Page 229 of The Tempted

Chapter Fourteen

I put in a few extra hours at the diner, staying for the breakfast rush, figuring the extra money will come in handy now that I had plans to buy a car. I smiled at the customers, took their orders as I refilled their coffee and lingered at the tables once I brought them their meals, ensuring they were satisfied.

I don’t know if it was the time of day or the change in myself, but in a few short hours I had raked in more tips than I did on any other night. I swiped the tip from the table, smiled as I counted it and shoved it in my back pocket before leaning over the table and loading up my tray with the empty water glasses and used silverware. I turned around and collided with a hard body.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, lifting my eyes and pausing. “Jack,” I whispered, staring into those dark eyes of his that held me captive. He looked exhausted, like he had been up all night and I couldn’t help but wonder what he did once he left my apartment. One phone call, a few words exchanged, and he was zipping up his pants, hurrying out the door. I didn’t know much about motorcycle clubs, and from what I saw I didn’t think there was much these men wouldn’t do.

He bit the inside of his cheek as his eyes worked over me.

“I’ve been calling you,” he drew out his words.

“I don’t keep my phone on me when I’m working,” I said, biting down on my lower lip. Come to think about it, I never looked at my phone. There was no one to call me, no calls to miss other than my therapist rescheduling an appointment and that rarely ever happened. I cocked my head to the side and smiled, realizing Jack was someone and he was calling me. I had a person. He was my person.

“Let me drop these off in the sink and I’ll bring you a cup of coffee,” I said, lifting the tray in my hand for emphasis.

He diverted his eyes to the tray before glancing around the diner.

“When are you finished here?”

“My shift was over hours ago,” I replied, adjusting the tray in my hands.

“Good. Make that coffee to go, Sunshine,” he said, scratching at his chin before tipping it toward the window. I looked over my shoulder and spotted his bike outside the window. “Be waiting for you,” he added, before he reached out and wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger. I watched as he bit his lip, staring at the strand of hair before letting it unravel and drop from his fingertips. He winked at me, then turned and strode out of the diner leaving me frozen in my tracks looking after him.

I finally snapped out of it, brought the tray into the back and unloaded it. I grabbed my purse from underneath the counter, peeking inside for my phone. I saw I indeed had several missed calls from Jack. I pulled the money out of my jeans and tucked it in my wallet before waving goodbye to Dee. I snatched my leather jacket from the hook and slipped my arms through the sleeves then fixed Jack a cup of coffee in a to-go cup and headed out.

I pushed through the glass doors and made my way toward Jack. He was leaning against his bike, shaking his head at something he was looking at on his phone before shoving it into his leather jacket and pulling out a pack of Marlboros.

“I didn’t know that you smoked,” I commented, even as I said the words I tried to recall if I had ever seen him smoke.

He lit his cigarette, taking the first drag before looking back at me.

“Lot, we don’t know about one another, Reina,” he said evenly.

I considered his words as I zipped up my jacket. There was nothing wrong with his statement, his words weren’t a lie but there was a bite behind them. I tilted my head, assessing the circles that shadowed his eyes, the scruff that looked a tad bit fuller on his face, the disarray of his hair and how he inhaled the smoke slow and steady, savoring the pull.

“True,” I started. “Did something happen? Because last night…” My words cut off when he pushed off his bike and exhaled the smoke, blowing it close to my face.

“Just some shit with my ex-wife,” he interrupted.

I waved the smoke away from my face and pulled the collar of my jacket over my nose.

“Well, I’m sorry you’re having issues with your ex-wife but if you’re in a mood why are you here?” I questioned. I’ve come to know Jack as a hard man to figure out, a complex character, a man who wasn’t an upstanding citizen but one who had a heart buried somewhere behind all the leather and tattoos. I saw a piece of his heart the night I shared a meal with him and his daughter.

“You got yourself an ex-husband? Boyfriend?” he asked, ignoring my question.

“No,” I said, truthfully. Danny wasn’t my ex-boyfriend. There was no break-up, no bitter ending, but I wasn’t a widow either. I struggled to find an adequate description for what had been taken from me. “I was in a relationship,” I confessed.

His eyes flickered, and he flipped the cigarette into the street, crossing his arms over his chest, looking like he got his second wind.

“Figured you weren’t a virgin,” he commented.

“Funny,” I bit back sarcastically. I held my time with Danny, my love for him, sacred, letting no one in other than my therapist. Yet, here I was willing to share that part of my life, a part that scarred my heart, with this man. This crude bastard of a man. I turned on my heel and moved to walk away from him, making my decision to keep the story of me and Danny to myself.

He reached for me, closing his hand over my arm and yanked me back toward him.

“Going somewhere?” he whispered against my ear.

“Let go of me,” I hissed.

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