Page 2 of The Biker’s Savage Desire (Chaos Brothers MC #4)

Red

The girl talks too much, has too many feelings, and names her truck like it’s a rescue animal.

I should’ve kept driving, but I didn’t, and now I’ve got five-foot-something of attitude sitting on the back of my bike, thighs pressed up behind me like she belongs there.

She doesn’t, of course. She doesn’t belong out here either with that dress crumpled on the seat.

I’m sure I could be a little nicer, but I suck at social gymnastics, so I focus on driving instead.

It's not long before the road blurs beneath us, and my mind flicks to business. It’s the space where I’m most comfortable.

The place in my head where I don’t usually make mistakes or second guess myself.

Lately, though, we’ve been having a hell of a time with our club Prez, Duke.

I’m not sure what to do about it. One thing I know, he’d lose his damn mind if he knew I was bringing an outsider to the cabin.

Technically, it’s my place, but we do a lot of clubhouse business there come summer months.

Then again, he hasn’t exactly been around to set the rules.

He vanished a few months back, chasing shadows and half-heard names.

Last we spoke, he was buried deep in something he wouldn’t talk about.

I just hope we’re not the ones who end up paying the price for whatever fire he walked into.

I shake the thought off and shove it down deep. No use digging into things I can't fix tonight. I’ve got enough on my mind with this runaway bride nonsense.

We ride for miles, the forest closing in around us dark and dense.

If I were alone, I’d open the throttle and let the night swallow me whole, but she’s behind me, small and silent, dress wrinkled, and pride hanging by a thread.

So, I ease off the gas, slower than I like, not wanting to spook her more than the night already has.

I guess I’m not all bad.

Then again, maybe it’s the rain that’s slowing me down. It’s gotten heavier over the past few minutes. Thankfully, we’re close to the cabin tucked into the pines.

I pull up in front of the small, rugged house and kill the engine of the bike. I haven’t been up here in months, but I like using the place for weekend fishing and hunting trips when I get the chance.

“So, this looks like it could use some work,” the princess says, climbing off the bike. “How many bodies do you have hidden underneath it? Were they all as dumb as me?”

I laugh. If she only knew. “I keep my kills clean. I’d never be dumb enough to hide a body under a house, then go back to it.”

She scoffs, as though my answer is playful.

“I’m not going to kill you. We’re here for—” A crack of lightning echoes overhead and she jumps, barreling into my arms. I hold her there for a second, not hating the way her smooth skin feels against my hands.

She smells pretty good, too. Like some kind of flower or maybe fruit.

It’s a short-lived pleasure, though. Once she realizes she’s there, she narrows her brows and pulls away.

“Oh God. That’s embarrassing. I’m on edge. Sorry.”

“Jumping right into your captor’s arms?” I grin. “You’d have to be on edge.”

“Thought you weren’t gonna kill me.” She smirks and twists her pretty red hair back.

“Yeah, doesn’t mean I’m not going to toy with you a bit.”

“Oh, so you’re like every other man on the face of the planet?”

“I like to think I have a unique spin on the whole thing.” I laugh under my breath as I unlock the cabin door and slip inside.

Her emerald eyes roll to the side. “Yeah. Sorry, buddy. Whatever spin you think you have isn’t as unique as you think. I’ve been holed up in plenty of cabins with handsome men.”

I glance back over my shoulder. “Handsome, huh? This is escalating quickly, princess.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Grumpelstiltskin. Looks don’t buy you personality.” She leans against the back wall of the cabin, pleased with her own comment as she looks the place over. “This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Very rustic, but it’s charming. Who’d you say owns it?”

“I do, but I share it with everyone in the MC. I bought it a few years back and traveled up here when I could.”

“Ah, the Chaos Brothers. I saw the patch on your back. I assume that’s your big, bad, family of mechanics that run on gasoline and poor impulse control?”

The patch on my back gives away a lot of lore in this small town.

I wonder how much she thinks she knows. Clearing my throat, I push open the bathroom door, not allowing her to get under my skin.

“Not blood family, but family none the less. This is the bathroom. There’s a bedroom to the left there if you need to take a nap. ”

“I bet you’d like it if I took a nap, wouldn’t you?

