Heart Ripper - Coffin Nails MC (gay biker M/M romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 9) (8 page)

Raja could imagine David curled up in bed with his
phone, maybe cupping his dick already. But somehow, it didn’t feel right to ask
about it. Taking into account that David was Hunter’s baby brother, he
shouldn't even be thinking about it.

[I know. It’s kinda nice to be someone’s teenage
crush], he typed.

[So full of yourself. What’s your type then? Since
I was only good enough for a fling.] There was scorn in those words. No doubt
about that.

Raja sighed and pulled on his beard before typing
his answer. [
You know it’s not about that. You’re Hunter’s brother.]

[It’s fine. Forget about it. At some point, I will
too.]

Raja exhaled, shuddering with the cold that
suddenly poured all over him. He should have talked to David before taking on
the bet. It was meant to be innocent fun, but for David it hadn’t been.

[I’m sorry.]

[Goodnight. I have to get up early tomorrow
.]
He attached a photo of a white fluffy cat sitting on his pillow.

Raja smirked and quickly snapped a picture of
himself waving and sent it to David. When no answer came, he felt oddly
deserted on the empty street. The orgasm he’d had just half an hour ago was
becoming a fleeting memory while the kiss from a few days earlier still burned
on his lips.

When his phone rang, for a split second his heart
leapt, and he thought it was David, but it was Tooth. Raja licked his lips and
waited a moment before picking up the call.

“Yeah?”

“We’re fine with you going on the road. We should
make it with Spin supervising your side. I’ll get you in contact with a few of
the other chapters.”

Raja sighed. He wasn’t sure whether that was what
he wanted or not. “You sure you’ll be fine without me for a month? You know,
Spin could drop dead any second,” he said with a low laugh.

Tooth snorted. “We’ll call you back if there’s a
funeral.”

Raja walked up to his bike. “Works for me. Good
night.”

When Tooth hung up and Raja finally mounted the
bike, he couldn’t help but think of David again. At least being away for
several weeks would let him get some much-needed distance.

David took a deep breath once he attached his
bicycle to a stand next to the coffee shop that cuddled up against the large
flower shop, which had flowers filling all windows, and there was even a
wedding-themed display, complete with a fake five-tier cake decorated with
lilies.

The sun shone down on him, the air was warm but
fresh. This would be his day. He would get the job and soften the blow to his
parents. Just because he wasn’t going to college didn’t mean he wouldn’t get
somewhere in life. He could have a meaningful career, with or without a degree.

He smiled at himself in the window, ready to show
Lindell, the owner, what he was made of. He wore blue pants and sneakers and had
taken forever in the morning ironing his white shirt. After ages of mulling
over the tie or bow tie issue, he went with a blue dotted bow tie to show more
personality. It was a flower shop after all, not a bank.

David quickly pushed into place a few strands of
hair that the breeze had blown out of place on the way there, but as his gaze
swept over the colorful display, he stiffened when he discovered a tiny rainbow
flag. His heart thudded, and just like that, it felt as if the two steps
leading to the shop grew into an enormous staircase. Right. The owner was gay.
Lucky had told David so, but now that it was shoved straight into David’s face,
everything became much more difficult.

David pushed open the door, and the bell that rang
above David’s head alerted a young woman with lavender-colored hair, who was
arranging some of the display inside. “Welcome to the Flower Crown,” she called
out.

The interior of the store made David smile despite
his nerves eating up his guts. The place was brimming with flowers arranged by
color, and each plant had a little card attached to it with its name. He could
already see himself in a green apron tending to the lilies, making arrangements
based on customer preferences, the season, or the occasion.

When the woman approached, patting her hands
against the apron she wore, he noticed that her name tag read
Suzy
.

“Can I help you?” she asked softly.

“Hi, my name is David. I came for the job
interview with Lindell. Is he in?” Truth be told, David did arrive a bit early,
but he wanted to make a good impression.

