Gale and Taylor share stories about their motorcycles and the maintenance they’ve been doing on them over the summer. It sounds like they all work at the same autobody shop in town.
“I’ve never been on one before,” I admit as I bite into my waffles.
Taylor stifles a laugh. “Did you think any of us actually thought that a girl like you would’ve?”
I shoot Taylor a glare, and Gale gives me a daring lift of his brow. “It’s true, Briar. You look like you belong in a little bookshop with a cup of tea.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” I shove another bite of waffles into my mouth. They share a chuckle and tease me more about it. Sure, so I’m not some badass girl who rides motorcycles, but it’s not like I couldn’t try. I flatten my lips in annoyance.
John and Bensen are the car guys of the group. It makes me smile hearing how they all share an obsession with vehicles, specifically fast ones. I’ve always found the roar of an engine to be another level of sexy. The rumbling that you feel as your foot presses that pedal to the ground is euphoric.
“All right, so you’ll ride with me, and you can crash at our place until morning if you want?” John winks at me. It makes my heart flutter, but I quickly cap the feeling and dare a look over at Lana. She’s furiously sweeping the booths at the other end of the diner, but John wasn’t trying to be quiet by any means,so I’m sure she overheard. Maybe they aren’t an item and just randomly hookup sometimes.
“Sounds good to me,” I chirp, excited about where the night is headed. I check my phone and see it’s already pushing two a.m. Lana took our payment an hour ago and has given us death glares at least four times now.
Bensen grabs my side and tickles me.God, I love the ones that open up quickly to tickling.“Are you sure you don’t want to ride with me instead, Briar?”
I’m laughing and leaning into Bensen’s arms when the bell hanging over the door dings. All four men seize up, and the atmosphere changes swiftly.
“Fuck,” Taylor whispers, giving me a hesitant look like I shouldn’t be here.
“What?” I ask, sitting up straight.
“Just be quiet. Let us do the talking,” John says quickly. Their uncomfortable expressions and demeanors send some red flags up.
My eyes track toward the front door, landing on a male dressed head to toe in black motorcycle gear. He has a helmet clutched in his right hand and a fabric mask over his head, revealing only his bright hazel eyes.
But it’s evident that he is very pissed off.
And staring directly atme.
Who is he?I haven’t even seen his face yet, but I know he’s the one I hope chases me this fall. Shit, masks are one of my kinks.
He storms over to our booth, slamming his helmet on the table so hard that it shakes a few forks off plates. He reaches up and tears his mask off, revealing a sharp jaw, straight nose, and gorgeous cheekbones. His black hair is matted down, and he has a wild look in his eyes. I swallow roughly.
“What the fuck are you guys doing?” he snaps. His voice is lovely, dark, and smooth like someone who’s always in complete control. He’s absolutely terrifying. I fidget and fist my hands in my lap.
Taylor stammers, “Oh. Hey, Roman. We just came here to have a meal and ran into Briar.” He makes it sound like I’m not a complete stranger that he hassled into joining them.
Roman narrows his eyes like he’s never seen something he loathes more than me. I make eye contact with him and flinch at the hostility I find in his gaze. What’s his fucking deal? I’ve never met this man in my entire life, and he wants to be a dickhead?
“Leave,” he says sternly, splaying both of his hands against the table and leaning closer toward me. I’ve never seen a scowl as sharp as his. This guy has red danger tape wrapped all over him. I shrink into myself and unconsciously scoot closer to Bensen.
Gale lets out an irritated breath. “Oh, come on, Roman. That’s not fair. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Roman jerks his head in Gale’s direction. “I’ll deal with you later. I don’t want to hear another word out of your goddamn mouth. Out of any of your mouths.” They all go quiet, and Taylor slowly slides from the booth to let me out.
I hesitantly shift out of my seat, hardening my courage as I stare up at Roman.
By God, this man is ridiculously gorgeous. He has a red tattoo or scar, I can’t tell which it is, of the ?Roman numeral VI on his left cheek just under the outer corner of his eye. A long scar cuts across his forehead and almost looks like barbwire, and he has a decent-sized scar over the edge of his lips.Jesus, what has he been through?The look of disdain is still written all over his face as he growls at me, “Get back in your shitty car and leave Bane Falls.”
Shitty car? I’ve worked my ass off just to put gas into the damn thing.The absolute audacity of this man.I take it all back. He’s not hot at all.
“Excuse me? Leavetown? Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? I’m here for at least a few months, so get used to seeing my face,Roman,” I retort, crossing my arms and leveling him with a scowl.
He smirks at me with cruel amusement. The muscles in Bensen’s jaw flex with unease.
“A few months?” Roman barks out a manic laugh. “No, you’re going back to whatever city you came from, right now.”
