Chapter 2 – Taking a Ride

Tauriel

"Wait…you don't happen to have a brother named Fili, do you?"

The grin on his face faded as his face sobered almost instantly. "Shit, did he tell you to meet him here? I keep tellin' him he can't make his clients meet him in bars, 'specially not the likes o'this one," he shook his head before breaking into a chuckle. "Oh Fili. Some things never change, I swear it."

Tauriel frowned as her mind instantly went to the corner where it instantly drew an unsavory picture of the man her friend was there with.

"Wait, client? What are you talking about? Is he some sort of male….gigolo?" Tauriel demanded, grabbing his arm.

Kili's eyes lowered to her fingers that were clenched around his bicep before flicking up to meet hers. His rather solid bicep, she realized. Slowly, she peeled her fingers away and her eyes scanned him with a clearer head; Kili wore a leather cut, just like his brother's. She let her eyes roam over the patches and wondered, was he dangerous? His eyes and friendly demeanor at first had thrown her, fooling her into thinking he was harmless. Obviously she'd been wrong. They shouldn't have come to a place like this, she thought.

"No," he replied, his tone clipped. "He's an accountant. He…sometimes meets clients here to collect their paperwork and have a pint, that's all," he said. He faced forward, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he clenched. She'd made a mistake; she'd been quick to judge and she'd insulted him.

"Oh, I'm…I'm so sorry," she said, ducking her head. "I didn't mean…never mind," she muttered, grabbing her bed. "Thank you for the beer."

She heard Kili heave a sigh before his hand caught her arm. "Wait….I didn't get your name."

Thinking he was just being polite, she licked her lips. "It's Tauriel."

"Tauriel? S'pretty. Kili, but you know that. Kili Durin."

Instead of saying 'nice to meet you,' she simply gave him a pouty glare. Kili paused a moment before heaving a sigh as if he dreaded what she was about to say to his next question.

"I give up – how do you know my brother?"

Tauriel stopped, glancing over at him. His expression had softened slightly and it made her wonder if he had a quick temper. The deep, soulful eyes seemed to offer her a quick apology before looking away again.

"He's here with my friend," she replied, motioning towards Fili and Sigrid. Kili followed her gaze, peeking over the crowd at the bar, his eyes slowly lighting up.

"She came," he breathed, his eyes bright again. Tauriel silently marveled at how quickly his expression could go from light and charming to dark and brooding, almost stormy in an instant. "I didn't think she'd come."

"He... he told you about meeting her?"

Kili smirked, taking another sip of his drink. He wiped his mouth with his hand and grinned as if he'd forgotten she'd just assumed his brother was little more than a smarmy male escort five seconds ago.

"Lad gets laid first time in near two years, yeah…he tends to fill his little brother in. 'Specially if she's out of his league. More like bragging, but not in the way you'd think. I dare say yer lass Sigrid brought my brother out of a slump that was makin' him crankier than a hornet. My thanks," he said as an afterthought clinking his glass with hers. She held her beer, dumbfounded, barely noticing what he'd done. Figuring it was safe to stay, she resumed her place beside him, leaning on the bar.

"She surprised me too," she admitted slowly, "She didn't tell me why she was bringing me here. He walked in and her face just…lit up."

"Fili had a spring in his step since it happened, that's for sure. Don't be worryin'….he was just talkin' my ear off about it at the shop, he wasn't tellin' half the town. Durins don't kiss and tell," he said, giving her a crooked smile.

"You seem to think it was a casual thing then?"

He shrugged slightly, turning on his barstool to face her. Realizing she was standing, he jumped up and muttered something about 'being an arse' and grabbed her hips to flip their positions. Tauriel swallowed thickly at the feel of his hands on her and barely had time to think before he gently pushed her back onto the still-warm stool he'd been occupying.

"S'crowded in 'ere," he said lightly. "But no, knowing my dumb, romantic brother, it wasn't casual for him. He usually falls head over heels for a girl and she breaks his heart," he smirked, "But what if it was just sex? Nothing wrong with two people getting together for a night o'fun who want the same thing, no?"

