“You okay all by yourself here?”

The words shook Bobby from her thoughts. She couldn’t believe she had zoned out in the middle of a darn party – and one that seemed to have all of the state’s hottest bikers present. When she looked up, it was to find Kellion looking at her in concern.

She said hastily, “I’m okay.” And she absolutely went still when Kellion, instead of leaving, took a seat on the couch across her and gazed at Bobby with interest.

This biker family – club, association, or whatever they called it – of Leandro was unlike anything she imagined. The bikers in her mind were something like the ones in Sons of Anarchy, with everyone rugged-looking and totally violent. But the men in Leandro’s group were all clean cut and extremely good-looking. They looked more like models for Rolex than Harley, and she knew for a fact that they were all rich enough to buy tens of each without even blinking at the cost.

Kellion was smiling mysteriously at her now, making Bobby ask self-consciously, “What is it?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering how you and Leandro get along.”

“We’re okay.”

“I doubt it’s as mundane as that between the two of you. For instance, I heard him call you mégaira---”

“You understand Greek?”

He said apologetically, “We’re all Greek. Well, I’m half-Greek, but most of the other guys here are 100% Greek.”

And the jerk still called her mégaira in front of them?

“I’m going to kill him,” Kellion heard the girl mutter under her breath. He smiled. “See? No other girl but you would probably say that.”

She said darkly, “That’s because he wouldn’t have called any other girl mégaira like it’s a stupid compliment or something. And it’s not.” She paused then added emphatically, “And it’s not true, too.” Bobby crossed her fingers behind her back.

Kellion laughed. “I’m sure it’s not.”

“Try to sound more convincing and I might believe you.”

He looked at her admiringly. “All the girls I know that Leandro has dated have limited vocabulary.” He mimicked, “Yes, Leandro. Whatever you want, Leandro. Oh, Leandro.”

She grinned.

“So you’re a refreshing change. Surprising, too – I wonder what you did to catch his attention.”

Bobby said cheekily, “I kicked him.”

The sound of Kellion’s laughter – which had been the second one in such a short time – had Leandro frowning as he looked at Bobby. He trusted Kellion, but Kellion was also the biggest flirt in their club.

“You’re jealous.” Helios, the leader of the club, remarked with amusement. Tall and olive-skinned like Leandro, he was the only man in the club who had golden hair instead of dark. They liked to tease him as “Mr. Sunshine” about it even though they knew that Helios’ temperament was more like a solar eclipse than anything else.

Leandro flushed. “I’m not. I’m just worried he might say something about me that Bobby’s better off not knowing.” Uncomfortable with talking about Bobby, he changed the subject. “Thank you again for your family’s support for my father’s candidacy.”

“You know we will always be behind you.” Leandro knew it was all Helios would say about the subject. The other man, although not as hot-tempered as he tended to be, was even more mercurial, his silent ways hiding a ruthless streak that few ever glimpsed.

Helios suddenly looked distracted, and when Leandro followed the other man’s gaze, he saw the club’s official photographer, the tomboyish MJ, taking snapshots of the newest member, Yuri.

“Is Yuri giving you trouble?” Leandro would be frankly surprised if Helios said yes since he knew Yuri, and the younger man was well-known for being courteous, like a throwback from the golden days of knighthood.

Helios said reluctantly, “No. It’s MJ. She’s monopolizing too much of Yuri’s time. She might become a distraction for him.”

Leandro smirked. As far as he could see, little MJ was becoming more of a distraction for their fearless leader than anyone else. “We all know why she joined the club, Helios.”

A faint grimace twisted Helios’ face, which – Leandro acknowledged in amusement – was almost as pretty as a girl if not for the extremely hard angles of his cheeks and jaw. Leandro knew that Helios was also remembering the day they held screenings for vacancies in their club. MJ had been the last to be interviewed – and the one who blurted out that it was because she was in love with a member of the club that she was applying for a position – any position.

“Yuri could be her mysterious crush.”

Helios shrugged. “I don’t give a damn as long as she does her job.” When he looked at Leandro and saw the gleam of amusement in his friend’s eyes, Helios knew that he wasn’t fooling Leandro one bit. He said seriously, “Tell this to anyone and I’ll kill you, friend or not.”

“Even if you are not her secret crush, you can always steal her away.”

“We will never talk about this again either.” He stopped then added reluctantly, “Not in public at least.” Helios realized at that moment that he did need someone to talk to about the damn brat, if only so he could hear someone tell him he was just going to make a fool of himself. He and MJ had nothing in common. Worse, MJ was scared to death of motorcycles. That was normally a major turn off for Helios, but in MJ’s case, it only made him irritable. What the hell was so scary about bikes? They were just bikes.

Leandro said with a grin, “Understood.”

Helios glanced at the girl Leandro had brought with him. Two could play this game, he thought. “And what about your delightful Bobby? Are you ready for the whole world to fantasize about her the moment they discover her connection to you?”

The words wiped the amusement from Leandro’s face completely. Helios was unfortunately not exaggerating. The way she looked now – ‘hot nerdy biker chick on the hunt’ was apt indeed – with almost half of her glorious breasts on display by that ridiculously tight silk top, Leandro was sure Sports Illustrated would be knocking on her door the moment he introduced her as his girlfriend.

“She won’t pose for any magazine,” he said curtly.

“Even if she wants to?”

“She won’t pose.” He was going to buy the fucking magazine before he’d let Bobby pose.

Helios said quietly, “She truly means something to you then? I admit to being skeptical when I heard that you were dating a girl in your school and she wasn’t…your usual type.”

Everyone, Leandro thought grimly, seemed to have a fucking easy time correctly guessing how he and Bobby came to be. How long before it was Bobby figuring out the truth as well?

When Leandro didn’t answer, Helios knew that it was an answer in itself, and one that he didn’t welcome. He could see that Bobby Granger was a nice girl, someone who did not deserve to be a political pawn.

“The polls back home show that your father’s slowly gaining public favor again. The local media has also been faithfully following your “courtship” of Bobby. They love how she was voted Philanthropist of the Year, and though she is as rich as anyone here, she doesn’t act like it. They think of her as a possible princess championing the poor. Does she know that?”

“No.”

“And you have no desire to tell her?”

“I will tell her…when she needs to know.” In the back of his mind, he knew that he was making the same mistake again, protecting himself at the cost of Bobby. But he just could not help doing it. The same unspoken fear was inside Leandro, protecting a small part of him to make sure it survived if the people he loved did not end up loving him back.

* * *

The ride back home was spent in tense silence even though Leandro kept her close, their fingers entwined on his lap, her head against his chest and his arm around hers. All the while, she wondered why he wasn’t trying to kiss her.

When Leandro’s chauffeur-driven car parked in front of her dorm, she blurted out, “Leandro, about what you said---”

His lips covered hers.

There was the kiss she was waiting for, but before she could think about what it meant, the kiss was already over, Leandro lifting his head to tell her quietly, “I don’t want you to feel pressured about returning the words. I just want you to know that I find you beautiful in every way.”