by Wilder, L.
She was right. One look at this badass biker and any woman would swoon, even if he was a vicious killer. With his dirty blond hair and rippling muscles, he was good looking—extremely good looking, and as I stood there staring at him, I imagined what it would feel like to have the arms of such a strong and dangerous man like him wrapped around me. The very thought had me spellbound, and while I knew it was wrong—very, very wrong—I couldn’t stop myself. My heart pounded. My knees trembled. And just when I feared I might do something I would probably regret, he turned and looked right at me. As soon as those gorgeous blue eyes met mine, the entire room grew still. While it was just a moment’s glance, it was enough to leave a lasting impression long after he’d turned his attention back to the men next to him. I could still feel the heat of his stare on my skin, making my entire body hum with an unexpected thrill of desire. Damn.
I was still trying to gather my composure when Robyn nudged me with her elbow. “Watch this.”
To my horror, Robyn turned and started walking towards the group of men. With a warning tone, I hissed, “Robyn! Wait!”
Ignoring me, she kept going. Seconds later, she walked up to a biker who was sitting beside the man who’d caught my eye. I watched with dread as she tapped him on the shoulder, and when the dark-haired, burly brute turned to look at her, she gave him one of her sexy little smiles. “Hey there, good lookin’. I saw you sitting over here, and I just had to come over and ask … Have you and I met somewhere before?”
With one of his eyebrows arched, his dark eyes slowly roamed over her small frame, and I suddenly became jealous of how good she looked in her scrubs. Where mine hung on me like a paper sack and had dancing sheep all over them, hers were bright magenta and fit snuggly over her perfect curves. Apparently, the big, bad biker was pretty smitten with her because he replied, “Can’t say that we have, darlin’ … cause there’s no way in hell I’d ever forget a woman as beautiful as you.”
“Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing, and so handsome, too,” her voice purred, and I rolled my eyes. “You got a name, good-looking?”
I shouldn’t have been surprised by Robyn’s behavior. She’d always been a big flirt, but this guy looked like he wanted to devour her, making me worry that she’d picked the wrong man to tangle with. I was about to intervene when the waitress called out to me, “Hey, Hun. Your order is ready.”
Well, Craptastic. I went over to the register, paid our bill, and thanked the pretty, young waitress.
“No problem.” She smiled. “I hope you enjoy it.”
I glanced back over at Robyn, and she was still carrying on with her new biker friend. Knowing I couldn’t leave without her, I started walking in her direction, but it was simply too crowded to get over there with my hands full of our food.
“Robyn!” I called out to her, but she couldn’t hear me. Feeling a little flustered, I finally turned back to the waitress and asked, “Could you do me a tiny favor?”
“I can try.” She smiled. “Whatcha need?”
“Can you let my friend know that I’m taking our food out to the car?” I pleaded.
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks.”
As I started towards the door, I looked over at Robyn one last time. Damn. She was laying it on thick, laughing and tossing her long blonde hair, and I doubted that she’d even care that I was leaving. Just as I was about to reach for the door, I started to lose my grip on the bag of food. I tried to adjust my hold, but it wasn’t working. I was about to drop everything, when I heard a man’s voice behind me, “Need a hand?”
I turned to see who’d offered to help me, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw that it was him—the hot biker. Before I could forge a response, he lifted the bag right out of my arms. I was a little startled by his actions, so it took me a moment before I mumbled, “Um … thank you. I guess.”
“No problem.” He was standing just inches away, and I found myself feeling overly nervous. I couldn’t tell if I was in fear for my life or if I was simply so attracted to him that I didn’t know what to do with myself—or maybe it was both. “Where you headed with all this?”
Trying not to sound like a complete nutcase, I told him, “Just out to my car. I’m parked right out front.”
He nodded, and then, with my bag of food in tow, he headed out the front door. I wasn’t sure this whole thing was a good idea, but with Robyn acting like a wench in heat, I really didn’t have a choice. Following him outside, I showed him to my car. “It’s right over here.”
“I’m right behind ya.”
We walked over to my car, and I nervously unlocked the door and placed our drinks in the cup holders. When I turned back around to face him, I quickly realized that he was even more gorgeous up close, and again, I found it difficult to speak. “Thank you for your help.”
A playful look flashed across his face as he said, “Well, I might’ve had an ulterior motive.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Walking a beautiful woman to her car.” He smirked.
His comment surprised me, and I found myself blushing. “Well, either way, I still really appreciate it.”
“Not a problem.” As I put the bag in the car, I heard him ask, “So, you from around here?”
I had no idea why he even asked. We came from completely different worlds, but a part of me liked the fact that a man who lived such an exhilarating life would want to know anything about me. “Kind of. I grew up about an hour from here in a small town you’ve probably never heard of.”
His voice was deep and demanding, but oh, so very sexy, and it sent shivers down my spine as he said, “Try me.”
Seeing that devious look on his face there was no way I could refuse. “LaGrange. It’s out in—”
“In Fayette County. Yeah, I know it well.” He crossed his muscular arms and leaned against my car. “It’s got all those historical antebellum homes.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m impressed you knew that.”
