Griller gave me a nod as I walked past him at my bar. He knew I was the owner, nothing more, nothing less. I forced myself to keep a neutral face and return the nod. But I wanted to bash him in the head.

The man was sitting there with a skank on his lap, his hand up her skirt as she laughed and pushed her tits into his chest. I’d seen him a couple of times at my bar over the last few weeks with the same girl. It was all I could do to steer clear of them. They weren’t causing a scene, leaving their bill unpaid, or anything else I could legitimately frame as a problem. They weren’t doing anything that was any of my business.

But it drove me crazy. He had to be a madman to be out cheating on Sky. With a woman like her as his wife, what the hell was he doing out with anyone else, let alone a woman who couldn’t hold a candle to Sky? Her lipstick was too bright. She was trying too hard. She had none of Sky’s easy grace and charm, none of her feminine softness.

Did Sky have any idea Griller was cheating on her? I knew it wasn’t exactly unheard of. The brothers in motorcycle clubs tended to party hard, but they also seemed to follow an unspoken code. They might go in for a wild night or two, have some fun on the side, but if they were married they didn’t bring a full-on girlfriend around where their old lady might find out. Some of those wives were as tough as their husbands. Even I wouldn’t want to get on their bad side. They seemed to look the other way for the occasional stripper, but when it came to a woman really stepping into their territory and taking on the role of girlfriend? They weren’t having it.

But Sky didn’t seem the type to get into a pissing match. The more I got to know her, the more I felt certain she wasn’t cut out for a life with Griller. He was a one-dimensional brute. If he was that comfortable being unfaithful to her when she was a 24-year-old scrumptious young thing without any kids, what would the rest of their marriage look like? How would he stand by her side when things got rough, as they inevitably did for patches over a lifetime? I already knew the answer: he wouldn’t.

The fact was, though, I didn’t even really know the first thing about what Sky thought of her husband, or her marriage. Over the past few months as we’d been getting to know each other, we’d never talked about it. The silence on the subject was becoming deafening.

We sure hadn’t talked much that night I’d driven her home. Holy hell, that ride in the truck. The sight of her creamy thighs, her skirt riding up as she shifted in her seat, crossing her legs. I’d barely been able to restrain myself, my cock pressing into the zipper of my jeans. It was all I could do to stop my hand from reaching over, grazing a finger up her legs, stroking her right where I fantasized about, her opening up to me, needing me as much as I did her.

I’d been hard for practically a week afterwards. No amount of jerking off had helped, and believe me, I’d given it my all. Any other time I would have burned off some steam with another woman, but that didn’t even seem to appeal to me anymore. When I’d first opened up the bar, it had felt like a carnival every night, women practically throwing themselves at me.

But four and a half years into it, I’d grown tired of the same old. The alluring looks, the sexy come-ons, the pick-up lines and flirty moves meant to catch my attention. The first time I’d seen a woman bend over to shoot a pool ball, then glance over to make sure I was watching her ass, I’d been watching. The six-thousandth time? Not so much. And don’t even get me started about our small dance floor. I did not want to catch even one more woman trying to pull off some sexy moves over in the corner, attempting to twerk like she was in a music video.

I wanted Sky. She was the one I thought about late at night as I went to bed alone. When I woke up the next day, it was Sky on my mind again as I wondered when I’d next get the chance to see her.

Griller gave his girlfriend a wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss. That was the guy who got to touch her instead of me? I forced myself not to glare at them, keeping my gaze focused on the rest of the room as I stood surveying it next to the bar. Zeke and the Reapers wanted Griller dead. I was starting to want the same thing.

“We’re at 150.” Tommy came to stand next to me. We kept tabs on the number of customers night to night. Over 150 meant a good night. We were having a lot of those lately.

I nodded. I’d figured we were roughly there. The place had that just-right feel, not packed to the gills, enough breathing room so you could move around, but enough patrons to give it the crackle and energy of a hopping nightspot. I was getting the hang of this bar-owner thing. It would serve me well when I finally told Tommy I was calling it quits. At least with him.

