Page 1

CHAPTER ONE

ANNA ~ FOUR YEARS AGO

T he neon lights of the bar flashed in the distance as I drove down the back road toward my hometown. The settled feeling I always got when I reached the outskirts of Hambleton in Southern Wyoming began to wash over me, and my shoulders automatically relaxed.

The flight from Charleston to Denver had taken five hours, the drive from Denver to Hambleton five hours more, so to say I was exhausted wasn’t an understatement.

The time on my dash told me it was almost ten P.M. I’d been on the go since five A.M, when I’d woken early to catch my flight.

I’d been home to visit my sister, who’d called me the week before in floods of tears after discovering her husband had been having an extra-marital affair for the last year with one of his students.

It was a big ol’ case of déjà vu, except for one glaring difference.

I’d left, whereas my sister hadn’t.

For days, I’d been trying to work out why she hadn’t packed her bags, emptied their healthy joint bank account, gathered together her and her two kids’ shit, and got the hell out of there. It wasn’t that she even felt close to her husband anymore. In fact, after she’d gotten over her initial shock, she realized she wasn’t in the least bit surprised his dick had fallen into a twenty-year-old girl’s vagina.

But still, my sister stayed, and therefore, was still our dad’s golden girl, whereas I remained the black sheep of the family because I couldn’t fake it. I couldn’t wake up every morning and look at a man I didn’t respect. I couldn’t lie, least of all to myself.

A loud bang suddenly reverberated through the car, and the steering wheel began to shake and pull to the right.

“Shit,” I muttered, my gaze falling on the bar I’d seen in the distance. With a sigh of resignation, I slowly turned into the parking lot before maneuvering into a parking space and turning off the engine.

My chest twisted, frustration taking over, and I smacked the steering wheel in white-hot rage. All I wanted was my apartment and my bed. I had plans to sleep for the next twenty-four hours. What I didn’t want to do was have to wait for goddamned Triple-A.

Muttering obscenities under my breath, I threw my door open and stepped out of the car. Looking down, I cursed at the flat tire on the front driver's side. Reaching back into the vehicle, I grabbed my purse and pulled out my cell, immediately noticing the black screen of my dead phone.

“Fuck,” I muttered to myself. “Could this day get any worse?”

My eyes sliced toward the bar. There was nothing else for it; I’d have to go in and beg the use of a cell. Resigned to the fact it was gonna be a long night, I tucked the strap of my purse over my shoulder and began to pick my way across the parking lot, still muttering to myself as I went.

As I approached the building, I heard the strains of guitar strings and a deep, raspy voice singing what appeared to be a cover of a James Bay song. I smiled at the irony of the words, telling me to let it go, and I instantly relaxed at the soothing tone of the husky voice.

Pushing the door open, I stepped inside, my gaze drifting in the direction of the music. Goose bumps scattered across my arms, and my skin tingled when electric blue eyes locked with mine.

Hendrix.

My heart squeezed.

He sat on a stool in the corner of the bar, just him, a guitar, and a microphone. He wore jeans and a black tee with the Harley Davidson logo splashed across it. His feet were encased in sneakers, and his hair had been tied up into his signature man bun.

My pussy clenched at the sight of him. Or was it the air of confidence that made my thighs quiver when he stared into my eyes, not missing a note or even a lyric as he belted out the beautiful words to the song?

He was the vice president of a local motorcycle club called the Speed Demons.

My new receptionist, Layla, had recently gotten involved with their enforcer, Bowie Stone, though it was still early days. A few weeks earlier, Bowie had come into my salon with Hendrix, who’d sat in my chair for a haircut while Bowie made a move on my pretty new friend.

Hendrix was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. His dark hair, naturally highlighted by time spent in the sun, hung past his shoulders. He was ripped with muscle and covered in tattoos that ran across his chest and back, continuing down his arms to his fingers.

I’d seen him riding his bike around town with his brethren. He had an air of confidence so powerful it bordered on arrogance. That ‘thing’ he had, that air about him, appealed to me in ways I hadn’t felt since... well... ever.

Of course, we’d spoken before, but it never went deep. I had a feeling when it came to women, deep didn’t factor into it for Hendrix. I was a great believer in live and let live, but he seemed like he was more interested in a good time, not a long time.

Giving the bartender a friendly nod, I moved toward him. Hendrix played the last bars of the song to a quiet round of applause from the other patrons in the bar.

The bartender’s gaze raked down my body, and he grinned. “What can I get ya?”

