“You’re not yourself. What’s going on?” Tatum asked.

I drank some of my cosmo before turning to face her. “It’s Hyde. That’s what’s going on.” Just the thought of the man caused my stomach to swirl with butterflies. And not just the good type of butterflies. There were some seriously confused butterflies in there too.

We were sitting in the pub after work, the night after I spent time with Hyde at the skating rink. I’d seen him that morning to give him the money I owed him, and I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all day.

“Are you seeing him?” She seemed just as confused as I did.

“No.”

“So how’s he affecting you? You’re not making any sense, Roe. You’re usually cool and calm over men, but you seem anything but calm tonight.”

I exhaled a long breath. “I’m interested in him, but I don’t want to be. He’s a biker, and you know how I feel about bikers. And he can be infuriating sometimes with the way he tries to boss me around. I do not need a man in my life who is always trying to take charge of me.”

Her lips pulled up slightly at the ends as if trying not to smile. “Wasn’t it you who said you wanted a man with some balls to go with his dick? Or something like that? I kinda think you do want someone to boss you around. Just a little bit. And as far as bikers go, don’t judge Hyde based on that. Look at Nitro. You didn’t like him to begin with, and now you’re all about him.”

“Well, there’s a difference between a man who bosses me around a little and one who does it a lot. Hyde’s argued with me over a few things now. Like last night, he was at the skating rink when Bree and I were there, and he walked us out. Someone had smashed one of the windows on my car, and he just took it upon himself to call a friend to come fix it. Without asking me!”

She laughed at that. “Oh, Roe, come on, admit it—deep down you like a man who can take charge. I think you’re just fighting your attraction because he’s a biker and you’re scared that he’s different to any guy you’ve ever dated.”

“I don’t need a man who will fuck me over, Tatum. I’m not saying Hyde would, but he told me he doesn’t have much experience with dating, so I really don’t think he’s the kind of man interested in settling down and having kids. I don’t have time to waste on a guy like that.”

“Hang on, when did you discuss dating with him?”

“That night he showed up at my house. I told you about that. I was drunk and said lots of inappropriate things to him. I forget some of it, but I definitely remember discussing his love life with him.”

She finished her drink and slid the glass across the bar before turning her body to me. “Okay, let’s go over all this. You are way too anxious about it all. You’ve let dating become a task you need to do in order to achieve your mission. You need to take a step back, Roe, and breathe, and just have some fun. Take a chance on him if you’re that interested in him. See where it goes. Maybe it’ll just be some casual sex and fun before you move on to someone else who might end up being the man for you.” She shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun in your life.”

I stared at her. “Umm, since when did Tatum Lee become all about fun?” I had to admit, though, that I loved this new side of her. It was good to see her happy.

Her gaze shifted to look at someone behind me, and her face lit up. Glancing back at me as she slid off her stool, she said, “Since this man.” Nitro moved next to her, slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close so he could drop a kiss on her lips.

“Vegas,” he murmured in greeting. Still a man of few words.

She looked up at him. “I’m ready to go.”

Frowning, I said, “We just got here. You need to stay for at least one more drink with me.”

Smiling at me, she shook her head. “No, you’ve got other things to do. I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

It wasn’t until Nitro stepped to the side that I realised what she meant. Hyde stood behind him. His eyes met mine when Nitro moved, darkening as he took me in. Being watched by Hyde was one of the most unnerving things ever. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hide from him or bare my soul.

I tore my attention from Hyde and gave it back to Tatum when she said, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Hyde’s presence had pretty much wiped all coherent thought from my mind, so I simply nodded and murmured, “Okay.”

As she and Nitro walked away from us, Hyde moved closer. His scent almost hypnotised me, if that were even possible. Looking down at me, he said, “What are you drinking?” The husky tone of his voice was like the final nail in my coffin. He could lead me down the path to sin with that voice.

“A cosmo please.”

He turned to the waiting bartender and ordered drinks before shifting his gaze back to me. His body was so damn close it almost pressed against mine. His eyes dropped to my chest. “You weren’t made to be subtle, were you, sugar?”

“Can’t say that word’s in my vocabulary, no.” The way he devoured my body told me I’d made the best decision when I’d bought the black dress I wore tonight. Knee-length with a plunging neckline and accentuated with a belt around my waist, it clung to every curve I had. My girls were up and proudly out, just the way I liked them. I mean, if you had it, flaunt it, right? And I’d had the red in my hair touched up that afternoon. It hung in lazy vivid-red curls to just below my breasts. I wasn’t sure which part of me he thought wasn’t subtle, but I guessed it had something to do with my dress by the way he seemed unable to draw his gaze from my body.

