CHAPTER ONE
___
LIZ
AS I APPROACHED the aged, wood sided Kings’ MC house, it felt as if the last four years hadn’t changed a thing. Harleys lined the side of the street due to the overflowing parking lot. The sound of music and voices carried well beyond the walls, sending a sensation of nostalgia straight through me.
I glanced up at my brother, Nix, and took in his appearance. Four years had given him a few extra creases around his vibrant green eyes, but he’s still as good-looking and fit as the last time I saw him. While I was away at nursing school, he kept up the bike shop and bar, helping to pay my tuition. If not for him, I wouldn’t have been able to return home with my Bachelor’s in Nursing.
Being completely out of touch with the current club members had my stomach fighting a slow swirl of nervous butterflies. My feet began to lag on my way up the steps.
“Why the hell did I agree to come here?”
Nix rested his hand on my shoulder and ushered me toward the entrance, a grin splitting his lips.
“It’ll be fun,” he assured me.
“You know I don’t do your parties.”
“Trust me, you’ll have a good time. My brothers will be on their best behavior with you here. Besides, there’s a couple of them I’d like you to meet. I could see you hitting it off.”
“I must have been desperate to agree to this.”
“Liz, you always think my brothers are wild misfits,” Nix chuckled. “Well they are, but that’s not all we are. There’s so much more to the club and the men who belong to it.”
“You mean beers, bikes, and women?” I snickered, turning to face him.
Nix’s face twisted into a frown. “How about the charity rides and events?”
I let out a breath in self-resignation. “Fair enough. And what is the event tonight?”
“A charity auction and it’s fight night.”
“Fight night?”
“Yeah, you’ll see later. The guys will place bids and whoever wins gets his choice of whatever he wants. Most take cash, some pick something out of the shop for their bikes, some have special requests. Whatever they want. That’s the rules.”
“This should be interesting.”
As we reached the doors, a cacophony of voices, clinking glasses, and boots shuffling the floor mixed with the loud, heart-pumping music in the background. Nix pushed the doors open and placed his hand on my lower back, guiding me into the crowd. Familiar faces, wearing the usual black vests or jackets with the silver skull and crown, lifted from their conversations and waved at us.
Nix stopped at the first table and began his evening of playing host. Being naturally social and a man feared as much as he is revered, he fits the role perfectly. When our Uncle Dallas who’d practically raised us passed away, he left the bike shop and bar to Nix. Nix couldn’t have been happier to take over. Nix was a spitting image of Dallas in every way—looks and personality. The discussion of whether or not Nix really was Dallas’ kid had come up in conversation a few times among the club members, but that rumor was never proven. Our mother took off on us when we were kids, and we haven’t seen her since. Our father died from cancer a couple years later, leaving his brother, Dallas, the responsibility of raising two rebellious pre-teens. To everyone’s surprise, we turned out to be well-behaved human beings, most of the time.
“You look beautiful tonight,” my Aunt May crooned in my ear. Meeting her gaze, I took in the longer length of her hair and the new gray streaks accenting her amber eyes. She twisted one of my long, loose, dark curls around her finger and flipped it off my shoulder. “Nix will have to keep a protective eye on you. Every man in here is going to want your attention.”
“Well, Aunt May,” I clicked my tongue against my cheek, “you know my attention is hard to get.”
“That’s my girl. Make those men work for that tail.” With one swift slap, her hand came across my ass.
“You’re too much.” Shaking my head, I grinned at my spirited Aunt. I pointed toward the bar, getting Nix’s attention. “I’m getting a drink.”
He nodded and continued on with his meet and greets. Aunt May walked with me to the wood top bar, the Kings emblem mounted proudly on the wall behind it. I rested on the stool and smiled at the long-time bartender, Jeff.
“Two shots of blackberry bird dog and a beer to chase it down.”
“On the house, Liz.” He set the drinks on the counter and slid them toward us. “Nice to see you. It’s been a while.”
“Thanks, Jeff. It’s good to see everyone.”
Aunt May tapped my leg and raised her shot glass, waiting for me to take mine. I lifted it and clinked hers before tilting the glass to my lips.
“We missed you around here.” Jeff set his elbows on the bar and leaned forward. “It’s good to have your shining face back.”
“She was too smart to stick around.” Aunt May pushed her empty glass toward Jeff. “Went off and got herself an education. I’m proud of you, doll.”
“Thanks May. I enjoyed nursing school, but I’m glad to be back home. It’s not the same anywhere else.”
“Of course not.” Jeff picked up the empty shot glass and it disappeared under the counter. “This is where your family is. This is your home.”
Lifting the beer from the counter, I swiveled my stool and looked over the crowd of club members and those who accompanied them.
“Yes, it is.”
I’d grown up in this environment. A place where everyone looked out for each other and treated one another as family even if you weren’t blood. I knew just about everyone in the room, save a few new members who’d joined while I was away. These people were my family and it was good to be home.
Across from the bar, a man walked in wearing a black, leather jacket with the familiar club patches and a worn-out ball cap. I couldn’t see his face, but I noticed the way others reacted to him. Several women adjusted their cleavage before following him like lovesick puppy dogs. A group of guys by the pool table nodded their heads, and he moved in their direction, ignoring the women as if they didn’t exist. They pouted their ruby red lips and slunk back to their tables.
