Wild Ride (Wind Dragons MC #4.5)
Chantal Fernando
To the best agent in the world, Kimberly Brower.
Thank you for pushing me to be my best.
I appreciate you and everything you do.
It’s our actions that define us. What we choose. What we resist. What we’re willing to die for.
—Karen Marie Moning, Bloodfever
PROLOGUE
Tia
I WASH my hands in the bathroom sink and glance up at the mirror, taking in my reflection. My makeup is holding pretty damn well, not a smudge in sight. I turn my face from left to right, purse my lips, and nod my head in a way that means Not bad at all. Leaving the ladies’ room, I’m looking down into my handbag when I bump into someone—someone with a rock-hard stomach that almost sends me flying to the ground. Talon grips my arm, saving me from a fall, then pulls me against him. “Just how drunk are you?”
“Not very,” I lie, tilting my head to the side and studying him. I’ve only just met this man, but the second our eyes connected, I felt something. What, I don’t know, but something. “Why? That’s usually the question a decent man asks before he kisses her.”
Talon’s green eyes dance with humor. “Is that right? I wouldn’t know.”
“What do you mean, you wouldn’t know?” I ask, my forehead furrowing.
He leans closer, pushing my hair off my neck, and says into my ear, “I’m not a decent man.”
I place my hand on his chest and push gently, raising an eyebrow at him. “Why don’t I think that’s true?”
“Because you don’t know me,” he replies, cupping my cheek with his hand. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”
“I do okay.” I breathe, getting lost in his eyes’ green depths.
He smiles slowly, and it hits me right in the gut. My gaze lowers to his lips, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from tasting them. “You’re just my type, you know that?”
“A criminal?”
I roll my eyes. “Give me some credit. I mean, in looks. And if Bailey is friends with you, you can’t be that bad.”
Something passes over his face, but he quickly hides it. This man makes me very curious. He’s a biker, he’s a badass . . . but why do I feel like there’s something more there?
“Bailey has bad taste. . . . Just look at Rake,” Talon fires back, grinning at his own joke.
“Yeah, but look at me,” I counter. “She definitely has good taste in friends.”
“I can see that,” he says, dropping his hand. “We should go back to the table before they start wondering where we are.”
“Is Slice going to wonder where you are?” I tease, nudging him softly, my head spinning a little. “I like being a little tipsy sometimes. Not all the time. Just every now and again. It’s like there’s no stress or problems in the world for a few hours. I don’t have to adult. Tomorrow, I have to adult, but not tonight.”
“Being an adult is pretty f*ckin’ overrated,” Talon agrees, pushing my hair behind my ear. “You gotta find happiness in the small things, I guess.”
I nod and say, “I never thought this is how my life would turn out.” I pause. “In both good and bad ways.”
“This is getting deep,” he muses, looking toward the hallway and then back at me. Catching him off guard, I rise up on my tiptoes and press my lips against his. He resists at first, frozen in place, but soon he kisses me back, bringing me up against his body, his hand moving to the nape of my neck. The kiss deepens, his tongue finding mine, and I moan at the sensation. My hand on his chest, I can feel my head getting lighter, and not from the alcohol. I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on from just a kiss in my life. My nipples press against his chest, begging for attention. I wonder if he can feel them too. He sucks on my bottom lip, pulls back, and kisses me once more before fully retreating.
“Fuck,” he whispers, licking his lips. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
“Why not?” I ask, wishing he’d stop thinking and just put his lips back on mine. “Talon . . .”
He nods his head down the hallway. “Go, Tia. I’ll follow you to the table in a second.”
I open my mouth to object, but he gives me a look that says he isn’t in the mood to negotiate. I might find it hard to take no for an answer, but I do have my pride, so I turn and return to the table without another word, without looking back, even though I want to. And when he rejoins the table, I act like nothing happened.
Like he didn’t just give me the best kiss of my life.
Because if he wasn’t affected, what did it matter?
CHAPTER ONE
Talon
I CAN’T take my eyes off her.
It’s a pretty f*cked-up thing, really. I kissed her best friend and even though it didn’t really mean anything, I know that it’s not working in my favor. In fact, there’s pretty much nothing going in my favor right now.
I’m the president of the Wild Men MC, a club with a history I’m not exactly proud of. I told myself that when I took over, things would change, and I’ve tried my hardest to make that a reality. The old club president was my stepfather, who happened to be the biological father of one of the members of a rival MC. When Rake found out the truth of the situation, shit didn’t go over well. My stepfather raised me instead of him and his sister—something I always felt guilty over, especially after meeting Rake’s sister, Anna. I promised myself that I’d try to make up for it, that I’d always be there for her, and so far I’ve kept my promise. She’s like a sister to me now.