---

I closed my eyes, sunk further into the warm bath and took a deep breath before clearing my mind of all thoughts.

I exhaled.

Inhaled.

Exhaled.

Fuck, who was I kidding? Meditation wasn’t going to work tonight. Not after the day I’d had. But the bath was helping, which was a relief. It was only Monday, and I already wanted this week over with. Zara still refused to talk to me and had defied me last night by slipping out of her bedroom window to spend time with her boyfriend. I’d realised she was missing when I’d gone to say goodnight at nine o’clock. Linc had been less than helpful, refusing to end the date he was on to come and help me find her. In the end, it had been my mother who had saved the day. She’d called Zara and talked her into coming home. She’d actually surprised the heck out of me with the patience she exhibited. That patience hadn’t been there when I was a teen. I liked this older version of her, even if she drove me crazy trying to fix what she perceived as my problems.

I checked the time on my phone. Just after ten. Time for bed. The kids were finally all asleep. I’d checked Zara’s room at least five times to make sure she was there. She wasn’t freaking escaping me again. I’d never been the kind of parent who tracked their kids’ phone, but I was seriously considering getting one of those spy apps for her phone.

Ugh, I was turning into someone I didn’t recognise. Suspicious and helicopter-y. But as much as I tried to fight these tendencies, I failed. Zara was my baby, and I had to protect her.

I hopped out of the bath and dried myself off as I got lost in parenting thoughts again. Story of my life. I’d just figured out how to help Holly with one of her problems when a sound outside jolted me to full alert. It sounded like someone knocking on my front door, which made no sense due to the time of night.

God, I hoped it wasn’t an intruder. Although with the mood I was in, I wouldn’t hesitate to take them on.

I debated my options of getting dressed versus wrapping the towel around me before I went to investigate. I figured I’d rather not approach an intruder wearing only a towel that barely covered my ass, and had decided to throw some clothes on instead when the noise sounded again.

Jesus, they were going to wake the kids. I did not need to be dealing with tired, cranky kids if they were woken. I quickly secured the towel around me, doing my best to cover my butt, grabbed my phone, and yanked the bathroom door open. I’d taken two steps when my phone vibrated with a text.

---

Unknown number: Lily, let me in. We need to talk.

Me: Who the hell is this? And do you realise it’s after ten?

Unknown number: King.

---

What the what?

---

Me: Goodness, stop freaking knocking. You’ll wake my kids up. IT’S LATE.

King: I’ll stop knocking when you let me in.

---

Men!

I marched out to the front door and checked to confirm it was him. I mean, I knew it would be, but checking was a habit.

It was most definitely him standing out there dressed in the jeans and leather that made me weak at the knees.

Shit.

Opening the door, I stepped outside, pushing past him so I could close the door, and then grabbed his arm and pulled him with me to take our conversation away from the house. I then turned to him and, eyes wide, whisper-yelled, “How did you get my address? And why do you feel it necessary to drop by unannounced so damn late? I thought you were an intruder!”

My heart hammered with bewilderment.

King was here.

It was late.

I was wearing a towel.

What the freaking heck did he want?

And oh God, why did he have to affect me so much?

Focus, Lily.

This is not the moment to lose your shit.

The street lamp threw just enough light over us for me to see his eyes skim over my body before meeting mine again. “I have a guy who’s skilled at finding people. Let’s just leave it at that.”

My eyes bulged some more. “Umm, no, King, let’s not just leave it at that. That’s too casual for me. And I feel a little violated, to be honest. What else is your guy skilled at? Should I be expecting—”

Before I knew what was happening, he slid his arm around my waist, lifted me and walked me back to my door and inside my house. Once we were in, he let me go and quietly shut the door behind him. It happened within seconds, completely throwing me off-kilter. Looking down at me with those intense eyes of his, he rumbled, “I needed to know where you lived and he could help me with that. That’s all. Now, do you wanna put some clothes on for this conversation?”

Holding my towel in place, I stared at him, almost at a loss for words. If I’d felt bewildered before, I wasn’t sure what to label how I felt now. Being manhandled by King had shaken all my thoughts and emotions into disarray.

I need a smoke.

Shit, I gave them up.

You can start not smoking again tomorrow.

But clothes first.

Grab the smoke on the way.

Shit.

Pointing at him, I said, “Stay here. I’m going to get dressed. And for the love of God, if you wake my kids, I will hurt you.”

