I pace back and forth across my living room as I wait for Kendra to show up. Thank fuck she agreed to come with me. What was I thinking when I told Jamison’s wife, Claire, that I’d come to the family picnic?

Must have been a moment of weakness or something. She caught me unawares, and I couldn’t tell her no. The whole family is going to be there, she told me on the phone call, and she missed me and wanted to see me.

How the hell could I tell her I wouldn’t come?

I’m getting soft.

Fuck.

I hear Kendra’s car pull into the drive and whip the door open before she’s even gotten out and is walking up the steps. The lightness in her eyes, her easy gait, give me a little comfort and ease my tension.

“Hi,” she says, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a hug.

I don’t say anything in response, just tighten her against me and breathe her scent in. Today is going to suck, I just know it. Shit hasn’t been good with my family, not since I got kicked out of Outlaws…or even before that, when I quit Fugitives. And I’m going to be seeing all of my brothers and cousins.

I’m so not fucking prepared for this.

Her fingers reach up and stroke the hair at the nape of my neck. She brushes soft kisses along my jaw. “You okay?”

I sigh and clench her hips. God, this woman…she undoes me in all the best ways.

“I am now,” I admit. I want to just stay here and not leave the house. Things are better when she’s in my arms. Being around my brothers, my cousins--It’s going to suck. Hard.

For the thousandth time, I consider just bailing.

And then Kendra pulls back and smiles, cupping my face. “It’s a great day for a picnic. I have the potato salad I made in the back of the car. Wanna ride with me?”

I shrug, and she slugs my shoulder.

“Is it really so terrible?” she asks.

“You have no idea.” God, I sound like a fucking wimp. “It’ll be fine,” I say, not believing it for even one second. “Let’s just go and get this over with.”

I hope Claire appreciates the effort I’m making. When I told her I was bringing Kendra with me, she about shit herself in excitement over me dating someone.

Apparently, my man-whore legend has gotten around.

We get in Kendra’s car and head to the part of the park where the picnic is being held. My cousins like to have a summer picnic every year, and Claire picked up on the idea and this year decided we should all come—the brothers and cousins. Just another way to knit us closer together, I assume.

I shouldn’t drag Kendra into our shit. But I couldn’t imagine getting through this day without her. Somehow she’s come to mean more to me than I expected. Than I anticipated. Than I even wanted.

And even knowing that, knowing that I should avoid all of this, I can’t stay away from her.

It’s hard not to look at her as she makes conversation, her face alight with her warm smile, the sunlight peeking through the windows to brighten her face and set her hair aglow. She’s talking about how her cook showed her how to make the potato salad and laughed at her terrible potato-peeling skills. The woman is beautiful. Fucking beautiful. And the fact that she wants to be with me? It’s mind-blowing.

But maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. Even her dad sees potential in my talent, my vision. I’m meeting with him in two days to present my business plan. I will impress Charles, and he’ll want to invest in me. And once my parlor gets off the ground, I’ll be able to pay him back for the seed money.

I’ve spent the last several days working on my presentation. It’ll be great. And I’ll keep telling myself that until I believe it.

Kendra reaches over and loops her fingers through mine, and suddenly I feel grounded. So much so that it scares me. I almost want to yank my hand from hers, because this vulnerability is getting to be too intense. She sees me, far too much of me.

Where is this going, this thing between us? What will come of this? I have no idea.

I resist the urge to pull away, let my fingers rest in hers. She’s trying to offer simple comfort, nothing more, I chide myself. Stop reading into everything. Doesn’t all have to be laden with meaning.

We get to the picnic area and pull in beside a row of motorcycles and muscle cars lined up.

My stomach tightens.

Off in the distance, there’s a ruckus already going. Dozens of people milling around, far more than just my family—bikers, kids, women, loud rock blaring through a stereo system someone set up. Looks like some friends decided to crash the picnic.

“Your family is wild,” Kendra says with a laugh as she eyes everyone. “I feel like I’m way too conservatively dressed.” In her long summery dress, I can see why she thinks that. Many of the women here are wearing tiny cut-off jean shorts and tank tops that are plastered to their tits. Not Kendra’s style.

“You’re fine,” I tell her in a gruffer tone than I intend. I take her hand and lead her toward my family, hoping we don’t get grilled right away.

I asked Claire when I was on the phone with her to not interrogate Kendra, that we’re not serious with each other and just casually dating, but who knows?

