When I was growing up, my father had it set in his mind that I was going to do great things in this world. I wasn’t exactly sure where he got that grand notion, especially since we lived in a small, no-name town on the outskirts of Fayette County where nobody did anything all that spectacular. I had no idea how a girl like me could make a mark on the world. I was tall and lanky with knobby knees and wild, unruly hair. I could barely ride my bike around the block without having some kind of accident. I tried to convince him that he was wrong about me, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead, he’d simply say, “People who are crazy enough to believe that they can achieve something great are the ones who usually do.” I let his words sink in and decided that he was right. I’d always wanted to be a nurse, and I was going to be the best damn nurse I could possibly be. With his words pushing me forward, I set off to college determined to get my degree. Several years later, I found myself working as a nurse at Regional Hospital in Memphis.

I had no idea that I’d signed up to work in a battlefield. I don’t know why I was so surprised. I was in Memphis after all. Like all big cities, she had her fair share of gangs and criminals. It often seemed like they were the ones running the streets, and there was little the police could do to stop them. Gunshot victims, young and old, were constantly streaming into our trauma center, and it was my job to keep them from bleeding to death until the doctors arrived. The things I saw were often disheartening, and more times than not made me downright angry, but there was still a part of me that wanted to believe that I could make a difference. But with each life lost, each child who died in our ER, I started to have my doubts. The only thing that kept me going were the people I worked with. I wasn’t sure if I was being naïve, but their spirit and positive attitudes gave me hope for a better tomorrow, and I’d made friendships that would last a lifetime, especially with Robyn.

We were polar opposites in every way. Where I was straight-laced and followed all the rules, she was footloose and fancy free, doing whatever she pleased, whenever she pleased. Since she was a blonde bombshell with a mouth like a sailor and a figure that made men drool, no one ever questioned her. With her crazy antics, I never knew what to expect. She made life interesting, and I couldn’t have been more pleased when she suggested that we move in together. Living in the city wasn’t exactly cheap, so it was great to have someone to share the expenses with. After a few weeks of looking, we’d found a cute, little apartment that was just a few miles away from the hospital. I loved it, and needless to say, living with Robyn was never boring.

We’d been working nonstop, and it had become one of our routines to pick up some dinner on our way home from work. Normally, we’d just hit up a drive-thru and grab something quick before we headed home, but apparently, Robyn had grown tired of fast food. “Why don’t we call an order in to Daisy Mae’s? I’m craving a burger and fries, and not one of those that takes five days to digest.”

“Daisy Mae’s sounds amazing. Do you think they’ll have it ready by the time we get there?”

“If not, we can wait for it. It’s not like we have anything to do tonight.”

“Okay. I’ll give them a call.”

“Awesome,” she answered excitedly. “I want the usual and … oh, get us an order of those fried green tomatoes, too.”

“You got it.”

I placed our order, then I went over to the nurses’ station to grab my things. After we said our goodbyes, we went downstairs to my car. When we got to the diner, I wasn’t surprised to see that it was crowded. Daisy Mae’s was known for their amazing burgers and shakes, and it was a hotspot for not only tourists but the locals as well. I parked the car next to a long line of motorcycles, and as I opened the door, I turned to Robyn and said, “It might be a minute. They look pretty busy.”

“Yeah, but they’re always busy.” Then, she reached for the door handle. “I’ll go with you.”

We got out of the car and headed towards the diner. As soon as we stepped inside, my stomach started to growl. With an exaggerated expression, Robyn turned to me and said, “Oh my God! It smells so freaking good in here! I can almost taste their French fries right now.”

“Me, too. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” When I noticed the pies sitting on the counter, I suggested, “Maybe we should’ve ordered dessert, too. Gah! Look at that blueberry pie.”

“I’ll tell her to add it.” Robyn went over to the register and told the waitress that we were there to pick up an order. Seconds later she returned and said, “I added some pie, but our order’s still gonna be a minute. You want to grab a seat while we wait?”

“Sure.”

I took a quick look around the diner, and as I searched for a place to sit, my attention was drawn to the men sitting at the front counter. And then my eyes landed on him. At first, all I could see was his back, but he still drew my attention. There was something about the way he positioned himself on that stool, the width of his shoulders, and all that black clothing. Then, he turned around. At that moment I swore the earth stood still, and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe, like all the air had been pulled from my lungs. I tried to turn away, but couldn’t. For whatever reason, I was drawn to this guy, and as I fought the urge to step towards him, I heard Robyn say, “Holy cow. Check out that guy at the counter. He’s freakin’ hot.”

