Lila wasn’t buying it. “Let me tell you something about the Wicked Angels.” She took a seat on the bar stool. “When Jack first joined, there were some members who would have been better suited for the Skulls, if you catch my drift. They were friends of the hierarchy and some were blood family. It was somewhat of a mess. There was one guy, Dutch, who really did not get along with Jack. I don’t know if it was jealousy or what, but he pulled a gun on me. I’d been working the bar for a few months and he was drunk. I didn’t know what to do because the guys were out and I was basically there alone.” Lila sat back and stared at Addison. “I get the feeling of being scared. It was a new world for me, then too. Jack had done the prospect thing, but I really wasn’t involved in that. He got the lifestyle better than I did. The whole incident with Dutch nearly destroyed my relationship with Jack. I quit bartending. I didn’t want anything to do with the club.”
Addison took in what she’d said. “So what happened?”
“Well, I didn’t tell Jack about the incident. He thought I was being too prissy and wanted different things for my life. We were talking about marriage and he gave me an ultimatum. I told him to fuck off.”
Lila sat up and cupped her hands around her soda. “Jack somehow found out about everything. I’d never seen that man get so pissed. The Wicked Angels supported him too. Dutch was wrong and everyone knew it. He called me nearly every night apologising and promising that it would never happen again. He wanted me back, but that fear of what could possibly happen still lingered. They’re all violent men. I knew that and I knew my boyfriend was one of them.”
“So what did you do? How did you get back together?”
Lila smiled. “He said something to me that stuck. He told me that I couldn’t control other people, but I could control my reaction to them. If I chose to stand up and fight, he’d be right there by my side. But if I chose to run, like I did, then I would constantly live in fear and regret alone. The story actually doesn’t really have too happy of an ending. Jack and Dutch fought all the time, the members didn’t like him, but eventually, Dutch shipped out to another chapter. Jack knew I didn’t like the violence, and from then on out, he chose to protect me from it. I loved the man, though, and that’s why I went back to him. It was a huge risk, but it paid off. We’ve been together nearly fourteen years. I sometimes contemplate whether or not I’m crazy for continuing to stay with him.” She smiled.
“I guess my point is, what really matters to you? I don’t think you really believe that Mason will try to shoot you one day. I think you’d have a better chance of seeing him shoot himself before that happens. I don’t really believe you’re scared of him, either, not entirely anyway. So what is the real problem?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes you do.”
Addison sipped her drink. “I really don’t. I wanted to sit and talk to him, but he got defensive with me and it only led to an argument.”
“He got defensive with you because he let his guard down and now he’s trying to put it back up. You got under his skin. I’ve never seen him act this way with a woman before. He needs someone tough to handle his shit and I think that you’re the right person. But your moments of weakness cannot involve him. He needs someone to be by his side when shit hits the fan. You can’t run off at every little whim over something you don’t like.”
Addison licked her lips. “I guess that means I need to try one more time?”
Lila smiled. “Yeah. Try one more time. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll knock him in the head.”
* * * *
Mason spent most of the day customizing Tony’s bike like he’d promised to do. Tony was only a rookie mechanic, but he had the will to learn. Mason glanced up from the Harley Fat Boy and spotted Addison’s little white Mercedes parking in the lot. He pitched the wrench aside and wiped his greasy hands on his coveralls.
She pulled her sunglasses off and tossed them in the driver’s seat as he approached her. “What are you doing here?”
She bent in her tight little suit and pulled out a card. “Our last date was a bomb. I’m hoping you’ll reconsider and try again. This time there are guns.”
He glanced down at her licence to carry a concealed weapon. He arched an eyebrow. “You can shoot?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve been practising.”
He tilted his head back, eyes narrowing. “I thought you were against gun violence.”
“Things have changed.” She took the card from him. “Are you going with me or not?”
He had to admit he was curious. “Where exactly are we going?”
“Well, you are a convicted felon without your civil rights restored, so you firing a weapon will have to be under the radar. But, I know that you most likely have somewhere we can go to shoot.” She propped one arm on the roof of the car and the other on top of the car door. “I have my pistol, but I’m assuming you have better artillery. Do you want to go shooting with me?”
