Heart Ripper - Coffin Nails MC (gay biker M/M romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 9) (25 page)

David closed his wallet and got up, even though he
found it hard to part with Raja. His body yearned to tangle up with Raja’s in
the sheets, but he needed to be an adult about it. He was worth more than that.
He had to assess Raja’s actions, not just his words.

“You’re not getting the T-shirt back,” he said.

Raja turned away and faced the pizza, visibly
deflated. “Keep it.”

David licked his lips, wanting to soften the blow
somehow. “I won’t be seeing anyone. Give it a week. Think about what you really
want from me,” he said and turned around, because the temptation to stay and
cuddle up to Raja was getting too intense.

All the way across the restaurant, he
half-expected Raja to run up to him and snatch him back to the table, but
nothing like that happened, so he slowly left and walked toward his bicycle
without looking back.

He was both proud of the way he’d handled things
and aching with need to do all the dirty things Raja had suggested. Until now,
he’d never managed to resist Raja’s charm, so despite the pain in his heart,
today felt like a victory of the mind over lust.

David was on his last delivery for the day, all
the way in Toledo, which had him thinking about Raja. He couldn’t help the
bitterness seep in as he considered that a week had passed, and he hadn’t heard
back from Raja. He didn’t dare say anything to Asty or Hunter, as that would
put Raja in even more trouble, but the weight of this secret made him
heartbroken yet again. He shouldn’t have had his hopes up, but even today, on
the final streak of the seven days he’d given Raja to think things through,
David was clinging to fantasies of Raja surprising him with a call. Asking
David out on a real date. With it already being so late, that was unlikely to
happen, and David wanted this day to be over already, so he could hide away in
his room and pretend he just needed some sleep. No one would bother him, and he
could cry his eyes out as an adult—without anyone else knowing.

It was already getting dark when he approached his
last delivery address. The flowers were meant for a Thomas Ackerman, who was
probably as boring and clean-cut as his name suggested, possibly some kind of
lawyer or university professor, who’d accept the huge bouquet of daisies in his
slacks and an ironed shirt. What a pathetic ending to this dreary day. Clearly
Raja had his priorities straight now, and it was for the better. David could
think about it as a clean slate of sorts.

He slowed down as he drove into a quiet street
with a patch of trees on one side and warehouses on the other, and carefully
watched the numbers. When he finally arrived at the right one, he needed to do
a double take, because the building looked like a potential renovation project.
The two-story place had walls of dark brick and was likely quite old. The
windows were blocked with wooden planks, and the garden was hidden away behind
a tall fence. Judging by a broken neon sign above the door, it used to be a
bar.

David licked his lips and started walking down the
alleyway in search of a door as soon as he’d parked his car. He double-checked
the address and knocked half-heartedly on the ugly door covered with a
remainder of green paint.

This was pathetic. He drove all the way here, only
to find out someone gave the Flower Crown the wrong add—

The door twitched, and the lock clanged loudly as
it opened. David half expected a builder to appear in a cloud of dust, but when
the man stepped outside, David’s breath caught in his throat. Raja stood in
front of him in a white tank top, which brought out the tone of his skin
perfectly, and a pair of black jeans. He was here. What was he doing here?

David rolled his eyes, fighting the trembling that
was slowly but surely overtaking his body. “I’m guessing you’re not
Thomas
Ackerman
?”

Raja stretched, and it only made the thin fabric
cling to his amazing pecs. David was already salivating, despite being annoyed
by yet another stunt. “I am Thomas Ackerman. What did you think my surname was?
Khan?” said Raja and stepped back, showing David the darkness behind his back.

David swallowed, unsure what to do just yet.
Thomas
Ackerman
. That was… interesting. He hadn’t even tried to guess Raja’s
surname, since everything else he ever assumed about him turned out to be
false. He licked his lips and took a step forward. “That’s... nice. But then
why do you go by Raja?”

Raja laughed and put his hand on David’s shoulder,
pulling him toward the open door of the weird abandoned building. Why would
Raja call him over here? David’s brain was overheating, and he didn’t even have
enough reason left in him to pull away from the touch and keep it cool.

“You really need to ask? I don’t look like someone
with the name my parents gave me years ago, so people started calling me that.
It pissed me off at first, but I decided to just take it as my nickname, so
they couldn’t hurt me with it. Feels more like me anyway. I am a bit like a
king, don’t you think?” he teased.

David couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I
guess they knew you were destined for greatness.” He took a deep breath and
hugged the daisies closer as he walked inside.

The sound of the door locking behind him sent a
deep shiver down David’s back, so he focused on the room stretching before him.
Large in size but cluttered with random trash, it had a bar area on one side
and some booths that still had seats, as those were built into the walls, but
no tables. There was a corridor leading off into the darkness, and another that
promised more rooms farther down, but David couldn’t think of any of it anymore
once Raja’s palm touched his nape.

“Those flowers are for you. You can even put them
all in my beard if you want. Or make some flower crowns.”

David looked down at the daisies and smelled them,
a warm feeling blooming in his chest. Raja must have chosen them remembering
how David put them in his beard. That was… really sweet. “Thank you.” He pulled
one daisy out of the large bouquet and slipped it into the pocket of Raja’s
jeans. It didn’t escape his attention that Raja didn’t try to kiss him yet. He
wasn’t pulling any of his ‘you know you want it’ stunts either.

“What is this place?”

It was as if his question set Raja’s eyes on fire.
“It’s great, isn’t it? Built traditionally, so it has strong walls, and there
is a lot of space,” he said, pulling David closer to his chest, which had the
same aroma that never failed to soften David’s knees. Raja went on, pointing
with his hand. “It has all the necessary facilities to open the bar again, and
that would bring revenue to the club, and there is enough space to build
additional rooms if the ones on the second floor aren’t enough to fit our
needs.”

David smiled and looked around, only now seeing
more than a destitute building. “This is yours?” It felt as if Raja was
inviting him to witness something truly personal. David had to fight his urge
to kiss Raja’s shoulder which was so close he could almost taste the naked
skin.

Raja blinked. “No, but I’m thinking about buying.
This place is owned by several members of the same family, who hate each other,
so instead of making a plan and profiting from this place, they just let it
rot. What do you think, will I be able to bring them back on speaking terms?”
asked Raja with a wide grin.

David smiled up at him shyly. This meeting felt so
different to the way Raja had crashed his date. Like he was seeing the real
Raja, not the cocky facade that was both attractive and not entirely honest. He
even knew Raja’s real name now.

“I believe you can.”

Raja’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he looked down at
David, without the confident smile that was usually plastered to his face. “You
do?”

David pressed his arm against Raja’s chest to be
closer. “I think you’re an amazing guy. So resilient and resourceful under all
the BS.”

Raja smiled and ruffled David’s hair. “What
happened to the real David? Since when are you so sweet to me again?”

David stepped back to establish some distance. “If
we are to be back together in any way, I need to know the truth about the bet.
And don’t try to lie to me. It’ll come back and bite you in the ass of you do.”

Raja slouched and combed back his thick black
hair. “Not lying bit me in the ass in the first place, remember? I could have
denied it all, but I didn’t, because I thought you deserved the truth. And then
you didn’t even let me explain myself.”

“What could you say, really? You lied to me from
the start. It made me feel like I wasn’t even a person in your eyes. Like I was
just a challenge to pass the time.”

Raja rubbed his face. “That was only the first
time! What did you expect me to do? Randomly tell you that the thing we’d had
at Hunter’s was on a bet?”

“That’s not cool. Who does that?” David groaned
and hid his face behind the bouquet in embarrassment. Truth was that back then
he’d been so horny for Raja he didn’t care to even ask for his name, let alone
why he was doing what he was doing. “And then at your club, you hid me like a
dirty secret, and Blade said it was all to spite Hunter anyway.”

Raja frowned. “What? No! I have no beef with
Hunter. Blade… that son of a bitch,” he growled, pacing around the room. He
kicked a stray piece of wood, and it rolled almost halfway across the floor.
“He was the one to bet with me. I was telling him that gay guys have it easier
with getting laid, and he told me to prove it to him. It had nothing to do with
Hunter. I only found out who you were when he introduced you to us later.”

David’s heart sank. “You think I’m easy?”

Raja walked up to him and grabbed his arms as if
he were afraid David would run. “No! Jesus... you’re just... a guy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You surprised me,
that was all. I probably wouldn’t have… If I’d only gotten some time to think…”
The truth was David had never before been approached by a man so confident, so
full of charisma and presence. He wouldn’t have been able to deny himself that
experience, no matter what.

