Penance Read online

  His head is shaved on one side, his scalp covered in an intricate tattoo design that follows down his neck and disappears under his shirt. The other side of his head is laden with shoulder-length dreadlocks, but they’re the well-kept kind, not the tatty ridiculous type that can make men look like hobos. His earlobes hold ear gauges adding to his grunge appearance. They’re not massive ones, just big enough to make a statement. He has a subtle nose ring through his septum, and I didn’t miss the fine facial hair which makes him look tougher if that’s possible. He screams badass, and that’s what attracted me to him instantly.

  Scratch, the other biker who was there was hot, no doubt, with his long hair and not to mention that killer scar in his eyebrow. But there’s just something about Sensei which had me going from the minute I saw him. I don’t know why. I’ve always been more into the all-American bad-boy type, but there’s something about this grungy guy that’s really gotten my panties in a tangle. And I know he was in a knot over me too. I know the look guys get when they’re trying to tame their hard-on, and Sensei was definitely trying to tame his beast.

  “Ayla?” Dad asks raising his brow at me.

  I widen my eyes. “Sorry, what?”

  He chuckles. “Where did ya go? I completely lost ya.”

  “Sorry, my mind wandered off.”

  Yeah, to think about a hot-as-fuck biker.

  He grunts. “So, did ya sort shit out with that Sensei bloke? He sounded gruff on the phone?”

  Nodding, I smile. “Yeah, he’s going to bring the bike around for spare parts. I’m not too sure when, though.”

  Dad tilts his head in acknowledgment. “Tomorrow sometime. Guy called and told me, but I had a coughin’ fit and hung up on him before he gave me a time.”

  Smirking, I roll my eyes. “Okay, well, at least I know he’ll be here tomorrow. But for now, you need to rest. You stay in, and me and the boys will take care of everything tomorrow.”

  He takes a long breath and looks at me fondly. “I sure did raise you right, baby girl. Fuck knows how. One old fart raising three kids on his own.” He shakes his head, and I give him a smile.

  “You did a great job with us, Dad. We all turned out okay.”

  He chuckles. “Well, you and Heath are fine. Bowie on the other hand…”

  I let out a small laugh. “Hmmm… yeah, I get your point. Hey, do you have Sensei’s number? I’d like to check what time he’ll be here tomorrow?” I ask trying to be subtle.

  Dad smirks but grabs his cell. “Check the last number. That should be his.”

  Checking through the call register, I grab the number and then program it into mine.

  I think I can have a little fun with this.

  “Right, want me to cook you some food before I go?”

  He waves his hand through the air at me. “Fuck off! Go on, get outta here and stop worrying about your old man.”

  I stand up with a huff. Leaving him here always puts me in two minds. He made his choice to move out of our family home. The one Heath, Bowie, he, and I shared with Mom. When Dad moved out, it was like losing Mom all over again, but I understood his motivation. He said it had nothing to do with Mom not being at the house anymore, but I don’t buy that. Though, the theory of him being here out the back of the garage so he’s closer to it, is sound. If he’s feeling under the weather at work, he doesn’t have far to go for some easy rest.

  This is the best place for him to live, and if there’s an issue, we’re not far away.

  Why I stayed in the house with my two foul-mothed brothers sometimes even astounds me. But we are close, and for the three of us, our family home brings memories of Mom, so we all stay. Even if it might seem weird for three grown siblings to be living together.

  I point my finger at him sternly. “Fine. But Dad you cook for yourself. No more takeout. I mean it.”

  “God, you’re like a freaking wife telling me what to do all the time. You do know that, right?”

  Laughing, I turn and head for the door. “Good. Then maybe you’ll learn to listen to me ‘cause I wear the pants in this relationship.”

  “Jesus Christ, kid, go home. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

  “Love you, Dad,” I call out walking through the mess of a kitchen while making a mental note to clean this up tomorrow.

  “Love ya, baby girl.”

  The screen door creeks again on my way out as I shut it and then head toward my pickup. The garage is still open, the others are getting ready to close up for the night. I give them a brief wave, and they nod their heads with a grin.

