Bike Curious (Black Phoenix MC) Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.

  Bike Curious copyright @ 2014 by Tamara Knowles. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

  BIKE CURIOUS

  This couldn’t be happening, no, no, no. This was something that happened in movies and on TV and in the news, but not to people like me. I was a nobody. I pressed a hand over my mouth, trying to suppress my heavy breathing and tears, as I moved myself further back into the closet. One minute I was nicely shopping for something for Dad’s birthday, and the next, I was cowering in this supply closet, trying not to make a sound.

  I whimpered, as a pair of shoes passed by the door and stopped. A hand rested on the doorknob, it started to turn; but, someone called, and the man released the door and went away. I let out a shuddering breath and dug into my purse for my pepper spray, ready to douse whoever opened the door.

  When one of the robbers walked away, the door opened a crack, and I could see a little of what was going in the store. Glass display cases were cracked, three safes hung open, and the owner of the store was being held at gunpoint, giving up the code for the fourth and final safe. Other goons were stuffing bags with the sparkling gems from the safes and display cases.

  Then, a pair of blue eyes was staring back at me. I stayed as still as possible, hoping he couldn’t see me lurking in the shadows of the closet, but a tiny sliver of light was streaming right on to my face and across one eye. The owner of the blue eyes winked at me, as the corner of his mouth crooked upwards. I covered my mouth again and moved out of the line of the light. I wondered what this stranger would do, now that he knew where I was hiding.

  I didn’t want to become another rape statistic or some sort of pawn used in an awful game of ransom and blackmail, a constant threat as a rich politician’s daughter. I would be fine. I had to be fine. Things didn’t happen to me, not things like this. Normal things, sane things, happened sometimes – like concerts or shopping sprees or charity events – but, not things like this, never like this. I could feel my make-up streaking down my face and caking between my chin and neck, the salty wetness drying on my face.

  My tears were flowing down my face in tracks, but I kept my hand pressed to my mouth, trying not to make a sound or draw any attention to myself. I would be fine. I would be fine. I would get out of this mess somehow, somehow, somehow… Suddenly, the door creaked open a little and the blue-eyed man was standing there, a hand outstretched toward me. I cowered away, unsure of what to do.

  “Look, if you want to get out of here, you need to come with me. Right now.”

  I took his hand, as he roughly hauled me to my feet and dragged me toward the back of the store. “Where is your car?” he demanded, opening a door at the back. “Can you get away from here?”

  I nodded and tried to wipe away some of the tears on my face, as he pulled me outside into the oppressive heat of the summer day. I was unable to find words to put together any type of coherent sentence. I pressed the button on my key fob, and my car beeped at me. He pushed me toward my car and hustled me inside, continually glancing back toward the store, as if uncertain what would happen next.

  “Is, is there anything I can to do re-re-repay you?” I managed to stammer.

  “Not yet, but one day Miss Malone.” He winked at me and then dashed away. I called 911 and reported the robbery, then sobbed in my car, an image of my blue-eyed savior dancing before my eyes.

  ***

  I spent the next four days dealing with police and detectives and therapists and concerned friends and, most annoying of all, my father. At first, he showed a little concern for the safety of his daughter; but, almost immediately, he started trying to use my experience for his political schemings.

  As I had through my entire life, I abandoned any thought of using him for moral or emotional comfort and turned instead to the tried-and-true method of retail therapy. But even that didn’t hold the same peace for me, since now I was constantly afraid that I would be witness to another robbery or attempted robbery.

  The thieves were caught, although, scanning the pictures in the paper, not my blue-eyed man. Actually, I didn’t know for certain if he was one of the thieves. I just assumed he was because he didn’t seem afraid, and he went back to the store after he got me to my car. Or maybe I just assumed he went back to the store. I didn’t know. And I didn’t care.

  All I could remember were his amazing blue eyes. I started to remember other details of his face, too. He had a chiseled jaw with just a little scruff on his chin and his hair fell over one eye in an adorable swoosh. I wanted to just push it out of his face, run my fingers through that luxurious thickness, and let my hands wander down his chin and across his lips, then down his neck… Get a grip.

  I found myself fantasizing, or starting to fantasize, about this stranger. I was just caught up in the romance of the whole situation. Sometimes my life read like a fairy-tale. A rich, beautiful girl locked away from all male interaction by her father. I attended an all girls’ school, and I was only allowed to associate with my male peers under strict chaperoning (usually by one of the servants). I was definitely never allowed to touch them. Then, this dashing young man comes in and rescues me from certain death. Well, was it any shock I was swept up in the feelings? I was a princess, almost literally. I was a damsel in distress rescued by a gorgeous hunk of a man.