My phone lit up with a text.

Sky: How’s the bar tonight?

I liked hearing from that woman far too much. I loved the feel of her looking out for me, remembering what mattered to me and asking about it. It was a new experience. I was an independent guy, used to being on my own, and I definitely didn’t need anyone to baby me. But it sure felt good when Sky was so thoughtful.

I’d had a lot of women in my life, never getting too serious, but I hadn’t exactly been living like a monk. Yet this strangely had to be the most intimate I’d felt with a woman in a long time. Maybe ever? And we’d never even kissed.

I’d almost kissed her that night in my truck. I probably shouldn’t have gone to pick her up in the first place. I knew I was asking for trouble. If I were married, I wouldn’t want a guy like me picking up my wife and driving her home. But if I were married, I wouldn’t let my wife stand alone at night at a bus stop if I could help it. It wasn’t the worst neighborhood where she worked, but it wasn’t the best and anything could happen to a young woman alone in the dark. Plus, I had to admit, I’d swung by to drive her home because I’d really wanted to see her.

I couldn’t help texting her back a little flirtatiously. After all, I was 25 feet away from her husband making out with another woman.

Jax: The bar’s busy. We’re hiring. You want to come work with me?

I could picture Sky serving drinks. With that smile and those curves, people would love her. That made me scowl. I could never watch her get manhandled. My bouncers would have to throw me out of my own bar for starting fights.

Sky: Sounds fun but I can’t.

I wanted to ask why. Because Mike wouldn’t want her to? Because it would be complicated to work with me? So much was going unsaid between us it was starting to drive me crazy.

I wanted to ask what she was wearing. That T-shirt she was in the night she sent me a picture? Fucking killed me. The thing women didn’t understand was how hot they looked all undone. Hair messy and down her back, the thin cotton of the shirt molded to her curves, everything about Sky had screamed sex. And she hadn’t said she was wearing anything else. I liked to think that shirt was all she had on, ending right where I wanted to start.

I was losing my mind over her. And she felt the charge between us, too. Even when we talked somewhere public, surrounded by others, she’d blush, her cheeks flushing pink. I tried to keep my hands off of her, but every now and then I’d fail. I’d do something harmless, like slide my hand along her lower back, as if she needed assistance walking down the hallway. At my touch, her eyelids would flutter closed for a moment. I’d seen her nipples stiffen, pushing against the cotton of her shirt. Sensing her response, it was all I could do not to pull her somewhere private where I could strip off her shirt, suck and bite and make her moan.

But I couldn’t send that in a text. Instead, I settled for something tame, bland and utterly unsatisfying.

Jax: What are you up to tonight?

Sky: Babysitting a neighbor’s kid. We’re watching The Sound of Music.

I looked over and saw her husband very possibly grabbing the pussy of another woman. His hand was up her skirt, nowhere to be seen, and she was looking at him with glazed eyes. Meanwhile, his wife was helping out a neighbor and staying home watching the most wholesome of wholesome movies ever made. I shook my head, fists balled at my side. No way could it last between them.

Sky couldn’t be happy. But did she want to leave him? It was the elephant in the room. The more we didn’t mention it, the more it stood up, huge and loud, demanding to be recognized.

I wanted to keep texting. But if I let myself do what I wanted, I knew where it would lead. I’d managed to put the brakes on myself so far. But smoke was coming off them it took so much effort. Sooner or later they were going to wear out.

Jax: Enjoy your night

Sky: You have a good one too

That was how we left it, simple and platonic. But I continued to think about her all night, every woman I saw falling short in comparison. I knew exactly how I wanted Sky to enjoy her night. I wanted to feel her shaking and quivering underneath me as I drove her wild. But I’d take more than one night. I wouldn’t let her come up for air for days, drowning her in pure pleasure.

