Starting Over by Mia Malone

Chapter Nine

Chaps

Tony

Tony stood together with Finn and a group of men outside the Cascadia House and watched the women get ready to go with Addie on what they gleefully had labeled her maiden voyage. This made them all laugh way too loudly, but Tony just rolled his eyes and a goddamned smile made his lips twitch. The joke might have been silly, but the women had laughed because they were so happy that Addie passed the test and was now allowed to drive a motorcycle in the state of Washington.

To Finn’s horror, they decided to celebrate this by going on a ride that would not include him because it would be women only. He protested, but it was mostly for show, and everyone knew it.

“I thought Katie would drive with them,” Coop asked. “Or?”

“Haven’t seen her in a while,” Finn said. “Not sure if she’s coming, actually.”

“She isn’t coming,” Tony said. “I talked to Milo yesterday.” He sighed and thought about the tall, shrewd man who was his mother’s... whatever the hell one called a man approaching eighty, which wasn’t the word lover because he would not use that. “She’s not handling dad being out of prison very well. He says she’s nervous and jittery, and he has a hard time even getting her to go with him for groceries.”

“Andy won’t come after her,” Finn said. “Why would he? They divorced more than forty fucking years ago, and he holds a mean grudge, but that’s a stretch even for him.”

“I know,” Tony said. “I don’t think he will. If he wants to hurt someone, it’ll be the three of us, and he’s welcome to try.”

“Fuck him,” Coop muttered. “Fucking asshole. He told Eye they didn’t want our stupid bird on their vests, and they’d create something else. Said they’d have a flaming skull and some mountains.”

Tony barked out a short laugh and shook his head with disbelief.

“If he puts a couple of crossed guns there too, then he’ll have picked every stereotype there is.”

“True,” Coop agreed. “Do you want me to talk to Katie? See if I can calm her down?”

“You could try,” Tony said. “Not today, though, and it’s anyway too late for her to change her mind now. They’re getting ready.”

“Isn’t Rosie coming to watch them leave?” Finn asked.

“She said she’d be here,” Tony said and looked his phone a-fucking-gain, wondering why she was late for something like this. “Don’t know where the hell she is.”

A couple of the other men walked up to them at the same time as a single bike came roaring down the road.

“They fuck is Chao doing?” Dagger asked. “That’s not his bike.”

They watched in silence how Chao parked the bike next to Addie’s and got off.

“It’s Momo’s old Heritage Softail,” Finn said. “I thought she’d be on –”

“The fuck?” Tony said because a familiar SUV had turned into the driveway behind Chao.

Rosie opened the door and swung her legs out.

Her leather-covered legs.

She pulled out a matching brown leather jacket and shrugged into it. It had a fringe on each arm which moved a little when she turned and leaned into the car, reaching for a black helmet.

Everything suddenly seemed to fade into a soft blur because her legs were covered in leather, but her ass wasn’t because she was wearing chaps over a tight pair of faded jeans.

“Chuh,” Tony rasped out, blinked a few times, and cleared his throat. “Huh,” was all he got out.

“Rosie drives a bike?” Coop asked, which was a relevant question he didn’t have an answer to.

“Yup,” Chao said and grinned at Tony as he added teasingly, “Surprise.”

Tony looked back at the women who were moving around the bikes, laughing and shouting. Rosie put her helmet on the ground, swung a leg over Momo’s old motorcycle, raised it from its stand, and wiggled her hips a little. The bike was apparently a good fit because she nodded and gave Momo a thumbs up.

Then she slowly turned and looked at him. He could tell that she was trying hard to not smirk, but he didn’t care because the way her eyes glittered made his own lips twitch.

Slowly he uncrossed his arms, stretched out a hand palm up, and flicked his fingers to indicate that she should join him.

Jesus fucking Christ, he thought when she walked across the open area in front of the House. She took her time, and the way her hips swayed made most of the blood in his body rush straight to his groin.

“Rosalind,” he said when she stopped on the gravel path in front of him. “Is there something you have forgotten to tell me?”

“No,” she said calmly.

“Babe.” He nodded toward the bikes. “I think there is.”

“Oh, but I didn’t forget,” she said. “I omitted it.”

