DENY: A Dark Romance Read online

  “What’s that?” Trey gave me a look. “What do you mean?”

  “You said you didn’t want to hide anymore,” I replied as I pulled my panties on. “So we don’t. We’re adults. We can be together. And I want to start by spending tonight in your arms.”

  Trey looked hesitant. “Baby, I’d love that, but what happens if your parents call the cops?”

  I blinked and my mouth went dry. I hadn’t thought of that. “They can’t,” I said firmly. “I’m eighteen. I’m a legal adult.” I was bluffing, I had no idea whether or not the cops would respond. After all, Daddy and Mom had thrown a gala for the police force a few years ago. My dad still had a lot of sway in Centerville, and I knew the cops were in his pocket. They probably wouldn’t listen to the law when faced with my angry daddy.

  “Fine,” Trey said. “We’ll go to a motel.”

  We dressed in silence and climbed back in his T-bird. But the atmosphere between us had changed. When I asked Trey what was wrong, he said nothing and stared moodily out the window. When he pulled into the parking lot of a seedy motel outside of town, I felt my stomach turn over. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be at all. We were supposed to be someplace nice, someplace clean.

  “Do we have to stay here?” I asked.

  Trey turned to me and let out a deep sigh. “Where did you have in mind?”

  As he stared at me, I felt all of the resolve I’d built up in the woods leave. “Nothing,” I said softly. “It’s fine. Can you just take me home?”

  When Trey dropped me off, we parted on awkward terms. He told me he’d come by the house tomorrow. He wanted to visit with Mom and Daddy and try to make amends with them. I didn’t have it in my heart to tell him that no matter what he did, they’d always think he was trash.

  Chapter 2

  When the library had emptied out, I let out a deep sigh as I went behind the counter and clocked out for the day. It was later than I’d expected. Chuckie was probably waiting with a babysitter after school and I wanted to get to him as soon as possible. I’d been working late the whole week and I knew he’d been cross with me over it. I missed spending time with my son, but during the week I was so busy. At least he was finally in school and making friends of his own.

  When Chuckie had been a little boy, he’d been attached to me at the hip. He’d followed me everywhere, never letting me out of his sight. I’d always worried that he wasn’t developing the way a boy should, but the teachers assured me it was normal, especially for an only child. I had to hold my chin up high as I knew not everyone approved of a single mom, especially not a single working mom. But that’s what I was, and so be it.

  As I locked up the library and walked out into the parking lot, I heard the roaring of motorcycles. There were two big guys in leather jackets perched on bikes. They kept their eyes trained closely on me as I walked out to my car. Even though I was tall, I was slender. It wouldn’t be difficult to overpower me at all, and I was sure they knew that. I felt a shiver of fear run through me as I fumbled in my bag for the keys. I should have stayed inside until they disappeared, I thought with irritation. Pay more attention to your surroundings, Angel.

  “Hey, sweetie, you need a ride?” one of them called out in a rough voice, and the other jeered.

  “I’m fine,” I said in a shaky voice. Damn it, stay calm. The bikers both laughed at my shaky tone. “Can I help you?”

  “We were just waiting to see when you were gonna leave,” the first biker said. He climbed off his bike and started walking towards me.

  I tried to run but my feet felt like they were rooted to the spot. Even though it was still evening, the parking lot was deserted. No one had been at the library for hours; it was just me. And no one is around to hear me scream, I thought in terror. The library was on the outskirts of town and it was a good ten-minute drive from the closest shopping center. I thought of trying to reach for my phone but I was terrified one of the bikers would be able to grab me when I took that chance. “Stay away,” I said, trying to sound firm. “Leave me alone.”

  The biker reached me with alarming speed. He grabbed me by the elbow and held me fast. “Hey, Nick, we got us a fighter!” he crowed loudly.

  I shrieked and tried to twist away but the guy’s grip was too firm. His buddy gave us a lazy smile before climbing off his bike and walking towards us, his grin growing on his face with every passing second.

  Nick stepped closer and grabbed my other elbow before I could dodge his grip. As I swerved and tried to twist out of the way, the first biker slapped my face. It wasn’t too hard, but it was hard enough to sting and I cried out as tears welled up in my eyes.

  “Randy, this one’s real feisty,” Nick said. He nodded and looked me up and down. “We’re gonna have some real fun with her later!”

  “No, you’re not!” I hissed, contorting and wiggling my body, trying desperately to get away from the creeps.

  Nick ran a hand down my chest and tweaked one of my nipples through my sweater. I screamed in pain and tried to twist away but he just grabbed me harder. The two bikers screamed with laughter and held me fast. One of them grabbed my purse off my shoulder and tossed it across the parking lot, scattering its contents on the asphalt. Tears streamed down my face as Randy and Nick kept me close to their foul bodies, pinching and caressing me.

  “Let me go!” I shrieked.

  Randy held his hand to slap me again and when I cowered and flinched, he laughed. “If you resist, I’m just gonna have to hit you harder,” he said with a nasty smirk contorting his face. “What you think about that, Nick?”

