Free No Easy Ride: A Biker Erotic Romance by Emily Stone Page A

himself look as big and grown up as possible, he walked right up to where she was pumping gas, leaned against that shiny car and proceeded to introduce himself.
     
    She looked at him like he was a snake. There was no doubt that she recognized him, even before he opened his mouth. His resemblance to her was undeniable. She couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
     
    She yelled at him and called him a mistake. He had been taught to be tough but the rejection still hurt.
     
    After that day, Rex became a real handful. Getting into trouble was his only outlet for all the hurt his mother caused. He skipped school more, got into fights over stupid things and began stealing. He didn’t care about much of anything.
     
    His father Manny didn't know how to deal with him other than to kick his ass on a regular basis. Rex deserved what he got most days, but other times, not so much. It had made for a tense and violent home life... until Manny was locked up.
     
    Rex soon found himself in the foster system. The first placement had been a nightmare but he survived it. It didn’t take him long to figure out how to get kicked out and sent someplace new. He went through three homes before he turned fifteen. His last placement was the one that changed everything for him.
     
    They were good people. Caring and understanding why he was so angry even when they didn’t know the whole story. They were older, in their fifties when he came to them, with at least twenty other foster kids under their belt. They were patient with his outbursts, talking to him instead of yelling or using physical punishments.
     
    He learned that acting out wasn’t going to get him the kind of life he longed for. They became an example of what a real family could be. What he could have if he wanted it.
     
    Then he met Ellie. The one person who had been his only friend, the one person who never gave up on him even when all the other kids did.
     
    From that day on he worked on being a better person. They took him to see Manny on a regular basis so that he could rebuild some kind of relationship with the one parent who could still look him in the eye. They talked to him about what he wanted when his dad got out. For a while, he actually considered leaving it all behind and asking his dad to let his foster parents adopt him.
     
    It hadn’t worked out that way, of course. Manny sucked him back into the life the minute Rex turned eighteen. That didn’t mean that Rex forgot the lessons his foster parents had taught him. He kept the ideal of family and commitment as a possibility for the future. His future.
     
    When he saw Ellie again, that tempting image of the future flitted across his mind--so quickly that he would've missed it if he blinked but his eyes remained wide-open and he saw it.
     
    He could have both. His lifestyle and a family. It wasn’t clear yet exactly how that would work, but he had to believe that it was possible.
     
    ***
     
    After a restless night, Ellie got up early and decided to spend the day writing. It was the best way to deal with all the emotional turmoil of the night before. She made coffee and took a large mug into her living room, settling down at her desk.
     
    While she waited on her laptop to start up, she opened all the curtains and windows to let in some fresh air. The temperature was perfect and the smell of freshly cut grass made her smile.
     
    She didn’t bother getting dressed or fixing her hair. It was Saturday and the only place she needed to be was at her house, working. Even if any of her friends called to invite her out she was turning them down. She still had yesterday’s chapters to finish and she could use the time today to get ahead.
     
    It was unfortunate that she stopped yesterday in the middle of a very important sex scene. Picking up where she left off and not remembering last night was going to be tough. Her mind kept wandering, leaving her feeling unsettled.
     
    Piling her hair on top of her head, she