Music playing from my phone wakes me from sleep. Reaching over, I swipe my thumb across the screen silencing the alarm. It's early—just before sunrise. Stretching my arms wide, I lay in my bed for a few minutes and stare at the ceiling. Currently, I live here at the clubhouse. Not because I can't afford my own place, but because I choose to. When the time comes, I'll settle down in a nice home. For now, until I get what I want—until I get who I want to share my life with, I am perfectly content where I am. My lips lift in a smile thinking about her—thinking about my Sunshine always puts a smile on my face. Emerson Evans. The beautiful, intelligent, headstrong woman I've been on the hunt for it seems my whole damn life. I can't explain it. The feeling I get when I'm around her; there are no words I can think of that would accurately describe the energy I feel when I'm near her. I've become a junkie. I'm addicted to Emerson, and I haven't even tasted her yet.

Closing my eyes for a moment my mind drifts back to the first day I laid eyes on Emerson. Younger than other doctors I had seen before, that pint-sized, dark-haired woman took charge of the entire ER room when Bella was brought in nearly lifeless over two years ago. Her hair is a different color these days. Platinum blonde to be exact. She has the perfect athletic body, and the slight flare of her hips does mad things to my overactive imagination. Feeling my cock swell, I throw the sheet from my naked body and come to sit on the edge of the bed. It's not her looks though that I find most attractive about her. No. It's her heart. She cares for people—deeply. You see it when she works, and I've seen her in action many times. Every time she has ever been there to care for one of my own I stood back and watched in awe at her calm demeanor. In a quiet and reserved manner, Emerson is a force of nature. To say I was intrigued right away, even amid chaos, is putting it mildly. The first time her eyes connected with mine; Fuck. Those light, smoke grey eyes captivated me.

Absently, my hand begins to rub my bare chest. It felt as if she reached into the depths of my soul. She sealed my fate that day, and I've been on the hunt ever since. My dad always told me not to worry that one day a woman would come along, and I would know she was the other half of my life. She would consume me, and I would move mountains to have her and give her the moon if that's what she wanted. I never questioned it either. That's the kind of love he has for my mom.

Needing to rub one out before starting my day, I walk my ass to the bathroom. Twisting the knob, I start the shower and let the water get nice and hot before stepping in. I haven't jerked off this much since my early teens when I got my hands on my first nudey magazine, but ever since Emerson moved to town, I have no interest in anyone else. Reaching down I stroke the length of my rock hard cock. Letting my head fall back against the tiled stall, I close my eyes, and images of Emerson in her tiny as fuck bikini come to mind before they quickly turn to much more. Placing my left palm against the shower wall, I hang my head as I close in on my release. "Fuck," I moan. Feeling some relief, I finish my shower.

Dressed in dark washed jeans, a white shirt, boots and my cut, I pull my hair back with a hair tie and head downstairs to find some food. When I enter the kitchen, I see Austin and Blake sitting at the table and Ember standing at the stove with a spatula in her hand flipping pancakes.

"Pancakes," I rub my hands together and inhale the smell of bacon. "Mind doing up some extra for me?" I ask Ember as I pull a chair from the table taking a seat next to Blake, whose eyes are on her. Leaning close to him I lower my voice so only he can hear what I say, "When you gonna give in and go for it?"

Lifting his fork, Blake mumbles, "I'm not good enough for her, brother." Before shoving a bite of pancake dripping with syrup into his mouth.

I shake my head. Blake is a good guy. Been through some shit, but a good guy. His entire family was murdered in a robbery gone wrong when he was a kid. Blake was the only one to survive. He spent years jumping from one foster family to the next, and getting mixed up with the wrong crowds. "You've been clean for over five years now, and you've always been good enough, brother. Don't sell yourself short on life because of fear. Grab it by the balls. We only have one life, man. Don't waste it," I tell him.

I've never wasted one minute of my life not going after anything I ever wanted. From day one, my parents taught me to go after everything life has to offer. Aware I was given a second chance when my birth parents decided they were too young to care for me; leading to my adoption and the life I have today.

Ember turns to bring a plate full of food to the table causing Blake to quickly drop his gaze back to his own meal. She smiles as she sets breakfast down, her warm, chocolate brown eyes peeking through her dark lashes as she steals a brief glance in Blake's direction then frowns when she takes in his avoidance of her. She likes him. Hasn't been too hard to see that since she joined the club. "Thanks for getting up early and making us breakfast, sugar," I say to her earning a small smile.

"No problem, Quinn," she replies softly before glancing in Blake's direction one more time then heads towards the sink and starts cleaning.

