“I kissed her.” The words come out flat.
“And?”
“And I think she hated it.”
Sage’s eyebrows shoot up. Then she laughs, actually laughs, and shakes her head. “Oh, Uber Man. Trust me when I say that girl didnothate that kiss. Go home. I’ll talk to her.”
She disappears inside, leaving me straddling my bike in the gathering darkness, my lips still tingling from a kiss that was supposed to be practice but felt like every-damn-thing I ever wanted tied with a pretty bow.
I start the engine, pointing it toward the clubhouse, and take off. The ride back is a blur of desert and doubt.
Did I blow everything?
Did I push too hard, too fast?
Was that look on her face disgust, desire, or something in between?
By the time I reach the clubhouse, I’m a mess of second-guessing and confusion.
Which is precisely why I need my brothers.
And maybe a very strong drink.
Chapter Ten
NITRO
The Next Day
The clubhouse feels too loud and quiet at the same time. Sitting at the bar, staring at my untouched whiskey, I’m running through last night on an endless loop. The way Marley looked at me when I told her about the club.
That flicker of fear before she hid it.
The kiss
Fuck, the kiss I shouldn’t have taken but couldn’t stop myself.
Too much, too fast,you fucking idiot.
I scrub a hand over my face, feeling every one of my forty-three years. Marley has barely broken up with Derek for two weeks, dealing with being homeless, and I dump the‘by the way, I’m VP of a motorcycle club’shit on her and then kiss her like I have a right to.
“You look as if someone ran over your bike,” Victoria says, sliding onto the stool next to me.
“I fucked up,” I can’t help but blurt out. She smiles, nodding her head.
“With the redhead?” Millie appears on my other side, munching on a cookie. “Marley, right? The one you’ve been fake dating?”
How the fuck does everyone know all this shit?
Sin.
I told Sin, he told Victoria, and the girls in this place tell each other everything,that’s how.
“Fake dating that’s apparently not seeing each other anymore,” I mutter, lifting the glass. The whiskey burns, but notenough to drown out the memory of Marley’s face when I kissed her.
The way she kissed me back before pulling away.
“What did you do, you big idiot?” Victoria asks.
