“How’s the job?” Lynn asked.
“I love it,” she said, honestly. “The kids, my co-workers, everything…I love it so much, I feel bad only making seven meals for Cuss. You know he’s the one who got me the job. He knows Tiffany, my co-worker. He talked to her. She called me that same night for an interview. The next day, I was hired on the spot.”
“You can always make him extra meals. He won’t complain.”
“I thought about getting him soap to wash his mouth out. He really can’t go an hour without cursing.”
Lynn and Mia laughed out loud. She did, too.
Mia took a sip of her drink. “What I really want to know is what’s the deal with you and Trig.”
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Before tonight, she hadn’t seen him for days. The last time had been four days ago, and it had just been a glimpse. She’d seen him heading into his room, two doors away from her brother’s. Before then, she’d seen him striding away after he punched a hole in the wall. Why? She had no clue. The loud thud of the drywall cracking sounded, and she turned. By then, he’d been toward the end of the hall. Cuss, who’d been on the phone at the time, and Dash hadn’t reacted, as if it happened often. Ty called out his name, but he’d never turned.
Tonight was the first time since New York she had a good look at him. It didn’t mean she hadn’t thought of him, didn’t mean her attraction had ebbed either. It meant he was avoiding her. The guys talked and when they did, he was mentioned, so she knew Jace hadn’t disappeared. He went to the garage and hung out at the compound with the guys. He just never did it when she was there.
She sighed. “Nothing.”
Lynn pressed her lips together. “That was a loaded nothing.”
Mia smiled. “Is that why every time you sip on your beer he looks this way?”
Her cheeks heated. “No, he doesn’t.”
Lynn nodded. “Yeah, he does. I noticed, too.”
“Maybe because he hates me,” she mumbled under her breath. To their disbelieving looks, she added, “I’m serious. I think he does.”
Mia lifted a brow. “Why do you think that?”
“Because…he…I think he’s avoiding me.”
“Yeah, I’ve kinda noticed,” Lynn said, softly.
“Exactly, so—”
“He likes you. No other reason in the world why he’d avoid you,” Mia said.
Lifting a brow, she asked, “What, are we in middle school?”
“No, but you’re off limits. He probably thinks it’s better to stay away. You know, so he won’t be tempted.”
“Um, I think you’re both putting too much thought into this. Besides, if he really liked me, wouldn’t he be trying…” She shrugged. “I don’t know…to be nice or something.”
Lynn shook her head. “You’re off limits. Him going after you spells trouble between you and your brother, him and your brother, not to mention the club.”
He avoided her because he liked her? She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. That sounded like something women told each other to make each other feel better instead of coming to terms with the fact the guy you crushed on had no interest in you. She wouldn’t say this to them though. “I’m my own woman, and I chose who I date. My brother and the club have no say in it.”
Mia popped a chip in her mouth. “Know you’re new here, but there are rules. Remember I told you not to bother asking Army what he spends his nights doing?”
She nodded.
“This is like that. Army says you’re off limits. Prez agreed, which means, babe, you’re off limits. If Trig tried, he could get kicked out of the club.”
“What?”
“It’s as good as written in stone.”
“But—”
Lynn leaned in and whispered, “I’m hearing you have feelings for Trig.”
“I…” Her cheeks flamed, but she denied it. “I don’t.”
Lynn smiled, her eyes softening, then sipped her drink.
“Take this piece of advice from me,” Mia said. “You two hit it off, before you announce it to the club make sure it’s solid.”
Lynn shifted, her gaze went behind Allie. She smiled. “Here come our men.”
Allie spun and spotted both Wild and Stone headed for them. Time for her to go. “That’s my cue.” She slid off her stool. “See you guys soon.” She smiled at them, then scanned the room. Her gaze gravitated toward the couch, the spot where Jace had been. He was gone. She waved at Dash and Bud, who’d finished downing shots, headed down the hall, and up the stairs toward her room.
A woman moaned.
Allie hadn’t meant to look, but unwillingly, she turned her head. The door wide open, so inevitably, she caught sight of them. She stood there seeing, yet unbelieving, frozen with her eyes glued to an image she knew she’d never forget no matter how much she craved to.
Jace.