  “I think the bitch deserves it,” Nick said. He slapped my ass and I cried out and jumped in the air. It was painful, more painful than it should have been, and I wanted to throw up.

  Just as the two guys started dragging me over to their bikes, another roaring sound came into focus. Shit, no, not another one. The idea of being raped by two bikers was horrible enough; I couldn’t have dealt with the idea of three.

  But when the bike came into focus, I saw he was wearing a different jacket than Nick and Randy. He was tall and gorgeous with wavy brown hair under his helmet and tan skin on his face.

  “Hey,” the new guy barked sharply. “Leave her alone! Get the fuck away from her!”

  To my surprise, Nick and Randy dropped their grip on me. I went flying forward and landed on my knees, skinning them on the asphalt. It hurt, but adrenaline was flooding my body and I couldn’t shake the sense of immense relief I felt welling up in my chest. Scrambling to my feet, I ran over to where the bikers had thrown my bag and started looking for my keys. My hands were shaking and as I heard a sharp slapping sound, I turned around.

  “Stay the fuck away from her,” the guy growled to Nick. Without waiting a second, he swung his arm back and landed a solid punch on Nick’s jaw. Nick staggered backwards and fell on his ass, whimpering loudly. The guy walked over to Randy, who was cowering by their bikes. I thought Randy was going to push him away but the guy moved faster and swung and hit him so hard that I saw Randy’s feet leave the ground.

  “Who…who are you?” Randy stammered.

  “It doesn’t fucking matter,” he said shortly. He kicked out and landed his boot on Randy’s chest. With Randy pinned to the ground, the guy stepped up and glared down. Finally, he turned his gaze to me, as if noticing me for the first time. “Are you okay?”

  I am now, I thought solemnly. But to him, I answered, “I’m fine, thank you.”

  Randy still lay moaning on the ground but I saw Nick reaching into the back waistband of his pants. Before I could react and warn the stranger, he grabbed me and pulled me on the back of his bike.

  “Hold on,” he said under his breath as he pulled away, leaving Randy and Nick in the dust. “I like to go fast.”

  Chapter 3

  Trey

  When the girl’s arms were safely wrapped around my chest, I pulled out of the parking lot. She nestled her face against the back of my jacket and the sweet scent of vanil
la rose up over my senses. I was glad I’d gotten there in time. I’d been in a bar with those fucks, listening to them talk about how they wanted to harass the pretty librarian. I’d had a bad feeling about them — they were both tanked — and I was gladder than ever that I’d followed them.

  She was hot, I had to admit. Just my type, too: tall, legs for days, long red hair, big, round tits. I imagined how her tight lithe body would feel under my hands and my cock started to twitch in my pants. I shivered. Maybe I’d get more than I bargained for with this pretty little thing.

  I loved the energy that swarmed around my body after a fight. It primed my mind and made me ready for more. There was something that felt so good about chasing assholes away from pretty ladies, even if my intentions were perhaps not any more gentlemanly than theirs had been. I flexed the muscles in my chest, feeling the spike of adrenaline hit my heart. I closed my eyes and for a moment, lifted my hands off the steering bars. The energy spiked in my chest and I felt a delicious rush hit my face — it wasn’t the wind, it was something more primal, more amazing. Between knocking those assholes out and rescuing this pretty little thing, I was feeling more amped than I had in months. A grin stretched over my lips. I didn’t know where I was headed, but damn if I didn’t feel good.

  The girl was clutching me tightly; I had a feeling she wasn’t even paying attention to the road. But I could feel her heart pounding like a jackhammer behind those amazing pert tits, and I knew she must have had the fright of her life. Girl like her, even though she didn’t look moneyed, still looked sheltered. I decided she needed a drink, and maybe an ear. And maybe your cock, I thought, the wicked grin twisting and stretching even farther on my face. Be honest, you’re already thinking about what it would be like to fuck her.

  I decided I’d take her to a nicer place, not the typical shitbox where my boys and I hung out. I’d been a patched member of the Skullbreakers for years, and they’d recently patched me in as president. It had been an incredible feeling: exhilarating, tense, and perfect. But, somehow, part of me felt like the afternoon had been just as exciting and thrilling. There was nothing in the world like rescuing a dame, nothing.

  As we pulled into the parking lot, I felt the girl tense.

  “Where are we?” Her voice was soft and lyrical, somehow…familiar. I shook my head. She didn’t look like anyone I’d seen before, and even if there was something funny about her, that didn’t mean we had any kind of real history together.

  “I figured you could use a drink,” I said, throwing her a grin. “How do you feel about that?”

  The girl blushed. “I have to make a phone call, okay?”

  I nodded. “I’ll be right here. You want to go inside or stay here?”

  “Stay here,” she said softly. She dug in her purse and came out with an older-model iPhone.

