by Romi Hart
Rafe shrugged. “I knew something was wrong when you didn’t answer, and something just didn’t feel right, so I checked it out. You would have done the same for me.”
Zeke liked to think he would have, but the truth was, he couldn’t be sure. He tried to be a good friend, but he was no hero, and his gut didn’t guide him most of the time. In fact, he spent too much time following his dick, and he knew he needed to start acting more like the 33-year-old he was and less like a college kid. But hell, no woman would dare settle down with him. He wasn’t Rafe. Women wanted him for his looks, for his body, and for the multiple orgasms he could give them. But no one would want to be with him for who he was.
And the way Leigh Marks turned her nose up at him said it all. Even if the Devil’s Flames MC wasn’t trash, Ezekiel Austin was, and he always had been. The only value he had came from his club brothers, and he owed them for giving him purpose.
Had he died, no one else would have missed him.
“I see those wheels spinning in your head,” Rafe said, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. “The smoke is starting to leak out your ears. What are you thinking about?”
“You know me, just getting down on myself and feeling a little self pity for the situation. You know, they said I have another surgery on this knee tomorrow, and I’ll be in physical therapy for the rest of my natural born life and then some. How the hell am I supposed to ride?”
“Suck it up, pal. You’ll be back on the bike in no time, if you do what they tell you,” Rafe said, clapping him on the shoulder. “So, is there anything I can bring you the next time I come to visit?”
Zeke thought about it. “A cheeseburger. And maybe a good word in the ear of that nurse. I can’t stop seeing her naked and bent over. I have got to find out if the carpet matches the drapes.”
“Good luck with that one,” Rafe laughed. “I’ll work on the cheeseburger, but I’m not god, and I can’t make miracles happen.” As he turned to leave, Zeke supposed he was right. It would take a miracle to get his hands on Leigh. And he wasn’t the sort of guy who ever got a lucky break.
2
Leigh flipped off the treadmill and stepped down, breathing hard and yanking her earbuds out. Aurora Black, her best friend, glanced over and stopped her own machine, crossing her arms and narrowing her gaze. “Alright, spill it.”
Blinking at Rory, Leigh asked, “Spill what?”
“Oh, come on, Leigh. The last time you went this hard at the machines was about five weeks ago, when you broke up with Chris. You’ve got your panties in a twist about something.”
Scowling, Leigh shook her head. She didn’t like the way Rory could always see right through her. And she especially didn’t like the phrase her friend used, considering the circumstances. Having Ezekiel Austin as a patient had screwed up her day. The last couple of days, really. He may have been out cold most of the time, but his questionable companions hadn’t, and several of them had spent time toiling around her ward, reminding her of things she’d rather forget.
“It’s nothing,” she shrugged. “I just have a biker as a patient, and he’s a disrespectful, womanizing heathen. It’s driving me crazy.” She started toward the locker room and the showers, hoping the conversation was over.
But she should have known Rory wouldn’t let the subject die. “Really? Which club is he from?”
Rolling her eyes, Leigh kept walking. “The Devil’s Flames. Why are you so obsessed with bikers?” For the most part, Leigh shared everything with Rory, but she’d specifically failed to mention her patient and his friends because of Rory’s penchant for the mongrels.
“You know, those guys are pretty clean cut,” Rory told her as she pushed open the locker room door.
Admittedly, compared to a lot of the bikers that had passed through her hospital, the Devil’s Flames seemed tame, clean, and kind. With the exception of Austin’s leering gaze and offensive advances, at least. “Does it matter? They’re a gang,” she stated flatly, tired of talking about it.
“At least tell me what he looks like,” Rory pleaded as they grabbed towels and stood in line for the showers. Leigh didn’t answer. She didn’t care to recall Austin’s angular face, with the stubble that had started to grow in and show off just how perfectly sculpted his cheeks and chin were. She didn’t want to think about the soft, sandy blond hair shorn off in a short fade, which had been caked in blood when he’d come in, the hair she’d semi washed to get some of the blood out.
