I gave him a small smile as he opened the gate enough to let me through. “The man you’re looking for is down the path. You’ll see the house.”
I nodded and thanked him as I scuffled along the dirt road, nearly tripping as I tried to get away from him as fast as possible. A few minutes later the house came to view. It was an old house, completely off the grid. As I approached, the screen door slammed shut and he stepped out.
His blue plaid shirt was open, he used the hem of it to wipe at his forehead. I simply stood there gawking at his rippling muscles, completely forgetting the English language and all the letters that made up the word, hello. He hadn’t seen me yet, and I didn’t know where to even begin.
My loins became complete traitors as I walked up to him. He was bathed in sunlight, his eyes closed as he puffed on a cigar. His chest sweaty from the heat and exertion of having done hard labor in the sun all day. His shirt flapped open as a gust of wind swept through and I swallowed...hard. The man exuded hot primal sex, and even though I came determined to keep my distance, I still yearned to feel the heat of him pressed against me again. I may have been innocent, but all these years of no contact with the world, least of all a man, were finally catching up to me. And they all came in the form of a gorgeous, dangerous biker.
Clearing my throat, I walked up the expanse of the path and headed towards the front porch. He tilted forward in his chair, the legs hammering down on the wooden patio floor with a loud thud. It took him a second to recognize me, and as he squinted against the sun, he gave me that sexy side smile of his and watched me carefully as I approached him.
“Well if it ain’t the innocent returning to purgatory. Tell me, baby girl, did you make it out of hell alright?”
“Very funny,” I rolled my eyes, but I had to admit he was dead on. Being in Bloody Scorpions territory was just like I was trapped in some sort of hell.
“I see your brother let the pretty bird out of her cage.”
“The pretty bird escaped,” I stated as I approached the top of the stairs.
He stood up, looking angry as he came towards me. “And what? She decided to come hide behind enemy lines once and for all?”
I wasn’t sure why he was so angry, but something I said must have ticked him off. “Should I leave?”
“You know, pretty birds like you get eaten alive out here. And I love to eat the pretty ones. All slow-like.” He leaned into me, grabbing a strand of my hair and curling it around his finger. “Taking my time as I run my tongue along their pretty pu-”
“Is that what you truly want? Because if that’s the only thing you’re looking for then I might as well go.”
He narrowed his eyes on me as he took another puff of his cigar. “How did you find me?”
“I went to the shop and didn’t find you. Your employees told me I could find you here.”
“Stupid,” he muttered to himself before directing himself once again to me. “You realize what it means for you to come out here?”
He grabbed me by the arm and swirled me around towards a camera, hidden in the trees. “See that? There are dozens of them everywhere. Your pretty hyde has now been seen by the entirety of the Royal Bastards. And who do you think will get questioned?”
“I didn’t think…”
“No, you didn’t. You just came all the way out here to prove your point.”
He was being defensive, and he was confusing me. I wasn’t sure how to feel at the moment, but I sure wasn’t expecting his hostility. “I came about the truck. You told me the other night...”
“I told you a lot of things the other night. Saw things I haven’t seen in years. Things that make a man crave what he cannot have.” His eyes roamed my body, making me instantly heat up. “Things I won’t forget anytime soon.”
I shuffled nervously. “I just came to…”
“To what?” He smiled and set his cigar down on the ledge of the wrap around fence. He leaned against the pillar by the top step and stared at me. Those steel blue eyes squinted at me as the rays of sun hit his chest just right. Highlighting every chiseled ripple that lined his torso. I wanted to run my tongue along each defined muscle until I could hear that subtle groan of satisfaction that I’d tear out of his throat.
“I just came to get the truck.”
“Your truck ain’t ready yet.”
I took a quick glance around me, feeling slightly uncomfortable now that I realized where I was standing. For the first time in his presence, I didn’t feel safe.
“I think I’m just gonna go.”
“And how do you think you’re gonna get back?”
“I’ll hitch hike,” I snapped at him as I made my way down the dirt path. I heard his footsteps behind me.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You clearly don’t want me here. And you clearly are out to manipulate me. How could I have trusted you. So stupid! My mother had warned me about men like you. “Cuidado niña,” she’d said. “No confíes. Te van a romper el corazón.”
I was talking in Spanish when he chuckled. “Do you always go off on tangents in other languages when you’re mad?”
“No. Only around you.”
He grabbed my arm and swung me around, holding me against him. “Well it’s fucking hot,” his voice was smooth like honey that dripped off his tongue and rolled onto me.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“I have to be back at the church in an hour,” I whispered as his sweat ruined my dress.
“That’s plenty of time for what I have in mind.”
He grabbed my hand and tugged me back towards the house. “Where are you taking me?”
He looked back at me; a dark look that let me know not to say another word. I quietly let him lead me to the side of the house. Diego’s truck loomed in the distance.
“I want you to see something,” he dragged me toward the hood of the car, reached in and handed me a bunch of wires. I stared down at them and then at him, not having a clue as to what he was handing to me.
“What are they?”
“They’re your brake lines. You see this?” He pointed to the edges of the wires where it looked like they had been burned off and shredded. “This isn’t normal.”
He ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair and frowned. “Are you sure no one was aware of you sneaking out?”
“No, of course not. We were always very careful. I trusted Diego. He wouldn’t tell a soul.”
“How are you so sure?”
I thought back at what I did to get out of my confines. “Because if he did tell, then I would let my brother know what he made me do to him just to be released. He’d torture Diego and then kill him. Me. He needs me alive.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “Did he force himself on you?”
I gave out a small laugh. “No. But it doesn’t go without saying that other things ensued between us.”
“He used you?”
“For lack of a better word. But then again, I’m no Saint. We used each other. That is why I know this wasn’t him.”
“Well if it wasn’t meant for you, it was meant for him.”