I take a step back, shaking my head. “That’s not necessary. I can get in the van.”
“No room. Kelsey wants to ride with Coop. He’s hurt.” He folds his arms, each move making them bunch and flex to show off their power, a smug smile on his face because he knows he’s got me.
“Fine. I’ll ride with you.”
His shoulders fall slightly. “Well, don’t do me any fucking favors.”
“Mark, it’s not that. I’m confused. I don’t know what any of this means, and my…my feelings for you are complicated.”
His brows shoot up. “You think mine aren’t? Shit, Kenna, you think that falling for you is what I had planned? A rich girl with an overbearing father who is dangerously close to my business? This thing has disaster written all over it, but you know what? I don’t give a damn.”
“You don’t?” How can that be?
“No, I don’t because I want you, Kenna. I like you as a person, and that’s not something I do.”
I smile at his clumsy compliment. “You don’t usually like people?”
“Not at all,” he growls back. “I like hanging out with my brothers, but even they’re too loud sometimes. I like being at home, on my own, or at the gym. And now I like being with you.”
A small shuddery sigh escapes, and I shake my head with a smile, feeling my whole entire being fill with warmth at those words. “I like being with you too, but this was never meant to last.”
“Yeah, I know that. But things change, Princess, and if you weren’t in shock right now, you’d see that.” He gives me a long, heat-filled stare before tossing one leg casually over the seat of the bike and settling in. His back is wide and his waist narrow, and I can’t look away from his utterly masculine appeal. Ace shoots a sultry smile over his shoulder.
“You gettin’ on, or are you running?”
I notch my chin high in the air, as haughtily as I can, and give him a feisty smile.
“I don’t run. Ever.” I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but all I know is I’m not strong enough to run away from this man’s magnetic pull.
Without another word, I put my hands on his shoulder to push up onto the bike. I wrap my arms tight around him, pressing so close I swear I can feel the beat of his heart over the roar of the bike.
The best part? I never want to let this man go.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ace
It’s early evening when we finally make it back to the clubhouse, and everyone is fucking exhausted and ready to crash for a few hours, which is perfect because there’s a sexy hazel-eyed princess who needs a good talking to. McKenna. I sigh at the thought of her because, holy fuck, the woman is driving me crazy.
How can she open up to me, change me as a man, and fuck me like no other, and think she can just walk away like she’s not mine?
She sighs and stares up at me, all nervous and shit like we haven’t tasted every inch of each other. Like our souls aren’t fucking connected.
“Thanks again for everything. I think I’m gonna just make my way home.”
“That’s it?” I growl. I take her hand in mine, practically dragging her into the clubhouse. We pass through the bar area, past the MC-only rooms down to the small rooms we keep when guys need a break from the old ladies or are just too shit-faced to drive home. My room is at the end of the hall, and I keep pulling her until we’re inside. Alone.
McKenna rushes to the bathroom inside my room and closes the door behind her. Water runs for a long time, and my fists clench, wondering why she’s in a hurry to clean herself.
I don’t move from my spot as I wait—impatiently—for her to emerge from the bathroom, fully expecting her to try to escape. Again.
The door opens, and she’s not dressed to run. Instead, she steps out wearing one of my black t-shirts. Her eyes scan the room, taking in every detail from the photos on the wall to the Reckless Souls flag pinned over the window. “This is your room?”
I smile at her words, at the fact that she knows me even better than she realizes. “That obvious?”
“There are personal touches here like this is your space. Your house is nice, but this place is warm.” She flashes another of those sexy little feminine smiles that makes a man feel like a man. “It’s nice.”
“McKenna, let me get this straight. You’re mine. I’m yours. End of story.”
Her shoulders fall. “Mark, we’re never going to work.”
She might be right, but I don’t give a damn. “You don’t want me, is that it?” I might be reading the situation wrong because women are complicated as fuck and tough to read.