I waited for his response, but he gave none. Well, none that was clear. He simply continued watching me in silence, waiting. It threw me further off balance. I liked it when people didn’t beat around the bush, but this was a whole new level of not wasting breath on words that had no importance. And with King, I would have preferred a little more insight into what he was thinking.

Leaving him, I hurried to my kitchen in search of my handbag that held the pack of smokes I hadn’t dumped yet. My hands shook a little as I lit it, but I ignored that and took a long drag. I hated that it was exactly what I needed. What I really needed was to find a way of dealing with stress that didn’t involve cigarettes, but that was a job for tomorrow. Tonight, I had only one thing I needed to do, and that was to get through this conversation with King without agreeing to his demands.

His request to help Skylar had been rattling around my brain all day. It had taken willpower to say no to him in the first place because I could do with the cash he offered. I mean, who turned someone down when they told you to name your price. I had turned him down, though, because I didn’t want to get any closer to King than I already was. Not only did the man intrigue me, I was more attracted to him than I wanted to admit. And with what I had going on in my life, I didn’t need to get distracted by a man.

After I changed into my jeans and a T-shirt, I went back to him, ignoring the way his gaze travelled my body again. I liked his eyes on me, but I certainly wasn’t encouraging it. “If you came here to ask me again to work with Skylar, you should just leave now. I won’t be forced into doing this.”

“You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who can be forced into doing anything.”

Frowning, I asked, “So you’re not here for that?”

“I am, but I wouldn’t use the word force. I don’t make it a habit of forcing women into shit, Lily.”

I lifted my brows. “So what word would you use, because it feels like you’re trying to push me into this. Especially since you came here tonight rather than calling me in the morning to discuss it.”

“We weren’t getting anywhere over the phone, and this couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I’ve spent the last hour trying to calm Skylar’s anxiety over the fact she won’t have someone coming to see her tomorrow. I’m here now to fucking beg you to work with her.” His eyes flashed with determination as he added, “And I’m not the kind of man to beg for anything. But she wants you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

My fierce resolve not to cave to his demands crumbled at the sight of him standing in front of me begging for my help. There was no doubt in my mind as to his sincerity. I didn’t know this man, but from everything I’d seen of him at the hospital, I knew he cared for his sister. And if there was one thing in this world I respected more than anything, it was someone who would do whatever it took to provide and care for their loved ones.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Shit, shit, shit.”

The tension he carried in his shoulders appeared to loosen as he lifted his brows and said, “So that’s a yes?”

Against my better judgement, I nodded. “It’s a yes. I’ll start tomorrow after work.” I couldn’t believe the words falling out of my mouth, but I also couldn’t stop them. It was like he’d cast a spell over me.

“Thank you,” he said, the hard, determined tone vanishing from his voice. I didn’t know him enough to be sure, but his words seemed to be laced with relief and gratitude. He definitely didn’t appear as strained as he’d been at the beginning of the conversation.

“Right, so now this is sorted, can I please go to bed? I’ve had a long day and need some sleep.”

He nodded. “I’ll text you the address.”

As he turned to leave, I said, “And King?” He glanced back at me. “Don’t make it a habit of calling on me late at night. I’m not a fan.”

His lips twitched with a smile that didn’t quite form. “I have no fucking idea how your ex gets away with the shit he pulls on you.”

With that, he was gone, the rumble of his bike signalling his departure a couple of minutes later. I was left staring after him, hoping that working with Skylar didn’t also mean seeing a lot of him. King had a way of contradicting himself that revealed more about him each time we talked. With each new layer I discovered, I couldn’t help liking him more. And that could prove bad for me, because while being attracted to him was one thing, liking him more than I already did would be a whole other situation to deal with.

I hardly slept that night. I couldn’t get King out of my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his eyes, his lips, his scar and those muscles of his. And I heard the growl of his voice, because even when King talked to you in an everyday conversation, his voice held a trace of the growl I suspected lived deep in him. The growl that would be kryptonite to a woman.

By the time I finished work the next day and drove to his clubhouse, exhaustion had claimed me. Thank goodness Brynn had an early day on Tuesdays—she’d offered to cook dinner for us all at my place tonight so that when I got home, I could put my feet up and relax. I’d be having an early one tonight, and if King stopped by late again, I’d freaking tell him where to go.

His men let me through the gate, and I continued along the driveway to find the parking space near the front door that they’d kept free for me. I passed a line of about ten parked bikes before I arrived at my destination. A few bikers eyed me as I passed them. None smiled. I didn’t expect them to, but I also didn’t expect them to look so serious. I should have anticipated that, though, because King was the most intense man I’d ever met, so it made sense his men would be the same.

