Page 1 of Her Demanding Biker (Savage Kings MC #9)

Chapter

One

M oving to Jackson Ridge hadn't been one of my dreams in life.

Which wasn't a surprise as nothing in my life was what I planned.

It was, however, doable.

Prices in Jackson Ridge were good.

I put a good amount of money down on a lease for my half of a duplex. It was room enough for me.

And room enough for the baby that was going to come in four or five months.

Here, where no one knew me, I could pretend that I was alone because I wanted to be.

Not because my husband, no, my ex -husband, had decided to move in with his secretary.

Yes.

I am one of those women.

Left for a secretary.

I was a joke.

At least I was in Gatlinburg.

In Gatlinburg, Tennessee, I was the one everyone pretended they didn't know. But I was also the person everyone pointed at and talked about behind my back.

"Oh... that's her!"

"Her? Who?"

"The one whose husband is boning his secretary."

"Oh... her!!"

Some people were kind enough to be quiet about it.

More people felt like they didn't have to lower their voices.

And there were those who looked right at her when they laughed.

I needed to get away from them.

I needed to find a place where I could be me.

Where I wasn't the tragedy.

"Hey!"

I looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Willow."

I nodded at her, but I didn't know if I should wave. Or invite her over.

She rented the other side of the duplex, and she was part of the reason why I'd picked this place to live.

It was probably silly, but having another woman sharing a wall with me was comforting.

There were plenty of men in town, but the men in TOWN were either boring or scary.

Boring, I could handle.

Scary?

Almost on cue, a couple of motorcycles roared down the road. and came to stop at the curb.

I tried to act like this kind of thing happened every day.

At least it did recently.

My neighbor Willow was head over heels in love with one of the Savage Kings, the biggest motorcycle club in town.

The man at the front of the group of three got up and I had to look away.

He was big and imposing. Honestly, he reminded me a lot of my dad and that was the kind of man I didn't want to get close to.

My father had been the man I'd looked up to through my childhood.

I saw him as something of a god in my life after my mom died.

For years it was the two of us at home when he wasn't deployed somewhere.

And while he was gone, there was a woman who'd come and stay with me to make sure I went to school and had clean clothes and a meal a couple times a day.

My dad was always my rock, until he began to crush me. Smother me with his paranoia.

When he began to control everything, I did.

I didn't want someone like him around me.

"Arlys?"

I startled at the sound of my name. Not many people in town knew me.

Even though the town was small, I'd kept to myself as much as I could, which wasn't going to help me much in the future, but I wasn't the kind of person who had it easy getting to know people.

My father had sheltered me for so many years, but that just made it harder to get to know people.

I'm afraid my people skills were... nil.

Willow stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulder.

I let out a breath I didn't even know that I was holding.

"Sorry. I'm horrible with strangers."

"Well," Willow shifted and draped her arm across my shoulders, "we're going to change that."

I swallowed and felt my throat close up again.

Change me?

That sounded painful.

I wasn't at an age that change was easy.

Willow tipped her head to the side, looking at the trio of men who'd gotten off their motorcycles and walked up onto the porch. "These guys might look like they'd rip you in half with their bare hands but they're okay guys." Willow turned and winked at me. "This is Diesel."

The man she gestured at didn't even look at me, he was looking at Willow. And the way he looked at her?

Wow. It was crazy hot.

I wanted to lift a hand and touch my face because it felt like it was burning up.

Willow was practically vibrating with joy and with her arm over my shoulders, I couldn't help but get swept up in the emotion of the moment.

"Diesel is..." I didn't know what people in motorcycle clubs called each other. When there were shows on TV, I'd never watched them.

Anything with questionable subjects was not allowed by my dad, and later... my husband.

I tasted bile on the back of my tongue.

Willow seemed to pick up the thread of my thoughts and luckily, she didn't seem to realize that I'd all but swallowed my tongue.

"Diesel is my man," Willow beamed at him and sighed like she'd just seen her first chocolate cake. "He's everything."

My heart ached at her words.

I'd felt that way before.

Part of me still harbored a secret feeling like that, but the man I'd loved was gone.

Long gone.

He'd left me behind.

Why?

I still didn't know.

"The other two with him are Rock and Loot."

I looked at the other two and even though their names were kind of cute, there was no way to say that these men were 'cute' like their names.

"Does everyone have... cool names like yours?"

The instant the words were out of my mouth, I realized how stupid I sounded.

I reached up a hand to move it over the swell of my baby.

These men didn't seem hurtful. They might look scary as all get out, but they didn't seem like they were going to be indiscriminately mean.

But... I'd learned a long time ago that looks could be deceiving.

