Page 5 of Bandit's Bounty

“What? Oh, yeah,” she replies, giggling. “I didn’t even know it was a thing so when the first one showed up, I had to Google it!”

“Sloane?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to go out with me?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Uh… um,” she stammers. “I… several years ago, I dated a biker from another club. Things didn’t end very well.”

Her voice is low, and she looks embarrassed, which bothers me immensely. Reaching out, I take her chin in my hand and tilt it up until she’s forced to look at me. “What happened, baby?” I question.

“He was late for a date, so I went to his clubhouse, since I’d been there before.” She stops and shudders as if what she’s seeing in her mind’s eye hurts. “Anyhow, when I walked in, I found him.”

“And?”

“He was um… screwing a club girl against the wall,” she replies, her voice now barely above a whisper. “When he saw me, he said some pretty nasty things that hurt me deeply. I swore then I’d never date another biker,” she admits.

I’m not sure what to say right now as rage courses through me at how she was treated. I want the fucker’s name so I can go rip his head from his shoulders, because I can see the pain his actions caused her. Instead, I wait patiently because she has a look on her face that tells me she wants to say something more.

“But that would be foolish to paint all bikers with his brush, because not all of y’all are like that, I’m sure,” she finally says.

“You’re right, we aren’t, and I can promise that I would never do something like that to you,” I reply.

Of course, what she doesn’t realize is the reason I won’t is due to the fact she’s my mate, but there’ll be time enough for me to tell her that once I’ve wooed her for a bit.

“Then yes, I’d like to go on a date with you.”

“Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in it, sweetheart, then text myself so I have yours.”

“Okay,” she says, handing me her phone, before she opens the car door and drops into the driver’s seat.

Leaning in, I kiss her forehead and say, “Drive safe, Sloane. I’ll either text or give you a call so we can set something up. Text me when you get home.”

I nearly choke on my tongue when she replies, “Okay,Daddy, I will,” before giving me a wink.

Seems there are a few layers my woman has that I’m going to love exploring.

Chapter Three

Sloane

Iwasn’t really sure what to expect the first time that Bandit and I went out, but a picnic at the waterfall outside of Redwich certainly wasn’t on my radar at all! Since Dane had pretty much only ever really taken me out to eat, or to an occasional club party, I was definitely impressed by Bandit. Granted, they belonged to two different clubs, but since my only exposure to bikers before had been Dane, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

But what has really sold me on him as a man I can see a future with is how solicitous he’s been toward me. The attraction I feel for him is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and as I get ready to mix up some more balms and scrubs, I find myself humming.

The bell over the door jingles and since I’m the only one covering the shop right now, I hurry through the curtain to the front only to stop short when I see the man himself, grinning at me.

“Hey, Bandit,” I say, my voice a bit breathy.

I may or may not have been thinking about his kiss the night before, nearly two weeks after he first took me out. We’ve gone out to dinner, to the movies, to a local amusement park, and to the local ice cream parlor, but up until last night, the most he’d done was friend-like than ‘interested suitor’. He’d given me pecks on the forehead and held my hand, but I was to the point of worrying whether or not he was ever going to kiss me. My mind goes back to last night as I wait for him to tell me why he’s here.

“Thank you for dinner, Bandit,” I tell him as we walk up the steps to my front porch. I still want to pinch myself that I found my home, a cozy farmhouse with a wraparound porch that has mature trees lining the driveway. A detached garage was added at some point in the house’s history, with a covered walkway to a side entrance that opens into my mudroom and laundry room.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Sloane,” he replies, taking my keys in his hand and unlocking the door. “Let me check out the house before I leave, okay?”

Part of me wants to swoon; it’s been so long since anyone worried about me, yet his simple command for me to wait lets me know that I mean more than a piece of ass. I deliberately push thoughts of how Dane treated me to the back of my mind, unwilling to allow that experience to taint what it feels like Bandit and I are beginning to build. A relationship whose foundation is based on mutual attraction, respect, and friendship. Because in just a few short weeks, he’s become a good friend, willing to help me package up internet orders after he gets done working when I get backed up, or to haul them off to be shipped. Our times together are spent doing a lot of laughing, and nothing’s off limits as to what we have talkedabout. While I haven’t told him who it was I dated, I have let him know that it shook me to my core; I lost all sense of self-worth and any confidence I once had was shattered. It’s taken me several years to rebuild myself into this version of myself, but I still expect the other shoe to drop. Still, he’s been patient with me, and if the times I’ve seen him discreetly adjusting himself are any indicator, heisattracted to me. He’s just letting me set the pace and that has me appreciating who he is even more.

I also notice that he turns on a few lights as he moves through my space and I smile, because the only two I left on were the outside porch light, and the one over the stove. Yet now, there’s one on in the living room, and I can see the upstairs light as well.

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