Page 1 of Biker's Temptation
Chapter one
Melissa
WhatamIdoinghere?
I grimaced as my wrist touched something sticky on the worn tabletop.I hoped it was only dried beer or a spilled soda, but considering the looks of this place, I worried it might be an actual biohazard.
A biker bar.
An actual honest-to-goodness biker bar in the far wilds of Galveston County with dented tables and mismatched chairs and the dirtiest floor I had ever had the misfortune of walking across.Dim and missing lights.The smell of soured alcohol, cigarettes, and exhaust fumes filled the air.
The bar was staffed by an older man missing half the fingers on one hand and a snappy older woman with a sharp reply for everyone who dared approach the stained wooden slab.They served mostly bottles, but well drinks and shots came in smudged and chipped glasses.The beer was cheap, but it was ice cold.
The patrons were even rougher than the building.It was mostly men, nearly all of them over forty.They were rugged and hard with scarred hands and faces and tattoos.Everywhere I looked there was worn leather—vests, jackets, and heavy boots.
The lead singer of the band began to wail off-key behind the metal cage that protected him from the clientele.Across the table from me, Yolanda, a music teacher at the school where we all worked, cringed.She had been eyeing the stage since the band started playing.She kept her expression neutral, but I could tell she was less than impressed with their tragically bad Heart covers.
“New rule!”Jacie shouted over the din.“Becky never gets to choose our book club social location ever again!”
Chagrined, Becky offered an apologetic wince to our group of eleven.She nervously spun her wedding band, no doubt wishing she was back in her cozy brick bungalow with her pediatrician husband.She glanced at Daisy who sat next to her as if searching for some support.“In my defense, it sounded better in theory.”
“In your defense, the smutty books we read have rotted our brains,” my cousin Nataly remarked before draining her bottle of Modelo.She was the newest member of our book club.She had only been teaching at the school district since March, and I had finally succeeded in getting her to join the reading group in June.This was her first social outing with the club, and I wasn’t going to hear the end of this anytime soon.
“Well, I think it’s fun!”Lulu brightly interjected.She was always positive, always peppy, and endlessly patient.She playfully bumped Daisy with her shoulder.“It’s like an adventure, right?”
“My stomach is not enjoying this adventure,” Daisy remarked with a grimace.She cast a suspicious look at the sad lemon slice floating in her ice water.“Can you get food poisoning from a lemon?”
“You can get food poisoning from just about anything,” Reina answered with authority.She would know.She oversaw the entire cafeteria system in our school district and had trained as chef while earning her degree in nutrition.“It’s why I avoid lemons and ice at most restaurants.Those ice machines rarely get cleaned properly, and servers hardly ever wash their hands before grabbing sliced fruit for drinks.”
“Ew!”Daisy pushed her glass of water a few inches.“You couldn’t tell me that before I drank this?”
“Sorry.”Reina polished off her beer and looked at her watch.“I think I’m having another round before I go.Any takers?”
Half of our group wanted another round.Realizing it would be too much for her to carry, I volunteered to help her.I took the orders from the second table we had dragged over to fit our group, quickly memorizing what everyone wanted.
As I trailed Reina to the bar, I felt that prickly sensation of someone watching me.I glanced around the room in search of the source.My gaze clashed with the heated interest of a big, brawler type seated at the far end of the bar.Salt and pepper hair kept short and no-nonsense.At least a day’s worth of careless stubble on his chiseled jaw.Mossy green eyes that followed every step I took.
He made no attempt to hide the way he was checking me out, his pale eyes roaming my body with obvious appreciation.I swallowed hard, feeling suddenly self-conscious.I couldn’t remember the last time any man had looked at me like that.Probably right around the time I’d divorced Cade and gone through a mini slut phase, wearing clothes that made me feel sexy and empowered to remind myself I still had it.
But I had always chickened out, and despite all that attention, I had only taken one man home during that short post-divorce phase.He had been a safe bet, someone I didn’t need to worry about breaking my heart or hurting me.A mild-mannered solar panel salesman who had proven to be perfectly adequate.
James hadn’t been the wild adventure I had been craving, but I doubted this stranger who was literally eye-fucking me from across the room would disappoint.
As he watched me walk to the bar, he ran his thumb along the slick glass of the beer bottle clamped in his meaty hand.I couldn’t help but imagine that hand touching me.A frisson of pure excitement spread along my spine and blossomed in my chest.I inhaled a shuddery breath and broke our shared stare, turning my focus to Reina who had sidled up to the bar to order.
I stepped up next to her and waited for my turn to rattle off the drinks I needed.All the while, he kept watching me.I didn’t dare glance at him.I wasn’t sure I could get through my order without stumbling over the words if I did.
A few minutes later, drinks in hand, I made the mistake of finally looking at him.He smirked, a slow, easy smile that made my heart race, and then he winked lazily.It wasn’t the corny, cringe kind of wink either.It was teasing and flirtatious, and I suddenly felt a flutter of need I hadn’t experienced in years.
Get a grip, Melissa.
You’re a school librarian.
He’s probably a fucking felon.
The tattoos, the leather vest, the way he seemed to be a well-known patron of the bar.There was exactly zero chance this man had a clean record.
I successfully made it back to our tables and handed out the drinks.Sammy had taken my spot while I was gone, sitting next to Becky and chatting her ear off about the practice where Becky’s husband worked.Considering Sammy was eight months pregnant, she likely had a lot of questions about choosing a pediatrician.
