I slept like shit. It didn’t help that my slumber was filled with memories of tantalizing sex – clenching muscles against the sheets, lips making carnal promises against tight skin.

I groggily stirred from a wet dream to the smells of something happening in the kitchen.

Who the fuck is in my house?

Before my panic settings could kick in properly, my sleepy brain fired up a few brief flashes of activity from the night before.

There was my shitty biker table.

There was a sudden brawl.

There was Grizz…

“Goddammit,” I groaned.

Sitting up in bed, I scratched my back and cursed my fate. It would have been better if I’d been able to get some answers out of my old lover, but he was just as freaking stubborn as ever…

Before I could climb out of bed and shoo the unwanted guest back out of my house, I heard his approaching footsteps.

I dropped beneath the covers, just in time for the knocking on my bedroom door.

“What do you want?” I pleaded.

“I cooked breakfast,” Grizz thoughtfully replied. “Can I come in?”

My stomach growled at me. I hadn’t eaten anything since quickly abandoning my shift, and breakfast did sound good…

Quickly, I tossed on some pajamas and addressed the closed bedroom door.

“Fine,” I grunted.

It squeaked open as Grizz let himself in, balancing a pair of plates on his arm like a waiter – two pairs of silverware in his outstretched fist.

“I made your favorite,” he quietly explained bending down to hand me my plate and silverware with his free hand.

Sure enough, Grizz had whipped up butterscotch pancakes with whipped cream and strawberry slices. He’d even arranged them in a cute little design for me, just how I used to like them.

I glared up at him as he sat down on the edge of my bed, lifting his utensils.

“This changes nothing.”

“Of course not,” he agreed.

My eyes narrowed, and my lips pursed together. “Are you being sarcastic with me right now?”

“Of course not,” he repeated. “You know, sometimes a pancake is just a pancake…”

I almost cracked a smile.

Despite my best efforts, I was trying to avoid how handsome he was, even after all these years. If I wasn’t careful, the old feelings would come back, and I couldn’t surrender myself to them again.

Not after last time.

As if rebelling against me, my body was heating up at the thought of those strong arms around me, those hard hips pressing against mine. I was already out of most of my clothes. It would be so easy to pull him down into the sheets with me…

No, I hissed inwardly.

You can’t let yourself be hurt again.

We ate in silence for a short while, even after Grizz rose to bring us glasses of orange juice to wash down our food. I remained focused on my food, unsure of what to do with this change in events.

Eventually, Grizz spoke up.

“I want to make amends, Kate.”

What an icebreaker.

“Fine. Start by explaining things.”

He looked uncomfortable. “We talked about this. You know that I can’t do that yet… but all will come in due time.”

I scrutinized him for a moment, chewing on a bit of pancake. When I swallowed, I decided to cut him a little bit of slack… if only for now.

“But you will, right?”

He nodded calmly.

“Promise me, Grizz,” I told him. “Promise me that you’ll explain what happened when you left me behind… but this time, you better fucking mean it.”

He didn’t hesitate. “You have my word.”

I remained suspicious… but it was a start. Unless he had radically changed since I’d seen him last, he was still a man of his word.

And he hadn’t changed much.

Unless you counted the sterling physique that could intimidate all but qualifying world-class bodybuilders, that is...

Even without much time to hold him under the light, Grizz seemed to be very much the same man who left before. He was still reserved, and more than a bit on the quiet side.

He also radiated compassion.

This was a man who was a hopeless romantic at heart, and always had been. I remembered the things he would do for my birthdays, and the means by which he would go out of his way for me.

Every day had been special with him.

Until he abandoned me.

I shook the negative thoughts from my mind as best I could.

“You staying in town long?” I replied finally, done digesting his words.

“Not sure,” he answered quietly. “Was only supposed to be here overnight. Maybe not even that long.”

“Yeah?” I muttered. “What’s got you running out so quickly?”

“I am on a mission.”

“A… mission?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “It’s very important.”

“Better run along, then,” I chided him. “Big man on a big mission. Can’t afford to be late for your date with destiny.”

“It’s not like that,” he shook his head. “I am supposed to go further east. I’m headed to New Orleans.”

“Yeah? And what’s in New Orleans?”

“Home, maybe.”

That threw me off for a moment.

“You want to move to Louisiana?”

“I was here not too long back,” Hunter told me. “After I took a bullet, I was put in a cast that kept me from riding. Once the cast was off, I picked a direction and hit the horizon.”

“You took a bullet!?!” I asked, spitting a tiny piece of pancake in the process.

“I was in the Marines, Kate. Bullets aren’t anything new to me. I took two of the damn things the day I earned my purple heart.”

“I don’t know what to say…” I replied, trying desperately to resist feelings of fear and anxiety over him being in danger. I’d lost track of him after he re-enlisted for another tour. I had no idea that he’d nearly been killed in action…

“And you think you’ve found something down in NOLA?”

“My motorcycle club needs a permanent home. I had a few promising leads and I’m back to follow them.”

His motorcycle club…

My thoughts went to the emblem on his jacket, and the quiet word Nomad stitched below it. That patch looked brand new. It was nothing like the weathered and beaten leather around it.

