Affliction

“You really are a ball of sunshine. I think I should just call you ‘Sunshine’ from this point on," she continues, unfazed by my lack of reaction. The more her mouth keeps ru

I keep my expression blank, trying so fucking hard not to respond. I don’t want to engage with her, but something tells me this woman isn’t about to give up.

“Okay, let’s do it.” The brunette hands me the form just as Nix walks in.

“Where the fuck are the rest of your clothes?” he barks out, and I now know the asshole is a goner. He’s been sulking all week and the boys have been giving him shit every chance they’ve had. I step back, not really interested in watching Nix hand the woman his balls. I look over and watch the blonde taking in the whole scene. While she’s lost in the drama, I’m lost in watching her. What the fuck?

“That was so hot,” she a

“Don’t be a pig,” I hear her say, but I’m not paying attention. I’m too busy checking out her ass. Jesus, there is something about her, some sort of fucked up pull that I don’t like one fucking bit. Shaking off the attraction, I force myself to forget it. This woman is not what I need. I need less drama and a woman who isn’t going to con me into falling for her just from a few sassy words.

I never used to be this way. Never used to be afraid to open up. But when the woman you love betrays you—leaving you broken and mourning the loss of a child who was never yours—it changes a man. The anger flowing through my veins never leaves. The hurt seeping from my pores never stops, and the pain of losing a child will never leave me, even if the child I loved with everything I had was never mine to begin with.

CHAPTER TWO

Holly

“What do you mean, desk?” I ask, looking between my best friend, Kadence, and her new man, Nix. He winks, smirking while she death stares him. I’m not normally a jealous person, but standing and watching the way the man looks at her would make any grown woman jealous. The man is sexy, mixed with a sprinkle of bad news. If I knew the Knights Rebels were this hot up close, I would have crashed one of their parties sooner.

“He doesn’t mean anything.” Kadence tries to recover, but I can see it in her eyes. Sexy biker daddy and the naughty school teacher played freaky in class.

“You had sex on your desk?” I ask, putting two and two together, wondering how she failed to fill me in on that bit of information. We are best friends, have been since our first day of college. When she walked into orientation looking all serious inocent, I knew we would be the perfect match. She’s always been the serious one and I’ve been the crazy one, but as we stand out the front of Ink Me, ten minutes after Kadence just got her belly pierced, I’m begi

We were heading home after a girls’ night when I dragged her through the doors of the newest ink shop in Rushford. My only play was to check out the eye candy sitting behind the counter. His dark looks and inked skin were what drew me in, his bad boy attitude was what made me stay. We had no idea the Rebels owned the place or that the bad boy who lured me in is a patched member.

“We didn’t have sex,” Kadence argues, but I know she’s not telling the truth. If she didn’t have sex, she did something else nasty.

“Kadence,” Nix warns again and I can see it in his eyes, he’s losing patience. I’ve only met Nix Knight one other time and patience is not his strong suit.

“Go,” I tell her, giving her the extra push she clearly needs. She might be the bravest and strongest woman I know, but she sure can be clueless with men. If I had a man as sexy as Nix there would be no begging involved.

“Fine,” she huffs, walking forward to get on his bike. Nix doesn’t waste time. He takes her hand and drags her the rest of the way.

“Sy, make sure Holly gets home,” Nix calls out his final command to the man who lured me into the shop in the first place. Sy. The badass biker with a bad attitude has a name. The minute I walked through the doors I thought this is going to be fun. Little did I know the ray of sunshine is everything but fun. I try not to look back at him while Kadence fiddles with the strap on her helmet, but I can’t control my eyes when they move to him. His stern stare tells me he isn’t impressed with his job of getting me safely home, but I don’t focus on that. His tattooed arms and neck have my attention, teasing me with what could possibly be hiding under the dark Henley he’s wearing tonight. Even if he doesn’t seem interested, I can’t help myself. I’ve run over every scenario of how I can get him into my bed.

“I’m sorry, Holly,” Kadence calls out, breaking my obvious staring.

“You don’t look sorry.” I turn back and watch as Nix taps the top of her helmet and picks her up to place her on the back of his bike. She yelps, and then accepts his kiss when he leans forward for one. Their co

“So, Sunshine.” I turn to watch him, using the name I now dedicate to him, “I’m curious. Do you treat everyone like this, or am I just special?” Not answering, his dark grey eyes glare at me, but I’m expecting it. The man hasn’t spoken one word to me, ignoring every question I’ve asked. He blinks once, then twice before he turns and stalks to his bike. Man, this guy is one broody, sexy asshole. It’s a crying shame he hasn’t taken to my advances. I don’t often find myself in these sorts of predicaments, but I have to admit, the thrill of the chase makes for pretty hot foreplay.

“Let’s do this,” I say, following him and feeling like a fool talking to myself. Maybe he doesn’t know anything but asshole talk? He continues to ignore me as he hands me the helmet, and then starts his bike. The ground under my feet shakes as he pulls the throttle back. The loud, deep rumble moves through my body and I can’t help the excitement I feel knowing I’m about to get on the back of this sexy man’s bike.

Putting the helmet on my head, I fiddle with the strap, but he doesn’t turn back to help like Nix did for Kadence. He simply sits, waiting for me to climb on.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I say, trying not to let his silence bother me. He is intimidating; I’ll give him that, but the tattoos, the darkness, and the mystery…who wouldn’t put up a decent fight? Ready to get on the back, I move forward and put my hand on one shoulder, ready to mount. I lift my leg, but my dress stops me from getting on. “Don’t turn around,” I tell him, hiking my skirt up to get on behind him. He still doesn’t say anything, just stares ahead while I fix my skirt, making sure I don’t flash anyone. Jesus, Kadence made this look easy.

“Where do I put my feet?” I ask, a little unsure of myself when I finally settle in behind him. He leans to one side, bends from the waist and reaches down. His large, callused hand slides down my naked leg. I don’t respond, but the intimate touch feels so good I have to force myself not to purr. His touch is firm, but still has a softness about it as he positions my foot on a small peg. He holds it there for a moment, and for a brief second, I feel his thumb slowly sweep along my skin in a small caress. It’s so subtle I second-guess what I felt until he releases my ankle and then does the same for the other side. I don’t react, unsure of what it means, or if it means anything. What I do know is this man seems like a list of contradictions. So hard and filled with so much anger, while in the next breath he’s gentle and even a little lost. I lean forward when he sits back up and wrap my hands around him. His body feels hard underneath them, the leather of his cut cool on my fingertips.