Wild Ride (Wind Dragons MC #4.5)(3)

My lip twitches in amusement. One thing I’ve learned about Tia in the short time I’ve spent with her is that she has a good sense of humor.

“And how’s that going for you?”

“What?”

“Being social,” I say, my gaze lowering to her slender neck. She’s wearing a sexy baby-blue suede choker that’s a mix of sweet and sensual. I find myself wanting to gently put my hand on her throat and trail my fingers down her body until I reach the valley in between her breasts.

“It’s kind of nice to get out,” she admits, and my eyes snap back up to her face. She grins, as if she knows exactly what I was thinking. She takes a step closer to me and looks me dead in the eye. I know grown men who are too afraid to do that. “I like Knox’s Tavern. You always see a friendly face, and Reid, Ryan, Summer, and Tag are awesome people.”

“You look stunning without makeup,” I blurt out, taking in her flawless skin and long lashes. She really is a true f*ckin’ beauty, and she doesn’t need any of that shit on her face.

“I look stunning with it too,” she fires back, grinning.

“You do,” I agree, mainly because I’m not an idiot.

She flashes me another smile, then says, “Nice to see you again, Talon.”

She gets up on her tiptoes and kisses me on my cheek, then walks back into the bar without looking back. I touch my cheek with my fingers, wondering what it would be like to feel those lips on every part of my body. Just then my phone beeps with a text, bringing me back to reality. It’s from Ranger.

Need you at the clubhouse, now.

I shove my phone back into my pocket and get on my bike. What the hell is going on? Lately it’s been one issue after another.

I ride back to the Wild Men clubhouse and rush inside, looking around for Ranger. I find him with his hand around Lash’s throat, just as Slice, my second-in-command, beats me to tearing the two of them apart. Slice is one of the very few men, along with Ranger, I trust implicitly. We’ve been through a lot together and always have each other’s backs.

“What the f*ck is going on here?” I ask, looking between the two men. Ranger hardly ever loses his temper, so the fact he’s about to choke Lash out says a hell of a lot. Slice finally gets Ranger to let go, and Lash falls to the ground, clutching his throat and gasping for air. Ranger turns to me, chest heaving and eyes narrowed. “This shit is getting f*ckin’ tiring.” With that parting comment, he storms off. Losing my temper, I pull Lash up from the ground and slam him against the wall. “What the f*ck was that about?”

“Nothing,” Lash says, avoiding my gaze. The men won’t snitch on each other and I know it—I even respect it—but it f*ckin’ pisses me off sometimes. I let go of Lash, who looks between me and Slice, then leaves the room.

“What were they fighting over? Any idea?” I ask him, staring at the spot Lash just vacated.

Slice shrugs, shaking his head. “Nope, but we’ll find out.”

I grit my teeth, knowing that this is going to play on my mind until I figure out what happened.

“This is a biker clubhouse, Talon, not a f*ckin’ country club. Fights will happen; don’t stress over it. They’ll sort it out between them.”

I take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling. “Yeah, you’re right.”

I don’t know why, but I just have this feeling. A bad one. Like everything is about to come crashing down on us.

Something has changed around here, and I’m going to find out exactly what it is.





CHAPTER TWO




Tia

WHEN I get home from the bar, my mind is still on Talon. It’s extremely frustrating to feel something for someone, not just lust and infatuation, something else, and have the man in question not make a single move, especially when I know he’s interested. I see the way he looks at me, and that’s not my being conceited or whatever. I can sense that he finds me attractive; it’s all in his body language. Men aren’t hard to read, and all I get from Talon is that he wants me, but he doesn’t want to. The question is, why? I don’t think I’ve ever thought about a man so much, and I don’t even know what it is about him.

For a while I told myself I wanted him only because I couldn’t have him, but I don’t think that’s the case. I just want him. And the want isn’t going away.

Since my ex, Oliver, I’ve been a little detached with men. I’ve never allowed myself to get close to any particular one, and even though it sounds bad, they were always replaceable. But it’s different with Talon, and I can’t explain why. What draws me to him? Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Something inside of me recognizes something inside of him—that’s the only way I can think to explain it. If there were a million good-looking men in a room, I’d still run to him.

He calls to me.

“How was your night?” Bailey whispers, looking up from the TV as I walk into the living room. Rhett and Cara are fast asleep on the couch next to her.

“Good,” I say quietly, sitting down by Rhett’s feet. “Just had dinner with Sarah, and then a few drinks at Knox’s Tavern.” I pause and look at my best friend. “Talon was there.”

Her brows lift. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I say, pulling some of the blanket onto my lap. “I just went and said hello, we chatted for a few minutes and then he left.”