Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that, son,” Dad said, pushing back his longish gray hair. The flush on his tan skin suggested he wouldn’t be stopping what he was doing any time soon, so Leo waved them off and rushed out, still not ready to go through with his idea.
“Close the door,” Mom shouted, and Leo pushed it a little too hard, creating noise that echoed down the dusty corridor. Maybe he was just bitter. How many couples were still so sexual after half a lifetime together? It was something to be envied rather than dismissed.
He was about to walk out of the building when the main entrance was kicked open, revealing Leo’s older brother, Mike. He came in, bringing the outside noise with him, but it was the high-pitched squeaks made by the girl he carried over his shoulder that drilled their way into Leo’s ears, making him flinch.
“Stop it,” she squealed in a tone that suggested she wanted Mike to do anything but, as evidenced by the loud giggle she uttered when he slapped her round ass.
Mike and Leo shared many physical qualities of their dad. Both were tall, muscular yet lean and, like all the members, they even sported the same club tattoo on their backs—a winged skull with smoke coming out of its eye socket and words declaring to the world they were the Smoke Valley MC from Nevada. But what made the two of them different went far beyond appearance.
It didn’t matter Mike’s hair was long and fair and Leo’s short and dark. What truly set them apart was that while Mike was laid back and difficult to frustrate, Leo’s world revolved around taking shit seriously. Unlike him, Mike didn’t need to make conscious attempts to fit in, and he didn’t need to buy girls flowers to get them interested. Mike was a player, but once he’d meet the right girl, he’d surely fall as hard as Jack had for Trixie. He was the sexy Harley, and Leo—an SUV with a cool paint job.
So maybe that was Leo’s problem in the first place. How could he expect butterflies swarming in his stomach if he didn’t inspire passionate feelings in the women he chose? Sure, he worked out, he sported tattoos, and was a great mechanic, but when it came to seduction, he was nothing like Mike. His brother had that sexy Kurt Cobain vibe and any girl he dumped still came back for more the next day. The fucker had a tiny fan club of high-schoolers who he had to stay clear of if he didn’t want to end up in jail.
“Out of the way. I have a naughty girl to discipline,” Mike announced, pushing past Leo, who looked back at the woman’s flushed and joyful face.
Mortified, Leo burst outside, searching for Amanda yet again. He’d invited her over before, but never to a party this big, and he didn’t want her to think his brothers were pervs.
Even though Mike absolutely was.
He walked past a trio of beach chairs where his uncle Kurt and two other MC members shared a lively discussion over beer, but when he spun around to face the barbeque, where he’d seen her last, he saw a toddler-sized dragon speeding his way.
The kid’s face was hidden behind a green mask, but Leo recognized Sean by his laugh and picked the boy up to spin him in the air.
Melody, his cousin and the boy’s mother, offered him a small smile, pushing back her fiery-red hair. “Leave Uncle Leo alone. It’s way past your bedtime,” she said, ushering her two other kids toward the gate.
“One more spin,” Leo whispered and twirled, to the boy’s delighted chuckle. “They’re growing so fast,” he added, despite knowing it made him sound like the uncle who pinched cheeks and smoked a pipe, despite only being twenty-nine and far from wearing slippers and napping in a rocking chair.
They were almost at the gate when a loud whistle tore through the music and chatter. Above the gathering, on the roof of the clubhouse, Leo’s cousin Kane opened his pants. This was a sign that a lot of alcohol had passed through people’s hands, and the party was officially no longer child-friendly.
Melody’s eyes widened, and she picked up her other two kids, charging toward her car, parked right next to the club-owned gas station. Melody’s daughter wanted to know what Uncle Kane was doing so high up, but Leo was deaf to her answer, because all he could think about was that he’d intended to propose to Amanda on the roof, and now that plan was ruined.
Regardless of whether Kane could be stopped from pissing in public, the romantic allure of the spot he chose was dead. He kept up the smile for the kids’ sake, but once Melody drove off, he stormed back into the courtyard, ready to confront Kane about his behavior around kids. And ladies, like Amanda.