“Sorry, baby. You heard the woman.”
Baby?
That was the second time he’d called me that, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
Okay, that was a lie. I knew exactly how I felt about it. I liked it way more than I should have.
Why did hearing him call me baby make my stomach flip? And why was I so damn attracted to him in the first place?
The man was gorgeous, that’s why.
Tall, built, with those incredible green eyes and all those tattoos peeking out from under his t-shirt. He was sex on legs, and my traitorous body knew it.
ButI’d sworn off men. They were nothing but trouble.
I’d grown up bounced around from one foster home to another, and it never failed—the foster dads would look at me in ways that grown men had no business looking at a little girl.
Then there was my marriage to Reggie, who’d turned out to be a viper in disguise. After everything I’d been through, I had absolutely no desire to get close to anyone else with a penis.
“You okay?”
Blinking, I found Odin watching me, his brows pulled together in concern as his eyes searched my face.
“Yeah.” I forced a smile, hoping like hell he wouldn’t push. “I’m fine.”
It was obvious from the look on his face that he didn’t believe me for a second, but thank god, he didn’t call me on it.
“Alright everyone,” Caroline called out, clapping her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”
Before I could protest again, I felt Odin’s hand settle on the small of my back, guiding me toward a long wooden table that looked like it could seat at least twenty people. The smell of barbecue and all those amazing sides Caroline had been making in the kitchen had my mouth watering despite how nervous I felt.
I tried really hard not to think about how warm Odin’s palm felt through the thin fabric of my sundress, or how my skin seemed to tingle where he touched me.
“Here,” he said when we reached the table, pulling out the chair next to his.
“Thank you,” I murmured, sliding into the seat he’d pulled out for me.
It was such a simple thing, pulling out someone’s chair, but I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done it for me. Reggie sure as hell never had. Not even back when we were dating, and he was pretending to be Prince Charming.
As I got settled, I glanced around the table and realized there had to be at least fifteen bikers scattered around; all of them big and intimidating.
But as they started passing dishes around and talking amongst themselves, I realized they weren’t scary at all. They were just a big family sitting down to dinner together.
“This is Jekyll,” Odin said, nodding toward the massive man sitting across from me. “And that’s Dash, my VP.”
I gave them both a small wave, feeling awkward as hell. “Nice to meet you.”
Reid piped up from Odin’s other side, a grin on his face. “That bread you brought is freaking amazing, by the way. Way better than anything we get from the store.”
“Oh… thanks,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.
Caroline beamed at me from across the table. “A woman who can bake is a real treasure, honey.”
Before I could think of something to say back, someone passed me a plate of barbecue that smelled like heaven.
My stomach let out a loud, obnoxious growl, and I pressed a hand against it, mortified.
“When’s the last time you ate?” Odin asked quietly.
