“Beer, beer, or beer?” He held them up.
“Um, beer?” I said with a laughing shake of my head as I grabbed an import.
“Good choice,” he chuckled. He dropped one back into the ice, then used one of the chunky rings on his fingers to pop off both lids.
“Thanks,” I said with an eye roll and a smile.
“I want to introduce you.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward the crowd. My heart hammered as I took in all the rough-looking bikers. Except, I’d be lying if I said they weren’t attractive. Well, most of them.
We stopped in front of a burly guy with a lush salt-and-pepper beard. His vest said “Venom” and “President.” The two guys next to him both had tabs that said “Vice President,” and I was confused. Then I saw that they had different places on another tab. The guy with a thick silver beard and slicked-back hair to match was obviously from Detroit—and coincidently, his name was “Silver,” according to his name tab.
“Pres, I’d like you to meet Kira.” Venom’s gray-blue eyes seemed to go green, and I was mystified at how they’d seemed to change colors before my eyes.
He took the hand I offered and raised it to his lips with the snake bite piercings, but he left me feeling much more relaxed after shaking his hand. The way he held me and kissed my hand wasn’t inappropriate, but Ogun’s hand that rested on my lower back clenched my side, and I jumped a little.
“It’s a pleasure, Miss Kira,” Venom, the man Ogun called “Pres,” said with a humorous glance at Ogun.
“And this is my VP, Raptor, and our Detroit chapter VP, Silver,” Ogun went on with the introductions. If looks could strip you naked, the man he called Silver was a pro at it. He gave me such a heated stare as he trailed his blue eyes from my head to my toes that I shivered. He gave me a knowing smile, and Ogun gripped me again.
“Nice to meet you both,” I said as I shook first Silver’s, then Raptor’s hand. Neither did anything inappropriate, but Raptor did give Ogun a strange look before his oddly light brown eyes returned to me.
His brown hair was closely cropped with a messy upsweep of the front. He was ruggedly attractive, as were the others. His eyes narrowed on me, leaving me feeling almost naked. Exposed.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asked me. When I realized Ogun was squeezing me again, I also realized I was still holding Raptor’s hand.
“Oh!” I said as I released his hand, and he gave a soft chuckle. “I’m a vet where Og—uh, Voodoo brings his dog, Zaka.”
“Hmm, maybe I need to get a dog,” he said with a flirty grin.
That time, I was pretty sure I heard Ogun growl. The three men broke out in laughter, and I glanced from face to face in confusion. While I didn’t know the inside joke, I got the feeling they were messing with Ogun somehow.
“We’ll see you guys in a bit,” he grumbled as he led me over to another small group of guys sitting under the trees in lawn chairs.
“Hey, Voodoo! Who’s this beauty, and where have you been hiding her?” a very blond man asked with a big grin.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he muttered next to me. “Kira, this asshole is Ghost, that dickwad is Angel, Croc’s the fuckstick, then that asswipe is Chains, and next to him is Phoenix, the fucktard.”
They all laughed except the one they called Chains. He silently drank his beer as he watched me and Ogun.
“Uh, hi,” I stuttered. “I’m feeling the love.”
That caused them to laugh even more, and Ogun actually chuckled softly next to me. Even Chains had a half smile.
“It’s all good. If we weren’t fucking with each other, we might wonder if there was any love at all,” the one he called Angel said.
Ogun brought me around and introduced me to several other guys. I knew I’d never remember their names, because my brain was already on overload. All in all, there were about fifteen or more guys there, plus the scantily clad women.
There was an older guy who had his arm around the shoulders of a woman with a bandana on her blonde hair. Her name was Helen, and she seemed really sweet. They referred to her as the man’s ol’ lady, which I assumed was something special. They were with several of the older guys.
Unlike Geneva, I’d never watched any of the motorcycle shows. I’d never had time. Vet school was demanding as hell. Now at twenty-seven years old, I was finally feeling like I could have a life. Yet, I had no life.
“So what do you think?” he asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Well, it’s different?” I didn’t mean it to come out as a question.
“Different good, or different bad?” he asked as he lifted the bottle to his lips to hide the slight lift of his sexy lips. He was sinfully gorgeous, and I was beginning to have thoughts about him that I knew were a bad idea.
Being far from drunk, I couldn’t blame it on the alcohol, but something crazy hit me, and I bit my lip. Then I insanely said, “Maybe a little of both.”