All because of a girl.
But Dani wasn’t just any girl, I reminded myself.
She’d been wearing a slim-fitting pale blue mini skirt that hugged her ass perfectly. Her cream-colored crop top had made her pale skin look especially kissable, accentuating the freckles scattered over her bare shoulders.
Fuck, I had to stop thinking about her like this.
On the other hand, my cock said otherwise, rock hard in my pants and aching for release.
A knock came at the door and I tossed a corner of my sheets over my lap.
“Door’s open.”
Bear entered, looking like he’d been through the wringer. His right eye was swollen shut and a baseball-sized bruise bloomed on his jawline. The other guy had it worse though. He’d been sent to the hospital and he would be drinking out of a straw for a few months.
“You were hittin’ that whiskey pretty hard last night,” Bear said. “Thought you could use a solid breakfast this morning with some real food to get you back on your feet.”
He slid a plate of eggs, bacon, and dry toast onto the bedside table along with a cup of strong, black coffee.
“Appreciate it, brother,” I replied.
Bear lingered on the threshold of my room, his arms crossed.
“Who was she?”
“No idea who you’re talking about.”
He snorted. “Fine. Be stubborn. I’ll spell it out for you. I’m talking about the sweet-faced little lady you were growling over last night.”
I shrugged. “Don’t like women getting manhandled that way.”
“Neither do I. But I’ve seen that look on your face before, Crow. You were ready to pound that boy into pulp for laying his hands on her. You only ever get that way when you’re defending your family or your club.” Bear paused for effect. “Or your girl.”
I stifled a groan. Dani wasn’t my girl, no matter how much I wished it could be different between us. She was too young. On top of that, she was the daughter of my best friend. Pete would kill me with his bare hands if he ever found out I was harboring feelings for Dani.
“Is there a point to this conversation?” I asked.
“Nope,” Bear said, turning away. “Just bringing you some coffee for that hangover.” He paused on the threshold. “And to leave you with a reminder that you’re an idiot.”
I huffed a dry laugh and reached for the coffee. He didn’t need to tell me that. I already knew it.
“You always do this. Just when you’re about to catch feelings with some woman, you disappear.”
“It’s safer that way,” I countered.
If anyone else had given me this kind of tough love, I would have knocked them unconscious. But this was Bear. We’d spilled blood together. We had a long history of fighting tooth and nail to survive before we joined the club. So he was allowed to say things to me that others would never be able to get away with.
“Lonelier that way, too,” Bear countered.
I sipped at the coffee, swallowing the bitter liquid.
“Men like us don’t get happy endings, Bear,” I said. “I think you know that as well as I do, since you’re just as single as I am. And you stay that way.”
Bear waved me off. “I don’t have time for that shit. With two little brothers to keep on the straight and narrow, how do you expect me to find a lady and give her the attention she deserves?”
I shot him a pointed look over the rim of my coffee cup.
“Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me.”