Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
He smirked. “I think that’s a given, based on what I just said and how I’ve been acting. You know that.”
I swallowed, feeling a lump there. My voice dropped low. “I wasn’t aware that this wasn’t a usual occurrence for you.”
I felt like a schoolgirl here.
“I’ve laid claim to you,” Shane said. “In our world, that means a lot. But I meant what I said this morning.” His eyes looked through me, slipping right through any walls I had. “Your heart—I’m aware you hold it precious. But babe, it means something to me what we did this morning. What we’ve been doing the last few days.”
Oh.
Wow.
That wall he referred to? It wasn’t as thick as it used to be, but I didn’t know if I dared share that. Not yet. It’d be giving too much away.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
He was still studying me, seeming to know my insides better than I did.
I squirmed in bed, stretching and letting out another yawn. “I’m thinking I like you.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe a whole lot.”
He gave me a searing stare. “Same, Kali. Same.”
My phone rang, and he glanced at it. “It’s your friend again, but what I was starting to say is that no matter where you go tonight, we go too. You want to grab a pizza and movie in their hotel room? Fine with us, but we’ll be close by. Parking lot. I might stick Roadie to hang out in the end of your hallway, but hotel or grabbing a beer at Manny’s, either works for us. You do what you want. These are your friends, your time to catch up. Sounds like a lot of drama needs to be shared, and I get that.”
The phone kept ringing.
We ignored it.
“The owner’s husband. Is that history I need to know about?”
He shook his head. “Nope. In the past. We picked guys who wouldn’t be recognized, if that’s your worry. He don’t know me. I don’t know him. That’s just club business, and with our club, that’s going to happen in a whole lot of places. It has nothing to do with you, or even me, really.”
That didn’t quite make sense, but I was getting how the club was its own entity.
The phone stopped ringing.
A beat later, it started again.
Shane waited for me.
I gave him a nod, and he reached over giving me the phone.
I hit accept. “Hey, I’ll meet you at Manny’s. I want to meet this man of yours in a more official capacity.”
I hit call on my phone.
“Daughter! It’s been forever. Felt like a year. You alive? Married? Pregnant? You better not be any of those, by the way. Not without your pop’s blessing. So. Tell the haps. What’s going on out in Cal-i-for-nia?”
“Aly’s got a man.”
“Aly’s got a whattie?”
“A man.”
“His name isn’t JustinBanana, is it?”
“His name is Brandon.”
“Whooee. A Brandon. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Brandon. Stevie’s here. Hold on…. STEVIE!”
From his end, “WHAT?!”
“YOU EVER MET A BRANDON IN YOUR LIFE?”
“WHO?”
“BRAN-DON. BRANDON. LIKE LONDON, BUT WITH A BRA INSTEAD. LIKE THE FEMALES WEAR.”
Silence. Then, “Nah. I’ve never met a Brandon. Met a Caden one time. It was the most hipster name I’d ever met in my life. I thought he was going to challenge me to a smoke-off, on the account that I like my cigarettes and he was smoking one too, but not what I was smoking. You get my drift?” He dissolved into laughter. “Oh, and he was a white boy too. I kinda wished I’d hung out with him more. He seemed real cool.”
My dad coughed into the phone. “Nope. He never met a Brandon either.”
33
KALI
We were leaving the room when another Harley pulled into the lot, coming to park on the end by Corvette’s bike. It was the guy who’d come to our room back at the barn, and as he got off his bike and came over to greet Shane, I noticed that they were close.
I hadn’t paid much attention back at the apartment. I went into the bathroom to try to do some damage control on my hair. But now was different. So different.
First off, this guy was gorgeous. Beautiful long, dark hair that hung free, past his shoulders. High forehead and cheekbones that were kinda set low, but rounded out his face. His jawline was strong, prominent, and those eyes were dark, intense. He was tall, maybe an inch shorter than Shane, and wiry.
He went straight to Shane and the two hugged. Not a manly hug, just a full-on hug.
The guy was smiling when he stepped back, and that transformed his face, making him a little blinding to look at.
Corvette was good-looking in a rough and gruff manner. Roadie had a pretty boy feel to him, mixed with a flirty and sly vibe, but this guy was almost on Shane’s level. Almost.