Suzy looked back at the clock but nodded. “I’ll
tell him you’re already here.” She rushed behind the counter and through a door
leading to the backrooms.

David exhaled and walked up to a block of shelves
that stored figurines of anthropomorphic animals. They were pretty cute, and
judging from the prices made by a fancy brand. He needed to appear casual, not
just stand there like a scolded pupil in front of the principal’s office.
Still, the sound of the door opening behind him sent a shiver down his back.

Suzy rushed to resume her work, but winked at
David from behind her boss’s back. Lindell was a wiry, handsome man with black
hair interwoven with a bit of silver at his temples. He smiled at David and
offered his hand in greeting. “Hi, how are you doing?” he said and promptly
introduced himself.

“I’m great, thanks. Just a bit nervous.” David
gave the man a big smile. “But the shop is so lovely. I saw that you have books
as well. I’ve got the one on flower crowns. I used to make them with my little
sister.”

Lindell grinned and reached out his hand toward
the open door behind the counter. “Lucky told me only good things about you. No
need to be nervous.” They walked toward the door, and once they left the
fragrant safety of the store and entered a corridor stacked with cardboard
boxes, David felt out of his depth despite Lindell’s assurance.

“Little sister, huh?” murmured Lindell, following
David into a cluttered little office with two large filing cabinets and a
single desk. “So you’ve been interested in flowers for a long time?” he asked
and showed David a chair before sitting down behind the desk.

David nodded quickly once he took a place. “Yes,
it might sound ridiculously enthusiastic, but I love all kinds of flowers. My
mom has a big garden, and I used to help her all the time. We’d take the
flowers to church on Sunday, or in the summer, we would make flower
arrangements for friends’ parties.”

Lindell leaned back in the chair and folded his
hands in his lap. “So it’s a true passion?”

“Definitely. I live with my brother now, and his
backyard is a mess, but I’ve made it my little project to get it in shape.”

“That’s promising. Do you have any retail
experience?” asked Lindell, making a note in a small notebook.

“I did charity work at church, and we sometimes
had bake sales, market stands, things like that, so I helped out with that. I
know how to please customers. This one time, a lady was really angry and rude
when asking about the ingredients of the muffins we were selling, but I figured
she must have been having a bad day. So I was really kind to her, answered all
her questions, and by the end of the transaction, she told me that she had
problems with her daughter’s food habits, and I cheered her up. She bought lots
of muffins, and everyone had a great day. Win-win.” David gave Lindell his best
smile.

“You mentioned being very engaged with your
church. I’m assuming you are religious, and obviously that’s perfectly fine,
but this shop is a safe space, very LGBTQ friendly. If you were approached by,
say, a transsexual woman, would you be comfortable with serving her, given your
background?” Lindell’s brown gaze shot right through David.

It felt as if Lindell had set fire to David’s
face. “I… I don’t believe in hating people,” he uttered. “Everyone would get my
best customer service.” He took a deep breath. “I’m actually trying to meet new
people from all sorts of backgrounds. I’ve just moved out of my parents’ home.”

Lindell nodded but still watched David with that
serious gaze. “Would your family not share your beliefs?”

David looked down at his hands. “In all honesty, I
don’t think they would, sir.”

Lindell laughed. “Don’t
sir
me. It makes me
feel old.”

“I’m sorry.” David let out a nervous chuckle. “I
was just thinking about my mom, and she’s a lovely person, but she can say very
rude things sometimes. I want to see the world on my own terms.”

Lindell tapped his pencil against the notebook.
“That’s a very healthy attitude. It can get you far in life.”

“I want to challenge myself. Lucky—” All of a
sudden David realized he didn’t know Lucky’s actual name, and he might have
made a
faux pas
, but then he remembered Lindell had referred to him that
way too. “Lucky told me you would be doing flower arrangements for his wedding.
It’s another thing I’d like to learn and be good at.”

