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

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

No matter how tempted she was to call or text Romeo to hook up again, she refrained. She figured it would create less drama if she used her vibrator instead. A couple of nights she met up with Zeke at The Iron Horse for a drink and a few games of pool.

She spent last weekend with Gabi having a “girls’ weekend,” too.

Unfortunately, despite trying to find an alternative, the only way to get Roger completely free from her mind after a bad day was getting naked with Romeo. But after what he pulled at Smith’s, it made her hesitate.

If possible, she needed to find a substitute. Someone not a biker. With plenty of hookup apps out there, the right man couldn’t be impossible to find, could it?

Since the apps could be risky, she wasn’t really keen on them, especially since she preferred her skin not be turned into a leather coat. Or her teeth into a necklace. Or to be buried without her limbs in some random spot out in a field.

But if she could find someone to have sex with—someone who was good—without dying or becoming a sex slave, it could be an option.

When Romeo came in for his initial appointment, Maddie had escorted him back to the receptionist desk and Maribeth assigned him to another physical therapist. She refused to let him be so damn intrusive and if he insisted, he could crack open his wallet and continue the injury ruse with someone else.

She also made sure Maribeth assigned him to a man instead of a woman he could flirt with. For her, that made him sticking his nose where it didn’t belong all a little more palatable. She had a feeling Romeo would soon get sick of having appointments with Chuck, as well as watching his wallet get thinner and thinner.

When she wasn’t busy with a patient of her own, she watched Romeo and Chuck work together, knowing full well the biker was faking his injury.

She had to give the man credit for sticking with it for the last two weeks and, despite it being annoying, for being so damn dedicated to discovering her “problem.”

Luckily, since he only came in twice a week, she managed to avoid Roger every time Romeo was in the building. So far. But that wouldn’t last for long. She was damn sure he’d witness her boss’s bad behavior if the Knights’ president didn’t throw in the white towel soon.

She was grabbing a snack in the break room between patients when Chuck cornered her.

“Your friend’s on my schedule in fifteen minutes.” Her co-worker glanced at his watch and his mouth twisted. “Though, he tends to run late.”

No surprise. She didn’t know any biker who watched a clock. They tended to live their life on their own time and terms .

“He says he knows you very well.”

Damn it. Should she pretend Romeo was nothing more than a distant acquaintance?

If he was fishing for details on her and Romeo’s “relationship”… Good luck, Chuck. “We do know each other, but not as well as he tends to insinuate.”

Chuck’s dark eyebrows rose. “But you didn’t want him as a patient?”

“I figured you’d be better suited to work with him.” That wasn’t quite a lie.

Her coworker frowned. “Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that he self-referred himself into our care instead of going to a doctor first?” Chuck turned and leaned back against the counter with a coffee mug in hand.

“Ro—” Her brain glitched. If she called Romeo by his road name, it would only spur more questions. “Marvin tends to march to the beat of his own drum.”

“I’ve experienced that,” Chuck said dryly. “He tried to tell me how to do my job.”

Oh shit. But that wasn’t surprising, either.

Maddie rolled her lips instead of her eyes. “He’s not being cooperative?”

“Oh, he is, but he has some very strong opinions.”

That he did.

“That he shares. Often.”

“On therapy?”

“On everything. And he asks a lot of questions about Roger. For some reason, he seems to be obsessed with our asshole boss.”

Of course. “Be careful. You don’t want to get caught complaining about you know who . That will only make it worse.”

“I’ve managed to dodge most of Marvin’s questions. ”

Good.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take him for your patient roster?”

The pleading in Chuck’s eyes had her feeling guilty for pawning Romeo off on him. However, not enough to agree to take him back. “I don’t think it would be appropriate,” was the last thing she said before slipping out of the break room with a peach swiped from her own lunch bag.

As she was about to head back out onto the floor, she noticed the man they were just discussing coming through the door.

She turned her head and called out, “Chuck, your appointment is here.”

“Already?” came his response.

Apparently, Romeo wasn’t late every time. Or Chuck learned to tell him an earlier time to make sure he arrived before his appointment started, instead of after.

That trick was used often by women tied to bikers. If their ol’ ladies wanted them somewhere at eleven, they told them ten-thirty. It worked until the men caught on.

“Can you tell him I’ll be out in a few minutes?” Then she heard mumbled, “I should make him wait as long as he makes me wait.”

Maddie pulled in a breath before reluctantly answering, “Sure.” She wouldn’t do it for Romeo, but as a favor for Chuck since he took the stubborn Knight off her hands.

As she headed toward the front, she glanced longingly at the peach clutched within her fingers. She had hoped to eat it before her next appointment showed up.

She ignored the fact her heart did a tumble, and her pulse quickened the second Romeo spotted her heading his way and blinded her with a 100-watt smile.

Then took his time inspecting her from head to toe .

She almost smoothed her hair into place, then got annoyed with herself for even having that urge.

She stopped at Maribeth’s desk. “I’ll take him back for Chuck. He’s running a little behind.”

She missed the receptionist’s response because Romeo was staring at her so hard, Maddie swore he had X-ray vision and could see right through her clothes. Especially when he said, “Nice peach,” in a way that made her pussy clench.

“Come with me, Mr. Carter,” came out more breathless than she’d like. Annoyed at her own reaction, she set her jaw, turned, and strode past a few other patients working with their therapists. “You should probably wear sneakers for your appointments. Does Chuck let you wear your biker boots while he’s working with you?”

“Think I fuckin’ got sneakers?”

Who didn’t own a pair of damn sneakers? “Weren’t you wearing them while running that marathon? If you ran over twenty-six miles in heavy biker boots, no wonder you pulled your hammy.”

