Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
El’s ears went aflame and he jumped off the bike as soon as it finally stopped by a row of other motorcycles. “You told people about me?” he whispered, zipping up his leather jacket, to add another layer of armor. The metal studs attached to the shoulders wouldn’t help him in a fight, but they sure made him feel safer.
Trig cleared his throat, buying himself time as he removed his helmet. “They all know,” he said and looked back, sending a whiff of leathery scent El’s way. The faint lamplight caught his dark eyes, which now seemed as black as two chunks of coal. How could one man be so infuriating and so sexy at the same time?
El dragged his hands down his face in disbelief. He’d been living his life, resigned to the reality of never seeing Trig again, while his ex had not only stalked him like some shadow man, but also told others about him, as if their relationship had never ended.
“You’re unbelievable.” El stepped away with a frown, his mind flooded by conflicting feelings. It did feel good to know he hadn’t been forgotten, yet even with Trig’s level of obsession, he had chosen his new buddies over the life they’d promised to one another. He wanted to have his cake and eat it, and El would not be just another side dish in his menu.
Trig rolled his shoulders and removed the jacket that kept him warm throughout the ride, uncovering firm arms and the leather vest that marked him as a member of the club. “I hoped you’d change your mind.”
El stuffed his hands into his pockets. “First time I hear about this in five years,” he grumbled, now berating himself over being too weak to resist sex with Trig. What had he been thinking? This guy knew all his weaknesses, and would use them as a means to the end he wanted. And now, he even had El on his turf.
The crowd gathered at the biker party made reality sink in all too fast. El didn’t belong here, and if Trig thought he could tie him down by obtaining the club’s protection for him, he had another thing coming. El had made many mistakes in his life, but he would not indebt himself to a notorious motorcycle club so soon after getting in trouble with a cartel. He’d learned his lesson to never depend on anyone again.
At which he was failing already, because he owed Trig for saving him tonight.
El’s attention drifted to a man whose gaze zeroed in on him from across the yard. With dark bushy hair and a thick but well-groomed beard, he reminded El of a pirate in leather. He walked their way with a beer in his hand, and his vest marked him as one of the bikers. El didn’t miss a slinky guy, not much older than him, following the biker like some metalhead weasel. A very pretty weasel at that, with a big smile and long blond hair hanging down to his ass.
Trig stalled, leaning so close their arms touched. “It’s fine, okay? I’ll deal with everything.”
El stepped closer despite his mixed feelings, because the human bulldozer might crush him without batting an eye. “He looks angry.”
Trig inhaled but didn’t get to voice his answer when the tall man with hair that was somehow simultaneously wild and shiny, stood uncomfortably close, assessing them with eyes that seemed to see through not only El’s clothes, but also his skin.
“This him?”
Trig’s hand skimmed across El’s back, causing an unwanted shiver before it settled on his arm. “This is my El.”
El felt like a wild stallion getting fitted with a saddle. He itched for the freedom of the open plains, but the sugar cubes on offer were tempting him already. The skinny metalhead’s blue gaze was stuck to El’s face, as if he didn’t feel the need to hide his curiosity about the new arrival. Was the guy a hangaround? Was this who Trig fucked when El hadn’t been there to satisfy him?
“I’m sorry for the trouble,” El mumbled to the biker whose vest patch read Tooth and the other stated President.
He wondered whether this man’s nickname came from the necklace of teeth hanging around his neck, but when El spotted discoloration and irregularities on their surface, he looked away, deciding not to think about their origin too much.
The blond smiled at Trig, and El didn’t miss the flirty way in which he brushed his hair back. It was smooth in a way that belonged on television. “At least you didn’t miss Priest’s ceremony.”
Why did this guy have to be so damn attractive? No wonder Trig chose to stay behind if he could have his pick from men so handsome. At the end of the day, the lifetime together El had offered him might be too insignificant for a man with the potential Trig clearly had. Five years had passed, and while El had dug himself into a hole, his ex was thriving. If they’d stayed together, El would have dragged Trig down. This reunion was pointless and would result in more heartbreak.