The next week I didn’t even see her when I went to visit Ace. He and I hung out, watched a show, chatted about nothing, then took a stroll around the courtyard. I kept looking around the whole time, an eye on the door while sitting on the couch, scanning the entrances while we walked. I felt like a heel doing it, but I couldn’t stop myself. Spending time with Ace was plenty entertaining, and that wasn’t even the right word for it. The man didn’t need to entertain. He’d done so much for me, showing me what it meant to be family. Yet, there I was, restless, unable to simply enjoy spending time with him.

“You looking for Sky?” he finally asked, seeming to already know the answer.

“No, no,” I protested too much, then added, “Why? Do you know where she is?”

Ace chuckled. “I’ve known you all your life. You shouldn’t bother trying to bullshit me. I know you’re looking for Sky. And no, I do not know where she is today.”

I shook my head, frustrated with myself. This thing kept building inside me, between me and Sky, and it was turning me into an idiot.

“Don’t worry,” Ace continued. “She likes you.”

I wanted to ask, “How do you know? Did she tell you?” But I was 27, about to turn 28. I was no longer in middle school, no matter how much it sometimes felt that way. “I’ve got time for a game of Gin Rummy before I leave. You up for it? Or are you scared to lose?”

Ace took the bait, of course. The man never turned down a dare when it came to cards. And he was a kind man as well as insightful. He knew when to push, and when to let the sleeping dog lie. Probably because he knew someday soon, that dog was about to wake up big time.

That night at my house, I sat outside on my back deck drinking a beer. It was a clear night, all the stars standing out bright in the sky. I could stop by the bar. I could call up a friend or a woman for company.

But I didn’t. I sat out there and imagined her coming to me. Out of the darkness, Sky’s figure would emerge. She’d be shy and unsure, but I’d open my arms, pressing her against me. No words necessary, I’d bring her inside. And then I’d touch and taste, strip her naked and savor every inch, make her cum and cum again, shaking and screaming out my name.

I lasted three days before I texted her. Then I gave in.

Jax: How’re you doing?

It was a Tuesday night. I’d just left her husband at my bar. He looked like he was settling in for the night with his club buddies and his girlfriend. That meant Sky wouldn’t be with him. If she wasn’t working, she might be back at her apartment, by herself.

I sat in the parking lot, straddling my bike, waiting for her reply. It came quick.

Sky: Good, thanks

Jax: What are you up to tonight?

Sky: Not much, just hanging out

Jax: At your apartment?

Sky: Yup

My bike wound its way down the city streets as if it had a mind of its own. Outside her apartment, I stopped, engine idling. I remembered the night when I’d dropped her off, the two of us sitting close in the cab of my truck. She’d pointed out which window was her bedroom, the second story one with the fire escape next to it. Her light was on. And Griller wasn’t there.

I parked my bike down the street. That’s what people did when they were up to no good. They covered their tracks, making sure there weren’t any clues to their whereabouts. I hated myself for doing it, but I’d reached a boiling point. I had to see her.

I rang the doorbell for the second-floor unit. It took a while to get any response. The building was old, at least for Southern California, and it didn’t have an intercom system. But after a minute, someone came to the door.

“Who is it?” I hadn’t heard her voice in weeks. It sounded like music.

“Hey, Sky. It’s Jax.”

“Jax?” She sounded surprised, the volume and pitch of her voice raised.

“Yeah, hope it’s OK—” I lost my train of thought when she opened the door. Her hair cascaded down in waves, tousled and free. She looked glowing, like she’d just been exercising, rosy and pink and slightly out of breath. Her short shorts made her legs look a mile long and the spaghetti-strap top she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination, with a scooped neckline and no bra. My mouth watered to have her so close, standing there before me looking up with wide eyes.

I cleared my throat, remembering I had been saying something. “Hope it’s OK I stopped by. I was in the neighborhood.” Bullshit. I lived twenty minutes away and the route between the bar and my place went in the opposite direction. She didn’t know that, though.

