Swallowing hard, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my entire life. Not even magazines and runway models could compare or do her justice. She was edgy without gaudy. Sensual without slutty. Innocence hovered over her like a silken veil. She was an enigma and I fucking wanted to expose every single detail layer by layer until I knew everything about her from her favorite color to what turned her on in bed.
Because I was going to make her mine.
My mouth watered, and my palms began to sweat. I knew I had to speak to her even if it was at my peril. A girl like that only waltzed into your life once, and I didn’t intend to let her go without learning her name and number.
Grim cussed and slid from his stool, momentarily stealing my gaze away. He stomped over to the newcomers and bumped his fist with the other biker. “Bodie. What’s up, brother?”
“Just showin’ Sasha a good time.”
“And Stefanie?” Grim’s gaze locked on the pretty girl.
Her name is Stefanie.
Whispers floated around the room, speaking in hushed tones as I focused on the conversation.
“Trish is MIA, and I didn’t want to leave Stefanie alone.”
Grim’s fists clenched as he glared at Bodie. “She isn’t staying here. Girl isn’t legal.”
Bodie blinked, clearly drunk as he stumbled, and Sasha kept him upright. “Well, fuck, pres. You want me to take her home?”
“No,” he roared, causing the room to quiet down. “It’ll be handled. Get your ass to your room before you fall and break somethin’.”
Bodie chortled, cursing as Sasha led him through the common room and down to the hall. Grim stared down at Stefanie as she lifted her chin.
“I’m not a little girl, Grim.”
“And you ain’t legal.”
She sighed, throwing her hands in the air as I cautiously approached.
“Anything I can do to help?”
Grim frowned, whipping his head in my direction. His agitation was apparent, but I couldn’t tell what he was getting pissed about since I didn’t know him well enough to speculate.
“Yeah. Take Stefanie home. No detours. Straight home. Hear me, prospect?”
“Yes, sir.”
Grim snatched a key from the ring looped on his belt, and tossed it in my direction. “Take the SUV that’s parked out front. Don’t scratch it or you’ll be doin’ the repairs.”
“Understood.”
He sure was a grumpy fucker when he was pissed. Mumbling under his breath, Grim returned to the bar, bellowing for a shot as Becca scrambled to get what he wanted.
Sighing, I smirked as I turned to Stefanie. “I’m Shadow. Got to take you home. President’s orders.”
She gave me a once over, her cheeks stained pink. Probably a combination of embarrassment and irritation. “Fine.”
Opening the door, I waited for her to go through and then followed, closing it with a click. Cold wind whipped around our bodies as we headed to the SUV. Tinted windows kept the vehicle dark inside as we approached. Feeling protective over Stefanie, I hurried to the driver’s side and opened the door, starting the ignition as I turned up the heater.
“You’re gonna freeze,” I observed with a murmur, shrugging out of my coat and draping her shoulders right before she reached for the handle. “I’ll get that.”
Once the door was open, she dropped onto the seat, shivering deeper into my jacket. “Thanks.”
A few seconds later, I slid back inside the SUV, yanking on the door as a gust of wind howled around us. December sure was packin’ a punch this year. Coldest we had since I moved here. The heat warmed up the interior quickly as silence permeated every inch of the vehicle.
Maybe she didn’t know what to say but I wasn’t worried.
“Where to, beautiful?” I asked, deciding not to mess around and play games. I was interested in Stefanie, and she needed to know that from the beginning.
This was only the first night of our forever.
Sure, we might not know each other yet but that didn’t mean my heart hadn’t found its other half. There was a lot of shit about life I didn’t understand but filling my greedy gaze with her flawless, pretty smile suddenly made me feel like I could conquer the world.