Page 32 of Reaper's Claim

“Because you want to.” The words tumbled out, and when he didn’t deny it straight away, my heart swelled. “So what do you say, Reaper?” I stood in front of him, having closed the gap between us completely. “You up for one night of fun?”

What would we do? Where would we go? I had no idea and no plans but all in all, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to be with him, and seeing the debate in his eyes, I knew he wanted to be with me just as much.

“What are you two doing?” Kim’s voice floated up the hallway. It was sharp and abrupt, just like her.

I looked around Kade but before I could say anything, he spoke first.

“Your sister and I are heading out for a bit.” He turned back around. “Got a problem with it?”

Kim wasn’t stupid. She knew when to hold her tongue. Her eyes locked with mine for a moment, and I swear she was trying to tell me not to make the same mistake as her, but with a quick nod of her head, she backed away from the subject. “I get it. Just be back in the morning.” She looked Kade up and down once more, then looked back at me. “Don’t do anything stupid, Abby.”

With those fine words of advice, she disappeared.

“Give me a few minutes to shake the boys. Then come out the front when you’re ready to leave.” He didn’t and wouldn’t meet my eye.

I suppose this was the perfect opportunity to get changed and try to look more like a girl than a wasted, bitter rag.

***

I always thought that I would get used to it—the second glances, the dirty, scared, envious looks. I always thought that one day, it wouldn’t bother me. Maybe I would no longer notice, but as I stood in line with Kade, I knew that it was never going to happen.

Honestly, how could I expect that? Bikers drew attention, and that was that. Look at the guy; I gawked at him, too. He was six feet tall, dominant, broad shouldered, and hadthatlook, which caused women’s hearts to race and fed her daydreams. He had the attitude, the look, and of course that haunting tint to his eyes. But it was more than just the way he looked. It was the club leather vest, covered in patches and faded from the road. He was part of something that they didn’t understand. Some loathed it; others wanted to be involved in it. He walked around wearing something that said ‘fuck your rules’ to the world, and they loved it or feared it.

“I hate fucking lines,” Kade muttered under his breath. He pushed the sleeves of his black shirt up, displaying his tattooed arms. “You would fucking think they would have more than one person serving.”

I shrugged my shoulders and suppressed the smirk.

Finally, and I think just before Kade was going to march through the line and demand a seat, a waiter ushered us to a table.

“They’d better serve normal food.” Kade slid into the booth, and I went around the opposite side.

“Don’t worry, Kade, I’m sure there is a burger on the menu for you.” I giggled and swiped the menu off the table. “Do you need help finding the children’s menu?”

He gave me an ‘I’m not amused’ look before looking back down at his own menu.

Since we left, he had been uptight more than normal. I still couldn’t be sure if it was because I had roped him into this or he was worried my dad might find out. Either way, it didn’t explain the weird looks he kept shooting me.

“Sooooo…” I put my menu down and brought my elbows on top of the table.

“So?” He didn’t look up.

“Do you think they serve alcohol?”

He looked up with a dry expression. “They have fucking cupcakes on the menu, what do you think?”

“Tone down the bitchy, would you? I was just asking.”

“I’ve been telling you that for days,” he grunted.

“Don’t turn this conversation back to me.” I hated eating my own words.

“For a smart girl, you do really stupid stuff.” He dropped the menu, meeting my eyes.

“Care to explain, Reaper?” I tapped my finger on the table, and while my better judgment was telling me to leave it alone, I poked his question to see if he would tell me what he was really thinking.

He leaned across the table, those deadly gray eyes burning with emotion and questions. “What the fuck is this?”

“This is a café.”

---