Daire and Aspen

Chapter 1: Aspen

The Rules

The first time I saw Daire MacKenzie, I was at the Lords of Fury clubhouse. Molly, my best friend since middle school, was dating the MC's VP, Michael "Tacoma" Sullivan, and she was meeting him at the clubhouse for a party and invited me along.

We'd been sitting together in a booth, Tacoma having gone to talk some business with one of his brothers, when the clubhouse door opened and I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing. Everything about this man looked brutal – his height, his muscular body, his face. He looked into the room, assessing it, with cold eyes and an unsmiling set to his jaw. Something told me this was a man who rarely smiled, and I'd find out later that I was right.

He wore his jeans like they'd been tailor-made for him, and even without being able to see it, I knew his ass would be incredible. He had on a plain black T and over it he wore a well-worn cut that declared him President.

His dark hair was past his shoulders, straight and soft-looking. His eyes stopped on me, perhaps as the only unknown in the room, and I returned his stare with a smile. How could you not smile at a man so obviously in command who looked as good as he did?

He started to walk over to us, but some of his brothers, including Tacoma, intercepted him before he could make it to me. I deflated, and none of this went unnoticed by my friend.

"Don't even think about Daire," she cautioned, having sensed my interest as only an old friend could have. "That man is hot but he has this thing..."

"What kind of thing?" I asked, prepared to be grossed out. "Like, an STD kind of thing or...?"

Molly laughed. "No. All of these boys are fanatics about wrapping it up. No, he has this rule that he doesn't date and he never lets something go with a woman longer than a month."

"What does that even mean?"

Rolling her eyes, Molly leaned close and whispered, "He fucks a girl for a month, and then he's done. No second rounds, no extensions, he's just on to the next woman."

"So why do these women put up with it?"

"Apparently he's like a god in bed. Whoever is with him for the month always looks very, very...happy."

"So just because the sex is crazy good, he's worth the one-month deadline?"

Taking a long pull of her beer, Molly nodded. "Yep."

"He could be exactly what the doctor ordered," I mused. "I could make his expertise work for me. Have him punch my V-card, and then I'd have some experience for a real relationship."

Molls shook her head. "Sorry. You're not his type. Every woman he's with is super tall, built like a skinny-ass model with big boobs and lots of makeup and skanky clothes. You my friend, are short, short, short, your sexiest item of clothing is your skinny jeans with a rip in the knee, and on your worst day you look like a naughty Sunday school teacher...and by naughty I mean, you forgot to memorize a Bible verse. Plus, while you may have a rockin' ass, your boobs are merely normal sized." 

She nodded toward a woman approaching Daire. He gave her a curt nod, turned around and headed up the stairs with the super-tall, skinny-ass model with big boobs and a lot of makeup following him. 

"See?" Molly said. "That's his current flavor of the month whose reign will end in another week."

One week later, despite my not being his type, I was sitting with Daire who was eyeing me consideringly since I'd just asked him if I could be his new flavor of the month. He looked me straight in the eye, and I knew I had him. This was a man who respected boldness so my approach had captured his attention. "I have rules," he said seriously.

I shrugged. "Don't we all? Hit me with yours."

"One: no kissing."

"No problem."

He looked at me oddly, probably due to the genuine disgust in my voice.

"You smoke," I explain. "And, sorry if this insults you, but that grosses me out. I don't want some nasty cigarette mouth on mine. It's enough to just have you smelling like smoke."

Waiting a beat, he continued. "Two: It's over after thirty days. Period. No extensions, no do-overs, no emotion, no clinging. I'm not going to develop feelings for you, and I suggest you don't catch feelings for me. If I have to remind you that the thirty days are over, you won't like how I remind you. I expect you to know when you're done and to get gone; don't mistake me not bringing it up as an indication I want it to continue. I don't."

"Trust me, falling in love with you is the last thing I'd do." I fiddled with my phone for a minute before looking back at him. "There! I just set a reminder on my phone for thirty days from now."

Again that odd look. "Three: No sleepovers. I fuck you at your place, then I get gone."

"I hate sharing a bed, so no problem." I'd had several friends crash at my place in college and they made me realize I was a bed hog and didn't like anyone infringing on my space.

"Four: No touching me or acting possessive in public. You stay away from me unless I come up to you and give you some indication that I want your hands on me. But don't expect that to happen. The only time I'll approach you is to tell you that I want to go fuck."

"No PDA. Maintain my distance. Got it."

"Five: You will never be on the back of my bike, so don't ask me for a ride. Ever. It's not going to happen."

"OK. Next?"

"Six: Don't ask to come to my place. No one ever goes there except by invite, and then it's just certain brothers."

"Understood. Any more?"

He shot me an amused look before continuing. "Seven: We don't do anything together except fuck. No dinners, no movies, no hanging out. Don't expect it or ask for it to happen. It won't."

"Got it."

"Eight: No texting or calling me unless it's to tell me you can't be somewhere I expect you to be. At the end of the thirty days, you delete my contact."

I sigh. "But I had all these adorable puppy and kitten videos to send you."

He shook his head at me. "Last rule: I can fuck around with whoever I want during this month. You cannot."

"That seems decidedly in your favor not to mention sexist," I rolled my eyes at him. "But fine."

"This last bit isn't a rule but a warning: You get pregnant, you get rid of it or raise it on your own. I won't be trapped and I do not want to be a father. You try anything legal, I'll gain sole custody, put the kid up for adoption and ruin you. Got it?"

Since pregnancy wasn't on my radar for a long time, I had no problem with his rather aggressive anti-baby stance. "OK. I agree to all of your rules."

"That easy?"

"Did you expect me to negotiate? All I want is to see if you're as good as rumor has it, so I can agree to those terms for a month. It's not like it's forever."

"Hell, no," he muttered still looking a little surprised. "The rules are in place because I need to know you understand this has an expiration date and we aren't anything more than temporary fuck buddies. I don't like drama at the end so I set it up at the beginning so you're clear. Are we clear on that?"

"Crystal."

"Excellent. Then we'll begin the thirty-day clock tomorrow night."