Lindell smiled. “So wedding decorations for
same-sex couples are perfectly fine with you as well, is that correct?”

Even David’s ears were getting hot as the image of
him marrying Raja flooded his brain. What was Raja’s surname, anyway? Was it
something that would go with ‘David’? Would they have double surnames? Would
Raja wear some traditional Indian wedding outfit? A turban? What flowers would
suit them both? Or was the Indian wedding fantasy misguided because of his love
of Bollywood? Maybe Raja wanted a wedding in a barn, with burlap tablecloth,
and hay bales for seats?

David licked his lips and smiled. “Flowers are a
universal language, they don’t discriminate.”

Lindell smiled. “I really like your attitude, but
I need to know if you have an eye for arrangements. Obviously, if you are
hired, we will train you but this is an art, and it requires a degree of
talent.” He stood up and tore out the page that he’d been writing on. “I want
you to make a flower crown for a blonde bride, whose wedding theme is Tolkien’s
elves. The dress is cream with golden thread. You have half an hour,” he said,
handing the page with notes to David.

Excitement rushed through David, and he got up
with a smile. “I’m on it.” He’d spent ages making flower crowns for Amy. He had
this! And he’d even seen the
Lord of the Rings
movies, so he had a feel
for the style. Unlike
Game of Thrones
, Mom deemed
Lord of the Rings
appropriate entertainment for him. Actually, Mom deemed many things
inappropriate.

He set off to choose his flowers in the store, and
started to work at a wooden table by the counter. Even his worries about
whether he’d said the right thing or not disappeared when he focused on the
arrangement. He chose two lilies for the sides, and tried not to question his
choices too much. His mom always told him he shouldn’t overthink it and just go
with his heart. Too bad that couldn’t be the case when it came to Raja.

Next to him, Suzy served customers, but he was
completely immersed in the work at hand. The clock was ticking, and half an
hour didn’t seem to be enough time for someone who didn’t know the store or
where anything was. Still, by the time Lindell came out of the office to
examine the crown, David was done with it.

Lindell picked up the arrangement, frowned, and
examined it from each side, pulling on the green wires David had used as the
basis for the whole thing. In the end, the crown was back on the counter, and
Lindell glanced back at David. “How do you think you did?”

David took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s lovely.
I’d wear it.” Behind him, Suzy burst out laughing.

Lindell picked up the flower crown and placed it
on David’s head with a barely held-back smirk. “It does suit you, although all
those frills would be better fitting for a bride.”

Suzy walked up to them and rested her elbows on
the counter from the other side. “It is pretty. I would totally wear that.”

David’s heart was racing. Did he manage? Did he
land the job?

Lindell tapped his finger on the wooden counter.
“You’ll need to learn all about the flowers. The customers have many questions
about care, watering, and all that.”

“I will!” David pulled out his notebook from his
bag, and opened it quickly. “I have all these notes on the flowers from my
mom’s garden, and I’m a quick learner.”

Lindell and Suzy exchanged glances. “Well, that’s
great, because I’m gonna test you in two weeks,” said Lindell in the end.

“Thank you so much! I will not disappoint you.”
David shook Lindell’s hand, over the moon and back. He’d just landed his first
real job. He couldn’t wait to tell Hunter, and Asty, and Mom, and Dad… and
Raja.

Lindell showed David the door to the office. “Come
on, we need to discuss all the boring bits. You can keep the crown.”

David walked out of the store and took a selfie in
the flower crown, with the shop in the background. He sent the photo to his
friends with a caption stating ‘Guess who just got a job?’. But even though he casually
attached Raja’s number to that group, his was the one answer he anticipated
most. Despite the way Raja had tricked him into a kiss, he still couldn’t help
but be drawn to the man. He didn’t believe anything would happen between them
anymore. Raja had made that clear...ish. But David could speak to Raja about
the one thing he’d only ever told Father Joseph (which ended up a disaster).
The more he thought about it, the more he appreciated Raja’s straight up
attitude. The way Father Joseph acted was… David hated to think that but,
shady
.
Raja was just so out there with his confidence and attitude. A man of the cloth
acting the way Father Joseph did made David uncomfortable at best.

