“You seem awful sure of yourself.”
“Yup,” he replied, and I had to laugh.
It’d been a crazy, fucked-up emotional roller coaster of a week, I thought as I pulled out of the driveway, but at least I still had Regina and Earl. The motorcycle roared to life behind me, and I glanced back to see Puck’s headlight in my mirror.
So now I had Regina and Earl and Puck. Well, I had Puck so long as I didn’t have to shoot him. If I did, I had no doubt that Earl would come through for me.
He always had.
—
Puck’s hand slid between my legs, pushing them apart. I didn’t know what time it was—felt like five in the morning. Cracking an eye I looked at the clock. Eight a.m. Impossible, it couldn’t be later than six . . . I moaned because I was tired and wanted to sleep longer. Then a mouth covered my clit and I started moaning for a better reason. An hour later I rolled off Puck and flopped down next to him, pleasantly awake and alert for the day.
“You’re a pretty good alarm clock.”
“I like to make myself useful,” he said. “What time do you need to be at school?”
“Not until eleven today.” I glanced over at the clock. Nine in the morning—I still had an hour to get ready before I had to leave. Time for breakfast and a shower, and I should probably pack a dinner, too. My shift didn’t start until seven, but Teresa had left a message asking if I could come in early. I could definitely use the money. Between my shopping trip to Walmart and paying the electric, I was down to fourteen dollars. Just enough to get me through, so long as I caught rides with Blake and didn’t eat too much. I started to sit up, but Puck caught my arm and pulled me back down.
“Just a minute,” he said. “Wanted to talk to you about something.”
“What’s that?”
“You work tomorrow night?”
“It’s Wednesday, so yeah,” I replied, curious. “Why?”
“We’re having a thing at the clubhouse,” he said. I wrapped my arm around him, snuggling down into his side. I had a feeling I knew what direction this was headed. I didn’t like it.
“I have to work,” I said again, firmly.
“If I talked to Teresa and got you the night off, would that be all right? She owes me a favor or two. Wouldn’t be a regular thing, but we’ve got guests coming in from out of town. I’d like them to see you.”
His words struck me as odd.
“I’d like them to see you.” Not “I’d like them to meet you.” Puck wanted them to look at me, like I was a thing to be owned and used . . . That brought up memories, and they weren’t all pleasant ones.
“I don’t like biker parties,” I said. “I should probably just work—I haven’t been there long enough to be asking for favors. I can’t really afford it anyway.”
He fell silent, tracing a small circle on my shoulder.
“You are aware I’m in a motorcycle club, right?” he finally asked, a touch of humor in his voice. “Biker parties are a big part of my life, and they’ll be a big part of yours, too, if you’re my old lady.”
I pushed up and glared at him.
“I am not your old lady. We’re sort of hooking up in an undefined way. That’s it.”
“Hooking up exclusively,” he pointed out. “You’re on the back of my bike and you’re under my protection. That’s pretty damned close to old lady territory.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head hard. “I’m serious, Puck. I don’t want to go there. We can date, have sex, whatever. I’ll never be anyone’s old lady. Been there, done that.”
His eyes snapped up from my boobs. “The fuck? Did you just say you’d been someone’s old lady?”
I sighed, flopping down next to him. “Sorry, I was talking about my mom. I’ve seen what it is to be an old lady, not just with her but with other women. It’s all fun and games until someone smacks you across the face for not fetching a beer fast enough. Pass.”
“You’re being a bitch again.”
“Fuck off,” I said, rolling out of bed. I walked toward the bathroom, grabbing clothes as I went. I didn’t need this shit, not from Puck. Not from anyone.
“You’re essentially saying I’m gonna start hitting you, but when I call you on it, I’m the dick?” he asked, his voice hard. “Christ, Becca. Got that head shoved pretty far up your ass. I haven’t done shit to you and I’m getting tired of pointing that out.”
I spun around, opening my mouth to tear into him when it hit me.
Puck was right.
I’d insulted the hell out of him. Again. I closed my mouth and blinked.
“You make a good point,” I finally said slowly. “I’m not ready to make a commitment, but that wasn’t a very nice thing to say, either.”
“I call it like I see it.”
We considered each other, then I shook my head. “I don’t think this is going to work. My life is busy. Crazy. I don’t have the mental energy for a relationship.”
Puck stood and walked toward me, all loose-limbed and predatory. Then he leaned in close, catching my head and whispering in my ear. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be. I asked you to a party. I want to show you off because you’re beautiful, and I’m proud that someone like you would put up with someone like me. Is that such a terrible thing for a man to feel about his woman?”
I shivered, because he still smelled like sex. I wanted more.