by Lilly Atlas
“Fuuuck,” he yelled as he clenched the edge of the counter until his fatigued joints screamed in protest. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off the fact his MC’s world was about to be blown to bits. Maybe he should wander next door and introduce himself to the pretty little lady who’d inherited his neighbor’s house. Staring at her lush hips and tits should take care of distracting him.
Zach lifted his head and stared out the kitchen window which had a straight-shot view of the neighbor’s house. Sure enough, she was out on the porch with the twiggy suit who was staying with her.
Boyfriend? Husband? Didn’t matter. All he wanted was to ogle her for a few moments, maybe make a few suggestive comments and find out if she was a blusher or not. Pissing off the walking, talking stick in a suit would just be icing on the cake.
Decision made, Zach jogged to his room and tossed on a plain black T-shirt. Sweat still coated his body, making the cotton stick to his chest and back. After stripping his workout shorts off, he found a pair of jeans on the floor and slid them on. As he left, he grabbed his cut from a hook by the front door and shrugged into it.
No member of the Hell’s Handlers went without their cuts unless they were riding in a cage or through another MC’s territory. As a sign of respect. And they never tossed them on the floor in heap, no matter how tired, how wasted, or how hot the pussy they were about to dive into was. Respect for the club was number one. Each man worked their ass off to earn it and that leather represented the club and everything that was important to him and his brothers.
Thirty seconds later, Zach’s large stride had eaten up more than half the yard separating the two houses. The suit noticed him before the neighbor’s daughter. The man looked like someone had kicked him in the nuts, and the tension surrounding the couple was so thick he could almost see it part as he walked up to them. When Zach reached the steps leading to the porch, the suit straightened and stepped out in front of the neighbor, blocking her from Zach’s view. Like he could somehow keep Zach from getting to her if harming her was his end goal.
He almost laughed out loud. Zach ate guys like him for a snack.
“Chris, what are you doing?” she asked, sidestepping around him. “Hey.” She lifted a hand and sent Zach a wave.
The suit, Chris, apparently, sputtered and tried to wrangle her behind him once again, but she resisted. Jesus, the man couldn’t even wrestle one slip of a woman. He’d be no match for Zach even on his worst day.
“We don’t want any trouble. Why don’t you head back to your side of the property line, man?” Chris kept his hand around the woman’s upper arm despite her frown and attempts to wriggle away.
“Chris, seriously? He’s not doing anything wrong. He’s my neighbor. And not to be mean, but he could probably kick both our asses in his sleep.”
Whether she’d meant the words to be heard or not, they were. Loud and clear. Zach laughed and rested his hip against the stair railing. “There are plenty of hours in the day for kicking ass. Wouldn’t waste my sleep on that. There are a few other things I could do in my sleep.” He winked at her. “Especially if I had someone as hot as you keeping my bed warm.”
Well look at that. No blush. No prudish little gasp. Just a sassy smirk and a delicate grunt.
“Are you hitting on her?” Chris released her and started toward Zach, but the woman stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“I’m Toni,” she said, holding out her manicured hand.
Tori, Toni. He’d been close. “Zach.” He grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. Her hand shake was strong, confident, and soft as fucking handwoven silk. Christ, that feminine grip would feel fantastic about a foot and a half lower.
“I remember,” she said.
Before he allowed her to withdraw her hand, he met Chris’s gaze.
The man was pissed. Looked as if he was trying to melt Zach with the heat of his shitty stare. There was probably more of a chance of that happening than him actually beating Zach in a fair fight.
Poor little soft man.
“Figured it was about time I did my neighborly duty. Seen you coming and going for the past week or so. Can’t say I’d have recognized you on the street. You did a damn good job growing up.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you popped over. I’ve heard your bike a few times, but it was always late so I never bothered to come say hello.” She pushed a lock of shoulder-length hair behind her ear. Definitely brown with blonde highlights. It suited her and made her green eyes even more obvious.
