CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Devlin kissedTeagan’s shoulder before setting her on the back of his bike. She puffed a stubborn curl from her face while he helped secure her helmet. Catriona’s spare helmet was only eating dust in his garage, anyway.
“Thanks,” she said when he double-checked her helmet.
After Catriona’s showdown in the kitchen this morning, he felt like a square peg in a round hole. On the one hand, every fiber in his soul screamed at him to not fuck this up with Teagan. For whatever fucked-up reason, this young, innocent woman with the cute blush and wide brown eyes seemed to be exactly what he needed.
She’d fitted in perfectly this morning at breakfast with his sister and brother. It all happened so fast. Too fast, almost. Thoughts about claiming an Old Lady made his head spin. He needed some space between them to have a clear head before he would do something stupid and rush into things with her. He didn’t want to let her down and make her promises he couldn’t keep.
“Where am I taking you, Little Bird?”
“Could you take me to the farm?” she asked as she kept her head down, concentrated on rubbing out the wrinkles in her purple dress.
“Sure.”
He got on his bike and revved his engine. All the way over to her parents’ farm, he thought about ways to start ‘the talk’ with Teagan. She’d pressed her tits against his back and kept her body perfectly neutral, so he knew what to expect from her each time they hit a turn. She didn’t fight the feeling of being so close to the ground while moving so fast. And she also didn’t lean in too much, upsetting his balance. She fitted his Callie perfectly, just like his sisters had whenever he would take them out for a ride.
The green fields surrounded them once again as he drove her to her parents’ farm. He entered the long and winding dirt road leading up to the ranch and killed his engine next to a black truck.
That same crazy ass dog he’d seen before came barreling down the dirt path, jumping straight up against Teagan’s thigh. “Hey, Rudy. How are you?”
He smiled at her cheery voice and the dog following her closely as she stepped away from his hog. Devlin jumped on the spot when the dog barked and even showed his teeth when he pulled Teagan in for a kiss. Devlin liked the idea of this mutt keeping a close eye on Teagan out in the fields on her own.
“It’s okay, Rudy. This is Devlin. He’s not going to hurt me.”
“That right?” A deep voice from behind them asked.
Devlin couldn’t remember the time he’d officially met a girl’s family. Maybe in high school had been the last time? He let go of Teagan’s waist and stuck out his hand for Teagan’s brother to shake. For a minute, it seemed like Ryan Moore would knock him on his ass instead of shaking his hand.
Devlin bit back a grimace at Ryan’s forceful grip. “You’re Ryan, right?”
Teagan’s brother seemed around his age, maybe a few years younger. Devlin was used to people shy away from members of the Iron Vikings. The big fucker in front of him narrowed his eyes at Devlin, not in the least impressed by Devlin’s cut.
Ryan Moore obviously couldn’t care less about any reputation the MC had. That much was clear. Devlin respected Ryan for protecting his youngest sister—he would have done exactly the same.
“Yeah. And you’re Devlin Walker.” Ryan crossed his massive arms in front of his chest. Devlin wondered if he could take this guy in an underground fight. It should be interesting to see how much power Ryan’s arms held. Devlin figured that those bales of hay were a natural deadlift every day of the week.
“T. Maybe you can give us a minute?” Ryan asked his sister.
Teagan's eyes widened before she sputtered, “No. Why? There’s no need, Ry.”
Devlin slid his hand into her hair, holding her steady by the back of her head. “It’s okay. Your brother and I will just have a little chat. I understand.”
His thumb caressed her cheek, and she immediately leaned into his touch. “Okay. I’m going to change for my shift at the pub. Talk to you later?”
He nodded. “Sure. The food there any good?”
Ryan scoffed. “My sister Emmy is the chef at Lucky. You bet your ass it is.”
“Okay. Then you’ll see me later tonight,” he said to Teagan.
Devlin had originally wanted to restore some distance between Teagan and him, but now that her big brother had him on his radar, he’d wanted to show Ryan that he had good intentions with his sister.
“Oh, that’s… yeah, sure. See you later.” She kissed his cheek and ducked her head as she passed her brother.
He tore his eyes away from Teagan, scurrying the rest of the dirt path toward the ranch when Ryan cleared his throat.
“Dunno what your intentions are, but let me tell you right from the start: I don’t care. You’re goin’ to get on your bike, turn that hog in the direction of your clubhouse and never look back. Forget this farm. But most of all, forget my sister.”