She was a little disappointed, as she rather liked holding onto him on the back of his bike. Climbing into the car, she buckled her seatbelt as Ugly Beast got settled behind the wheel.
“Do you think one day you’ll ever tell me your name?”
“Maybe. One day.” He winked at her, and she liked that.
They’d been married for a little over a month, and in that time, she had felt him opening up to her a little. It wasn’t an overnight thing, but since she handed him the cell phone and pledged her loyalty to the Hell’s Bastards, it had been a lot easier.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
He pulled out of the street. Several of the kids waved at him, but he didn’t wave back. He never did.
Sitting back, she looked at the mirror, seeing their house slowly disappear.
The small built up town was nothing more than a dot as he sped up out on the open road. They passed the clubhouse, that she recognized, and came to a large dirt ground with a fence all around.
Ugly Beast pulled the car to a stop and went to the metal fence, opening up the padlock on it.
When he came back, he drove into the fenced off area, locked the gate, and then turned toward her.
“It’s time to give you some driving lessons.”
“Here?”
“There’s no better place. Come on.” He tapped her leg before he got out. The motor was still running.
With shaking hands, she released the seatbelt and climbed out of the car. As they passed each other, Ugly Beast captured her face, tilting her head back to look at him. “You’ve got this. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”
“What if I trash your car?”
“You won’t.”
“I don’t like this.”
“You’ve got to learn one way or another. I didn’t figure you’d want to risk killing a kid?”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “I know.”
She saw the heat in his gaze, and it called to her and begged for her to explore whatever this was with him.
As quickly as it appeared, he pulled away, leaving her feeling so alone.
“Get behind the wheel.”
She didn’t argue. Sitting behind the wheel, she buckled up the seatbelt, gripping the steering wheel in her hands.
She could do this.
It was easy, right? Piece of cake. Just as easy as riding a bike.
Only, she’d never ridden a bike before.
It didn’t matter.
“You get a feel for the car?”
“Sure.”
He laughed.
“I totally know what all these things are about, and how to work them, because that’s what I do.”
She turned to him just as he rolled his eyes.
“This one’s the clutch, the brake, the gas. The clutch you press to change gears. I’m a manual kind of guy. None of this automatic shit. So, I want you to put your foot on the clutch. Good, now, put the gear stick into first.” She did that and immediately took her foot off the pedal and the car came to a sudden jerk.
She let out a scream, grasping the wheel even tighter.
Ugly Beast burst out laughing. “No, you’ve got to press a little on the gas and slowly bring your foot of the clutch.”
“This is too much.”
“Babe, you’re going to learn how to drive a car.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You want to be completely dependent on a guy just like your dad wants?”
“But you can drive.”
“And what if I end up in prison? Or dead? What are you going to do then?”
She hated the thought of anything happening to him. Instead of saying anything, she stared straight ahead.
“See, not so fucking bad when you got a reason to keep on fighting. You ready to go again?”
She kept stalling the car three more times before finally rolling forward. All afternoon Ugly Beast was patient with her as she kept bringing the car to a sudden stop and stall, jerking it forward, letting out screams.
She hated every second of the two-hour driving lesson. By the time the sun was going down, she was more than ready to call it a day, and fortunately, Ugly Beast agreed.
On the way back to the house, she felt exhausted. Between making dinner and driving, she was ready for bed.
“I don’t think you’re useless.”
“What?”
“I like the idea of having a homecooked meal, but I don’t think you’re useless. If you can’t ever be a good cook, I don’t mind.”
“You heard what I said?”
“All of the guys heard, baby. You’re not useless.”
“You don’t even know if I can handle this thing with my dad.”
“I know you can. You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
****
“Do you have no physical attraction to her at all?”
“Fuck off, Raven.”
“I saw her bedroom. She still sleeps in it, and I’ve got to say, I’m confused. You’re married.”
Ugly Beast took a swig of his beer and glared at the soon to be dead only female member of the club. “Why are you bugging me about this?”