"So, you guys ready for today?" Blake pushes from the table, taking his plate to the sink, rinsing it and placing it into the dishwasher.

Stabbing some pancakes with my fork, I pile four of them onto my plate along with some bacon. "Fuck yeah, I'm ready," I boast, popping a bite into my mouth. "Have you seen the new tools and equipment at the garage? That shit is going to make workin' so much easier and a hell of a lot faster."

The door to the kitchen swings open and Doc walks in with Lisa looking pretty damn chipper. "Hey, Doc. What's got you happier than a fly on shit this early in the mornin'?"

Clasping his hand over my left shoulder, he says, "besides waking up next to my woman, we finally get to see the shop reopen. After Jake lost what his dad built years ago, I'm fucking happy as hell for him and this club."

"Heard the mayor was attending the ribbon cutting as well. The city council wants to make a media thing out of it," Blake chimes in on the conversation.

"I think it's fantastic that the community is showing support for Jake and the club. His garage has been a part of this town for decades. And we all know how much The Kings give back. Jake deserves it," Lisa energetically gives her opinion on today's happenings.

Nodding my head in agreement, I continue to eat. It's been a couple of months, but our brand-new garage opens today, and I for one will be damn happy to see the place open for business again. Prez rented a small building not long after the dust settled after the fire, so we could continue pulling in some income. Pretty much everything was a total loss. All but some of his old man's tools and a few bike parts. Thank fuck for insurance because a couple of our customers lost their bikes in the blaze that day.

Glancing at the clock above the stove, I take notice of the time. Prez wants everyone to be at the garage at least thirty minutes before the ribbon cutting, which gives me close to two hours to head to my parent's house then get to the garage. My dad needs me to swing by and take a look at an old Ford Galaxie he has been working on in his spare time. With the last of my food eaten, I stand and walk to the sink to rinse and load my plate.

"Your parents gonna be able to make it today, Quinn?" Doc looks over his shoulder as he goes to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"They wouldn't miss it. My dad is having a hard time starting his car, so I'm about to head out," I chuckle at how excited and proud my dad is that he found the exact car he took Mom on their very first date in. He had been searching for more than a year, and just before last Thanksgiving he received a call from a guy stating he had what he was looking for sitting in an old junkyard he acquired back in California. He's been trying to restore it ever since. "Catch ya later," I wave as I disappear through the door and make my way outside to my bike. With the morning sun rising, I pull my shades over my eyes and mount my bike. A moment later I'm cruising down the open road.

As the wind whips at my face, my thoughts drift back to the day I rode my first Harley. I was sixteen and had saved up all my part-time job money to buy a fixer-upper from a guy Prez knew. Any spare time I had was used fixing my baby up, and I'm still riding her today. I tighten my hand on her throttle and race down the highway. My parents moved us from California to Polson when I was fifteen. I hated leaving my old friends and starting over in a new town. Starting a new school was the toughest adjustment. It was my second week at the new school when the trouble I had been having with a bully escalated. That's when I met Logan and Reid. Hell, if it weren't for them, I'd continued to have gotten my ass beat by bullies at school. I was the new kid and a skinny little fucker too. Those two things alone made me any easy target. They walked in on someone giving me a hard time in the boys bathroom one day and took care of business. They never asked me to tag along and follow them everywhere they went, I invited myself. From that day on no one messed with me.

As I come within view of my parents two-story home with a large front porch, I shake my thoughts off for another day and pull alongside my mom's car, put the kickstand down, and turn my bike off. Before I take my helmet off, my kid sister rushes through the gate that leads towards the backyard with Remi, Jake and Grace's daughter, right beside her.

"Quinn," she throws herself in my arms and hugs me tight. Chuckling, I squeeze her back.

"How's it going, KitKat? Hi, Remi. What are you ladies getting into today?" I ask them. Releasing her hold, Kat backs up so I can get off my bike.

"Since we didn't have to go to school today, Remi and I have been hanging out in the treehouse."

"Dad in the garage?" I ask her.

"Yep," she says, putting an emphasis on the P.

Grabbing Remi's hand, she smiles at me, "See you later. Love you," and Remi shouts, "Later." I watch them walk off in the direction of the backyard before turning my back on them and head towards the detached garage on the opposite side of the driveway, and enter through the side door. My dad is sitting in the driver's seat of his car with the door open, scratching the dark whiskers on his face.

"Hey, Dad."

I hear him sigh heavily when I walk up beside him. "Hey, son. Thanks for coming by. She's spinning over, but I can't get her to fire up. Can you take a look at it for me?"

