Twenty minutes and one less spider later, Throttle sat on his sister's couch drinking a beer and watching Olivia play a video game with rainbows, ponies, and a shimmering princess. She was damn good at finding the princess's jewels and hiding them from the ogre who was always trying to steal them. Her small fingers worked the control like a pro, and whenever she secured a jewel she'd turn to him and smile.
Dawn came in and sat on the other side of the couch. She lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. "Guess who I bumped into yesterday at the Stop and Shop Market."
He shrugged, his eyes glued on the princess in the tower.
"Mariah."
He turned his head sharply. "Mariah?"
"Yep. She's back in town. She came up to me. I didn't even see her. I was looking for a bag of Cheetos, and she called my name. At first it didn't register that it was her, and then I recognized her."
Throttle took a gulp of beer. What the fuck was Mariah doing back in town after all this time?
"The first thing she did was ask about you. Wanted to know if you were married or had a girlfriend."
He snorted and leaned back as an image from deep in his past surfaced: a pretty brunette with hazel eyes smiling at him.
"I told her you were having too much fun. She seemed happy that you didn't have anyone special in your life."
Kimber's blue piercing eyes and jet-black hair dipped in pink replaced the image from his past. Every time he thought of a woman, Kimber would wiggle into his brain; it was like her image was burned on it, branding him.
He felt a small yank on his jeans and he looked down to see Olivia's small hand pulling on them. "Did you see me get the tiara? That's the best of the princess's jewels."
He leaned down and gently tugged one of her braids. "I did. You kicked that green dude's ass."
She giggled. "He's called an ogre." He smiled at her.
"Anyway, she told me to tell you hi and that she'll be in town for some time," Dawn said, refocusing him back to her.
"So?"
"I think she wants to see you."
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't have any interest in seeing her. That was all in the past."
"But it couldn't-"
"Leave it alone, Dawn. This conversation is over."
She closed her mouth and shook her head. "You can be so stubborn."
He shrugged. "Whatever."
After Olivia made it through ten levels, the princess was finally free and the green ogre was banished from the kingdom. She set down her control and crawled up next to Throttle. As she curled up beside him, the front doorbell rang, and Dawn went to answer it. Olivia looked up at Throttle. "I'm sure it's Ella. She's my friend and she's sleeping over."
"That sounds like fun."
"Olivia," a small voice called from behind them.
Olivia leapt up from the couch and rushed over to her friend. Throttle rose and saw a blonde girl about Olivia's age with freckles and cornflower-blue eyes standing by a woman who wore shorts and a scooped neck T-shirt that showed off her nice cleavage. Throttle's gaze lingered on her chest and Dawn cleared her throat. "Throttle, this is Ella's mom, Clarisse. This is my brother, Throttle."
Throttle jerked his head back. "Hey."
The woman boldly ran her eyes over his toned body, her gaze eventually landing on his. "Hey," she breathed.
"I gotta go, sis. I'll call you about the three of us going out to dinner next week." He pulled his niece to him and hugged her. "Can you fit your uncle into your busy social schedule?"
"Oh, Uncle Throttle." She laughed and hugged him back.
"I take it that's a yes?"
She bobbed her head up and down.
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Clarisse asked.
He scanned her curvy body, loving the way her big tits strained across her top. He could have her legs spread and his cock inside her, pounding away, in a matter of minutes, but he wasn't interested. He didn't want a complication like her; he was better off with the club girls. But for right then, he didn't want any of them. He did want a small-titted smart aleck who had a great pair of legs and an ass he needed to fuck. Go figure.
He saw the hopeful gleam in Clarisse's eyes. "Yeah, I gotta go. I'll call you," he said to his sister. Olivia had already disappeared to her room with Ella. He jumped down the concrete steps and settled on his bike. He shifted on the seat. He was horny as hell and this bullshit of not getting laid in three weeks was driving him crazy. Maybe he should make it with the sex-starved housewife. He needed something … someone. Pressing his lips together, he decided to go back to the clubhouse and see who struck his dick. He had to exorcize the sassy-mouthed woman who'd cast some crazy-ass spell over him. Never had he cared about any woman since Mariah, and now this kooky woman who worked as a mechanic and had pink streaks in her hair invaded his mind and body. He exhaled. Damn. I gotta fuck Rosie and Lola.
He accelerated sharply, smirking when he spotted Clarisse standing on the porch, disappointment carved on her face. He turned the corner and never looked back.
Chapter Nine
As he came to the stop sign on Adams Street, he saw a woman in jean shorts who looked mighty damn fine. Glancing to the left, he saw a pink metallic Harley parked in the driveway of the woman's small bungalow. His gaze darted back to the woman watering flowers in front of her porch then he noticed pink tips brushing against the curve of her neck as they fell from her messy bun. Without hesitation, he made a U-turn into her driveway. Crossing his arms, he sat on the idling bike, knowing the hum of the motor would draw her attention.
She turned slightly, then placed her fingers over her mouth when recognition set in. They stared at each other for several seconds, and then she walked over to the side of her porch and turned off the hose. He killed the engine. Standing by her porch, her hand shielding the western sun from her eyes, she quirked her lips. "You stalking me?"
He climbed off his bike and leaned against it, his ankles crossed, his tanned arms made darker by the sunlight, and slowly took off his sunglasses. "A guy's got to be interested in a chick to stalk her."
"How do you know where I live?"
"I didn't. My sister lives a couple blocks away on Madison. Spotting you in your sexy shorts was just luck." He threw his best panty-melting smile-lopsided and smug.
She came closer, her hands pulling down her shorts. He had to laugh at the way she seemed so self-conscious. Her usual confidence seemed to have taken a backseat at that moment, and he loved that he was having an effect on her. It seemed fair since she'd been having an effect on him since the day he'd met her.
"I don't think you pulling your shorts down is gonna make them longer. Seems like the only thing you're gonna accomplish is pulling them down and giving me a glimpse of your sweet heat."
She gasped, but she didn't stomp away or wag her finger at him. Yeah, she likes my dirty mouth. And my mouth can't wait to taste her all over. "You got something cold to drink inside?"
"Yeah, but maybe I don't want you inside my house."
His gaze was riveted on her face, then moved over her body slowly and seductively. "You want me inside."
"Do I?" she asked playfully, glancing at him.
He slowly nodded, chuckling inwardly when color stained her cheeks under the heat of his gaze. He pushed away from his Harley, came up to her, and brushed away the tendrils from her face. Under his touch, he felt her shudder.
She looked away hastily, then cleared her throat. "I got some beer." Kimber moved away from him and sprinted to her porch.
Throttle glanced around the small living and dining room, liking the way she'd decorated it with punches of bold pinks, blues, and purples. The in-your-face color scheme and acrylic paintings adorning the walls reflected her personality, and he liked how she'd pulled it all together. "You did a nice job with your place."
"Thanks," she said over her shoulder as she rifled through the refrigerator.
"You like living in the neighborhood?"
"It wouldn't be my first choice if I had any money, but since I'm on a shoestring, it'll do. Some of the neighbors are sketchy, but I keep to myself most of the time. Where do you live?"
"At the club."
"Really? How long have you been doing that?" She set down a bottle of Coors and a bowl of pretzels on the coffee table.
"I've been living there since I patched in when I was twenty. So ‘bout fifteen years."