“Axel!” a woman says, calling to me, and suddenly I’m enveloped in a tight squeeze. It’s Hale’s fiancée, Phoebe. “Glad to see you here.” She withdraws from my embrace and eyes Kendra with interest. “Hi, I’m Phoebe,” she says, extending her hand. “Engaged to his brother Hale. And you are?”

Kendra gives her a broad smile. “I’m Kendra.”

“I’m glad to meet you.” Phoebe shoots me a side glance that speaks volumes, despite its brevity. “Didn’t expect Axel to bring someone with him, to be honest. You must be special to him.”

“Phoebe,” I growl to her in warning.

But Kendra laughs it off. “I think he brought me because he knows I love picnic food and he felt bad for me. I never get invited to family events. I have homemade potato salad that’s probably terrible, by the way.” She nudges her shoulder carrying the portable lunch cooler bearing the food. “Where can I put this?”

I gotta hand it to her. She’s an expert at this. I should have expected it though. Of course she’s much more adept than me at dealing with people. She’s been born and bred to handle these kinds of situations.

Kendra puts her offering on the food table, and we fix ourselves plates of lunch. We sit down at a picnic table as far away from the populous as possible. A couple of little kids are running around the grounds, tripping and falling and laughing as they play tag, their moms chasing them. My cousins’ children. Haven’t seen them in ages. They’re growing so big. Time is flying by quicker than I ever dreamed.

“Your family seems nice,” Kendra says, mowing down on her hot dog.

“They seem so,” I answer dryly. I take a big bite of the potato salad.

“You don’t have to eat that, by the way.” She grimaces. “I’m sure you’re doing that out of obligation. It’s probably not that good.”

“It’s the best thing here,” I tell her, shoveling another bite in. Cheesy as it sounds, the fact that she made something for the picnic means a lot to me.

She bumps her shoulder against mine, and her face lights with a delicate blush. “You’re crazy.”

Smith walks by, holding his kid on his hip. When he sees me, his eyes narrow, and he gives me a curt nod. I respond with one so slight that it’s barely perceptible.

“You’re…not really close with anyone here, are you,” Kendra muses.

“No.” I don’t offer an explanation. What can I say? It’s the culmination of years of tension brewing between all of us, tension I haven’t been able to let go, despite them all doing so. And frankly, none of them give two fucks about me. Why should I care about them?

Everyone’s been giving me plenty of space since I showed up, a wide berth so to speak. I can’t say as I blame them.

In fact, I much prefer not talking to any of them. Still, I showed up.

That must count for something.

“It’s good of you to come anyway,” Kendra says, as if reading my mind, dropping a hand down to stroke my knee. “This has to be hard for you.”

I look at her guileless eyes, the way she peers at me like I mean something. And I can feel something in my heart start to shatter. Fuck. This woman is going to sink me hard and fast like the iceberg that took down the Titanic. I have to stop it now, before it gets worse. “Hurry up and finish. I’m challenging you to a game of horseshoes when we’re done eating.”

Her brow quirks. “I’ll have you know I’m amazing at horseshoes.” I can’t tell if she’s boasting or telling the truth, but I want to find out.

“Oh? Let’s place a little wager on it.”

“How much?”

I snort. “Not money, sugar. Something more meaningful. A bet.”

Kendra draws her lower lip between her teeth as she scrutinizes me. “Okay. Deal. The winner gets…a back massage.”

“Pshhh.” I roll my eyes. “Weak. You can do better than that.”

When she wrinkles up her face at me, it’s so cute that I can’t help but reach out and stroke her jaw. “Fine,” she says. “Then whoever wins at this game gets the sexual favor of their choice. No holds barred.”

Fuck yes. I like her style. Going right for the throat. “That’s more like it.” I grab her hand and drag her over to the horseshoes area. “Ladies first.”

It wasn’t boasting on her part; Kendra is a stone-cold killer at horseshoes. She stomps me clean into the ground, and by the end of our game, I’m almost pleading for mercy. But she won’t relent. She’s a dead aim, scoring point after point on me. We even have a small crowd around us at this point, chanting about who they want to win—with the majority of them cheering for her.

“You’re brutal,” I say when she delivers the final blow, holding my hands over my heart. “I guess I’ve lost.”

Kendra whoops and holds her hands up, running down the line of observers to give high-fives to everyone watching. Seeing the way she just connects with my family, no reservations, no hesitation… Fuck. I’m falling for this woman.

