Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
All too eager, Dice let the metal grinder he was holding clatter to the worktop. “At your service, ma’am.”
“Not a fucking chance.” Didn’t mean for it to whip out like a snarl, but there it was.
Trevan chuckled as he turned back to his bike, mumbling, “That’s what I thought.”
A grunt of disapproval rolled out of Phoenix.
“Oh yeah.” Dice rocked his hips again.
Doubted the kid would try it if he knew what I was really about.
“You want your ass permanently kicked from the property, keep it up,” I warned.
The exuberance on his face melted into humiliation. “Sorry, Prez. Just messing around.”
“This shit isn’t a joke. Now get back to work. All of you.”
I turned my attention to Brinley who looked like maybe she was second-guessing her request with the animosity that clogged the atmosphere.
No question about it when I angled my head in the direction of my bike that rested like a vicious chariot in front of the far bay. “Let’s go.”
Shock blustered out of Trevan.
Yeah, it blustered out of me, too.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I shot him daggers.
I didn’t need any more of his bullshit. Not when I was clearly spiraling.
Brinley huffed out in disbelief and gestured at herself. “Do I look like I’m dressed to ride on a motorcycle?”
Yeah.
She definitely did.
That and my cock.
I angled my head. “You want a ride or not?”
Agitation bristled around her.
A hurricane gathering strength.
Then she basically stomped one of those heels and seethed, “Fine.”
I peeled myself out of my coveralls then slung into my cut.
I rarely went out without wearing it. Every asshole in this town needed to know who I was and what I represented, though they never got the full inside of what that meant.
I strode for my bike.
Brinley hesitated in the doorway before she finally came scrambling to catch up.
Far too talented on those heels.
“Where are we going?” I asked, tossing a look over my shoulder.
Shouldn’t have since the sight of her nearly made me stumble.
“The store.” The roll of her eyes was so exaggerated it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck in the back of her head.
“What, you didn’t have everything you needed packed in those bags?”
“Since no one had the decency to tell me how long I was going to be here, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to need.” She was all sass and fire.
I casually strolled toward my bike while blood surged through my veins. “Seemed to me you brought enough for five weeks.”
She’d already pulled three outfits out of those bags that were enough to bring me to my knees. What more could she need?
“Oh, I forgot my vibrator.” It was a blatant taunt, and I whirled on her, getting smacked in the face by that lust-inducing scent.
What I would give to dive in and take a long, gulping drink.
A fucking masochist, I inclined her way, voice a low scrape near her ear. “You say the word, and you don’t need one.”
She floundered for one beat before she edged back and hitched a saucy grin. “Good idea. That Phoenix guy is pretty cute.”
Possession prowled around in my chest.
And did she call Phoenix cute?
Dude looked like the reaper.
“Not gonna happen.” The words were nothing but splinters and shards.
She strode forward and brushed her fingers over my chest, murmuring what amounted to a threat. “That’s right. Not with anyone.”
She kept moving for my bike.
Her ass swayed back and forth in that skirt.
Leaving a trail of fire in her wake.
Air hefted from my lungs, and I forced myself to move, catching up to her and moving to my Harley.
I looked down at the matte-black metal that was basically my throne.
The helm from where I ruled.
I never allowed anyone to ride on it with me, save for the couple of times it’d been necessary for Elena to hop on and, of course, I’d taken Kai out for a spin or two since the kid was obsessed with motorcycles. Never going more than five miles an hour around the property.
Other than that?
Never.
It sent all the wrong messages, and the last thing I needed was that kind of drama in my life.
Trevan warned I was breaking every one of my rules by bringing Brinley here.
I figured what the hell was another.
FOURTEEN
BRINLEY
My stomach took a tumble down a cliff.
I was playing with fire. I knew I was.
But after the way Silas had me last night and then again this morning? I needed to regain control. Let this smug bastard know that he didn’t get to toy with me.
Up my game and in a big way. No question, since after he’d put on that stupid cut, my brain had nearly short-circuited.
Blitzed out by a lightning strike.
Bad boys were so not my thing.
Not at all.
I mean, that was if I ever actually went on a date.
I’d dealt with enough lowlifes thanks to Dereck that I knew precisely who to stay far the hell away from.