Chapter 11

Reb

Wasn’t it supposed to be chicks who screwed up perfectly good sex with feelings?

If there was one thing on this earth Reb didn’t wanna do, it was examine his feelings. He’d rather get saddled with a wiring job alone on a Saturday night. Hell, he’d rather walk into Horseplay, the Saddletramps’ hangout bar, with no backup.

Actually that last one sounded like a fucking good time.

And yet as he lay there in Emily’s bed, he couldn’t sleep. All he could do was think—about his feelings, of all things—because tonight with Emily had rocked the foundation of his world. He wasn’t ready for another relationship. Hell, he wasn’t totally clear of his last one. He was supposed to be living it up at the club, getting blow jobs from random chicks and fucking like there was no tomorrow.

And he had, for a few months after Rhonda. He’d spent the better part of a month at the end of a bottle, and then the next few inside any random, willing woman. But it hadn’t helped. It hadn’t filled the void inside him. The only thing that’d come close was when he spent time with his son. Damn, he loved that kid. But even Tucker couldn’t make him whole. Nothing had come close. Until tonight. With Emily.

He really didn’t want to examine that any closer. It was too soon. Fuck, he’d said after Rhonda he’d never get tangled up with another woman again.

And yet the thought circled his head, stealing his thoughts and his sleep until there was nothing he could do but stare at the ceiling.

It was gonna be a long fucking night.

Three hours later—Reb knew because he’d been awake for all of them—his cellphone blared the opening notes to AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” Diving off the bed, he wrestled his phone out of his jeans, then hit the accept button to silence his ring tone. He put his phone to his ear and turned to look at Emily, still sleeping the deep sleep of the innocent.

“What?”

Zag didn’t bother with pleasantries. “We’ve got a problem, Reb. Rookies dropped the ball tonight.”

“Where?”

“Your place.”

“Motherfuckers. I’ll be there in ten.” Reb ended the call without saying anything more. Both he and his sergeant at arms, Zag, knew it was important to keep details light on phone calls. Even though they changed burner cells every few weeks, there was always a chance that one or more phones were bugged. Goddamn pigs. They wouldn’t be happy until all his boys were behind bars.

Although, depending on what shit was going down at his house tonight, that was a distinct possibility.

Reb quickly and quietly pulled on his clothes. The whole time, he stared at Emily still sleeping safe and sound in her bed. He couldn’t believe he was here with her. All those days in the hospital while Reb sat with Jessica, he’d seen Emily. Often. They’d hardly said a dozen words to each other.

But that didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed her.

Still bitter over the collapse of his marriage only weeks before and the ugly words Rhonda had thrown at him, he’d spent the better part of his hospital visits surreptitiously scoping out Emily. She made him think of apple pie and cheerleaders. Smart, sweet, and too damn young for a forty-two-year-old man like him. But still he watched. And saw how she went out of her way to make her friend comfortable or tease Jessica’s nephew when the hospital jargon got scary. She took care of people. If anything, it made her even more attractive.

She was the opposite of his ex. Way too good for a busted-up, soon-to-be-divorced biker like him.

But he had her now and there was no fucking way on this earth he was letting her go without a fight.

He debated briefly not telling her he had to go, but the thought of her waking up alone and not knowing where he was didn’t sit right with him. So he crossed the room and stared down at her angelic face. Christ, she looked even sweeter in her sleep. Innocent. Safe.

He vowed that she’d always feel that. Reaching over, he gently shook her shoulder. “Emily?”

Her eyes slit open, and she flinched. She recoiled and pulled the covers up to her chin before she realized who the dark shadow leaning over her bed was. “Reb?”

“Yeah, baby. It’s me.” It fucking killed him that that was her reaction to him. “Sorry I had to wake you up, but I gotta go.”

“Wait. Huh? What’s going on?” Emily sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. The quilt fell into her lap, leaving her gorgeous breasts out in all their glory.

