Chapter 3 – Flip like a Switch
Kili
He'd really just been out at the pub to have a pint with friends and get out of the house. It'd been a shit week so far and by Friday he'd been more than willing to ditch his quiet house and forget about work and just have a laugh.
How he ended up flying down a backroad that overlooked the city below with the most beautiful, out of his league girl on the back of his bike clinging to him like hell…. Well, he didn't know. But Kili wasn't one to ask a lot of questions when things went his way. He usually just found a way to roll with it.
It had happened pretty quickly, to be honest. One minute he'd been laughing with Dwalin and tearing the mickey out of Ori when she'd bumped into him. He almost didn't turn around – The Prancing Pony was always jammed packed with all sorts of the like on a Friday night. It could have just been another bloke that'd had too much to drink bumping into him.
But no – it was her.
He'd turned around and almost done a double take. It wasn't polite to point out – his mother was big on manners – that Tauriel didn't belong at a place like The Prancing Pony. It wasn't just her beauty that made her stand out. Tauriel was from money – he could sense it. He wasn't sure how he knew, really. Some people just exuded money in the way they spoke, dressed, and even their mannerisms. Tauriel was one of those people. She wore a simple pair of dark green pants paired with a simple white tank top with a few embellishments along the neckline. Nothing fancy, but it certainly did her petite form justice. But, it was her stunning green eyes, smooth, pale skin and glossy red hair that hung down to her waist that set her apart. He'd appraised her shamelessly, instantly a little mystified and intimidated to be so close to her. She'd batted her big green eyes at him, probably without even knowing it, and gotten his attention without even trying. He'd thankfully only had one beer before she'd quietly asked him to take her for a ride.
Something about her made him want to know more, even if he wasn't sure what.
Part of it was from the idea that no girl of her class had ever paid much attention to him. He did alright with the female folk – most guys with a bike like his and a halfway decent looking face did alright with girls. That was just a fact of life. But at the age of twenty nine he'd lost interest in the type of girl he would have normally picked up at a place like the Prancing pony near a decade ago. Back then he would have snuck in the bar, charmed a half drunk girl with his family name (for the name Oakenshield was synonymous with motorcycles in that town) and he would have been happy with a quick fumble and tumble out back. Then he would have gone back into the bar, found his mates, gotten piss drunk and had no problem kissing and telling.
But that was then.
He was brought back to the present as the fresh scent of her perfume invaded his senses. She was pressed up against his back, her body molded against his as she held on. He liked having her on the back of his bike for her first ride. His dick liked it too. The black jeans that normally hung from his hips had become increasingly snugger as the ride wore on.
He needed to get it together and stop acting like he was sixteen.
Kili downshifted, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair as Tauriel gripped his middle. He didn't really miss his younger years, he realized. He'd gotten into some trouble and probably had more fun than he deserved, and he was glad to have gotten out alive without much of a police record or without his junk falling off. Behaving like that had gotten old almost as soon as it had happened. Now his life was about work, learning the business from Thorin without pissing him off too badly, and working on his house. Even though he'd cleaned up his act substancially, he knew that Tauriel picking him up in the pub as really less about him and more about a girl trying to prove something.
But he was fine with that. Kili was always down for an adventure, and a pretty one at that. She was out of his league and he knew it but he didn't care. From the brief, electrically charged conversation in the bar, he could tell she was a type of quietly intense that made her easy to underestimate. Kili was determined not to do that. There was a fierceness covering up the quiet pain she seemed to be carrying, and he was determined to know more.
And now they were on his bike. The engine roared loudly, spurring pride deep in his chest. He'd saved for years to build this bike and it never got old to have someone admire it, a bike enthusiast or not. Tauriel had done her best to look impressed. He chuckled to himself at the memory of her trying to find something nice to say about it as he turned onto another road.
"Still with me?" he called over the roar of the bike, slowing down slightly. The engine sputtered as if it was frustrated to be going slow. He loved that bike; it felt like he had the power of a thousand wild mustangs between his thighs every time he threw his leg over it. The motorcycle beneath them made Kili feel like he could take on the entire world and not give a fuck.
She laughed in response and he answered back by revving the engine up and making the entire bike shudder beneath them with a surge of power. Tauriel screamed with delight and laughed again, holding his middle tighter. Twice as he drove he felt her grip him tightly as she leaned backwards, arching her back to look up at the sky above. It was muggy and hot as hell that night, giving the stars shining above them a hazy glow. They were far enough away from the city that they could actually see them for once. He grinned, knowing the feeling she was experiencing. The sound and feeling of the power between her legs, the wind whipping through her hair, the hot night air suddenly chilled with speed…it was addicting, or at least it was to him, anyway. It felt like a gift to share it with someone new.
