She blushes. “He’s a little busy,” she says. “Do you want to come in and wait?”
I nod, stepping in when she holds the door open wider for me. This place is unreal, like something you’d see on that TV show Anna loves, where they look inside the homes of the rich and famous. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear the screams of a woman in ecstasy. “They’ve been making that noise for the last ten minutes. I’m sure he must be almost done,” she says, smiling shyly, and I suppress my grin. Clearly, she hasn’t been shown a good time.
“Nice place,” I say.
“Thanks. Sara’s place, but I rent a room,” she explains. “Coffee?”
I nod, then take a seat at the breakfast bar and watch as she turns away to make coffee. There’s fresh bruising on her lower leg. “What happened to your leg?” I ask, and she looks down at it, then shrugs. “That’s a big old bruise for you not to know,” I add.
“What are you, a cop?” she asks, grinning.
I laugh. If only she knew how much I hate the cops. “Not even close.”
“I know what you are. Travis told me,” she says, stirring the coffee and handing it to me.
I smirk. “And what did lover boy tell you exactly?”
“That you guys are dangerous. You’re in a biker gang,” she says, leaning against the breakfast bar beside me.
“And yet you invited me into your home,” I say, placing my coffee on the table.
“I told you, I’m a magnet for danger,” she says, smiling.
The sounds from upstairs are getting louder and Sunshine laughs nervously. “So, did he tell you to stay away from the big bad bikers?” I ask. She nods slowly and her eyes follow me as I stand. I place my hands either side of her, caging her in again. I want her at my mercy, and when I move my face towards her, I like the gleam that shines in her eyes, like she’s daring me to kiss her. “You’re a stupid woman for not listening,” I mutter, then our lips crash together in a hungry kiss. My hands grip her peachy arse, grabbing a handful of the flesh and pulling her against me. She hooks her lower leg around mine and I feel the heat of her against my straining erection.
“Tils, have you seen my shirt?” yells a man's voice from upstairs. I pull back, looking down at her in confusion. She smirks back at me.
“Yeah, I’ve got it on,” she shouts back. I step back from her and watch as her hands go to the buttons on the shirt. “You want it now?” she asks.
“Yeah, I gotta get a shower and get out of here,” he says back. She makes quick work of unfastening the shirt, keeping her eyes on mine the entire time. It falls open, revealing black silk panties and perky, naked breasts. She passes me and heads out the kitchen, smiling.
“Did I mention, I like a bit of danger,” she whispers.
Chapter Two
TILLIE
Christ, I’m a wanton whore. I bury my head in my hands. It’s like all sense leaves me whenever Mr. X is around. What the hell was I thinking, kissing him like that in the kitchen when Travis was right upstairs? I groan.
“What’s wrong?” asks Sara, breezing into the kitchen. She’s finally broken her three-month dry spell of no sex and she’s been on cloud nine since her man left this morning. “Oh Christ, you didn’t have sex with Travis, did you?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m proud of myself on that front. He slept in the spare room. He tried to get in my bed, but I was strong.”
“Well done, Tils. About time you kicked him to the kerb.”
“But I kissed the biker.” I wince.
“Me too,” she says, popping a grape into her mouth and winking.
“I practically threw myself at him. I’ve never behaved like that before, but something about him makes me wanna screw up the rule book and be free,” I say.
“So, let go for once. You’re always so uptight. It’s not a bad thing, Tillie,” she says, laughing.
“It is, Sara,” I mutter. “When I relax and drop my guard, I get hurt.”
“And if you never relax and drop your guard, you’ll never meet anyone. Anyway, chances are, we’ll never see them again, so don’t worry about it.”
Monday morning soon rolls around. It’s Sara’s day to start late, which left me to open up and serve Mr. Benson. He’s always waiting at the door on Mondays to get his toffee.
I’m stacking the sweet jars in the window display when I see him—Blade. He’s across the road, staring at me. My heart beats out of my chest and I cringe when I think about my behaviour Saturday morning. Not only does he think I’m an easy whore but a cheating one at that. I gave Travis his shirt and when I returned to the kitchen, he was gone, waiting outside for his friend. I look up again and he’s at the door, entering the shop, and I climb down from the display. “Your usual?” I ask, my tone breezy.
“Where’s your friend?” he asks, his eyes darting around.
“At home.” I grab his liquorice and begin to place it in a bag. “My name’s Matilda, by the way, but everyone calls me Tillie.” It’s only right I introduce myself properly seeing as we shared saliva. “But I like Sunshine too,” I add.
“I don’t want the liquorice,” he mutters. He looks serious. “I gotta stay away from you, Matilda. No more sweets, no more nicknames, no more seeing you. Don’t turn up in the bars on Queens Road. Stay away.”
I stare open-mouthed. Christ, was the kiss that bad? “Okay,” I say.
He nods. “Good. Great. Right, well, I’ll be off then.” He moves towards the door.
“I didn’t cheat,” I blurt out and he stops.
“Don’t tell me anything,” he mutters.
“I’m sing—” I begin and he growls. I stop talking,
