Page 26 of Wyatt (The Black Roses MC #5)

I’ve seen Maizie in just about every kind of outfit—but never this.

She looks feminine, sweet, and sexy all at the same time.

The last thing I want is to watch her leave.

I want to take her out, take her dancing, show her off.

Okay, maybe not the dancing part since I don’t actually know how, but the showing off part?

Definitely. It seems like a waste to go home so early on a Saturday night.

“Want to go get a nightcap at Thorn and Thistle?” I offer.

Maizie shakes her head. “I’m pretty beat. And you promised to take us fishing tomorrow, remember?”

“Of course I do,” I reply, slightly offended she thinks I would forget. “I’d never disappoint your kid by bailing, Maiz.” My statement has two meanings. One about fishing and the other referring to the worries she expressed the other night.

I don’t wait for her to comment; instead, I hold out my arm, indicating that we’re leaving. She walks in front of me, and I follow her with Barrett walking out behind me. We head to her car as Barrett walks over to the bikes.

“Thanks for dinner,” she says. “Even though you kind of owed me after the stunt you pulled.”

“I’d say I’m sorry, but…” I let the sentence trail off. She knows me well enough to know I’m not sorry in the least.

She wants to say more. Probably wants to tell me—again—why this is all a bad idea. But rather than hear her list of concerns again, I open her car door. She slides into her seat, and I smile down at her.

“Night, Maiz. Drive safe.”

Her eyes narrow, and she shakes her head before tinkling laughter falls from her full lips. “Night, Wyatt.”

I close the door, stepping back as she starts her car and pulls out of her spot.

When I walk back to where we parked the bikes earlier, Barrett is standing there with his hands in his pockets.

“Wanna tell me what all that was about?” he asks.

Barrett is a good brother. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn’t ask questions. Just followed my lead and had a good time doing it.

“Nothing to tell. Not yet, anyways,” I say, watching Maizie’s taillights disappear around the corner.

“I think there’s a lot to tell, actually. Namely, that you have the hots for our favorite bartender, and she’s into you, but something is holding her back.”

I turn my head and look at him. “Sounds like you’re caught up, then.”

Barrett looks off into the distance and nods a few times. “You know, if you hurt her, Ozzy will probably knock your teeth out. So will just about every other brother.”

“That include you?”

He shakes his head and scrunches his nose. “Nah. But I will break that pretty nose of yours.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“Won’t be when I get through with you.”

He says it as a joke, but I know he’d have no problem knocking me the fuck out if I made Maizie cry. And I love him more for it. She may be an employee of the club, but she’s family. Her and Colby. And we look out for our own.

We get back to the clubhouse and find the prospect on the couch, watching some MMA fight on television with Pepper asleep at his feet. Have to admit, it’s nice having a built-in puppy sitter for when I’m not around.

“Hey, man. Good night?” I ask, walking over to give Pepper some ear scratches.

“Yeah,” he replies. “Quiet.”

Barrett, who pulled up behind me, is already at the pool tables with Cash and Braxton. I stand straight, and Pepper lifts his head, but he stretches then curls up on his bed, content to stay where he is.

“Wanna play?” Cash calls to me.

“Nah, think I’ll just grab a beer.”

Instead of bothering the prospect, I go behind the bar and grab a longneck from the cooler. I’m feeling uneasy and restless, which is unusual after just having gotten back from a ride. Granted, it wasn’t a long one; the restaurant is only about ten minutes from the clubhouse.

I walk over to the pool table, where Barrett is regaling the small group with the story of our evening.

“She was so pissed. You guys should have seen the look on Maizie’s face when Wyatt asked for a bite of her steak. Of course, I was stuck eating her date’s chicken. Not bad,” he says, patting his stomach. “But who the hell orders chicken at a place like that?”

“How are you still concerned with what that asshole ordered?” I ask, remembering he made the same comment at the restaurant.

“I just can’t wrap my head around it, man,” he says, shaking his head back and forth. “It’s practically the same as being a vegetarian and going to a steak house for dinner.”

I bark out a laugh. “It’s not the same at all.”

Cash is giving me a skeptical look, while Braxton is eyeing the pool table, searching for a good shot.

“Spit it out,” I tell our treasurer.

“I knew you had a bit of a crush on the bartender, but wasn’t running her date off a bit much?” Cash asks.

“Nope.” I take a pull from my beer, but it’s not tasting right to me. I’m not getting the usual calm feeling of shooting the shit with my brothers, playing pool, and drinking a few beers.

“Man. I wish I would have been a fly on the wall in that bathroom,” Braxton says after making his shot.

Shrugging, I tell him, “It wasn’t much. He tried some dick-swinging bluster, but even a dumbass like him realized pretty quick that he was outmatched.”