Pointing my beer in his direction, I asked Aunt May who he was. She looked through the crowd to the man I was watching. He shimmied out of his jacket, and I couldn’t stop watching the show. The lights over the pool table highlighted layers-upon-layers of rock hard muscles covered with black ink from wrists to shoulders. His chest stretched out the black tank he wore tucked into his dark, denim, ripped-up jeans and studded belt.
“That’s Jake Castle. He joined the Kings shortly after you left.”
“What’s his story?”
“He’s from Georgia, but somehow ended up here in Nashville. He became fast friends with Nix and Trevor. He became a member pretty quickly after that.”
“Huh.” I glanced at Nix who was still making his rounds. “I should bring Nix a beer. He can’t seem to get away from his fans.” I turned to Jeff. “Can I have another?” I asked, waving my beer at him.
With a pat to my leg, Aunt May returned my attention to her.
“Nix’s done well while you were away. The Club has benefitted from his leadership. The shop and bar are doing good, and he’s even built a relationship with local law enforcement. The Kings help keep an eye on things, you know, in places they can’t.”
“What about the other crew? The Wild Royals still around?”
“Unfortunately, yes. They opened a bar on the other side of town. They’ve been competition. The word is they’re running drugs through the bar.”
“Of course, they are. Wouldn’t expect anything less of them. Correction, yes, I would.”
Jeff brought the other beer, and I left Aunt May to take it to Nix. He gave me a profound thank you and wrapped his arm around me.
“Liz, I want you to meet Dillon,” Nix nodded to a handsome guy with messy blond hair, blue eyes, and a large red and black tribal tattoo spiraling around his right arm.
“Nix says you just got back from nursing school. Congratulations.”
“I did, thank you. It’s good to be home.”
“Are you staying for good?”
“Yeah, I’ve put in a few applications at the local hospitals. Hopefully, something will come of it.”
“I’m gonna get the auction going. I’ll get with you later, Liz.”
Leaving me with Dillon made it clear he was one of the guys Nix hoped I’d hit it off with. So far, Nix wasn’t wrong. Dillon was attractive with a deep voice and sexy Australian accent.
“Want another one before it gets crazy in here?” Dillon pointed to my nearly empty beer.
“Sure, thank you.” I walked with Dillon to the bar and took the same stool as before while Dillon ordered us another couple of beers.
“Nix says you like to go riding.”
“I do, yeah.”
“Wanna go with me sometime?”
“I might,” I cocked my head and grinned.
Dillon chuckled. “Nix warned me you wouldn’t be easy to win over.”
“Maybe you can coax me with dinner and a ride,” I smiled behind my new bottle of beer.
“I’m definitely up for that. What do ya like to eat?”
“Italian.”
“I know a place. How about tomorrow at seven?”
“You don’t waste time, do ya, Aussie?”
“Not in a place like this, you don’t,” Dillon winked at me and gave a cheeky grin, “and not when a woman is as attractive as you are. There’s gonna be guys lining up to ask you out.”
“So far, you’re at the front of this non-existent line.”
Dillon’s smile turned to a frown. I followed his eyes and turned my stool to see who he was looking at. The man with the ball cap and black tank top was standing next to me ordering a beer. He glanced at me and winked, then flashed a pearly white smile with dimples below dark, brown eyes on a face that would melt any woman’s panties. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the ripped, tatted, towering hunk of muscle who was making me wet just looking at him.
“You Nix’s sister?” He took his beer and leaned against the counter.
“Yeah, Liz.”
“He didn’t tell me you were gorgeous.”
“Well, he didn’t tell me anything about you, at all. Must have slipped his mind.”
Jake let out a chuckle, and I watched his full, kissable lips pull back into a smile. Even his laugh was attractive.
“You gonna be here a while?”
“Probably all night.”
“Good. I’ll catch ya later, Peach.”
“Peach?” I said to Jake’s back as he walked away. He looked over his shoulder and winked at me, giving me that same ridiculously charming smile which sparked sexual yearning smack dab between my thighs.
Dillon touched my arm, and I looked over at him, feeling embarrassed I’d forgotten his existence.
“So, is tomorrow at seven good?”
“Oh, yes. Yeah, seven is good. You can pick me up here.”
I smiled when I saw Nix approaching the bar. He put his arm around me and pulled me away from Dillon.
“I’ll bring her back. I just need her a moment.”
Nix guided me to the farthest corner of the room, away from listening ears and the music.
“What’s up?” I asked, meeting his serious gaze.
“I see you met Jake.”
“Yeah. Is he one of the others you thought I’d hit it off with?”
“No,” Nix said coldly. “He’s one of the ones I want you to stay away from. Jake’s an asshole and a womanizer. I don’t want you anywhere near him. Anyone, but him.”
Hearing him say that with such passion, brought disappointment burrowing into my chest.
“All right. I’ll steer clear of him. Dillon asked me out tomorrow night. Is that okay?”
Nix ran his hand through his lengthy, jet, black hair and let out a breath of relief.
“Yeah, Dillon is a nice guy, but still, don’t let him try to take you home.”
“Got it, Chief. When’s the auction starting?”
“Now. Let’s get a seat.”