And she certainly didn’t want to discuss the silver-gray eyes that pierced through her and made her stomach churn with the way he looked at her. Or the intensely cut body where she’d had to change dressings on a knife wound that only enhanced the lines and cuts of his gorgeous abs and over the broken ribs beneath a smooth, strong chest.
“I knew it!” Rory announced, sounding triumphant. “He’s hot, right? That’s what has you so upset. It’s because he’s excellent eye candy, and that makes it harder to hate him.”
Leigh shot her friend a warning look before she got any louder. Sure, Rory had this strange attraction to bikers, but as much as that girl loved the filthy buggers, Leigh hated them. “It doesn’t matter what he looks like, Rory. He’s a biker, a gang member, and a lewd, unwelcome guest in my ward.”
Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Rory told her, “No one’s saying you need to fall in love with the guy. But I can read between the lines. He’s coming on to you, and it makes you uncomfortable.”
“So what? I’m allowed to feel what I want to feel.” Leigh sounded defensive even to her own ears.
“So? Look where feeling what you wanted got you with Chris.” Leigh started to protest, but Rory held up a hand to stop her. “Listen, have an aversion to bikers all you want, for whatever reason you want. But consider something. You need a rebound, desperately. You’ll never get back out there to date unless you have one. Chris was boring and predictable, and maybe you’ll go back to that when you’re ready to settle down. In the meantime, why not do something wild and a little out of your comfort zone?”
Leigh shot her a withering look. “A little out of my comfort zone would be dating a cop or a stunt man, not falling down the rabbit hole with some criminal.”
“They aren’t all criminals,” Rory stated, her eyes blazing with a sudden anger Leigh didn’t quite understand. “And like I said, I’m not talking about dating. But I can see under the surface that you find him attractive, whether you want to admit it or not. Just get it out of your system. If he wants you, then as soon as he’s healed enough, sleep with him, and chalk it up to experience.”
“A one night stand is hardly the sort of experience I need,” Leigh muttered as two women left the showers and the line finally shuffled forward.
“Everyone should have at least one of them,” Rory hissed back. Then, she smirked. “Besides, wouldn’t that be the perfect way to get back at Chris? Wouldn’t he flip his lid if he saw you with this biker and thought the two of you had a thing?”
Leigh’s head popped up, and she stared at her friend. “Are you proposing using this guy, this biker, to get back at my ex? What sort of person would I be to use another guy?”
“I thought you didn’t like bikers, didn’t think they were worth the time of day,” Rory taunted with a wicked smile.
“He’s still a human,” Leigh mumbled, even though she really shouldn’t have cared. She’d overheard some of what had landed Austin in the hospital, and while his injuries had apparently not been warranted based on his behavior at the time, the circumstances certainly dictated that he’d been up to no good. Some sort of hijacking they’d planned to take down the leader of another, rival gang that had gone wrong? No, Austin was no innocent.
But it didn’t suit her to play with anyone’s feelings, even if those feelings were questionable from the start. At the same time, the idea of throwing something in Chris’s face to give him a reality check might feel pretty damn good. She wanted him to know that someone else desired her enough that
she didn’t need to wait around for him, like he seemed to think she would.
Once a cheater, always a cheater, her mother said.
Chris had his chance and screwed it up. Let some other girl deal with his boring life. Rory was right about that part; other than the unpredictable moment when Leigh found him in bed with one of her closest friends, who also happened to be one of his students, that man was nothing but bland. And there was a part of her that demanded some sort of spirited flavor in her life. Another Chris wouldn’t be good enough.
“Just think about it,” Rory called over her shoulder as she rounded the corner into the showers. Leigh stood, waiting her turn and pondering a fling. Of course, the idea of doing so with someone like Ezekiel Austin was beyond ridiculous. He was a patient, a biker, and had only hit on her to get under her skin. He was anything but a prospect, and so not her type.