Braxton and Cash resume their game, dropping the subject and moving on to shit-talking, which is pretty on par when the guys play each other.

Still, that restless feeling in my gut won’t fucking quit.

I look at my phone and wonder if Maizie made it home okay. I’m sure she did, but there’s this incessant, gnawing urge to check. Or an urge to see her face one more time tonight. Setting the beer on the table next to me, I stand from my chair.

“I’m going for a ride,” I tell the small group.

“Want some company?” Barrett offers.

“Nah. Just need to get out a bit. See you fuckers later,” I say and walk toward the couches.

Pepper lifts his head. “I’m taking off for a while.

” My dog wags his tail but doesn’t get up.

He’s probably hopeful that I’ll take him with me, but I’m taking my bike.

Regardless of how many pictures Colby has drawn with Pepper on my motorcycle with me, that shit isn’t happening.

“Cool, man. We’re good here,” the prospect says.

I give him a nod and head back out.

These solitary late-night rides are something I’ve been doing for years.

I love being out on my bike after dark, hitting the city limits and rolling through the country roads.

The stars are brighter out here, and the moon is high in the sky tonight.

It’s the perfect kind of night to shut off my brain and let the road lead me where it will.

Where it takes me tonight is no surprise.

I pull up to Maizie’s house and stare at the darkened front.

It’s after ten. She’s been home for over an hour and is probably in bed.

Shit, I should be too, considering I have a fishing date with two of my favorite people tomorrow.

But I can’t make myself leave just yet. Being this close to her, even though she has no idea I’m out here, is already settling that restless feeling I had at the clubhouse.

It’s so fucking weird. I’ve never even kissed the woman, yet I can’t get her out of my mind. Can’t stop picturing what it would be like to have her in my arms, in my bed.

The front porch light turns on, and my gaze flies to her front door. She opens it wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts that peek out the bottom.

“You gonna sit out here all night? My neighbors might get the wrong idea and call the cops to report a stalker,” she calls.

I huff out a laugh and lower my kickstand, getting off the bike.

“Thought you'd be in bed,” I say as I walk to her front porch.

She closes the door behind her and steps toward the two rocking chairs, taking a seat in one. “Couldn’t sleep.”

The corner of my mouth ticks up a bit. “Me neither.”

Walking up her steps, I have a seat in the other rocking chair.

“Tonight was…” she starts, but I can sense she doesn’t exactly know how to finish.

“I had fun. Good food, good company, once I got rid of the asswipe.” My attempt at a joke doesn't land, and Maizie purses her lips.

“You can’t do that, Wyatt. It might not have been the right match with Steven, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be someone else.”

“I know that. I’m just trying to stack the odds in my favor that the next guy is me.”

Maizie groans and gets up from her chair, walking to the railing of her front porch and looking out on the quiet neighborhood.

She turns to face me. “I still have the same reasons for not wanting to start something as I did the other night,” she says, leaning against the wood.

“Yeah, about that. I don’t like your reasons, so I’ve decided to overrule you.”

Her brows shot up her forehead. “I’m sorry. What now?”

“Maizie, all your reasons were based on fear.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “None of them were valid. At least not to me.”

“You’re going to have to explain that a little further, Wyatt. From where I’m sitting, it sounds like you’re trying to barrel yourself into my life with no regard for my feelings, and I’m not sure I’m a fan.”

“I am thinking about your feelings. And mine. I’ve spent a lot of time these last few weeks—hell, years if I’m really being honest with myself—thinking about your feelings and Colby’s.

I get that you’re scared. I was scared too.

I get that you have a no-biker rule. But here’s the thing. I’m a biker, and I don’t follow rules.”

“Wyatt—”

“Not finished yet, sweetheart,” I say, getting up from my chair to stand in front of her.

“I’m not just some biker, Maizie. I’m the man who will stand between you and the rest of the world to protect you from everyone who would do you harm or make you sad.

I’m the man who will protect your son because he’s the most important thing in your life, and I happen to love that kid.

Your job will never be in jeopardy, and neither will your heart.

Or Colby’s. The only way I would leave either of you is if you told me to.

If under no uncertain terms you don’t want this.

If you don’t feel the same, then tell me to leave, Maizie.

It will kill me, make no mistake about that, but if you can stand there and tell me you don’t feel this”—I wave my hand between us—“tell me to go,” I finish in a whisper.

We stand facing each other, both of us breathing hard, staring into the other’s eyes.

“I can’t,” she says.

In the next breath, my chest is pressed against hers with my hand cupping the side of her face as I pull her lips to mine, taking her mouth in a fierce kiss.