Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Marathon runners… Olympic swimmers… Tennis players…
The variety of athletes she worked with was endless.
She loved what she did, she just hated where she did it. She had to tell herself on the daily to stick it out and do her time so she could land the job she really wanted.
Her ultimate goal? Being a sports physical therapist for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And if she couldn’t land a position with the popular NFL team, she’d take a spot with the Pirates baseball team. Or the Penguins NHL team. Any of those professional teams located in her favorite city.
That was the whole reason she had moved down to this area. Plus, there wasn’t an overabundance of need for what she did up in Manning Grove.
The deep, throaty sound of straight exhaust pipes had her head automatically twisting in that direction. It was a familiar sound since, unofficially, she was a part of the Blood Fury MC.
Claimed, more like it. And only because her mother fell head over heels in love with a Fury member.
“Holy shit,” slipped from her lips as she recognized the biker getting off the Harley.
She spun on the picnic bench until her back was to him. She wasn’t sure if he’d recognize her, but she wasn’t taking that risk.
She had no desire to talk to him.
Enough had been said five years ago. And she wasn’t in the mood to rehash that tonight.
Or ever.
All she wanted to do was enjoy her damn burger and fries. The problem was, if he spotted her, she might not be able to do that.
She peeked over her shoulder to see where he went.
To order at the take-out window, of course, you dolt. Why else would he come to the burger joint?
However, she ate here often and never once had she spotted Romeo doing the same.
Had she seen members of the Dirty Angels here? All the time.
The Blue Avengers? Absolutely.
But the Dark Knights? For some reason, never. So, she believed it was safe.
She guessed there was a first time for everything. Except, if she had to run into a Knight, she only wished it wasn’t this one in particular.
She figured she was bound to run into him one day since she worked and lived on the border of the Knights’ territory. Yet, she somehow managed to avoid it in the last year and a half.
Apparently, tonight her luck had run out.
If she didn’t breathe, didn’t say a word, didn’t look in his direction or make eye contact, he might not even notice her. Once he left, she could go back to enjoying her burger along with her much-needed peace and quiet.
She’d rather deal with a cold burger than a hot biker. The problem being, the one ordering take-out was a womanizer. One who acted like women were only good for one thing. Or a couple things, depending on her skill set.
Five years ago, her skills were limited.
She had wanted to expand them. She simply picked the wrong man to do it with. She should’ve waited for someone she cared about. And one who cared about her.
Her mistake.
But making mistakes were a way to learn and grow. And that was how she used that experience.
The biggest lesson she learned was, selfish, misogynistic bikers—cocky enough to think the sun both rose and set in themselves—were not for her.
Over the years, she also grew into her sexuality.
Had Romeo broken the seal for her? Sure.
Did he take advantage of her?
She sighed. Maybe, maybe not. He saw an opportunity, the same as she did, and he jumped on it, as did she.
Truthfully, she really had no one to blame but herself. But that didn’t mean Romeo was a mistake she ever wanted to repeat.
Live and learn.
To avoid him noticing her, she sat perfectly still with her ears open, and her eyes averted.
I’m invisible.
Hopefully, he’ll concentrate on his meal and shoving it down his gullet before it gets cold.
She mourned the fact that her meal was doing just that as she waited for him to leave.
Her spine stiffened and her teeth clenched as she heard the distinct crunch of stone under heavy biker boots heading her way.
The picnic table actually shook slightly when the person she was hiding from in plain sight sat down. Her ears picked up the crinkle of the paper as he unwrapped his burger.
Holy shit. Who would’ve thought that imagining herself invisible didn’t work?
She pulled in a breath, braced, and turned to face him, only to find him staring at her as he chewed.
After swallowing the bite, he made the straw squeak obnoxiously against the flimsy plastic lid by sliding it up and down several times, Unfortunately, the steady rhythm of the annoying sound reminded her of sex.
“Fuck, that shit’s good,” came out on the heels of a satisfied sigh after chasing his bite of hamburger with a long sip of the freshly squeezed lemonade.