We’d both crossed paths with plenty of bikers before, but never once had I seen one who’d looked like him. With just one glance, my traitorous body was feeling things that it had no business feeling, especially for a man who represented everything that I despised. He wasn’t just any biker. Along with the others at the counter, he was wearing a Satan’s Fury cut, which clearly warned everyone around that he was a member of the most notorious motorcycle club in the country. There wasn’t a person in the entire city who didn’t know how dangerous these guys could be—that they’d killed the very men who’d come through my ER. It should’ve been enough to make me look away, but it wasn’t—not even close, and I cursed myself for it.

Without taking my eyes off him, I replied, “Yeah, he’s hot, but—”

“No buts about it, Dee. That man is fine!”

She was right. One look at this badass biker and any woman would swoon, even if he was a vicious killer. With his dirty blond hair and rippling muscles, he was good looking—extremely good looking, and as I stood there staring at him, I imagined what it would feel like to have the arms of such a strong and dangerous man like him wrapped around me. The very thought had me spellbound, and while I knew it was wrong—very, very wrong—I couldn’t stop myself. My heart pounded. My knees trembled. And just when I feared I might do something I would probably regret, he turned and looked right at me. As soon as those gorgeous blue eyes met mine, the entire room grew still. While it was just a moment’s glance, it was enough to leave a lasting impression long after he’d turned his attention back to the men next to him. I could still feel the heat of his stare on my skin, making my entire body hum with an unexpected thrill of desire. Damn.

I was still trying to gather my composure when Robyn nudged me with her elbow. “Watch this.”

To my horror, Robyn turned and started walking towards the group of men. With a warning tone, I hissed, “Robyn! Wait!”

Ignoring me, she kept going. Seconds later, she walked up to a biker who was sitting beside the man who’d caught my eye. I watched with dread as she tapped him on the shoulder, and when the dark-haired, burly brute turned to look at her, she gave him one of her sexy little smiles. “Hey there, good lookin’. I saw you sitting over here, and I just had to come over and ask … Have you and I met somewhere before?”

With one of his eyebrows arched, his dark eyes slowly roamed over her small frame, and I suddenly became jealous of how good she looked in her scrubs. Where mine hung on me like a paper sack and had dancing sheep all over them, hers were bright magenta and fit snuggly over her perfect curves. Apparently, the big, bad biker was pretty smitten with her because he replied, “Can’t say that we have, darlin’ … cause there’s no way in hell I’d ever forget a woman as beautiful as you.”

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing, and so handsome, too,” her voice purred, and I rolled my eyes. “You got a name, good-looking?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised by Robyn’s behavior. She’d always been a big flirt, but this guy looked like he wanted to devour her, making me worry that she’d picked the wrong man to tangle with. I was about to intervene when the waitress called out to me, “Hey, Hun. Your order is ready.”

Well, Craptastic. I went over to the register, paid our bill, and thanked the pretty, young waitress.

“No problem.” She smiled. “I hope you enjoy it.”

I glanced back over at Robyn, and she was still carrying on with her new biker friend. Knowing I couldn’t leave without her, I started walking in her direction, but it was simply too crowded to get over there with my hands full of our food.

“Robyn!” I called out to her, but she couldn’t hear me. Feeling a little flustered, I finally turned back to the waitress and asked, “Could you do me a tiny favor?”

“I can try.” She smiled. “Whatcha need?”

“Can you let my friend know that I’m taking our food out to the car?” I pleaded.

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks.”

As I started towards the door, I looked over at Robyn one last time. Damn. She was laying it on thick, laughing and tossing her long blonde hair, and I doubted that she’d even care that I was leaving. Just as I was about to reach for the door, I started to lose my grip on the bag of food. I tried to adjust my hold, but it wasn’t working. I was about to drop everything, when I heard a man’s voice behind me, “Need a hand?”

I turned to see who’d offered to help me, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw that it was him—the hot biker. Before I could forge a response, he lifted the bag right out of my arms. I was a little startled by his actions, so it took me a moment before I mumbled, “Um … thank you. I guess.”

“No problem.” He was standing just inches away, and I found myself feeling overly nervous. I couldn’t tell if I was in fear for my life or if I was simply so attracted to him that I didn’t know what to do with myself—or maybe it was both. “Where you headed with all this?”

Trying not to sound like a complete nutcase, I told him, “Just out to my car. I’m parked right out front.”

