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ADRIANA TOLD ME where she lived and I took the scenic route so she could enjoy the ride and I could enjoy her arms around me that much longer.
When we arrived at her home, I was a little taken aback. Having found out that her mother owned ‘Dazzle’, I’d expected, I don’t know... a mansion in the hills or something that hinted of wealth. Instead, her house was small and quaint, and nestled inside of a quiet little neighborhood, inhabited by retirees who apparently spent most of their days making their yards immaculate.
As I shut off my bike, the front door of her house opened and a woman stepped outside. She had a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes was frosty.
“Crap,” mumbled Adriana, getting off of the bike. “I thought she’d be at work.”
I could tell right away where Adriana got her beauty from. The woman had the same dark hair and green eyes that she had, although her skin was a slightly more olive, and she was much shorter.
“Hi, Mom,” said Adriana as the woman approached us.
“So, this is the friend you mentioned in your message?” she asked, looking at me like I was some kind of leper.
“Uh, yes. This is Trevor. Trevor, this is my mom, Vanda.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, trying to be cordial under the circumstances. The circumstances being that she didn’t like me.
Vanda nodded and looked at my leather jacket. Her face went from unfriendly to downright hostile. “You’re in a gang?”
“We call it a club,” I said, not liking the way she said it.
Vanda looked at Adriana and said something in what I assume was Portuguese. She answered back quickly, and then they proceeded to argue about something. Something, obviously being me.
“Well, I think this is my cue to leave,” I said, dryly. “I’ll keep in touch, Kitten.”
“Uh, okay,” she replied, looking embarrassed.
I turned to Vanda. “Glad we had this chance to get to know each other,” I said. “Your daughter has my number, Vanda, if you’d like to give me a call sometime. We can pick up where we left off.”
Vanda’s eyebrows raised and she almost looked amused. But it was quickly replaced by what I could only describe as indifference. And maybe relief. “Goodbye,” she said, and then turned and walked back toward the house.
Adriana glared at her mother’s back.
I sighed. “She’s a tough win.”
Adriana turned to look at me. She touched my arm. “I’m sorry. My mother had a bad experience with some bikers once. She’s frightened of all of you now.”
“I wouldn’t call that frightened,” I said, smiling. “Hell, she seemed like she was ready kick my ass.”
“I know; she was more angry at me than anything else.”
“What happened?”
She sighed. “My parents’ store was robbed about ten years ago.”
“By some bikers?”
“Yes. We lived in Florida at the time.”
“What club?”
“Hell’s Demons, I believe they were called.”
“Oh. Those fucking guys. Yeah, they’re assholes. The ones that I’ve met, anyway. Did the bastards who did it go to prison?”
“Actually, the police never caught the guys who did it. They had masks on.”
“So now she doesn’t trust anyone wearing patches?”
“She doesn’t trust bikers, period.”
I looked at the house and saw Adriana’s mother staring at us from inside of the doorway.
“I guess I can’t blame her, but she shouldn’t lump all of us in a pot like that. I’ve never robbed anyone in my life. None of my brothers have, either.”
“I know. Anyway, forget about her. I’m not going to let her opinion change my mind about you.”
I grinned. “And what is your mind telling you about me?”
“That you’re a decent guy.”
“Decent. I don’t know about that,” I said, thinking back to some of the things I’d done in my life, especially in my teens. I may not have robbed anyone, but I had a temper. I’d lost it more times than I could count. I also had the scars on my fists to prove it.
“Well, you’ve been good to me,” she said, kissing me on the cheek again.
As she was about to pull away, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to me, kissing her fully on the lips. She stiffened up but then to my delight, began kissing me back. Relaxing, I slid my hand around the back of her head and shoved my tongue inside, wanting to taste every part of her.
“We can’t,” she said, pulling away, suddenly.
I frowned. “Says who?”
She looked over her shoulder at the house. “My mom’s watching us.”
“So. Let her watch,” I said, trying to pull her back to me.
“You don’t understand. She’s going to freak out.”
As if on cue, the front door opened and Vanda stuck her head out. “Adriana!” she hollered, looking furious. “I need you! Come inside.”
“I’ll be right there!” she yelled back.
Vanda said something in her language.
Adriana rolled her eyes, but didn’t answer back.
“You want a kiss goodbye, too?” I called out. “All you have to do is ask.”
Vanda glared at me and closed the door.
I smiled grimly. “Fucking-A. How old are you, Kitten?”
“I know,” she said, her face flushed. “Believe it or not, she’s normally not like this.”
“I want to see you again,” I said, starting up my bike. “And from the way you were kissing me back, you feel the same.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
She nodded toward the house.
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TREVOR’S EYES BURNED into mine. They were filled with lust and anger. Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back over to him, taking my mouth, hard and fast. Then, just as quickly, he released me.
“You’re a grown woman. You can do what you want, see who you want, and fuck who you want,” he said, his eyes burning with frustrated need. “And something tells me that right now, we both want the same thing.”
I found myself panting, he had me so worked up. Had we been alone, there was no doubt in my mind that we’d be all over each other until I made sure that he was inside of me, putting out the fire he’d started. The guy definitely knew how to kiss a woman.