“So you took a bullet for this biker gang?”

“Something like that,” he smirked.

“Are you some kind of criminal?”

Grizz cryptically raised an eyebrow. “I’m a biker outlaw now, Kate. The line gets a little fuzzy in my kind of work.”

I didn’t know what to make of that.

“Your club,” I changed gears, trying to remember what my thuggish ex-boyfriend had been blabbering about during the fight. “You said they were the Dragon’s Devils?”

“Devil’s Dragons,” he corrected softly.

“ Never heard of them, but I haven’t seen Mark back down from a fight like that before. Whatever your club is, he knows who they are. Just saying their name put him off...”

“I’m surprised we’re known this far east,” Grizz replied, scratching at his beard. “The Dragons have no business here in Louisiana.”

“Yet,” I corrected.

He paused, eyes on me. “Yet.”

“Where are you guys?”

“We move around. Been sticking to Texas the last little while. El Paso. But we’ve been all over Arizona and Nevada, recently far enough west to Los Angeles.”

“Arizona, huh?”

“More my boss’s call then mine. Didn’t mind it, though. Gave me time to look for a trace of you, but you didn’t leave much in the way of tracks.”

I ignored that. “So, what does your club do? Don’t tell me you guys smuggle drugs and stolen shit.”

“The Dragons were into that crap before Hunter took over and reformed them. We run armed protection now.” He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. “It’s a legal operation that usually runs with support from the local fuzz.”

“What kinds of people need armed protection out where you are?

“We don’t protect smugglers, thieves, and criminals, if that’s what you’re asking. The Dragons only serve those who truly need us, so long as their intentions are true.”

“And as long as they have the money,” I added.

“Bullets and bikes don’t come free.”

“No, I guess not…”

We sat in silence a little longer. Grizz took the opportunity to look around my bedroom, scanning my décor with a glance.

“Don’t do that,” I grumbled.

He looked sheepish again. “I’m sorry. If I’m making you uncomfortable, I need to find myself a hotel room.”

“That might be a good start,” I crossed my arms. “You certainly can’t stay here for long, not after what happened last night…”

That reminds me, I thought to myself.

Darting up from the bed, I snatched my phone off the charger and checked my voicemails.

Sure enough, I had a fresh message from the restaurant. I put it on speakerphone, just in case.

Hey, Doll, it’s Clyde.

Listen… heard about all that fuss last night, and I’m sorry to hear that you wound up in a little trouble. Happy to say that it’s all been taken care of.

I can’t have this kind of thing happening in my restaurant. I won’t be needing you to come in again.

If I’m not being clear, you’re fired.

Don’t bother trying to use me as a reference in the future.

“Well, at least that’s not a fucking surprise,” I groaned as I sat back in bed. “That place was a piece of shit anyway… Good riddance to that asshole and his stuck-up crew of waitresses.”

“I’m sorry that you lost your job,” Grizz spoke as reassuringly as he could manage. “Maybe if I hadn’t shown up…”

“Don’t be stupid,” I muttered. “If you hadn’t been there, it could have been worse. I’m still trying to figure things out with you, but I can’t ignore that you fought off a bunch of fucking thugs for me.”

He quietly smiled, but the grin was gone as quickly as it had shown up.

“The timing sucks, though,” I complained. “I’m already behind on rent as it is, and the fridge needs some groceries soon…”

“What if I help?” Grizz offered.

I looked at him like he’d lost his goddamn mind, which he must have if he thought I was going to become a charity case anytime soon.

“I can handle my own shit, Grizz. Just like I had to before, after you left.”

Grizz looked hurt, but he didn’t contest the point.

“Well,” he thought aloud, “I can start by making things as easy as possible on you. What if I treat you to lunch later?”

“You already cooked me breakfast in bed,” I waved to the empty plates. “You don’t have to be so goddamn heavy-handed. I’ll just find something else to do. Lafayette’s not small even by Louisiana standards. There’s work to be had here.”

“Will you be happy?” He asked.

I didn’t have an answer for that.

“Not going to get my last check if I don’t turn my work uniforms in,” I muttered. “Might want to go ahead and do that part and just get it out of the way.”

“The checks a waitress gets are zeroed out from the tips,” Grizz said. “Even if there’s a few dollars left, they’ll just subtract off damages from the fight. You’ll never see another dime from that place.”

“And when exactly did you become an expert on the food industry?” I asked.

“Our headquarters are a bar out in El Paso. I used to keep the books straight and managed the place when the boss was away. I’ve signed enough paychecks to know how things work.”

“You managed a bar? That doesn’t sound like the Grizz I know.”

He smiled knowingly. “Doesn’t it?”

“I… guess I don’t know.”

“There is plenty that you do not know, Kate,” Grizz smiled as he rose from the bed, taking our dishes. “But you will, soon enough…”

“Yeah?” I asked. “Aren’t you leaving?”

Grizz paused, reflecting on that. “Yes,” he answered, before repeating: “Soon enough.”

He turned away, leaving the room with his arms full of plates. While I heard the kitchen faucet run from the other room, I wondered what he meant by that…

And why I found myself smiling.