Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

LEAH

" S o, have you made your move?" Annie's voice in my ear sounds sultry as she teases me yet again about my boss.

"No, now hush." I open up my locker in the back room of Spirits and throw my apron inside.

"WHY NOT!" Ugh.

I pull the phone away with a hiss.

"You're going to blow out my eardrum," I yell back at her.

"I'm trying to get your back blown out. Stop making my job harder!" Jesus.

I glanced at the door to make sure it was closed, but no one heard my crazy best friend.

"Annie, please! We are working to get him, and he's the main subject of my research project. My entire future depends on this thesis. He is not available to me in that matter." I can see her rolling her eyes at me from the way she sighs.

"He could be your future! But your stubborn ass won't give up that V-card. You know it's a use it or lose it type of thing, right? At your rate, you'll be too dried up to enjoy sex in the nursing home when you're so old you have no idea what you're even doing." I close my eyes and groan.

"I'm hanging up on you now." She laughs as I push the end button.

I grab my purse and pull on my sweater.

I pull open the door and run head-first into a strong, muscular chest that smells like patchouli and musk. I take a deep breath of it before I step back and glance up at my boss.

"Baby, you are a walking disaster. You okay?" He holds me lightly by the shoulders as I nod at him.

"Cher, don't do that. You'd make a saint want to sin with those eyes." His hand lifts my chin, making my hair slide away from my face fully.

"You good?" He whispers, and the ability to form words with my move evaporates into thin air.

I nod, and he smirks.

"I need to hear the words, Baby. Otherwise, I'll have Kai drive you home." I blink a few times and bite my lip.

I could lie, but I suck at it.

He doesn't like his female employees taking public transportation at this hour and always has one of his club brothers of employees see us home.

I must hesitate too long because he grabs my chin firmly, making me gasp.

"Right, you are not taking the street car. Wait here." His thumb brushes my bottom lip where the indentation of my teeth is, and I watch in fascination as his eyes darken.

He's gone a second later, and I have to grab the wall so I don't melt into a puddle.

I wave a hand at my face, trying to stop the blush I know staining my cheeks. I've shadowed this man for six months. I have interviewed all of his partners for my thesis and have even witnessed him having sex with multiple genders, all in the name of science.

Why?

Because the poor little Amish girl is going to be a licensed sex therapist when she grows up, being sexually oppressed made me extremely rebellious, but not enough to overcome the religious aspect of it.

It's a fucking problem for me.

How can I be an effective therapist if I have no experience? I mean, knowledge of the body and the act can only get me so far. Don't I need to experience it?

"Ready?" Seer calls out to me from the end of the hallway.

"Um, yes. I thought Kai was going to take me?" He's putting on his cut, and I stare at the word President on his upper left pectoral.

"You have the pleasure of riding me home tonight." I choke on my own saliva and cough as Seer grins.

"I mean, ride with me. Sorry," he winks before turning his back on me.

"Coming?" He calls over his shoulder, and Annie's voice creeps into my mind.

You could be if you play your cards right.

I can say one thing with absolute certainty. Seer sure does make Hell seem worth it. I shake away my thoughts and hurry to catch up to him.

He's revving the engine of his purple motorcycle when I step out into the humid New Orleans night.

"Always so overdressed. It's too humid for all those clothes, Baby." He's not wrong, but they're my shield against the world.

"Um," I try twice to mount the bike before he chuckles, grabs my long skirt, and yanks it up to my knees.

"Pin it between your legs once you're on. Don't want the whole bayou to see your secrets." His face turns away so he isn't lumped into that group, but the way his jaw tenses tells me he wants to.

Badly.

"Thank you," I finally get on and do as he says.

He waits until my arms are firmly around him before taking off from his parking spot.

We sail through the humid night air into the Garden district, where I've been renting a room since I moved here. He pulls up to the house and turns off his bike.

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." I try to get off the motorcycle hurriedly but manage to trip and fall with all the skirt I'm in still wrapped around my legs.

"Christ, Cher. Here, let me help you up." Thankfully I landed in the grass, or my ass would be hurting for days.

"Will I ever not embarrass myself in front of you?" I mutter the question to myself.

I take his hand, and he hauls me up until our chests touch.

"Are you hurt?" There goes my voice again.

"No," it squeaks past my barely open lips.

"I'll walk you to the door," my eyes widen, and I panic.

He can not see where I live.

My room is my haven, but the rest of the house? It's falling apart, and my elderly landlord has no one to rely on to help her. Every handyman she's hired has ripped her off. I'm surprised the parish hasn't condemned the place.

"That's ok. I can manage! Thanks again." I push out of his arms and glance both ways down the street, even though it's one-way.

NOLA isn't known for following the rules.