He scratched his jaw. Of all things, he’d never expected Addison to pull this out of her hat. “You assume a lot of things about me.”
“Am I wrong?”
He grinned. “So you want me to take you shooting?”
“Why not?” She brushed her hair from her face. “Are you afraid I’m better at it than you are?”
He didn’t know what to think about her. “I guess we’ll see.”
Mason got a few things together and took Addison to a Plant City property that was remote enough that they could have some fun. He wasn’t sure how she’d cope wearing a suit and heels, but she didn’t seem to mind. He grabbed the bag from the back of the truck and led her to the barn.
“You look like you’ve lost weight.”
He sat the bag on a wooden table in the centre of the barn. “Maybe.”
He spent most of his time working. If a bike needed to be fixed, he took time to fix it. If something needed to be repaired around the club, he worked on it. He tried his best to stay away from girls, but that got to him after a while too. Seeing Addison again only made him wish things were different.
She smoothed her hand along his back. “I got another surprise too, but I can’t tell you what it is until we leave.”
He glanced over at her. “Is it a good surprise?”
“I think so.” Her hand slipped into his back pocket. “I think you’ll like it too.”
He loaded a magazine into the handgun and handed it to her. She took it and waited while he grabbed a pistol for himself.
“Out back we have targets set up. We can just pick one.”
She smiled. “I’ll try not to smoke you too bad.”
Mason watched her shoot a few rounds. He smiled when she glanced over at him, arching her eyebrow. A few of them hit the silhouette. He moved up to where she stood and shot the same number right in the centre.
“I hate you.”
He laughed. “If you didn’t have fucking talons for nails, then maybe you’d be better.”
“I just got my nails done.” She scraped her nails along his chest.
Mason grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. She stared up at him and he leaned in. His lips brushed against hers. Her little moan egged him on and he cupped her cheeks, angling her so that he could deepen the kiss. Her tongue brushed against his and he groaned, enjoying it far more than he really should.
Addison slipped her hands underneath his shirt. He’d missed her more than he wanted to admit. When he finally pulled back, he stared into her eyes for a moment.
“What are you doing here?”
She slid her hands around to his back. “I’m not giving up. I didn’t give up on you in jail and I’m not giving up now.”
She stepped away from him and reached for the pistol. When she turned, she waved him over. Mason came up beside her and she moved into his body.
“Show me.”
They spent nearly three hours shooting, laughing and having a great time. Her smile was beautiful. He liked that much better than the tears. She also wasn’t too bad of a shot. He was pretty sure she liked him coaching her and, he had to admit, he liked having his arms around her. He stole a few kisses in between loading more rounds and he enjoyed that too.
“So we’re out of ammo?”
“Yep.” He tossed the guns back in the bag. “You shot nearly two hundred rounds.”
Addison linked her fingers with his. “Well, now that we’re ready to go back to the city, do you want to see the other surprise?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Show me.”
Addison stepped back and undid her skirt. Mason couldn’t contain the stupid grin on his face. The skirt slid down to her ankles and she tossed it to the side. She reached for the back of her neck and undid her blouse, pulling it off next. He saw it immediately. Along her side she’d got a modified Wicked Angel’s design tattooed. While the original Wicked Angel’s patch had a scarier looking masculine version of the angel, hers was definitely more feminine and suited her.
“You got ink.” Damn hot ink. He licked his lips, taking in the place and the size of it.
She chewed on her lower lip. “You like it? Lila helped me design it.”
He laughed. “Of course Lila had some say in that.”
He moved closer and studied it. Addison with a tattoo spoke volumes. He never would have guessed she’d get anything permanent on her body. And if she did, he would have pinned her for a flower or butterfly kind of girl. Something small, something delicate.
He lifted the side of her bra and glanced up at her. “I’m just glad you didn’t get my name.”
She slapped him in the stomach. “Shut up. You said it was stupid to get a name tattooed on you.”