Suddenly Reb wished he’d turned on a lamp. The dim shaft of light coming in from the window wasn’t enough to appreciate Emily in all her naked glory. But he had a damn good memory and his gaze couldn’t rise above her chest. He wasn’t a fucking saint, after all. “I got some club business to take care of. You gonna be okay tonight, or should I call someone to come over?”

“Wait. Why?” Emily shook her head and seemed to gather herself. “I’ll be fine. I’ve lived on my own for over ten years. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Reb gritted his teeth as he finally looked at her face and took in her defiant expression. He didn’t have the time to go toe-to-toe with Emily about her living conditions in light of her stalker and her damn tenacity.

“Fine. But I need you to hang around tomorrow in case Tucker needs you. I’ll be by at five to pick him up for my visitation.”

“Sure.” Emily pushed her hand through her long blond hair. “Wait, no. I’ve gotta work.”

Reb stared back at her silently.

“Work? You know, that thing we normal people do to pay the bills? That thing I blew off today? I can’t call in every day. I gotta work tomorrow.”

“Right. Shit. Fine. I’ll have one of the prospects hang out and watch the place.”

“Good plan. Tucker needs someone to look after him.”

And so do you. It fucking killed Reb not to say the words, but he knew better than to bait a woman. Especially if he wanted to be in her bed again anytime soon.

“Yeah. What time are you off work? I want you to stay at my place this weekend.”

Emily’s eyes grew wide. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. This—with us—is so new. If it doesn’t work out, Tucker will be—”

“My problem. He’s my kid. I’ll deal with whatever the fallout is. So we good? I need to get going.”

“I don’t know, Reb.” Emily looked down and picked at the quilt.

Reb shifted his weight and resisted the urge to check the time. “What is it? I’m not a fucking mind reader, baby. You gotta use words.”

“I just…This is all moving so fast. I mean, last week you were just the guy I kinda knew through Jessica, and now you want to do weekend sleepovers when your son is there? That’s big, Reb. For most people anyway.”

Reb dropped a knee on the edge of the bed as he reached over to take Emily into his arms. Holding her naked length against him didn’t help the fit of his jeans any. Sweet Christ. He dropped his head and nuzzled the top of hers. Slowly the tension eased from her body. And then Reb was holding a relaxed, gorgeous, naked woman. Fucking prospects. The last thing he wanted now was to leave.

“It’s not too fast. Like I said, if it feels good, do it. And you are the best fucking thing I’ve found in a long while, baby. So I’m gonna keep you as long as you’ll let me. Maybe longer. Get used to it.” Reb gave her a smacking kiss on the top of her head, squeezed her tight, then let her go. “I’ve gotta get going, sunshine. Stay safe. I’ll pick ya up at what time? When did you say you get off work?”

“Five. And that’s how you say goodbye? Where’s my kiss?”

“Baby, if I kiss you right now, I’m not leaving this room anytime soon. You’re just too fucking gorgeous, and I’ve got business to take care of. See ya at five. Stay safe.”

“ ’Night, Reb.” Her softly whispered words followed Reb as he crossed the apartment to her front door.

“ ’Night, baby. Don’t forget to lock this behind me.” Reb had his phone out as soon as the door closed behind him. He thumbed through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for. Holding his phone to his ear, he made his way down the staircase. After a few rings, Bumper answered with a hacking cough.

“Yeah?” Bumper rasped.

“I need you to follow Emily Clark. Keep outta sight, though. I don’t want her to know she’s being tailed. I’ll text you her address.”

“W-who? Wait, Emily? Isn’t she Zag’s old lady’s—”

“Was. Now she’s my old lady. So get off your ass.” Reb ended the call and quickly made a similar call to Hatchet to watch over Tucker while he was at Rhonda’s.

He straddled his bike and looked up at Emily’s window as he strapped his helmet on. Everything was dark, and for all he knew Emily was already asleep, but he doubted it. His girl liked to obsess over every little thing and he was sure she was doing just that now. As long as she came to the same conclusion he did.

She was the best fucking thing that’d happened to him since Tucker. And he wasn’t letting her go anytime soon.