Page 11 of The Biker’s Secret Claim (Chaos Brothers MC #2)

Nicole

“What did he say when he was dropping you off?” Sienna stares at me with wide eyes as though this is the most entertainment she’s had in a while.

I know the feeling.

“Nothing.”

“I watched him walk you to the door. His lips moved, so he said something. What did he say?”

I shake my head, still trying to make sense of the night. “He said he…”

“What? What did he say?” Sienna takes a quick sip of her tea. “You’re killing me!”

“He said he had an interesting night.”

Her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “Okay! Interesting… like interesting good?”

“Who knows? This guy is weird as fuck, and he’s a hitman. Did I tell you that yet?”

“I get that it’s not ideal.” She takes a sip of her tea and widens her expression. “However, he is very hot. Hot people are weird sometimes. Probably because they have all that hotness. And… he was a hitman. He’s not a hitman anymore. Plus, he was doing it for good reasons so… it makes sense.”

I laugh. “Yeah, complete sense. I should totally plan a whole life with him.” I’m laughing but I’ve been planning a life with him in my head since I got up off his lap earlier.

What’s wrong with me? It’s so unrealistic, yet I see it.

A cabin in the woods. His motorcycle in the driveway. Me riding him every single night.

I need help!

“I bet he’d be a good partner. He’d be really protective, and he’d definitely teach your kids some useful skills.”

“Right!” I laugh. “On that note, I think I’m going to bed. It’s been a long ass day.”

“What’s going on with the shop?” she presses, ignoring my bid for a cozy, warm bed.

“He insisted on me getting some rest while he and his friends fix the door. I’m going to pay them as soon as Aaron pays me back.”

Sienna stands from the leather chair that’s snuggled up next to the unlit fireplace.

“You’re insane. If I were you, I’d have shoved that boy in the back room and rode him ‘til the sun came up. You wanted to take chances, well here they are, waving themselves in front of your face, like a huge, thick cock should. Take them!”

“We’re talking an awful lot about me, but aren’t you looking for a big, bad boy to take to this wedding in a few weeks? There’s at least one extra at my shop right now. Maybe you should go say hi. I’m sure one of them is crazy enough to put up with a night with your family.”

“Maybe I should. If I go, will you give Ghost another chance?”

I swallow hard, thinking about all the filthy ways he talked to me tonight. I’d love to twist and turn them until they sound pretty and romantic in my head, but that’s not what tonight was. Tonight was about adventure.

One night in the rain. That’s it, no matter how good it felt laying against his chest.

“I’m going to bed now,” I say leaning into my friend for a hug.

She squeezes me tight. “Seriously, are you okay? I imagine tonight was a mind fuck.”

I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I had mentally left Aaron so long ago. Tonight felt more freeing than anything.”

“And what about Ghost?”

“I don’t want to like him.”

“But you do?”

I pinch my lips together and nod. “I do. He’s mysterious, brutally straightforward, and comes off like this super tough guy, but the sex was so passionate.

I really felt wanted. Not only that, but he gave me all this insight about my shop, protected me multiple times when Aaron was acting stupid, and he pulled me onto his lap and we talked about life for like an hour straight.

It felt natural,” I sigh, “but he’s still a criminal. ”

“I’m sure he’s complex, like everyone else. Sounds like you two need another conversation.”

I push my hand back through my hair and glance down at her phone on the table in front of me. There’s a notification about that local girl everyone thought was missing. “Hey, you ever hear anything else about that girl Maci?”

Sienna narrows her gaze. “Yeah, I was scrolling through the Rugged Mountain page on Facebook, and I saw she was posting all these cryptic messages recently. She’s working some story, and it’s been taking her all over the mountain.”

“Last I heard it had something to do with bikers. Maybe she knows something I don’t about Ghost.”

“I could call her if you want, but she hasn’t answered my texts in weeks.”

“No, that’s okay. I just… I don’t know. I think I’m trying to find a loophole.”

“How so?” Sienna lifts the cup of tea to her lips and holds it there as though she’s about to take a sip.

“Ghost isn’t perfect, but he’s,” I pause, not knowing how to explain what I’m feeling, “he’s the kind of man that owns the room without saying a word.

I don’t want to get sucked into another man’s orbit and find out two years from now I made another mistake.

Anyway, I thought if Maci’s story was about the bikers, you’d know. ”

“I mean it wouldn’t surprise me if it was, but does that really matter? You know what kind of past Ghost has and you like him anyway.”

“But should I?”

Sienna tilts her head to the side, watching me carefully. “That’s the question.”

I exhale, rubbing my palm against my knee. “I shouldn’t trust him. I already know that.”

“Yet, you do. I can feel it in your voice.”

“I don’t know. Logically none of this makes sense, but when I think about him, like the way he held me in the chair before he brought me here, it’s different. It almost feels like I should be running away and toward him at the same time.”

Sienna crosses her arms over her chest and exhales softly. “Oh, girl… that’s a pickle. What are you gonna do about it?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. Ignore it, maybe? I don’t know. I need some sleep. I’m not making any sense.”

“Whatever road you take, I’m right there next to you.

” Sienna lands a kiss on my forehead and tucks into the side room behind the kitchen before closing the door softly.

She has a small place right off Main Street with two bedrooms and one bath.

Her parents bought it for her when she graduated college.

They’re rich like that, though Sienna has tried to make a path of her own with the wedding business.

I should ask Ghost if he knows anyone who’d be interested in going to the wedding with her. I bet he knows someone, and it would give me another chance to talk to him without it looking too obvious, right?

Or is that the most obvious trick in the book?

I slip into the back bedroom and shut the door quietly, sucking in a deep breath of peonies Sienna cut from her garden.

She’s so good at things like that. Wearing cute clothes, gardening, makeup, all the things I suck at.

Even the decorations in the room are nice.

She somehow matched the comforter with the curtains and the side chair perfectly.

It’s not a mainstream shade of pink, either.

It’s a pale, off-tone pink that reminds me of the colors in my grandma’s color block quilt.

That thought should remind me of Grandma, though right now, it’s reminding me of Ghost. God, I hope this lamenting doesn’t last long. Ghost isn’t the kind of guy you hold on to.

I know that. Yet, I feel him here.

I lean back on the bed, exhaling slowly. This has to pass, because I’m not built for longing. Not like this.