Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons MC #4)(27)

“Is this a Long Island iced tea?” I ask him, taking a sip and making a face. “Do you know how much alcohol is in this?”

He nods, his dark eyes looking almost playful.

Who is this man?

“Drink as much as you want, sweetheart,” Talon declares. “I’ll get you both home safely, you have my word.”

“And untouched,” I add, staring him in the eye. It takes him a few seconds to look back at me, because he’s still staring at Tia.

“Speak for yourself,” Tia mutters under her breath, causing Slice to bark out a laugh.

“I like this woman.”

“Untouched,” Talon repeats, the threat in his voice obviously for Slice. I don’t know why, but I trust Talon. I shouldn’t, clearly. He’s a biker, and I’ve met him only once. But Arrow’s a biker. And Tracker.

And . . . Adam.

We lift our glasses, clinking them in a cheers.

*

Talon gently takes the drink out of Tia’s hand and puts it on the table. “I think you’ve had enough, Tia.”

“Says who?” Tia asks, looking around, smiling boozily when her gaze lands on me. “Do you want to do shots?”

Talon and I shake our heads at the same time. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie.”

“You’re probably right.” She sighs, looking down at her boobs and rearranging them in her bra.

“Her eyes are up there, Talon,” I tease, making Slice chuckle.

Talon sends me a Don’t you start look, then picks up his drink and takes a swallow.

“Should we head home?” I ask him. “If I drink any more, it’s not going to be pretty.”

“You’re handling it better than her,” Talon says, nodding toward Tia.

“She’s much more petite than I am,” I say, watching my best friend. “She shouldn’t drink as much as I do.”

“Excuse me,” Tia says, holding up her hands. “She is fine, I’m not drunker than your average bear.”

I start giggling, which I tend to do when I’m drunk. “Fuck, my best friend is so cute.”

Tia stands up and holds her hand out to me. “I need to pee.”

I grin and we link arms, then walk to the bathroom. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror while she does her business, I take in my flushed cheeks and glassy eyes.

Yeah, I should have stopped two cocktails ago.

My mind wanders somewhere it shouldn’t—to Rake.

What was he doing right now?

Was he alone in his bed, or was someone else lying in his sheets with him?

Tia comes out of the toilet and washes her hands as she says, “Talon is f*cking hot.”

I grin. “He is good-looking, isn’t he?”

“Delish,” she says, drying her hands, then fixing her hair. “I look like I have bed hair, sex hair, but it’s just messy drunk hair.”

I look at her and grin. “Well, drunk looks good on you.”

“Are we going home with anyone tonight?”

“No,” I say quickly, giggling. “You and I are going to spoon. No men invited.”

“But . . . Talon?”

“How about you make a decision about him another time?” I pause. “When you’re sober,” I tell her, thinking that by tomorrow she will have forgotten about him. Tia always finds men attractive but either sleeps with them and finds something wrong with them, or changes her mind about wanting them before an actual date can even happen.

“That sounds like a sober idea,” she says, pulling me to the door. “Which calls for another drink.”

She tries to drag me to the bar, but I take her in the direction of our table, where a woman has found Slice in our absence and is sitting on his lap.

I look to the bathroom. “How long were we in there?”

“Just a few minutes,” Talon says, smirking. “He works fast.”

“Hello,” I say to the woman, who just gives me a dirty look in return. “Okaaaayyy then.”

“Bitch,” Tia mutters, then looks at Talon. “I’m hungry. Should we go and eat somewhere?”

“Diner?” Talon asks, amusement etched all over his face.

“Sounds good to me,” Tia says.

“Slice, you coming or you staying?” Talon asks his friend.

Slice moves his head around the woman. “Nah, I’m heading off. You cool?”

Talon nods and stands from his seat. “Yeah, I’ll get the women home safely.”

Talon puts an arm around each of us as we walk outside.

“How are we getting home?” I ask, squinting my eyes. Talon’s been drinking, and I have to wonder how he got here in the first place.

“We’ll just get into one of those taxis,” he says, nodding to the far right of the parking lot. “I can’t be f*cked waiting for one of my men to come and get us.”

“Must be good to be king,” I tease, hiccupping. “Okay, I’m getting really hungry.”

“Me three,” Tia adds.

We get into a taxi and head for the diner, where Talon pays the taxi driver, then opens the door for us.

“I’m paying for the food, since you paid for the taxi,” I tell him.