Sense her spirit pulsing in little sparks that rippled through the dense, dank air.
Pinpricks prodded at my flesh.
Might have already known she was going to be there, but I looked anyway.
Taking her in as she weaved through the brimming crowd.
Bold but shy.
Confident but delicate.
Eden wore a black Absolution tank that served as our uniform, the thin material stretched tight over her slender curves, these sexy as fuck super short leather shorts that showed off her dancer’s legs, and a pair of over the knee high-heeled boots.
She’d look so fuckin’ good on the back of my bike.
Jolted at that. Struck by my stupidity. By this want I couldn’t shake.
I couldn’t go there.
I’d touch her. She’d let me. I knew she would. But she’d hate me in the end, no question about that. I’d taint her. Soil her. But God knew I was itching to get dirty.
Swore, I was a twisted fuck. Salivating at the mouth to tear into something sweet.
That thirst only intensified as she followed Leann over to our table, autumn eyes catching mine for one heated beat before she straightened and put on a professional face.
Considering we were at a biker bar, that only made her seem even more out of place.
All prickly and cute and making my dick twitch all over again.
“Why, hello there…if it isn’t my two favorite Lawsons,” Leann drawled in her southern accent.
She was so full of shit. Girl nearly creamed herself on the rare occasion that Logan made his way into the bar.
“Aww…now don’t go making me blush, darlin’,” Jud goaded her because he knew it, too.
I held my laughter.
Dude loved to mess with her.
She’d moved to California from Mississippi with the hopes of finding fame in Los Angeles. Apparently, it hadn’t panned out, and she’d found herself in Redemption Hills with the rest of us outcasts instead.
“Are you doing good?” Jud asked, sincere this time.
“I am now that you’re here.”
Jud grinned. “Charmer.”
“Only for you.” She touched his shoulder.
The girl definitely knew how to work a crowd. But she was sweet as hell and a good server, too, and she’d become a huge asset to the bar.
She gestured to Eden at her side, like I hadn’t noticed her standing there.
Nerves rode out on Eden’s warmth.
Girl tiptoeing, too.
“This is Eden, and she’s brand new here and helpin’ me out tonight,” Leann said.
Wasn’t a man to miss an opportunity, so I swung my attention to Eden, which didn’t take a whole lot of effort considering I kept sight on her from the corner of my eye, unable to focus anywhere else but on the girl who’d stolen every sense.
All trembling fierceness. Stark, gutting beauty.
Her attention jumped between Jud and me. Surprise before some kind of affected amusement played through her features, clearly coming to the realization that Jud and I were brothers.
She lifted her hand in a dainty wave. “Hello.”
Jud sat back farther in the booth. His eyes raked her like he was contemplating all the things he might do to that body. “Sure good to meet you, Eden. I’m Jud. This one’s brother.”
Rage flared.
The irrational kind.
Because right then, I wanted to beat my brother’s ass for no other reason than he was eye-fucking the girl.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jud.”
“Why don’t you take this one? I think you’re ready,” Leann suggested, stepping back so Eden could take the lead.
It was basically the last test for a new server before they were let loose—serving me so I could judge if they were ready or if they weren’t going to work out at all.
I was in tune with my bar to know well enough Eden was handling it just fine, but still, she inhaled like she was preparing to run a race when she took a confident step forward.
Energy surged.
Could feel her heart beating manic in the space.
I attempted to swallow around the rocks in my throat. To sit still around this feeling in my gut that churned every time she got close.
I fisted my hands under the table, trying to keep it cool when she cast a timid glance at me before she lifted her head and cleared her throat. The way that pink tongue darted out to wet her lips nearly drove me crazy. “Welcome to Absolution. What can I get started for you tonight?”
“You have any suggestions?” Jud, the asshole.
“What do you like?” She angled her head. “You look like a beer guy to me.”
Jud laughed. “I think you’re on to me.”
“I think I might be.” Eden was all smiles. A tempting, tantalizing tease.
I itched.
She glanced my way like she was looking to see if she was doing it right.
Only we got locked there, girl staring and me staring right back.
That strange energy she emitted zapping me like a shock.
Finally, she jerked, clearing the roughness from her throat again, and turned back to Jud. She started to list off the beers we had on tap like she’d just spent the last five days cramming for a test.
Apparently, she and my son really would get along.
Jud picked his brew, and then she was turning that attention on me, her nerves firing all over the place, but she still had that sweet softness in her eyes. That thing that clearly neither of us understood. “And what can I get for you, Sir?”
Had to grit the words around the need. “Sage knows what I like.”
“But I don’t.” Her voice was doing that wispy, seductive thing, and…fuck, I wanted to fuck her.
It was true.
I wanted to strip her down and lay her out.
I forced a smirk. “Well, then, Miss Murphy, there’s a bottle of Macallan back there with my name on it. Like it neat.”
Warm, like those eyes. Like that mouth. Almost as good as I knew she would taste.
“Okay.” It was a breath. Like she was committing it to memory. This girl doing her best to sink right in.
“Would either of you like to see a food menu?” she asked, glancing between me and my brother.
“Right here, gorgeous.” Jud’s deep voice bolted through the connection. “This boy’s starvin’.”
She sent him a tender smile.
Stomach fisting, I drummed my fingertips on the table.
“Well, we can’t have that now, can we? I’ll be right back with your drinks and a menu so we can get you fed.”
“That’d be perfect, gorgeous,” Jud told her.
She smiled in relief, like she knew she was in the win before she glanced at Leann.
“That was good, sweetie. I think you’re ready to tackle the place.”
Eden gave a little nod of appreciation before she started to duck out, though she slowed when her gaze washed over me as she went.
Shy, sweet, curious.
Fuck me.
Something had shifted between us over the last week. This understanding. Like the girl got me. Saw me in a way she shouldn’t. Got the sense that maybe I was seeing her, too. That quiet ferocity that kept getting jammed with the sorrow that would swim through her eyes.
Or maybe it’d just been there all along and it was getting harder to ignore.
It was something I knew better than to entertain. Wanting to dig inside and discover who she was all while imprinting myself on that body.