The Way to Steel

CONNOR

Today was the day when the sexy, feisty, tight little sheriff’s daughter would be mine.

The way she worked those jeans, her heels, her everything...I hadn’t felt like this in a long time.

That giddy-anxious feeling in your stomach that I’d forgotten existed. To think, after all that I’d done, all that I’d been through, I was actually kinda nervous about seeing her.

I didn’t want to rush things, either, but I knew keeping my dick in my pants and my hands to myself were going to be a challenge.

PAXTON

Coming home was a colossal fuckup. I felt more isolated than ever.

I was living with an unfaithful father and a compliant mother. Not to mention the scarlet letter that was still unjustly branded on me.

I felt like a leper.

I’d given my ex-boss, Nadia, the benefit of the doubt and she royally slammed it back in my face.

She ignored all the blatantly obvious signs of her deceitful husband and blamed me for his flagrant advances.

Like I was begging for it.

How are women, no matter how intelligent or successful, so easily blinded to the truth when men are involved? Her husband wasn’t even very good-looking, that was the funny thing.

Yes, he was loaded, but having money didn’t change a shit personality. I’d much rather have someone real, someone authentic.

Maybe even a little bad...

Someone with devious eyes, an absolutely ripped body, and who was sexy as fuck…

Yep, that was definitely my type.

Two hours of Googling job opportunities yielded very little in the way of promising results, so I decided to stop pounding the digital pavement for the day and get ready for my date with a Red Rider.

In spite of the stunt he’d pulled the night before, following me on my date with Ollie, I couldn’t help but find his actions a little flattering in a big dumb alpha-male sort of way.

And the hyper-sexualized thoughts of him that kept running through my mind were making me staggeringly nervous for our date.

In the end, I decided to wear my black ankle boots and my tightest jeans. A black lacy tank and a cherry-red leather jacket finished the look off nicely.

I let my long hair fall around my shoulders, lined my smoky eyes with liquid liner, and added a matte red lip stain.

Damn, I look good.

With one last confident appraisal in the mirror, I tucked the essentials into a small black crossbody bag and booked it downstairs and toward the front door.

Simultaneously, the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the driveway reverberated throughout the house.

Music to my ears.

“Who’s that?” I heard Dad growl from the couch.

I really did not want to deal with him right now.

I ran outside and jumped onto the back as Connor thrust a helmet into my hands.

“You look—”

“Don’t talk, just drive.”

Dad came running out onto the porch just in time to see his daughter on the back of a motorcycle with an ex-con, her arms clasped around his waist.

I felt those blue-gray eyes burn a hole into my back as we zipped out of the driveway and flew down the road.

I’d never been on a motorcycle before.

The rush of the wind over my body, the flutter in my stomach as we leaned into turns, and the constant buzz of the motor between my thighs was nothing short of exhilarating.

With my hands clasped for dear life around his waist, I nuzzled my face into the nape of his neck, loving the intensely close proximity of my body to this sexy-as-hell biker.

The town flew past us, the lights streaming into one long haze as I threw my head back and succumbed to the wind.

We finally reached the spot for our date. It was high up in the mountain range overlooking our quaint country town. The stars sprinkled the sky as the crescent moon beamed down, setting the stage for what was to come.

“The owner of this land lost his family in a car accident a while back,” he began, taking off my helmet. “It’s gotten too big to take care of on his own, so we assign new club members to help out.” My eyes fell on his.

“I come up to this spot sometimes when I need to be alone. One day I hope to buy this land. Build a house here overlooking the town.”

We both averted our eyes to the astounding view of the sparkling lights of the peaceful, sleepy town from the winding road on the mountainside.

“That sounds amazing. It’s beautiful,” I practically whispered.

He grinned as he pulled a cozy blanket, a picnic basket, and champagne flutes out of the back storage compartment of his bike before laying the blanket flat on the ground.

I must have had the stupidest grin on my face. It was time to make him work for it.

“You know, because of your little stunt yesterday with Ollie, I felt so bad I agreed to another date.”

He stopped with his spread and stared at me incredulously. “You’re going out with him again?”

“I have to. He was really gutted.”

“You know, even a blind man could see there’s no chemistry between you two. Not like you and me,” he said with deep intensity. I just rolled my eyes.

“I don’t do open relationships, by the way,” he added as he handed me some champagne. “I’m only looking for monogamy.”

Well, I’ll be damned.

“Why are you telling me this?” I looked over at him.

“I just wanted to set the record straight…the things people say about me, what your father thinks of me, it’s not true. It’s just gossip. All our business, the Red Riders’ business, is legitimate. I wanted you to know that before anything happens—if anything happens.” He sighed quietly.

“Were you really in prison?”

“Yes,” he said, solemnly. “I got out ten months ago.”

“How long were you in?”

“Seven years, for tax evasion of all things. Our accountant falsified the books and stole our money. But I was locked away ’cause of my history. Better me than the other guys.”