I jerked my thumb in the direction of the parking lot. “I got a flat, and my phone died. Do you have one I can use to call Triple-A?”

“Won’t do any good,” a deep, husky voice announced from behind me. “They won’t come until mornin’.”

I twisted my neck, the shiver in my belly already telling me who the voice belonged to. “Okay, so I’ll call a cab and come back for my car in the morning.”

Hendrix’s lips tipped up into a sexy grin, and my panties incinerated.

He pulled his cell out from his jeans pocket and clicked on it, then put it to his ear, his eyes still holding mine. “Sparky,” he greeted. “Gordy’s bar just off the road to Mapletree.” A pause. “Yeah, that’s the place. Silver Audi TT in the parking lot with a flat. Bring a tire down and get it sorted.” He finished off by saying, “Good man,” before ending the call.

Pulling my lips into a wry smirk, I asked, “Do people always do what you want?”

He shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly, his eyes traveling suggestively down my body and then back up to my face. “I’ll let you know in an hour or two.”

My heart fluttered.

“Wanna drink?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’m driving, and I’m tired. Not a good mix.”

“I’ll take you home,” he offered. “Could always call Sparky back and tell him to drop your car off at the salon. You live above the shop, right?”

“I do,” I admitted. “It’s my sanctuary.”

“From what?” he asked, nodding to the bartender for a round of drinks.

“Life, parents, sisters and their marital issues, ex-husbands and my ex-marital issues, and all the bullshit they bring. I’m just getting back into town from Charleston. My sister had a meltdown, so I needed to go and see to her.”

“Is it sorted?” he asked.

“Yes, no, maybe.” I shrugged. “Who knows? I’ll probably be dealing with the same crap this time next year. She’s having husband trouble. Once a cheater and all that.”

“Ahh,” he murmured, taking a stool at the bar and gesturing for me to sit. “You sound like you have experience in that respect.”

“I left him five years ago, been divorced four,” I confirmed.

“Sorry,” he muttered, pushing away the half-full whiskey glass that was sitting on the bar.

“S’okay,” I murmured back. “It worked out in the end. It gave me the courage to leave a life where I was wrapped up in cotton wool and finally take some chances.” I tapped the countertop. “Touch wood, it seems to have worked out for me.” My eyes drifted back to his, and I asked, “Are you a risk-taker?”

“If it’s a calculated one, sure,” he replied. “I got married to a military gal when I was a young scout in the Rangers. That was a risk of sorts. Took a lot more in the military.”

I ignored the stab of pain in my chest, instead casually asking, “You’re married?”

“Widowed,” he replied. “My wife died in an IED attack in Iraq.”

Heart squeezing, I instinctively reached out to cover his hand with mine as it rested on the bar. “I’m sorry for your loss, Hendrix. It must’ve been a terrible time for you.”

“Jameson,” he corrected.

My eyebrows pulled together questioningly.

“My name’s Jameson Quinn.”

“It’s a great name.” I smiled. “But I’d peg you more as a Jamie. It’s a fun, unserious name, and you seem like a fun, unserious guy.”

“And you’re fucking beautiful,” he murmured. “Your hair’s the color of the sunset.”

A warm feeling settled over me.

It was the loveliest compliment I’d ever gotten.

“I get my red hair gene from my great-grandmother Mimi,” I explained. “She was the black sheep of the family. Mimi was a flapper and used to go out dancing and drinking champagne in the speakeasies of Charleston. Scandalous, right?” I laughed softly. “The local drinking establishment was where she met my great-grandfather, Stanley. He defied his parents to marry her, but it worked out in the end because it turned out that Mimi’s family was filthy rich, even richer than Stan’s, and they merged their businesses to become a powerhouse in the finance industry.”

His fingers caught mine, and he squeezed. “You’re a rich girl?”

I laughed softly. “No. My family cut me off when I divorced my cheating ex.”

“A black sheep, just like Mimi,” he noted.

I laughed again. “Isn’t that incredible?”

His eyes flicked over my face, and his smile died. “Yeah, baby. It’s incredible, alright.”

It was obvious he wasn’t talking about Mimi, and I loved the way he put it all out there without a care in the world.

He laced our fingers together, opened his mouth, and proceeded to put it all out there again. “Do you feel that thing between us?”

My throat thickened with emotion, and I nodded, suddenly unable to speak because I felt it every time I looked into his clear, blue eyes, and it was heart-stopping.

