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

He’s even more beautiful than I remember, but now it’s in a deadly way.

Just looking into his eyes, I can tell he lives his life in murky shades of gray.

I notice a piercing in his lip that wasn’t there before, another in his eyebrow. They both suit him. I also see tattoos peeking out from under his vest. When he was mine, his skin was ink-free.

“I’m going to get your name, right here,” he says, pointing to his heart. “I’ll get it done when we’re married.”

I place my hand where the future tattoo will go. “I like that, Adam. Maybe I’ll get your name written on my ring finger, because, unlike a ring, that can never come off.”

I close my eyes and bring myself back to the present. I never expected or wanted to see Adam again, and now that I have, I need to try to calm my emotions, keep them locked away. The past has no place in the present, or in my future. Adam and I need to stay in the past, but I know it’s not as simple as that. He was my first and only love, and that’s not something one forgets. He also hurt me more than any other person has, more than any person could. I don’t know what to say right now. I want to cry. I want to scream. I want him to hold me.

Not surprisingly, I look down to see him zipping up his jeans, and a beautiful woman curling into his side.

Women always flocked to Adam. But once upon a time, this man was mine.

My everything.

And now? Now he’s just a stranger.

I look at the woman by his side, my emotions all over the place. “I see some things don’t change.”

The air thickens, uncomfortably so, but the two of us are locked in a silent battle, having conversations with our eyes.

“Should we go into—” Lana tries to defuse the tension, but Adam cuts her off.

“Anna, you and Lana go inside. Bailey and I need to talk.”

So much has already been said between us with no words used, I wonder what he could want to actually talk about. “What about me?” his woman snaps. “I just had your dick in my mouth and now you want to talk to this bitch?”

Bitch? I was the first woman to have Adam’s cock in her mouth! I cringe at my own thoughts. I’m seriously glad no one else can hear them.

Anna grabs Lana by her arm. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

I silently plead with them to stay, but they won’t even look in my direction. Yeah, no help there. I watch them disappear into the VIP room, then send my dirtiest look in Adam’s direction, but he’s not even looking at me. He’s trying to get rid of the woman who is still pasted against him.

“Go,” he demands, tone cold. “Don’t make me have to tell you again, because I won’t be so nice the next time.”

She storms away, shaking her ass so much I’m surprised her hips don’t dislocate. She does have a nice ass though.

Bitch.

He turns to me and we continue our silent conversation. His eyes say, I can f*ck whoever I want. While mine say, Perhaps you should grow some f*cking standards.

Now that Adam and I are finally alone, I kind of wish she would come back.

Desperate times, apparently.

“Now, what the f*ck are you doing in my club?” he growls, stepping closer to me.

His club?

Shit.

“You own this club?” I ask, eyebrows rising.

How f*cking unlucky am I? Is this the only club he owns? Because that would be pretty damn unlucky. Then again, good luck and I have never really mixed. “Heartbeat” by Childish Gambino starts to play, but I can’t even enjoy the song under Adam’s intense stare.

“I do,” he replies slowly, taking me in from head to toe in a painfully slow inspection that has me feeling a little self-conscious.

“Okay,” I say, looking around. To the left, to the right. Behind him. Anywhere but into his eyes. I don’t know the man standing before me, and while a small part of me wants to run into his arms, the rest of me wants to slap him across the face.

“Who are you here with?” he asks, making my gaze reluctantly meet his once more.

“A friend,” I say.

“Where is this friend?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

I shrug, feeling a little sheepish. “Around here somewhere.”

I said I was with a friend, not a good friend. Trust me, there’s a difference.

He nods his head, his lips as tight as I’ve ever seen them. “You gonna come back here?”

I shake my head. “Definitely not.”

He scrubs a hand down his face. “Good. Unless you want to f*ck, you know, for old times’ sake?”

Is he serious right now? Did I want to f*ck for old times’ sake?

I grit my teeth and count to ten in my head. If he wants to unsettle me, he’s sure doing a good job of it.

I actually contemplate slapping him, but no, that won’t help the situation. Best not to let him know how much his words affect me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how just seeing him again makes my soul whimper in pain.

I force out a humorless laugh. “I do want to f*ck,” I say, licking my lips. His eyes widen, surprised at my words. I take a step closer. “Anyone except you, Adam.”

“It’s Rake,” he says, expression now blank. “No one calls me Adam anymore. And to tell you the truth, my name on your lips is just pissing me the f*ck off.”