  “Have a good night, Spanner,” Vince calls out.

  “Night, Vince,” I reply to one of the mechanics. He’s been here a long time and always finds time to talk to me making sure to say good morning and goodbye at the end of the day. It’s the little things, I guess.

  Sliding into my pickup, I start it and head for home where hopefully it’s a little cleaner than Dad’s place. But living with two men, you can never really tell what state it will be in. Fingers crossed.

  AYLA

  Walking inside my childhood home to the sounds of Eminem’s latest album, I smirk as I drop my keys in the bowl on the buffet and round the corner to see Heath and Bowie in their usual positions on the sofa. Call of Duty is blasting on the television, and the stereo is so deafening they’re both competing with each other as to which is the loudest. The noise of the blasting gunfire and syncopated rapping styles of Marshal Mathers in sync with each other makes me chuckle as I walk in and slump down onto the sofa next to Heath. I slap his leg which makes him glance at me just as he gets shot on the screen.

  “Oh shit! Ayla, look what you made me go and do,” Heath grunts as Bowie raises his hands in the air and lets out a victorious cheer.

  “Yes, motherfuckers… I am, and always will be, the motherfucking champion. Suck it, fuckers,” Bowie calls out throwing his controller at Heath. He stands up and races off to the kitchen. “Want a beer?” Bowie yells, and I jolt my head back.

  “Remember, you’re still underage, Bowie,” I yell at him making Heath burst out laughing as he turns off the game console.

  “So… you’re saying, I can’t have a beer?” Bowie asks stopping and turning to look at me with an almighty smirk on his face.

  Tilting my head, I raise a brow as I look over at the kitchen counter and see two empty beer cans. “You’ve already had one, haven’t you, slick?” I ask.

  Bowie smiles wide while Heath bursts out laughing.

  I turn to look at Heath and lean out slapping him on the arm. “Heath, we’re meant to be setting a good example for our younger brother. Teaching him right from wrong and not leading him astray, you fucking douchebag.”

  They both laugh and Heath shrugs. “Ayla, what’s one beer now and then gonna hurt? He’s eighteen and a mechanic. He needs to act like a man.”

  I snort rolling my eyes. “Since when does Bowie ever act like a man?”

  “Hey,” Bowie calls out.

  “My point exactly.” Heath chuckles making us both laugh.

  Bowie flips us the bird. “You’re both assholes… flaming assholes,” he says sounding more like our father, he even uses the Aussie accent.

  Laughing, I raise my chin in his direction. “The answer is… no, Bowie, you cannot have another beer. But since you’re in the kitchen, you can get one for Heath and me.”

  Heath chuckles as Bowie flips me the bird again. “Fuck off.”

  I chuckle, turning to Heath as Bowie moves to the fridge. “How did the rest of the day go at the shop?”

  Heath shrugs. “Same ole, same ole. Nothing new to report. How’d you go at that biker club Dad always goes to? Guess you’ll be taking over the reigns there now?”

  “Yeah, they seem like a decent… ish, bunch of guys. Pretty easy to deal with.”

  “Didn’t give you shit?” he asks, his tone more serious now. Heath jokes around a lot, but the minute someone gives me trouble, he’s on them like a fucking cougar.

 
“Nah, man, they were chill. One of them was actually really hot.”

  Heath shoves my shoulder making me laugh as Bowie walks over carrying two beers and basically throws them at us. I catch the can and chuckle as I crack open the top, bubbles of foam pop through the tiny opening, and I suck them away. The bubbles tingle against my tongue as the hint of bitterness slides down my throat.

  “Ayla, I do not want to know about you and your sexual attractions,” Heath groans opening his can and throwing back a mouthful while Bowie slumps back on the sofa without a can of beer.

  “Well, I want to know, so I can harass the shit outta the next guy on your list. Like we did to that Paul guy. Remember him, Heath…” I slump in my seat and groan as they both burst out laughing. “Fuck! That was funny.”

