When he came back into the family room, showered and changed, he felt a hell of a lot better. Dawn was on the couch, an unopened bottle of beer on the table. "Is that for me?" he asked.
"Yep. I thought you'd like one."
"I can't stay too much longer. I told Rags I'd be back after a couple hours to help out."
"It only takes a few minutes to have a beer, especially the way you guzzle it." She smiled. "You look nice and fresh. Feel better?"
He nodded. "This is one fuckin' hot summer. It's way hotter than last year."
The doorbell rang and Dawn padded over to answer it. "Oh. What are you doing here?" Throttle heard surprise laced in her voice.
"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop over for a quick visit." The woman's voice sounded familiar, and Throttle's muscles tensed. Fuck, she sounds just like-
"Throttle, look who's here," Dawn said.
Mariah. His eyes narrowed as they fell on his ex-lover. She looks damn good. A bit worn out, but her curves are still there. When his eyes shifted to Dawn's guilty ones, he knew she'd set the whole fucking thing up. She'd known all along where the valve was to shut off the water, but she'd pretended ignorance as a ruse to lure him over there to "bump" into his ex. The shower, fresh clothes, all of it had been a damn trap. I wish Dawn would stay the fuck outta my life. "I gotta go." He turned to leave.
"Don't go yet, Throttle. How've you been?" Mariah's fingers brushed against his forearm.
He jerked away. "Been fine."
"I'd like to talk to you in private," she said softly.
"I have some laundry in the wash that I have to hang up. Be back in a few." Before Throttle could say anything, Dawn scurried out of the room.
"It's good seeing you," Mariah said.
"You got ten minutes to talk. Then I leave." He crossed his arms over his chest and bristled when she raked her eyes over him, lingering on his powerful arms before shifting to his mouth.
"You look real good." She smiled seductively.
"You've just used up thirty seconds."
"You're still a hard man, aren't you? I've thought about you a lot over the last thirteen years." She pushed her hair over her shoulders and took a step forward. He just stared at her stone-faced. "I was a fool to hurt you like I did. I was a fucking idiot to have cheated on you and to have thrown what we had away. I'm so very sorry … I really am. Pony turned out to be a mean, drunken sonofabitch. He was nothing like you." She placed her slender fingers on her throat. "I was young and stupid when you and I were together. I didn't realize what a wonderful man you were."
"What the fuck do you want from me, Mariah?"
"I want your forgiveness." Her big eyes scanned his face.
He breathed out. "All the shit between us is in the past. Yeah, I was fuckin' pissed for a long time, but I got over it. I've forgotten it. What's done is done."
"So, you forgive me?"
A dark expression crossed his face and he pressed his lips together as he shook his head. "I'm not the forgiving type, but I'm over it."
She looked up at him from under hooded lids. "I hope you're not over me." She laughed softly, then skimmed her tongue over her upper lip.
He stared at her impassively.
"Do you think I look good?" She ran her hands over her curves.
He tilted his head in a nod.
She smiled widely.
"What the fuck do you really want?" His jaw tightened and twitched.
She stepped closer to him but halted when he held out his hand, stopping her from coming any closer to him. "I wanted you to know that I never stopped loving you. You've always been on my mind … I want you back. I still love you."
His laugh had a hard edge to it. "Pony threw your fuckin' ass out, didn't he?"
She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes shining. "I threw him out. I've been wanting to call you for the last ten years, but my stupid pride held me back. Finally I decided to come back home and see you. I want for us to get back together. I'll be real good to you, baby. Remember how much fun we used to have? How we'd fuck for hours under the stars at Arrow Lake?"
"That was a long time ago."
"Standing here with you, it feels like it was just a week ago. I still get the tingles when I look at you, baby. You're the only man who's ever had that effect on me."
"You fuckin' trashed what we had, and you come back here and think we'll just pick up where we left off? Fuck, you're crazier than I remember. I'm not interested. All the feelings I had for you died a long time ago."
"I don't believe you. I saw the way you looked at me, and I know the spark is still there. You still like these, don't you?" She cupped her big breasts and pushed them together.
Shaking his head, he snorted. "Any man's gonna look at a woman's tits. It doesn't mean shit. I fuck plenty of women. I don't need you."
Mariah's shoulders sagged a little and she wringed her hands. "We do need each other."
"I don't need any woman." He uncrossed his arms; he was growing weary of her.
"Can I hug you? I'd really like to touch you, and if you don't feel anything after we hug, I'll go away. I just want to hold you again."
"Your ten minutes are way over." He spun around and walked out of the house, the screen door slamming behind him.
"Throttle!" Mariah said, but he kept walking toward his Harley. She yelled out his name again and he revved his cams loud to drown her out. Then he sped off, never looking back.
* * *
Nightfall erased all remnants of muted color as glimmering stars punctured the darkening sky. Sitting at a table nursing a beer, Throttle stared out into the night, the trees surrounding the clubhouse swallowed by the encroaching blackness. He'd ignored Dawn's phone calls that started ten minutes after he'd left her place. He didn't trust what he'd say to her, so he'd decided to wait until the following day to speak with her. She never should've had Mariah come over when he was there. Did Mariah seriously think he'd let her jump back into his life and bed just because she looked good? The truth was the only woman on his mind was Kimber. Not Mariah, not Lola and Rosie who kept trying to get back in his bed, and not Big Tits who kept asking the brothers about him when they'd eat at Ruthie's.
He picked up his phone and dialed Hawk's number. "Hey. I called for Kimber's number."
A pause ensued on the other end. "Sorry, dude, but I can't give it out."
"Fuck, man. I'm not gonna stalk her or anything. I just have to ask her a question."
"I was gonna say that if you happened to go into my office at the clubhouse and look under my duplicate employee files, I couldn't stop you."
Throttle grinned. "I owe you."
"Just hurry the fuck up and claim her. She's been in a pissed-off mood for over a week, and some of the other guys are fearing for their lives. She's pretty mean with a wrench." He chuckled.
Throttle stiffened. "No, dude, you got it all wrong. I just had a question I had to ask her. That's it. I'm not planning to claim any chick. You know me. I love my freedom and easy pussy too much. No way do I want a woman telling me what I can do and where I can go. Damn, that's not my style." He motioned the prospect, Johnnie, for a shot of whiskey.
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself that you're not interested in her?"
"You're starting to piss me off. I didn't call to hear all this shit about making a woman mine. No fuckin' way. I'm not interested. It's that plain and simple."
"Yeah, right. I gotcha. Have a good talk with the woman you're not interested in. Later."
Throttle heard Hawk laughing when he clicked off his phone and felt his body temperature rising. Couldn't he just call and talk with a woman without all this talk about claiming her? Hell, he'd screwed so many women, and he hadn't claimed any of them. Why was Hawk making a big deal about this? I should just forget about calling her and take up with one of the club girls. Frowning, he threw back the shot, jerked to his feet, and made his way to Hawk's office.
In his room, resting against the headboard, he dialed Kimber's phone number. The comments Hawk made still sizzled inside him. The rush of the Colorado River that ran behind the clubhouse sifted through his open window. She picked up on the fourth ring, and the mellow tone of her voice covered him like warm honey.
"How are you?" he asked. The way she sucked in her breath made him smile.