She was one hell of a looker. Curvy hips, large tits, round ass, small waist. If he’d closed his eyes and described his fantasy woman, Toni would have easily slid right into the mold.
“Hey douche bag, her eyes are about ten inches higher.”
Busted.
Zach just smirked at Toni. He wouldn’t apologize, because he wasn’t sorry. Not for one second. The outfit she had on did nothing to hide her figure and that included the breasts he’d love to bury his face between. A woman couldn’t wear a top with a low neckline and a necklace that ended an inch above her cleavage and not expect men to look.
Again, she didn’t blush. Just raised an eyebrow and placed one hand on her hip.
“Hope the bike’s not too loud for you,” he said.
“Nope. I kinda like it, actually. That deep rumbly sound is comforting in a way.”
Holy shit. If he was interested in tying himself to a woman, she just might be the perfect one. “A woman after my own heart,” he said at the same time Chris snorted.
“Can I get you a beer or anything?” she asked.
He’d love a beer, but that would mean she’d walk away and he didn’t want to stop staring at her, nor did he want to be alone with her asshole boyfriend. Not that the guy intimidated him, but because he wasn’t in the mood for a pissing contest. This visit was supposed to be a fun distraction, not an annoying whose-dick-is-bigger contest.
It was so obviously Zach’s there was no point in even measuring.
“Nah, I’m good, thanks. So, you guys sticking around town for a while?”
“I’ll be here for the next six weeks or so,” she said. “Chris was actually just leaving. He’s got a flight to Chicago this afternoon. Right, Chris?” Her tone was soft but brokered no argument. Like she was trying to gently prod him along.
“I do.” He slid his arm around Toni’s waist and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Walk me to the car, baby?” he not-whispered in her ear.
Zach fought to hold back his laughter. If the suit was trying to stake his claim, it didn’t seem to be working too well. Toni’s eyes narrowed and she slipped out of his hold. “Sure,” she said, though the word sounded forced. She gave Zach a strained smile. “I’ll be just a second.”
“No problem, beautiful.” If Zach was a better person, he’d make an excuse and hightail it back over to his house. Leave these two to sort their shit in peace. But he’d never claimed to be a good man. In fact, he was an outlaw. And sticking around to watch the uncomfortable goodbye between Toni and the suit seemed exactly like something an outlaw would do. So, he climbed the steps to the porch and took a seat in one of the side-by-side rocking chairs.
And the goodbye was awkward. Zach couldn’t make out what was said, but if Toni’s flailing arms and Chris’s deep scowl were any indication, it wasn’t a lovers parting. After about three minutes, Chris climbed into the car, slammed the door, and peeled out of the dirt driveway engulfing Toni in a cloud of dust.
“Trouble in paradise?” Zach asked as she ascended the three steps back to the porch.
“You could say that.” She grunted. “I’d actually broken up with him about five seconds before you wandered over here. Wasn’t too well received.” She sighed and shook her head. “Sure you don’t want a beer? I could use a few myself.”
Broke up with the boyfriend.
Only in town for six weeks.
Jackpot.
“Sure, I’d love one.”
Chapter
Five
The man was sex in jeans. And leather. And a tight T-shirt that almost looked a little damp as it stretched tight across a seriously impressive set of pecs. The thick head of blond hair was so coiffed she wanted to run her fingers through it and muss it all up. Zach’s smooth face resembled a model from a new Ralph Lauren ad she’d seen in a magazine on the plane ride to Tennessee.
Flawless skin, sharp jawline, piercing blue eyes. If it weren’t for the tiny slant to his nose, he’d be model material for sure. The nose looked like it’d been broken in the past.
Interesting.
The rest of his body, though, well it wasn’t exactly model worthy. No, it was too hard, too bulky to fit with any of the preppy clothing ads she’d seen. No, Zach’s body was made for snug jeans, T-shirts, and leather.
Convenient, since that seemed to be his outfit of choice.
