12
TEX
Iwoke up before the sun. Years of riding with the club had wired my body that way. Early mornings, long miles, and never sleeping too deep in unfamiliar places made peaceful sleep impossible.
For a moment I lay still in the narrow bed of the ranch’s spare room, staring up at the ceiling. I’d woken up a couple of times through the night and had done quick tours of the house, checking all the windows for anything before going back to bed. One time I hesitated outside her room, wanting to check on her and make sure she was okay, but deciding against it. Her waking up to a six-foot topless biker in her room would give her nightmares for years.
The quiet was the first thing I noticed this morning.
No rumble of motorcycles outside. No snoring brothers down the hall, or stomping boots. No jukebox humming in the corner of the clubhouse, or bottles clinking.
Just the distant sound of wind brushing across open land and the faint creak of the old ranch house settling.
It was peaceful.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and grabbed my jeans, pulling them on. I ran a hand through my hair as I stepped out into the hallway and headed downstairs in search of food and hopefully coffee.
The smell of the place had changed overnight.
I could smell coffee grounds and wood, and when I opened the kitchen window, the faint smell of horses drifted in.
I walked around the tidy kitchen, glancing out the back door toward the barn, my gaze narrowing to make sure nothing had changed overnight, and I was happy when nothing had.
The sky was turning pale blue, the sun just starting to creep over the distant hills. It was a hell of a view and I could see why Rowan loved it so much. Rolling pasture was only broken up by aging wooden fences, patches of tall grass swaying in the breeze, and a distant line of cottonwood trees following the creek.
It was the kind of place a man could take a beat to just breathe.
It was the kind of place a man went to find peace.
I scrubbed a hand over my bare stomach and stretched, giving a loud yawn, and feeling the muscles in my back and shoulders pop with sweet relief. My stomach rumbled in hunger and I opened the fridge and found eggs, bacon, and a carton of orange juice.
A few minutes later, bacon was sizzling in the pan while coffee brewed in the old drip machine. I scrambled eggs, toasted some bread, and poured two mugs of coffee just as I heard light footsteps upstairs.
A small smile pulled at the corner of my mouth as the telltale sound of Rowan's steps could be heard moving across the landing. Rowan appeared in the doorway a moment later, and for a second my brain stopped working altogether.
She was wearing a pair of tiny sleep shorts and a fitted tank top, the hard nipples of her breasts pushing up against the thinpink material. Her hair was twisted into a messy bun that left her neck slender and bare and I had the sudden urge to wrap my large hand around the back of it and pull her closer to me. Sleep still clung to her expression and she was doe-eyed, her eyes half-lidded as she stepped into the kitchen. I tried to inhale and take a breath, but the sight of her made it hard to.
Her expression shifted from sleepy to surprised, and she blinked and rubbed at her eyes like she wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming.
“You cooked?”
I leaned against the counter with a mug in my hand, the sun warming the skin on my bare back. “Surprised?”
“A little.” She looked away from me, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. “Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t sleep, sweetheart—not really. I doze in and out of consciousness just enough to not be fully exhausted.”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh, well that’s not good.”
I shrugged. “I’ve always been that way.”
She walked closer, peeking into the pan like she expected the eggs to be burned beyond recognition. A small smile tugged at her mouth when she saw they were anything but.
“Well,” she said slowly, “I guess bikers do have some hidden talents after all.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea of my hidden talents.” I slid a coffee mug across the counter toward her.
“Not just a walking talking big bad man then, huh?”
