Romeo (Dark Knights MC/Blood Fury MC: Crossover)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

“How come you moved down here?” Romeo’s question drew Maddie back to the present.

“It was strongly suggested that I live and work in one of the MC alliance’s areas.” Since the “alliance” consisted of three MCs, the Blood Fury—the club to which her stepfather belonged—the Dirty Angels and the Dark Knights—Romeo’s club—it gave her practically all of western Pennsylvania to live.

She picked up her burger and took another bite. While it was no longer hot, it still remained tasty, and it would be a tragedy to waste a Bangin’ Burger.

“If that’s true, you coulda reached the fuck out and told me you were down here.”

“That wasn’t a requirement,” she answered after swallowing the mouthful. And, truly, if she had complained enough, they would’ve let her move anywhere.

Let her.

She mentally sighed. Like she needed anyone to “let her” do anything. At twenty-seven, she was an adult, made her own money and was quite capable of making good decisions.

Luckily, she loved Pittsburgh, and the sports teams tied to the city, so the location happened to align with what she wanted. She only let them think she was going along with Shade’s and her mother’s demands since it made them happy and not stress over her moving away from Manning Grove.

And away from Shade’s eagle eyes.

She understood why they worried. After years of dealing with the crazy people up on the mountain, aka Hillbilly Hill, the Fury was overly cautious. However, the thorn in the Fury’s side, the cult known as the Shirleys, was now gone and the club no longer had any enemies.

For now, anyway.

“You blame your pop for makin’ you stay in the alliance’s area?”

Did he forget? Or did he just not care enough to pay attention? “Shade’s not my father. My father died while serving in the Army.”

“Might not’ve been his seed that was planted, but your mama’s ol’ man stepped in to help raise you.”

Well, there it was. Proof he hadn’t paid attention. “You might’ve missed the part where I was already twenty when he came into our lives.”

“Age don’t mean shit. Family’s family, no matter the age. You don’t like him?”

“I love Shade, but he’s not my pop, as you called him.” Even though he acted like both Maddie and Josie, her younger sister, came from his loins.

He was actually more protective than most biological fathers, but he had a reason to be that way that had nothing to do with being a member of the Fury. He’d been abducted as a young child and sold into sexual slavery. Because of that, Shade and her mother also “adopted” Jude, who Maddie now considered her younger brother, after Shade found him down in a basement locked in a cage, waiting to be auctioned off.

Her heart raced simply thinking about that dangerous situation and how much more damaged Jude would be right now if Shade hadn’t rescued him when he did. It was bad enough that her brother still suffered through a lot of dark moments and thoughts caused from that experience, amplified by the loss of his mother.

All because of sick sexual perverts.

“Goddamn semantics, girl.”

What? Damn , she needed to stay focused.

She especially had to stay on her toes with the man sitting across from her. Romeo was slick and before she knew it, he could be talking her out of her clothes and right back into his bed.

“Speaking of semantics… I’m not a girl. I wasn’t a girl when you met me the first time and I’m not a girl now, Rome.”

“Woman, then,” he corrected.

“The fact is, there aren’t enough jobs up in Manning Grove for what I do. My options were better closer to Pittsburgh.”

When his head tipped to the side, his gaze raked from the top of her head down her chest, only stopping when the table blocked his view of the rest of her. “What d’ya do?”

Did the man really care? Or was he only trying to work her? “I’m a sports physical therapist.”

“A what?”

“I’m a physical therapist for athletes,” Maddie explained. “You know what an athlete is, right? ”

He grunted in response to her question but didn’t take the bait. “Where at?”

“A rehab center, but I’m hoping to get hired by a major sports team.”

His brow dipped low. “What kinda team?”

“A professional one. Preferably with the NFL or MLB.”

“Like the Steelers or Pirates?”

“Since those are professional teams, yes.” She knew she was being a smart ass, but she didn’t feel the need to explain herself, or her career, to Romeo of all people. Since when had he shown real interest in anyone without a dick between their legs? She was damn sure he pretended to care only enough to get them to bend to his will.

His reputation was well known since he used women simply for his own satisfaction.

Maybe in the past five years, he turned over a new leaf.

Wait. She glanced up to the dark sky. Did a pig do a fly-by?

His “Why?” pulled her back to the conversation.

“Why not?” she countered.

“Like workin’ with men?”

Why did he assume all athletes were men? “I like working with… people. All kinds.” She loved helping people either heal from a sports-related injury or to be the best athlete they could be.

No one was more surprised than her mother when she went into this line of work since Maddie had never been an athlete herself. In high school, she never ran track or played on any teams, like volleyball, softball, or field hockey. But she had always appreciated the hard work and dedication it took to become a top-notch athlete.

To her, it seemed like too much pressure to perform. However, she didn’t hold that goal against anyone and in fact, was happy to help people achieve it.

“Make a lot of scratch?”

“I do all right.” But she could do a lot better once she had more experience under her belt. That was why she had to suck it up and stick it out at Smith’s unless something better popped up. She had to keep reminding herself that her current employer was only a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she echoed softly.

“You touch men?”

She mentally sighed. She should’ve expected that he wouldn’t let that particular point go. “I touch a lot of people.”

“Like men.”

“Yes, I touch men, but not in a creepy way, Romeo. I’ll leave that to you.” She ate a few more fries. Like the burger, they were cold, but she certainly wasn’t going to waste them.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch men.”

She lifted her gaze from her food to the man across the table. “I meant women.”

“Don’t touch anyone who don’t want me touchin’ them.”

