Picking up another fluttering page randomly, I read the first paragraph as I stand up, going closer to the middle of the room so the light is above me.
“Fill the kettle with filtered water up to the halfway point.Lower the bag into the kettle and steep the ingredients for half an hour.Boil the brew for eight hours.”
Shadow moves so quickly to stand next to me, I swear his body becomes a blur of speed.Call me easily distracted, but I can’t stop the shiver of delight as he leans over my shoulder to read the page.
Sliding my eyes sideways while I pretend to be looking down, I check out his lovely, big arm muscles.The t-shirt fits him perfectly, draping in such a way to enhance the built pects and streamlined stomach six-pack.I’m deeply attracted to the way the material stretches over his broad shoulders and back.
He’s so tall that when his hair falls over the left side of his face, I notice the way the ends of the strands have a slight curl.He’s got to be at least a good foot taller than me.
Shadow’s eyes glitter as I glance up at him.
“Fuck, yes!”Clenching his fist, he brings the elbow down in a fast pumping motion.“It’s the recipe!”
My heart plummets as all the knowledge I picked up about bikers from when my dad was a cop comes flooding back into my mind.Motorcycle clubs make money from selling drugs.Or dealing guns.Or both.
Please don’t let this be a recipe for cooking meth… But that would make so much sense.
The strange laboratory setup in the basement at the inn.The large amount of cash my aunt left to me.The break-in at Tempest’s house.And let’s not forget what Celia told me about the stranglehold of rules the Riders use to control the residents of Landslide…
I can hold back no longer.“Recipe for what exactly?And I don’t care what sort of a system you have going on here, Shadow, because I know my legal duty.If you had a deal with my aunt to cook meth for your club?—”
His laughter shuts me up, but it also reassures me.This man seems to think that I have cracked the best joke.
“Landslide is a drug-free zone, Luna.”Draping his heavy arm over my shoulders, Shadow takes me over to the filing cabinet and opens the drawers.I can see from the way the drawers slide out that the lock at the top of the filing cabinet has been broken.
The source of the scattered files and papers becomes clear; the cabinet is empty.Someone must have sneaked in here, God only knows when, and tossed the place looking for something.That open door when I came back home is starting to make ominous sense.
As we begin to pack the paperwork back into the drawers, Shadow explains.
“It’s time I was frank with you, sweetheart.Your aunt Tempest was a highly skilled brewmaster.Or whatever the female equivalent of that word is.Brew mistress?”
“I don’t give a crap about descriptive pronouns, Shadow.That’s one part of city life I am happy to leave behind.”I’ll admit, I’m pissed.It must be close to one in the morning, and here I am doing bloody housework.
Why did I have to go and throw my toys out of the cot just because Shadow said he felt possessive over me?He could be kneeling on the floor right now with his face buried between my thighs if I hadn’t overreacted the way I did.
My pussy contracts with excitement as I think about his mouth sucking the hood of my clit.He is definitely the sort of man who forces a woman to have sex constantly on the brain.
Shooting me a cocky grin as if he can read my thoughts, Shadow continues.
“Tempest created a drink like no other.She kept the recipe secret, of course.It was the key to her success, a success that she was happy to share with the club.”
Straightening my back and tucking a ticklish strand of hair behind my ear, I need clarification.
“Let me get this straight.You and my Aunt Tempest brewed a spectacular tasting hooch together, and that’s how you made your money?”
Butting a thick pile of papers into a neat stack by banging them on the surface of the desk, Shadow nods.
“Yep, kinda.”After carefully putting the sheaf of papers back in the filing cabinet, Shadow whistles and shakes his head.
“I’m-a tell it to you straight, Luna.Without that recipe, the Midnight Riders are fucked.”
Now he has my attention!
Leaning back against the desk, I grip the edge with my hands.I’m thinking hard.
“Fucked as in no money?Or fucked as in disappointed?”
The way Shadow stares at me makes me wonder if he is debating how much to tell me about the Motorcycle Club and its business.His face looks craggy under the dim overhead lighting.I see a flash of Dante in there—ageless and beautiful—and then he moves, and the illusion is gone.