Her lips twitched, and he suddenly wanted to laugh out loud.

“Omitted,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” she said and tilted her head back. “I wanted to surprise you.”

He grinned then and leaned down to kiss her, ignoring everyone around them as he slid his tongue inside her mouth.

“You sure you know how to ride that thing?” he asked when he’d straightened again.

“Yes.”

The calm, confident way she spoke told him that she did indeed know how to drive Momo’s old Softail.

Someone called out her name, and she giggled.

“Gotta go.”

“Have fun,” he said, slid a hand over her hip, and added, “And we’ll have more fun when you’re back.”

Her eyes widened, but someone called out again, and she started laughing.

“Leaving,” she said, got up on her toes to brush her lips over his mouth.

“Stay safe,” Tony said and didn’t even pretend that he wasn’t watching her ass as she swayed it back to where the group of women was waiting.

Addie was the first to start up her bike, but the others followed, and the air vibrated with the roar from the engines. Since Katie wasn’t there, Tony expected Momo to take the lead, but she turned, flashed him a grin, and waved at Rosie to come up next to her. They had a short talk, then Momo pointed at Addie and then at herself. Rosie nodded, and they raised their hands to clasp them together as they both looked at Addie over their shoulders. A loud and very girly cheer broke out, and Rosie shifted around to look at him.

Their eyes met, and something loosened in his gut, spreading warmth through his chest, and he nodded once. She nodded once too, turned forward, and shocked the shit out of him by raising her hand above her head and straightening the arm.

Rosie was going to lead them?

Before he could process this fact, she took off. Momo waved at Addie to go next and blew a quick kiss to Chao as she followed, and the others did too.

“Jesus,” Finn mumbled. “Can’t say I’ve seen a hotter sight in years.”

Tony couldn’t get a word out because his throat was suddenly a little tight, so he settled for nodding.

“I didn’t know Rosie drives a bike,” Eye said. “Should have, though.”

“Why’s that?” Dagger asked.

“Her ex drives a Harley on the weekends. Calls himself a biker which is ridiculous if you ask me because he’s a fucking accountant.”

“Hey,” Dagger snapped. “I’m an accountant.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” Dagger agreed with a grin. “Still doesn’t explain why you should have known she drives.”

“Does she strike you as a woman who will be content just sitting behind a man?”

Eye glanced at Tony to see how he reacted to that but relaxed when he got a wide grin back.

“Astute,” Tony murmured. “That’s not the kind of woman she is, and I should have known too.”

“Momo has been giggling about this moment for weeks,” Chao said. “They looked good.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “How long will they be gone?”

“Couple hours. Three maybe,” Finn said. “Not driving far, but they’re stopping for lunch.”

“We have time to go to the Roadhouse,” Chao said, thinking about sustenance as always.

“I need to stop by my place for a sec first,” Tony said.

“Why – oh for fucks sake,” Coop said with an eye roll. “Your baby is all alone at home. Sitting there by the door, crying for daddy.”

“Fuck you,” Tony shot back. “Rosie surprised me, and I want to surprise her right back. A couple of you need to come with me because I’m gonna bring the sidecar back with me. My old Road King is in the garage here. I’ll latch it onto that.”

And yeah. Blue was alone at home, and he was probably sleeping on the couch and not crying at all.

But still.

***

Rosie

We had a fantastic day.

I had forgotten how much I liked to drive a bike and wondered why I sold mine when Richard moved out.

“You threw the baby out with the bathwater,” Addie said. “We’ve all done it, sweetie.”

“Totally,” Joanna from the book club said and nodded sagely.

“Uh-huh,” Momo mumbled around a mouthful of chicken enchiladas.

“But why,” I asked. “I’m not stupid.”

“Knee-jerk reaction,” Addie said. “It’s like when Jonny B broke up with me, and I burned both the letters he sent me and my cutest leopard print thong with black lace.” She made a small face and added, “And the matching scrunchie.”

I stared at Addie and tried not to look as surprised as I felt.

“Scrun –”

“It was the nineties.”

“Ah.” I had never matched my scrunchies with my lingerie, but I’d had plenty of them back then. “Jonny B?”