Yes, she’d gaped at the man while mid breakup with her ex standing right behind her. What she hadn’t meant to do was come across as flirtatious. Just friendly. Neighborly. But then he’d scanned her with those ocean eyes, and she’d felt as though her clothes were invisible to him. When his heated gaze lingered on her breasts she’d been tempted to grab him, run inside, and tackle him to the bed. It had been a long time since a man looked at her with such blatant interest and desire.
Chris never had. And at the start, it had been tolerable. Passion and fire weren’t what she was looking for from him. Dependability, stability, long-haul potential, crash proof. Those were the qualities she’d admired in Chris.
They were also the qualities families looked for in a minivan.
Not sexy.
But she didn’t know how to combine sexy and a solid relationship. Actually, she wasn’t convinced it could be done. Not with the type of men she truly found attractive. Men like Zach. Hard, dangerous, and players.
So, she chose the complete opposite to protect herself.
And was unfulfilled.
Breaking up with Chris was the right move. And long overdue. He’d be upset for a while, but in the end, it wasn’t fair to string him along in a relationship she wasn’t fully invested in.
“I was sorry to hear about your parents,” Zach said as he accepted the beer she offered when she returned.
“Thanks.” She lowered into the empty rocking chair adjacent to Zach’s.
He planted his booted heel against the porch railing and set his chair in motion. The muscles of his thigh stretched and bunched under the denim as he rocked. “Never spoke to them much, despite living next door to them my entire life. They were assholes.”
Surprise had Toni sucking in a sharp breath and a mouthful of beer. She sprang forward and coughed as the liquid burned a path down the wrong pipe. Zach’s large hand pounded her back, forcing the beer from her lungs. “Shit.” She gasped for breath.
“Christ, babe, I’m sorry.”
Unable to speak due to a spasming diaphragm, Toni waved away his concern. “N-no worries,” she said after another cough. “Whew. I was not expecting you to say that.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, sorry, guess that was kinda a dick thing to say about your family who just passed.”
She swiped her hand back and forth again. “Really, it’s okay. It’s honest. They could be assholes. No one knows that better than me.” A weird emotion she couldn’t identify settled as an ache in her chest. “I stayed away for a long time for a reason. And now I’m left with this strange mix of sadness, regret, some anger, and indifference.” Oh, my gosh, had she really just laid that on the near stranger from next door? “Wow, a little heavy, considering we barely know each other. I’m sorry. Just ignore me.”
Zach chuckled then flashed her his perfect toothpaste-ad smile. “Doesn’t bother me.”
As though he sensed she needed a minute to get over Chris’s departure and talk of her complicated relationship with her parents, Zach fell silent. It was nice. Sitting on the porch with a beer, watching the sun dip behind the mountains, not feeling the need to fill the silence.
“So,” Zach said after a few moments. “I hear scoundrels like me are now allowed at your diner.”
The laugh that bubbled out of her felt great. Hot, funny, wasn’t scared of serious talk. Zach should come with a flashing neon danger sign, because he was hell on the ovaries. Just what she did not need. She was not staying in Townsend for a man. She’d gotten rid of a man two minutes ago. She was there to figure out her life and sort her parents’ affairs. That’s all.
Zach would just have to be the nice eye candy next door whom she drooled over from afar. Like he’d been when she was in late elementary and middle school and he was the cool high schooler next door.
“So, you’re a scoundrel, huh?” Ugh. It came out way too flirty but, come on, what sane woman could resist flirting with a man who looked like Zach?
Not her.
He waggled his eyebrows. “Been accused of it a time or two.”
“I’ll consider myself warned. And yes, you and all your scoundrel friends are welcome in the diner. My first executive decision as owner. Never agreed with the restriction.”
He grunted his understanding. “Well, I have to warn you that you’re going to have hordes of bikers falling to their knees and professing their love to you. Shell used to bring us some takeout on occasion and those pancakes are fuckin’ orgasmic.”
Ahh, so there was some kind of connection between Michelle and the bikers. Interesting.
“I’m sure Ernesto will be thrilled to find out he’s given you orgasms.”