The Storm MC clubhouse was huge. Black paint covered the entire building, with not a window in sight. My gaze was drawn to the Storm MC sign painted on the building high above the front door. I found it all to be a little intimidating—entering the world of bikers who I knew nothing of except for what I’d read in the papers. But King had won me over with the way he cared for Skylar, so I trusted him enough to do this.

“Lily,” a voice I knew called out as I exited my car.

Turning, I found Devil standing at the front door. I’d spoken to him a few times at the hospital and quite liked him. Where King seemed fierce, Devil seemed a little lighter. He definitely smiled more.

Locking my car, I headed his way. “I found the place, but I’ve gotta tell you, you guys are kinda hidden in here. I like the forest you built around your clubhouse.” I’d almost driven straight past the property due to the trees hiding it from the street.

He grinned. “It keeps the assholes out.” He jerked his chin towards the front door. “Skylar’s been hanging out for you all day.”

I knew this to be true. She’d texted me five times throughout the day with different questions about her recovery. King hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said she was anxious.

Devil led me inside, down a maze of hallways to Skylar’s room. It surprised me how quiet the clubhouse was. I’d kind of expected with the size of it, that there’d be a lot of bikers inside, but I saw only four men along the way. They were all as subdued as the men I’d passed outside. I wondered if they ever smiled and had fun.

Skylar’s eyes lit up the minute I stepped into her room. “Thank God you’re here.”

As I moved further into the room, I wondered what it was usually used for. Completely masculine with photos of bikes on the walls, men’s clothing hanging in the open wardrobe, and filled with dark wood and leather, I guessed it to be one of the bikers’ rooms. Do they live here? That seemed a strange idea to me. Did their families live here? I couldn’t imagine wanting to live here if I were married to one of the men.

“Do you need me to get anything for you?” Devil asked, cutting into my thoughts.

I smiled at him and shook my head. “No, I’m good.”

“Just yell out if you need me,” he said. “I’ll be down the hall in the bar.”

“You guys have a bar here?”

He grinned. “Yeah. Stop by on your way out and have a drink with us.”

“God, if only I could. I’ve got three kids waiting for me at home, of which one is a fourteen-year-old who’s trying to kill me with her boy-crazy ways. I’ve gotta be at full capacity to deal with that, so alcohol is reserved for later in the night after I’ve survived her.”

He frowned. “Surely you’re not old enough to have a fourteen-year-old.”

“Trust me, I feel sixty some days.”

Winking, he said, “Well, sixty looks good on you.”

I turned to Skylar after he left. “He seems like he’d be a lot of fun.”

She shifted in her chair. “Yeah, I really like Devil. He’s not as serious or bossy as the other guys.”

I eyed the chair she sat in. “We need to get you a different chair and a stool.”

“Why?”

“That one is too low. And a stool will help with swelling.” I dumped my bag on the bed and dragged the spare chair in the room close to her. Sitting, I said, “Now, talk to me. Tell me what’s concerning you, and we’ll talk through it all so you know why stuff is happening and how you can move forward without so much worry.”

Her face crumpled and tears streamed down her cheeks. “I feel so stupid to worry about all this, but I’m stuck here while King won’t let me go home and I’m in pain and I don’t want to do anything to hurt my hip and I hate asking people for help and…” She shuddered as a loud sob escaped. “I just feel out of control with everything going on and I’m worried I’ll never get back to how I was before.”

My heart ached for her. I saw this kind of stress in many patients, especially those like Skylar who weren’t prepared for an operation and the recovery they’d have to go through. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Let’s take all that one at a time. I’m going to get you through this, Skylar, and you are going to make a full recovery. However, you’re going to have to make me a promise.”

She blinked through her tears. “What?”

“I need you to promise me that you’ll trust me completely and believe that I know my shit. If I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. You can ask me all the questions under the sun, but at the end of the day, you will do what I say, because you know that I know my shit. Okay?”

A small smile peeked out from under her tears. “God, you’re going to fit in around here.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“Because you’re just as bossy as my brother.”

“Well, let’s not go that far. I can be bossy, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got nothing on King.” I stood. “Now, repeat after me—‘you know your shit, Lily’.”

Her small smile morphed into a larger one. “You know your shit, Lily.”

I nodded. “Right, let’s go over what I want you to do each day, and then I’m gonna get you up and take you for a walk.”