Still, as she finally made it into the showers, she sighed. She wasn’t blind. The guy had sex appeal, and despite his attitude, there was a certain charm to the way he delivered his lines. Any number of women would have already fallen hook, line, and sinker for his undoubtedly masterful game. And he was probably reeling at Leigh’s denial of his indecent proposals.
Then again, other than making comments about her figure, what had he really said that was so bad? She acted like he’d talked about bending her over the hospital bed or pulling her across his lap so she could ride him. She shivered, even under the hot spray, and her blood boiled. Between a sudden sharp attraction to a man she despised and the rage she felt at her body’s response to that attraction, she was livid.
She scrubbed herself furiously, as if she could possibly wash away the experience of having met Austin and the sexuality he awakened in her that was completely unwarranted. Back at her locker, she reached in and tugged out her bag, her phone falling as she pulled out the clean clothes, and she frowned at the missed call and text blaring at her on the screen.
Curious, since she rarely got messages from anyone other than Rory, she checked the caller ID and scowled. Why was Chris bothering her? He’d slept with an ex-girlfriend, wasting two years of Leigh’s life, and she wanted nothing to do with him. She’d made that clear six weeks ago and hadn’t contacted him since.
Opening the text, she braced herself and read,
I miss u. Can’t we just talk?
And then a second one popped up.
I luv u. I’m so sorry.
Wanting to throw the device across the room and watch it shatter into tiny pieces, Leigh shoved it back in her bag instead to avoid the drama. As she dressed, she wondered why she fought the idea of moving on so hard. After all, she had no intentions of giving this bastard another chance after what he’d done. And really, in all her thirty years, she’d played by the rules. She’d done the right thing – gone to school and worked hard for her career, waited till she had her degree to date seriously, avoided sleeping around, and finally ended up with a good, solid choice for a partner who she had assumed would make a magnificent, if slightly unexciting, husband.
She’d put tragedy behind her as a teenager and moved on, in a way so many others had failed to do. And where had she gotten? Chris had opened her eyes to a lot of things including the fact that being a good girl and choosing the safe route in a relationship didn’t save you from heartbreak. Or embarrassment. At least if she was going to be embarrassed, she could have fun doing it, jumping into bed with someone way out of her comfort zone and regretting it afterward.
But that didn’t mean she was going to take Rory’s advice and go for Ezekiel Austin, the epitome of everything she despised. No, she could find other options.
As her best friend appeared around the corner, toweling her dark brown curls, Leigh sighed. “Do you have plans Saturday night?” she asked.
Tilting her head and thinking, Rory told her, “I don’t think so. I had considered calling Bobby, but if you have other ideas, I’m all ears.”
Leigh hesitated. She didn’t go out much, and she loathed the idea of what Rory would suggest as soon as she opened her mouth. But the texts from Chris kept rolling through her head, and Leigh had to do something to avoid falling into a trap. She didn’t want to settle for someone like Chris, and she felt her internal clock ticking away. She wanted an epic love story, and she wanted a family. None of that was going to happen if she didn’t get out there and start looking for it.
And who knew? Just because it was supposed to be a one night stand didn’t mean it might not turn into something more. “I thought maybe we could go out and do something. Maybe something a little out of my comfort zone.”
Rory gasped. “I think that’s a great idea. Are you serious?” But the excitement didn’t last, and Leigh groaned internally. “Wait a minute. You want to go out because you’re looking for a fling. Honey, why don’t you go for the offer right in front of you? I’m telling you, it’s time to let go of your inhibitions and just take a chance on this patient of yours.”
Leigh started to argue, but it wouldn’t matter. Rory would list every reason under the sun to take advantage of Austin’s interest and any offers he might make. And honestly, he was the perfect candidate to make it clear to Chris that he was no longer welcome in her life. If Leigh switched it up that drastically, Chris would have to move on and leave her alone.
