The last woman who had wrapped her body so tightly around me on the back of the bike was Jackie. It felt like home the moment Fran put her head against my back, and I took off down the road.

The ladies from the bar that I’d sometimes take home on my bike were so comfortable they’d barely hold on, let alone plaster themselves to my body.

I forgot how nice it was too.

“Tell me more about your wife,” Fran said after our first beer.

We’d spent the last half hour talking about our pasts, something I rarely did with anyone. “She had one of those smiles that could light up a room. When she laughed, no matter what was happening around me, I couldn’t help but laugh too. Sometimes I try to remember the sound of it, but it’s so faint that it just brings me sadness.”

“I’m sorry. It sounds like she was a great girl.”

“She was one of the best.”

She moved the empty glass around on the table and avoided my eyes. “Why didn’t you ever remarry?”

“I went to a dark place when I lost her.” I picked at the label on my beer and stared out into the ocean, watching the waves roll in and crash against the shore. “I wouldn’t have been good for anyone.”

“It’s been almost thirty years, Murray. I’m sure you’re settled by now.”

My eyes flickered to her. “I’m an old bastard now, Fran. Why didn’t you get hitched after Ray?”

She frowned, dropping her gaze. “He was a mean fucker. When he left, I swore I’d never fall in love again. I’ve been really good at not getting close to anyone.”

“Put all your effort into the kid?” I asked with a small smile.

She laughed softly and bit her lip. “Yeah. Poor Morgan. He was eighteen when Ray left, and I became what they now call a ‘helicopter parent.’”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with that,” I told her and reached out to touch her hand. “I should’ve been that way with Ret and Janice. They deserved to have me in their life, but I was too self-absorbed and lost in my own sadness to be there for them.”

“We all have regrets. But time isn’t up yet. You can still make amends for the past.” She curled her fingers around mine. “Just don’t wait too long.”

“Eh,” I muttered, caressing the tender skin on the back of her hand with my thumb. “It’ll probably cause more hurt after all this time. Sometimes it’s better to leave things unsaid.”

“Is this a date?” she blurted out with a nervous smile.

I froze for a second and began to laugh as the waitress arrived with our food. “I suppose it is.”

Her lips curved up, almost kissing the corners of her eyes. “Good to know.”

I was suddenly curious about the tracksuit-loving feisty woman I’d admired since the day I’d met her. “Go on a lot of dates?”

Her hair skimmed her shoulders as she shook her head. “Not really.”

“Me either.”

She laughed so hard she snorted. “Don’t lie. I heard you’re quite the ladies man.”

I chuckled softly as my face heated. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Well, I’ve heard the stories.”

“Fran,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty and whorish.

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Bear. I’m just making a general statement.”

I stabbed at my pasta, capturing a few flimsy noodles on my fork. “Oh.”

“I bet you’re pretty good in the sack,” she said just as I put the fork in my mouth. I stared at her for a moment, chewing as fast as I could so I could respond, but she kept talking. “Probably a wild man.” She made a small roaring noise in the back of her throat.

The fork fell from my hands and clattered against my plate. A noodle lodged in my throat, and tears formed in my eyes as I tried to cough it away.

“Are you okay?” she asked, starting to stand.

I grabbed her hand and kept her in the seat as I cleared my throat. “You have to stop doing that.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she smiled innocently. “What?”

My grip tightened on her hand. “Talking about sex with me.”

“Sex with you or sex with you?” She smirked.

I closed my eyes and muttered a few curse words under my breath. “Both.”

“Isn’t that what usually happens on dates?”

“How’s everything?” the waitress asked, interrupting us at the worst moment.

“It’s great,” I told her without looking up. “Thank you.” When she finally scurried away, I continued. “I’m trying real hard not to think about banging the fuck out of you, Fran. I’ve never tried so hard not to think about something.”

She leaned forward, giving me a better view of her spectacular cleavage. “Why would you do that?”

I licked my lips, my mouth watering from the view more than from the food. “Because we should take things slower. Morgan would kill me if he knew I even said this was a date.”

“He doesn’t have to know.” Her words came out quickly and quietly.

I laughed and rubbed the spot where my hand had held her down before releasing her. “I don’t really like to keep secrets from him, but…”

“There are some things he should never know.”

She piqued my curiosity. “Like what?”

Her smirk turned into a wicked grin. “I’ll save all my secrets until another day. We’ll see if you earn the right to know them.”

“Fuck,” I muttered softly before picking up my fork and stabbing my food with a little more force. She had me on edge and needy.

