“I stopped at Grind, chatted up the bartender.”
Anger flashed in his gut, and his arms tightened. “You promised me you wouldn’t go back there.”
“Relax.” She gave him a confused smile. “It’s daylight.”
Isaac loosened his hold a little. “That place can get rough any time of day. And I’ve been warned that if you go in there again, the guys you rejected last time won’t take no for an answer.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And you know this, how?”
“Grim told me.”
She glanced toward the drive, where the Warriors had rolled up fifteen minutes before. “Just now?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“Are you part of the club?” She refocused on his chest. “I saw everyone’s colors and patches today. I don’t remember you wearing any, but they know you. Knew where to find you.”
“Would it matter?”
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean are you looking for a biker? Is that what turns you on?”
She paused, her expression turning serious. “Like I said, I’m looking for you. You turn me on.”
His insides jumped. His groin surged to the beat of his heart. In some ways, that night with her felt like it lived only in his imagination. Like it was a fantasy that vanished in the light. But she was real, right here, right now, in his arms. He knew their night had just been a hookup. Knew it meant nothing—at least not to her. He’d been fine with that. But now that she’d sought him out… Now he wasn’t sure if they were on the same page.
“You don’t know me,” he told her. “You know a man who saw a little rich girl out looking for a good time in the wrong place and decided to show her how dangerous that could be. I’m not an asshole who needs to dominate. I’m not controlling or mean. I just gave you what you needed that night. So, if you’re looking to be used and abused, you’ll have to go somewhere else.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned away. “I never felt controlled or abused. I felt…desired. Intensely, passionately desired.” She met his gaze, open and honest. Vulnerable. Prodding him to open up the same way. Her hands loosened around his neck, pressed open against his chest, and she eased away. “But if you want to keep what happened between us a one-time thing, that’s fine. I just thought…” She lifted a shoulder and shook her head. “Doesn’t matter.”
She pulled out of Isaac’s hold and turned toward her car. Gravel crunched under her boots, prodding Isaac into action. He caught up with her and slipped his arm around her waist from behind, pulling her up against him. She grabbed his forearm but didn’t pull away.
The feel of her, the smell of her… She hit him like a drug. He buried his face in her hair and doubled his arms around her, molding the back of her body to the front of his. Her quick heartbeat tapped his chest through her back. Their connection felt deep. Deeper than it should, given their history of one wild night. It was his imagination. Him projecting what he already knew of her, of their families, into the mix.
“What did you think?” he asked at her ear, his voice rough.
“You’re in my head all the time. I crave you. I guess I just hoped it would be the same for you.”
He wasn’t about to admit that it had been. “So, you didn’t come to the other side of the tracks for another edgy fuck? Hoping to get me out of your system?”
“I don’t know what you want to hear. Yes, I want you. Yes, I want the passion we had together that night. But, no, I’m not looking for anything more. My life is a mess. I can’t do more.”
He exhaled and lowered his lips to her bare shoulder. Of course, she couldn’t do more. Her fiancé had screwed her over. She was working like a dog, smothered in a family corporation that could so easily steal your soul when you weren’t looking. Isaac was her outlet. Her release valve. Her escape.
They’d become each other’s dirtiest little secret.
He’d have to accept that, because he wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet.
He slid one hand under her loose blouse, over her warm, flat belly, up her chest, and covered one supple breast with a squeeze. Ava sighed a moan, and her ass pushed back against his cock.
Just like that, Isaac was on fire.
She tilted her head back, wrapped an arm around his neck, and dragged his mouth to hers. As soon as their lips touched, she opened to him, and his gut fisted with lust.
He stroked his tongue into her mouth on a groan of relief. He couldn’t believe how badly he wanted her. Having her here, wanting him, made every barrier drop. Her tongue lapped against his, and the friction shot fire into his cock. She pulled out of the kiss and turned in his arms, leaving him dizzy.
“When do you close?” she asked, her voice soft and breathless, her hands finding their way under his shirt and stroking his chest.