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I don’t know how long we dance, but I’m about ready to come in my pants when I pull my mouth away from hers. “You wanna get out of here?”

I usually use the back room for hookups, but I know that won’t work with Emma.

She looks unsure, biting her lip that is swollen from our kissing. “I don’t know. I’ve never…” She lets her words drift off, unsure how to finish, but I get it. A hookup with a stranger is a whole different kettle of fish for a woman than it is for a man. All we have to worry about is whether the woman we took home becomes a clinger. They have to worry about whether they’ll make it home at all.

“I swear to god you’re safe with me.”

Something softens on her face, the worry replaced by a flash of excitement. “I need to let my friends know.”

“I think they might have figured it out for themselves,” I muse as I look over her shoulder.

She whirls around to see the girls she was with earlier, dancing while openly staring at us.

“Why do I feel like a kid that just got busted by her parents?” she says to me with a nervous chuckle.

I laugh and wrap my arm around her waist, leading her over to her friends.

“Well, you two look like you were having fun,” Stacey says to us as we approach.

“Stop watching us, it’s creepy,” Emma fires back, but there is no heat in her words. Despite the obvious age difference between the two, it’s easy to see that Emma genuinely cares about her.

Stacey laughs while her girlfriend rolls her eyes at their antics.

“We came over to let you know we’re leaving,” Emma says softly. I can sense she’s embarrassed, but I get the feeling it has nothing to do with me personally and everything to do with the fact that she’s way out of her comfort zone. I don’t take that shit personally.

Jessie looks at me, her eyes searing into mine as if she is trying to memorise every little detail. “Address?” she asks in a no-nonsense voice.

Before I can answer, Emma responds, looking up at me. “Can we go back to mine? I know it’s supposed to be safer not to give a random guy my address, but I don’t see how the hell I’ll be safer in a strange house where I don’t know where the knives are kept, in a part of the city I might not be familiar with.”

I blink before I throw my head back and laugh. All three of them stare at me. I shake my head, still grinning. “I kinda love the fact you’re ready to stab me at the drop of a hat.”

She shrugs, not looking sorry at all. “I might be naive when it comes to the cesspool of dating, but I know how men can be. There isn’t a woman in this place who doesn’t have a story to tell. I can live with being a punchline in a story; I can’t live with being a statistic.”

I bend down, sensing a little bit of fear coming from her. If I say or do the wrong thing here, I’ll end up going home alone. “Whatever you need to be comfortable.”

She nods. “Thank you.”

We both turn back to her friends. Stacey snaps a photo of me with her phone, making me blink, thanks to the flash. “Can’t be too careful.”

“We’ll check on you in the morning. If you don’t answer your cell, we’ll be on your doorstep,” Jessie warns.

“Okay, thanks, guys. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Oh, we will,” Stacey says with a wink. I have a feeling now that we’re leaving, they won’t be far behind us.

The girls hug before I lead Emma out of the bar and flag down a taxi, not willing to put her on the back of my bike now that we’ve both been drinking. When we climb in, she gives the driver her address, then looks at me with trepidation.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I just want to spend more time with you,” I tell her, though I know damn fine I won’t be leaving until I’ve exhausted us both with my cock, fingers, and tongue.

“I know. And thank you, Lick. I know I seem a little neurotic, but⁠—”

I press my lips to hers before pulling back. “Worrying about your safety doesn’t make you neurotic. It makes you smart. You don’t know who people really are these days until they show you.”

“Lord knows that’s the truth.” She laughs, leaning into me. I wrap my arms around her, feeling something uncomfortable unfurl in my gut. I’ve not been upfront about who I really am. I know women. If Emma found out I was part of a one-percenter motorcycle club, she would have stayed with her friends.

I meant what I said about not hurting her. She’s safe with me, so what does it really matter if I hide who I really am? It’s one night, and then I’ll likely never see her again anyway.

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