“I want you. Have for a while,” Hendrix whispered fervently. “Probably more than any other women I’ve met. I lay in bed thinking about your smile, your voice” —he grinned lazily again— “your hair. But I dunno what I can offer you, Anna. My mind’s intact but still broken in ways even I can’t comprehend. I think I want somethin’, then I get it, and I still feel restless. My life’s been good, but the years have thrown shit at me that I’m still coming to terms with. It seems unfair to drag you down a path that may lead to heartache. The only thing I know is that I want you, so my question has to be, is that enough?”

My skin heated at the meaning behind his words.

I wasn’t a one-night stand kinda girl. I was a take me out, court me, slip a diamond on my finger, then choose a white dress kinda girl. My parents were conservative and raised me to be the same way. Except, I was trying to break away from that life. All the risks I’d taken up to that moment had paid off beautifully. I had a lucrative business, working a job I loved. A great apartment. Friends who were more like family, and I was happier than I’d ever been.

However, walking away from Hendrix at that moment would be akin to fighting the laws of nature. The feeling he gave me was unique and beautiful, and if I never experienced what it could lead to, I’d always wonder what if?

I’d get one night—maybe two if I was lucky, and I had to make sure I was good with that. I had to make sure I could continue walking through life knowing what I had in my hands was only for a fleeting moment and being okay with losing it because if Hendrix was the type of man I suspected he was, whatever we had wouldn’t result in nice dinners, a diamond, and a white dress.

But it would result in loss.

Of that, I had no doubt.

I must’ve taken too long to reply because before I knew it, I was being tugged from the stool, and Hendrix’s arm was sliding across my shoulders.

Pulling in a breath, I marveled at how deeply his warmth seeped into me, heating my insides and making my organs burn feverishly along with my skin. The effect he had on me burrowed bone deep, and I knew right then there’d never be anyone else like him for me.

He led me through the bar and out into the warm night air, walking us toward an ancient blue Ford, and it struck me how damned crazy it was that I was about to get into an old truck with a man I hardly knew.

Then, his muscled arm slid from my shoulders, and his hand trailed down my arm, clasping my fingers in his, and something else struck me deep.

Jameson ‘Hendrix’ Quinn could lead me straight to Hell, but for the life of me, I’d follow him gladly.

—————

“You feel like mine,” Hendrix whispered, his blue eyes shining down at me in the darkness while his hard, beautiful cock moved inside me.

My throat clogged with emotion because he felt like mine, too.

I brought up a hand and sifted it through his hair, stroking it back so I could memorize every inch of his face. If this was the only time I could have him, I wanted to remember everything.

His fingers slid around my ass and tilted it upward so he could drive his cock deeper. I moaned softly at the pinch of pain and the abundance of pleasure he freely gave, and my eyelids fluttered closed.

His forehead dipped and rested on mine as his cock drove into me over and over again, filling my pussy. “Eyes on me,” he rasped.

I obeyed and was immediately caught in a whirlpool of blue, my heart and mind spinning in their warm depths. Then his mouth hit mine, and our tongues tangled the same way our bodies were tangled in the crisp, cool sheets.

Pulling away, he moaned. “Fuck, Anna. Your pussy’s perfect for me.” He threw his head back, and I watched, fascinated, as the cords in his neck strained. His beard had been trimmed where it met his neck, and I smiled at the memory of how that very same beard gave me the most intense orgasm of my life not thirty minutes before.

He jerked his hips and pulled out before sitting back on his knees. His fingers curled around my hips, and he flipped me over, dragging me up to join him.

He folded his chest across my back until we were skin to skin, then I felt pressure as his cock drove back into me, and he began to fuck me hard.

“Oh my God,” I breathed. “Don’t stop.”

His grunts filled the room as he drilled deep into me over and over again. Then his grunts turned into groans as I reared my ass back to meet his pounding thrusts.

A finger hit my clit, and I cried out.

“Fuck, yeah,” he groaned, lifting me up with him until I was on my knees. One arm hooked around his neck, pulling his lips to mine in a searing kiss.

His grunts filled my mouth while my whimpers filled his, and it all became too much. His hands covered my breasts, pinching and circling my nipples until the sensations he evoked began to build deep in my core.

He broke the kiss, trailing his lips across my neck, and shivers wracked my body.

“Fuck me, Jamie. Don’t stop, baby. Please don’t stop fucking me.” My chant went on and on as I begged him to fuck me harder over and again. My skin felt as if it were on fire, and my pussy clenched around his cock, my climax building like a pressure cooker threatening to blow.