Surprised by his question, she avoided his gaze and fiddled with the label on her beer. "N-no," she stammered. "I just…that's not like Sigrid to do. She always does what she's told and has never done anything like this. So unexpected."

"Oh? Your girl is a planner, eh?"

Tauriel sighed, nodding. "She is. She's very close with her family and they have always had high expectations of her and…and…sometimes she hates to let people down. She wants to do the right thing and sometimes it's so suffocating to always do what you're told and never what you want. It's so depressing to have your entire life laid out, one plan after another. When there's no room for spontaneity-"

She stopped herself, her eyes flicking up to his. He was watching her with rapt attention, a slight frown furrowed into his dark brows. "Are we not talking about Sigrid anymore?"

"Maybe not," she admitted. A nervous laugh bubbled out of her chest. "I'm rambling. You know, I'm sorry I…assumed that about him," she said, glancing back towards their table. "He seems like a really nice guy who happened to meet her on the side of the road and I'm just watching out for someone who has been my dearest friend since we were girls," she sighed. "I guess you could say I'm a bit on my guard tonight. This isn't our normal scene and I was skeptical about coming here."

"So why did you?" he asked. His tone was challenging, but friendly. He glanced away, waiting for her answer as he picked at a flaky piece of paint on the bar.

Tauriel laughed to herself, unable to speak for a moment. "I….had a stupid fight with my father. I wanted to go out and do something reckless that he would hate."

Kili glanced back over at her, his lips turning upwards into a scheming grin. "Oooh," he said, his eyes glittering with interest. "So what'll it be then? Going to get so pissed you get up on the bar and dance? Get a fresh tattoo on yer arse? Take one of these ugly bearded blokes to Vegas and make him your own?" he chuckled, elbowing a bar patron that had gotten too close. The bearded man laughed and elbowed him right back.

"This is it I guess," she shrugged. "He'd die if he knew I came to a bar he didn't approve of."

Kili took a sip of his beer, his eyes twinkling again. "A biker bar at that."

She raised one eyebrow. "Yes, especially a biker bar."

Kili seemed to hold her gaze, locking her eyes with his. They watched each other for a moment as he seemed to issue a silent challenge that made her glad she was sitting on a stool. This man had a magical effect on making her weak in the knees. The crowd around them was growing rowdier and louder. The bartender had returned behind the bar and was working double time to catch up on refilling pints and lining up shot glasses.

"Nori!" he called, motioning to her beer. "Put this on mine. And we need a shot," he called over the noise.

The bartender with a long, braided beard and a mess of dark red hair gave him a nod, pushing one of the filled shot glasses down the bar to Kili, who caught it perfectly. He slid it in front of her and gave her a nudge.

"Cheers."

She eyed the glass, then him. Kili didn't seem like he was the type to be up to anything devious, but perhaps she wasn't as good of a judge of character as she thought she was.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

He burst out laughing, the infectious sound making her chuckle. "No, I'm not – I'm trying to get you to loosen up and enjoy yourself. A little liquid courage usually does the trick for me."

Tauriel picked up the shot glass, sniffing the contents. The liquor was brown and spicy, the scent making her nose itch.

"Dare I ask?"

"S'best not to," he chuckled.

"Aren't you having one?"

He shook his head. "Not up to anything shady here darlin', just not doing the hard stuff tonight. I rode my bike, and bikes and hard liquor don't mix well."

She raised one eyebrow. "Bike?"

He rolled his eyes and flicked his thumbs at the leather vest he wore. "I'd look like a tool in a cut if I drove up in a car," he laughed. "Yes, I rode my bike here."

Her mind was made up. Kili gave her another flirty smile as she clenched the shot in her fingertips and licked her lips. Without delaying it any longer, she put the shot glass to her lips and downed the contents in one gulp. Fighting through urge to cough was the hardest part. The liquor burned its way down her throat and into her belly, warming her limbs as it went. She slammed it down on the bar, wincing at the aftertaste and taking a long sip of her beer. Kili cheered and laughed and thumped her gently on the back as she finally coughed.

