Page 111 of Protected by the Biker (Grim Reaper MC)
It shouldn’t have mattered how good he made me feel. It shouldn’t have mattered how safe and protected I felt around him. The truth was that bringing Carter back into that world again would only lead to disaster and I couldn’t do that to my son, not for the sake of my own short-lived pleasures.
I stopped with a screech outside the daycare, just as Joan walked out with a firm hand holding Carter’s.
“Mommy!” he screeched as he ran towards me and I jumped out of my car to bring in him for a hug. I nuzzled his hair, stroked his back and cradled him in my arms. I needed this. I needed to feel his touch to remind me of the life I was supposed to lead. There was no place for Hunter in our small world, and if I knew what was good for us, I shouldn’t be going to PJ’s that evening.
“You are happy mommy,” Carter said pulling away from me. He was smiling and staring deep into my eyes, excited to see me again. He was right though, I was happy today. Despite how confused and anxious I was feeling, Hunter had put me on top of the world.
***
“Are you sure you don’t mind, Julia?” I said to our seventeen-year-old neighbor. Julia and Carter were on the floor of our small living room, with the TV on mute in front of them and Carter’s toys spread all over the floor.
I was fixing a pair of sparkling small earrings on my ear lobes, watching them keenly. Julia was good with Carter, and she sometimes babysat him when I had emergency shifts at the VA in the evenings.
“Of course not, Kylie. You need to get out more often. Have some fun,” Julia smiled at me, studying me from head to toe as I walked around the kitchen. I was making sure that there was enough food for them for the night.
“You’re going on a date!” she declared and when I met her eyes, I couldn’t help but grin. I was excited to see Hunter again. As much as I had tried to convince myself that this was a bad decision, I hadn’t been able to control the urge of seeing him. I was curious about my attraction to him. I wanted to see what he was like away from Marco…in a less professional environment.
“Yeah, I am,” I said and Julia seemed as excited as I was.
“You should tell me all about him when you come back,” she said and I blushed as I checked Tupperware for leftover pasta.
“There’s food for both of you, and Carter needs to be in bed by seven thirty,” I said to Julia and in a loud enough voice for my son to hear me too. He pouted but I knew he would listen. Carter was a good boy and I knew I was lucky to have him as a son.
“Don’t worry about the time, Kylie, seriously. I don’t mind staying the night,” Julia said and when I looked at her, her eyes were sparkling.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be back by eleven,” I said to her with a wave of my hand and walked back to my bedroom to give myself the once-over.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had dressed up like this. I hadn’t gone on a date in four years and I was beginning to feel nervous. Was this even a date to begin with? I twirled around in front of the mirror a few times and felt silly afterwards. Would he even notice what I was wearing?
I’d put on a short black dress that clung tightly to my body and revealed my legs. Matching black stilettos to go with it, and a silver clutch.
Would he notice the trouble I’d taken with my hair and makeup? I left my curls hanging loose around my shoulders and they delicately framed my face. I’d chosen a muted pink lipstick and a smoky-eye look. Now I was worried that I had overdone it. This was just a regular bar where locals from the neighborhood hung out. I would stand out like a sore thumb in a place like that, dressed like this. Hunter would know instantly that I had gone out of my way to look nice for him and I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to know that. The purpose of meeting him tonight was to just figure out what I wanted. I was just curious, I told myself.
I picked up a tissue paper from the dressing table and I was just about to dab it around my eyes to take the makeup off when I heard Julia’s voice.
“You look beautiful, Kylie, leave it on. He’ll be floored”
I turned to her, slightly embarrassed that she had caught me staring at myself in the mirror. Besides, what did she know about serious grown up dates? She was nine years younger than me, a teenager and I knew exactly what that felt like. My teenage years were full of bad decisions.
“Thank you, Julia,” I said to her nonetheless and she smiled and then walked into my bedroom.
Out of the blue, Julia threw her arms around me and pulled me in for a hug.
“You work too hard, Kylie, and I’ve never seen you take any time out for yourself. You deserve this. Try and have some fun tonight. Whoever this guy is, I hope he knows how lucky he is,” she said and I smiled at her. Maybe she wasn’t as silly or immature as I was at her age, after all. I was glad we had her as our neighbor. I was the one who was lucky.
“I hope you and Carter have fun too. You can reach me on my cellphone, I’ll keep an eye on it the whole night,” I said and picked up my clutch off the bed.
“We’ll be fine. Carter is a good kid. You don’t need to worry,” she said and we both walked out of the bedroom. Carter was still on the floor, playing with the toys, with his back turned to the TV. When he looked up at me, his eyes were glowing. He had never seen me dressed this way.
“You be good now, baby, and listen to what Julia tells you to do, okay?” I cooed to him and walked over to kiss him lovingly on his head.
I still had that nagging feeling that I was going to be walking into a disaster. That Hunter was nothing more than a sexy piece of meat. Something I just couldn’t resist.
“Okay mommy,” Carter’s sweet voice cut through my thoughts and I held him tightly to myself.
This was the first time since I had him, that I was doing something completely selfish and for myself. As much as I wanted to see Hunter again, I also knew that there was a chance he was exactly like Tony and I couldn’t help but be filled with dread at the thought of that.
CHAPTER 8
Hunter
I saw the heads turn when Kylie walked into PJ’s. I was sitting at the bar, already cradling my second bottle of beer but she was right on time. I had pretty much expected her to not turn up. I
was prepared for that. Why would a girl like her want to see a guy like me again? We were from two completely different worlds and she was sweet. And sweet was not a word that belonged in my dictionary.
She looked drop dead gorgeous in the black dress she was wearing, and I stared at her petite slender legs as she walked towards me. Her dress barely revealed any cleavage but it was enough for me. I knew what those breasts looked like and her dress was a tease. I wanted to see more. Just like I knew every guy in that fucking bar wanted the same thing.
Kylie had that same good natured smile on her face as she walked towards me. She was clutching her purse tightly in her hands, and her curls blew gently with every high-heeled step that she took. Her lips were a perfect pink and her green eyes looked smoky and gorgeous.
I jumped off the bar stool in a hurry and walked over to a small table in the corner, holding a chair out for her. When she walked closer to me, I got a whiff of the floral perfume she was wearing and I nearly felt weak in the knees. I had no idea what was happening to me and I wasn’t even sure that I liked it. I didn’t like feeling weak.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come,” were the first words she said to me, in her soft feminine voice which did something to my cock I couldn’t understand.
“I know that,” I told her and she sat down. “What will you have?” I asked her and Kylie glanced at the bar. I had a feeling this place didn’t serve the kind of drinks she usually liked to have.
“A gin and tonic would be lovely,” she told me and I turned away from her firmly and went over to the bar and placed the order. These few moments away from her gave me a chance to stabilize myself. When I returned, I found her checking her cellphone. She slipped it quickly back into her purse and looked up at me with her wide twinkling eyes.
“Sorry, I wanted to see if the babysitter had texted,” she said and I sat down across from her. The word babysitter had registered in my mind somewhere, but it didn’t matter to me. Nothing seemed to matter to me when she was around. When I hadn’t said anything, Kylie felt the need to explain.