We sat in silence, exchanging glances as we ate. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from her mouth and the way her lips slid against the fork when she pulled it out. I kept thinking about my dick being in the same spot and the softness of her skin sliding against my shaft while the back of her teeth pressed against my head.

“Are you okay?” she asked after catching me adjusting myself in my seat for at least the tenth time since we sat down.

“I’m fine.” I wiped my mouth, tossing the napkin on top of my plate, and watched her in absolute heaven.

“This is so good,” she said and let out a loud moan.

Vixen. She knew exactly what she was doing when she made that sound.

“Hey, will you take me to the Neon Cowboy for a drink after this? I’ve heard so much about it, and I’d love to finally step foot inside.”

I should’ve said no. Morgan and the guys were often there and taking his mom there was a huge risk, but I couldn’t say no. She looked too excited, and I wasn’t ready to take her home yet. “Sure.”

I knew I’d regret it the moment the words left my mouth.

---

“Are you fucking crazy?” Tank asked when Fran excused herself and went to the ladies’ room.

“Clearly, I am.”

“What the hell are you doing with Fran DeLuca?”

“Just having a drink.” I shrugged and feigned innocence.

Tank’s hand connected with the back of my head, and my body lurched forward. “Don’t be a dumbass.”

I turned and glared at him, balling my hands into tight fists under the table. “You got a free shot—the next one I’m hitting back, fucker. We’re adults. She wanted to have a drink so I brought her.”

“What are you going to do when Morgan hears about it?”

“He won’t, and if he does, I’ll handle him.”

Tank started to laugh so hard that he almost fell off his chair. “You’re a dumber shit than I thought.”

“I really like her, Tank,” I admitted to him, feeling a weight lift off my chest from finally saying the words out loud.

“You’re fucked, buddy. Totally fucked.”

I glanced toward the ceiling and exhaled. “I know.”

“Hey, guys. What did I miss?” Fran said as she sat down, brushing her hair back off of her shoulders and smiling.

“Not a thing,” Tank replied before taking a slug of his beer and diverting his eyes.

“This place isn’t really what I thought.”

“What did you think it would be?” I asked.

“I thought it would be more like a hole-in-the-wall honky-tonk.”

“Nah,” I laughed and pulled my beer a little closer. “It’s just a good ole-fashioned biker bar.”

She looked around the bar, slowly taking in the crowd. “Do people dance?”

“Sometimes,” I lied.

“Will you dance with me?”

“Um…”

“Come on, ya big baby. I’m sure you have some moves,” she teased me while nudging me in the ribs.

“Okay,” I said, unable to resist her even though I knew every set of eyes in the place would be on us.

“Dumb fucker,” Tank muttered under his breath so only I could hear.

Rising to my feet, I glared at him before holding out my hand to Fran. She slid her hand in mine with the biggest grin on her face. Just as our feet touched the empty area of the bar that was typically the dance floor, Brantley Gilbert’s “If You Want a Bad Boy” started to play.

“I love this song,” she said as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer, but I still left a little space between us. As if she knew what I was doing, her arm hooked around my neck and she closed the tiny gap.

It took me a minute to find my footing because I couldn’t get Tank’s words out of my head, and having Fran’s tits pressed against me only made things worse.

We locked eyes, our feet moving with the beat, and everything else seemed to disappear. All I could see, feel, or hear was Fran. Her tiny laugh when I spun her around, and the feel of her body crashing into me when I pulled her back.

The only time my eyes left hers was to glance down at her cleavage. No girl wears a bra like that without wanting to be noticed. My hand slid lower down her back, just above her ass, when something caught my attention.

More like someone.

Standing near the doorway with his arms crossed and a very pissed off look on his face was Morgan, flanked by City.

“Fuck,” I grumbled and closed my eyes, but I didn’t let go of Fran.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, rubbing my back gently with her palm because she hadn’t caught sight of them.

Very slowly, I slid my hand up her back and spun around so she could see them too.

“Fuck,” she groaned, finally catching a glimpse of them. “This is a shitshow.”

My thoughts exactly.

I’d hoped to keep this evening to us so I didn’t need to deal with Morgan, but now I had to face him and hope he didn’t flip his shit. “Let’s get this over with.”

City leaned over, whispering in Morgan’s ear as we approached. Morgan’s face was unreadable, but his body language wasn’t.

“Hey, baby.” Fran spoke first, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

“Mom.” He glared at me as she kissed him.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked as she backed away.

Morgan’s eyes hadn’t left mine. “The real question is what are you two doing here?”

Fran came back to stand next to me, but I didn’t dare wrap my arm around her. Not that I was worried that Morgan could take me, but because I didn’t want to get into a fight with him. He was Fran’s baby. If I punched him in the face, it wouldn’t be pretty and would be the end of us before we even started.

