Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
With a silent stream of curses, I got off my bike and started up the drive. She was still on the swing with her fingers laced around the thick chains and her eyes locked on mine.
I stopped at the bottom of the steps and said, “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“How’s it going?”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I know… I was going to call...”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have ended up here unannounced.” I gave her a slight shrug. “It wasn’t intentional… I was heading home, and the next thing I knew, I was on your road.”
“Funny how that happens.”
“Yeah.”
Silence settled between us, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that I’d fucked up and didn’t know how to fix it. I motioned my head towards the house. “Boys asleep?”
“They’re at their dad’s.”
“Oh, right.” I studied her for a moment, and something felt off, something more than just the fact I hadn’t called. “There a reason why you’re sitting out here all alone?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“You okay?”
“I’d be better if you were up here instead of down there.”
My boot hit the first step before I had a chance to think about what I was doing. It didn’t matter. Hell, there was no use fighting it. Whatever this thing between us was, it was already happening.
And I had a feeling it was going to change everything.
16
RAELYN
I’d had a terrible day.
It started with me being berated by Dan and ended with my mother being rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Even though she was fine, the whole thing was exhausting and emotionally draining for all of us. I’d been terrified that I was going to lose my mother, and while that wasn’t the case, it was a reminder that the time was coming when she wouldn’t be there.
That made my heart hurt.
I planned to come home and go straight to bed, but it was such a nice night, I decided to sit on the porch for a bit and decompress.
I hadn’t been sitting there long when I heard the soft rumble of a motorcycle. My heart did a little dip, and those darn little butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. It was ridiculous. I didn’t even know for sure if it was him.
And then, he drove by the house, and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. Yes. I’d only known the man for a few days, and he’d already had me feeling all the feels.
Once he came up on the porch, we started talking about nothing and everything. I told him about my mother falling, and how after an ambulance ride and X-rays and hours and hours in the ER, we found out she didn’t break her hip. I also told him about her Alzheimer’s and how days like this are becoming more and more frequent.
He listened, really listened, and I did the same when he told me about being on the road and the places he’d been. We talked about the boys, a little about Dan and CeeCee, and he told me about the club and his brothers. His entire demeanor changed when he talked about them, and he left no question that these men had meant a great deal to him.
The conversation came easy, just like it had before.
But this time, I felt like I was really starting to get to know him, and I didn’t want it to end. So, I invited him inside. I poured us both some wine, and we made ourselves comfortable on the sofa.
“So, where did you learn to ride?”
“My pop taught me. Started with me riding with him, and it didn’t take long for me to want one of my own.” He gave me a smirk. “And that’s when I got my first taste of …”
His words trailed off, and his expression changed. His eyes grew intense, and his voice was low and strained as he whispered, “You’re really something, you know that?”
That’s when I realized that the space that had been between us seconds ago was gone, and now, he was right there, inches from me. I could feel the heat radiating from his body. And I have to say, I liked it. I liked it a lot, but who wouldn’t? He was beautiful, sexy, rugged, and that salt-and-pepper beard only seemed to make him more appealing.
I’d felt attracted to men in the past. Most of the time, it was fleeting. The second they opened their mouths, and I figured out who they really were, that lustful attraction went right out of the window. If it even got that far. It was different with Walker. The attraction I felt for Walker was on a whole new level.
I actually yearned for his touch. Hell, I didn’t know what yearning was until he stepped up on my porch in that fitted t-shirt and those penetrating eyes. It was crazy. I thought I’d never feel anything close to this again. I’d been too hurt, too betrayed, to open myself up to anyone.