten her father a little.”
“Fuck this!”
I left the meeting, fuming. I had to do what the Prez wanted, but not like that. I had fucking morals, at least when it came to this woman I did. Desperate times were looming over me and I needed to get her to open up to me. I needed to focus. Forget the woman and remember I had a job to do. Our livelihood depended on it.
If they wanted leverage, then I would get them what they needed, and apologize to the sweet innocent girl about all my misdeeds when it came to it. She’d forgive me. Either way, forgiveness or not, she’d be mine in the end.
4
Crystal
I had no idea what to wear for a date with a biker. My closet was full of fancy dresses and silk chiffon tops. I rummaged through it and found what I’d been looking for, tucked all the way in the back. I pulled out the skirt and smiled. It was a faux leather skirt with a gold zipper that ran diagonally down the front. I took out a black long-sleeved bodysuit, its sleeves were a pretty mesh pattern. I matched the outfit with gold earrings and black booties and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was wild, my lips red, and if my parents saw me dressed like this, they’d probably disown me.
Truth was, I didn’t care. I wanted to do something different, be someone different. Or maybe I just wanted to feel comfortable for once, being me. I grabbed my red wrap around coat and ran down the stairs and out the door. He was leaning against the truck, his black cowboy hat hiding his face. As my heels clicked on the pavement, he raised his head and those dumb butterflies started to flutter.
He took his hat off and smiled. “Well, damn,” he whispered as I got closer. “You look…”
I blushed when his words drifted off, his eyes glued to my legs. “Thank you.”
“Oh, you are more than welcome, Sugar.”
He let me into the truck and made sure my seatbelt was secure before he hopped into the driver’s side. “We’re headed to Jefferson, you alright with that?”
Jefferson was the next town over and I was more than okay with that. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for all the looks I’d get just being with a man like Saddle, especially with him being a Royal Bastard.
We arrived at a bar and grill in the outskirts of town and when we entered, the lady behind the counter treated Saddle a little too warm for my liking. She eyed me like I was competition and reluctantly took us to a back booth where we would be isolated from everyone.
I scooted into the booth, and Saddle smoothly slid in next to me. The woman, a blonde bombshell named Cherry, or at least that’s what her nametag read, leaned forward nearly poking Saddle in the eye with all the cleavage. I rolled my eyes and looked away.
“You wanna beer, handsome’.”
“I’ll take a whiskey, and the finest wine you got for my girl here.” He wrapped his arm around me and tucked me into his chest as he stared the woman down.
She slowly slid back up and eyed me. “You got it, handsome.”
As she walked away, he turned his focus on me. “Sorry about that. Cherry’s kind of an old friend. She dances at the bar on Saturday nights, that’s how I met Warren, the owner.”
I raised a brow as I caught her looking at him. “Seems like an old friend with benefits.”
He leaned to look at me. “What do you know about that?”
“Look Cowboy I may look innocent, but I watch porn just like the rest of you. I’m not a prude you know, and I know when a woman looks at a man as if she owned him.”
He leaned in and his closeness took my breath away. “Nobody owns this saddle, Sugar. At least not yet.”
He held this knowing glimmer in his eye that made me blush. As the night went on I got to see little glimpses of who he was. I noticed he was charming and a gentleman, and he was also smart. “You must think this is nothing compared to the fancy restaurants you’re used to.”
I laughed in between bites of my chicken tenders. “You mean between the hamburgers at Rachel’s and the pizza at Tony’s?”
His eyes went wide, and he chuckled as he took a bite of his steak. “So, I did good.”
“You did very good,” I whispered, dunking my tenders in honey mustard sauce and moaning as I took a bite.
He laughed and reached out to wipe the mustard off my cheek. “Did you do what I asked last night?”
I looked up at him and blushed in response. I remembered his sinful words and how hard I came as thoughts of him fluttered through my fantasies.
He smiled wickedly and leaned in closer. “Was it good?”
I was speechless as his hand played with the hem of my skirt. “I...I…”
“You what?”
“I did.”
“Good, girl.”
I bit down on my lip. “Why do you call me that?”
“What? Good girl?”
“Yes.”
“Are you not a good girl?”
“Not lately.”
“So you’re a bad girl?” He asked as he chewed on the last bite of his steak.
I blushed. “I was just curious.”
“I have preferences. Sexual ones,” he confessed. “Having a good girl is part of it. Turning that good girl into a dirty one, that’s something I can’t wait to do.”
“Dirty?” I whispered.
“Very dirty,” he winked at me.
I took a bite of the chicken and closed my eyes, savoring it. When I opened them, his eyes were on me. “What? Do I still have mustard on my face?”
I went to swipe whatever it was off, and he grabbed my hand. “I was just imagining what it would be like when I kiss you again.”
“Kiss me?”
He nodded. “You tasted like sugar plums, last time. I keep wondering if you taste like that everywhere.” His eyes drifted between my legs and I clenched my thighs closed as my cheeks blushed profusely.
He chuckled and I frowned. “You just like to mess with me.”
“I like how girlish you are, but you’re not as innocent as you seem. You, Miss Tanenbaum, are all woman.”
I took another bite of my dinner, deciding it was best to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the night before I got myself in trouble. Not that I already wasn’t.
“You want dessert?”
I set my silverware across my empty plate and looked up at him. “Ummm…”
He smiled. “We could share one.”
I nodded and he called a waiter over asking for a peanut butter lava cake. As soon as the waiter left, he shifted closer in the booth and I melted into him. I had to lean my head back to look up at him. His hand swept across my bottom lip, and slid across my chin, a soft caress down my neck. I thought he’d kiss me, instead, he did something even more unexpected.
“You know, I’m thinking about dessert too.”
“You are?” I looked down as his hand gripped my leg, carefully lifting it over his knee. His hand played with the zipper, slowly sliding it open. I sat there, hypnotized by his movement.