Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
With that, he burst out laughing.
“Come with me to the wake.”
My eyes widened. “You want me to come with you to a place that’s going to be crawling with bikers and cops? And what about Tank?”
“It’ll be okay,” he promised, looking over to Tank who was still out cold. “He has nothing else to chew up.”
I snorted.
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
His grin widened.
And that was how I ended up on the back of Aaron’s bike, zipping through some back roads, clinging to him while elation poured through my body.
I’d never been on a motorcycle before today, but this ride I was paying attention.
I’d seen them, yes. I’d worked on them, double yes. But I’d never ridden one.
I was quickly realizing that this could become an addiction.
Riding like this felt freakin’ awesome! I didn’t even notice the oppressive heat. All I could feel was the wind in my hair.
“Hey!” I called out, tapping him on the shoulder. “Shouldn’t I be wearing a helmet?”
“Probably,” he confirmed.
“Shouldn’t you be wearing a helmet?” I noted.
“Probably,” he repeated.
“Then why aren’t we?” I asked over the blast of wind and the rev of the motor.
“Because I don’t have any,” he pointed out.
“Wouldn’t you feel bad if I fell off your bike going this speed and cracked my head open on the concrete like an egg?”
It was meant to be a tease, but I guess I was a little too literal with my words because he stiffened.
“Yes, I would,” he shook his head. “I’ll get you one tomorrow.”
“Not you?” I asked.
“Not me,” he confirmed.
I grinned.
“We’ll see about that,” I teased, poking him in the belly.
His abs tightened, and I had to snap my lips closed and grit my teeth to keep from laughing.
“Ticklish?” I teased, making to poke him again.
“Not at all,” he lied, grabbing my hand.
Something charred and black on the pavement had me whipping my head around, but just as suddenly as it was there, it was gone again.
I turned the other way so I could see the trees passing by, but they were going so fast that it was nearly impossible to get a gauge on where we were.
But just as suddenly as I started to get curious, he started slowing down, and I tightened my legs and arms around him.
His hand finally left my arm, and I linked my hands together to hold on just a little bit tighter.
“Where are we?” I yelled.
“The Reject Clubhouse.”
“What’s the Reject Clubhouse?”
“The ‘Rejects’ are what we call ourselves, I guess,” he shrugged. “They’ve been doing that for a long time. Before I came,” he continued. “They fancy themselves the rejects of The Dixie Wardens MC. The ones nobody else wanted in their clubs,” he smiled. “The ones that didn’t get along with the others, but nobody wanted to tell them officially that they were out of the club. Others went nomad…then got tired of the life and settled down. This is where it happened.”
He traveled up a long gravel driveway that twisted and winded through the woods straight up to a simple white house.
It was very ordinary until you got to the massive wraparound porch. It truly was a thing of beauty. Not only was it beautiful by itself, but it also gave the house a lot more character as well.
“You don’t think of yourself as a reject, do you?” I asked as he pulled the bike into a spot at the very front of the house.
“Yes,” he didn’t even hesitate.
He didn’t elaborate. Didn’t explain. Just said yes and expected me to accept that answer.
Which I didn’t.
Or wouldn’t have had people not started to file out of the clubhouse—well, more than what had already been outside to begin with.
“’Bout time you showed up, new guy.”
Aaron sighed.
“It’s been quite a long time now, Tommy Tom,” Aaron drawled. “At what point do I become just a ‘guy’?”
This Tommy Tom grinned. “When we get a new guy.”
Everyone around us snickered, and I chose to look around at the house instead of all the men in an effort to control my pounding heart.
I’d never seen so freakin’ many sexy men in my life!
And, Jesus, was the porch freakin’ awesome!
It had to span at least twenty feet from the front door, and looped around the side of the house where I’d seen from the driveway that it extended well past the back of the house.
The entire thing was stained wood, and large, bulky cedar posts held up a red tin roof that would likely sound fucking fabulous if it rained.
The railings were also made of cedar, but on a much smaller scale than the posts.
“We were told to wait on you to eat, and we’re all fucking starving,” Tommy Tom continued. “Stone’s rules, though. If all the members aren’t here, we don’t eat.”
My belly flipped as I finally looked up at the men again instead of staring at the porch.