“No problem, babe.”
Krissy glanced over at Delilah, who gave her a warning scowl. She slightly nodded, and for a brief moment, I thought she’d adhere to Delilah’s plea. After taking a sip of her beer, Krissy pretended to ignore Rafe, who was sitting right next to her at the table. Rafe’s brows furrowed with displeasure as he watched the girls talk. Trying his best to draw her attention back over to him, he asked, “You two having a good time tonight?”
“Absolutely.” Krissy flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ve never been to a biker clubhouse before.”
“Glad you decided to come out.”
“Me too.”
“I gotta tell ya ... You’re looking all kinds of fine tonight, babe.” Rafe leaned back in his seat and let his eyes skirt over Krissy. Apparently, the ladies found his boyish good looks and crooked smile charming, even when he said lame shit like, “You make a man wanna do bad things.”
“Oh, really?” Krissy gave him a playful smirk. I’d overheard her and Delilah talking earlier, and from what little I caught, Krissy hadn’t had the best of luck with the male population. After continually going for the wrong kind of guy, she’d met some doctor at the nursing home where she and Delilah worked. It was clear from the way Krissy had been talking that she was pretty pumped about the guy. A spark of mischief flashed through her eyes as she asked, “What kind of bad things?”
“Why don’t you come back to my room, and I’ll show ya?”
Without taking his eyes off Rafe and Krissy, Widow leaned over to me and chuckled. “He’s laying it on thick.”
“Yeah, but it seems to be working.”
“I don’t know, man.” Widow shook his head. “Delilah’s gonna be a hard cock-block to overcome.”
“She’ll come around.”
“You think so?” Widow glanced over at Rafe. “You wanna put a wager on it?”
“Yeah, I’d be up for that.” I picked up my beer and took a swig. “Fifty bucks says she gives in.”
“You’re on.”
We both watched as Krissy bit at her bottom lip, then said, “That’s really tempting.”
“Then, whatcha waiting for?” Rafe gave her a wink. “I’ll show ya a real good time.”
“I’m sure you would”—her nose wrinkled with regret—“but I think I’m gonna have to pass.”
“Oh, come on, babe,” Rafe pushed. “Do us both a favor. It’d be a night to remember.”
Country was sitting at the other end of the table, his shoulders shaking as he tucked his head and chuckled under his breath. Even he could see that Rafe was about to get turned down, but Rafe wasn’t giving up. In fact, he seemed to be digging in his heels, hoping that he could sway Krissy to take him up on his offer. A smirk crossed his face as he leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear. Her cheeks blushed a bright pink, and I was beginning to think he might’ve actually pulled it off until Delilah gave her a scornful look. Like a balloon deflating, Krissy slumped back in her chair as she looked back over to Rafe and said, “I’m sure it would, but I’m here to spend time with Delilah.”
“All right. Suit yourself.” He shook his head in defeat and stood. “I’ll be around if you change your mind.”
As soon as Rafe walked away, Widow turned to me and said, “Looks like you owe me fifty bucks.”
“The night’s still young, brother. Give the man some time.”
I had to hold back my smile when Krissy leaned over to Delilah and asked, “Are you sure I can’t just—”
“You’re seeing Jax, and you actually like the guy. Don’t screw that up by hooking up with Rafe!” Delilah scolded.
“Okay, fine.” Krissy pouted as she glanced over her shoulder at Rafe. “It wouldn’t be so hard if he wasn’t hot as hell.”
“You’re a mess.”
“I’m serious, girl. Did you see his biceps? Jax doesn’t have biceps. Jax doesn’t have a six-pack either, but I bet Rafe does. Hmmm ... I bet he’s totally packing too.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and sighed. “Damn, I think I messed up.”
“Stop, Krissy. We’ve already talked about this.” Delilah cocked her eyebrow. “No more bad boys, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Krissy took a long pull off her Ultra-Light. “Boring Dr. Jax it is.”
“Jax is not boring!” Delilah shook her head and sighed. “Did you or did you not just tell me that you wanted a man who’d treat you right?”
“Yes, I did, and I do.” Krissy threw her hands up in the air. “No more bad boys.”
No sooner than the words had left her mouth, Krissy glanced over her shoulder and looked at Rafe with longing in her eyes. I knew then that she wasn’t done with “bad boys”—at least not yet. It was moments like these that I was glad I didn’t get involved in relationships. They were just too much fucking trouble. I was more of a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy, keeping my distance from anything remotely resembling a connection with a woman. My time for that had come and gone, and I was good with it. I had my brothers and the club. As their enforcer, I focused on whatever needed to be done to keep both safe and thriving. But every now and then, I’d find myself thinking about her, and the minute she crossed my mind, a sense of darkness would wash over me.