“There’s not much I don’t know.”
His playful smirk had my heart hammering in my chest like it never had before, and I found myself smiling ear to ear. “Is that right?”
“Um-hmm.” He took a quick glance down at my scrubs and asked, “So, you’re a nurse?”
“Yes. I work over at Regional.” As I looked down at his leather vest, I found myself wondering what he did when he wasn’t riding his bike. “And you? What do you do?”
“Nothing as cool as saving lives.”
“Well now. Let’s not get carried away. I’m more like the middle man. I stabilize, take blood pressure, and put in IV’s. I wouldn’t say that I’ve actually saved any lives … unless you count the time I did the Heimlich maneuver on a guy who was choking on his cough drop.” I giggled.
“Oh, yeah. I’d definitely count that.” His entire body shook as he laughed. Damn. He was handsome. With his muscles and tattoos, I should’ve found him menacing, but he wasn’t—not in the least. In fact, he seemed quite the opposite, and even though I knew it was the last thing I should be doing, I enjoyed talking to him. To make matters worse, I wanted to know everything about the dangerous biker. I was walking a fine line, and I didn’t even care. “I work down at the club’s garage.”
“You know, there’s some people who would say that our jobs have a lot in common. You clean carburetors and replace batteries. I change bed pans and administer medications. We do what we do to keep the world running.”
“Yeah. If you say so,” he scoffed. He motioned his head towards the diner “Is that your friend back there?”
As I looked back through the diner’s window, I could see Robyn talking to the guy at the counter. I nodded. “Yeah. That’s my roommate, Robyn.”
“I think she might be interested in my brother, Runt.”
“Yeah. Maybe just a little bit.” I laughed. “She has a bit of a thing for tall, dark, and dangerous.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when his eyes quickly
skirted over me, checking me out. “What about you. You got a thing for tall, dark, and dangerous?”
“I wouldn’t say that.” I smiled.
“No?” he pushed.
“For one thing, I don’t really have time to date, and … I don’t really have a type, especially not one that includes tall, dark, and dangerous.”
“So, you’re not seeing anyone?”
“No. I’m not seeing anyone.”
A strange look crossed his face as he gave me a quick nod. “Good to know.”
“Well? What about you? Is it just you and your Harley, or do you have a special lady in your life?”
He tilted his head to the side as he asked, “What makes you think I’ve got a Harley?”
“Don’t all serious bikers ride a Harley?”
“If they’re not, I feel sorry for ’em.” He smiled. “And I’m not dating anyone at the moment.”
When a large group of people came out of the diner, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “I guess I better get back in there.”
“Okay. It was really nice talking to you.”
“Yeah, it was.” As he started towards the diner, he looked over to me and said, “You know, your girl is still inside. You want me to send her out for ya?”
“Oh, yeah. That would be great.”
He nodded, and just before he stepped inside the diner, he looked back over to me. “It isn’t exactly safe out here. Do us both a favor and get inside your car and lock your doors.”
“Okay.” I smiled and gave him a quick wave as I got in my car, locking the doors behind me. I watched as he headed inside the diner, and I found myself wondering if I would ever see this biker again—I really hoped I would.
CHAPTER 3
Blaze
It had been a long time since a woman had turned my head, but when she walked into the diner, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was one good looking woman with long, dark hair and coal-black eyes. It wasn’t simply because she was beautiful. No. It was so much more than that. There was light inside of her, one that shined deep within her. As a man filled with darkness, I found myself drawn to it. I hadn’t realized just how long I’d been hungry for it until I saw her. Now, I would use any excuse to get close to it. When I noticed her struggling with her bag of takeout, I took my chance. I went over and reached for her food, lifting it out of her hands just before she dropped it on the floor. I followed her out to her car, and as we started talking, I found myself more intrigued than ever. I couldn’t get enough of her, and with every piece of information she shared, I only became hungry for more. She simply captivated me, and I didn’t want our conversation to end. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice. She was ready to leave and her friend was still inside the diner. Without thinking of the consequences, I volunteered to send her out. After I took one more lingering look, I went back inside and sent the blonde bombshell on her way.
As soon as she walked out the door, Runt turned to me and started bitching, “What the fuck was that?”
“Her friend was out there waiting for her.” I couldn’t blame him for being pissed. There was no doubt that the hot, little number was into him, and I’d ruined his chance of hooking up with her.
“So what? She could’ve kept waiting,” he growled.
“Come on, Runt.” Murphy chuckled. “It’s not like you didn’t get her number. You’ll still get your chance.”
“Maybe … if Blaze doesn’t fuck that up, too.” He looked over at me and shook his head. “Fucking cock-block.”
Thankfully, Cyrus came over and distracted him by asking, “You guys need anything else?”
“I couldn’t eat another bite, brother.”
Murphy turned and looked at the crowd of folks behind us. “Looks like another busy night.”
“You ain’t kidding, brother.” Cyrus chuckled as he said, “I need a beer and foot rub.”
“If you’re looking for volunteers, you’re barking up the wrong fucking tree, brother.”
