Page 73 of Ridin' True
“Hmm,” he hummed with a playful scowl. “I seem to recall you enjoyin’ the ride. Twice.”
I lost the fight to my smile, but I was still trying not to laugh as I ran my fingers through my hair. One glance at the carnage around his double sink—the result of my rushed morning prep—gave me an excuse to change the subject.
“Sorry for the mess. I’ll clean it later. I’m so late.”
“Worth it?”
Satisfied with my efforts, I turned to face him before I replied, “Without a doubt.”
He smirked, plucking his sunglasses from where he’d hooked them over his shirt and said, “I’ll meet you in the driveway.”
I watched him go, in awe that he was mine and this wasus. I wondered when it would fade—the feeling that he was too good to be true. We were new, and life was complicated. But rather than fragile, our relationship felt stable, because Jed was steadfast and immoveable. I’d never had a man like him in my life before, and I couldn’t put into words how much I cherished it. I was falling faster and harder than ever, and it was scary—but he was mine and this wasus. So, I watched him go, just to remind myself I wasn’t dreaming. I was wide awake.
And late.
Very late.
I slipped my feet into my shoes, grabbed my purse, and hurried for the garage. When I got behind the wheel, I noticed there was a smoothie waiting for me in my cup holder, and I was elated. Jed’s fancy blender wasn’t just for show or margaritas. He didn’t consider himself a talent in the kitchen, but his protein smoothies were amazing.
We’d been under the same roof for three nights, and already we’d managed to build aroutine. It was as strange as it was wonderful. I met him less than a month ago, and I was practically living with him. It was temporary, and I knew that, but I was trying to take the good with the bad.
I didn’t love that Jed followed me to work every morning. Or that there was a Stallion who hung outside the building when it was time for me to grab lunch. Or how I couldn’t leave for the day until Jed was there to pick me up. I didn’t love that I knew he should have been at Steel Mustang the night before, but he opted to stay home with me so I wasn’t alone.
And I really hatedwhyhe never wanted me to be alone.
Fred Hoffman had gone dark in the days following my kidnapping. While there hadn’t been any trouble with Rocco or the cartel, the guys were still being cautious and vigilant about my safety.
All that was the bad—but the good was hard to ignore.
I enjoyed sitting outside at night, snuggled in Jed’s arms by the fire or on his porch swing. I liked falling asleep with him in his bed, which was way more comfortable than mine. And the morning sex was fun, too.
When Jed and I arrived at the office, I did what was becoming customary. I got out of my car, made my way over to him, and kissed him goodbye.
“Thanks for the smoothie.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you later.”
I nodded, kissed him once more, and then headed inside.
A while later, I was slurping down the last of my smoothie when Cora dropped by my office with a case file delivery. Apparently, I was being assigned another divorce settlement.
Cora was as pleasant and friendly as she always was, but I was glad to see her go. It wasn’t that I was mad at her for passing along information about me to Roy; but since I found out she’d done it, I hadn’t really been able to look at her the same. I think what bothered me was that she never told me. As a colleague, it would be understandable. As my friend, not so much.
Both how I felt about Cora and yet another divorce settlement set my mind adrift.
I’d had time to think about it, and I accepted what Jed said about the Stallions job offer. Hoffman’s threat was about Hoffman and the decisions he’d made. He was the one who put himself between the club and the cartel who, as I understood it, were—for all intents and purposes—frienemies. It was a dangerous place to be. But as the Stallions’ general counsel, he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. If I were to take the role, the job itself wouldn’t put me in danger.
I didn’t want to be assigned cases someone else didn’t want to do anymore. I wanted more autonomy and control. I wanted career progression and work that was interesting and pushed me to grow. I wanted what I was ready to take when I wrote the resignation letter I’d yet to print—but it didn’t seem so simple anymore.
I was in that room for the round table. I might not have understood everything the men were saying as it was being said, but I got the gist after my talk with Jed. I peeked behind the curtain, and I saw a glimpse of their world. Roy told me the Wild Stallions made their own laws, and I stood in that room with the club’s governing body. It was intimidating. But in the days that followed, they stood by their word. They weren’t reckless or impulsive. They were businessmen in leather kuttes.
Or maybe I was fooling myself.
It was hard to think objectively knowing Jed was one of them. I couldn’t decide if I was talking myself into accepting the job because I was halfway in love with a Stallion or if I was being legitimately rational.
I needed to talk it out with someone who wasn’t Jed.
Cora, for obvious reasons, was not an option.