  I watched as she cupped her mouth over her hand and whispered something softly into the phone. It sounded like she was making arrangements with someone and I smiled. If I’d stolen her from another guy that evening, all the better for me. Now that I really had a good chance to look at her, she was smokin’ hot. She was wearing a sweater and a cute little skirt, and even though her knees were skinned and bloody, she still had the nicest stems I’d seen on a girl recently.

  “Thanks,” she said after a moment. I realized I’d been too busy zoning out on her body to really focus on what she was saying. She threw me a tentative smile. “Just one drink, okay?”

  I nodded. “Sure, princess,” I said, stretching and walking toward the entrance. The bar wasn’t a great place, but it was nicer than some of the other dives in town. Still, the floor was sticky and there was an overwhelming scent of Lysol and stale beer in the air. “Sorry this isn’t nicer,” I said in a gruff voice. “But we’ll just be in and out.”

  She nodded. I let her take the lead and followed her to two unoccupied stools at the bar. The way she swung her hips when she walked was making me hard, and I had to stare at the floor so I wouldn’t start thinking about the delectable cheeks of her ass. She was so sweet, so luscious.

  When we were seated, I faced the girl. She was still shaking from head to toe and I reached out and put a big hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but I didn’t take my hand away. When we touched, sparks flew between our bodies and I felt a grin sneak onto my face.

  “What’s your name?” I asked her softly.

  “Angel,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “Thank you. How did you know they were going to do that?” She looked up at me with big, scared green eyes. “I mean, you couldn’t have just shown up at that exact instant.”

  I sighed and raked a hand through my messy hair. Even though I kept it slightly long, it was almost to the point where I needed to get it sheared off again.

  “I was having a drink and those assholes kept talking about how they were gonna go fuck with a pretty librarian,” I said. “So I followed them.”

  Angel let out a deep sigh. She still hadn’t asked for my name. As her trembling started to slowly subside, I flagged down the bartender. “A beer for me,” I said grandly. “And whatever this lady wants.”

  “I’d like a vodka tonic, please,” she said softly. “Thank you,” she added when the bartender had turned away. “Thank you so much for saving me.”

  I shook my head. “Ain’t a thing, princess,” I told her with a cocky grin. Angel flushed and I realized her body was angled towards mine, with her legs slightly open. I stared at the soft white flesh of her creamy thighs, wishing I could reach out and touch her. She was so insanely hot, I knew I had to fuck her. Would she let me? I reached out and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry about those assholes,” I said. “But I don’t think they’ll bother you again. Have you ever seen them before?”

  Angel bit her lip. “Not really,” she said softly. “Sometimes when I’m leaving work I’ll see guys on bikes but I’ve never paid them too much attention before.”

  I chuckled. “That was probably your first mistake,” I told her. “You always gotta watch your surroundings.”

  The bartender returned with our drinks and we clinked together. As Angel took a long sip of her vodka tonic, I watched some of the color return to her face. She was pretty, angular but gorgeous. I had a feeling that when she was younger, her face had probably been fuller and she’d been a little heavier. Now she was lean, with a flat belly and delicate legs. My mouth watered a little thinking about what she’d look like naked.

  “Did they do anything except scare you?” I persisted. Angel’s look darkened and I saw her take another long pull on her drink. “I’m sorry to ask, but, you know, I can fix those guys if they did anything.”

  Angel bit her plump lower lip and shook her head. “No,” she said after a moment. Patchy blush rose over her face and I realized she must be getting a little tipsy. “They didn’t do anything. I promise.”

  I laughed again. “You don’t have to protect those assholes,” I said, shaking my finger at her. “That’s how all of this bad shit starts.”

  She blushed, for real this time. The way the pink spread over her face was so adorable, I wanted to reach out and kiss her. I loved the way her mouth worked for a few seconds before she started talking. It made her look very fuckable.

  “I promise,” she said again. “Trust me,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They didn’t do anything. You would have seen it.”

  I pointed to her knees. “They hurt you,” I said softly, reaching out and brushing some of the gravel out of her wounds. Angel flinched slightly and a pained expression came over her face but she allowed me to keep at it until all of the grit was out of the cuts. “You should wash that,” I said, pointing to the bathroom. “You don’t want an infection.”

  “What about your hands?” Angel pointed to my bloody fingers. “You should wash up, too.”

  I smirked and wiped my hands on a bar napkin. “Trust me, honey, this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten blood on me,” I said. I expected Angel to laugh but instead she frowned. I watched as
she let herself off the stool and headed into the bathroom. She was stumbling slightly, but she managed to make it without falling over. “Bartender,” I called loudly. “Another vodka tonic over here!”

  When Angel returned, I handed her a fresh drink. She tried to protest, but gave in after a few weak cries.

  “Drink up,” I told her. “You just had one hell of a fright. If I were you, I’d be wanting to relax as much as I could.”

  Angel laughed softly. She took the glass from my hand and took a long sip. “You’re right,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

  “No sweat,” I told her with a grin. “So, you’ve always been a librarian?”

  “Ever since college,” Angel said ruefully. “I put myself through, so it took some time. But now I love it.”