“Adriana!” called my mother again.
I jerked my head toward her. She was definitely treating me like a child. It made me so angry and embarrassed that I almost jumped back on his bike, just to spite her.
“You’d better go and see what she wants,” said Trevor, smirking. “Before she comes out here with a paddle.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, backing away. “She isn’t always like this.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.”
His eyes swept over me again. “Mm... I’d better get out of here before I kidnap you. Are you free after work?”
“I don’t know. I have school tomorrow. Early.”
“So is that a ‘no’?”
Fuck it.
Krystal was right. I needed to get laid. It was time to find my own dark side. I smiled “Actually, it’s a ‘yes’. But only for a little while.”
“Sweet. Call me when you’re done working,” he said, putting his sunglasses on. “We’ll meet up.”
“Okay.”
Then he was gone and I was left to deal with my pissed off mother.
Sighing, I walked up to the house and opened the door, ready for a battle. It didn’t take long.
“What are you doing with him?” she asked, looking disgusted.
“His name is Trevor and he’s a nice guy,” I replied, closing the door behind me.
“He’s trash, Adriana.”
“No, Mama, he’s not. He’s a good guy. You don’t even know him.”
“I know his kind and so do you. He’s in a gang. A gang! I saw the patches on his jacket. Those are dangerous guys. Not what you need to be surrounding yourself with. I don’t want you seeing him again.”
I pursed my lips. “I’m an adult. I can make up my own mind on who I want to see.”
She stared at me angrily. “So, what you are saying is that you are seeing him again? Even if I beg you not to?”
“Trevor is a great guy. You didn’t even give him a chance.”
“How can you do this, Adriana?” she asked me, looking tired and defeated. “You know what happened in Florida. What kind of people these bikers are. They are nothing but criminals.”
“Trevor isn’t a criminal. These guys are different, here. The Gold Vipers. It’s not like it was in Florida. They are nothing like the Hell’s Demons.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what he told you?”
“Well, not in so many words.”
“Of course not. He wants you. You’re a beautiful girl, Adriana. Men will say whatever you want to hear to get into your pants.”
I bit back a smile. “I realize that. I’m not sixteen, though. I’m twenty-one.”
“Yes. See. Just a babe.”
Exasperated, I sighed. She would tell me this when I was thirty. That was her way.
Vanda wagged her index finger at me. “You realize that your father is probably turning in his grave right now, knowing that you’re seeing this guy. How can you do that to him?”
“Papa’s dead,” I said. “But if he were alive, he’d at least give Trevor a chance.”
“No,” she said. “Never. Your father was almost killed because of a man like,” she wrinkled her nose, “Trevor. I didn’t tell you but, one of those bikers shot your father.”
I stared at her in shock. “They did?”
She nodded. “Yes. He was shot in the shoulder. They wanted my wedding ring,” she said, staring at her left hand, which had the replacement band. “The one that was handed down from his mother. It was two karats. Beautiful. After stealing almost all the jewelry in the shop, they demanded that, too.”
“What happened?” I asked, my voice hollow. I hadn’t heard that part of it. I knew they’d gotten the ring, but hadn’t heard the actual story behind it.
She smiled sadly. “Your father, he was so sentimental. You remember? Always telling stories about your grandparents and their farm.”
I nodded. My father’s parents had traveled from Germany when he was a young boy. They moved to Iowa and bought a farm. This was several years before he met my mother, which was on a trip to Florida, after his mother had died of cancer. Vanda’s family had also been immigrants. They’d moved from Portugal when she was a teenager to Miami. Her father, my grandfather, had been a wealthy jeweler, and that’s where my mother had found her own passion for diamonds and gems. Eventually, my parents married and they opened up their first jewelry shop in Florida. “Yes. I remember.”
She sighed. “He was so attached to that ring. It was an heirloom. A symbol of our marriage. Obviously, he didn’t want them to have it. Told them they couldn’t have it. Even told them why.” Her lip quivered. “But, those ingrates didn’t care and I could see right through them. I told your father that it was okay. That they could have the ring, but he kept arguing. Well, they shot him before I could get the ring even off of my finger. Then, they laughed when it was over. Made fun of your father, lying there bleeding and dying. Can you believe such evilness?”
“No,” I whispered, imaging the horror. It made me sick to my stomach.
“So, you see, those are the kind of people you’re dealing with. The kind that join these ‘gangs’,” she said, her face darkening.
“Why didn’t you tell me about that?”
“You were only twelve and he didn’t want you to know. Didn’t want you to be frightened.”
I sighed.
“Adriana,” she said, grabbing my hand. “There are so many good boys out there. Don’t waste your time with this guy. You’ll regret it later. You’ll be hurt, in one way or another.”
“Mama...”
“Just, please...” She squeezed my hand. “Think about it, okay? For your father’s sake, at least?”
I let out a ragged sigh. “Yes. I will definitely think about it.”
She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “You are all I have,” she said, her eyes shining with tears. “I don’t want to lose you, too.”
“You won’t,” I said softly.
“Remember what your father used to say? You can’t predict your own destiny, but you’re responsible for choosing the path that leads you to it.”
“I know, Mama. I know.”