Page 11 of Wild Ride

“Bullet,” he repeats, though enunciating better, and obviously pissed about having to do so.

“Oh,” I breathe. “It’s nice to meet both of you,” I say.

Justin grins, but Bullet snorts.

Okay. Bullet clearly doesn’t like me or want anything at all to do with me, which is really too bad because he’s absolutelygorgeous, even when he looks at me like he wants to strangle me and leave me for dead.

“Dakota wanted to talk to you both, perhaps even meet the others who were in business with Nathan. Perhaps you can schedule a lunch or something so she can ask questions.”

“Yeah, I got some questions,” Bullet growls.

I give him a smile, unsure of what else to do, but when I lived in the commune and people would get angry about one thing or another, we were always taught that smiling and keeping a positive attitude would eventually end the dispute. That it would make the person feel more at ease. So, I try to implement that, but I’m not sure this man could ever be put in a good mood.

“We were just heading out to lunch. Would you like to join us?” Justin asks.

Turning to him, I aim my smile in his direction. He returns it, but only slightly. Shifting my attention over to John, I ask him if there is anything else for me to do.

He shakes his head and holds out a large manila envelope for me. “We can schedule to meet again in a few days to finalize some paperwork. But this has the keys to the house and the bike. You can go and look at it any time you like. It’s uninhabited.”

Thanking him, I take the envelope and hold it to my chest before I turn to face the other men. Neither of them is giving off friendly vibes, although Justin’s are closer to what I would consider friendly. Bullet is giving off kill-you-and-bury-you-in-the-backwoods vibes.

Regardless, I give them both a bright and shiny smile, all teeth, before I speak. “I would love to go to lunch with you both.”

I’m met with a grunt and a snort, which I assume is about all I’m going to get in excitement terms and ask them where we’re going. Justin tells me the name of a restaurant and says it’s in downtown Thunder Rock. I’m sure that’s supposed to meansomething to me, but since the only places I’ve been to are here and the motel, it doesn’t.

Justin climbs into a really fancy pickup truck, and Bullet climbs onto the motorcycle that was parked out front when I arrived here. I follow them in my rental car and wonder if I’m really going to find anything out at all about my father from them.

I’m going to try.

I have to at least try.

BULLET

As I ride toward the Thunder Tavern, I try as hard as I can to not think about the bitch who is following behind me and the little fact that I want to fuck her. Bad. Pulling into the front of the tavern, I stay on my bike. Ivy parks beside me, but my gaze is on the little black sedan that swings out wide and parks about five spaces down. She cannot drive at fucking all. It’s actually scary.

“That girl is going to be trouble,” Ivy mutters.

Throwing my leg over the side of my bike, I step up onto the sidewalk and stand beside him. “How?” I ask. “She seems fuckin’ clueless.”

He snorts, which causes my attention to shift from her car to face him. “What?” I ask.

“She’s clueless, but, brother, you are clued in.”

I open my mouth to ask him what the fuck that means when I feel her presence beside me. I expect her to still be clutching the envelope, but she isn’t. I want to see the contents of the envelope. What exactly did Shade give her?

“Ready?” Justin calls out.

Jerking my chin, I follow behind him as he makes his way toward the front door. Taking it from him, I watch as he walks through. Then, my eyes find Dakota, and I watch her as she moves. With each step she takes, I realize that, sure, she’s sexy as fuck, but she doesn’t know it.

She doesn’t walk with the confidence and purpose that other women do. She’s timid. Shy. She’s the exact opposite of any woman I’ve ever been attracted to. I go for women who know what the fuck they want and how the fuck they want it. I like bold and strong. I want her to take what she wants the way she needs it.

I have a feeling that Dakota wouldn’t know what to do with anything if I had her naked in my bed. And that thought causes my dick to twitch. Because I’m pretty sure I would have to teach her everything, and I’ve never had to be a teacher before.

I’m not sure I would hate that.

In fact, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t suck in the slightest to teach Dakota a damn thing… especially naked.

We don’t have to wait for a table at the Tavern even though they are packed for lunch. Instead, we’re taken back to a table that is essentially the Vicious Reapers’ reserved-at-all-times table.

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