Chapter One
Reaper felt the spell Ginny placed over him break, as the factory door closed behind her. Brushing past Shade, he started for the steps, only managing to get one foot down before Shade called out to him in a mocking voice.
“Where are you going? You just going to leave your bike in parts?”
“I forgot my water bottle in the club. I’ll finish it later.” Disconcerted by Ginny, he could only think of that lame excuse.
Hurrying up the steps past Train, he needed to be inside the club before Ginny exited the factory with Rider. She had rattled his brain and emotions the day before when he heard her singing, and being so close just now put him into the same funky headspace she sent him into yesterday.
Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the porch in record time. Moon, who was watching the door, took one look at his face and opened the door immediately.
Walking through the empty club room, he made his way into the kitchen, bypassing the crowd waiting for breakfast, and headed to the fridge for a bottled water. He’d drank down half the bottle when he saw everyone in the room staring at him.
“What?” he snarled.
“Nothing,” Nickel mumbled, switching his gaze to the back of Sasha’s head as they waited their turns to fill their plates.
Deciding to eat before he finished working on his motorcycle, he got in line behind Nickel, telling himself he wasn’t eating just because Ginny could still be in the parking lot. He remained rigid in his spot as Shade and Train came in through the door to stand behind him. At least the brothers were smart enough not to say anything to him as they waited for Nickel to fill his plate.
“Ginny came at the perfect time. Rider’s ass is always first in line, and he never leaves us any bacon.”
Reaper didn’t give a fuck if Train was talking to him or Shade. He didn’t respond, focusing on taking a plate and placing a mound of scrambled eggs on it. “You can have the bacon. I want the waffles. Jewell uses the recipe that Ginny made when she worked for us.” Shade moved from behind him to his side to take a plate.
Taking his fork, Reaper stabbed the two remaining waffles, placing them next to his eggs.
“At least you won’t have to work out in the gym for an hour to work them off,” Train consoled a Shade. Reaper glanced at him out of the corner of his eye; the brother didn’t look upset at having the waffles stolen from him.
“I’ll eat the toast. The jar of jelly that Ginny brought in as gifts is still full ...,” Shade began.
Going farther down the line, Reaper picked up the jar of jelly, placing it in the crook of his arm to carry it into the dining room where he sat at the small table farthest away from everyone. He then concentrated on eating and not on the woman who touched him and stared at him as if her heart were in her eyes.
Lifting a forkful of eggs to his mouth, his hand was shaking so badly the eggs slipped off.
When he saw Train and Shade taking a seat at table close by, Reaper knew they weren’t done trying to get under his guard.
As Shade watched him over the cup of his coffee, Reaper opened the jar of preserves, slathering the waffles with it, before closing the jar tightly. He really didn’t want the sugary fruit for breakfast; he just didn’t want Shade to have it. He wasn’t stupid. The brothers were trying to get a rise out of him about his reaction to their former housekeeper, and they were about to get it if they didn’t watch their steps. He was spoiling for a fight, needing to shake off the myriad of feelings the woman was bringing to life.
He could deal with rage, hatred, and revenge. What he couldn’t deal with was the stirring of desire that freaked him the fuck out.
He was using his fork to cut the waffle when he saw Shade start to get up from the table, his narrowed gaze on the jam. As he braced for the fight he had been trying to provoke, Train placed a hand on Shade’s shoulder, stopping him with a muttered aside that Reaper couldn’t hear.
Shrugging, Shade picked up his dry toast and started eating as his wife and children came in the dining room and took a seat at the table. When her violet gaze landed on the jar on his table, Reaper inwardly groaned.
Rising from the table, Lily approached him, innocently unaware that she just stopped the burgeoning fight between him and Shade. “Excuse me, do you mind if I take the jelly? John finished the one at our house, and I’m trying to get him to eat before he has to go to school.”
“Go ahead.” Under Shade’s mocking gaze, Reaper reluctantly forced the words out.
“Thanks. I need to tell Ginny to make a few extra jars next time. She brought four, and this is the last one.” Picking up the jar, Lily started backing away from the table, keeping him within her eyeline until she was safely seated by Shade.
Lowering his head, Reaper forced down a bite of the waffle smeared with the jam, desperately trying not to overhear the conversation going on at the table just a few inches away.
“I think he growled at me.”
Not even her whispered voice could keep him from making out Lily’s words.
“He must like the jam as much as John and you do.”
“Apparently.”
Shade’s sardonic reply had Reaper grabbing his plate to leave, only to find his ass glued to the chair when Ginny entered the room. A rush of relief hit him when he saw Lily wave at her. It was short-lived, however. Other than a small wave in Lily’s direction, Ginny kept walking toward his table.
“I just wanted to tell you good-bye before I left.”
He drew a blank at what to say to the woman; he needed to shut down the attraction surrounding them whenever they were near each other. Unable to force his vocal cords to work, he became aware of the others in the room listening. The brothers were easy to decipher, waiting for him to tell Ginny that he didn’t give a fuck, tautly preparing themselves to intervene. The women members expected him to give her a cold shoulder, sympathy pouring out of them in waves.
Reaper wanted to do both. The only thing stopping him was Ginny’s undaunted strength. She was unlike any other woman he had ever met. There was no fear of him in her expression; it was the exact opposite. Ginny familiarly greeted him as if he were a long-lost lover and she had just been reunited with him. It was crazy as fuck. What was even more alarming was a part of him felt the same.
Alarms sounded shrilly in his head at her behavior and at his own. When she had touched his cheek, it were as if Ginny had touched him a million times before, yet he knew she hadn’t. The most confusing part was it had felt so fucking right.
Unable to talk with the alarm blaring in his head, Reaper sat there like an infatuated dumb fuck.
“Lucky and Willa have been kind enough to put me up at the church. If you decide to come to town, we could grab a coffee at the diner. I leave in the morning.” With her hand at her side, she tugged down the bottom of her top. The tell-tale sign of her being nervous struck him like lightening making him forget about the set down he was about to give. That was ... if he could ever get his fucking tongue to work again.
“Well ...” She trailed off when he remained silent. “I hope to see you again.” Watching her turn and composedly leave, a flash on the edge of his memory tried to click in place, then was gone just as quick.
Confused, Reaper was still staring at the empty doorway when he became aware of the voices around him.