Free Wicked Man by Beth D. Carter

greeted.
    “Wick,” Slade said with a nod.
    “You always stand guard?”
    Slade shook his head. “But there are cameras all through
    Rider’s Pass. Saw you coming.”
    That slightly unnerved Wick. He hadn’t seen a thing. “Is Kix
    here?”
    “He’s at the grandstand but Piper is at their house.”
    “I need to talk to him.”
    “Figured as much.” He stepped to the side and nodded to the
    other man who pushed a button to open the automatic gate.
    He saw Slade glance at the affiliation patch sewn on his vest,
    so he didn’t bother taking off his cut. Usually, he wouldn’t hesitate to
    take off his colors as a sign of respect, but the White Death patch was
    like a passport into their territory.
    “I think you know where to go,” Slade called out.
    Wick nodded, started his bike, and took off down the dirt road.
    The members called the huge three story house the grandstand, which
    might seem ostentatious but one look at the place and no other words
    could describe the rambling home. Around it were several garages,
    where bikes were parked and men worked on them, grease covering
    their hands and clothes.
    Another road turned off just before the grandstand and Wick
    followed it, going past smaller houses until he came to the one that
    belonged to Kix and his sister. It was a rancher, and Wick saw that
    Piper had added a flower bed in the front yard.
    “This is nice,” Abbott said once he turned off the engine.
    “My sister’s place,” he said.
    She got off and had to grab his arm as she chuckled. “Wow,
    I’m not used to riding a motorcycle for so long. My knees are shaky.”
    Wick wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his body.
    He ran a hand along her backside and cupped an ass cheek. “You just
    hold onto me, baby. I’ll never let you fall.”
    She clutched his shoulders. “Promise?”
    Suddenly the atmosphere changed between them. Electricity
    still sparked between them, and his heart raced just from touching her,

    but he saw the worry darkening her eyes and the stress creasing the
    area between her brows.
    “Hey, I’ve gotta tell you something,” he murmured, pushing a
    strand of hair off her forehead.
    “What?”
    He smiled. “I stink up the bathroom.
    “Uh … excuse me?”
    “And I don’t like crossword puzzles because I can’t ever
    figure out the words.”
    She cocked her head obviously confused, but she was listening
    to him, and that was what he wanted her to do.
    “Our instant message sex was so incredible that I couldn’t
    even look at another woman. But our real sex? Good lord, my dick no
    longer gets hard when I look at porn. Only when I look at you.”
    A smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
    “I fucking hate white vegetables, like potatoes and
    cauliflower. But I love broccoli.”
    “Why are you telling me this stuff?”
    “Because I’m not perfect and I’m sure you’re not either. But
    one thing I’m looking forward to is learning all your little quirks.”
    She cupped his face. “As I learn yours.”
    “Well, now you already know a few things about me.”
    Happiness replaced the emptiness in her gaze and he was glad
    to see the stress lines disappear. “I suppose we’ll have to invest in
    multiple candles.”
    “Or that spray stuff that eliminates odor,” he quipped. “That
    would be a wise investment indeed.”
    Abbott laughed just as the front door opened and his sister,
    Piper, stepped outside.
    “Wick? Kix never told me you were coming for a visit.”
    “He doesn’t know,” he replied. He walked up the porch steps
    and bent to kiss her cheek. Once he never would have done that, but
    they’d been through too much together to not become as close as real
    siblings. “It was kind of an emergency.”
    She looked over his shoulder to where Abbott stood next to his
    bike. His heart just about broke in two when he noticed she hugged
    herself in a protective gesture while glancing over her shoulder.
    “What’s going on?” she asked in a low