"Took it like a champ."

"That was terrible," she laughed. "You drink that?"

"Aye, I do. Should have warned you it'd be a bit rough going down, but…you know what they say."

"And what's that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Never trust a biker," he replied, giving her a flirty wink.

Tauriel took another long sip of her beer. The liquor was rough going down but did have a nice effect on her. She felt looser in a rather giggly way and warm all over. She caught herself giving him a coy smile that made him grin right back at her. If she was really flirting with him, he didn't seem to mind a bit. Her cheeks grew hot. Kili was unlike any other guy she'd ever shown an interest in. Usually she was set up through friends of friends or met someone in her classes. The three other guys she'd ever spent the night with were all somewhat casual flings that fizzled out after a few weeks. None of them had ever made her feel like she did now – tingly, excited, and scared in an exciting way.

"You were right, you know."

"About what?" she asked, tucking a strand her hair behind her ears.

"You aren't the type of girl who normally comes in here…but I'm glad you did. Even if you did think my brother was a male gigolo that was trying to pick up your best mate."

Tauriel laughed, shaking her head. "I panicked! Sigrid is my best friend and she's so…innocent. I was just looking out for her."

Kili made a face and finished his beer, setting it on the bar. "Out of the two of us you thought that ugly git was the male escort, eh? That hurts," he feigned hurt. "You thought he could be an escort with those beads in his moustache?"

"It's cute," she laughed, "They make him look….unique."

Kili shook his head in disbelief. "They always said he was the better looking brother."

"Oh…I'm not so sure about that," she said slowly, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. Maybe it wasn't just the liquor making her feel giggly.

"You should show me this bike of yours," she heard herself say. She was instantly embarrassed for saying something so forward, but the drinks were making her care less and less about how she sounded. The biker wasn't anything like the guys she was used to talking to and the idea of taking this further gave her chills. Sigrid had taken a chance, so why shouldn't she?

Kili raised an eyebrow but didn't protest. Feeling bold, Tauriel slid off the barstool and told herself the only reason for brushing against him was that the bar was crowded, but secretly knew that wasn't the case. Grabbing his hand in hers, she pulled him towards the door of the bar and was so interested in getting the beautiful man outside and all to herself that she had completely forgotten they would be walking past where Sigrid and Fili were sitting.

"Tauriel!" Sigrid called over the noise. "Where are you going?"

Tauriel balked in surprise, instantly dropping Kili's hand. She felt his gaze on her but ignored the flush creeping up her sternum and into her neck. Fili chose that moment to look up and instantly spotted his younger brother.

"Oi! What are you doin' with this riff raff, Tauriel?" he teased, nodding at his brother. "Been looking for you little brother."

Kili sauntered over to the table, grinning again as he took in the sight of the two of them. "Well, I doubt you're gonna find me sitting at the table. Been up at the bar with Dwalin and that lot for a while now. Then this lass made me buy her a beer, so-"

Her face was instantly indignant. "I…I did not! You crawled up and over the bar before I could even get a word in!"

Fili chuckled. "Sounds like you, Kili. So you ditched us to pick up my little brother. Careful with that one, he's nothin' but trouble."

"Shut it!" Kili bickered right back, reaching down to fling some of the beer nuts on the table at him. Fili deflected most of them, grunting as a few made contact. Sigrid and Tauriel met eyes over the table and simply made faces. Boys.

Tauriel shifted next to Kili and figured it was now or never. "So weren't we going outside for some air?" she said pointedly, hoping to draw him back out of his brotherly squabble.

He stopped engaging his brother almost instantly, his face going blank and almost boy-ish looking. "Ah, yeh. Yeh we were…uh, we'll be outside brother. Try not to scare of Sigrid, she seems like a keeper to have put up with you for so long!"

