Reinventing Mel: A Hellion MC Novel (14 page)

That had been the final nail in solidifying my decision to get the hell out of Albuquerque with all its expectations and lies of how good a life could be.  How there were rules, both spoken and unspoken, on how a girl was to live her life.  Imperatives I didn't agree with at all.  Add that to what I found out about what my dad had been doing and I had ran just as fast as I possibly could.

The funny thing was, I hadn't given Jonathan Willingham Treviel the Third even a second thought after I'd cleared my hometown's city limits.  Which just told me just how little I'd respected and cared for the man slated to be my future life's partner.  But emotions didn't really play a part in the marriages within our social circle.  Connections were made more for money or power than any emotional reasons.  Usually it was the woman's money and her family's power that were the draw, the attraction for the men who wanted into the 'inner circle'. 

Jon was no different.

Although I'd had to admit that Jon's words regarding my father were true.

Daddy was a player.  A fact that Shelly and I had figured out at a very early age.  He had women, lots of different women, coming in and out of our different houses at different times.  Never introducing us unless they were one of our 'set'.   Shuffling the rest of them quickly out of our eyesight as he moved them to his suite of rooms.

Which may or may not have contributed to my damning judgments of the 'dogs' on my scorecard.

The dirty butt wipes!

Chapter Fourteen

By quitting time Friday, Mel had to admit he was lonely.

Lonely for Derek who was never home before ten at night so tired and worn out the kid plopped face-first into his bed and sweet Julie who had spent more nights with the Honeys than she had with her older brother.

And lonely for Lulu's company.

Sure, he was surrounded by people all damn day.  And was called to the clubhouse with some new shit that had-to-be-done-as-soon-as-fucking-possible, no-brain errand after work.  But those people didn't matter to him, not in the deep places of him.

Not like Der, Jules or Lu.

So when their crew had called an early end to their shift on Friday, he'd been overjoyed.  Spying her in the parking lot, Mel had called out to Lulu even as he'd let his eyes roam over her cute fluffy dress, seamed stockings and heels.  "Hey, precious.  Wait up!"

She'd paused and turned, shading her eyes with her hand as she'd faced towards him.

"Hey, Lu.  How've you been?  Gosh, you look pretty," he'd gushed, rushing up to her poised next to her little foreign car.  He made a point of being close enough to smell her gorgeous scent which he knew was mostly her and not her perfume but still far enough away so as not to crowd her.

"Hello, Mel."  And he'd been surprised at how flat her normally cheerful voice had sounded.

"Listen, I know its short notice but I'd really like to see you tomorrow.  There's a rodeo in town…"

"I'm sorry.  I already have other plans."

The clubhouse door opened and both their faces turned towards a couple of the Honeys that exited.  Mel felt his face heat as he saw Carmi was one of the girls.  As the little blonde waved at him with a coy smile, Lu added, "but I'm sure you can find someone else to go with."

"Oh."  He'd felt his formally elated feelings at seeing her immediately take a nose-dive at her tone and how she'd let him know she'd heard about what he'd done.  But he couldn't even begin to explain that experience.  Not to her nor to himself.  "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch since Saturday but between the club and my brother I haven't had much extra time."

"No problem, Mel." 

Damn, what was
wrong
?  They'd
always
been able to talk and if she had something to goddamn say she needed to get it out so they could deal with it.

"Have I done something, Lu?"

"Gosh, no.  I'm just busy is all," she replied in a measured voice accompanied by a shrug. 

Shit!  He'd really blown it if this was all she was willing to give.  He took a step forward conscious, so damn aware, of how filthy he was compared to all her clean and sweet.

"Sorry to cut this short but I've got a million things going on.  It was nice to see you, Mel," she said with a smile but the expression her face held chilled Mel to the bone.

"Oh.  Ah.  Okay.  Well, it was still nice seeing you, too, Lu.  Have a good weekend," he'd said trying and failing so badly in sounding as breezy as she did.  "Bye."

She whipped out a pair of shades and after placing them on her upturned nose, replied a polite, "see you," as she gracefully slipped into her car, using the same ass-to-seat-then-swivel motion to get in as she'd done in his Cutlass. 

Such a feminine move for such a beautiful girl.

Mel's eyes followed her sweet little ride as it left the forecourt.

"She's been weird since Tuesday," Silo said coming to stand next to him.  "None of us can figure out what the fuck is wrong.  Bish thinks she's on the fuckin' rag."

Mel didn't respond to the other man's words knowing it was more, much more than that.  He just didn't know exactly what it was.  Although fucking Carmi and her fuckin' little wave had provided a clue.

What he'd had with the beautiful Lu had been a union of two people finding their other half, the perfect other side of themselves.  The blending of what she'd needed had more than completed him—a merging and connection he would never fucking forget.  And not only because it'd been his first time.

But because it had been fucking perfect.

His heart ached for what he'd—through his guilt, stupid inattention and overwhelming responsibilities—unknowingly let go.  His footsteps lagged behind his lieutenant's as he walked behind him into the clubhouse recognizing the treasure he'd not thought to protect had slipped through his fingers as he'd moved through his busier-than-hell week.

"Hey, Mel," he heard called from various feminine voices throughout the bar as he entered.  He'd been getting Honey attention since Sunday, which he knew was because of whatever Tight and Carmi had recounted to the others from their time with him.

He raised a hand and ducked his head as he'd done from the first which earned him a group of giggling responses just as it had from the beginning.

