If he’d made the suggestion a few hours earlier, I totally would’ve taken him up on it. “It’s really great of you to offer, but there’s really no need. The rehearsal and dinner are already done. Now they’re just drinking and hanging out, which I’ll get plenty of tomorrow night.”
“Damn. Then I guess this is the only thing left for me to do to try to make it up to you.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, took a few large bills out, and handed them to me.
I was about to tell him it wasn’t necessary when Jane tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Take the money, Wendy.”
“Alrighty then.” I flashed a smile at Don and tucked the bills into my back pocket. “I guess my bad luck has officially turned to good.”
“And who knows?” Jane bumped her hip against mine. “Maybe you’ll end up getting really lucky later.”
I played along even though I knew damn well that wasn’t going to happen the way she meant. I knew what I was looking for in a man, and I doubted I’d find it with a random guy I met at the bar.
2
Rider
I gave Breaker, my captain, a one-armed hug and a slap on the back before turning to his fiancée. “Don’t know how you could pick this asshole over me,” I sighed with a dramatic shake of my head. I leaned in for a hug, only to find myself shoved away.
“Mine,” Breaker growled. “Don’t touch.”
Putting my hands up in surrender, I backed up farther and laughed. I wouldn’t have actually hugged Ireland. You don’t touch an old lady without her man’s permission. I’d been fucking with him, and he knew it but still couldn’t stop himself from reacting. “Another one thoroughly bites the dust.”
Breaker shrugged and pulled Ireland tight against his side. “Without regret.”
So many of my brothers had found their old ladies over the past several years. Breaker and I had even joked about it becoming a matchmaker club rather than a motorcycle club. I couldn’t imagine being tied down like that. It was the reason for my embarrassingly long dry spell. I didn’t fuck around, so if I wanted to remain untethered, it was smarter to remain celibate.
Our VP, Scout, wandered up with his arm around Cat, his old lady. They congratulated the couple, then I walked with them as we ambled out to our hogs. I felt restless and not ready to return to my empty room at the clubhouse.
“Think I’m gonna stop in at McClaren’s. You game?”
Cat shook her head. “Sorry, we need to get home.”
Dash and Knight weren’t far from us, and they both volunteered to keep me company. We said goodbye to Scout and Cat and took off toward the bar.
It was Friday, so the place was naturally busy, but we never had trouble finding a table. Especially since Breaker and Hack—who owned a security business—overhauled the owner’s security system.
Don waved and gestured to a booth near the bar, occupied by a young couple making out. Don pulled them apart, said something that made the girl blush, and they quickly vacated their seats.
“Thanks,” I said as I slid onto the leather bench.
“What can I get you boys?”
We each ordered, and he nodded before striding over to the bar to put in our order.
That was when I saw her.
Long, thick mahogany hair, elegant facial features, beautiful gray eyes, and a tall, curvy body made for sin. My cock jumped to attention, swelling at the idea of sinning with this sexy woman.
Her branded tank hugged her generous chest, and from my vantage point, I could see she was wearing torn-up jeans and fuck me boots. A customer said something to her, then reached out. Before I could jump to my feet to intervene, she’d captured his wrist and twisted it into a position that could easily break the bones with enough pressure.
A smile spread across her lips, but her eyes sparked with anger. She said something else, and the customer bobbed his head frantically. She finally released his wrist, and he scrambled off his stool, dropped a tip on the bar, and practically ran out of the building.
The other female bartender tossed out a comment, and my woman laughed.
Damn. She was gorgeous. And a firecracker.
I wanted to pump my fist when she began filling a tray, and I realized she was putting together our order.
My gaze stayed glued to her as she began to make her way to our table. As if she could feel my intense stare, her eyes met mine. They became curious, but I grinned when she licked her lips and her gray pools heated.
She did a sweep of me—what she could see above the table—but when her eyes passed over my cut, they snapped back and lingered on my patch. Her expression smoothed out, shuttering my view into her thoughts. I frowned, not happy with being shut out.