Kili drove for another fifteen minutes or so, not wanting to take her too far from the pub where Fili and Sigrid still were. Picking a place where the road curved and there was a safe place to park, he pulled over. Killing the engine and popping the stand, he pulled off his riding gloves and surveyed the view. They were on a curving country road on a spot that overlooked the town of Mirkwood. Lights (not many, but some) shone down below, fuzzy in the summer humidity. He turned on the seat and reached back to unclip the helmet from her head. He was met with a sight of one of the widest smiles he'd ever been a witness to.
"Careful," he warned, a trace of humor to his voice, "You'll get bugs in your teeth."
Tauriel sputtered with laughter, her eyes bright even in the darkness. "I don't care," she sighed. "That was…."
"Exhilarating? Freeing? Terrifying?" he finished for her. They shared a knowing look. "Yea, I know. Why do you think I spend my life with these things?" he said, affectionately stroking the bike. She gave him a mirthful smile and shook her head at him.
"I've never been so scared and yet so….so thrilled in my life."
"I can drive slower on the way back…"
"Never."
She loosened her grip on his middle, letting her hands fall to rest on her thighs. Kili watched her pull her ponytail to the side, her fingers combing out the snarls in the long, shiny waves.
"Can we stay a minute?" she asked, slipping off the bike.
He glanced at the view, then back at her. "I've stayed worse places. You don't want me to take you back?"
Shaking her head, she placed the helmet on the back of the bike. "Not yet," she said quietly. Crossing her arms across her middle, she walked towards the sloping hill on the side of the road that overlooked the town. Kili followed her, his boots scraping softly against the gravel. He paused beside her, taking in the view of her profile. Smooth forehead, a cute, slightly upturned nose, and dainty yet pouty lips were her most prominent features from that side. He jammed his hands in his pockets and kicked at a piece of gravel.
"So do you normally jump on the back of motorcycles with bikers you barely know and race off into the night?"
Tauriel turned to look at him and gave him another coy smile. "All the time," she said, just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I've met a lot of people in my life," she stated, "Some good, most bad. I thank my father's line of work for that. Being constantly surrounded by people makes you able to easily judge someone's character. I had to become good at that early on."
Well that came out of nowhere, he thought. So what had she thought when she first saw him, he wondered? Had she simply written him off as a typical, thick headed outlaw biker who only had a liking for a few cheap thrills? That was what most people saw when they looked at him. Kili fit the description well enough; he had more than a few tattoos, he liked his hair long, he owned more t-shirts from bike rallies than he did anything else. The thought of wearing a tie and shaving every day while he worked a typical nine to five behind a computer made him break out in chills. Sure, he'd been the wrong side of the law a time or two, but he'd never done serious time or hurt anyone. Besides, that had been years ago. He'd outgrown the childish behaviors that were typically associated with people like him that came from families like his. He owed a lot of that to his uncle, Thorin. His uncle was what had made him straighten out and focus on his goals rather than just flying by the seat of his pants all the time. He'd made him realize he wanted more from life than just going from one shallow thing to another, whether it was bike rallies, bars, women, or jobs. Kili was well aware that bikers had a bad reputation for doing illegal things and for being nothing but trouble. While he was never one to put on airs about who he was or the family he came from, he'd always hoped he could be seen for more than just a biker.
Kili watched as Tauriel toyed with the end of her long ponytail, her slender fingers winding through the curled ends.
"Sounds like I'm not the only one who has hung out with some shady characters then," he said. "What does your father do?"
She shook her head, her eyes not meeting his. "Something I wouldn't chose for myself, that's for certain."
It was obvious she didn't want to say, he figured. Kili raised an eyebrow. "I take it I've been thoroughly judged, then?"
Tauriel turned in surprise, but nodded once. "So you have. Can you blame me?"
"No," he said. "I'd be worried if I hadn't."
She shrugged. "Well, I said I had to do it a lot, I never said I was perfect at it. I misjudged you. And your brother," she added somberly. "I am sorry for that, again."
"I'm not worried about it," he said, toe-ing the dirt. "People do whatever they have to get by. You were in a new environment, I can't say I blame you much. Honestly more entertained that you thought my brother could have been a male escort or some shit like that," he chuckled.
"Right," she laughed, covering her face with her hand in embarrassment, "I figured I was safe after that. Crappy people aren't as honest as you were."
"That so?"