  And, of course, there was his hint that he would eventually want payment of some kind. If he was one of the thieves, he would probably just want some sort of get out of jail free card, but that didn’t stop my imagination from coming up with slightly more exciting scenarios, like raps on the window, secret trysts at night, or sneaking in and out of my parents’ house. Mine was a sexually and romantically frustrated life. I could only dream of what it would be like to be with a man. If I ever got to find out, it would probably be after my father was dead.

  ***

  I was lying on my bed, watching TV, when I heard a rattling against the French doors leading to my little balcony. I paused the TV and looked over, fearing the start of a horror movie, or worse, another robbery. But, whoever was out there wasn’t trying to break in, it was more of a gentle knocking. I crept over and pulled back the curtains a hair, trying to see without being seen.

  It was the blue-eyed man.

  “What do you want?” I stage-whispered through the glass.

  “I’ve come for my payment,” he stage-whispered back. He grinned, his white teeth flashing dangerously in the darkness.

  I turned away to put on a bra, grab a robe, and put on a pair of slippers. I didn’t think I needed to completely dress for him. Also, a part of me enjoyed the scandal of being so undressed in front of him. I pulled my hair out of its bun and let my thick, long, blonde locks cascade around my shoulders. I disabled the alarm and unlocked the door, stepping out on to the balcony with him.

  “What is it that you want?” I demanded a little more rudely than I wanted to, but my nerves were taking over all other abilities.

  “I want to take you on a ride.”

  I blinked at him in confusion. “What?”

  He motioned to his motorcycle parked down the street.

  “My payment is that you’re going to take me on a ride?” I raised one eyebrow skeptically, while the rest of me quivered with excitement.

  He smirked. “You don’t do this princess in a
tower bit very well. Aren’t you supposed to thank me from taking you away from the evil clutches of your conniving father or something?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh? So, you mean to tell me you read fairy tales now?”

  “No, but I know you do.” He gestured to my robe that had PRINCESS stitched on it in rhinestones. I blushed, thinking of the crown I had tattooed under my hair at the nape of my neck. too. I fully embraced the idea of being a little princess. It made me feel that somehow I was entitled to something. I knew I really wasn’t, but my whole life was engineered to make me believe I was.

  “What of it?”

  He bowed dramatically. “I am your dashing prince charming. I’m here to take you away from these trials. My steed awaits.”

  I hesitated, glancing from him to the motorcycle, contemplating my options. My head was telling me that I should go back inside, lock the door, and report him to the cops. But, the rest of my body was telling me to get on that bike and never look back.

  “Let me put on some more appropriate clothing,” I said, slipping back inside, leaving him to wait on the balcony.

  I tried to calm my breath, as I looked for a pair of shorts and a shirt to wear for my late night cruise. I locked my bedroom door, in an attempt to convince anyone curious enough to investigate whether I was asleep. I squirmed into a pair of tight shorts and a loose blouse, slipped pedicured feet into designer sandals, and pulled my wavy hair into a thick ponytail. I stepped back outside and glanced up at him. “How do we get down?”

  “Have you never tried to sneak out of the house before?”

  “Why would I need to sneak out?”

  “Because you don’t want to be here, and you want to go somewhere else, and you aren’t allowed to be somewhere else?”

  “No, that never really happened because I can really go anywhere I please.”

  He smirked and walked closer to me. “So, there was never anything you wanted that you weren’t allowed to have? Is being a rich princess really that easy?”

  Of course, there was one thing I had never been allowed to do. I wasn’t about to tell him that, although I’m sure he could tell by how I was reacting to him. I couldn’t imagine anyone could be oblivious to my reactions to his presence.

  He swung his leg over the balcony and grabbed on to a branch. “Are you coming?” he asked, holding out a hand to me.

  I placed my tiny, white hand in his large browned one. “What’s your name?”

  “Daniel, but you can call me Danny.”

  He pulled me toward him and helped me step over the rail, balancing precariously. I glanced down, just now realizing how high up I was. I clutched at the balcony ledge, fingers aching with the intensity of my grip. He shook his head at me and, quick as a wink, put his arm around me and pulled me into the tree. The way he threw me about made me feel like nothing but air to him. Before I even knew it, we were moving. Then, my feet touched the ground, and he jumped down next to me.

  “I don’t really understand what kind of payment this is for rescuing me.”

  “By the end of the night, I will be able to brag – and have pictures evidence – that I gave the Miss Vera Malone, the most desired woman in this city, a ride on my bike and maybe more.” He winked and started walking down the street.