” Her tone lands harshly between us as she moves to sit on a hard stool by the back window and stares out at the pouring rain hammering the forest. “Sorry. Maybe I could use a nap. Sleeping in the truck last night was rough. I love camping, but by choice.”

“A princess like you must’ve been scared out there all alone.”

She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes as though she’s defending some invisible hill. “I wasn’t scared. Just cold.”

“Yeah, it dipped down pretty low last night.” I grab a few logs sat by the fire and the lighter from my pocket.

“What are you doing?”

When the lighter flame catches, I glance toward her. “Casting a spell?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Her retort is sarcastic and breathy. “We don’t need a fire. I thought we were leaving when the storm passed.”

“Princess, you looking outside? That storm is huge. We’ll be here for the night.”

“The night?” She drags in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I can’t be here for the night with you. I don’t even know you.”

Rain drums a heavy rhythm on the tin roof. Usually, I love that sound. Today, it’s testing my patience, though I’d guess it has a lot to do with the sharp-tongued princess perched in the corner with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

I don’t do well with talkers. Don’t do well with people, period, and the way she rolls her eyes like a punctuation every time she speaks is driving me to the edge. An edge her beauty alone can’t resolve.

“So, let’s get to know each other then.” It’s not first on my list of things to do, but I figure if she’s at ease, the evening will go much better.

I mean, I’m not into epic, deep dives about our darkest secrets, but skating around on the surface might be entertaining for a while.

“What really happened with the wedding dress?”

“I’m starving. Do you have any food in your bag?”

Damn it. I should’ve thought about how she’d be hungry. “You want me to cook a meal? I keep the place stocked. Got venison, duck, some bear—”

“Granola bars?”

I push my backpack toward her. “Plenty in there. If you change your mind about the protein, though, let me know.”

She nods and pulls a bar from my bag and inhales it before unwrapping another. “The dress,” she sighs, “the whole wedding was a mistake. I saved myself. That’s all.”

I bite back the sarcastic comments I’m thinking and try to have this empathy thing everyone’s always talking about. “Why’d you need to save yourself from your own wedding?”

She narrows her brows and shakes her head. “You really want to know, because you don’t seem like the curious type.”

“I’m asking. Tell me or don’t.” Fuck! I need to work on this.

She studies me for a second like she’s checking for cracks, then exhales as though whatever happened has been sitting heavy on her chest. “I found pictures of a naked girl on my ex’s phone.

They were of this woman he was working with.

Apparently, saving your virginity for marriage wasn’t slutty enough for him. ”

Fuck. Did she just say virginity? This is why you don’t ask questions. People start talking. They don’t know the line.

I drag in a deep breath as my mind reels over ways to manage this strange piece of truth I know about her now. I could ignore the fact that she even said it, which seems like the best option right off the top of my head. Or I could ask questions, be curious, and have an actual conversation.

“You okay?” she presses, chewing her bottom lip as though maybe she’s uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to overshare.”

“No, it’s fine.” I brush my hand back through my hair. “You didn’t overshare. It’s a thing. You’re… that’s a lot to go through. For the record, I don’t think holding your virginity for the right person is a bad thing. I’m sure whoever you end up with will appreciate the gift.”

Who the fuck am I?

“Yeah, well… I’m done saving it.” She bites into another bar. “All I want now is fun. I want to throw caution to the wind and go crazy, fuck the pain away. People say it works.”

My heart hammers against my chest as I listen to her words. She’s not fucking the pain away with me, so I need to get that shit out of my head, but still, what the hell do I say?

“I’m sure another man would make you feel better for a while, then you’ll hate yourself for giving pieces of you away. Pieces you can’t get back.” I poke at the log crackling in the fire.

“I don’t think so.” She rubs her hand down over her shoulder like she’s trying to ease something off her skin.

“I’m ready to feel something. I’m ready to throw caution to the wind for once and be wild.

I thought about this long and hard last night when I was trapped with Sheila.

I’m tired of holding back and being careful.

I want to make a choice that’s mine. Not because it’s smart or safe, but because it feels free . I want to feel wanted, desired.”

She shrugs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I don’t know… I’m not looking for forever.

I just want to feel something.” Her eyes roll to the side, and she leans back.

“I probably sound like an idiot, and you’re thinking ‘please stop talking,’ but you can’t tell me sexual healing isn’t a thing. ”

She’s definitely saying something.