“They probably only regret it after it happens.”

“Damn, woman.”

She shrugged. “Am I wrong?”

“You regret me touchin’ you?”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” she warned, even though she wasn’t sure if Romeo even had any.

He blinked at her.

She grinned at him.

He scowled.

Her grin grew .

His scowl deepened and his burger sat forgotten. “It was great, right?”

“Great is being… generous.”

His spine snapped straight, and his heavily bearded chin jerked up. “What the fuck d’you mean?”

She shrugged and pointed a fry in his direction. “I had nothing to compare it to back then. Now I do.” She popped it into her mouth and waited while she chewed.

“Now you do?” exploded from him. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Do I have to explain it to you?”

His deep brown eyes narrowed on her and she swore his voice dropped a whole octave when he asked, “How many?”

Maddie held those eyes with her own. “What does that matter?” That was nobody’s business but her own.

“It don’t.”

“Seems like it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked.”

Did he just grind his teeth?

The horn dog was bothered by someone else having sex? Or more likely, a woman having sex with someone other than him?

That was plain stupid. They had sex five years ago. Once.

It had been a mistake.

Not because he was awful in bed. She learned later that he’d been better than most, but the mistake was having sex with him for the wrong reason.

And that reason made her as selfish as him.

“Wanna come back to my crib?”

What? Was he serious? The man clearly didn’t know how to read the room. Or picnic table. “You have an actual place? Or is it a room in the Knights’ church?”

“We got a bar. Ain’t a barn with livin’ quarters behind it, like the Fury. ”

“You live in a bar?”

“Live behind a bar.”

“In an actual house?” Was Romeo somewhat domesticated and not a complete feral tom cat?

“Got four fuckin’ walls and a roof, so guess you could call it that. That make a difference for you to say yes?”

“No.”

“Well?”

“That was my answer.”

“Figured you needed a reminder on how great it was. Willin’ to give you that reminder.”

She somehow managed to keep her eyes from rolling out of her head. “Don’t take it personally, Rome. It’s normal that someone’s first time isn’t great.” Especially with someone they didn’t share an emotional connection.

They had flirted and joked around. She thought he was hot. And from what he said, he thought the same about her.

But that was where the connection ended.

She figured out of anyone, Romeo—a known womanizer—wouldn’t care that she wasn’t experienced. She also figured since he was so self-centered and only worried about his own needs, he’d power through no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it was for her. Or, hell , the both of them.

She also didn’t want to “break the seal” with anyone she’d see on a regular basis. She was sure a few Fury members without an ol’ lady would’ve been more than willing to volunteer to help with her dilemma.

She was also aware of the fact that doing so could be dangerous for them if Shade found out.

Plus, after seeing each other naked, it would be even more awkward to look whoever it was in the eye later.

More importantly, she certainly wasn’t looking to hook up long-term with any biker. Not a Blood Fury member. Not a Dirty Angel. Or—she met Romeo’s eyes across the table—a Dark Knight.

When she found the love of her life, he wouldn’t be wearing a leather cut and riding a Harley. But then, to find the love of her life, she’d have to be looking.

She wasn’t.

Right now, her focus was on her career and getting hired by a professional sports team. She wanted to prove to herself that she could do anything she put her mind to. Like professional athletes, she also had a goal and was sprinting towards it. She didn’t want anyone tripping her up along the way.

Or a man thinking that he could tell her what to do and how to do it.

“Well?” he prodded again.

“Thank you for the invitation. Although it’s hard to resist such a generous offer, I’ll have to pass.”

“Your place is okay, too.”

“Okay for what?”

“For a repeat.”

“You might have missed this in health class, but I can’t lose my virginity a second time.”

She didn’t realize his full lips could get so thin.

He reached across the table with his hand open and his palm up.

She frowned as she considered it. “What? Do you want the rest of my burger?”

“Phone.”

“For what?”

“Gonna give you my number. You need anythin’, you fuckin’ call me.”

“You mean if I need to get stoned or get drunk enough to get into a fight, or I’m just looking to get laid without any strings attached? ”

“Maddie…” he growled. “Call me if you’re in a fuckin’ jam.”

“Oh, got it. So, the word Knight in your MC’s name isn’t just random, then.”

He got up from the bench, snagged her cell phone from where it sat near her drink, and before she could duck, he held the screen up to her face to unlock it, then scrolled.

“Can I have my phone back?” she asked as calmly as she could, even though the panic was rising.

“When I’m fuckin’ done with it.”

This was exactly what she wasn’t looking for in a man. One who made demands and thought he can dictate how she lived her life. “That’s theft.”

“Ain’t stealin’ it. Just borrowin’ it.”

Romeo continued to do whatever he was doing. Most likely inputting his number into her contacts. When he was done, she heard his cell phone ring.

Shit. Now he had her number, too. She should’ve launched herself across the table to steal her phone back before that happened.

Without warning, he tossed her phone back to her, but luckily, her reflexes were quick enough to catch it. She didn’t bother to delete her newest contact entry since he now had her number, anyway. And, truthfully, she didn’t dislike the guy. It was the opposite.

But he wasn’t for her.

Even if the sex wasn’t bad.

The problem was, if she succumbed to temptation a second time, he’d figure out just how much she had enjoyed it the first time.

Was it awkward and uncomfortable? At first, yes. But surprisingly, he made sure it wasn’t for long. Because of his reputation, she hadn’t expected him to think about someone other than himself.

He also didn’t have to do that.

But he did it for her.

And that had bothered her the most about the whole interaction.