"It is," she said, dropping her hand. "Nor do they talk about their brother with as much affection. You're very different from anyone I've met, Kili," she replied, her eyes meeting his. She held his gaze, her eyes wide and unblinking. Kili felt his heart stutter in his chest for a moment as they stared at each other.
"I could have told ye that much. Can't say many a girl like yourself come into the bar to pick up a biker like me."
"Who said I was picking you up?" she laughed, giving him a shy smile.
Kili grinned. "You mean ye aren't?" he winked.
Tauriel looked away, her cheeks turning so pink he could see the faint color in the darkness. The stars were bright and the moon was out, and although it wasn't full it provided ample enough light that he could still see her clearly. Even though she spoke like a person much older than her years, there was a calming innocence about her that he found he enjoyed. He was learning that he liked the look on her face when he said something he probably shouldn't.
"I wouldn't know," he heard her say in a small voice. Her smile had faded when she looked at him this time. All around them the crickets chirped as the muggy night wore on.
"Ye don't pick up many bikers?"
She was quiet a moment before shaking her head. "Try none," she finally said.
Nodding, he fiddled with a patch that had come loose on his cut. "I figured that. It's cool though. But I think you would have enjoyed a younger version of me if we're being honest. Shit, ten years ago if a girl as pretty as you caught me right after I built that thing," he motioned behind him at the bike, "I would have already used every line in the book to get into yer pants behind that bar, I'm afraid."
His admission made her tip her head back and burst out into laughter. "So honest," she shook her head. "Should I just run away like my hair is on fire?"
"Young Kili, younger. Not this Kili," he chuckled.
"What changed?"
Kili grinned at his own scrupulousness. "I grew up. I owe a lot of that to my uncle Thorin. He made me realize that living fast and hard wasn't the way to go through life. I think he'd done a lot of that and came to the realization that he'd missed out on a lot of things because of it. Now he's in his late fifties, smart, loaded as hell and with a business that's booming, but….he never slowed down enough to enjoy it. Meet anybody. Have his own kids. He was too busy partying when 'ee was younger and then he was working to get his business off the ground. Now I think he looks around sometimes and wonders where it all went, ya know?"
"That sounds sad," Tauriel said softly.
"It is. Our da died when I was just a baby, so he helped our mum out a lot. But I think sometimes he wishes he would have had kids of his own and now it's probably too late. Not sure any woman in her right mind would want to settle down with a cranky workaholic who likes his way and isn't afraid to say it. Women line up to be with the guy they think he is – a rich, halfway decent looking dude with a Harley shop – but then they get to know the cranky old arse and they're out the door before they see the guy deep down. I just didn't want to be that."
"He sounds like he influenced you a lot."
"He really did. He taught me how to work on bikes, how to make something from junk…I was never much on traditional school, so he pretty much taught me the importance of picking up every trade or skill I could. When I was younger and fucked up…erm, got in trouble," he correct himself, "didn't matter what kind of trouble – skipping school, drinkin', getting speedin' tickets and the like…he'd always make me come to the shop and work like a dog for a few days. I think he just hoped he'd wear me out and I wouldn't have ta' energy to get in trouble," he laughed. "It worked, sort of. I developed a bigger love for bikes and the freedom they could give you. I figured out that it didn't do well to go to have my license taken away or worse, go to jail before I could enjoy it."
Kili barely realized Tauriel inching closer to him the longer he spoke – by the time he looked over again she as right in front of him, her wide green eyes listening with rapt attention.
"You sounded….wild," she replied, giving him a gentle smile. "Am I right?"
Kili gave her a sheepish look and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Wild is a milder term for what I was, sure. I was on a bad path. Da was gone and mum worked her arse off to support two growing boys, so we had more freedom than we should have. Fili, he…he took to school easier. I never had the patience for it. Thorin saw that and he just…molded me. Knew I liked working with my hands, so he would always give me something to tinker with or fix. He stepped in when most people would have given up on a kid like me. Damn thankful for it, that's fer sure."
He bit his lip and suddenly felt like a git for rambling as much as he had. "Sorry, I'm goin on and on here and you're just along fer the ride I guess," he muttered. "I should be getting ya back, Tauriel. Don't want Sigrid to worry. You said it yourself; S'not every day you run off with a biker. Won't she wonder where ye ran off to?"
Tauriel gazed up at him, inching even closer. "Will Fili tell her she should worry?"
Kili watched her in the moonlight, his eyes flicking down to her mouth. It was even prettier up close; the gloss she'd been wearing in the bar had faded in the wind, but he didn't doubt the pink skin would taste as delectable as ever. Without thinking, he licked his lips and felt a slow smile cover his face.
