He pulled up next to the neat line of bikes and let Emmett dismount before he put the kickstand down and turned the key. Pulling it out, he looked up to find Emmett with his helmet off and a frown furrowing his brows, his gaze on the car parked next to Miles’s in front of the garage.
Wilder pulled his helmet off and asked, “What is it?”
“My brother’s here,” Emmett said, lips twitching, and then he turned his gaze back on Wilder. “I didn’t know he was coming.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Emmett’s shrug didn’t ease his worries one bit. It only made that protectiveness he felt for Emmett flare higher.
He got off his bike and gently tugged Emmett’s helmet out of his hand to place it on the seat of his bike next to his own.
“Wanna escape?”
Emmett arched a brow at him, his lips pulling up at the corners.
“He’d just make everyone look for me.”
“Who says he’d find you?”
Emmett’s eyes were sparkling with laughter as he shook his head and wagged a finger at Wilder. “Don’t you go giving me ideas.”
“Hmm. What kind of ideas are you getting?”
Color filled Emmett’s cheeks, and fuck if it didn’t send his heart racing. He couldn’t get enough of this man. It was wreaking havoc on him, on his control. He’d drop to his knees right then and there if Emmett asked him to. He wanted to see those eyes dark with need. He needed to feel Emmett pressed against him, that ass he knew would fit perfectly in his hands.Fuck.He was getting hard just thinking about it.
“We should?” He cleared his throat. “Go inside.”
Emmett nodded, his gaze much too captivating. He couldn’t look away. He was downright beautiful. Both on the inside and the outside. There wasn’t a single thing he didn’t like about him, and no matter how much that scared him, he wanted Emmett too much to care.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Emmett
WILDER WAS looking at him with something dangerous in his eyes. Dangerous because it was making him want to throw caution to the wind and let Wilder take him wherever he wanted to. He wanted to give in to that desire burning inside him, even if he feared the consequences of letting Wilder in.
He turned and walked up the patio steps before he could do something stupid. Like kiss Wilder. Or lose his damned heart to him.
He pushed open the door and stepped into the hall, voices and music filtering in from the living room. He put his bag down and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the coatrack while glancing into the living room with a pounding heart. Why was he so nervous? Travis might not even be there to see him. His girlfriend was here, too, after all.
He grabbed the strap of his bag just as he felt Wilder step inside behind him.
“I can take that,” Wilder said, reaching for the bag. “Go find your brother.”
He nodded, swallowing hard as he let Wilder take it. He watched him disappear up the stairs for a second, then made his way into the living room. The smell of meat and spices hit his nose, and a glance toward the dining table showed a buffet of food. Kian had been busy.
With that much meat, he knew his brother wouldn’t be anywhere near it. He turned, gaze running across the peoplemilling about the living room, noting that Nicky was sitting on the couch with Ciara in her lap, Cooper sitting opposite them, throwing chips at his sister, who was catching them in her mouth. Ezra and Kian were standing by the door, both with a plate and a fork in hand. A few of the others were grabbing food from the table, Mia bumping Cary out of the way with a hip check to get to the sauce first.
Movement on the stairs caught his attention, and then the low timbre of Wilder’s voice reached him, blanketing him like a balm against his still racing heart. He turned in time to see the back of Wilder and another biker as they walked toward the front door. He was already moving in that direction before he caught himself. Wilder might have offered to whisk him away, but while running away with Wilder sounded mighty alluring right now, he couldn’t?
“There you are.”
He glanced to the left, finding Emma and Travis headed his way. Seeing them both smiling calmed his frantic heart right down. A smile tugged on his lips, and he opened his arms to hug his brother, a grunt escaping him when Travis practically slammed right into him. Clearly, he’d worried for nothing. Travis still didn’t know what had happened. He rested his chin on his brother’s shoulder, breathing easily again.
He caught Emma’s gaze and grinned when she winked at him before walking toward the couch. Cooper glanced up, did a double-take, and then nearly fell on his ass trying to get away. At least he had a healthy amount of respect forsomepeople.
Travis pulled back, and Emmett met his brother’s gaze with a smile tugging at his lips.
“How’s painting?”Travis asked.
