Torque Read online

  Torque

  Linny Lawless

  Contents

  Torque

  1. Torque

  2. Ronnie

  3. Torque

  4. Ronnie

  5. Torque

  6. Ronnie

  7. Torque

  Also by Linny

  About the Author

  TORQUE

  Copyright 2019 by Linny Lawless

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, brands, and incidents are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments, is solely coincidental.

  This book contains mature content and is intended for adults 18+ only.

  Model: Simon

  Photography: Paul Henry Serres

  Cover Design: Cosmic Letterz Design Cover Design

  Editing and Proofreading: Mitzi Carroll

  Personal Assistants: Mikki Thomas and Kristin Youngblood

  Interior Design by Clara Stone of Reader Central

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission.

  Purchase only authorized editions. Thank you for respecting the author's work and not supporting or encouraging piracy. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at [email protected]

  Torque

  A Novella

  Torque, the owner of Hardcore Cycles is only focused on one thing, the V-twin engines that come into his shop. There's no time for women or love; that is, until Ronnie, a raven-haired beauty comes into his sights. When the biker beauty needs help, Torque's primal instincts kick in, and there’s no stopping him when it comes to protecting the woman he loves.

  Torque

  “But Uncle Torque, I HAVE to go on this camping trip! Todd is going too!” Kacy whined as she batted her doe eyes at me.

  Kacy was my only niece. I loved her and still saw her as a baby wearing pink dresses and pigtails. “Who the fuck is this Toad, dude?”

  “His name is Todd, and you shouldn’t say the F word, Uncle Torque.”

  “Shit. Not like you haven’t heard the word fuck before. You’re only seventeen! Does your dad know you’re going on this so-called camping trip with dudes?”

  “I’ll be a senior in high school and in three months I’ll be eighteen! My friend Trisha’s parents are going to chaperone. And yes, Mom and Dad know and they’re okay with it.” Kacy stood behind the counter of my bike shop pouting with her arms folded—just like the typical teenager.

  Bargaining with a teenager who’s filled with raging hormones was like bashing your head against a brick wall, over and over again.

  I shook my head and cracked my knuckles. “Well, this Toad better keep his hands to himself, or he won’t have any hands or a dick to play with, for that matter!”

  Kacy’s brows shot up as her jaw dropped. “Wow! There is just no filter with you! Please? Can I clock out early tomorrow?”

  “What time?”

  “Noon?”

  I grumbled, “Okay. But you clock in at eight a.m. sharp! Understand, Kacy?”

  She jumped, wrapping her arms around me. “Thank you, Uncle Torque! You’re the coolest boss ever!”

  “And the coolest uncle ever, too.” Just then the sound of Harley pipes drew my attention to the front window of my bike shop.

  I knew it was a Sportster just by the sound of the pipes. Then I saw the chick’s legs. Drop-dead, sexy legs straddling the bike. “Holy. Fuck.” I moved away from Kacy, stepping up to the window.

  My eyes were fixated on those gorgeous legs, to the faded jean shorts and delectable ass. She wore black laced-up ankle boots and a thick long ponytail of jet-black hair. She parked the bike, and when she swung her leg over to climb off, I got a good view of the bodacious cleavage she sported in a tight purple tank top.

  “Go do work, Kacy,” I grumbled as my legs moved and led me outside to greet the raven-haired biker chick.

  She pulled off her helmet as I managed to keep my tongue in my mouth. “It’s not a good idea to wear shorts like those on a bike, darlin’. They’re a distraction and a hazard to other drivers.”

  She drew her shades up on her head. “I didn’t pull in here to get your advice on what I wear or not wear.” She nodded to the bike. “I need some repair work done for my ride.”

  My eyes steered from her to the bike, and man did it need some work!

  The side mirrors were bashed out and bent; one side of the red peanut tank was dented and scratched up, along with the front and back fenders. And the seat had tears in it, too.

  “Looks like someone doesn’t like you too much. But better the bike took a beating and not you.” Images of this gorgeous woman being beaten up as much as the bike made my blood pressure spike and my shoulders tense up.

  She jutted out her hip, folding her arms, which only pushed her tits up more to bulge out the top of her tank, and I couldn’t help but stare.

  She snapped her fingers, “Uh… My eyes are up here, big boy.”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah.” I offered my hand. “I’m Torque, owner and manager of this here Hardcore Cycles.”

  My hand looked like a fucking bear paw when she clasped it with hers. “Hi, I’m Ronnie.” Then she let go. “So, you’re the guy I need to talk to, then.”

  Yes, you sure do darlin’…

  “I’ll get your bike all pretty for you again, Ronnie. Follow me inside, and I’ll write up a service ticket and get you on the shop’s schedule.”

  As she followed me back in, my brat niece took a look at Ronnie and shook her head. I mouthed the word what to her. She just rolled her eyes and went back to stocking a shelf with engine oil cans. Kacy knew I was a sucker for a pair of nice legs, and Ronnie had a perfect pair—the best I’d ever seen.