“Loser asshole who got together with a girl from across town called Monica.” She paused and pursed her mouth briefly. “Dear Lord, I wish I could call her slutty Monica and tell a fantastic story about how she ruined his life, but they’re still together and have five kids.”

“She might still be slutty Monica,” Momo said and added calmly, “Chao calls me that when he’s in the mood.”

In the mood?

Oh.

In the mood.

Not interested in discussing Chao’s moods over Mexican food, I simply grinned and asked, “Why is his nickname Chao?”

“Charles-Oswald.”

“What?”

Momo chuckled, and so did some of the other women.

“I love my mother-in-law, but she’s a complete nutso, so that’s his real name, and he couldn’t say it as a toddler, so he shortened it, and it stuck.”

“Charles Oswald,” I breathed out.

“Hyphenated.”

“Oh, God.”

“Uh-huh,” she said and pushed her plate forward. “So, are you going to buy my old Softail or what?”

I heard Addie squeal but kept my eyes on Momo, and when the skin around her eyes crinkled, I knew that I would totally buy her old bike.

Then we finished lunch, and since everyone seemed to expect me to take the lead, I took us back to the Cascadia House. Tony waited with the other men as we swung into the open area in front of the house, and he had Blue by his side, which wasn’t a surprise. I loved my dog, and he loved me right back, but the way the two of them had formed a bond was adorable.

We decided to leave my car and take the bikes the short distance back to his house, and that was when I discovered that the current President of Cascadia MC had lost his mind completely.

The crazy man had put a sidecar on a bike I didn’t recognize and calmly made a small gesture. Blue yipped happily and jumped into the damned thing.

“What the –”

“He’ll have a seatbelt, babe,” Tony said and strapped something around Blue with a snap. “He loves it, and he’s safe.”

“He loves it?” I asked stupidly, but really?

My dog was sitting in the small black contraption looking like he’d been born in the damned thing when he’d never been close to anything like it before in his life.

“Yup.”

Okay then. I apparently now had a pretty awesome motorcycle and a dog who loved riding in a sidecar. I had not seen that coming, but it was good, so I shook my head with a grin, and then we went home.

I walked into the kitchen and threw my jacket on one of the barstools by the kitchen island, thinking that some coffee would be nice.

“Babe,” Tony said, and my eyes widened.

I recognized that voice.

“Yeah?” I said.

His lips curved in a cocky smile because he recognized that voice too. It was breathy and a little hoarse and a lot horny.

“You looked fucking amazing out there today,” he said and kept walking until the small of my back pressed into the countertop. “Spent the day hard as a rock.” His hands pulled my tee up and off. “So hard it hurt, baby,” he murmured against my neck as his mouth made a hot trail downward.

“We should do something about that,” I said and moved my hand between us to unbutton his shirt.

He was warm under my hands and his chest hair tickled my palms a little. The ring in his nipple was cold against my tongue, though, and when I tugged it gently his hands around my hips tightened.

“Oh, we will,” he said, turned me around, put a hand between my shoulder blades, and pushed until I was leaning on the cold countertop. “Stay like that.”

My chaps and jeans were swiftly unbuttoned and pushed down to my ankles together with my panties. He helped me step out of them, and I heard the rustle of fabric but stayed where I was. When he stood, he slowly pulled the chaps with him, and the leather scraped the soft insides of my thighs as they covered my bare legs. I felt a rush of wetness between my legs. Then he fastened the belt around my waist again and tugged it gently.

“Tony...”

“Next time you’re in these,” he mumbled, and his hands slid over my hips and around to cup my behind. “Every time you swing your leg over your bike, Rosalind...” One hand slid in between my legs to touch my pussy briefly. “You’ll remember this.”

Then he slowly pushed two fingers inside and started rocking them gently, touching my clit, but frustratingly softly. I widened my legs and arched my back, wanting him to take me, hard and fast.

“Want you,” I said.

“What part of me?”

I almost told him that I wanted all of him, but it was too soon, for me but also for him, so I twisted my head around and lowered my lids a little.

“I have a clean bill too.”

His eyes darkened, and he pulled his fingers out slowly. When we had the hilarious conversation about menopause, we had also talked about protection. Since he got tested regularly and had what he labeled a clean bill of health, I decided to make sure I had one too.