  “That was not even remotely funny, Bowie! You two telling him we all slept in the same bed to scare him away was evil. He wasn’t that bad.”

  Bowie snorts. “Ayla, the guy told you he wanted to bring another girl into the bedroom… so, we simply lied and told him you slept in the same bed with your brothers occasionally. Did the job, didn’t it? Scared him the fuck off. Creepy bastard, he had pedo vibes about him anyway.”

  I scoff. “Jesus, Heath! He did not!”

  “Yeah… kinda did,” Heath states.

  Rolling my eyes, I shrug. “Whatever. The next guy I date is never meeting you two. You’re too protective which is weird seeing as I’m the oldest. I should be the one protecting you two from creepers.”

  They both grin.

  “But we like the creepy ones… they’re more flexible,” Bowie cheers as Heath high fives him.

  Standing, I groan as I head for my bedroom. “You’re both sick. Sick and twisted, and you’re never going to get married and have babies.”

  They both laugh as I head down the hall.

  “The bachelor life is the only life to live, Ayla,” Heath calls out.

  Picking up my step, I roll my eyes and walk into my room as I take another long drink from my beer. My room looks mostly neat, just as I left it this morning. Closing the door behind me to block out some the music and now the gamer gunfire which has started up again, I step over to my bed and place my beer on my bedside table. Yanking my cell from out of my pocket, I throw it on the bed as I kick off my boots and slide out of my greasy coveralls. They fall to the floor leaving me in my boyshorts and tank top. Pulling the tank top over my head quickly I’m now in my underwear and plonk down onto my bed.

  Grabbing my cell and my beer, I smirk figuring Sensei seemed too uptight today, which was a sexy look for him, but having a little mischief with him tonight could be a really fun thing to do—on my end anyway. Pulling up his number, I start to type out a text, grinning like a fucking idiot as I do.

  Me: Hey sexy, thanks for the other night. You were totally amazing by the way. I can’t get your… moves out of my mind.

  I hit send chuckling to myself as I take another sip of my beer. A text arrives soon after.

  Sensei: I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number…

  Letting out a loud snort, I write back.

  This is fun.

  Me: Oh no, it was definitely you… the way you handled yourself, your flexibility, shit I knew having training in jujutsu would come in handy, but I had no idea it would make your stamina that… well… wow!

  The bitter hit of the beer slides down my throat as I smile to myself. I wish I could see him squirming right now and wondering who this mystery woman is. Man, I kill myself sometimes. His reply is longer to come in this time, but it does eventually come.

  Sensei: You obviously know information on me, but I don’t want to play games here… who the fuck are you and what do you want?

  Opening my eyes wide, I snort. “Guy’s so damn serious,” I murmur as I type out my reply.

  Me: My thighs wrapped around your face.

  I burst out laughing and then quickly press the backspace button and retype the message.

  Me: Live a little. When a lady tells you you’ve been amazing in bed, you should take the compliment… don’t you remember our wild time together?

  Sensei: I have the number of all the woman I’ve been with lately. Whoever you are, I haven’t been with you. Whatever game you’re trying to pull, it won’t work. I repeat… who the fuck are you?

  Snorting, I roll my eyes.

  Me: Man, you’re so uptight. Bet I could work out some of that built-up tension…

  I laugh out loud taking another sip of my beer as my cell begins to ring. I look to the screen and notice it’s Sensei calling me. In shock, beer flies out of my mouth spraying onto my bare legs, and I cough slightly to recover from the surprise. “Shit! Ummm… fuck,” I murmur and stare at my cell not knowing what to do. The phone rings out, and I wince wondering if I should have let that happen, but then it starts ringing again. I jump slightly on my bed, and my fingers react before I do swiping the screen bringing the cell to my ear.

  “Ummm… hi,” I murmur down the line, and there’s a pause.

  He clears his throat and then speaks. “Spanner? Is that you?”