He nodded, and then, with my bag of food in tow, he headed out the front door. I wasn’t sure this whole thing was a good idea, but with Robyn acting like a wench in heat, I really didn’t have a choice. Following him outside, I showed him to my car. “It’s right over here.”

“I’m right behind ya.”

We walked over to my car, and I nervously unlocked the door and placed our drinks in the cup holders. When I turned back around to face him, I quickly realized that he was even more gorgeous up close, and again, I found it difficult to speak. “Thank you for your help.”

A playful look flashed across his face as he said, “Well, I might’ve had an ulterior motive.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Walking a beautiful woman to her car.” He smirked.

His comment surprised me, and I found myself blushing. “Well, either way, I still really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.” As I put the bag in the car, I heard him ask, “So, you from around here?”

I had no idea why he even asked. We came from completely different worlds, but a part of me liked the fact that a man who lived such an exhilarating life would want to know anything about me. “Kind of. I grew up about an hour from here in a small town you’ve probably never heard of.”

His voice was deep and demanding, but oh, so very sexy, and it sent shivers down my spine as he said, “Try me.”

Seeing that devious look on his face there was no way I could refuse. “LaGrange. It’s out in—”

“In Fayette County. Yeah, I know it well.” He crossed his muscular arms and leaned against my car. “It’s got all those historical antebellum homes.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m impressed you knew that.”

“There’s not much I don’t know.”

His playful smirk had my heart hammering in my chest like it never had before, and I found myself smiling ear to ear. “Is that right?”

“Um-hmm.” He took a quick glance down at my scrubs and asked, “So, you’re a nurse?”

“Yes. I work over at Regional.” As I looked down at his leather vest, I found myself wondering what he did when he wasn’t riding his bike. “And you? What do you do?”

“Nothing as cool as saving lives.”

“Well now. Let’s not get carried away. I’m more like the middle man. I stabilize, take blood pressure, and put in IV’s. I wouldn’t say that I’ve actually saved any lives … unless you count the time I did the Heimlich maneuver on a guy who was choking on his cough drop.” I giggled.

“Oh, yeah. I’d definitely count that.” His entire body shook as he laughed. Damn. He was handsome. With his muscles and tattoos, I should’ve found him menacing, but he wasn’t—not in the least. In fact, he seemed quite the opposite, and even though I knew it was the last thing I should be doing, I enjoyed talking to him. To make matters worse, I wanted to know everything about the dangerous biker. I was walking a fine line, and I didn’t even care. “I work down at the club’s garage.”

“You know, there’s some people who would say that our jobs have a lot in common. You clean carburetors and replace batteries. I change bed pans and administer medications. We do what we do to keep the world running.”

“Yeah. If you say so,” he scoffed. He motioned his head towards the diner “Is that your friend back there?”

As I looked back through the diner’s window, I could see Robyn talking to the guy at the counter. I nodded. “Yeah. That’s my roommate, Robyn.”

“I think she might be interested in my brother, Runt.”

“Yeah. Maybe just a little bit.” I laughed. “She has a bit of a thing for tall, dark, and dangerous.”

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when his eyes quickly skirted over me, checking me out. “What about you. You got a thing for tall, dark, and dangerous?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I smiled.

“No?” he pushed.

“For one thing, I don’t really have time to date, and … I don’t really have a type, especially not one that includes tall, dark, and dangerous.”

“So, you’re not seeing anyone?”

“No. I’m not seeing anyone.”

A strange look crossed his face as he gave me a quick nod. “Good to know.”

“Well? What about you? Is it just you and your Harley, or do you have a special lady in your life?”

He tilted his head to the side as he asked, “What makes you think I’ve got a Harley?”

“Don’t all serious bikers ride a Harley?”

“If they’re not, I feel sorry for ‘em.” He smiled. “And I’m not dating anyone at the moment.”

When a large group of people came out of the diner, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “I guess I better get back in there.”

“Okay. It was really nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, it was.” As he started towards the diner, he looked over to me and said, “You know, your girl is still inside. You want me to send her out for ya?”

“Oh, yeah. That would be great.”

He nodded, and just before he stepped inside the diner, he looked back over to me. “It isn’t exactly safe out here. Do us both a favor and get inside your car and lock your doors.”

“Okay.” I smiled and gave him a quick wave as I got in my car, locking the doors behind me. I watched as he headed inside the diner, and I found myself wondering if I would ever see this biker again—I really hoped I would.