Hard.

She makes her way back to me, and I yank her flush to my body, taking her mouth in a searing kiss that almost makes smoke rise between us.

“Axel,” she breaths against my lips. “I… God.”

“You won,” I tell her, looking her in the eyes. They’re wide and her pupils are large, reflecting her arousal. “What do you want, sweetness? Anything.”

“I…” Her cheeks grow red. “I want to go back to the cabin and…” She swallows. “I want you to make me orgasm there. Right on the floor.”

The idea of possessing this woman in a place to important to me makes my cock throb insistently. Oh, I’m going to make her come, all right. I’ll make sure her screams of pleasure echo off the walls for years to come.

“We need to go,” I say in a harsh voice. I know I sound intense, but I’m so turned on for her that if we don’t leave now, I’m going to fuck her in front of my family, not caring who sees us.

Her lips part, and she gasps. “But—”

“No buts. I’m done talking. I need to taste you before I fucking explode.” I grab her hand and tug her toward her car.

“Axel.” My name is a breath on her lips, and I want to kiss her until it becomes a prayer, a pleading. I want so much with her. But I can’t let myself think about that. I’ve tried so hard to keep this thing between us light and physical, but somewhere along the way, it’s morphed into more.

She gives me her keys, and I drive us further up the road until we get near. We park. Walk down the path in silence, fingers locked. The clearing comes in sight, and I tug her into the cabin that has somehow come to mean something to both of us. This site has changed for me, and she’s going to be forever entwined with this location now. No escaping that.

I lay her down on the floor.

Tug her pants off, her panties, then take her soaked pussy in my mouth.

Her groans give me life. I can taste her wetness, that musky feminine flavor that makes my cock so hard it could burst out of my jeans. I need this woman so badly, more than I can admit even to myself.

I push my fingers into her, drive her to rapid orgasm twice, savoring the way she gushes all over my fingers as she shatters for me so beautifully. Then I strip her fully naked, drinking the sight of her bare flesh in. She’s creamy, with freckles on her shoulders, and I can’t help but kiss each one. I want her imprinted on me. I want my hands and mouth to memorize the way she tastes. Feels. Smells.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she pants, digging her fingernails into my shoulders.

“This isn’t about me,” I murmur against her drenched cunt. “You won the bet, remember?”

“But I…I want you,” she says, her pelvis pushing toward me. Her head is thrown back, hair mussed, her nipples rock hard. “Inside me. Please. Please, Axel.”

Fuck I want to so badly, it isn’t funny. But I don’t have any protection on me—didn’t think I’d need any for the family picnic. “No condoms, Kendra,” I say, and I know she can hear the regret in my voice.

“I…I’m clean,” she whispers, rubbing that gorgeous pussy against my mouth, and I can’t help but lick her swollen clit and savor the way she tastes for me. “You’re the only person I’ve ever been with. And I got on the shot so I can’t get pregnant.”

“Kendra.” I pull up and look down at her. This is a big thing she’s saying here. I’ve never barebacked a woman before, too afraid of having a child who might end up a bastard like me.

She curls up and captures my face in her hands. They’re trembling. I can see the raw emotion in her eyes. “Axel. I just, I…” She shrugs, suddenly embarrassed, and shakes her head, her gaze flicking away from mine. “It’s fine. Never mind. Sorry I suggested it—just feeling impulsive.”

No. Fuck that. I don’t want to lose whatever is happening here between us. I tug my clothes off before I can think. I need to be inside her. Ache for it on a molecular level. Then I kiss her until she’s wanton and pliant below me, her body writhing against me.

When I slide into her, my bare dick in her pussy, she’s so fucking wet for me, open for me, and I know that I’m experiencing heaven for the first time in my whole damn life. The sensations are so heady that they leave me breathless. “Oh God, Kendra,” I whisper against her lips. “This is…”

Powerful. Potent.

“Axel,” she says. “Fuck me. Please.” Her tiny fingers dig into my back, and I oblige, withdrawing and then hammering into her cunt with a ferocity that steals both of our breaths.

I cling to her like she’s my lifeline, my buoy in turbulent waters. I need Kendra with a desperation that scares the fuck out of me. What’s happening between us is so far beyond physical that I’m lost. But right now, all I can think about is how I want to please her, pleasure her, show her that she’s the most beautiful and desired woman on the planet.