She heard a snort behind her. “Woman’s got plenty of jokes.”

Making light of the situation was the best way to deal with it.

She stopped at a matted area along the wall and pointed to a large inflatable exercise ball. “You can sit on that and wait. I’m sure Chuck will be with you shortly.”

Of course, he didn’t follow her directions. Instead, he turned to face her. “Don’t give a fuck about Chuck. Ain’t why I’m here.”

“So, how are you recovering from that devastating injury?” Maddie asked. “Are you enjoying Chuck’s massages? He’s got some very strong hands and a special touch, doesn’t he? ”

“The best,” Romeo muttered.

She finally lifted her eyes and met his. “When are you going to end this farce?”

“Soon’s I find out the info I came for.”

“I can’t believe you continue to go to this extreme. It has to be costing you a fortune.”

“Think about what you just said. Coulda told me the problem when I asked. Now it’s costin’ me. Doin’ this for you, Maddie, not me.”

“If it’s costing you, that’s on you, not me, because I asked you not to get involved. You should’ve respected my request to stay out of it.”

“Stubborn.”

Hold up. He was calling her stubborn? “Huh.” Trying to avoid more verbal sparring, she took a bite of her peach. Riper than she expected, the juice ended up dribbling down her chin. She should’ve grabbed a napkin or two. Or ten. Her mistake.

Since she didn’t want to use her sleeve, she turned to head back to the kitchen to grab one. Romeo jerked her to a stop by grabbing her arm, making her very aware of her messy face. When she went to clean it off herself, he batted her hand away and wiped the sticky juice away with his thumb. He kept his heated gaze locked with hers when he plugged that thumb into his mouth.

Holy shit. It wasn’t just the action but the way he did it that made her weak in the knees and regret avoiding his bed lately.

Why did this particular man make her so damn weak? Why couldn’t it be anyone else?

When he pulled his clean thumb from between his lips, his voice was low and grumbly. “Haven’t been over lately. ”

“Did—” She cleared her tight throat and tried again. “Did you miss me?”

He grabbed his crotch but didn’t hold onto it long enough for anyone to notice. Other than her, at least. “Hard not to think ‘bout you and that pussy.”

Her peach ended up forgotten in her hand as they stared at each other.

Chuck came rushing over. “Thank you, Maddie. I got it from here. Come with me, Mr. Carter, and we’ll get you started.”

Romeo just got her “started.”

Resist, Maddie.

She hoped like hell that Chuck did not hear the last thing Romeo said.

“Are you okay? You look really flushed. Are you having a hot flash?” Chuck asked.

“I’m not old enough for a hot flash.” She pressed a hand to her hot cheek. “I’m just a little warm.”

“Maybe you should cancel the rest of your appointments and go home and rest. You might be catching something.”

She caught something all right.

When she heard “Mad!” yelled through the building, she actually thought Chuck’s suggestion might be a good one. Because that voice only belonged to one person.

A quick glance at Romeo showed her that he was searching the room for the one bellowing her name.

“Mad!”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She heard a muffled growl—that did not come from Chuck—over the sound of her gritting teeth.

She needed to find Roger before he found her. And before he continued to spew shit loudly. Maybe she could head him off and quiet him down.

It turns out she didn’t move fast enough.

Roger beelined over to where they stood, appearing out for blood. Only she worried it wouldn’t be her blood spilled.

“Your patient is waiting for you. What are you doing?” His eyes dropped to the peach. “Not only making your patients wait but eating out on the floor? You know that’s not allowed. Besides, it’s piggish. Are you a pig, Mad?”

She waited for him to start oinking. He had done it before when someone spilled their snack.

“You know the rules. I’m going to have to write you up for that. That’s your third write-up this month. You know the three-strike rule, now I’m going to have to dock your pay.”

This was nothing new. Roger purposely looked for excuses to write up his employees. Even for the most trivial reasons so he could dock their pay. That put more money back in his pocket.

Greedy asshole.

“Remember me, Roge?”

Oh shit.

When a searing heat hit her back, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Roger had awakened the beast. The whole reason she wanted Romeo to stay out of it. If he handled this badly, she could lose her job and, knowing Roger’s pettiness, he could blackball her everywhere.

This could turn into a complete nightmare.

“Mr. Carter… How could I forget? Hopefully, your therapy is proceeding nicely.”

“Would be if I wasn’t so fu— disturbed with how you speak to your employee. Makes me wonder if I made the right decision comin’ here.”

“We have rules, Mr. Carter. Just as I’m sure your employer does, too. Without rules, it’s mayhem.”

Oh good lord .

“It’s a fuckin’ peach, Roge.”

“While it might only be a peach this time, if I let it go, what about next time? I maintain strict rules for a reason. If Mad can’t follow them, then she doesn’t belong here.”

Maddie jolted forward slightly when Romeo’s chest bumped her back. “Her goddamn name is Maddie. Or Madison. Or even Ms. Goddamn Goodson. It ain’t Mad .”

Roger blinked at Romeo’s unexpected fury. “If she doesn’t like me calling her that, she would’ve told me.”

She did. Most likely a dozen times before she gave up.

“Tellin’ you… Don’t fuckin’ call her that again.”

Roger’s brow dropped low. “No reason to use profanity.”

“Got every damn reason to use it. You’re disrespectin’ your employee.”

“By telling her to follow the rules? Rules she agreed to when she was hired?”

She didn’t remember any rules about eating out on the floor, but that was neither here nor there right now.

Maddie pulled in a breath and turned, placing a hand on Romeo’s chest. She caught his gaze and widened her eyes at him in a silent plea. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“You fuckin’ mind. You told me that.”

“Rome…” Fuck. “Marvin, I appreciate you standing up for me, but it’s unneeded.”