“You gotta get there, baby,” he grated out, his finger pressing harder on my clit. “Need you to come. You’re milking my cock so good I’m gonna blow.”

The stimulation was too much. With a loud wail, I arched my back as my climax hit. Every inch of my body pulsed, and my thighs shook, my pussy still contracting with aftershocks from the force of my orgasm.

Warmth spread through my stomach as his cum filled me, and his hard thrusts turned into soft strokes. Hendrix hummed with pleasure before pulling out, kissing my back, and lowering us back onto the bed, spooning me.

“Put your arm around my neck,” he ordered softly.

I raised a languid arm, guided it back, and curled my fingers around his nape.

His fingertips trailed lazily down the inside of my arm, and he kissed my neck from behind. “You’re amazing.”

A warm fuzzy feeling hit my stomach. “You too,” I breathed.

“Go to sleep, Anna. You’ve had a long day,” he muttered, pulling my comforter up to cover us.

I closed my eyes, reveling in the closeness, committing the warmth of his skin to my memory.

He’d been honest and laid it all out, and I couldn’t fault him for that. I knew who he was and who he wasn’t. Hendrix was beautifully complicated, and his vulnerability had somehow crept inside my soul and settled somewhere deep.

I didn’t want to think about what happened next. I just wanted to live in the here and now and enjoy what we had for as long as he gave it to me. I wanted to lay with him close, feel him all around me, and make the most of every second I had him.

So, I closed my eyes, cleared my mind, and just held on, smelling the musk of cologne on his skin and loving the safety of being wrapped up in his arms because, in my heart, I knew he wouldn’t be here when I woke up.

—————

I awoke with a start and immediately reached for him, but all I felt under my fingertips were cold sheets.

A wave of loss crashed through my chest, and my throat burned with tears at how empty I felt inside. Jesus, it had been one night, so how could it feel like something vital had been ripped away?

I would have waited for him to be ready if he’d asked. I’d already waited a lifetime for him, so another few months wouldn’t have hurt. All he had to do was open his mouth and say?—

“Anna,” a deep voice murmured from the shadows.

I froze.

“Come here, baby,” he rasped.

Slowly, my neck craned, and my heart stuttered when I saw Hendrix sitting back casually on my window seat, staring outside, wearing just his jeans.

“Sun’s comin’ up,” he said huskily. “Come see.”

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of my bed, pulling the sheet around me. Then, getting to my feet, I slowly made my way toward him with the end of the sheet trailing on the hardwood floor.

Hendrix waited for me to draw closer before reaching out. I took his hand, and he tugged me close, helping me arrange the bed sheet around us as I settled my ass in his lap with my back to his front.

He tucked my face into his throat, and my eyes drifted to the window, “It’s beautiful,” I whispered, my eyes glued to the scene as the sun’s rays spilled into the dark purples and blues of the night sky.

He kissed the top of my head. “Yeah, baby. It’s gorgeous.”

Burrowing closer to his skin, I murmured, “Thank you for giving it to me.”

His body stiffened for a few seconds, and my body locked right along with his until, eventually, I felt all tension seep away, leaving him relaxed again.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he grunted. “You?”

“Yeah,” I affirmed softly. “I didn’t think you’d still be here when I woke up.”

He let out a soft chuckle and admitted, “Baby. Neither did I.”

“I’m glad you stayed,” I breathed.

Hendrix aimed his eyes down to meet mine and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Me too. Dunno how it happened. I got up and put my jeans on with all intentions of jetting, but something made me land my ass on this seat and keep it here.”

The words seared through me, and I leaned up and traced my lips down his jaw. “Good.”

His mouth split into a wide grin, and the sun coming up suddenly seemed to pale in comparison to the way Hendrix looked in that moment.

Like mine.

* * *

One Year Later

Hendrix

Anna had been knocking on my door for a good ten minutes.

She knew I was here, seeing as my bike and truck were sitting in the parking lot of my apartment complex like a beacon signaling what I was silently trying to tell her.

It was over.

But I knew she’d come, so I made sure my place was in darkness when she did.

There I was, sitting in the blacked-out room, at my kitchen table, nursing a glass of whiskey, surrounded by boxes full of my shit that I still needed to load into the flatbed of my truck. My life was taking a turn. Dagger had given me his blessing to set up a new chapter in Virginia, where I had a beautiful hotel lined up to act as headquarters for my new security firm.

I had my military brother, Ace, helping me and my dad, along with a team of good men who I also hoped to call brothers very soon. Things were moving fast in Virginia, and it was time to get on with building something good.