“Sure, um, that’s fine.” She seemed flustered to see me, stumbling slightly as she opened the door wider to let me in. I brought my hand to her arm, steadying her. The brief contact, my palm wrapped around her smooth, warm skin, felt charged like a live wire. Moving ahead, she led me upstairs and, yes, I checked out her ass. Show me a straight man alive who could have resisted, and I’d prove to you he had no pulse.

The apartment door opened into the kitchen. It was small and clean. It didn’t seem right that the kitchen at my place was twice the size when I barely ever used it. I bet Sky would have a good time in it. I bet I would, too, if she were there. I’d probably keep her from doing much baking, though.

“So, this is the kitchen!” She gestured around, laughing at the obviousness of her statement.

I nodded, looking at her, not the kitchen. She was what I saw that looked good enough to eat. “How you been?”

“Um, fine.” She looked down at the floor. I noticed her painted toenails, that same shade of hot pink. She must like that color. I know I did. I could start there and work my way up. “How about you?”

“Good.” I ran my hand over my head, searching for words when all I wanted to do was take her into my arms. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I know! It’s weird. Whenever I’ve worked I’ve looked for you, but I haven’t seen—” She swallowed, stopping herself, seeming to realize what she just admitted. “I mean, not that I’m looking for you.”

“I’ve looked for you.” I took a step closer, needing less distance between us. It had been too long apart from her, over two weeks since I’d seen her smile, heard her laugh. “Ace caught me doing it, too.”

“He did?” She laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind one of her ears.

“I’ve missed seeing you.”

A loud clunk from another room startled us both.

“Oh my God. Let me just—” She bolted away, nearly sprinting into a room off the kitchen. The door was open and I could see it was her bedroom, the light on like I’d noticed from down on the street.

I looked in and could see what had made the clunking noise. It was white, plastic, about nine inches long and vibrating nice and loud now that it had fallen onto the wooden floor. Sky swooped down fast, swiveling her back to me as she turned it off. She acted quickly, but not before I’d seen her vibrator.

She must have been using it and left it on when she’d gone to answer the door. It had vibrated its way right off the bed. She had to be mortified.

But that wasn’t foremost on my mind. What occupied every millimeter of space in my brain was the vivid image of her masturbating, spread out across her bed right where the sheets were thrown back, her lips parted in a moan. Now I knew why she’d looked flushed and glowing when she’d answered the door. Now I understood why she’d been out of breath. She’d been pleasuring herself, maybe close to orgasm right when I’d rung the doorbell.

My cock sprang hard and ready, pressing against my jeans. I walked over to the doorway, arriving in time to see her stash it fast under her pillow. When she turned around to look at me, she’d turned as red as a strawberry.

“Sorry, my alarm clock went off!”

I could read arousal all over her body, from the way she shivered slightly to the pebbling of her nipples. Heavy-lidded, I took a step closer.

“That was such a funny mistake!” She fumbled for words, laughing nervously, backing herself in a corner. I followed, closing in on her. “I must have set the alarm for p.m., not a.m. and it started vibrating.”

“Sky,” I murmured, done with excuses. I was finished with all the reasons to resist. If she’d been feeling anything like the sexual frustration I had been for months now, we were both about to lose our minds. I reached out and took a strand of her hair in my fingers.

Breathing quick, she held still, watching my hand. Between my thumb and forefinger, I stroked her hair, then leaned closer so I could breathe her in, the scent I knew so well, had missed so much the past couple of weeks.

“Jax,” she whispered, her breath coming out in a pant. She sounded needy, nearly pleading. But for what?

My hand at the back of her head, I tilted her back and kissed her, sound and full as I’d wanted to a thousand times. Only this time I was really doing it, pressing my lips to hers as she moaned into my mouth, her hands coming around my shoulders, her fingers digging into me. A growl forming in my throat, I devoured her, drugging myself on her lips, her tongue.

At times I’d told myself one kiss would be enough. I’d thought maybe I could find a stolen moment with Sky and kiss her, just once. No one would ever have to know. But now I knew that was impossible. The more I kissed her the more I wanted to kiss. We only broke apart when she pressed her hand to my chest, her forehead to my chin.

