I instantly like him too.
“Where’s Sin?” Nitro asks Victoria.
“Chapel,” she replies. “He’s on a call, should be wrapping up soon.”
“Chapel?” I ask.
“Club meeting room,” Nitro explains. “Only patched members are allowed in meetings, and Sin does most club business in there. Shouldn’t be much longer.”
A man who can only be described as chaos incarnate strides over, grinning like he knows every secret in the universe and finds them all hilarious.
“Deek,” he announces, not bothering with a handshake. Instead, he looks me up and down with exaggerated appreciation. “Now I understand why Nitro’s been walking around like a lovesick teenager. You are a goddamn smoke show, Marley.”
“Jesus Christ,” Nitro mutters.
“What? I’m complimenting her,” Deek protests. “I’m being a gentleman.”
“You wouldn’t know a gentleman if he hit you with his white gloves,” a voice says from behind me.
I turn to find a young woman, maybe nineteen, with soft features and an even softer smile. She’s holding a plate of what looks like homemade cookies, and there’s something instantly endearing about her.
“Millie,” Nitro says warmly. “This is Marley.”
“Hi,” Millie says, her voice shy but genuine. She extends the plate. “I made cookies. Would you like one?”
“I wouldloveone,” I say, taking a chocolate chip cookie that looks as if it belongs in a magazine. “These look amazing.”
“She’s an incredible baker,” Victoria says, slipping her arm around Millie’s shoulders. “She’s going to open her own bakery someday.”
Millie blushes, but before she can respond, I notice a young man hovering near the bar. He’s watching Millie with an intensity that makes my chest ache, but every time she glances in his direction, he looks away.
“Who’s that?” I ask quietly, nodding toward him.
“Will,” Nitro says, following my gaze. “He’s a prospect.”
“And he’s clearly got it bad for Millie,” I whisper into Nitro’s ear.
Nitro’s lips curve into a small smile. “Yeah. But it’s complicated.”
“Because of the club?”
“Because Millie’s father, Jonas, works with the club. Will doesn’t want to mess that up by pursuing her. He thinks it could jeopardize the business relationship.”
I watch Will watching Millie, and my heart twists. The longing in his expression is so raw, so vulnerable, and Millie keeps glancing at him, too, as though she’s trying to solve a puzzle she can’t quite figure out.
“That’s heartbreaking,” I murmur.
“Yeah,” Nitro agrees. “But Will’s a good man. He’ll figure it out eventually.”
The door to what must be the Chapel opens, and Sin files out. His presence is commanding even in a room full of intimidating bikers. He spots us and makes his way over, Victoria immediately gravitating toward him like a magnet.
“Marley,” he says, extending his hand. “Good to finally meet you. Nitro hasn’t shut up about you.”
“He exaggerates,” Nitro says, as I shake Sin’s hand.
“I really don’t,” Sin replies, his heterochromatic eyes assessing me in a way that’s protective rather than threatening. “Welcome to Las Vegas Defiance.”
“Come on,” Victoria says, linking her arm through mine. “The guys need to go have a meeting, and we old ladies are going to hang out. I’ll show you around.”
