Talon chuckles and slides us a menu each as we sit down. “What are we having?”
“Anything with potato,” Tia says, scanning the menu. “Fries. Lots and lots of fries.”
“I’m getting a burger and fries,” I say, rubbing my eyes and not caring if my makeup goes everywhere. “Thanks for bringing us here, Talon.”
He smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners. “It’s no problem. I actually had a pretty fun night.” He pauses. “First time I enjoyed women’s company knowing I wouldn’t be going home with them.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Nice.”
He grins.
“Is my makeup all over my face?” Tia asks, looking at me.
“Yup,” I reply.
She looks at Talon. “Don’t judge me by what I look like right now.”
He rests his arms on the booth, studying us. “Yeah, you both look pretty different from how you looked at the start of the night.”
I roll up a napkin and throw it at him.
We order our food, stuff our faces, and then go home.
All in all, a pretty good night.
ELEVEN
THE banging on my front door makes my head pound. I force myself to lift my face off my pillow and open my eyes. Pushing myself up on my knees, I yawn and stretch.
More banging.
I see the blond hair on the pillow next to me and smile, poking Tia in the back.
“Someone’s at the door,” I groan.
She lifts her head. “What’s the time?”
I grab my phone off my side table and glance at the time. “Seven a.m.”
“Mom said she’ll bring the kids here at nine, after breakfast, so it isn’t her,” she says, scowling. “It better be a food delivery of some kind.”
“Yeah.” I roll my eyes. “Trust me, we’re not that lucky.”
Thump, thump, thump.
“For fuck’s sake,” Tia growls, getting off the bed and tightening her ice-blue robe around her. “Can’t a woman sleep off her hangover in peace? I’ll get it.”
“You’re the best,” I tell her, sinking back into the mattress and kind of feeling sorry for whoever was at the door.
I close my eyes and am about to go back to sleep when I hear her call my name.
“What?” I call back, eyes still shut.
My door opens, and suddenly the air in the room gets sucked out. I slowly open my eyes and then sit up when I see who is in my bedroom.
What the hell?
“Have a good night?” Rake growls, storming inside my room and starting to pace.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to tame my hair with my fingers. I probably look like utter shit right now. Do I still have makeup smudged all over my face?
Probably.
Great, just great.
“What the fuck are you thinking, hanging out with fuckin’ Talon and Slice? Do you want to fuck a biker so badly? Is that it?” he yells, his face going red, hands clenching. “You turning into a biker groupie? Do you know how fucking dangerous it is?”
Tia steps into the room then, looking like a fucking ice queen, before I can even answer.
“How dare you talk to her like that? You don’t even fucking know her at all, do you? And you have no say over what she does. Why don’t you just get out of her house until you learn some motherfucking manners?”
Yeah, only Tia would tell off a six-foot-something biker.
I stand up and make sure my boobs aren’t on show. “We went out; they were there. We had a couple of drinks, then we went home. I don’t know why I have to explain that to you, but there it is.”
They’re his friends after all, or whatever they are.
I look to Tia and give her a small smile. “Give me a second, honey.”
She nods, gives Rake the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen, then slams the door behind her. Rake stands in front of me, simmering in anger, but I’m not scared. He might be an ass, but I know this man’s soul, and he would never hurt me.
“You realize you’re overreacting, right?” I say quietly, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You have a kid, why are you out drinking with bikers?” he growls, running a hand through his blond hair in frustration. “You saw what happened at Rift. What if something like that happens again and I’m not around to make sure you’re okay?”
My heart melts a little at the expression on his face.
Behind his anger is worry . . . for me.
Everything he’s saying has already run through my head, so I know he’s not wrong in his observation. I close the space between us and rest my hand on his arm. “We were fine. Talon made sure we were. We went out for a drink. Tia and I never get to go out together because we take turns watching the kids. So it was a rare treat, and we wanted to enjoy it. I don’t really know any places other than Knox’s Tavern and Rift, so we went to Knox’s.”
I take a deep breath and continue. “I know it probably feels weird to you because suddenly I’m connected to your world, even though you don’t want me to be. And I don’t mean to. It just seems like I’m suddenly always in the wrong place at the wrong time and running into people I’ve met because of you.”
His green eyes soften but then harden a second later. “Fucking hell, Bailey. Did you fuck him? Because I’ve been looking for another reason to kill that bastard.”
I groan and close my eyes, frustration filling me. “No. I didn’t fuck him. And you know what? If I did, it’s none of your business. Why don’t you continue to fuck other men’s women and leave me alone?”