Not that Raja was a saint, but at least he didn’t
pretend to be. Who was David kidding, anyway? Raja was so hot he scorched
David’s brain, leaving it a charred mess. David shouldn’t have even texted him
back after what Raja said to him in that shed, but he couldn’t help himself.
The mystery of Raja having gone to a conversion therapy camp was also at the
back of David’s mind. He didn’t dare ask about it just yet, because it didn’t
seem like something Raja wanted to talk about.

As he cycled home through a park, his phone buzzed
steadily with people’s comments on the picture. He was elated and even stopped
by a bakery on the way, because he figured he deserved something sweet for his
achievement today. Not wanting to be selfish in his celebrating, he also bought
pastries for Hunter and his fiancée, Asty, before riding straight home.

Asty was trying to lose her almost nonexistent
pregnancy weight and moaned about it at first, but she seemed grateful for the
pastry nevertheless.

David hung the flower crown to dry in the garden
shed, and the two of them sat down to have some coffee with the sweets. “Do you
want to have some wine with that?” asked Asty, who walked around with little
Bell strapped to the front of her body in a bat-shaped carrier, complete with
tiny wings. Hunter and Asty’s house was like all-year round Halloween.

“Why does everyone want to get me drunk?” David
laughed and curled up his feet on the sofa, briefly thinking back to the
fantasy of getting married to Raja. No one needed to know about it.

Asty took a bite of her apple turnover and groaned
in pleasure, petting the baby’s head. “Well, I can’t drink any until I’m done
breastfeeding, I guess I want someone else to have some fun.”

“You’re still only twenty.”

Asty snorted. “Sure. I can get married and have a
baby, but I’m not mature enough for a glass of red wine. Makes sense.” She
leaned over and patted David’s hand. “Don’t be so strict with yourself.”

David sighed, it was hard to deny the logic of
Asty’s words. “I guess I’m not much of a party boy.”

Asty smiled at him with her mouth full and some of
the flaky crust stuck to her lips and piercings. He wondered if it was hard to
eat with those in her lips, but he didn’t dare ask. “I noticed. Guess your
brother already partied for both of you,” she said, but it didn’t sound like a
complaint. More as if she were amused by the fact that Hunter was getting as
little sleep as she did and wouldn’t have enough energy for an all-night party.

“He’s changed. He’s nothing like the rest of the
family. How does it work in the club? Lucky’s your brother, right? He’s gay,
and I suppose your dad is okay with it, but what about his fiancé? I’ve only
seen him a few times, but he’s the vice president of the club. Is that okay
with people?”

Asty shrugged, but her expression was thoughtful.
“Tooth has been with the club for years, and he became Dad’s right hand pretty
quickly. I suppose he’s just very responsible, but also stern when he needs to
be. He has a reputation. I think if he were someone else, it could have been
harder for people to accept him as a gay man, but he’s just this overall
badass. No one in their right mind would treat him differently just because he
likes men.”

“I guess what I’ve been thinking about is that
I’ve never known anyone who was gay, and now, all of a sudden it’s everywhere
around me. Your brother, my new boss, and the shop caters to gay weddings. It’s
not something I’m used to.” David sighed, thinking back to Raja again and
taking a discreet glance at his phone. There was no answer from him so far, and
it only made anxiety grow somewhere within David. Would Raja ignore him again?
David shouldn’t have texted him.

Asty finished the pastry and sipped some tea.
“Times are changing, and people don’t want to hide who they are anymore.
Hunter’s former club attacked the Coffin Nails because of Tooth before the
patchover. And now they have a gay club president, although from what I
understand, some of their members left because of this. But those who have
brains know that such things don’t affect the worth of a man.”