Kendra begins that low keen that indicates she’s edging close to her orgasm. I angle my cock so it strokes her G-spot, driving into her relentlessly, wanting nothing more than for her to feel good. I’ve never needed anything in my life like I need this.

When my fingers are between her thighs and I’m rubbing her hard bud, she arches against me, and then her wails echo off the stone walls, and I can’t help it, I’m falling right after her, spilling myself into her tight, clenching pussy. Our bodies are locked together, our breaths mingled.

It takes several long moments before we’re both easing down from our orgasms. I withdraw from her and lie on my side, pulling her into my embrace. We’re both breathless, ragged from the intensity of what just happened.

“Wow,” she murmurs, and I can’t help but laugh a little at her exclamation.

“Wow indeed,” I reply, kissing her forehead.

This woman has wrecked me, and I have a sinking feeling that there’s no going back from her.

* * *

I hand Charles a copy of my business plan, a duplicate of the one I have for myself. “Thanks for meeting with me,” I say, moving toward an empty seat at the long table. We’re in a meeting room in his office building. “I know you’re busy and I don’t want to waste your time, so if you want to open up to the first page, I can show you my forecasted income over the first six months and explain my vision—”

Charles drops the folder on the table, not bothering to sit down. “Axel.” I can’t read his face, but I can tell that he isn’t the same guy he was when we were having scotch and cigars a few nights ago. This man seems hard, distant. “Sit down.”

Suddenly I don’t want to. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what he has to say. My stomach is flipping over itself, though I school my face into a neutral expression.

I spent hours upon hours preparing a business plan for this meeting. I’ve taken it more seriously than anything I’ve ever done in my entire life. And as such, I’m on edge and nervous about how he will receive my idea.

Doesn’t sound like he’s going to even make it to the first page.

Disappointment festers in my chest, right beside my old friend, anger. Because of course that’s how this is going. Here I thought I was going to have a fair chance. What a fucking joke.

Part of me is tempted to tell him that Butch is ready to sell the house, just to get his attention. But I don’t want him to consider my business plan as a bribe for the house, as some sort of bargaining chip. I want my effort to stand on its own merit. Because it’s a solid plan, and I believe I can be successful.

Charles, however, seems to give no fucks about any of that. He grips the chair in front of him, eyeing me. “Look. I’ll be honest. I didn’t actually think you were going to show up for our meeting prepared.” The words are delivered with heavy irritation, like I’m nothing more than a pebble in his shoe. An annoyance.

A feeling I’m more than familiar with.

“Crazy me,” I murmur. “Thinking a business meeting means we’re going to discuss business.”

Charles gives a quiet laugh and pulls out the seat, sits down, leaning back against the rich fabric as he eyes me. “Axel. Seriously. Did you think I’d be genuinely interested in investing in a low-class tattoo parlor like what you’re proposing? That’s one step above a strip club…at best.”

My jaw is so tight at the insulting words that I feel like some of my teeth are going to grind clear out of my head. “Then what the fuck am I doing here?” I manage to say.

“I set this meeting to appease my daughter,” he says easily, as if he doesn’t give two fucks about how insulting this is to me. “It has nothing to do with you. Frankly, I thought you were smart enough to know that. Guess not.”

Red rage fills my vision. I’m a fucking moron. I can’t believe that for even one second, I thought this man would actually listen to me, respect me. Here I was, believing somehow that Kendra and I were going to have a chance, that Charles would view me as an equal. Yeah, that was never going to happen, and it never will.

“Tell you what.” Charles turns his copy of the business plan around, unopened, and pushes it across the table toward me. It bumps my folder. “I’ll pay for a class in graphic design for you at a nearby community college.”

I’m so insulted by that shitty offer that I want to punch him in the face. Hard. It’s only because of Kendra that I gather up the two copies of my business plan and stand. I don’t look at him. Don’t dignify that bullshit with an answer. I just leave the room, leave the building. Dump my plans in the trash can outside.

Fuck him.

I need a drink or two. Or twelve. Enough to make me forget about what a fucking stupid man I am, to actually think something like this could happen for me. I’m a joke—no, I’m a punchline. He’ll go back to his rich-fuck friends tonight and laugh over the poor trashy guy he pulled one over on. Cocksucker.

I get on my motorcycle, rip my tie off, and throw it down on the ground. Then I drive myself to the nearest bar. Time to forget about the shit storm that is my life.