Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Confusion filled their faces.
“Well what?”
“Did that look kissy-kissy to you?”
Jesus seemed unsure about the best way to reply, while Keller burst into laughter.
“Totally kissy-kissy,” he agreed.
“See! I told you!” Turning, she went to walk past Moon, only to stop mid-stride to whack him again.
“Give me that.” Snatching the small purse out of her hand, he raised it over his head, out of reach.
She refused to give him the pleasure of jumping for it, so she kicked him instead. “Keep it.” Relishing the way he warily moved to the side when she continued on past him was the best part of her stinking day. “Why don’t you shove it where the sun doesn’t shine, you”—there were several names she could have used to describe what she thought of Moon, but she settled on the most appropriate one—“prick.”
She stormed inside the house but caught herself before she slammed the door shut, not wanting to wake Jace.
Leaving the door ajar, she flounced angrily into her bedroom, coming to a stop when she saw Jace’s crib was empty. Was he in the crib in the living room?
She was about to head to the living room when a thought entered her mind as she passed the nursey. Opening the door to Jace’s room, she saw the small lamp on his bureau was on. The room was dim, but she could easily see Jace sleeping in his crib.
Crossing the room, she smiled lovingly at her son. As he slept with a crunched-up face, he looked so much like Moon that she felt tears swimming in her eyes. She wanted to pick him up for a cuddle but restrained herself, turning instead to tiptoe quietly from the room, only to come to a stop at seeing Moon in the doorway.
Brushing past him, she went into their room and pulled a nightgown out of her dresser.
“Are you planning to ignore me for the rest of the night?”
He was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest as if waiting for an apology. It blew her mind.
Imitating him, she stood like him. “If you’re waiting for an apology, you’re not going to get it.” She kept her voice low even though Moon had closed their door. She was done letting him see how much she cared about him riding with Saffron. “I’m the one who deserves an apology.”
Conflicting emotions crossed his face. “You had no business being on Jesus’ bike, or any motorcycle for that matter,” he stated calmly.
“Why not?” She raised her hands in defeat at what he’d said. “You certainly weren’t going to take me.”
Moon nodded. “No, I wasn’t.”
“Why?” Hurt that he refused to let her ride with him while he let another do so sliced through her. It showed he was never going to share the more important parts of his life with her. “You don’t want people in town seeing us together?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. People see us together when we go out,” he argued back.
“We haven’t gone out together since Jace was born. Are you with Saffron and you don’t want to tell me because of Jace?”
Moon raked a hand through his hair. “Larissa, there are parts of the club I can’t discuss with you. Saffron being on my bike today is one of them.”
“What in the heck does that mean?”
“Club business is kept private.”
“So, you’re not allowed to tell me?”
“No.”
“Does it go for all of the women or just me?”
“The rest of the women belong to the club.”
“And I don’t?”
“No.”
“I see.” Her crossed arms dropped to her waist. Turning, she stared down at the nightgown dangling from her hand.
“I don’t think you do.”
Hearing his frustrated sigh only heightened her awareness that Moon would never let her into his world, that he only wanted to allow her into a small part of his life, and she wouldn’t have been allowed in at all if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with Jace.
“All the women are Last Riders. They attend church meetings, are willing to accept the rules of the club, and when they break the rules, they accept the punishment.”
Listening, Larissa turned back to face him.
“They accept that Viper has the final say-so over our lives as long as we belong to the club,” Moon continued. “They keep their mouths shut with whatever goes down because they know if one falls, we all fall.” Moon paused.
Letting him talk without interrupting to ask questions was hard, but he was filling her in on some of the blanks she’d been wondering about. When he paused, she could tell he was debating leaving out something, but when his eyes met hers, she mentally prepared herself. Something told her that she wasn’t going to like what he was about to tell her.
“To become a Last Rider, there are certain requirements. The men have to fight six of the original members.”