Anna had a life here, a business, friends, and family. How could I let her give it all up for a man who couldn’t give her what she wanted? Marriage, kids, and living happily ever after weren’t in my future. I tried it once, and it all went ass up. The shit that followed wiped out any desire I might have had to settle down.

I could only be the man God had made me, and that man couldn’t be what Anna needed. We’d had a good year, and it had been fun, but it was time for both of us to move on. I thought the world of her, and she’d gotten under my skin, but ultimately, I couldn’t give her what she wanted, so I had to let her go.

The door banged again, and a muscle ticked in my jaw as I tamped down the overwhelming urge to go to her. It took everything I had to keep my ass in that chair, but I forced myself to stay put. So, I sat in my chair and took another swig of whiskey, convincing myself it was for the best.

It was for her.

Eventually, I got what I wanted. The knocking stopped, and with the silence, a hole grew in my chest so big and so cavernous that I thought it would swallow me completely. Unable to help myself, I stood and went to the window, my stare landing on the silver Audi parked next to my dad’s old truck.

It didn’t take long for her to appear. Anna walked with her head held high, looking classy in a tight skirt and sexy heels, her strut full of sass and attitude. Her sweet, round ass swung from side to side along with the glossy red hair I’d dreamed of during the weeks without her.

She beeped her locks, pulled her door open, slid into her car, and drove away, and she did it with her eyes averted, never once looking up at where I stood, watching her from my window with my heart in shreds.

“That’s my girl. I’m so fuckin’ proud of ya,” I whispered. “Be happy, Freckles.”

One Year Later

“Don’t do it, baby,” I muttered to myself, staring down the hill at the pretty church below. “Don’t fuckin’ do it.” Leaning forward, I rested my arms across the handlebars of my Harley, my eyes never shifting from my target. “Come to me, Freckles. I’m here, baby. Don’t fucking do this.”

My plan had been to get to Anna before she arrived at the church. Last night, I’d waited outside her apartment for hours, trying to catch her when she got home. When she didn’t turn up, I went directly to the clubhouse and drank my body weight in whiskey, which was the reason I was late getting here this morning.

For the past few minutes, I’d sat on a hill, trying to summon up the courage to ride down there, stomp into the church, and tip my woman over my shoulder before whisking her back to Virginia with me.

Her ass needed a good tanning for putting me through this bullshit. She was so fucking stubborn, but I’d fuck that shit out of her once I’d gotten over my snit. I’d been trying to get her to talk to me for months. It took about a day of being without her for me to realize I’d fucked up, though it took longer to come back for her, seeing as my new club had goddamned imploded and I needed to deal with the fallout.

Still, I tried, but she wouldn’t take my calls or answer my messages and emails. Then I heard through the grapevine she’d met someone, so I gave her the respect of backing off with the hope she’d realize he wasn’t me and he could never give her the beauty we had.

Lotta fucking good that did me.

Part of me still hoped she wouldn’t go through with it. Maybe that was why I was here, not to stop the wedding but to wait for her to run outside in her white dress so I could shove her onto the back of my bike and ride away into the sunset like something out of a movie.

So I waited.

And I waited.

And nothing.

I thrust a hand through my hair, resigning myself to what I had to do. Stomping into a church in front of all our friends and fucking up a big-assed wedding hadn’t been on my bingo card when I awoke that morning, but hell, Anna had left me no choice.

If she wasn’t gonna see the error of her ways, I’d have to show her.

I fired up my bike, turning for the small dirt road that led down the hill toward the church, just as bells began to peal.

My body locked, and a sick feeling began to spread through my gut.

Why were the fucking bells ringing?

My head snapped up just as the church doors opened, and people began to emerge. Laughter and chatter filled the air, and my heart leaped up into my throat before sinking slowly.

Tiny specks of glittered confetti caught in the morning sunshine, and there she was, bursting from the church hand in hand with her man, laughing as the crowd erupted in cheers of congratulations.

My insides began to ache, and my lungs burned so hot that it hurt to breathe. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My Anna.

My Freckles.

Mine.

I bowed my head, trying to push down the darkness threatening to consume my soul. Acid burned through my veins. It took everything I had to stay upright because the pain coursing through me was so intense. The shock of what I was witnessing had ripped a wound inside me that I knew would never heal, and the worst of it was, the blade that sliced into me was poisoned with the knowledge that it was my own damned fault.

I fucked around and found out.

And now I’d lost everything that mattered.