Page 2 of The Biker's Forbidden Love
Christ, the heat coming off her is enough to scorch my skin. What am I thinking? She’s eighteen, and I’m forty-one. It’s indecent. Not to mention the fact that she’s Bruno’s daughter, the club president, and my best friend. I can’t be thinking these thoughts about her. Not if I want to keep my balls.
I move quickly through the dining room and into the backyard. I find Valerie with Gina and Kray running the BBQ. A few of the other club members are here, but mostly it’s kids. Lily’s school friends, I guess. They’re lounging around the pool. A couple of them are drinking beers under Valerie’s watch. And there’s the distinct smell of weed. Sure, it’s legal in this state, but I’m pretty sure Bruno wouldn’t want drugs at his daughter’s party.
I follow my nose and find a group of teenagers sitting around the pool. There’s a guy perched on the edge of a lounge chair holding court. He’s gesticulating wildly, grasping a doobie in one hand and a beer can in the other.
He goes to pass the joint, but I get there first, snatching it out of his hand.
“Hey man, what the fuck?”
I throw it into the pool, and it sizzles as it goes out.
“It’s legal, man.” The kid stands up, but when he sees me, he hesitates. I’m a big man, six foot three, broad shoulders with a solid frame, and I’m wearing the Underground Crows MC patch.
“Not in this house it isn’t.”
He wisely keeps his mouth shut and sinks back onto the lounger. I feel him scowling after me as I head across the yard and back to the adults.
Kray hands me a beer, and we chat for a while. He introduces me to his old lady, Cleo, and their adopted daughter.
But I’m only half listening. I scan the yard until I catch sight of a flash of green. Lily’s leaning against the fence, laughing at something a boy is saying to her.
A wave of jealousy rips through my body, and I curl my hands into fists. I want to go over there and pull him away from her. Which is ridiculous. What right do I have?
As if she knows I’m looking at her, Lily raises her gaze straight to mine. The boy is oblivious that he’s lost her attention, droning on about something. Lily gives me a small smile. Time seems to slow down as we eye each other across the lawn.
Her cheeks dimple when she smiles. It suits her, and I wonder what she looks like without all the makeup on.
Valerie goes quiet, and I realize someone’s asked me a question.
“Hmmm?”
I turn quickly back to the conversation as Kray hands me another beer. Sucking on it greedily, I will myself not to look at Lily. Instead, I focus on Valerie. We talk for a while about how she’s getting on with Bruno’s case. She thinks she’ll have him out in a few months.
That’s a relief to hear. The club needs a president, and Bruno is the best there is. I’ve known him since we were at school together. He’s my best friend as well as the club president.
I excuse myself to use the bathroom and make my way into the house.
As I’m walking back down the hall, I hear raised voices in one of the bedrooms. A girl, protesting. I walk quietly to the door and look in. Lily is up against the wall and the man who was smoking the reefer has her pinned there, his arms on either side of her head.
“I’m not interested, Karl. You’re high.”
“Just a kiss, Lily.”
He leans toward her and I lunge forward, grabbing him around the neck.
“She said no, fuck head.”
The guy’s eyes bulge out of their sockets, and his face goes red. I’m squeezing him too tight, but I don’t care. My body’s full of rage. I could kill this fucker for laying a hand on Lily.
“Jesse.” Lily’s voice is pleading, and her eyes are as wide as his. The last thing I want to do is scare her.
I release the kid, and he grabs at his throat. “What the fuck?”
I don’t give him a chance to try to explain. Grabbing his shoulder, I turn him toward the door and march him out of the house. He stumbles through the front door, and I give him a good shove to make sure he’s got the message.
“Get the fuck off this property and stay away from Lily.”
He stumbles down the steps and out the gate, not looking back. I’ve scared the shit out of him, and I hope he has the good sense to stay the fuck away. Who’s stupid enough to fuck with the President of the Underground Crows’s daughter?