“Did you find him?” I had to ask.

“Death found him.”

And he left it at that. I didn’t pry, though God knew I wanted to.

As intimidating as he was, I didn’t fear him. On the contrary, I was undeniably drawn to every charismatic inch of him.

“So,” he said, easing up, “what’s it like to be the sheriff’s kid? Must be a lot of pressure.”

“It wasn’t hard when I was younger,” I admitted. “I was a pretty model daughter. Honor roll, cheer squad. I even sang in the choir. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I realized everything was a charade I couldn’t keep up anymore.”

“So you moved away, got all tatted up, and rolled back into town like the prodigal son… er, daughter?”

“I guess,” I replied.

“Well, I’m glad you decided to grace us with your presence again.”

We sat there for the better part of an hour, deep in conversation as we picked at the food and finished off the champagne.

The more he divulged about his life—the successes and hardships, the good times and the tribulations—the more I found myself undeniably attracted to him.

As we lay there, side by side on the blanket, he pointed up and described the constellations—or rather bullshitted his way through them.

“Those three wonky-looking ones are the three bears.”

“Oh yeah? What are their names?” I asked suspiciously.

“That one’s Fluffy,” he said, pointing to the one of the left, “and those are Bendy and… Rupert.”

“Rupert? You are so full of shit!” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

“It’s true. Rupert’s an accountant who does drag on the side...Bendy’s a proctologist who’s really into ventriloquism.”

“Oh, yeah?” I said, fighting not to laugh. “And what about Fluffy?”

“He snorts bath salts, of course,” he replied.

Unable to hold back, I burst out laughing as tears fell from my cheeks. I slapped him on his firm chest. He maneuvered to his side and propped himself up on his elbow so he was looking down at me.

“I’m not very good at this,” he admitted.

“At what?”

“At this...” He gestured around him. “At romance.”

“You don’t think this is pretty damn romantic? Aside from the bath salts?” I smiled coyly back.

“You’re beautiful when you smile,” he said as he lightly brushed a lock of hair away from my cheek with his fingers.

I felt my face flush, so I looked down. He lifted my chin with his hand, meeting my gaze. Somewhere along the way, I got lost in his dark eyes, and in that time, he leaned in till his face was inches from mine.

I couldn’t believe how much I yearned for his touch. Could I really feel this strongly toward someone I’d just met?

I could feel this breath on my parting lips, the air exiting and panting as my heart pounded against my chest, until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he brushed his lips against my own, sending an electric pulse surging through my body.

He pressed his mouth further onto mine, entangling our kiss even more.

I opened wider. He slipped his tongue in, eliciting a deep moan as the pleasure of his hungry lips spread like a wave across my body. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time.

His AC/DC ringtone came to life, causing us both to pull back. “I’m sorry,” he panted as he tried to grab his cell phone. “I have to take that.”

I pulled him back in, claiming his lips, and he temporarily forgot what he was doing, kissing me back again.

“You’re…still…ringing,” I teased as he distractedly attempted yet again to grab it from his pocket.

He cursed as the phone continued to ring and eventually found the strength to pull away another inch to answer it.

“This better be important,” he growled as I traced the outline of his face with my finger. But he suddenly sat up and pulled away from me, even though my body wasn’t ready for space.

“What?” The color rushed out of his face, and his eyebrows furrowed. “I’m on my way.”

Just like that, our romantic evening with so much potential for more… was over. I started to pack up.

“Listen,” he said. “Something came up at the clubhouse. You wanna come with me?”

I was sure the delighted shock on my face at his invitation was evident. “What? Really?”

“I’m not ready to say goodnight to you just yet.”

I didn’t object.

So we raced back to the clubhouse on his bike. It was an old Highway Inn on the outskirts of town. The ground level had been converted into a bar, nightclub, and pool room.

Hand in hand, Connor led me over to a group of fierce-looking bikers while half-naked women danced throughout the space, the norm I guess, but it still managed to make me feel uneasy… even a little possessive.

“Juan, meet Paxton.” He looked to a rugged Latino guy with a scar that ran across his cheek. “Watch her with your life.”

With one last quick look at me, he darted upstairs to deal with whatever the emergency was.

I watched him go then turned back around to see a bunch of bad-ass bikers, each one bigger and meaner-looking than the last.

And they were staring me down.

I had entered the lion’s den, and these lions appeared to have a taste for blood.

The way they looked at me made me feel vulnerable, and I regretted being left alone. Seeing firsthand the type of men Connor associated with made me realize who he really was and the potential danger that lurked underneath.

Yet I was still drawn to him, maybe even more so than before, but there was still a part of me that screamed for me to run.

Was this the kind of world I wanted to be in?

I looked to the door as the bikers approached. They were now an arm’s length away.

The closer they got, the faster my heart began to race.

If I was going to make my exit, it was now or never.

I had to make a choice.