She gave my hand another squeeze, then stood. “Nope. I’m fine.”
“You’ll call if you’re worried about anything?” Jesse said.
Sofia nodded.
Jesse crossed the floor and pulled her in for a quick hug, then she waved at me and quickly left. Jesse frowned after her, finished dressing, then walked around the room, grabbing a few things and stuffing them in a pack before turning back to me. “Let’s go.”
Something was off, but I didn’t have time to question him. He took my hand and rushed me out the door and around the warehouse to the lineup of bikes out front. Jesse strapped his pack on the back and glanced up at me.
“Wait there.”
He strode back into the warehouse, and I stood there feeling out of place as several bikers milling around openly looked me up and down, assessing. I didn’t know where to look, so I stared at my feet. Last night had been intense, kind of crazy, but in a good way. I’d liked it, some parts I’d loved. This morning, I’d been confronted again with our differences.
I didn’t belong here and everyone knew it.
Then Jesse was coming toward me again, a jacket in his hand, and the look on his face as he stared down the men who had been watching me sent a shiver down my spine. It was cold, flat, full of warning. There was no sign of my Jesse in his green eyes.
The men quickly looked away and Jesse strode up to me and gripped my chin. “Ignore them. They’re just jealous you’re getting on the back of my bike and not theirs.”
My face heated.
A slow smile curled his lips. “FYI, my dick gets hard every time you blush like that.”
He held up the jacket and I slid my arms in the sleeves and huffed out a laugh. “You must be in pain a lot.”
“You have no idea,” he said, a growl in his voice that made my nipples tingle.
I glanced down at myself, at the leather jacket I was wearing. It was a woman’s and, though a bit snug over my boobs when Jesse zipped it up, it was worn and soft and fit pretty good. “Who does this belong to?”
“Sofia.”
Her husband was a biker, and it was obvious that she’d worn this jacket a lot, probably daily, doing what I was about to: climb on the back of a bike. She was still spending time with the club despite getting away from Jesse’s brother. Like these people were her family. Like it wasn’t just about riding bikes and parties but a way of life.
Did I want this to be my life, like it was hers?
Jesse was messing around with his bike when a car with several women pulled up. When they climbed out, their chatter, their laughter, carried across the lot. I couldn’t take my eyes off them as they strode full of confidence toward the warehouse. They each wore leather vests, smaller versions of what the guys wore.
I read the back of one and flinched.
The woman at the back of the pack had a patch that read “Property of Stones” across it. The others had the same patch, declaring they each belonged to a different biker.
My stomach turned over.
Jesse started his bike and glanced back at me. “Let’s go, babe. We’ll stop at my place and get you some pants before we leave town or you’ll freeze. Soph still has some shit there. She said to grab whatever you needed.”
Wordlessly, I hitched up my skirt, there was no other choice. Jesse seemed to enjoy this, and I climbed on behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, an unsettling feeling uncurling behind my ribs as we pulled out onto the road.
Is that what Jesse wanted? To be with a woman who would wear a leather jacket, worn from riding like Sofia’s, who would fit in with his club, his family?
Who would wear a vest like those women, proudly telling the world that they were nothing but some man’s property?
I’d just gotten away from parents who’d thought I was theirs to manipulate, to control.
Jesse’s not like that.
I held him tighter. If that’s what he wanted from me—we had no future.
I wouldn’t go back to living that way, not for him.
Not for anyone.
Chapter Sixteen
Lila
The morning had been pretty steady. The fact that I was only putting the returns away now, just before lunch, said a lot. Our little library was popular. We also had story time on Monday mornings, so moms could leave their little ones in good hands while they picked out new books.
Pauline, the woman who used to work here, had offered to read. She loved the library, but due to a few health issues had retired. This brought her back to the place she loved. She told me it made her feel useful. It worked well for both of us.
I’d also had a chance for a quick catch-up with Kate. She’d brought in coffee right after I opened and we’d gabbed for a little while. I hadn’t seen her as much lately and I loved hanging out with my sister.
Now the library was empty, and I carried a stack of books to the Romance section and got busy putting them away.
“Don’t move. Stay tight there, just like that,” a rough, extremely sexy voice said behind me.
I stilled instantly, shivering when Jesse moved up behind me and pressed his body against my back.
“I think I just walked into one of my fantasies,” he said against my ear. “I also remember you promising to make this particular one a reality.”
“I don’t remember promising anything of the sort,” I said, heart pounding faster. It had been a week since I crashed his party and it had been the best week of my life.
“Yeah, you do. I hadn’t been inside you yet. We were on the couch and you were desperate to be fucked, but you were shy and nervous and I was trying to do the right thing.” He nipped my ear and I shivered. “Before my good girl let me see just how bad she wanted to be.”
He gripped the sides of my skirt and slid it higher.
“What are you doing?”
“Having lunch.”
I laughed breathlessly.
“The door’s locked, we’re all alone.” He gripped my hips and steered me toward one of the tables.
How could he turn me on so fast? How was it possible? But he did, every time.
His hand went to the back of my neck and he pushed me forward so my front was to the table, then yanked up my skirt the rest of the way.
He made a rough sound, his hand gliding over the fabric covering my ass. “I like these ones. Blue looks pretty against your skin.” Then he tore my underwear down my legs, all the way, and unhooked them from my feet. I turned to watch him and he shoved them in his pocket.
“You’re gonna stay bare all day, Bambi, and when I come to you after work, you’ll be ready for my cock again. You’ll be ready for me, won’t you?”
I shivered. “Yes.”
His hand came down hard on my butt, spanking me twice in quick succession.
I cried out. More in surprise than pain. Oh God, it stung, but in a really good way. Heat spread over my skin, then arrowed right between my legs.
“That’s for teasing me with these sexy fuck-me skirts for so long.”
He dragged me off the table, spinning me suddenly, and positioned me on the surface before dropping to his knees. A startled laugh escaped but died quickly when he threw my legs over his shoulders and buried his face against my slick flesh.