Page 7 of Tick Tock, Boom!

“Some men… they like to take care of me. Pet me. Feed me. Use me. I give them softness. Something sweet in a dark place.”

My jaw clenched. The thought of herofferingherself to anyone else, of another man making her crawl to him, hearing her purr while he dragged his fingers through her hair, it boiled something sharp and hot in my blood.

I reached out, slid my hand up the side of her throat, slow, thumb tracing the edge of the collar.

“This collar means you belong to someone right now?” I asked.

She shook her head, just a tiny movement. “Not tonight.”

Not tonight.

Not yet.

“Good,” I said, brushing her lower lip with my thumb. “Because I don’t share well.”

And the way her body shivered under my hand told me she didn’t want me to.

Damn.

I reached forward, slowly, and let the backs of my fingers trail down the curve of her jaw. She leaned into it, like instinct.

“You got a name, kitten?”

“Amethyst,” she whispered. “What’s yours?”

“Tick Tock,” I replied, partly amused. She gave me a fake name, I'd give her my road name.

She blinked. “Is that real?”

“It is to me.”

She giggled, the sound was soft and warm, and it settled somewhere deep in my chest, a place I didn’t know could feel that damn good.

Her eyes flicked to my chest then, to the patch stitched above my heart. Her expression changed. Subtle at first, like a thought trying to surface. Then she leaned forward just enough to read the bottom rocker.

Road Captain.

Royal Bastards MC.

And just like that, the sweetness drained from her face. Her smile faltered. Her breath caught. The color in her cheeks faded like a sunset dipping behind storm clouds.

“You’re a…” Her voice cracked, barely audible. “You’re a Bastard?”

I leaned in, curiosity rising. “That a problem, sweetheart?”

But before I could touch her again, she shot to her feet. Stumbled back a step.

“Amethyst?”

“I have to go,” she said quickly, her voice shaking. She looked like she was trying not to cry or maybe trying not to scream. “I… I shouldn’t have come over. I’m…I’m sorry.”

And just like that, she turned and ran, disappearing through the red-lit haze before I could get another word out.

What the fuck?

I was on my feet, boots heavy against the floor, blood pounding hard in my ears. I wasn’t really thinking, I just didn’t want to lose sight of her. I got glimpses of her as I shuffled through the crowd, not caring about the rules or the looks I was getting. She’d come to me,crawledto me, and then bolted like I’d lit a fuse under her. And I wasn’t about to let her vanish without a damn word.

I followed her until I came to a set of blue velvet curtains. That’s when a large hand clamped down on my chest like a brick wall wrapped in latex. One of the bouncers, a big motherfucker, arms like steel pipes, sunglasses indoors like he thought it made him invisible, was standing in my way.

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