  I walked around the service counter and pulled up the calendar on the computer. Ronnie leaned down, planting her elbows on the counter, squeezing those tits of hers into a deep crevice of cleavage. I had to shift my stance, trying to focus on the computer to make sure my dick didn’t reveal the semi hard-on it sported.

  I cleared my throat. “It’ll be a few days for parts to get delivered once I put the order in. Then labor. I can have your bike ready for you by the end of next week.”

  Ronnie groaned. “That’s my only ride to get me to and from work. What am I going to do!” She ran a hand through her dark locks biting her lower lip. My dick jumped. “Goddamn him!”

  “Who’s him? The asshole that did all that damage to your bike?”

  “Yes. He’s my boyfriend. I mean ex-boyfriend. He’s not too happy that I broke it off.”

  The sad and fearful look in her eyes kicked in my primal instinct to protect this woman any way I possibly could.

  “Has he threatened you?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and shook her head. “No. He just needs time to let it sink in that it’s over between us.”

  “Maybe I can help. Wait here.” I grabbed a set of keys off the wall hook and went out the back door. I climbed on a purple Kawasaki Ninja that matched the set of keys. I started it up, shifted, and rode it around the shop and pulled up next to Ronnie’s Sportster.

  Her brows shot up as she walked out “What’s this?”

  “It’s a used bike a buddy of mine sold me. It belonged to his ex-girlfriend, and he didn’t want it anymore. It’s not fancy, but it can get you to work while your Sporty gets fixed.”

  She folded her arms again, her eyes squinting at me. “How much will this cost me on top of the repairs?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Very original, Torque. First, it’s nothing, then it’s a debt I’ll need to pay with my lady parts.”
She pulled out a phone from the back pocket of those shorts of hers. “No thanks. I’ll just Uber my way around.”

  I snatched her hand, giving her the bike keys. “No, Ronnie. I insist. Really, you don’t owe me extra for it. This bike is just sitting behind my shop just wanting to be ridden.”

  She took the keys and smiled, making my heart pound hard in my chest. “Thanks, Torque. I’ll tell you what, swing by the Frisco Cantina. I’m a bartender there, and I’ll buy you a drink, or two.”

  “Sounds like a plan, Ronnie.”

  She shoved the phone back in her pocket and climbed on the Ninja, giving me a nice view of her hot-as-fuck ass again!

  Skully walked out of the garage and stood next to me as Ronnie rode out of the parking lot. He was my best bike mechanic and a longtime good friend of mine. He got in a bad jam with his old club, the Hell Hounds MC, and almost got his brains bashed in. But he made it out of that club alive and was a now a patched-in member of the Chaos Kings MC and lives with his ol’ lady, Tanya, and his little boy, Jake.

  He whistled. “Damn, what that girl is wearing is a distraction to other drivers!”

  My eyes were glued to Ronnie as she shifted and twisted the throttle on the Ninja. “That’s what I told her, bro!”

  Ronnie

  As I rode away from Torque’s bike shop on the Ninja, I squeezed my thighs tight against the tank. I felt a tingling between my legs—and not from the vibrations of the bike. My body betrayed me, and I was affected by him. His dark hair and beard radiated primal sex appeal that was all alpha male.

  But I didn’t need another bad boy biker in my life. Not after all the fucked-up mess I went through with Wayde. Things were great early on in our relationship, but then things went to shit. He had to prove himself to everyone, and his ego was more important than I was. He became a hang around for an outlaw club, the Vagabonds MC. He did their dirty work and sold their meth but was never voted in as a prospect. Then he became a methhead himself, stealing from my roommate, Heather and from me. I even caught him fucking around with some of the Vagabonds’ club whores. I broke it off with him several times over the past few months, which sent him into a rage, and he slapped me a few times. Heather was frightened of him and our safety, so we got our locks changed at the house we shared, and I threw all his clothes out on the front yard. I guess he wanted to have the last word, thinking he was the tough biker and vandalized my Sporty.

  I popped tops off beer bottles handing them to a customer from across the bar at the Frisco Cantina. It was Saturday night, and it was a packed house as the rock band set up their equipment on stage, while people gathered at the pool tables and dart boards. It was four days since I met Torque, and I would look up every so often when people came into the bar, hoping it would be him.

  My stomach fluttered, and I felt flushed with warmth just then as Torque walked into the Cantina. He wasn’t hard to miss with his broad shoulders and height of over six feet. I managed to keep my jaw from dropping open and busied myself washing some beer glasses. Other women in the bar noticed him, too, as he sauntered toward the bar and toward me.

  Patti, the other bartender, took a wet glass from me, drying it, and whispered, “Mercy! Is that him?”

  “Yes, the big burly one. That’s Torque.”

  He sat on a bar stool directly in front of me and smiled. “Hey, Ronnie. You working hard or hardly working?”

  The fluttering in my stomach just wouldn’t stop, but I managed to smile back. “I guess a little bit of both. It’ll be a packed house since we have a live band playing tonight. So, what’s your poison? The first few are on me, remember?”

  His eyes roamed the liquor shelf behind me. “I like good whiskey that’s fiery going down. Pour me the best you got.”

