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)
She forgot the deep and rich tone of his voice.
She forgot how he smelled. A mix of warm leather, exhaust, and a hint of some sort of cologne. Not overbearing, unlike his personality.
She certainly forgot how intense the man sitting across from her could get.
“And you are?” she asked smartly.
He snorted, shook his head, and took another massive bite out of his burger. Maddie watched his tongue jut out to capture the juices running down his fingers.
She quickly grabbed a napkin from her small pile and tossed it in his direction, even though it was too late. Instead of the temperature dropping as the night got later, watching what he did with his tongue suddenly made it heat up.
It became uncomfortably warm.
It had to be her hormones, even though she was way too young to be having a hot flash. “What are you doing here, Romeo?”
His burger was temporarily forgotten in his fingers when he said, “Funny, was gonna ask you the same thing.”
“I’m here having dinner.”
He lifted his burger. “Same.”
“I was looking for peace and quiet.”
He shrugged and repeated, “Same.”
“I never saw you here before.”
A grin flirted with his full lips. “Same.”
“I’m surprised you remember me.” She glared at him while warning, “Don’t you dare say ‘same.’”
“Hard to forget someone who gave up—”
She raised her hand to stop him. “Don’t.”
He put his burger down, took another long sip of his sweet drink, popped four fries into his mouth and chewed as he asked, “What’re you doin’ here, Maddie?”
She swept a hand over her own half-eaten burger and barely touched fries. “Eating my dinner. I thought that was obvious.”
“Know what I meant. What are you doin’ here?”
“I live here. Well, not here,” she pointed at the ground, “but near here.”
His head twitched. “Since when?”
“Since I packed up my car and drove down here.”
His nostrils flared and his lips pressed together. “Ain’t an answer.”
“It was but you just didn’t like it.”
“No one told me you were livin’ down here.”
“I didn’t know you had signed up for the email notifications. Did you check your spam folder?”
When he continued, she couldn’t tell whether her comment went over his head or if he chose to ignore it. “Last I fuckin’ checked, you’re part of a club the Knights got an alliance with. A heads up woulda been nice so we could keep an eye on you.”
“Well, see, that might be the issue… I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me.”
He didn’t appear convinced. “The DAMC don’t know you’re livin’ down here?”
“They do, but not because they were given a heads up. It’s only because I run into them on a regular basis.” If they had been given a heads up, no one mentioned it to her.
His brow furrowed so deeply, it reminded her of the Grand Canyon. “You hangin’ with them?”
She easily read into that question. He wasn’t asking if she spent time with the Angels, he was asking if she was hooking up with any of them.
Truthfully, whether she was or wasn’t, wasn’t any of his business. However, she had learned over the years how damn stubborn these bikers could be. If she didn’t give him a decent answer, he wouldn’t quit prodding until he got one that he considered satisfactory.
Maybe if she gave him that, he’d move along sooner than later. “I occasionally grab a drink at the Iron Horse. But I don’t hang with them. I have no desire to be an ol’ lady or… whatever.”
That “whatever” covered everything a woman could be within an MC. Everything but a member. Because, shudder, equal rights were scary to big, badass bikers.
Well, except for the Blue Avengers. As far as she knew, they now had at least two female members, but the BAMC was more of a riding club than a whole damn lifestyle.
She studied the man across the picnic table from her. Being a biker defined him. It was who and what he was and always would be.
Like the Mafia, getting in or getting out of an MC wasn’t so easy. But unlike the Mafia, you didn’t need to die to get free.
Usually.
Despite not wanting that life for herself, she loved everyone in the Blood Fury MC. They were truly family and had fully embraced Maddie, her mother, and her younger sister. The members, their ol’ ladies and possibly even some of the sweet butts, would do anything for her. She also wouldn’t hesitate to do the same for them.
Truthfully, they were the most loyal people she knew.
When Shade and her mother found each other…
She closed her eyes.
One day she hoped to find a love like they had. A partner totally dedicated to her. As she would be to him.
Yes, that was what she wished for, not someone who stuck his dick into any welcoming hole.
Romeo lived life as if he had to hit a certain number of notches on his bedpost before time ran out. Like it was a race to the grave.