4.
The girls stepped out of the cab and turned to face the beach. The waves crashed against the shore, and the white hiss of spray met their legs. The sun was setting, and Emma shielded her eyes from the golden pink glow as she looked out to the ocean. In the distance, she could make out the silhouettes of a group of people all around a fire and spilling down out across the beach. There were about fifty of them and her heart began to race as she realized she was suddenly as nervous as if it were her first day of school. She didn’t know anyone down there. What if they just looked at her and Leanne as if they were crazy for showing up and wanted them to leave? Or worse, what if they got nasty? They were criminals, after all. They could be capable of anything!
“Wait,” she whispered as she grabbed onto Leanne’s arm and pulled her back away from the entrance to the beach. “Do you really think this is safe?”
Leanne rolled her eyes at her and laughed.
“Oh, come on, Em, of course it is. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I don’t know, I just… I’m having second thoughts…”
“Stop being so boring,” Leanne stared at her deep in the eyes. “I know we are going to have a great night. Now come on, let’s get down there and mingle!”
Emma nodded slowly and followed her friend out to the dunes. They slipped off their heels and carried them in their hands as they made their way down across the sand and onto the beach. Underfoot the sand was still warm and it instantly put Emma at ease. It felt wonderful between her toes, and the closer they got to the crowd of people and the fire, the more she began to relax. She could see other women around there, dancing, drinking, listening to music and sitting on the sides of bikes that had been ditched along the beach. The men were big and burly, some were older with long graying beards, but most were young and as Leanne had promised, exceptionally hot.
“Wow,” Emma whispered as she reached for Leanne’s hand. “You weren’t wrong.”
Leanne turned to her and smiled. “See, you’ve just got to trust me.”
They approached the group and slipped in among the crowd. The fire was the central focal point, but the party itself extended out across the rest of the beach. In the ocean, a man and woman frolicked naked and some of the men on their bikes revved their engines and cheered. They all drank beer and whisky from the bottle, and there was a cloud of smoke in the air as most of the men had cigarettes dangling from their lips. Emma bit her bottom lip and looked around. She almost didn’t know where she should fix her eyes. All of the men around her were so good looking, and they all seemed so incredibly ripped and powerful. They wore leathers and skull rings, and some of them had bandanas in their long, shaggy hair and others who had removed their clan jackets had aggressive tattoos all down their arms and across their backs. Emma found herself unable to take her eyes off one guy sitting a rock just outside the main circle. He held a bottle of whisky in his hand and was sipping it slowly. A tattoo of a spider crawled up his neck. She shuddered at the thought of trailing her hands over it. Each and every one of the bikers were wild and untamed. She was getting wet just looking at them.
“Here,” Leanne said, breaking her train of thought. She handed her a glass with vodka and coke, and Emma took a sip and gagged.
“Jeez, that’s strong,” she coughed.
“Just drink it,” Leanne said playfully. “You need to relax.”
“Trust me,” Emma laughed. “I’m more than relaxed now… look at these guys.”
“Hot or what?” Leanne grinned.
Emma nodded and took another sip. It was warming her insides and the rock music that was blaring out from someone’s iPod was cranked up higher. Emma found herself dancing along to the music.
Screw it, she thought. Just let go and have a good time.
It was while she was grinding her hips and in a world of her own that a pair of eyes from the other side of the fire settled on her and refused to look away. Emma didn’t realize, but she had been chosen the second she stepped onto the beach… One of the men wanted her instantly and he was about to make his entrance.
She twirled on the spot and sipped her drink. The vodka was making her giddy, and she laughed as she reached for Leanne’s hand. She wanted to dance with her friend and forget all about the troubles of the past few weeks, but she couldn’t seem to reach her.
“Leanne,” she said, “Dance with me.”
But Leanne, who was looking over Emma’s shoulder, shook her head slowly with a little grin on her face and moved back into the crowd, leaving Emma on her own.
Or so she thought…
A pair of rough hands gripped her by the waist and pulled her backwards. She slipped back into the big, muscly arms of a man she had never seen. He turned her to face him and his dark eyes bore into her with so much intensity that it nearly took her breath away. He was at least six foot five and had the broadest shoulders she had ever seen. His leathers were gone and he wore a black vest that exposed his thick tattooed arms, with a low-cut pair of jeans and big black boots. He was so handsome, his sharp jaw line was clenched and the stubble on him was raw and rugged. She lifted her hand to run it across his cheek, and he playfully went to bite her finger.
“Hi,” she gasped, unsure of what else to say.
“Hi,” he snarled with a slight grin, before he pulled her back towards the rocks, away from the crowd and in the direction of his bike.