While his time on Sunday had been exciting, Mel wouldn't have called it all that if he were to do a play-by-play.  There was no way he'd deny it wasn't hot in having a different beautiful girl holding each of his hands as they'd laughed when they pulled him into the sparsely furnished room.  Nor the way they undressed and admired him before stripping each other down allowing him to watch as their hands trailed over each other's hills and valleys.  Including him in their play with firm strokes and soft caresses over the parts of him that had ached in the viewing.

And not in the way they'd immediately fallen into bed, encouraging him to watch and then partake of the different parts they'd pointed out and offered up.

When Carmi had put one of the condoms on him from the bowl next to the bed, he'd bitten back his sharp gasp.  Whoever heard of a girl putting on a rubber with her mouth?

There had been fucking and sucking and fingering all accompanied by feminine cries and moans.  In all sorts of varied positions and poses that he hadn't fully understood even when they'd been going on at the time.

But at the end, with Tight on his mouth and Carmi riding his still hard cock, Mel realized he wasn't going to come the third round.  Because as exciting as his time with the girls were, the three of them just didn't connect.  That their sex play was nothing more than an act in a drama he had no interest being involved in.  'Bumping uglies' is what he'd heard Bishop describe the sex act as during one of their after work conversations while Mel had nursed a beer.

A crude expression for the crude things he'd done on Sunday.

Nothing close to the beauty he'd shared with Lulu the night before.

And, for the first time since his parents had died, Mel found a lump hovering in his throat at Lulu's flat out rejection of him.

*.*.*.*.*

I guess you really showed him!
my mind crowed as I whipped my little car into the busy traffic from out onto HC's less travelled side street.  But there was a curious lack of triumph in my mind's boast at what I'd said and how I'd reacted to seeing Mel.

Man alive, but he'd looked good.  Just like all the calendars and pictures of tall, brawny working men still smeared with the exertions of their day's labors. 

Green eyes so warm and so full on me my knees had gotten weak.

But just remembering the managers' words, of what he'd talked with them about…of what he'd
bragged
about had held me in check. 

Not to mention the little stupid reminder of my lack of importance when the Honeys had made an appearance in the forecourt just after he'd asked me out again.  His head had twisted to them pretty darn fast in my opinion.  Too fast to feign disinterest.

I shot around a slower car, blaring my horn at their leisurely speed, as my mind held the look on Mel's face when I'd cut him off.  When I'd shot down his plans for another date and suggested he had more than enough willing partners to join him. 

He'd seemed more than disappointed.

Hurt was what I'd read in his gaze and that look had hit me in a place inside that had throbbed at the perceived injury my words had caused.

Had I gone overboard in letting the gorgeous Mel know I was no longer his for the taking?   That what we'd done was a one-off in both his opinion and mine?

  I let myself into my apartment and after changing into yoga pants and a t-shirt, set out to complete the last few boxes that I needed to get to before the movers showed the next day.  Which was probably a mistake because even though my hands were busy, my mind was left to wander.

He
had
been hurt, my mind decided as it strayed over Mel's features replaying in my  memory.  Even if he was the lowest lump of humanity that had ever crawled out of the primordial ooze of our shared ancestry, I shouldn't have made him hurt.  I hated wounding other people. 

Especially those I'd been with. 

Naked.

For hours.

And screaming as I'd hit my pinnacles of pleasure over and over again.

What's done is done
, I told myself firmly, yanking the tape over yet another box and marking it in my own shorthand of what it contained. 

He hadn't called.

He hadn't texted. 

And, he hadn't come by. 

He'd also made the choice of taking not one but
two
Honeys during his time at the club on Sunday.  That was if I understood their names correctly.  Tight?  Was Tight an actual a name or an adjective? 

Would it have mattered if he'd only been with one?  I didn't think so.  The fact that he'd been with anyone the day after we'd gotten together would've still hurt, I decided.

When I'd seen him after work he'd been wearing the distinctive, hard to miss vest of the Hellions.  I'd thought Mel had been just another new hire like me.  Would I have still pursued him if I'd known he was going to be a part of the motorcycle side of the forecourt?

The only answer I could come up with was a heartfelt, "No!"

From what I knew of bikers, though most of my information was based on rumor and hearsay, I knew I wasn't their type.  Possessing more testosterone than sense, more concerned with their idea of 'respect' versus what I knew to be true, I was too aware, too savvy about life and myself to get near those kind of men.  So I had been surprised by Mel wearing a vest that had spoken of his affiliation.

Although, I had to admit the Hellions were…different.  They seemed to care and to be more involved, more interested in the people around them than I thought bikers would be.  Especially to those that weren't involved in their club.  But there was still the issue of the casual sex stuff they indulged in and accepted as the norm.

Though, all in all, my heart still ached at the look on Mel's face when I'd driven away from him.  And at the hit it had taken in knowing how little I meant to him.

*.*.*.*.*

Mel sat with the other four recruits waiting to be given the day's instructions. 

He hadn't gotten home until after eleven with the different runs and chores the other members had him doing.  Little things like picking up fast food for a member's family and delivering it to their homes while the brother sat on his ass in the clubhouse getting blitzed.  Or bigger things like helping a brother's mom move furniture in her filled to capacity front room.  Whether he liked it or not, whether he'd already put in a full day and was weary didn't matter. They asked and Mel complied.

Today, according to Chucky who sat on his left, would see the recruits buying groceries. 

"I already did the round to pick up the lists and the money," the blonde haired recruit explained.  From the haircut to the way the man held himself, Mel was sure he was ex-military.  "That's what you do first thing on Saturday is go through the rider roster and bang on their doors by eight.  They'll shove a grocery list at you and some money.  Don't accept
just
the list 'cause they have to have the green, too.  Only the Honeys do the free food runs."