Diesel looked like he was on the verge of laughing which made me feel better, but it was Rock who spoke. "The club gives us our names when we patch in."

Patch in.

That sounded like 'military jargon.' The kind of words and phrases that my father and his men tossed around like it was their bread and butter.

Things that families learned to be able to fit into their lives and not get left behind.

"So," I was trying to find some common ground here, "there are stories behind the names."

Diesel nodded. "Sometimes it's something good and sometimes..."

Rock snorted a laugh. "The name is a way to bust our chops."

I couldn't help it then, joining in with a laugh.

This... talking to these men... felt good.

"Can you tell people the stories behind your names or is it like the CIA where you have to keep it secret?"

Willow pulled me in for a hug. "I need to bring you to the clubhouse for a party."

Panic.

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"Whatever! You'd have a great time."

I tried to smile but I was pretty sure my smile looked like I was wincing.

My face showed more than I wanted other people to know.

Diesel could see it, but Willow ignored it.

Just like I knew she would.

She was awesome like that.

Accepting when I backed off and away.

She was there for me but didn't push me to say anything to her.

"Seriously, Arlys. You'd love it."

Diesel rolled his eyes and gave Willow a look that said he loved her.

I had to smile at that. Willow was younger than me, but she seemed more settled.

More sure of herself.

I envied her ability to look at the world as someone who had her place in it. I was just trying to keep my head above water.

"So, Arlys."

I lifted my head to look at Diesel.

With the weight of his voice and his size, I would be stupid not to pay attention to him.

"Are you saying no to the party because you've got a man?"

Willow turned toward me with an open-mouthed gasp. "I never thought to ask you! I thought you were here alone."

I lifted my hand then, touching my cheek.

Yeah, I was hot to the touch. If I didn't know better, I'd think that I had a fever.

But I knew that I wasn't sick. I rarely got sick.

This heat?

It was purely because I felt like I was back in one of those dreams where you end up naked in front of your class in school. Utter humiliation.

"I... I'm here alone. It's just me and the baby."

I felt the baby shift inside and my eyes widened.

I hadn't felt the baby move all that much. Less than a handful of times.

Likely because I was so tense all the time. The nurse at the doctor's office had given me a long, hard look and told me to relax a little.

Right.

Me.

Relax.

If she'd seen the bottom line of my bank account, she'd probably understand more.

"Diesel!"

I heard the soft rebuke from Willow and looked up in time to see her give her man a punch in the arm.

I opened my mouth to tell her that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Sorry."

I know my chin must have dropped to my chest because there was no way I'd expect a man like Diesel to apologize to someone like me.

"There," Willow turned to look at me before she turned back to look at Diesel with a bright smile on her face, "that wasn't so hard."

"I'm good." My voice sounded like I'd strangled it out of my throat. "I'm glad it's just me. I apparently," my throat was rough just like my love life, "have crappy taste in men."

Rock laughed and Loot snickered at my words. "You don't have to hold back with us."

Loot nodded. "We don't care."

They might not, but I still remembered the first time I said a curse word in front of my father.

He'd cracked me across my face with his open hand and knocked me down to the floor.

That had been a powerful lesson in keeping those words out of my mouth.

"Just know you don't have to hold your tongue around these guys." Willow leaned in and hugged me. It was a little awkward with my belly, but we managed and when she stepped back I felt lighter for it. "And there's a party this weekend. I'll come by and pick you up."

Diesel pulled her into his arms, holding her with her back to his front and his arms around her body like he couldn't get close enough. "I'll send someone to pick you up. I'm taking Willow on my sled."

He tipped his head back toward the curb and I caught his meaning.

"Oh, okay." I tried to keep my voice calm, but for some reason, I was kind of looking forward to going to this party.

It was probably a huge mistake, but with Willow moving out of the duplex to live with Diesel, I wasn't sure how many times I'd get a chance to see her if I didn't know more about her life with Diesel.

And I didn't have any friends I could afford to lose.

Two wasn't exactly an overflowing circle of friends, right?

"I just... I don't know if I can ride on a motorcycle." I felt stupid for saying it. No one wanted a negative Nancy.

"Don't worry, Arlys." Willow gave me a wink. "Some of these big guys have cars, too. They just don't like to use them unless they have to."

By the expressions on their faces, the men agreed.

They looked like they'd rather have someone pull out their fingernails than ride in a car, but I could understand it.

When you have the freedom of a motorcycle?

"A car must feel like... like a cage."

Diesel's laughter was deep and rumbling.

"Exactly."

I smiled, feeling like I was finally letting my guard down.

Crazy, isn't it? That it was around a trio of guys that would normally make me hold my breath if I passed them on the street.

Life was changing.

I hoped it was for the better.

I really need it.