He has to be joking, but the more I stare into his blue eyes, the more I see the truth.
“Why did you sell it?”
For a beat, the table falls silent, and then Vex returns with drinks.
Saved by the bell.
For now.
I take a sip of the gin and pretend not to wince at the strength. My last sip of alcohol was about three years ago. To be precise, it was the night I sat in Carter’s lap and took him back to my place.
All things considered, it feels nice to sip something thatisn’torange juice, water, or milk. The sweet burn of the gin traveling down my throat feels dangerously restorative. It’s like I’m twenty-one years old again without a care in the world.
I gave birth to Otis and suddenly turned sixty.
I cradle the drink in my hands before I accidentally gulp it down in one go. “What exactly happens here? You ride motorcycles and get paid?”
“Kind of,” Skipper says. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“What’s complicated about riding bikes?”
“Let’s just say that Venom Vultures is a motorcycle club, plus benefits.”
“What kind of benefits?”
“The kind of benefits that don’t come with rules. You can do whatever you want.”
“Within reason,” Carter chips in.
Vex flashes his friend a calculating glare. “Then tell me—what was your reason for bidding all of this money on a girl?”
“I don’t see you complaining,” Carter counters.
Vex looks me up and down and smiles. “I’d never dream of complaining. Carmen is priceless.”
Flattered, I’m sure.
I take a sip of gin again. “I don’t understand. If you want a girl, why not head out onto the Strip and find one the normal way?”
Skipper gets there before Vex. “Things here can get complicated. You have to understand, the world of Venom Vultures is a dangerous world to be in, especially for outsiders. At the auction, we have a deal. We have one night with a girl if we bid high enough, and then we go our separate ways…” Skipper’s eyes trail over my half-naked body.
Why am I getting the urge to cut the straps and flash them?
The thought alone sends a burning heat between my legs.
A vibrator couldn’t give me this.
Men might suck ass and disappear as soon as they have what they want, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sexually attracted.
All of a sudden, I find myself reunited with my bestandlast one-night stand, wet through my sequin panties in a motorcycle club one random Friday night.
Waiting on the other side of sex is millions of dollars.
Why does this sound too good to be true?
Skipper’s ocean-blue eyes feel like they’re scoring through my skull. I rip my eyes away from his face before I become completely hypnotized, and focus on something else—a faded compass tattoo on Carter’s arm.
Before I have time to ask him what it means, I catch him staring at me.