"If he was smart he would," he sighed, his voice dropping. "But my brother isn't as smart as he likes to think he is," he managed to rasp out.
Tauriel smiled another one of her soft, almost shy smiles he was growing to like. Was she inching closer? Or was he? Kili couldn't tell. But she was suddenly so close he could smell the faint perfume she wore. It wasn't like most of the perfumes he'd smelled on women over the years. Nothing flowery or overbearing, just light, fresh, and with the barest hint of something citrusy. It was unique, he realized, just like her. He'd stopped internally obsessing over who was moving closer or who had initiated it. Instead, he let himself be drawn to her mouth like a kid to a cookie jar. He knew he shouldn't, but the promise of it all was too tantalizing to resist.
The moment his lips touched hers, he realized it was hopeless to try to fight it. It was tentative at first, but held the promise of something more. Kili let her gauge just how far she wanted to take this. He was rough around the edges, but a gentleman at heart. Holding his mouth still, he held his breath as Tauriel pressed her mouth against his, the pliant, pillowy skin of her lips caressing his like nothing else. This girl baffled him somehow; she was dauntless and almost bold at certain times, but could flick a switch and be almost shy and coquettish the next. Kili wasn't sure what to make of it, really. Tauriel stepped closer to him, the proximity of her body making his skin tingle. They were inches apart, their bodies just barely skimming each other as she kissed him.
He was still a little dumbstruck when she pulled away, her green eyes searching his. There was a question in the jade depths of her irises, but he was still reeling.
"Wow," he croaked out, surprised at how hoarse he suddenly was. He'd kissed many women over the years. Too many. He'd been a whore at best when he'd discovered the joys of the opposite sex, but he couldn't remember a time when a simple kiss had set his skin to tingling the way it currently was. Swallowing the nervousness away, he cleared his throat and fumbled for something to else to say. Nervous, excitable energy seemed to bubble between them for a moment as he fought himself on what to do next.
Tauriel didn't give him the opportunity to worry over it again. Leaning forward, she unflinchingly kissed him again, this time winding her small hands around his middle and pulling him against her. Kili laughed against her lips. Tauriel nipped his lower lip, her eyes flashing open for a moment to catch him staring at her. He knew it was improper kissing etiquette to stare unabashedly at the person kissing you, but he couldn't seem to help himself. Tauriel didn't seem to mind. Instead, she lightly sucked his bottom lip where her teeth had worried it, faintly swiping her tongue across it. Kili's hands ghosted around her shoulders, then her hips trying to decide where he wanted to touch her most. They itched to do more than just touch, but he was trying to be on his best behavior and not act like a hormonal teen. His tongue had just grazed hers when she pulled away.
Kili groaned in protest before he could stop it.
"I should stop," she sighed, leaning back. Kili's hands finally settled on her hips, looping into the belt loops on her green pants. He gave her his best sexy grin and pressed his lips together and watched her glance at the view of the city over her shoulder.
"It's so lovely out here."
"Why do I get the feeling you'd stay here all night?" he asked, biting back a smile.
Tauriel stepped back, making his hands drop down to his sides. She toyed with the end of her ponytail and gave him a wistful smile. "I had a fight with my dad, I told you. Home isn't the most appealing place right now."
"So move."
"It's not that easy," she sighed. "Nothing in my life is easy right now."
"I'm sorry," he replied earnestly. "I barely know you but I wish I could help."
He watched as she turned and looked up at the stars again, another faint smile dancing on her lips. "You could," she said slowly, glancing back at him. "Do you live near here?"
He frowned. Was she asking him what he thought she was? He nodded slowly, not sure where she was going with this. Or really sure where she was going with it. This girl somehow baffled him.
She turned back around, stalking toward him with a grin that was anything but innocent. Stopping in front of him, she reached up and placed her hand against his hair. Her fingernails scraped lightly against the wild waves. Kili fought back a shudder. She was close again and it was unnerving him in the best of ways.
"Kili, I'm…I'm not ready to go back and face the world just yet. I don't want to go back to the bar, or back home."
Her fingers moved down to cup his stubbled cheek. Kili's gaze met hers and was again surprised at the intensity of it. "Take me to your place," she said, her voice just above a whisper.
For the second time that night, Tauriel had gently insisted something of him. It wouldn't be the last.
Thank you for reading and indulging in my little escape from reality for a little awhile. I really wanted to change it up, flex my writing muscles and try to write something different for a bit before going back to what I normally write. Aaaand I wanted to write some shameless Kili Biker smut... ; )
If you enjoyed, please review!
