“Won’t be long,” he said letting his need bleed through his voice. He dropped a kiss on her naked shoulder and pretended he didn’t notice the way she tensed or the scowl she shot him.
No one came to a biker party for the first time and didn’t have some sort of surprised reaction. Even if they liked it. There was still a level of shock.
Not for Toni.
Which meant she was either the best damn actress he’d ever seen.
Or this wasn’t really her first biker party.
Chapter Twelve
It was official. Toni loved hanging out with the guys in the MC and their women. Most of the women, anyway. The ones shooting daggers at her with their heavily made up eyes she could do without, but the ol’ ladies were fantastic.
After Zach wandered off, the guys had her laughing until her sides ached. Stories of stupid stunts Zach pulled as a prospect could have kept her entertained for hours.
All around, it was a great night.
Which was bad. Poke your eye with a mascara wand bad.
Everyone she met treated her as if she was Zach’s woman. As though they were a new couple and the guys gave their approval of the match. Keeping space between her and Zach was growing impossible in both the mental and physical sense. A lot of that had to do with Zach’s inability to keep his hands off her. Especially her open shoulders.
With Zach occupied, she tried to use the time to collect herself and steel her spine. He was her ultimate temptation. He was chocolate, wine, shoe shopping, and cheese all wrapped in one orgasm-promising package. The hardest test of her strength. Zach was everything she wanted in a man physically, and as it turned out, he had so many other qualities she admired. Loyalty, strength, responsibility, respect.
He lived in a world that drew her. A little dark, a little dangerous, a little out of control. Damn her libido for finding that such a draw. But it didn’t matter how attracted to him or his life she was. Toni knew first-hand how rotten it could all turn, and she’d vowed to stay far away from the realm of gangs for the rest of her life. And while they called it a club, it still paralleled gang life.
Yet, here she was. Drinking, and laughing, and generally having a rocking time.
“Toni! I had no idea you’d be here.” Shell practically bounced over to where Toni stood by the fire talking to Maverick, his date, and a scary dude named Rocket who’d said all of two words.
“Shell!” She threw her arms around her friend and nearly took them both to the ground.
“Whoa, girl, had a few drinks, have we?” Shell’s uninhibited laughter was always nice to hear. She had so much responsibility on her slender shoulders.
“Yes! I was just going to have one drink, but Maverick gave me this,” Toni held up her red cup full of something heinous Maverick poured from a flask he kept in his pocket.
“Oh, Mav.” Shell shook her head at the shitty grin on his face. “Sorry, honey, he makes that crap in his garage. It’ll give you one hell of a hangover. Good news is it will also burn all the hair off your body so you won’t have to shave for a few days.” She laughed and waved her hands in a keep-away motion when Toni offered her a sip of the cup. “No way in hell. I’ve made that mistake before. Took me days to recover.”
Toni shrugged and took a sip. “Hmm. It’s starting to taste better.”
“That means you’ve hit the sweet spot,” Mav said before lowering his lips to Missy’s neck. His date seemed to have gotten over whatever issue she’d had at the beginning of the night and was now practically humping his leg. Toni gave it five minutes before they found a dark corner to go at it.
“Shut up, Mav. Get out of here, your date looks like she needs some attention.” Shell made a shooing motion with her hand and somehow managed to make the word date sound like a disease.
Completely unoffended, Maverick threw back his head and laughed. “I think you might be right, Shell. We’ll be over there.” He pointed to the side of the building. “Shield your eyes, ladies. You especially, Toni. Don’t want you to feel like Zach can’t live up.”
“What the fuck are you running your mouth about now?” Zach wrapped his arm around Toni from behind, cupping the ball of her shoulder in his warm, rough hand. He pulled her flush against him, his forearm banded across her chest.
Damn him. The press of his insanely toned body so snug against her was more intoxicating than Maverick’s mystery booze.
A minute. Just one minute she’d allow herself to soak in the warm male vitality flowing from him. Then she’d push him away.