by Elias Taylor
Christian’s frown deepened. “It’s okay that you did. I had a good time, didn’t you?”
As he spoke, he leaned in closer as if to kiss her. Beth drew back. This could not continue. What was he thinking? They couldn’t cuddle in bed as if any of this was normal.
“I did have a good time.” It was the truth. She had definitely enjoyed the sex; even the thought of it made her face warm. She couldn’t lie about that.
A smile lit up Christian’s face. He looked happy. Beth realized that she had never really seen him smile. Obviously, he must have smiled when he was dating Tisha, but she had never hung out with them. The few times she had seen him around town after the break-up, he had always looked so somber. His frowning visage was what attracted so many girls to him. He had an air of tragedy about him.
Beth shook her head. She had to stop getting distracted by his good looks.
Just when she was resolving to get out of the bed, Christian leaned forward and brushed her lips with a gentle kiss. Beth should have pulled away, but she didn’t. A traitorous part of her wanted to feel his soft lips again. Christian gave her another dazzling smile as he settled down against the pillows.
“Man, I’m hungover,” he said. “How does breakfast sound? Coffee?”
A huge plate of eggs and bacon with some hot coffee—plus a few aspirins for her headache—actually sounded amazing, but Beth had no intention of staying long enough to share breakfast with Christian. She was shocked that he even suggested it. Breakfast the morning after was totally not a hook-up thing. From what she heard, Christian was an expert at keeping things light and casual.
“I actually gotta run,” Beth said. “I’ve been working on a big project.”
“On a Sunday?”
“Yeah, I need to draw up a few more designs for the client.” She sat up, careful to keep the blankets over her chest. Christian propped himself up on his elbow and blinked a few times as if fully registering the extent of Beth’s discomfort.
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
“Thank you,” Beth said.
She meant it, too. She did not want to have to get dressed in front of him. She turned away while Christian dragged himself out of bed and pulled on some boxer shorts and sweats. Then, he exited the room.
With him gone, Beth could focus.
She leaped to her feet and started gathering up her clothes from where they had been tossed about the room. Her headache throbbed as she picked up her jeans and remembered how she had peeled them off with the intent of seducing him.
Maybe she should give up drinking altogether. Although she hadn’t been that drunk—just a little tipsy—she was intoxicated enough to lose her inhibitions and forget about Tisha.
Beth pulled her pants on with a little more force than was necessary. She should never forget about Tisha. What kind of friend was she? Sure, Tisha had been a real jerk for the last few years, but that didn’t mean Beth had lost all her loyalty. Tisha would think that Beth had been lusting after Christian the whole time they were dating.
Beth froze as a terrifying thought popped into her head. What if Tisha found out about this? She would be livid and hurt. Beneath Tisha’s bold exterior, she was still human. She had insecurities and vulnerabilities like everyone else. It would be like a knife to the gut if she found out that Beth and Christian had hooked up, even if it hadn’t meant anything. So Tisha could never find out. That would be easy since Beth had zero intention of ever discussing the night before or seeing Christian again.
Beth looked around the room for her t-shirt and panicked as she realized she had left it in the living room. No way in hell was she going to walk out past Christian in just her jeans and a bra. She scanned the room. She could rifle through Christian’s drawers and grab one of his shirts. She rejected that idea in an instant. It was a total girlfriend thing to do.
Just then, there was a light knock on the door.
“I have your shirt. I’ll just drop it inside,” Christian called.
He opened the door a crack and tossed her shirt inside. Beth scrambled over and pulled it on as fast as she could. Then, she ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. Time to make her escape. She walked out to find Christian lounging on his couch.
“Well,” Beth said. “Bye.”
“How are you getting home?” Christian asked.
Beth blushed as she realized she hadn’t even considered that.
“I left my bike at the clubhouse lot,” she said. “I’ll just call a cab and head over there.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Christian said.
Beth twisted her hands. Why was he being so nice? Christian Crown was the type of guy who had a new girl every weekend. She had heard all the stories from other bikers. Guys like that didn’t give rides home in the morning.
“You totally don’t have to,” she said.
“It’s no problem,” Christian said. “And if you have to get to work, this will be the fastest way.”
Beth couldn’t really argue with that, so she just nodded and scooped up her purse.
“I’m ready to go whenever you are,” she said.
Christian stood up and headed to the door to pull on his boots.
When he turned, he had a slightly awkward expression on his face. Beth hoped that maybe he had remembered something he had to do. It wasn’t a very long ride to the lot, but Beth was desperate to get out of his distracting presence.
“Like I said, I had a good time,” Christian said. “And I would really like to see you again.”
Beth’s eyes widened. He wanted to see her again? This was definitely not his way. Christian hadn’t been serious about a girl since Tisha dumped him, and there was no chance in hell that he was serious about Beth. Maybe this was some sort of weird revenge plot. Beth looked at Christian. He was giving her a hesitant smile and rubbing the back of his neck. If this was all a ploy to get back at Tisha, he was a good actor.