He cradled the back of her head in his hand and pulled her to him. His mouth crashed against hers. She had the ability to cause complete agony in him as well as the ability to erase it. He’d been hurting more than he ever wanted to acknowledge with her gone, and a few drunken times, he’d thought about ending it and calling her. Waiting for her, though, made it different. She kept coming back and he hadn’t known if that was a good thing, but he’d liked it.
“You’re wearing too many clothes.” She reached for the front of his jeans. “I really think your jeans need to go.”
He pressed his face against her neck. “You’re going to kill me, you know that?”
“You’ll be okay.” She stopped briefly to pull his shirt up and off his body. “I swear I don’t know how you got all those. It just about killed me to get this one.”
He licked his lips. “Wimp.”
She kissed his chest. “I’ll make you regret that.”
Her hand slipped into his pants. Mason watched as her pink tongue circled around one of his nipples while her fingers wrapped around his cock. His hands framed her face as he lifted her head to look into her eyes.
“Addy,” he breathed.
“Mason, you’re not going to win this.” She met his eyes. “Just freaking give it to me.”
He laughed and her hand tightened, drawing out a groan from him. “Just freaking give it to you, huh?”
“Yeah.” She shoved his pants down. “Give it to me.”
He reached for the bag and found the condoms he’d put in there. “Get your panties off.”
She slipped the tiny red scrap of lace down her legs. Mason grabbed his shirt and draped it over the wooden table in front of him. He lifted her into his arms, making her just the perfect height for him.
He smoothed his hand down her back and popped her bra open. He tugged it off and leaned into suck a nipple between his lips. Oh, fuck yeah. He’d missed her. He loved how responsive she was. She gasped his name, clutching his head.
He pulled back enough to set her on the table. Her legs opened and he fit well between them. He found a condom and deftly rolled it on. Addison leant back on her hands as he fit the head of his cock against her sex. He gripped her hips and shoved inside.
Addison gasped for breath as Mason gritted his teeth. He’d had her numerous times. He knew the snug fit of her pussy around his cock. He withdrew and slammed into her again, needing the rapid rhythm. Addison dropped her head back, gripping the edge of the table as he fucked her. Sweat dripped from his temples as his climax built. Her pussy sucked him inside and dammit if he didn’t want to leave. He clutched her ass, holding her as he thrust. She dropped to lay flat on the table, lifting her legs so they rested on his shoulders.
Her breasts bounced with each of his hard thrusts. He held on to her thighs as he felt the tension building inside him. He dropped her legs and pulled her to him. Her little moans filled the silence. Mason had never wanted someone so badly in his life.
She arched her back off the table and Mason groaned, each spasm of her pussy disintegrating his control. Perspiration dampened her belly. Mason had no fucking clue when the barn had got so hot, but the air around them felt like lava against his skin. He held out as long as he could. He groaned and shuttered, feeling the first blast of release. He dropped his head against her chest, both panting hard as they came down from their high.
He eventually lifted off her and withdrew, taking care of the condom before turning back to her. “What has changed, Addy?”
She let him help her off the table. “I don’t know.” She picked up her panties. “I want to be with you.”
Same old song and dance.
“Addy, we’re not rehashing this shit. You can’t shoot a gun and get a tattoo and say you’re different.”
She reached for her bra and pulled it on. “I’m not saying I’m different. I’m saying nothing’s changed. I’m still the lawyer and you’re still the outlaw biker.”
She stepped into her panties and faced him. “I’m just telling you we’re going to have to deal with it. I’m going to get mad. You’re going to get in trouble. I’m going to have to work things out in my head. You’re going to have to go on rides or work in the garage to tone your anger down. That’s how we are.”
He sighed. “I don’t want you walking out on me.”
“I won’t. Not if you take into consideration I need time to process your life.” She found her blouse. “I see things in terms of the law. You shoot a guy and I’m preparing a defence. I’m working it over in my head what the state attorney is going to come at me with and I’m trying to figure out how I can keep you out of prison. It’s overwhelming sometimes, but that’s how I see the world. I see things in terms of felonies and if I can get a jury to return a not-guilty verdict. I’m sorry I walked away from you. It’s just a lot to handle sometimes. I don’t want you back in prison serving a life sentence. I can’t just simply accept your life within seconds. I need time to process these things.”