While it sucked to hear that he was having a rough day, it was good to see that the restaurant was doing so well. Having a big crowd meant that money was changing hands—lots of money—and that was always a good thing, especially for the club. We’d been using Daisy Mae’s to cycle funds for years, and we were lucky enough to have Cyrus and his sister, Louise, to keep things going. We all knew they argued like cats and dogs, but whether they liked to admit it or not, they made a good team. Cyrus was one hell of a cook and his sister was great at running numbers; with the two of them running the show, they’d made quite a name for our little diner. He gave me a go to hell look as he said, “I’d rather have a finger in my ass than have your hands on my damn feet, asshole.”
“I guess it depends on whose finger was in your ass.” Runt snickered.
“Alright, I’ve had enough of this shit,” Murphy complained as he stood up.
“Where you running off to?”
“Got an early one tomorrow,” he told us as he tossed a twenty on the counter. “Since it’s a new dealer, Gus wants me with T-Bone and Lowball when they pick up that shipment in Arkansas.”
“You gonna be back in time to help me pull the engine out of that Chevy tomorrow afternoon?” I asked.
“Planning on it.” As he started for the door, he looked over to Runt and said, “Don’t forget to call that nurse. You wait too long, and she might come to her senses about you.”
“Keep talking smack, wise-ass, and see what it gets ya,” Runt barked.
Murphy shook his head and smiled as he walked out the front door. Once he was gone, Cyrus asked, “Did y’all hear what happened with the Southeast Rogue Riders?”
“Yeah, somebody smoked their clubhouse and their strip club last night,” Riggs answered as he emptied his glass of tea.
“What the fuck?” I barked.
“Yep. Somebody leveled the motherfuckers.” Cyrus started clearing the dirty dishes from the table as he continued, “Nothing left but a pile of rubble and ash.”
“What the hell? Any idea who was behind it?”
“Not a clue.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Who’d want to fuck with them?” Runt asked.
“Beats the hell out of me, but I gotta say … I don’t have a good feeling about it.” A concerned look crossed Cyrus’s face as he said, “Maybe I’m wrong, but where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. We need to keep our eyes and ears open.”
“Agreed. Does Gus know about all this?”
“Yeah. You know him. He’s the first to know everything.”
I looked down at my watch, and when I saw how late it had gotten, I reached for my wallet. After I tossed my money down on the counter, I stood up and said, “I gotta get to the house. Let me know if you hear anything else about the Rogues.”
“Will do, brother.”
After I left the diner, I went home and crashed, and from the time I got up the next morning, I’d been set on go. If I wasn’t busting my ass in the garage, I was helping Mom out with something at the house or tossing the football with Kevin. By the time Friday rolled around, I was exhausted, so when Riggs and Runt asked me to head down to Beale Street with them, I turned them down. I had no desire to spend the night out with those two, especially since Kevin had a game the next day. Knowing we’d have to be up early, I ordered us a couple of pizzas and pulled up some movie he’d been wanting to watch. We’d only been watching it for an hour when I fell asleep in the recliner. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Kevin yelling from the kitchen. “Hey, Dad! Have you seen my cleats?”
As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I shouted, “They’re on the back porch! Your grandmother cleaned them up for you.”
“What about my socks?”
“In the laundry room,” and before he could ask, I added, “and your mouth guard is in the cup by the sink.”
“I already got it.”
I glanced over at the clock and groaned when I noticed that it was only eight. “Dude, what are you doing? You
’ve got four hours until the game.”
He came into the living room and looked at me with a scowl. “Last night you said we had to leave early, because you had to help Gammy with something.”
Remembering that I’d promised to help fix her leaky sink, I grumbled, “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”
“She called while you were still asleep and said she’s making us pancakes for breakfast. I told her that I couldn’t eat a big breakfast before a game, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“You gotta eat something. Might as well be pancakes.”
“Dad! I’m supposed to eat protein, not a bunch of carbs.” He fussed.
“Damn, son. Do you hear yourself? You don’t sound like an eight-year-old kid.”
“I’m nine,” he argued.
“No. You’re eight. You won’t be nine for another month,” I told him as I got up from the recliner and started towards my bedroom. Even though I still worried that his cancer would come back, I could see that he was growing stronger, more confident, with each day that passed, and I couldn’t have been prouder. “Go get the rest of your stuff. I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
After I showered and got dressed, we went over to my folks’ place for breakfast. While I fixed the sink, Kevin told my folks all about his week at school. Apparently, he had a speech coming up in a few days, and he’d decided to talk about the largest dogs on the planet, Mastiffs. I had no idea why, but he’d always had a thing for these giant dogs. He’d asked for an English Mastiff several times over the years, but knowing how hard it would be to have a pet that size, I always refused. Since his birthday was just around the corner, I had a feeling that the conversation would be coming up again. Once we were done at the folks’ place, we headed over to the football field. When we got there, Kevin’s team was already warming up.
“Crap. We’re late,” he huffed.
I looked down at my watch and cursed under my breath when I saw that we were fifteen minutes early. Just like my brothers, these jerk-offs didn’t know how to tell fucking time. “Don’t worry about it, sport. You have plenty of time to warm up.”