“Um, I can give you my number for sure,” Beth said. She tried to speak with confidence, but even she heard the shake in her voice.
Best to let him down easy. He could have her number, but she didn’t have to answer his texts or calls. That would give him the message. Christian grinned at her. Once again, Beth was totally distracted by how adorable his smile was. He held out his phone, and Beth quickly entered her number. There was no harm in giving him her number, she reminded herself. They were members of the same club, after all.
Not that this had anything to do with the Road Warriors.
Beth shoved his phone back toward him and pulled her leather jacket on.
“Okay, let’s go,” she said.
The ride back couldn’t have been more different than the ride from the night before. Last night, Beth lost herself in the moment. She had relished the feel of Christian’s broad shoulders and let herself get swept away in the momentum of the crazy night.
Now, totally sober and in the daylight, Beth couldn’t stop overthinking.
What if someone saw them together? What if somehow the rumors got out? At least a few people would know that Christian had started a fight for Beth, and that was bad enough. Beth prayed that everyone had drunk a lot at the event. Then, maybe they could conveniently forget the brawl. Or at least forget Beth’s involvement.
Even amid her stress over being found out, Beth’s mind kept drifting back to how solid Christian felt beneath her hands. He really was hot. She had thought so, back in high school even, but she had never lusted for him. She hadn’t let her mind go there. He belonged to Tisha.
But as soon as she had let herself think of him that way the night before, it seemed an unstoppable wave of attraction had been unleashed. She had to get rid of it. Beth reminded herself of that a dozen times during the ten-minute bike ride. She and Christian were going nowhere. She had to nip the whole affair in the bud before it turned into a mess.
It was already a mess. She was going to feel guilty about this for a very long time.
When at last Christian pulled up at the lot, Beth hopped off as soon as his bike stopped moving.
“Well, thanks,” she said.
Christian pulled his helmet off and gave her a smile. He looked good in the morning, it was undeniable. Even with the scruff on his chin and the bags under his eyes from staying up too late, he was very handsome.
“When can I take you out?” Christian asked.
“Out?” Beth’s voice came out sounding borderline hysterical. Why on earth was he asking the best friend of his ex-girlfriend out? Sure, she and Tisha didn’t hang out that much anymore, but he didn’t know that.
“Yeah, for a meal,” Christian said. “You know, on a date?”
He wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing gesture that made Beth catch her breath. Then, she remembered who he was.
“I have a busy schedule,” she said. “You can just call me or something.”
With a quick wave, she turned and hightailed it toward her bike. She had never been good at rejecting guys. Mel said she was too nice.
It had still been a clear brush-off, though. Christian wasn’t an idiot. He would understand that a busy schedule meant no.
At least, Beth hoped he would understand because she wasn’t sure she had the willpower to say no if he asked again.
Chapter Ten: Christian
Christian heard the phone ring for the fifth time, but he didn’t pick up.
He knew it was just one of his brothers. They had both called, but Christian wasn’t ready to talk to them. He was trying to sleep off a hangover, plus he was feeling too good about the night with Beth to ruin it. He knew his brothers were calling to yell at him about the fight. The lectures were inevitable, but Christian at least wanted his headache to fade.
His feelings for Beth weren’t about to fade, though.
A goofy grin spread across his face, even as he pulled his hood tighter to block the light out. He was lying on his couch after having devoured some fast food—the perfect hangover cure. He just wished Beth had stuck around. He would have been up for round two.
He had no doubt the fight had upset his brothers and his dad, but it had all been worth it for a night with Beth. He still couldn’t believe she had come home with him or that she had wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Never in a million years would he think he could be so attracted to Tisha’s best friend. He had slept with Tisha’s best friend. At the time, he hadn’t been thinking of Tisha, but if he had, he would have figured sleeping with Beth would have felt like payback. Tisha had always been the jealous type, and even after all these years, she would be pissed if she knew he had hooked up with her best friend.
Only now that it had happened, revenge and payback were far from Christian’s mind. He was only thinking of how amazing it had been. Beth was her own entity, far removed from Tisha. She was so down to earth and kind. She was ambitious but not self-centered. She was beautiful. So what if she was Tisha’s best friend? That didn’t have to affect them.
Christian knew deep down that he was too flippant about his history, but he wanted to see Beth again. They could worry about baggage later.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Christian groaned. Tyler and Anthony had probably gotten tired of him ignoring their calls. Christian stood and shuffled toward the door, wincing as the pounding continued. His heart sank when he opened it to reveal his father.
“I cannot believe you,” his dad, Barry, said through clenched teeth. Then, Barry shoved his way in and stormed through Christian’s living room.
“Come in, won’t you?” Christian muttered. He sent up a quick prayer of thanks that Beth had departed.
“Don’t be sarcastic with me, boy,” Barry snapped.
Christian clamped his mouth shut. Snide comments were not going to help this situation. He was going to have to suffer through the lecture. He couldn’t exactly deny his involvement in the brawl at what was supposed to be a peaceful mixer.
