“I don’t intend to hurt him,” I assure her.“I just … I need time to figure things out.”
She nods slowly, her expression softening.“Take your time, but remember, life is short. Sometimes we have to take risks to find happiness.”
As she returns to chopping vegetables, her words echo in my mind. Maybe she’s right; maybe I should take a risk with Talon. Just because we’re completely different people doesn’t mean we don’t have anything in common. There must be a reason why she thinks we’d be good together. I just need to find out what that is.
But for now, I keep my focus on preparing dinner and pushing thoughts of him to the back of my mind. If nothing else, I’m a patient person. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to figure out what to do about the pull of attraction between us. Until then, I’ve got a bigger problem to worry about. As long as my stalker’s still out there, my desire for Talon will have to wait. It sucks, but I can’t let myself get distracted by him. There’s too much that could go wrong if I lose my focus. I could lose my life.
Chapter 12: Talon
I’m standing in the kitchen, watching Nina and Jessica cook dinner. The aroma of spices fills the air as they chatter and laugh with each other. My eyes are drawn to Jessica. Her golden hair cascades down her back as she stirs the sauce on the stove. Every move she makes is as graceful as a ballerina. What it would be like to dance with her or make love to her?
The thought of getting closer to her, of taking her into my room and having some alone time with her, keeps tugging at me. But I know I can’t let that happen. My job is to protect her, not take her to bed, no matter how much I might want to do just that.
Instead of sticking around to be tortured by her luscious curves, I decide to talk to Matrix. At least then I’ll be doing something useful instead of drooling over her like a pathetic loser.
As I walk toward the hall, Tucker waves me into the living room. I take a seat in a large, overstuffed chair across from where he’s sitting on the couch. Tucker clicks the remote to turn the television off.
“You want me on guard duty tonight?” Tucker asks, scratching his beard.
“Anything suspicious happen today?”
“Nah, everything seemed normal. Well, except for this hot chick who came into the bar. Legs for days. An ass you could bounce a quarter off. Smokin’ hot.”
“You get her number?”
“Damn right.” Tucker grins.
“Nice.”
“Are you going to need me tonight? I was going to call her, but the club comes first.”
“We’re going to have to keep watch again.”
“On it. I can always call her later.”
“Yeah. But don’t wait too long. You can’t let that girl get away.”
“Not planning on it.”
“Since you’re good with pulling guard duty again, why don’t you choose some other prospects for tonight. I trust your judgment.”
“Will do, brother.”
“You keep doing right by the club and you’ll earn your patch.”
I’m confident Tucker will make a great addition to the club. Most of the other guys are on board, too. But we’re also cautious. New members must be vetted for at least a year before they even have a shot at getting patched in.
Tucker’s not new around here, but he’s not a full member. We’ve still got our eyes on him, and everything is a test. Everything. One fuck up and he’s out. He hasn’t messed up yet, and I hope he won’t because I like the kid. He’s got balls and a good soul. That’s all you can ask for in a club brother.
After leaving Tucker to watch the news, I continue down the hall to Matrix’s office. Reaper materializes seemingly out of nowhere. I don’t startle because I’m used to it at this point. But this ability of his to be a ghost is fucking weird.
“You down to try to breach Blackstone’s ranch again tonight?” Reaper asks.
“After that close call last night? No way. We need to lay low for a few days.”
He clenches his jaw, clearly not happy with my decision.“I got that bad feeling still. Blackstone’s planning something big.”
“Any idea what?”
