Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
My pulse raced as I stepped closer. He steadied me when I wobbled a little, the bike shifting beneath me. His grip didn’t waver until I found the right balance.
“Feet on the pegs,” he instructed. “It’ll keep your legs away from the exhaust pipes.”
I nodded and set my feet where he pointed. “Okay, I think I’m good.”
“Not yet.”
Before I could ask what he meant, his hand reached back and pressed against my hip to pull me closer until my chest was flush with his back. Then he took my wrist and moved my hand around his chest.
“Hold on with both arms.”
I wrapped myself around him, enjoying it so much that fear never even crossed my mind when the engine roared to life and we pulled away from the curb.
The ride didn’t take long, and I clung to Kevlar the entire way. When he finally slowed and pulled up to a tall electric fence surrounding a huge property, I blinked in surprise.
I hadn’t even realized I’d driven past the Hounds of Hellfire compound before. It was well hidden despite its size. The majority of people in Riverstone didn’t know where it was, and their reputation kept locals from asking or trying to find it. Partly out of fear, but mostly, nobody wanted to piss them off and lose their protection. Everyone knew the only people who went through their gates were invited, and I never imagined I’d be driven in on the back of a member’s motorcycle.
A man wearing a leather vest with the same logo as Kevlar’s stepped out of the guard shack, lifted a hand in greeting, and pressed a button to let us through, all without needing Kevlar to say a word.
We parked in front of a large building, and he shut down the bike. After he put the kickstand down, he gestured for me to get off—holding out his hand to keep me steady—so I scooted back and swung my leg over. Then he did the same, but in a much smoother motion because his knees weren’t wobbly like mine.
I stared up at him while he unbuckled the helmet, sliding it off with a gentleness that made my breath catch. He hung it back on the handlebars and took my purse out of the saddlebag to hand it to me. Wrapping his fingers around my wrist again, he guided me toward the entrance.
I’d always wondered what the inside of an MC clubhouse looked like, but walking in beside Kevlar overshadowed every bit of that curiosity.
He pushed open the door and led me inside without loosening his grip. Considering it was just after two in the morning, I was surprised to see a couple of guys in the lounge area, both sitting on stools at the long bar stretched along a wall. Their gazes flicked from me to Kevlar and back again before they lifted their chins in greeting.
Instead of stopping to sit on one of the black leather couches, he walked me past everything to a staircase. We didn’t stop until we got to the top and walked down a hallway. Then he paused at a door and unlocked it.
I followed him inside, and he nudged the door shut behind us. I looked around while he shrugged off his leather vest to hang it over the arm of a chair in the corner of the room. When he sat and began to unlace his boots, I realized we were in his room.
Kevlar didn’t say anything before he kicked them off with a thud and reached for the hem of his shirt, dragging it over his head in one smooth motion.
My breath caught.
His back was all muscle and dark tattoos. And when he turned, the view got even better.
“I-I don’t have to sleep in here. I mean…I can take another room, if that’s easier. I don’t want to intrude or anything.”
Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do, so I blamed his hotness for why my brain was muddled enough for me to blurt out that offer. Luckily, Kevlar didn’t take me up on it.
Instead, he shook his head and murmured, “You sleep here. With me.”
His voice was low, but it didn’t sound like there was room for argument. Not that I was going to anyway. I just whispered, “If you think that’s best.”
“I do.”
I lingered near the foot of the bed, suddenly hyperaware of the fact that I smelled like grease and coffee. “Is it okay if I take a shower?”
Kevlar stepped past me, opened a door on the right side of the room, and flicked on the light. “Go ahead.”
I hovered in the doorway for a beat before clearing my throat. “Do you have something I can wear to bed?”
He opened a dresser drawer, reached inside, pulled out a black T-shirt, and held it out to me. “This’ll do.”