Fili shook a fist at him as Tauriel gave him a playful shove out the door. She couldn't help but laugh with him as they made their way through the crowd of smokers and people filing into the bar. Kili was fun – he was open with his emotions and didn't seem to be embarrassed by anything. He led her around to the side of the building to a gravel lot, the warm summer air doing little to cool the hot feeling she'd had since doing the shot at the bar. They were in the middle of a July heat snap that made every day that week so muggy and humid it was almost unbearable. Even in the darkness of night it was still steamy as the heat rose from the ground. She fanned herself lightly and followed him to where there were at least two dozen bikes neatly parked at an angle, arranged in a shiny line. It was almost picturesque the way they gleamed beneath the light of the flickering Prancing Pony sign.

"You into bikes? Or know anything about them?" he asked casually, jamming his hands into his pockets.

Maybe it was the liquor talking, or maybe she just didn't care anymore about false pretenses. "Not a bit…on either account," she admitted with a small laugh.

"Fair enough. Honest, are ye?"

She shrugged. "What's the point? I'm interested in seeing yours and that's enough for you, isn't it?"

"Honest," he nodded in confirmation. "I can live with that," he chuckled, walking over to the last in the row. She hadn't been lying when she said she didn't know anything about bikes – besides the different colors painted onto certain parts and some having more chrome than others, she knew nothing of how to differentiate between them. The smooth lines and worn leather framed by chrome pipes made them easy to admire; that she at least didn't have to fake. Kili motioned to the bike in front of her and grinned proudly.

"There she is," he said humbly, motioning to it.

Tauriel fought for the right words to give him in that moment. He was obviously proud of it but trying to gauge her reaction.

"It's…shiny. And big. And it looks fast," she managed to stumble out with a little laugh.

"Shiny, big, and fast. Coming from a lass who knows nothing 'bout bikes, I'll take it."

"I was right then? It's fast?"

Kili sauntered over, resting a hand on the handlebar like a proud parent. Tauriel admired the way his dark jeans hung off his hips. He'd turned away from her just long enough for her to get a good look at his well-sculpted behind. He was built similar to his brother, but looked more solid in a way. The corded muscles of his forearms flexed as he grabbed the handlebar and grinned at her. There he is again with those knee-weakening smiles, she thought, chewing her lip.

"Aye. Built it myself, was dumb enough once to see just how fast she is."

"You did?"

He nodded, looking sheepish. "I was a rather dumb kid once."

"And now?"

Kili grinned at her. "I think that's for you to find out," he replied, giving her another sexy grin.

Tauriel felt her stomach do a flip and knew this was her chance. Stepping closer to him, she stopped only when she was inches away from him and standing so close she could smell the scent of his cologne. It was something spicy yet appealing like soap, sandalwood, and fresh air. She hadn't been close enough to smell it in the bar, but she could definitely sense it now. Taking a deep, heady breath, she looked up at him and pushed her fear away.

"I want to go for a ride. Would you take me?"

He gave her a boyish, innocent grin. "Aye, Tauriel," he winked, "I'll take you for a ride."

She exhaled shakily as he stared down at her in the dim light of the neon sign. Kili's eyes were wide and sparkling with humor so she didn't have to even ask if he had a double meaning tied to his words. Before she could speak again, he'd pushed a helmet into her hands and was swinging onto the bike. He kicked it on and it started with a roar so loud it made her jump and her teeth clatter. She fumbled to get the helmet on before climbing on behind him. Kili reached behind him and grabbed her hands, folding them firmly across his solid middle. Her heart was beating so hard against his back she feared he could feel it.

But it felt exhilarating. He said two words over the roar of the engine that made her heart race even faster, if that was possible.

"Hold on."

Again, thank you for reading this little fic I started on a whim. It will only be a few chapters - just something fun I wanted to try before shifting into another longer story that I have planned. Feels good to break out and try something new! I hope you are enjoying it.

I, like Tauriel, know nothing about motorcycles or really bikers - I drooled over Sons Of Anarchy for years and that was about the extent of it. As I said, this is just for fun and is un-beta'd, so any mistakes are mind. Just take it as a piece of fun, biker, Hobbit Smut ; ) We'll be earning that 'M' rating next here folks, so just hold on a bit. Next up is Kili's POV.

Thanks for reading and please take a moment to review! : )