Prologue
The sun’s rays beat down on my skin in an unforgiving onslaught as I lay by the lake watching birds circle in the sky. It was close to summer in Nevada and though the heat was nothing like my native New York, it could still be oppressive. The heat was drier here though, not as humid and I was thankful for small mercies.
I could almost drift off, listening to the soft lapping of the water on the shore, the birds calling and the muted conversation all around me.
Freezing water dropping onto my bare belly broke me away from my reverie as I shrieked, sitting up in surprise.
“Just making sure you’re awake, sis,” Wes chuckled as his wife, Connie, socked him in the side.
“Happy now?” I asked with a raised brow, sitting up with a huff. Wes loved to tease me. Though I was Sal’s little sister, he frequently treated me as an older brother would.
“Thrilled,” he winked, throwing a muscled arm over Connie and kissing her temple.
I rose with a sigh, stretching my arms overhead and eyed the glistening lake and mountains beyond. Since Wes had so kindly introduced me to the temperature of the water, I might as well go in.
I ditched the jean shorts I’d been wearing over my bathing suit and headed to the water’s edge. It felt cool but refreshing against the heat of the day and I wandered in to waist height before finally feeling brave enough to submerge entirely. I floated on my back for a short while, embracing the silence as my ears fell beneath the surface of the water. It made me want to tune everything out, to feel the abyss underneath. I took a deep, fortifying breath and dove under, relishing the burn in my lungs and the booming silence below.
There never seemed to be enough air for me on the surface anyway.
I forced myself to stay under, my lungs screaming in protest as my long hair fanned out around me.
Before I’d even fully embraced the quiet, I was aware of a disturbance in the water. Then firm hands gripped my arms, pulling me roughly to the surface.
I sputtered and took a few deep breaths before meeting the blazing grey eyes before me.
Axel.
No matter how much time I’d spent around him, he still made my heart sputter like an old motor before it revved to life, ready for flight.
“What the fuck are you doin’?” he demanded harshly.
“Uh, swimming?” I answered. Axel always put me in a state of confusion, no matter the occasion.
“Swimming typically involves your head above water,” he fumed, his hands still gripping my arms.
“Yeah, well, I was trying something new,” I retorted, still gasping a bit for breath.
The truth was, I didn’t know what I’d been doing other than trying to escape my thoughts for a little while.
“Yeah, well, try something new out of the water then,” he grumbled, pulling me with him to the pebbled shore.
I didn’t answer him but followed dutifully, plopping on a towel and glaring briefly at my persistent savior.
He towered over me, his muscled frame glistening with moisture as his chest heaved from the exertion of his unnecessary rescue.
Connie sat down quietly beside me, her warm shoulder bumping mine in silent support. “What were you doing out there?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing.” I shrugged, staring out at the water beyond.
“Didn’t look like nothing,” she murmured.
They all wanted me to talk. Desperately. Sal had demanded it time and time again. I knew they were all braced, as though I was a shoe waiting to drop.
My brother, technically half-brother, was part of a motorcycle club, something I’d known nothing about until I’d shown up on his doorstep. I’d since been thrust into their world, which I had to admit, most of the time was pretty sweet if not a bit overbearing. I’d grown fond of them all in a way I could have never anticipated. In getting to know my brother and loving him, I’d found that I loved the Knights and their women as well.
“I’m fine,” I reiterated quietly.
“Okay, sweetie.” She slung her arm around my shoulders, squeezing me briefly before letting me go.
Ettie, Mack’s fiancée, came to sit next to me. They’d just become engaged a few days ago.
“Earth to Sophie,” I heard her laugh a moment later.
“Hmm?” I asked distractedly as I sat transfixed, watching Axel dry off. As the towel moved over every ridge of his six-pack and the broad plane of his chest, I’d never wanted to be a piece of fabric so badly in my life. The man was drool-worthy.
She nudged me with a small laugh. “See something you like?”
She had no idea just how much.
My cheeks flared as I forced my eyes away from him. “What were you saying?” I asked dreamily.
She rolled her eyes. “I was saying, I wonder if Sal and Kat are having a good time.”
My brother and his fiancée, Kat, had gone to Spain a few weeks ago. They’d be back in just over a week.
“I’m sure,” I nodded, my eyes turning back to Axel, watching as he threw a shirt on over his head. Clearly, he was getting ready to leave. I’d hoped to talk to him today, but it never seemed like a good time. Yet another day where things were clear as mud when it came to him.
Our relationship was so confusing, full of mixed signals and tension. It was also laced with a longing so intense, it was nearly tangible. I liked to believe that ran both ways.
He shot me a troubled look as though torn, before he reluctantly swung a leg over his bike and threw a two-fingered salute to Wes.
“He’s an idiot,” Connie put in.
“We both are,” I muttered, watching as her brows knit at my comment.
Later that evening, I was just getting out of the shower when my buzzer rang. I was still staying in Kat’s old apartment until I came up with another plan. “Hello?” I inquired, confused since I didn’t expect anyone and was always on edge these days.
“It’s me, Soph,” Axel’s gruff voice replied. “Let me up.”
My heart stuttered in my chest as it always did when it came to him as I pushed the button, letting him up.
I pressed a nervous hand to my chest, cinching my robe tighter. When he knocked on my door, I forced myself to appear calm, outwardly at least, and opened the door to him.
He stepped inside; his large body making the space feel smaller and a good deal warmer as he dropped a pizza and a six-pack of beer on the counter.
“You brought dinner?” I asked with a raised brow.
He shrugged. “I thought you might be hungry.”
I was in fact starving.
I peeked underneath the cardboard cover only to find he’d ordered my favorite. Hawaiian, yum.
“How’d you get home?” he asked, his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest.
His accusatory tone rankled me. He certainly hadn’t offered to drive me home.
“What is this? The third degree? Can I at least put some clothes on?” I demanded.
He bit back a smile and nodded.
I huffed, moving toward my dresser, pulling out my sleep shorts and a tee, closing the bathroom door behind me to change.
I regarded myself in the mirror briefly. My cheeks held a crimson hue and my large brown eyes were alight with the familiar spark I’d never seen before this brawny man entered my life.
When I re-emerged, he’d made himself comfortable on the sofa, his motorcycle boots propped on the coffee table and beer in hand.