“Your behavior last night was disgusting,” his dad said. “I don’t understand why you can’t do things the right way. For crying out loud, you’re an adult now!”
Christian slumped into an armchair. None of these lines were new to him. He had been hearing the same thing for almost ten years. It wasn’t just about the club. It was never about the club. It was about Christian’s entire life and every single irresponsible choice he had made.
His father hated that Christian chose to pursue a flimsy and unreliable career in photography when he could have joined the other bikers at an auto shop or construction firm. His dad didn’t understand that Christian’s soul would suffer at those types of jobs. Tisha had torn him up into a million pieces. Photography had put him back together again. It was the one thing he had left after she destroyed his life. His dad could never understand that.
“I mean, a fistfight?” Barry continued. “At a memorial, too!”
Christian’s patience cracked. It had been a memorial for Beth’s father.
“Those guys were jerks,” Christian said. “They wouldn’t leave the girls alone. Aren’t we supposed to stick up for our brothers and sisters at the club?”
His father whirled at him. Barry was not a small man, and he was still standing while Christian was slouched in the chair. His father’s furious expression made Christian shrink deeper into the chair. He was way too hungover for this.
“We can protect women without acting like idiots,” his father said.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Christian said. “Won’t happen again.”
“I’m not finished.”
Christian glanced up. His father had taken on a lethal tone.
“I know you left with Bethany Harold,” Barry said.
Christian swallowed once. This was dangerous territory. He didn’t realize people had seen them leave. He knew he didn’t exactly have the best reputation. That is to say, no one was going to think he gave Beth a platonic ride home.
“So?” Christian said. “She wanted to leave.”
“You’re going to leave that girl alone.” Barry’s scowl reminded Christian why his father had gained such a position of power in the biker community.
A spark of defiance coursed through Christian’s veins. “She’s not a girl. She’s a woman.”
It sounded a bit stupid, but it was true. Beth was an adult, and she was capable of making her own decisions.
To Christian’s surprise, his father deflated before him. Barry let out a huge sigh before sitting down on the couch. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and was silent for a minute. Christian was too shocked to speak. None of their fights had ever deescalated in such a way.
“Son, I know you’ve had a tough few years,” his dad said. “But so has Beth. Trust me, that family has had it hard. She struggled after losing her dad.”
For the first time in a long time, Christian knew his father was right. Not just about him, but also about Beth. Even though her father had died a long time ago, Christian understood that such a loss at such a young age had lasting ramifications. It started to make sense, how she had rushed out. Committing or opening up to one person was probably hard.
If Beth had trust issues, Christian had just as many. Tisha had left him a shell of a man, unable to even imagine that there could exist a woman that wouldn’t hurt him, intentionally or not.
“Just leave her be,” his dad said. “Please.”
Christian couldn’t remember the last time his father had used the word, please. Or any polite words with him.
Christian knew it wasn’t all his father’s fault. Christian had been a wreck after Tisha. He had lashed out at everyone in his life. His mother had been understanding, but his father had chastised him for being immature. He hadn’t liked how Christian slept around to fill the void in his life, and of course, he didn’t think Christian was pulling his weight at the club or making good career decisions.
His father had a point about Beth, though. There was too much going on with her. Yeah, the sex was gre
at, but she was still a woman. Christian had been on cloud nine that morning, but now he was falling back to reality. The reality was, he still wasn’t sure he could trust another woman.
“Okay,” Christian said. “I hear you.”
His dad raised his brows. He was surprised Christian wasn’t putting up a fight.
“Beth probably deserves better than me,” Christian muttered.
His father stood up. Christian noted with a twinge of anger that his dad didn’t even bother to disagree with Christian’s statement.
“I’ve got club business,” his dad said. “Smoothing over the mess from last night.”
Of course, his dad fired off one last parting shot to make sure Christian felt like shit for the rest of the day.
Christian just nodded as his dad headed for the door. Once he was gone, Christian relaxed. He glanced over at his phone. He had planned on calling Beth soon. He wasn’t the type to give up just because she had rushed out. There had been a connection between them, and he knew she felt it, too.
He understood why she had rushed off. It was weird for her that he had dated Tisha, and Beth probably didn’t open up easily because of her dad’s death. But she couldn’t deny that what they had was special. His dad’s visit had made him doubt if he should pursue her, though. He didn’t want to get hurt again, and even more than that, he didn’t want Beth to get hurt. It was messy every single way he looked at it.
Christian ran a hand through his hair, closed his eyes, and saw Beth. Her face. Her lips parted just a bit. The curve of her arm. The way her eyes had lit up when he asked her to dance.
Maybe she was a bad idea, but she was a bad idea that he couldn’t stop thinking about.
Chapter Eleven: Beth
Beth hadn’t been lying to Christian. Not completely. She did have some work to do. It wasn’t exactly urgent, but she had been meaning to adjust some designs for her current project. After getting home and showering, Beth ventured out to the site to look over a few things and tweak her sketches.
