I didn’t even spare him a glance.
He took me through a door and motioned for me to stop as he disappeared into the dark— a few seconds later, the lights flickered on. I blinked in surprise. It was a kitchen—a really cute little kitchen. I felt like Alice in Wonderland. From stripper poles in a dusty garage to Rachael Ray’s kitchen wasn’t what I was expecting. Red gingham valanceshung over the windows, and a long dining table sat under a few warmly lit chandeliers. The kitchen itself was all clean stainless steel and granite counters. A fat orange cat snoozed on the island next to a bowl of fruit. I half-expected a chubby grandma to come waddling out of nowhere to whip us up a snack. Dalton grabbed an apple from a nearly empty bowl and made himself comfy at the table, ignoring the dried blood on his arm. His buddies left the same way they came, their job evidently done.
Dalton and I stared at each other for a few moments, him munching on his apple and me just trying to get a read on him. Everything I read about Dalton Mills matched with what I’d seen tonight. A jokester, incredibly intelligent, and fiercely loyal to his brother. He was also, like his brother, ridiculously attractive. But where his brother’s good looks were all hard edges and bad-boy menace, Dalton’s light blue eyes seemed to laugh at a joke only he could hear, and his wavy blond hair made him look like a surfer boy. Take away the leather jacket and biker boots, and put him in a pair of swim trunks and sandals, and dude would fit right in on a California beach somewhere.
He smiled at me and I looked away, feeling a red flush creep up my neck. Asshole.
“Where’s your brother?” I asked, and he quirked an eyebrow at me.
“How do you know Mac’s my brother?”
My stomach dropped. Well, fuck me. “Um… well, I dunno. I just assumed you guys were related.”
He nodded. “Ah yeah, ‘cos we look so much alike.”
I swallowed nervously—knowing as well as he did that they looked, at best, distantly related. Those blue eyes assessed me carefully, and I was reminded just how dangerous he is—hell, my throat still hurt from his grip on me earlier that evening.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I pointed out, and he shrugged.
“He’s probably dealing with Daniel’sstupid ass.”
I frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”
He got up and brushed past me, throwing the apple core in the trash and grabbing the cat, who gave a disgruntled meow. I watched him cradle the cat like a baby and smiled a little when it started purring like a diesel engine in a semi-truck. At first, I didn’t think he was going to answer me, but then he looked up at me.
“Daniel crossed a line tonight. He broke one of Mac’s rules, and that’s never a good idea.”
“What rule is that? Don’t let some crazy chick set your shit on fire?” I used air quotes when referring to myself, and he smirked.
“What are you two laughing at?”
I spun around to see Mac, who’d just come through the garage door. I looked over at Dalton, who put the cat back on the counter.
“She just wanted to know where you were. I told her you were dealing with Daniel.”
I nodded. “Yeah, even though you haven’t told me what rule he broke.”
Mac walked over to the chair his brother had recently vacated. The dude was easily six feet tall, but moved with liquid grace. He sat and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning towards me and giving me a look I can’t describe. Finally, he said, “He put his hands on you. You told him no, and he didn’t listen. In this club, a woman’s no is just that. No amount of alcohol in your belly turns that no into a yes. You either have her consent, or you don’t. He didn’t. I would’ve ground his ass into the dirt, but I think turning his ride into ash settles the score pretty well.”
I gaped at him—that was surprisingly… honorable. And hot. I shoved that last thought down. Far, far down.
“Well, your golden boy sure as shit never asked my permission when he nearly choked me to death. Or does the ‘no means no’ rule not apply to you two?”
I glanced over at Dalton, who winked at me. “Baby girl, itapplies, but it’s not really… needed, if you know what I mean. And besides, that was different.”
I scoffed, both at his implication that they don’t get told no very often and also at his dismissal of his manhandling me.
Mac cleared his throat. “However, your score with me isn’t settled.”
My gaze swung back over to his. “What score? I didn’t do jack shit to you!”
He smiled slowly. Not carefree, like his brother. No, this was all danger. I began to worry my bottom lip, and his eyes tracked the movement.
“Daniel was my prospect. I vouched for him, which means he was mine to teach.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know what it means. So?”
His smile grew bigger. “You ruined his bike. A brand new Harley worth about twenty grand. You got twenty grand in your bank?”