Zach barked out a laugh. “I think I’m gonna like you, babe.”
Danger, danger.
They chatted for about an hour. Zach filled her in on changes in town since she’d left, all while looking so hot she could barely stay in her seat without squirming. He was funny, flirty, and had a way of looking at her that set her ablaze.
Damn man.
Eventually, he begged off, having to take care of “club business.” Man code for things he wasn’t going to talk about and a reminder of exactly the kind of man Zach was. The kind she needed to stay away from because he was involved in activities he couldn’t even speak about.
“So,” he said as he rose. “I’ll give you a week.”
“Huh? A week for what?”
“A week to get over that sad excuse for a man who just left.”
Oookay. Where was he going with this? “What happens after a week?”
He winked and swallowed the last of his second beer. “Then I’m coming for you, Toni. I want to fuck you, and I go after what I want. I’m not that damn suit. Seven nights of lying in my bed and stroking my cock while picturing your gorgeous fucking eyes, sexy tits, and that ass I want to bite will be all I can take.”
Holy. Shit. Who said things like that? To someone they hadn’t seen in years and barely knew? Her eyes opened so wide, she worried they’d get stuck.
“So, sweetheart, one week. Then I’m coming for you.” With that, he jogged down the steps and stalked back toward his house.
Toni was left speechless in the rocking chair, her nipples hard as stones and her ass stuck in panties wet from arousal.
That man was going to be very hard to resist. Because as crude and shocking as his offer was, she wanted it and him. But she’d find a way to resist him because she’d made the mistake of thinking with her horny parts before. And it had nearly destroyed her.
A few minutes later, Zach caught her attention as he emerged from his house again. She watched him out of the corner of her eye in a lame attempt to disguise the fact she couldn’t help staring at the man. He mounted the giant motorcycle parked in his driveway and revved the engine, biceps bulging as he squeezed the throttle.
With a growl of self-disgust, Toni rolled her eyes and looked away.
She was in so much damn trouble.
Chapter Six
There was nothing worse than riding his bike with a rock-solid dick. The tight fit of the denim. The hard seat. The vibrations of the machinery.
A ball-crushing combination that turned his second favorite activity into a miserable experience.
It didn’t seem like he’d be getting a chance to engage in his first favorite activity any time soon. He’d probably have better luck sticking his dick in his bike’s tailpipe than trying to get it into Toni five minutes after meeting her and interrupting her break up with the suit.
But it was going to happen. Club pussy was getting stale, as were one-night stands, though if asked, he’d deny that to his death in front of his brothers. A real relationship was also out of the question. Having a woman for the long haul held no appeal to him. His priority was his club and a permanent ol’ lady would only detract from his obligation to his brothers. But a six-week fuck fest with a woman who’d be leaving the state? That was a golden situation all around.
The fifteen-minute drive to the clubhouse was one of the highlights of Zach’s day. Winding mountain roads led to the sprawling cabin the club had purchased over fifty years ago. Connected to the building was the Double H bar, owned and operated by the MC. It wasn’t the club’s biggest money maker as far as businesses went, but it stayed busy and attracted a steady stream of both locals and tourists looking for a bit of wild.
Anyone was allowed to drink at the bar, but to pass through the doors that connected the Double H to the clubhouse, visitors had to be invited and accompanied by a club member. Most nights started out with drinking in the bar, then the brothers and whatever women they’d gathered for the night would mosey on over to the clubhouse side for a more private party.
Well, sometimes private. Sometimes on full display of the entire club. To each his own. Zach wasn’t much of an exhibitionist, preferring his entertainment to be for his eyes only, but he didn’t mind watching. Could be a nice way to get the evening rolling. Especially if he’d found a woman who also enjoyed a little visual stimulation.
“Hey, Z, ’bout time you got here, asshole,” Maverick hollered as soon as Zach’s boot cleared the doorway.
“I’m ten minutes early.” He accepted a beer from Carli, one of the club girls who’d been hanging around for years, before making his way over to Maverick and the pool table.