"Spin her over so I can have a listen," I tell him as I walk around and lean over the engine. "One more time, Dad." After listening to it the second time, I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong. "I think the timing is off," I inform him.

He climbs out of the car. "Damn. Well, we don't have time to fool with it today. I need to go inside to get ready for the grand reopening. Your mother is looking forward to having a little visit with Grace today," he tells me as he cleans his hands with a shop rag. Grace and my mom have become good friends since she's been back home.

"How about we work on it together this weekend?" I offer, knowing my dad loves this kind of one-on-one time with me.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," he smiles and pats me on the back. "I know you can't stay long but be sure to say hi to your mom before you leave, will ya." Closing the hood of the car, my dad starts to put his tools away.

"I'll see you later, Dad, Love Ya."

"Love ya too, son."

My mom is in the kitchen typing away on her computer when I walk inside. Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. "Working?" Spotting some cookies on the counter she must have baked for the girls, I walk over and grab a couple and pop a whole one into my mouth.

"Save some for your sister and Remi," she eyes me over the bridge of her glasses.

"I can't stay long, Mom. Prez needs us at the shop before the camera crews start showing up," I tell her snagging one more cookie for the road. "Love Ya." Shaking her head but wearing a smile, she tells me she loves me too before I'm out the door and back on the road.

I pull into the already crowded parking lot in front of the shop twenty minutes later and back my bike up alongside where my other brothers' bikes are parked. It looks like I'm the last to arrive. I take my time before walking into the storefront. I whistle. "Damn." Someone put some finishing touches on the walls. From the sleek black countertops and the vast collection of Harley art on the walls, it feels like I've stepped onto a showroom floor.

The door to the garage swings open. "It's something isn't it?" Logan's voice carries across the room. "My dad's idea of a reopening present."

"I like his style," I continue walking around and admiring everything. The layout of the building is still set up almost identical to the original building. The one modification was making Jake's office a little more substantial. Prez comes striding out of his office with Ellie Kate in his arms and Grace by his side. Makes me happy seeing a good man like Jake get his forever. I've watched all my brothers find good women over the years; Logan being the first one to fall. No sooner do I have these thoughts, when the shop door opens, and the sun floods in just before Emerson—my Sunshine walks in with Bella and her and Logan's kids in tow. Emerson's eyes lock in on mine, and I feel my heart tug against the inside of my chest. The same pull I feel every time I lay eyes on her and I smile. Her flushed skin betrays her every time she gets near me. I know she feels the electricity between us too.

"Showtime," Prez announces.

Breaking eye contact with Emerson, we all follow Prez outside. The bay doors slide open, and the rest of the club members come to stand out front. Logan and I join them. Kissing Grace and leaving her with Bella, Alba, Mila, Emerson and his mom, Jake along with his dad walk together to join Ben Ainsworth, our mayor. I watch them talk amongst themselves for a few minutes before walking over and standing in front of us men. Scanning the crowd, I find my parents watching alongside the women and children. The fact that they support everything in my life fills me with pride. Not once have they judged who I am, what I do, or the friends I keep. They know the club members and their families are good people because they got to know them before judging them. Are they aware there has been less than stellar activities going on throughout the years? I suspect that they do. I don't get my observant nature from just anyone. They see things. At the end of the day what's important to them is my happiness and well being. They know I'm happy, and they know my brothers have my back.

A couple of camera men from the local news stations wait for their cues. Ben gives a short speech. Prez says his thank yous of appreciation, and then his dad cuts the celebratory ribbon. Our friends and family cheer. The entire thing lasts all of ten minutes. It doesn't take long for the media and the Mayor to load up and leave. It is what it is. It's the start of a new day, and they have a job to get to like the rest of us.

"I need to get over to the job site, brother. Nikolai is holding things down for now, but we have the owner of the place we're building coming by before lunch," Reid mentions. He stops briefly to shake Prez and his dad's hands before walking towards his pregnant wife and daughter kissing them goodbye, hops on his bike and leaves. One by one everyone takes off. I steal a glance Emerson's way as she walks off towards her car on her way to work herself.

Gabriel and Logan help their woman load the kids into their vehicles and watches them leave before Gabriel and Blake walk across the street to the tattoo shop. Now the parking lot is empty aside from me, Austin and Logan.

Prez claps his hands together catching our attention as the crowd has dissipated. "Alright, men. We are an hour behind opening time. Let's get to work. We have a full day ahead of us. We can celebrate at the end of the day at the clubhouse with a few beers."