Shirtless sitting up on the edge of his bed, his head angled back, eyes closed, lips parted. A dark-haired woman draped over him, kissing his neck, her legs wrapped around him. Her black leather skirt hiked up to her waist, his hands cupping her bare ass.
Her heart clenched, squeezing in her chest so hard it hurt. Deep and searing her from the inside out.
Jesus.
How it hurt.
And she didn’t know why.
He wasn’t hers. He was a biker who couldn’t stand her. Single, free to screw however many scantily dressed women he wanted.
Her brother warned her bikers did it often, and still somewhere deep inside, she held hope Jace was different. He wasn’t just a biker, he was the man who took his niece to dinner weekly, the man who’d roughed up her ex-fiancé, then held her while she cried.
It was more than that, too. She wanted to believe the man who affected her in a way no other man ever had, the man in whose arms she’d felt safe couldn’t be anything like her brother described.
She hoped, a fruitless emotion, she knew now firsthand. In one, single, earth-shattering moment with a mere glimpse, her hope crashed and burned.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, helpless, hopeless, stupid tears she couldn’t hold back.
He tensed, lifted his head, then his lids opened, and his dark eyes met hers. They widened briefly. For a second, she glimpsed something inside them, something she couldn’t quite put into words that somehow mirrored what she felt stirring inside.
He had no right to show her, and she couldn’t stand to see it, so she did what she should’ve done long before. She walked in the opposite direction of her room. With each step, her chest tightened so much she couldn’t breathe. Bolting downstairs, she passed the living room, down the hall, and then into the garage and outside.
The cool air hit her face, arms, and legs. She took a deep breath. It did nothing to soothe the searing ache inside her chest. She needed to forget, erase the image from her mind, but it would be as fruitless and worthless as the hope she’d held.
She strode toward her brother’s SUV and leaned against the side of it. Only then, did she let herself blink. Tears drifted out of her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She was a bigger idiot than she’d thought, crying for a man who’d never been hers.
“Babe?”
Frantically, she wiped her face, turned, and spotted the last person she’d wanted to see. No, the second to last. Just her luck, though she could argue she’d been lucky to have gone weeks without seeing him.
“Ripper.” He stood six feet away. His gaze on her face, instead of sizing her like a piece of meat.
“Saw something you shouldn’t have seen. Didn’t Army warn you?”
How the hell did he know? She held his gaze, not speaking.
“I’ll take that as a no.” He shrugged. “It’s club life, babe. Not every woman’s like you. Some like bikers. Some like a lot of them. Some take whichever they can get their hands on. Some like others to watch and join in, so closing doors is optional.”
Endless supply of sexually liberated women who wanted to be banged by multiple bikers a night? Yeah, Tyler should’ve mentioned it, especially given their open door policy. She would’ve been more careful. Had it been anyone else, she could’ve handled it. She just couldn’t handle seeing Jace with another woman. Her own fault.
“See what I said is a surprise to you, babe, but that’s life here.” He took a step in her direction. “Think it’s more, too. You wouldn’t be out here in the dark cryin’ unless you saw someone you cared about…” He leaned in to whisper. “And I don’t mean your brother.”
Shit. He read right through her. She swallowed.
“Know Army warned you ‘bout us. Hell, if you were my sister, I wouldn’t let you near this place.” He nodded toward the garage. “Think you learned your lesson?”
“My lesson?”
“Don’t fall for bad boys.”
Fall? As in love? No, she barely knew Jace. Still, Ripper made a valid point. She let her attraction sway her, make her believe Jace was different.
“Is this you being nice?”
“I’m not nice. I’m a dick. Knew you were Army’s sister, and hit on you to make you uncomfortable and piss off your brother.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“Told you, ’cause I’m a dick.”
He’d been a dick then, but he wasn’t a dick. A dick wouldn’t go out of his way to talk to an emotional woman and warn her about bikers. Behind those dead eyes, there was a good man. No way in hell she’d tell him though.
“Besides, needed to break you in.”
“What?”
“Classy girl like you, I needed to see how you’d handle it.”
“A test? Did I pass?”
He smiled. “Yeah, babe, you passed.”