  Torque sat at the bar for the rest of the night, drinking the best whiskey we had. I kept busy behind the bar as the live band drew in more customers, but I would make my way to where Torque sat so we could chat. I liked his sense of humor. He wasn’t arrogant and cocky—just confident.

  It was way past midnight and last call as the band packed up and customers paid out their tabs. Torque stayed after the two drinks I owed him for letting me borrow the Ninja until my bike was ready.

  “I’ll wait for you and Patti outside.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to wait. It’s two a.m. We always walk out together.”

  Torque stood from his barstool. “What is it? You don’t trust me?”

  I looked up and was drawn to his hazel brown eyes. “It’s just hard for me to trust anyone lately. I’ve been stuck in bad situations before.”

  He reached out placing his big hand over mine as I wiped down the bar. He rubbed his calloused thumb on the underside of my wrist, sending tingles that hardened my nipples instantly. “You can trust me, Ronnie. I’m a businessman, and I have a reputation to maintain. Ask anyone in this county about me. I wouldn’t do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  His touch reassured me along with that half smile of his that I didn’t want to move away. I lingered just a few moments longer and moved away.

  “Okay, Torque. Both Patti and I appreciate it.”

  He released my hand. “I’m gonna step outside for a smoke and wait.”

  He was the last to leave the bar as Patti locked up the register and handed me a wad of cash in tips we always split at the end of a long, busy night. She nudged me. “Well? Is his personality as good as his looks?”

  I laughed, grabbing my backpack from under the bar. “He’s nice. But that’s how men like him are at first. He offered to wait outside for us when we closed up.”

  Patti batted her lashes at me. “Aww. Well, that’s very gentlemanly of him.”

  I locked up and walked out with Patti. Torque’s bike was parked next to the Ninja under the streetlight in the parking lot. He leaned against the bike seat and flicked his smoke; it arched and landed several yards away as I said goodnight to Patti.

  I admired his bike as I approached—a rigid frame painted in flat black, with a small peanut tank. It had a springer front end and drag bars. “Nice ride! It’s mean looking!”

  He grinned. “Glad you like. I enjoyed building her myself, and she’s been good to me.”

  I laughed. “Sounds like you’re talking about a woman.”

  “Well, bikes are kinda like women. You handle them with care and treat them like they’re important to you.” His voice was deep, making my nipples tingle.

  “Never thought of it that way.” I pulled my small backpack on and climbed onto the Ninja.

  Torque climbed on his. “I’ll ride along and follow you back to your place, make sure you get home safe.”

  His smugness was a turn on, but at the same time, it ticked me off. Getting Wayde out of my life still left a bitter taste in my mouth, especially after he vandalized my Sporty. The last thing I needed was a man like Torque following me home. Especially when he made my body react the way it did when he was around me.

  I started the Ninja, shifting into first. “Not going to happen, Torque.” I twisted the throttle and hauled ass out of the lot before Torque had his bike off the kickstand.

  Torque

  Ronnie took off like a bat out of hell, leaving me smelling the Ninja’s exhaust. Clenching my jaw, I kicked my stand up, twisted the throttle, and left the parking lot. But I didn’t chase after her. It was a turn on for me to pursue a woman, knowing they liked it, too, but Ronnie would be a fucking challenge that I was game to take on.

  Three days later, I stood with Skully in the Hardcore garage as we looked over Ronnie’s Sporty on the bike lift. “Are we on schedule with Ronnie’s bike?”

  Skully lit a smoke. “Yeah, boss. We’ll have it all prettied up for her in the next two days. I want to do some routine maintenance on it for her, too.”

  I socked him in the shoulder, “Didn’t even need to ask, ‘cause I can always count on you.”

  Just then, Ronnie pulled up out front on the Ninja. She kicked the stand down and climb
ed off as I walked out. “Still need a few more days, Ronnie.”

  She unstrapped her helmet, pulling it off along with her shades. “I’m returning your bike.” She handed me the keys.

  “You can still ride it until your bike is ready—”

  “I lost my fucking job!” she barked. She turned away, shaking her head. “The Frisco Cantina is demolished. I know it was Wayde who did it.”

  She broke down and sobbed. It was an automatic response to wrap my arms around her. “It’s going to be okay, Ronnie.”

  Her arms came around my waist for only a few moments, then she pulled away. “No, it’s not going to be okay! I don’t have a job which means I can’t pay my rent, and I can’t pay you for my bike repairs!”

  I stepped toward her. “Are you going to let that ex-douchebag boyfriend of yours win?” She shook her head, wiping at her tears. “No, I didn’t think so. Come on inside. Let’s talk.”

  “Okay.” She sniffled and followed me. Kacy was at the front counter and shook her head at me. I returned the headshake, and Ronnie followed me back to my office.

  I offered her a seat as I sat at my desk. “Kacy is my niece, and she’s only working here part time before she goes back to high school as a senior. I’m going to need to hire someone full time to run my shop. And I think you would be perfect for the job.”

  Her brows lifted. “Me? Come on, Torque. You just met me. How do you know if I’m even qualified?”

  “I saw you work the bar that night at the Cantina. And I like your attitude. You’re motivated and sassy. And you know how to ride a motorcycle. You’re perfect for the job!”