Desire was as plain as day in his eyes.Kiss me, I pleaded silently. Somehow, he must have heard it and brought his face down to mine.And gently, he pressed his lips to mine for a flutter of a second. He pulled away and gave me his characteristic smirk.
“Let’s go inside,” he said and dropped my chin. His hand snaked down my waist and grabbed a handful of my ass. “Otherwise, we won’t get to drink at all tonight.”
Taking my hand, he led me inside. Crush was an intimidating enough person to allow us easy passage right up to the long wooden bar. We snagged two beat-to-shit stools, the red pleather duct-taped in areas as we sat down. There was only one bartender, and it was decently packed for an early Tuesday night. But nevertheless, he produced our drinks in no time flat.
A sidecar for Crush and a Jack and coke for me. I didn’t miss the way his eyebrows met his red hair in shock. I took a sip from the drink, appreciating the smooth burn. He looked at me in a way that lit a fire deep in my belly. Normal Brianna would shy away. But tonight, I wassorority-party-girlBrianna. And she didn’t shy away from anything.
So we flirted and talked a bit, and after a second drink, I dropped the act. I was attracted to Crush in every way possible. He was handsome and funny. Despite his tough exterior, he was genuine and…soft. Like a teddy bear. You know, if the teddy bear had been wearing studded armor and spikes. But a teddy bear, nonetheless.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Crush asked.
He was still nursing his first drink when I had polished off my second. The alcohol felt good, and it put me at ease. I stood up from the barstool, my legs almost buckling. Like before, Crush swooped in and caught me, holding me upright. I hadn’t drank hard like this in years. I was a total…lightweight.
“Haven’t drank in a few years,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Let’s take a walk,” Crush smiled. “Get you some fresh air. How’s Fremont Street?”
I shook my head, “No. Let’s go east. It’s quieter there.”
Crush seemed to mull it over in his mind. He was still holding me up, his large forearms dwarfing my already slender frame. Slamming back the rest of his drink, Crush stood up to join me. I was practically leaning on him, but I was having legitimatefun. He just had a way about him that couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
“It’s more dangerous over east sweetheart,” he said, looking down at me.
“I don’t think anyone’s gonna fuck with you,” I replied.
He chuckled and nodded. Crush led me out the door and into the fresh air, his hand never leaving the small of my back. There was a new gait to his walk, like he was proud. And I didn’t miss the dirty looks he was sending to anyone who was male that had spent a little too much time looking at me.
I realized then that he liked to showcase what was his. And tonight, it wasme. The thought of belonging to Crush didn’t strike me as patronizing as I expected. There was something about it that made it seem natural. Belonging to a biker in such a way was protection. It felt…secure.
It simply felt right.
Crush
The night was warm, and the sun was still out, making its way to the horizon line. But it wasn’t as hot as it was yesterday. King’s warning echoed in my head.Two weeks.Things had been really tense the last twenty-four hours. I was supposed to be taking men down to Phoenix tomorrow, but I stopped everything when Brianna called.
Not that I had a lot of it planned in the first place.
I looked at the woman who was the subject of every dirty fantasy and passing thought I had in the past week. Even after she walked off at the park, I still couldn’t seem to get enough of her. When she called, my whole being ignited. I didn’t want to give her time to change her mind, so I made sure to make it happen tonight.
We held hands as we walked east from the bar. Her hand was tiny in mine, but it seemed to fit naturally. The alcohol was starting to give me that good buzz I was looking to get tonight. I didn’t know how far Brianna wanted to take this, but I wanted to make sure one of us was at least halfway sober in case shit went down.
The hit on the warehouse yesterday had me in knots. And it startled me to think that it was because I had something to protect now. Even as I sat in the Chinatown warehouse last night, I kept thinking.Vegas isn’t safe anymore. King is insane. I need to get Brianna out and fast. As I slowly became more and more enamored with her, I could see why Asher would take a bullet for his wife.
We paused at a street corner, waiting for the sign to signal for us to cross. Cars passed by in a blur, the sound of car horns mixing with the low beat of the clubs nearby. There was something to be said about the simple pleasure of walking with a woman on a night like this. The cars stopped, and the pedestrian sign lit up and we made our way to the other side.
“What’s your real name?” she asked out of the blue.
I stopped short. I had beenCrushfor so long, my real name felt like an alter ego and not the other way around. Even when I first joined King’s Men, I was always called by my last name. I wanted to tell Brianna, but it was too soon. This wasn’t the right time. I looked into her expectant blue eyes, thinking,It’s Craig. I’m named after my grandfather. But no words were exchanged, and she continued to look at me.
“I don’t share that, sweetheart,” I answered and continued walking. She opened her mouth, and I held up my hand. “No one except King and Prince know it. And I’m not going around blabbing it. When the time’s right, I’ll tell you.”
She looked disappointed but didn’t bring it up. We passed an alleyway; a homeless woman was digging through the garbage of a nearby restaurant. An alley cat hissed at us before scurrying off into the darkness. Despite being the perhaps more dangerous route, it was relatively quiet. There weren’t as many cars down this stretch of road. It was silent between Brianna and me. But it was a different type of silence. This wasn’t awkward like the last date or intimidating like it was with King. It was comfortable.
“All right, so no real name,” Brianna said finally. “What about your family? Where are you from?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“You know my parents are dead,” she shrugged plainly. “Tit for tat, I guess. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I’m from Reno. There. Now you know that all about me. I wanna know all of that about you.”