She chuckled, thinking it ironic how she’d made friends with the biker she’d avoided for weeks on the day she decided to get her own place.
Tyler wouldn’t be happy, considering she agreed to stay with him until he finished remodeling his house, but now, she had no choice.
****
Allie.
Allie sat on his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist, her dark hair fanning his chest. The smell of her perfume around him, he cupped her ass. She pressed her lips to his neck and buried her hands in his hair.
Allie.
She moaned. No. Not Allie. A poor replacement because he couldn’t have the woman he wanted.
Fuck.
He needed to forget Allie. Staying away from her hadn’t helped, so he was being a guy, getting some tap who wasn’t her in hopes he’d forget. It just wasn’t working.
One look at the red-stained lips, leather mini skirt, and corset, and it hit him he wanted Allie, and he couldn’t have her. All the taps dressed the same, wore the same lipstick, and said the same shit, too. None of them managed to turn him on wearing jeans, a blouse, and sandals because none of them were Allie.
But he’d had no choice.
For three hours, he sat in the compound’s living room sipping a beer, watching Allie smile, and hearing her laugh, and he’d needed to fucking forget, so when he spotted the dark-haired tap striding his way giving him a fuck-me look, he’d taken her to his room. She took control, yanking his shirt off him, then climbing on his lap. He had to force himself not to push her away, and the only way he managed that was to imagine she was Allie.
Allie sat on his lap with her long, thick, dark hair fanning his chest, fantastic legs wrapped around his waist, and beautiful face buried in his neck.
But the bitch moaned again, and he lost focus along with the will to go through with this shit. Angling his head forward, he opened his eyes.
Shit.
Allie.
She stood just outside his open door, looking at him, eyes swimming in tears and unhidden pain marring her expression.
He felt it. The pain seared his chest, burning his insides alive.
It hurt.
It killed.
Damn it to hell, she wasn’t even trying to hide it like she hid everything else. Why?
Fuck. She cared, cared about him enough she couldn’t hide the hurt on her face or the emotion in her eyes.
And she’d never fucking care again, not after this. His fault. With his poor attempt to forget her, he ruined it. Had he been a smarter, better man he would’ve known, would’ve sensed it. If he hadn’t been a coward, he would’ve tried. Maybe he could’ve had her for a night, a day, a single week. He lost her before ever having her. The knowledge of it kept him frozen in place for endless moments until she walked out of sight.
It forced him to react.
“Get up.” His voice steeped in hurt.
The bitch moaned again.
He grabbed her shoulders and yanked her away. “Up. Off. Now.”
She trailed her fingers down his chest. “But, baby—”
“Don’t fuckin’ touch me. Get the fuck off. Now.”
She flinched, then moved up and off him.
He was being a dick, but he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about had just walked away. He needed to get to her to explain, to see if anything could be salvaged.
“When I get back, be gone.” He bolted out of the room, headed in the direction Allie had gone. He ran downstairs, nearly colliding with Bud and a tap. When he reached the living room, he scanned it. She wasn’t there. He darted into the kitchen and found Mia sitting on the countertop with Stone standing between her legs.
He closed the distance between them. “Where is she?”
Mia’s gaze shot to his. “Who?”
“You know who.”
She shrugged. “I don’t.”
He fisted his hands. “Where is Allie?”
“Probably in her room.”
He shook his head. “She came back down. You didn’t see her?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, why?”
Without answering, he strode away. Once in the living room, he scanned the area again then headed down the hall into the garage and searched there too. Parting the door to the outside, he found her, standing by her brother’s SUV, her back leaning against the side of it. He sighed in relief, his steps slowing.
“Think you learned your lesson?”
Hearing the male voice, he stopped mid-stride. Ripper, the same brother who’d hit on her and made her uncomfortable weeks ago. He couldn’t see him from where he stood, but recognized his voice.
“My lesson?” Her voice held no fear, no hesitation. Her body poised, yet relaxed.
“Don’t fall for bad boys,” Ripper warned.
He clenched his jaw, hating Ripper was being nice instead of his usual dickhead self.
“Is this you being nice?”
“I’m not nice. I’m a dick. Knew you were Army’s sister, and I hit on you to make you uncomfortable and piss off your brother.”