How dare he! How fucking dare he play with my feelings like that. I mean, the man slammed me up against the wall and literally ravaged my mouth. If that’s not enough proof of how much he wants me then I don’t know what is. The sexual tension between us has been building and it’s at breaking point. All it took was for another man to try and step in to finally get Kane’s attention. Now he’s saying that it was all a mistake, that it shouldn’t have happened? How can he just switch his emotions off like that? I know he wants me—his kiss, his hands, and his hard-on rubbing against my core was evidence of that.
Maybe it’s for the best anyway, I can’t be starting something new when I’m barely out of my current relationship and having another man’s child. I just wish I could explain that to my heart, which I’m pretty sure is on its way to falling for Kane.
Running my fingers through my hair, I inhale deeply and stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror one last time. I wash my hands in the small sink, dry them with some paper towel, and with all the confidence I can muster I open the door and walk to the table where our group are seated.
“Hey, you.” Hazel moves aside so I can sit on the bench seat beside her.
“Hey,” I reply, taking a seat and picking up the menu and opening it. Bear is sitting to Hazel’s right, up next to the window, with Kane directly opposite him, and Tracker is across the table from me. Kane eyes are glued to the menu, and I can tell he’s struggling to not look my way with the way he’s gripping the menu hard enough I expect it to rip any moment, and how his eyes keep twitching but remain pointedly focused on the one spot.
“Ready to order?” the waitress asks as she stands at the edge of the table, a pad and pen in hand. Tracker gives her his order, followed by Bear, and then Hazel.
I look over at Kane, who sits back in his seat, completely ignoring me and looking up at the waitress. “I’ll have a burger with fries, and a Coke, please.”
Suddenly feeling not so hungry anymore, I close the menu. “Just a water, please,” I say.
The waitress smiles down at me. “You sure, honey?”
“She’ll have the same as what I’m having,” Kane commands, looking up at the waitress, whose gaze is travelling from Kane to me and then back again.
Who does he think he is?
“No, thank you, just water for me,” I repeat sternly, looking across the table at Kane, who finally decides to look my way. His face is set in stone, and I watch his jaw tick.
Kane slamming the menu down on the table has me jolting back in my seat, my heart almost jumping out of my chest. “She will have what I’m having,” he growls at the poor waitress, his eyes boring into mine, challenging me to speak up again.
Hazel interrupts our standoff, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Please eat, Charity, you need to look after yourself.”
I smile at her warmly. “Okay, for you I’ll eat,” I reply, making sure Kane doesn’t miss my meaning. “But I’ll just have a club sandwich, please.”
“Sure thing, honey,” the waitress says, taking one last look at Kane before she smiles at me, then turns and heads toward the kitchen.
Sighing, I sit back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. Tracker smirks, looking as if he’s worked something out in his mind. I ignore him, turning to Hazel and starting a conversation with her about school, and how we’ll both have to catch up on our studies, and all the while the boys are having their own conversation, until the food arrives and everyone digs in.
“Let’s get back on the road,” Kane announces when everyone’s plates are empty. He wipes his mouth with a napkin and has one last chug of his drink. My eyes roam over his lips as they cover the edge of his glass, and then his Adam’s apple as it bobs with each swallow. I blink as he suddenly stands up, setting his glass down on the tabletop with a thud.
Tracker gets up from his seat across the table from me, and I follow suit, with Hazel and Bear trailing behind us and Kane heading to the cashier. We head out to the bikes, and a thought comes to mind as we hit the parking lot. “Hey, Bear, can I ride with you?” I ask, walking backward so I’m facing him, giving him a wide smile. “Hazel, you don’t mind riding with your brother, do you?” I add with a wink.
She giggles in response. “Of course I don’t mind,” she says, rolling her eyes at me. She thinks I’ve got a thing for Bear. Boy is she wrong.
Bear’s eyebrows draw together. “Trigg okay with you ridin’ with me?”
“Sure he is,” Hazel responds. “Why wouldn’t he be?”
Bear shrugs. “That’s okay with me, then.”
Straddling Bear’s bike, I wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his back, looking toward the diner, planning to enjoy every second of Kane’s response when he exits. When he walks through the door and spots me on the back of Bear’s bike, anger crackles around him as he strides straight toward us, a vein popping out on the side of his neck. Bear doesn’t notice Kane approaching and starts up his bike, the sound of his pipes growling silencing Kane’s outburst the second he opens his mouth.
Luckily my smirk is hidden behind my helmet, because I can’t help but laugh out loud at his reaction when he finally notices that my arms are wrapped tightly around Bear, as well.
Suddenly the engine is switched off, the car park silent once more, and I’m being lifted off the bike, thrown over Kane’s shoulder and carried over to his.
“Hey… what the hell?” I yell when he dumps me on the seat of his bike. I rip my helmet off and stare daggers at him. “How dare yo—”
My words come to a halt when he steps closer, leaning down so his face only inches away from mine. “You’d better shut the fuck up and put that helmet on your sweet head, before I bend you over this bike and give you the spanking you deserve.”
My eyes widen. “You wouldn’t dare?”
His eyebrows raise, the look in his eyes challenging. “Wouldn’t I? Don’t test me, Char. I’m a man that keeps his word.”
I swallow hard, trying to rid the sudden lump at the back of my throat. How did it come to this? One minute he’s kissing me, now he practically hates me.