David nodded, still unsure where he stood on all
this. “Lucky’s nice. And my new boss is really nice too.”

Asty smiled. “I know. He’ll be making decorations
for us once I can fit into the dress I want.”

David got up. “Maybe I’ll be helping with it then.
Let me know when Hunter’s back, okay?” He needed to google some gay weddings,
because he was more than curious about how the flower arrangements looked. Were
they more monochrome? Darker? It would seem appropriate for a wedding without a
bride. Then again... what about lesbians? It was very confusing.

They talked some more, and after he put all the
plates and cups into the dishwasher, David climbed up the stairs and walked
into the guest room. It was quite large, and although the bed was the only piece
of furniture inside at this moment, David didn’t mind. He put his clothes on a
cheap rail he’d acquired from the neighbors during a garage sale, and he didn’t
have that many things here anyway, with most of his belongings remaining back
in his parents’ house.

His phone buzzed when he rolled on the bed and
switched on the laptop. It was Raja, and just seeing his name had David’s blood
heating up.

[Is that how you want to marry your Prince
Charming?] wrote the insolent bastard.

At least David didn’t have to make a
pretend-sour-face, because Raja wouldn’t get to see his smile. [
Oh, is that
a typo? Did you mean PRINCESS?
]

[You’re not a princess.]

[I’m celibate. I can’t marry.]

[We’ll see about that.] answered Raja.

David gasped, staring at the screen. Was Raja
still actually interested in him? Or was this just flirting? He supposed it was
safe to flirt. It wasn’t as if David could give in to anything when Raja was
miles away.

[I can stick to my word. Just because you’ve
tempted me once, doesn’t mean I haven’t learned from it.]

[Twice.]

[The kiss doesn’t count! Even a priest could kiss
someone on the cheek.]

[Even you don’t believe that, you little cheat.
You need some porn in your life to fuel that fire.] wrote Raja.

David shook his head with a groan. [
I don’t
need porn. I’m perfectly self-sufficient
.] He winced once he sent the text.
That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say. Stupid Raja, pulling his tongue. He
couldn’t help but glance at his laptop though. At home, his parents set up
blocks for adult content, and he wasn’t all that eager to search for it either,
but now that Raja mentioned it, a curiosity bloomed in him, and he typed ‘gay
pornography’ into the search engine. He’d just look at how many results there
were. It was curiosity.

In the meanwhile, Raja wrote back, [Self-sufficient?
I don’t believe that for a second. You must be thinking about me at least a
bit.]

David’ cheeks flamed up. He’d even made up an
elaborate fantasy of them fucking in that shed, to which he jerked off much too
often. David rolled over to his back with a sigh. Raja was such a damn flirt,
and it pulled on all of David’s strings. [
It’s still just me and my hand.]
Gah. Too much information. David slapped his forehead.

Raja took more time to answer this time, but when
his message finally came, David had to stifle a moan. [
Last time, it was my
hand.]

David bit his lip and slid his hand into his
pants. He did remember that last time all too well
. [Long time ago.]

[Wasn’t that long. Loved how it pulsed against
my hand. I wonder how tasty it is
.] sent back Raja, leaving David deaf to
anything but the furious thudding in his ears.

He’d thought Raja didn’t want him anymore, but it
looked like this wasn’t the case after all. It would make keeping his purity
ring on his finger much harder. David squeezed his cock through his briefs.
[Not gonna happen. I’m a good boy.]

[You are very good when you’re dirty. So hungry
for my spunk, even though you’re wearing those neat clothes.]

David rubbed his palm against his hardening dick
but wouldn’t give Raja the satisfaction.
[I’m not hungry for anyone’s spunk.
I’ve learned my lesson.]
Such a lie. He’d fantasized about giving Raja head
so many times he’d lost count. That thick, hot cock in his mouth was the stuff
of wet dreams. He was so weak.