“I was talking to Franny about the case, and she wanted to come for a drink. Who am I to say no to her?” I shrugged, hoping that it would pacify him.

“A word?” City asked and motioned toward the bar with his head.

“Sure,” I replied before glancing down at Fran.

She nodded her approval. “Morgan, buy me a drink and sit with me.”

“I think we should leave.”

She stepped into his space and smiled. “Baby, I’m an adult. I want a drink with my son. Now shut the fuck up and buy me one.”

I bit my lip and tried to stifle my laughter. It wasn’t the time or the place to laugh my ass off at the way Fran handled him. Morgan wasn’t the type of guy many people fucked with, but as with any big man, they were brought down to size when their mother was around.

“One drink,” Morgan replied as I walked away to meet an already waiting City.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he said before I had a chance to say anything.

My head jerked back in surprise. “What?”

“Why the fuck would you bring her here?”

City had been my friend for years. We’d walk through fire for each other, but his response shocked me. “Where am I supposed to bring her?”

“You knew word would get back to me.”

“No one knows her.”

“Sure as fuck do.”

“How?”

“She’s been to all my parties. The guys here know her, stupid fucker.”

“So what? We’re having a drink. It’s not like I’m banging her on the table for everyone to see.”

He dug his fingers into his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t unsee that image.”

He turned to the bartender. “Tequila.”

“Make it two,” I mumbled before he could walk away. “How pissed is he?”

“I’m lucky you’re still alive.” City chuckled softly and grabbed the two shot glasses as soon as the bartender set them in front of us. Handing me one, he said, “I may need more than one if I’m going to get through the rest of tonight.”

“You know I can’t fight back if he hits me.”

“I know. After a few of these, you won’t feel the pain when he punches your fucking lights out.”

As I lifted the shot glass to my lips, I watched Fran and Morgan talking at the table. Her hands were moving wildly as she spoke, and I knew the conversation was heated but it looked like Fran had it under control.

“Were you really talking about business?” he asked, slamming his shot glass down on the table. “Because your hand on her ass made it seem…”

I cut him off with a wave of the hand. “She’s a big girl, City.”

“I know you’d never hurt Fran on purpose, Bear, but she’s my aunt. You’re my best friend in the world, but she’s family.”

“You think I’m going to bang her and treat her like shit.”

“It’s what you usually do,” he said flatly.

How could I explain to him that this was different? Fran wasn’t a club whore or a barfly. She was a good woman and reminded me of Jackie. For years, I’d found the trashiest girls, ones I knew I wouldn’t feel anything for, and had a good time until they became too clingy and I’d kick them to the curb.

“It’s different with her.”

He raised an eyebrow, calling bullshit on that statement.

“It is!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fucker, listen to me. I can’t explain it, but I really like Fran. She’s like a breath of fresh air in my fucked-up life.”

Thin arms wrapped around my waist. “Hey, baby.”

City’s eyes widened, matching my own as soon as I heard the voice. Fucking Molly. Peeling her hands from my body, I turned slowly and pushed her away gently.

“Molly.”

“Wanna have some fun, big boy?” she said with a slur, hanging on to the word boy a little too long to be classified as sober.

“No. I told you I didn’t want to see you again, and I meant every word of it.” When she reached up to touch me, I grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her forward progress.

“Come on. I can make you feel good.” Her eyes dipped to my cock, and she smirked. “I know just how you like it.”

“Molly,” I said quieter. “I’m not going to explain this again, so listen carefully. We’re nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. So move along and find your next victim.”

She pouted before a small smile spread across her face. “I love when you’re like this. It’s so hot. I know you want it rough, baby. Take out all that stress on me.”

I glanced toward the ceiling and caught a glimpse of Morgan watching me. Quickly, I released Molly’s wrist and put some space between us. “Lose my number and forget I exist,” I told her because I didn’t know what else to say. The woman clearly didn’t understand the word no.

“City can join us if you want.” She smiled brightly, running her eyes over his body.

City was over a decade my junior. His large body and chiseled good looks made it easy for him to bag the ladies—at least, before he found the love of his life, Suzy. His eyes darkened, and his body stiffened next to me. “I’m out. You clean up this mess and come over to the table,” he said.

“Don’t fucking leave me here,” I told him and reached for his arm.

He took a few steps and turned to face me. “Get rid of her,” he mouthed with a snarl.

As if this night couldn’t get any worse—Molly had to show up, drunk off her ass, and wanting something I wasn’t willing to give her again. With Morgan and Fran here, it added a whole new dimension of fucked up.

Could this night get any worse?