Unknown: Got your number from Rae.
Me: Cara?
Cara: Yes.
Me: Ok.
Cara: I’m sorry
Me: For?
Cara: Leaving in a rush.
Me: No prob.
Cara: I hope you’re better soon.
Me: Thanks.
Cara: Goodnight R.J.
Me: GN
I added Cara to my contacts and couldn’t resist a small smile. That girl was probably gonna be more trouble than I needed in my life but I kind of liked the idea anyway. Maybe I just enjoyed walking on the wild side. Or maybe I wanted to see how serious she was about this guy she was engaged to. I couldn’t help feeling like we met for a reason.
Until I figured out what it all meant, I planned on seeing Cara again. Real soon.
Chapter 7 – Cara
I can’t believe I found R.J. nearly stabbed to death on the sidewalk outside of that strip club. What kind of life did he live to end up attacked and almost killed? Was that what a biker’s life was like? Just like some show on cable? Guns, drugs, porn, and crime?
Sighing, I didn’t know what to think.
My eyes closed as I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water over my face. My fingers trembled as I grabbed a towel off the ceramic ring next to the basin and dabbed at my cheeks before my eyes opened. R.J. nearly died. Just thinking about the fact that he could have if I didn’t obey that overwhelming urge to return to the market was making my head spin.
He called me his angel. Oh, God.
I could hardly breathe. Why did those words unnerve and disarm me? Why did they flutter in my chest over my heart?
R.J. was just a man. A dangerous one by the looks of it. He was probably no better than Maxwell and his friends but a part of me knew that wasn’t true. Biker? Yes. Bad boy? Yes. Cruel? I didn’t think so.
Why was my reaction to him so intense?
I’d be stupid to have anything further to do with R.J. Even as I thought about it, the memory of his gentle kiss lingered in my mind. Was it a betrayal that I desired another? That for those few seconds I felt a passion and longing that I’d never felt with Max?
There was a stirring in my soul I couldn’t explain. Something about that biker drew me in. It wasn’t just the fact that he was handsome, cocky, or self-assured. The way that he looked at me, like he was drinking in his favorite hard liquor and wanted to savor the taste, letting the thick liquid linger on his tongue before he swallowed hard. Like the burn was a fiery shot of necessary heat and forbidden pleasure he couldn’t live without.
Gripping the counter, I suddenly wondered why I was with Maxwell Forman.
Did he ever make my heart race like this? Maybe. When we were still in high school, I was certain he was the man I wanted to marry. Now, I felt hardly anything for the man who thought it was nothing to treat me harshly and control my life.
How did it get this far? I wasn’t supposed to be a victim.
If only Noah was still here . . .
My brother never would have let Max hurt me. He would have kicked his ass and sent him on his way. Thinking of my brother brought tears to my eyes and
I couldn’t hold them back as the warmth slipped down my cheeks.