“Wait,” she asked, panting. “I need to…” Her breasts heaved up and down as she breathed. My hands cradled her waist, small against my large frame. I caressed her curves, slowly, letting her take a breath. I wanted to give her space so she could choose to keep on going. “I can’t think!” She swallowed, bringing a shaking hand up to her forehead. “I’ve been telling myself we couldn’t do this! We could never do this!”

“Have you been thinking about it?” I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver at my words. She nodded, pressing against me. Her mind might be struggling to put distance between us, but her body wanted to get even closer.

“I think about kissing you, Sky.” I placed a light kiss on her cheek, then down her throat, holding back. I wanted to feast on her, but only if she wanted that, too. So I restrained myself, giving her the slightest flick of my tongue, the barest hint of a lick against her sensitive skin.

My hands roamed her body, stroking, feeling the fullness of her hips, the dip of her waist. With just my thumbs, I caressed the base of her breasts. Her nipples pressed against her tank top, aching for me. I could take them into my mouth, lick and suck. But I didn’t. I just swept my thumbs slowly along the swell of her breasts, tantalizing, making her want more.

“What were you doing before I got here tonight, Sky?” I knew already, but I wanted to hear her say it. I wanted to hear her confess, breathy and aroused, tell me how she’d been touching herself. I brought a hand down to her thigh, stroking her bare skin below her shorts.

“Jax.” Her voice shook, her fingers trembling as she brought them to my arms, moving along my muscles. She touched me as if she couldn’t believe she was doing it, her palms sliding along my biceps, down my forearms, up to my shoulders.

I nuzzled her ear, kissing her as I murmured, “You can tell me.”

“I…it’s not…” She buried her head in the crook of my neck.

I stroked her hair. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about.” I soothed her, my hand along her throat, down her back, at her hips. All soft curves, melting against me, she felt so right.

“I can’t believe you saw that,” she choked out, burning with embarrassment.

“Do you know how many times I’ve thought about you, Sky? Late at night, alone in my bed.”

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with realization. Had she not known how much I wanted her? I kissed her again, showing her how I felt, how I couldn’t stay away from her, not any longer. Holding her in my arms, feeling her need me just as much as I needed her, I couldn’t believe I’d lasted that long. I pressed her back into the wall, craving more friction, more contact, wanting her breasts right up against my chest.

Working my hand down at her waistband, I traced the edge. “Tell me, Sky,” I murmured. “Were you touching yourself?”

She gasped, both at my words and at my fingers dipping slowly inside her shorts, tracing a slow, lazy path down her stomach. As I kissed her throat, her head tipped back and I heard the word I’d wanted to hear.

“Yes,” she confessed.

With a hiss of satisfaction, I nipped at her earlobe, wanting to claim her, needing to mark her as mine. My fingers swept lower over her skin, so hot and soft. I wondered whether she’d be wet if I reached lower still, melting for me like I’d always dreamed she would be.

“Tell me, what were you thinking about?” I whispered.

Her answer was a moan, long and hungry. “You, Jax. I was thinking about you.”

We were so caught up in each other, we missed the sound of the apartment door opening. But then a loud stumbling sound from the kitchen roused us from our private world.

“Fuck!” We both heard Griller cursing, loud and clear. He must have knocked into something when he’d walked into the apartment, probably losing his footing he was so drunk.

Sky looked up at me in stark panic, all traces of the bliss she’d felt just moments ago vanished from her face. “Go!” she begged in a frantic whisper, rushing to the window leading out to the fire escape. With her shoulder to the frame, she hoisted it up. “Go now!”

I looked at her, dark and longing. I didn’t want to scurry out like a rat, hiding in the night. She belonged with me, not him.

“Please,” she pleaded, panic working its way into her voice.

“Fuck.” I echoed her husband in the other room as I climbed out the window and worked my way down the fire escape, cursing every step.