So then why were my palms all sweaty?

Because you treated him like crap, then hid like an idiot.

Okay, maybe I did do that. But I doubted he saw it that way. We had a one-night stand. There’d been no expectations on either side. Yes, he’d called and texted me after, a lot. But he’d asked me to have a drink with him, not offered his hand in marriage. He’d probably just wanted another hookup. Which was all I wanted as well.

We were friends, kind of, who’d had sex, and hopefully would again, but that was all.

I looked down at myself, the skirt and top I’d picked out were cute, not overly sexy or dressy. I didn’t want him to think I’d made some special effort or whatever, but Iwastrying to seduce him. I’d also brought brownies.

I winced. Did that make me seem desperate? God, maybe. Had I made them especially for him? Okay, yes. But he didn’t need to know that either. They were his favorite. I mean, I wasn’t going to bring something he didn’t like to a seduction. I scowled, pissed off at myself. They were fucking brownies. There was nothing wrong with giving your friend, who you really wanted to have sex with again, baked goods. Also, chocolate was an aphrodisiac. So win-win.

I might be a mess in a lot of ways, but I wasn’t a complete idiot.

Thankfully, Manic was the opposite of his road name. I’d never met a guy more chill in my life, honestly. He was calm in a crisis—like the time Lila set her kitchen curtains on fire and he’d put them out without a word while we shrieked like idiots. Or the time some guy was causing trouble at The Mule, and Manic had picked the asshole up and dumped him outside without any drama.

Manic wasn’t the serious relationship kind of guy, he was into casual, no strings. Well, that’s what I’d observed, anyway. I mean, yes, the sex we’d had, had been that once-a-lifetime, mind-altering kind of sex. At the time, it felt as if we’d clicked on a deeper level, which had freaked me out. Now I knew that what I’d felt that night was something else. There was no deep connection. No, what he’d done was taken me out of myself, out of my own head. He’d freed me from the pain and fear and sadness for a while.

And I desperately needed that again.

I was pretty sure Manic had enjoyed himself as well. Which meant this plan was foolproof. I’d analyzed a casual, friends-with-benefits relationship with the big biker from all angles and come up with strategies and coping mechanisms for every eventuality.

I was more than ready.

He still hadn’t answered the door, so I knocked again.

Nothing.

I stepped off the porch and walked around the side of the house. Voices reached me, talking, laughing, coming from the backyard.

I rounded the side of the house.

There was a fire pit blazing, and several of Manic’s brothers sat around it. Riff was there, and so was Dane, another of my best friend’s husbands, and the pair were deep in conversation. There were a couple girls there as well, not old ladies. I knew most of the old ladies. One of the girls was sitting on a biker’s lap, the other was dancing by herself. I wasn’t surprised to see that Riff and Dane didn’t spare either woman a glance. They were all about their women.

Manic sat with his solid arms crossed and a beer in his hand. It was cold, but he was only wearing jeans and his leather vest. His beard was scruffier and so was his hair. The flames from the fire danced over his muscles, highlighting his abs, and my mouth went dry.

I wanted him—badly.

Holding the brownies in one hand, I ran my hands over my hair and stepped out from behind the house—

The back door banged shut, and a woman strode out. She was all legs and hair, and despite the cold, was in tiny shorts. She was wearing a leather jacket, huge and worn that came to almost her knees.

It had Manic’s patch on the back.

I froze and watched as she strode right to him. He was talking to the guy beside him and, without stopping, made space for her to climb onto his lap. My stomach turned over when his hand dropped to rest on her thigh.

Oh shit.

He was with someone else.

Of course, he was.Why would he sit around waiting for me? I’d shot him down so many times that he’d moved on to someone else. And why wouldn’t he?

What the hell had I been thinking coming here like this?

I stumbled back and collided with the corner of the house, hitting my elbow hard. The brownies flew from my hands, landing on the concrete path with a loudbang, and the lid flew off, scattering them everywhere.

Riff and Dane turned my way.

Then the others and the girls.

Tags: Sherilee Gray Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net