We went over the list of activities I wanted her to do, and then I took her for a short walk around the clubhouse. She seemed scared of walking, so I focused on getting her more comfortable with her crutches. By the end of our session, her anxiety levels had dropped and she appeared more confident in her ability to get through her recovery.

“Thank you so much for saying yes to this,” she said as I picked up my bag to leave. “I know King was probably really pushy about it, and I’m sorry about that, but I’m so glad to have you helping me.”

“Yeah, he was pushy, but that’s what brothers are for, right?”

“True, but I do know how he can be, so sorry.”

“All good.” I headed for the door, glancing back at her before I exited. “You good for tonight?”

The smile that spread across her face was what I was looking for. “Yes.”

“Good. I’ll stop by after work again tomorrow.”

I headed down the hallway to leave, but I managed to take a wrong turn at some point and ended up in an area of the clubhouse I hadn’t seen yet. As soon as I realised I’d gone in the wrong direction, I turned to go back. And ran smack bang into a hard back as a voice boomed, “Mace, where the fuck are those headache pills?”

King.

He’d stepped out into the hallway at the same time I’d turned around, and I’d run into the back of him. In an effort to steady myself, I reached out and gripped his arms.

“Goodness, someone has their cranky pants on,” I muttered, letting him go as I found my balance again.

Turning, he stared down at me, his cranky mood clear in his eyes. “Are you finished with Skylar?” His question came out as a bark, matching his mood.

Jesus, I didn’t have the energy to deal with his bad temper. “Yes. I’m just leaving now, but I got lost in your hallways.”

He took that in before turning away from me, and barking out again, “Mace! Get your ass here. I need those pills and I have a job for you.”

“Do you speak to everyone that way? ’Cause I gotta tell you, I wouldn’t get my ass here if you yelled at me like that.”

His head whipped back around to face me as he demanded, “What did you just say?”

I didn’t miss the way he winced, as if he were in pain. “I said that I wouldn’t get my ass here—”

Irritation flashed in his eyes. “I know what you said,” he snapped, rubbing his temple.

“Oh for God’s sake,” I muttered, rummaging in my bag for the peppermint oil I always carried. “You are freaking moody today. Come here.”

A guy joined us, looking anything but confident. Shoving a box of Advil at King, he said, “Sorry, King, I couldn—”

King cut him off with a snarl. “I don’t want your fucking excuses, Mace.”

Good Lord, I didn’t like this side of King.

Mace glanced between King and me. “What job do you want me to do?”

“Lily needs help finding her way outside.”

I shook my head. “Not yet.” I held up the bottle of peppermint oil. “First, I’m going to fix that headache of yours.”

King looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I have pills for that. Mace’ll get you to your car.”

“Those pills will do jack for you, King. Get your ass into a chair and let me work my magic.” Mace’s eyes widened, and King looked like he was about to blow a gasket. Before he could argue with me, I added, “You have nothing to lose by letting me do this, and I can guarantee you’ll be thanking me later.”

Mace backed away slowly. “I’ll come back when you guys have finished.”

King’s eyes never left me as he said, “Don’t go too far. This won’t take long.”

Mace nodded and took off. I didn’t blame him. King did not appear to be impressed with anything at the moment, especially not with me. I should have just left his cranky ass to rely on Advil, but I knew that wouldn’t work as well as what I could do for him, so I persevered and kept reminding myself that I too could be a moody bitch when a headache was ripping my head apart.

I peeked into the room he’d exited and found it was an office. Nodding towards it, I said, “Sit,” making sure to use the bossy tone I usually reserved for my kids.

His brows lifted, but he didn’t argue this time. A couple of moments later, I stood behind him and massaged some oil into his forehead, temples and then the back of his neck. As soon as my fingers touched him, I knew this was one of my worst ideas ever. And I had a lot of freaking bad ideas. But this one took the cake. Touching him and being this close to him caused my belly to flutter all over the damn place. I couldn’t remember the last time a man made me feel this way. Shit, it had to be because I hadn’t had sex in six months. That long without it would probably make my belly flutter over any man.

Liar.

Shut up.

He’s hot.

Ah no, he’s moody as fuck.

Yeah, but he’s still hot. You would fuck him in a heartbeat.

My fingers froze in the middle of massaging the oil into his neck.

I totally would fuck him.

Shit, shit, shit.

King stretched his neck from side to side. “You finished?”

“No,” I blurted, taking hold of his neck to stop his movement. “Sit still.”