Raja kissed him. It felt as if his intention was
just to give David a little smooch, but as heat filled David’s body, he leaned
in and opened up to Raja. It was as if the universe was telling him he was
where he belonged, even if that place was a dirty old building. When Raja
withdrew, they stared at each other in the darkness, as if the sensations wiped
their brains clean.

Raja scowled, looking away. “So I freaked out when
I found out who you were, but then we had this vote, and Blade bet me again...
for his vote.”

David’s eyes went wider. “You made a bet over me
twice?” he hissed and pushed on Raja’s chest, but it wasn’t enough to pull out
of Raja’s sturdy arms. “I guess you already knew I was
easy
.” He
squinted at Raja.

“You clearly weren’t,” muttered Raja and swiped
his thumbs over David’s arms where he still held him. “But I thought you were
hot, and I knew you were repressed, so I thought I could kill two birds with
one stone. Get the vote and have us enjoy this whole thing. But then I was at
Hunter’s place with you, and we talked, and I felt like a scumbag. I lost that
bet even though I could have pushed.”

That did make David feel a little better. Raja
lost the bet for him? He swallowed and leaned closer, only now realizing just
how much he missed Raja’s touch, the heat of his body, and the smell of his
cologne.

“So you really like me.”

Raja rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m here with you, am
I not?”

“And you won’t lie to me again?” David couldn’t
believe this was happening. He’d be getting Raja back? It did pay to stand his
ground and show Raja he wasn’t a pushover. He wrapped his arms around Raja’s
waist and stood on his toes for another kiss.

Raja groaned and held him tight, playing David’s
tongue with growing fervor, but once again, he eventually pulled back and
pressed his cheek to David’s, panting. “No, I won’t be lying. Everything that
happened later wasn’t on a bet. That is the truth.”

David groaned and nudged Raja’s arm with his
forehead. “Hunter’s gonna kill me,” he said, but wouldn’t loosen his hold
around Raja.

Raja smirked and pressed his lips to David’s
forehead. “No he won’t. You’re his beloved little brother. He’s gonna kill
me
for hunting you down again.”

David exhaled and tightened his hug around the
brawny body that he wanted to melt with. He’d thought his whole relationship
with Raja had been a big fat joke, yet here he was, listening to things he
realized he wanted to hear all along. “I thought I was just another number in
your phone. And I gave you my… ring. I mean, that was very special to me.”

Raja frowned. “You mean the thing that you said I
wasn’t worthy of getting?”

“You wouldn’t have been if you didn’t care about
me, would you?”

“You tell me. You were pretty eager back in
Hunter’s bathroom,” said Raja, wiggling his eyebrows.

David groaned but gave Raja’s arm a kiss anyway.
“I’m not proud of that,” he mumbled.

“You should be. It was a great blowjob for a
first-timer.”

David snorted. “Always the charmer.” He slid his
free hand to Raja’s arm, admiring the thick muscle underneath.

Raja leaned closer to David’s ear and pulled on it
with his teeth. “You used so much spit I felt it dribbling down my balls. It
was fucking glorious.”

David curled his toes and groaned into Raja’s
beard. The memory went straight down to his dick, making thinking much harder
than he would like. He’d love to suck Raja all over again and then smell the
daisies in the afterglow. “It turned me on,” he whispered.

Raja nodded but didn’t try to immediately get into
David’s pants. Instead he pulled him toward the corridor in the back of the
main room. “You know what else turns you on? Knowing the truth. You told me you
want to know more, and I will give you just that.”

“Oh, okay…” David squeezed Raja’s hand and walked
on, still a bit dazed from the rush of arousal.

Raja squeezed him under his thick arm and led the
way to a solid-looking staircase with a broken banister. They started walking
up the stairs, and David’s mind kept roaming through all the possibilities. He
already got Raja’s name and the truth about the bet, so what awaited him next?

“Do you want to show me more of this place?” he
asked with a smile, but then something hit him. “Hey, you said this place
wasn’t yours. How’d you get the keys?”

Raja’s laugh told David everything he needed to
know, but he still followed him upstairs without a moment’s hesitation. “It’s
an old lock. Getting a copy of the key was easy peasy.”

“What if someone finds us here?” David’s heart
sped up. As soon as Raja was back, his life was exciting and colorful again.

Raja shrugged as they stepped on the landing, and
Raja looked out through a large window, which opened into a big garden
overgrown with weeds. “No one cares. We’re safe as long as we don’t alarm the
police ourselves. There’s enough space here for a garage and at least one more
building. Maybe a parking lot as well.”