Raja’s answer came quickly and had David trembling
with excitement. [
I’ll be away for the next few weeks. Wanna hang out
tonight?]

Even David’s lips started throbbing. He knew
exactly what ‘hanging out’ would entail. But then there was the whole torment
of finding out Raja would be gone for a few weeks. Maybe that was for the
better? Maybe that would be a chance for David to get over all his dirty
feelings for the bearded sex god?

[I can’t… This is really inappropriate
.] he
wrote, but it pained him to do so. He wanted to see Raja’s cock up close again.
And Raja was… David wanted to get to know him better. Wear his T-shirt, ride on
his bike, fall asleep in his bed and make him pancakes in the morning. He had
such a pathetic crush on the guy.

David pushed his hand into his briefs and groaned,
imagining it was Raja’s fingers on his cock. The mixture of arousal and
disappointment when Raja didn’t answer was so confusing he pulled his hand out
again, unsure if he even wanted to jerk off anymore. This was the worst.

He dropped the phone and rolled to his stomach,
suddenly faced with a whole list of pages that contained the thing he’d been
running from. Gay sex. His breath caught, and as his hips pushed his half-hard
cock against the comforter, the pressure was enough to elicit a tingle that ran
all the way to David’s balls.

He clicked on the first link, full of dirty words,
unable to resist the temptation. All those naked men, available to be viewed at
the click of a button. Shame and excitement were getting him nauseated.

The heat of the flush was slowly cooking his
brain, and as he moved the cursor over the miniatures, he was shocked to see
them move, like gifs. That was what they were. Naughty gifs of men pushing
cocks into mouths and asses. David pulled his hand away, and the fragments of
one of the movies started drawing him in. A young blond man had another guy’s
cock in his mouth. He shone with sweat as his partner pushed his dick in
deeper. Then the scene changed, and David was faced with an unnaturally spread
anus, with two fingers scissored at the entrance.

His body said
yes
, heating up, his cock
getting hard, but his brain spat fear at him in a visceral reaction. He raised
his hips to reach between his legs, but quickly trailed the mouse to another
video. And yet again, he wasn’t sure if he liked it. Two muscular men were
having anal sex on a bed, so nothing crazy, but the way the guy on top pushed
his dick in like a machine looked… brutal. The pace of it made David clench his
ass. Would it hurt if he got fucked like that? He had no idea. It probably
would. Yet he couldn’t force himself to turn off the video, already reaching
for some hand cream.

Raja had told him he’d be ‘on the receiving end’
of things. Was that bad? When it was Raja’s hands David imagined all over
himself, it didn’t seem all that horrible. And despite the guy on top now
holding down the other’s head, David couldn’t deny the appeal of that image.
His mind offered the image of Raja propped over him, his muscular chest heaving
as he thrust hard into David’s ass, holding him down with a bruising force.
Droplets of sweat fell off Raja and cooled David’s skin. Waves of arousal made
their way to his cock, and he started jerking off in the same furious rhythm in
which the men on the screen fucked. His ass throbbed at the imaginary invasion,
and he pulled his pants down just below his buttocks to fuel the fantasy.

Maybe if he wrote to Raja, told him he changed his
mind about tonight, Raja would do this to him. He’d push David’s face against
the pillow and enter him so hard and fast David would be yelling like the man
in the movie.

He reached back and ran just the tip of his finger
between his buttocks, over the puckered skin down there. The mere fantasy that
it was Raja doing so, then pushing it in, made David chase his orgasm like a
madman, in a lucid state between the porn video and the image in his head. Raja
would tell him just how much of a slut he was for wanting it, for consenting to
a cock in his body.

David came with a groan, heaving and twisting his
finger against his entrance, high on the arousal and all the nasty words he
imagined Raja saying. He didn’t even care he came all over the blanket on his
bed. He’d deal with that later. Too overwhelmed with sensations, he fell back
to his stomach, gasping for air.

This was all he had. Jerking off and porn. It
would have to be enough for him.