  His deep voice sends a shiver down my spine as I chew on my bottom lip. Wincing, I shrug. “Busteeed,” I drone out as my shoulders tense up, and I let out a small almost embarrassed giggle. God, I sound like a giddy school girl as I wait for him to yell at me or something, but he’s simply—quiet. “Okay, so I can explain—”

  “You were playing a practical joke,” he interrupts, and I relax slightly at the tone in his voice.

  “Ahhh… yeah. I do that shit sometimes. Thought you would think it was funny. But I can tell from your messages it wasn’t quite going down the way I had planned.”

  He’s quiet for a moment longer, and then he lets out a small, but audible laugh.

  I smile wide and inwardly pat myself on the back. “Did you just laugh?” He laughs again. “Shit! Two laughs? I’m getting good at this.”

  “Spanner, while this is all quite amusing and somewhat different for me, I’m unsure of why you messaged me in the first place. Is there something you need?”

  I take another sip of my beer. “Nah, man, was just messing about. Wanted to see if I could rattle you. After meeting you today, you seemed so uptight. I wanted to see if I could loosen you up a little. Hoping I’ve managed to make you smile… if only once.”

  “You went out of your way to message me, just to make me smile?” His tone is filled with curiosity, and it shocks me that he’s startled by my actions.

  “Well… yeah. I mean, I feel like we kinda hit it off today, and you went all I will bring the bike to you…” I lower my voice on that last part trying to sound butch and manly. “Scratch could have brought his bike to me, but you wanted to handle it… that’s kinda weird. You did that only so you could see me, Sensei. I’m not blind nor am I stupid. I saw the way you were looking at me.”

  He chuckles again.

  Yes! A hat-trick for laughs!

  “First of all… I do not sound like that. Your impression of me is… terrible.” I giggle and take another sip of my beer. “Secondly, you’re very… observant. I like a woman who knows what’s happening around her, Spanner, and you seem to be very… switched on.”

  “Why thank you, Sensei, you can keep those compliments coming. I’m a sucker for flattery, beer, and bubblegum. Gimmie all three, and I’m anybody’s.”

  Another laugh chimes down the line. Man, I am on a roll tonight!

  “You’re an interesting woman, Spanner.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. And hey, my actual name is Ayla, if you want to know. Only the guys at the garage call me, Spanner. Makes them feel like I’m more a part of their team.”

  He’s quiet for a moment and lets out a heavy sigh. “Ayla… it’s a beautiful name. I think you working in a male-dominated field is a noble profession.”

  Raising my brow, I smile. “Noble, huh? I’d call it reckless and sometimes stupid, but it’s my calling, and I fucking love what I do. Plus, I hav
e mad skills so there is that.”

  “Mad skills…” he pauses, and I take a sip of my beer with a smirk. “You don’t talk like the women I’m used to.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I lean back against my headboard, my ass sinking into my fluffy pillows as I relax further.

  “No… just different. I believe it to be … a nice fucking change.”

  Letting out a snort. “Oh, you believe it, do you?”

  “Are you mocking me?”

  I nod even though he can’t see me. “Yeah, I am. You think I talk weird? You do, too. You’re so uptight. Like, I know you’ve probably seen and been through a whole heap of shit, but man, learn to let go and live a little, will ya?”

  “If only it were that easy, Ayla… sometimes your past is right on your doorstep.”

  The weight of his words somehow feel heavy, and I sink further into the bed knowing he’s obviously going through some sort of shit right now. I don’t know why, but I want to help him. Something about Sensei calls out to me. It might be because we’re total opposites in every single way, but I feel like I can help him out of his tight-as-fuck shell.

  “Yeah, true. But you can’t let your past dictate your future. You gotta grab the present by the balls and take hold, swing on them if you have to, take all you can from the moment, but above all, take control. Whatever’s going on with you, don’t let it drown you. You can let new and fun things into your life as well. You gotta live… or life simply ain’t worth living.”

  He lets out a heavy sigh. “That’s true… but right now things at the club, things with my family are at an extreme. I need to be careful about who I let in my life. About, who I can trust.”