He pulled away from me and stood. “We’re done,” he said, his tone signalling that this wasn’t up for discussion. He didn’t know me, though. Everything was always up for discussion. Especially when I knew I was right.

Straightening my shoulders, I said, “We are not done, King. Your neck and shoulders are so hard and tight. I’ve got something to rub into them that will help with that.”

He glanced down at my bag sitting on his table. “How much shit do you carry in your bag?”

“Clearly lots of shit that you need.” I couldn’t work out why he was being so bloody difficult about this. “Look, I’m just trying to help you because you seem to be in a lot of pain. Are you always this obstinate when someone tries to help you?”

Scrubbing his face, he muttered, “Fine,” before sitting back down.

Finally.

Getting him to do what I wanted was almost as frustrating as getting Zara to do something.

I grabbed my hot pepper muscle stick out of my bag and unscrewed the lid. I then placed my hand on his shoulders and gently massaged him through his shirt, feeling for knots. He needed more than this muscle stick.

“You need a massage,” I said, figuring I was wasting my breath.

“I don’t have time for a massage.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that, but you should make the time. You’d be a new man after a few massages.”

“Fuck, Lily, can you just get this shit rubbed on so I can get back to work?”

I could have seriously throttled him and his moodiness. Instead, I decided to get this done and get the heck out of there. Tapping his back, I said, “Take your shirt off.”

He took a few moments, but he did what I said, pulling his black T-shirt over his head and dumping it on the desk. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next. A huge tattoo covered his back, the same image of a skull and wings that I’d seen on this building. It wasn’t the tattoo that caused me to falter, though. The scars on one side of his back caused that. Some were hidden under the tattoo, but there were many that weren’t. It looked like someone had taken a knife to that part of his back and tried to slash it to pieces.

What had King lived through to end up with so many scars on his body? My heart hurt just to think about it.

Pulling myself together, I ran the stick over his shoulders and upper back. The heat from it would help relax his muscles. I would have preferred to place a warm towel over his back after applying it, but I figured I had zero possibility of getting him to agree to that. So instead, I used my hands and massaged the balm into his skin, trying to get extra heat in that way.

As I worked my way up his neck, he dropped his head forward and groaned.

Holy shit.

That sound coming from King did things to me.

Really freaking good things.

If he didn’t really need this, I would pack up and leave right now.

I did not need him to be doing those really freaking good things to me.

But he needed this, so I stayed.

He ended up allowing me to massage him for a good ten minutes before growling, “That’s enough,” and abruptly standing. Grabbing his shirt, he threw it back on before facing me. “Pack up your stuff and I’ll walk you out.”

I frowned, unsure why he was being so brusque with me. This was different to the crankiness of earlier. It was like he couldn’t get me out of here fast enough. “Did I do something wrong? I thought the massage was good.”

His features hardened. “I’ve got shit to do.”

I stared at him, incredulous at the way he was treating me. “Fine,” I muttered, throwing my stuff into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

He led me through the clubhouse, out to where I’d parked my car. We didn’t say a word to each other, and he grunted at anyone in his way to move. This was the asshole King that my boss had warned me about that first day in the hospital. I’d never met a man like him, and I really didn’t like him when he acted this way.

He pushed through the front door of the clubhouse and held it open for me to exit. Our eyes met for a moment as I passed by, but still, no words were exchanged. It wasn’t until I was halfway to my car that he finally said something. “Thanks for what you said to Skylar today.”

I slowed.

And turned.

The tone of his voice had softened, as had the hard lines on his face.

My brows pulled together as I asked, “You spoke with her after I finished?” That made no sense, though, because he’d been in the office at that time.

He shook his head. “No.”

I walked back to where he stood. “I’m confused, King. How do you know what I said to her?”

His eyes bored into mine. “I stopped by to see you during her session.”

“But you didn’t come in.”

“You were laying down the law with her, and she needed to hear that, so I didn’t interrupt. Fuck knows she doesn’t listen to me when I tell her the same shit.”

“I’m hopeful she listened to me.”

“She did.”

I smiled. “Good. I’m glad.” I took a step back. “I’ll be over again tomorrow afternoon to see her.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything further.

As I drove down the driveway to the gate, I peered in my rear-view mirror and found him watching me. God, he was a complex man. One minute, so rude and gruff, the next, not as hard and much more likable. I had to wonder how the people in his life put up with him. I wasn’t sure I could ever put up with a man like him.