  Desired? I started to ask why, but thought better of that and hurried to catch up to him. “So, I’m just a tool to boost your ego?”

  “Would you rather be dead?”

  I frowned. He had a good point. “I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before…”

  “I didn’t think you had. It isn’t that hard, just get on behind me. It’ll be natural to you. I promise.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I protested, but he cut me off by revving the engine. I clambered on to the back seat, and he sped off without so much as a by your leave.

  I clung to him for dear life. My arms were locked around his waist in a death grip, while I tried desperately not to fall off this death machine. That is what it was, too, death coming for me all over again.

  He tapped me on the shoulder and pointed ahead of us. We were driving out of town. The city was a decent size, but not too massive. Outside was mostly fields doted with small towns and suburbs. I rarely went out here though – after all – what could possibly be out here that I couldn’t find in the city?

  Suddenly, I saw it. The sky opened up before me, as the full moon cast an ethereal glow across the hills and little stars dotted the blackness of the night. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I relaxed my grip around Daniel, staring above me at the vast array of stars.

  I almost forgot the presence of the super-attractive man driving the motorcycle. Plus, I hadn’t thought about the fact that I snuck out of my room by climbing down a tree, like I was fifteen-years-old and without money or phone. Also, I had no plan of how to get back into my house. There was also the potential that this man may be driving me out to the middle of nowhere to kill me; but, if I died under this vast expanse, then I could die happy. Who knew that so close to my home there was something so fantastic and beautiful?

  “You like it?” he asked quietly.

  “Yeah, it is amazing. Was this always here?”

  He chuckled. “You don’t get out much do you?”

  “Well, nature never held much allure for me,” I admitted.

  “You just haven’t experienced it enough.” He sped up and turned off the road and into one of the fields or meadows or whatever it was called. Regardless, it was a large open space of grass or something. Wow. I really don’t know much. Suddenly, he stopped the bike.

  “What? Where are we going? Why are we stopping?”

  He almost seemed to glow under the strange brightness of the full moon. “Just trust me.”

  I started to protest, but he would just argue that he had saved my life; so, why would he wish to jeopardize that now? I would not have a reasonable answer to that question, so I just let it go.

  He took my hand naturally, almost like this was something that happened every day, without a thought. The small, innocent contact sent a thrill through me.

  “Do you bring all your girls out here?” I asked, trying to sound playful and not demanding or jealous.

  “Only the rich ones who apparently have never seen a tree before,” he teased. At least, I hoped he was teasing.

  He was leading me somewhere; but, of course, I had absolutely no idea where. The complete lack of knowing was starting to get a little old to be perfectly honest; but, at the same time, it was endlessly exciting.

  How could I be feeling so many emotions all at once? I pressed all those thoughts out of my head, as I followed him to the top of a hill. There, I could see the entire city and the surrounding countryside spread out below me.

  “Wow,” I breathed, lowering myself carefully to the ground. “Just wow.”

  The lights of the city and of the sky seemed to almost blend together, bathed in an almost eerie glow. I looked up at the moon. I never knew it could be so bright. In the city, I couldn’t see the stars, and the lights of the streetlamps obscured the brightness of the moon. I turned to him and asked, “Why did you bring me up here?”

  “Because it is one of my favorite places. The lights just turn the whole city into something else. Kind of hides the evil lurking in it.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you part of that?”

  He laughed. “There is so much you don’t know, little princess.” He reached out a hand to me, and I ducked to the side. “What?” he asked.

  “Well, let’s look at the facts real fast.” I ticked off things on my fingers as I listed them. “First, you were participating in a robbery, which I realize you saved me from, but still, you were there. You are most likely part of that motorcycle gang or something. Second, you left me in this suspended state of anxiety and fear for what my payment to you was going to be. Third, you snuck up to my window in the middle of the night and swept me out to the middle of nowhere. Why exactly should I trust
you?”

  “You shouldn’t. But, you do. We both know that’s true, so don’t try to deny it.”

  I glared at him, but I knew it was all far too true. I cursed my father for not letting me get more experience in this particular aspect of life. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so horrifically transparent.

  “You aren’t completely innocent in this. You brought me out here,” I said.

  He looked down, avoiding my gaze. My shot in the dark appeared to be quite accurate. I pressed my advantage, stepping closer to him. “So, why did you really save me that day? Why are we really here?”

  He turned toward me. “Because you’re the princess in the tower. I’m here to rescue you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

  I took a step back, putting a hand to my mouth in shock. “What?”

  “Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”