Finally he found his way back up to my face. The heat flashing in his eyes shot a round of lust through my veins. Good God, this man, though. I wondered if he had any idea of the storm he caused within me. “Don’t ever add it.” If what he said didn’t make my legs sway a little, the forceful, gravelly way he said it did.

The bartender placed our drinks on the counter, distracting us from each other. Hyde dropped some cash on the bar, took a mouthful of his whisky and looked back at me while I got down as much of my drink as I could in one mouthful. I needed it. I could stand my ground with any man, but Hyde had a way of catching me off guard.

“You calm down after that thing about owing me money this morning?” And there he went, flipping my feelings about him on their head.

I fixed him with a look that let him know I wasn’t impressed. “I didn’t have anything to calm down from.”

“You seemed all worked up about it.”

I drank some more of my cocktail. “I wasn’t.” But I was getting there now, that was for sure.

He drank some more whisky, keeping his eyes steady on mine. “Okay.”

Okay? Oh no he didn’t. He didn’t get to end a conversation with that bullshit. “Okay? Seriously, you’re going to end with that?”

“It seemed pointless to argue.”

I finished my drink and placed the empty glass down with some force. Sliding off my stool, I said, “We weren’t arguing. I was simply telling you like it was.”

“Yeah, I’ve picked that up about you.”

My eyes practically popped out of their sockets. “Picked up what about me?”

“That you like to tell men like it is.”

“I do not! You just have this way of pushing my buttons. I feel like it’s you, not me.”

His lips twitched. “Sugar, if I knew which buttons I was pushing, I’d push them some more. I never said I didn’t like the way you told me how it was.”

I snatched my bag off the bar. I needed a moment to get my thoughts under control. In the space of seconds, I’d switched from wanting him to wanting to smack him to wanting him again. My mind needed a break from the whiplash. I took a step away from the bar and said, “I’ll have another cosmo.”

Without waiting for his response, I headed in the direction of the ladies’ room. I’d almost made it there when a hand slid around my waist, and I was pushed up against the wall in the dark hallway. A hard body pressed against mine as the hand around my waist slid down to settle on my ass and warm breath whispered across my cheek. “My cock likes that attitude of yours. Surprised the fuck outta me, but I can’t deny I want more of it.”

The proof of his statement ground against me, sparking need all over me. Every inch of my skin blazed with desire. I gripped his shirt with both hands and found his eyes. “You and I weren’t made for each other, Hyde.”

“I’m not saying we were.”

My body went to war with my mind. It fought me kicking and screaming, desperate for what was on offer, but I didn’t want to surrender. “So what’s the point of starting something?”

He pushed his cock harder against me. “I came here against better judgement tonight. Nitro told me you’d be here and I came because I couldn’t, for the fucking life of me, get you out of my head. I want my hands on those curves of yours and my dick as far inside you as you can take it.”

I’d never dated a guy or even been with one who spoke as filthy to me as Hyde did, but everything he’d just said did it for me. Especially the bit about my curves. Hell, at this point he could probably start bossing me around, and I’d do whatever he said.

I gripped his shirt harder, pulling it, and him, even closer. “Does that dirty talk always work for you?”

The determined glint in his eyes caused another explosion of need in me. “Can’t say I’ve ever used it before, sugar. Never wanted to fuck a woman who argued with me like you do.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. I wanted to say yes, so badly, but something held me back. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

He bent his head so he could trail kisses along my collarbone. My skin sizzled with heat where his lips touched it. I struggled with the urge to curl my fingers in his hair and hold his head in place. When he was done, he lifted his face and rasped, “Give me one night. I’ll show you what you’re missing with those vibrators.”

I could do one night. Truth be told, I could do with one night of real cock. It had been a long time between drinks. But first I needed to know if he could kiss. There was no point going home with a man who didn’t know his way around a set of lips.

I let go of his shirt and reached for the back of his neck. Pulling his face down to mine, my mouth found his. I moaned as his tongue slid inside and he took charge. I knew instantly that Hyde knew his way around a kiss. I also knew that he was going to rock my world. Every part of me fell under his spell as he consumed me. There was no turning back from this.

By the time we were done with the kiss, he’d run his hands over my ass and then up my body to my breasts before finally taking hold of my face. He came up for air and growled, “I hope to fucking God that’s a yes.”

I smiled. “That’s a yes, tiger. Now get me the hell out of here and show me what you can do with that cock of yours.”