But honestly, with the way she’d treated him, Leigh doubted she had a chance in hell of repairing the damage to the point that Ezekiel Austin would ever want anything from her, much less a quick romp in the hay. She blushed at the idea of such a proposal, wishing she could erase this conversation and start over. Instead, she told Rory, “I’m not sure that’s the right choice for me, but I’ll keep an open mind, alright? In the meantime, he’s not…capable,” she said, blushing fiercely, “and I thought it might be fun to go out, have a good time, and at least survey the field.”
That seemed to satisfy Rory, who beamed. “I’m sure we can find you a flower and avoid the weeds. But don’t give up on the biker. And get me a picture! I have to see what this guy looks like.”
“Oh, right. I’m going to just walk up in his hospital room while I’m on duty and snap a photo with my phone.”
“That, or I’m coming to visit you without warning so I can catch a sneak peek.” Rory ambled off with her things, and Leigh sighed. Her friend was incorrigible, and she wouldn’t drop the subject. Leigh had every reason to believe Rory would show up at the hospital tomorrow and torture her until she pointed out Austin’s room.
Maybe the bastard would take interest in Rory instead.
And when jealousy roared inside her, Leigh slammed the locker shut, barely containing the snarling growl that threatened to crawl up her throat. It burned like acid to swallow it, and she shook her head vigorously to clear the image that arose of Austin in his hospital bed, smirking at Rory and toying with her fingers while he told her all the naughty things he would do to her.
It didn’t make sense. Leigh had no claim on the guy, didn’t want to put a stamp on him. Why would she feel such raging jealousy over him hitting on Rory?
Not wanting to explore that question for fear of the answer, she finished dressing and headed out to the car, running her fingers through her hair to remove the tangles. You just didn’t brush hair like hers; the waves would turn into a frizzed mess. She felt that choking sensation as she caught sight of Rory again, waiting by the passenger door of her car, and Leigh struggled to tamp it down and bury it deep inside. She didn’t need to start getting catty over a scenario that would never happen.
Not that it should matter anyway.
“I could really use something fried,” Rory sighed as they pulled out of the parking lot.
Snorting, Leigh told her, “What’s the point of working out if you’re just going to replace the calories you burn off?”
“What’s the point of burning off calories if not to make room for fried food?” Rory tossed back.
Leigh had to laugh. Her friend was nothing if not quick witted. But she found h
erself staying distracted, even as she pulled up to the little bistro where she could order a salad and Rory could get something greasy. She just couldn’t get past her reaction to the thought of Ezekiel Austin showing interest in someone else. And she couldn’t stop picturing that arrogant smile on his battered face, which was handsome despite the slight swelling and purple and blue coloring along his chin and temple.
Those markings should serve as a warning, a reminder of who and what he was. Instead, it made him seem stronger and more appealing, maybe because he was the forbidden fruit. She picked at her salad slowly, considering the merit of taking Rory’s advice while her friend had no trouble rambling on and on about various topics. Could it be to her benefit to see if something sparked with the guy? If it did, she certainly wasn’t going to take it any further than the bedroom.
It wouldn’t matter until Austin was back on his feet anyway. She had plenty of time to talk herself out of listening to the ridiculous ploys, plenty of time to forget about those silver eyes, and plenty of time to get over Chris and maybe even get under someone else.
3
“This is a crock of shit,” Zeke complained as Rocky pulled up to the hospital in his old Ford Ranger, which was probably only held together by the rust and some dirt. “I should be riding with my brothers, not stuck up in some gym for gimps looking like a fucking peg leg pirate.”
The kid had the nerve to laugh. “If you don’t do your physical therapy, you’ll never be back on a bike again. Keep that in mind, and it’ll get you through the torture. You need me to walk you in?”
Zeke looked daggers at him. “I’m perfectly capable.” But even as he said it, he nearly knocked the rearview mirror off with the crutch he swung around. Not that it would have been hard, considering it had been duct taped into place. Maneuvering out of the pickup and onto a set of crutches with a cast on his leg so tall it threatened to chafe his willy was not easy task, but eventually Zeke had them under his arms and was on the move, slowly and cautiously.