And now I did, which meant condoms were optional.

Slowly he slid a hand over his chest and down to his waist to open the buttons.

“What part of me?” he repeated hoarsely and pushed the jeans down a little.

“Your cock,” I breathed out. “Tony, please.”

“Yeah,” he said and moved to stand behind me.

I felt him against my ass and how he guided himself until he’d pushed the tip inside.

“Please,” I moaned when he was rocking slowly but not giving me what I wanted.

“Yeah,” he repeated and leaned over me until his big frame kept me firmly in place. “Now, Rosie,” he growled into my neck and slid all the way inside in a long, hard thrust. When he was fully seated, he paused again. “So fucking good,” he said and started rocking his hips. “Wet and soft and warm, and so fucking good.”

He straightened and put his hands on my hips, holding me firmly as he started moving faster and harder. I stretched my hands out in front of me and rested my cheek on the countertop, and realized that I could see us in the reflection in the glass on the kitchen door. Tony watched himself as he moved inside me, and he pushed out a soft grunt with every thrust.

We looked hot, and I was about to tell him that when he straightened his back, and the shift made him slide deeper in a way that suddenly sent scorching hot tingles through my core.

“Oh, god,” I moaned and tried frantically to find something to hold on to.

The sensations grew with every thrust, my legs suddenly started shaking a little, and I knew I was about to come in a way I never had before.

“I’ve got you,” he said and tightened the grip around my hips. “Just let it happen, Rosie.”

His pace increased and the long, hard thrusts pushed me higher and higher untilI felt it wash over me.

“Oh, God,” I moaned again, and then I let go.

Long, glorious waves crashed through me, and I heard him say something, but everything was a blurry haze, and all I could focus on was the orgasm that seemed to grow into another one, and then for the first time in my life, I gave up a loud wail through pleasure so sharp it was almost painful.

“Gonna come,” Tony grunted. “Fuck it’s –”

He pushed deep, and as I slowly relaxed, his cock jerked and I turned my head to watch him in the reflection. His grip on my hips dug his fingers into the soft curve he liked so much, and then he tilted his head back and pushed out a long, loud groan.

“Jesus,” he breathed out as he came down on top of me. It shifted him slightly, but he pushed deeper again with a low, soft, “So fucking good, Rosie.”

“Yeah,” I said and twisted my head ever further around to look into his eyes.

They were relaxed and happy, and the way they looked like chocolate went straight to my heart.

Oh, God, I thought. I’m falling in love with him.

***

Tony

“Hey babe,” he said, slowed down his stride, and veered off to the side with a wave of his hand, indicating that Coop should continue while he got Blue out of the trunk.

They were outside a small workshop where one of the Club’s companies produced custom-made parts for bikes or cars, or whatever their customers wanted them for. He’d left Rosie in his kitchen half an hour earlier, so he frowned and wondered why she called, but then he heard the tension in her voice and froze.

“A car just stopped outside, and a man is on his way up to the house.” She paused, and Tony heard how someone hammered a fist on his front door. “I think it might be your father,” she added quietly.

Ice cold fury washed through him, but he pushed it back and tried to sound calm and in control.

“Are the doors locked?”

He hadn’t locked the front door, but she might have –

“I’ll check.” Tony heard how the door was suddenly thrown open because it hit the wall with a bang. “Shit,” Rosie mumbled. “He just walked inside.”

“Rosie, listen to me,” Tony said and signaled for Coop to return to the car. “He’s not a good man, so you need to stay away from him. Try to walk out the back door and run toward the House. If you can’t, then leave the call open and keep the phone with you. Tell him I can hear every fucking word and ask him to leave. Don’t engage any more than that. Don’t talk to him.” He motioned for Coop to get behind the wheel and got in the passenger seat. “Just tell him to leave.”

“Okay.”

“I’m fifteen minutes away, but I’ll have men from the House there to take him away in five. Just keep calm, and back away if he gets too close.”

“Okay,” she repeated. The sound changed slightly, and then he heard her but as if from a distance, “I know who you are. Please leave”

With the way the sound had changed, Tony knew that she hadn’t made it out the back door and was alone in his house with his fucking asshole of a father.