He leaned over, his lips hovering above my ear. “You’re drooling, pixie.”
The man wasn’t wrong. And it wasn’t just my mouth that was getting wet. Gah, so inappropriate! I was a professional!
We made it through the exit line and I chatted with Samuel as he marked off our receipt. His vest was covered in white fur, reminding me he’d recently adopted a cat. After getting an update on Casper’s latest antics, we headed out to the parking lot.
“After we load up your truck, I’ll need to run home and grab my tools.”
“Tools? You’re cooking, not building a deck.”
Based on how we met, I shouldn’t be surprised he knew so little about cooking. “Tools, as in my knives, my favorite pan, and a few other gadgets.”
He shook his head as we came to a stop at a black F250 with an extended cab. Of course he’d drive the manliest damn truck in the lot. “We have a fully loaded kitchen. You need something else, you tell me and I’ll send a prospect out to buy it.”
“Nope. I appreciate the offer, but I also need my spices.” I wasn’t going to budge on this one. Who knew when the last time the spices in the MC kitchen had been replaced? I’d bet money there was a fully loaded spice rack that hadn’t been touched in years.
I shuddered. This was my big opportunity. A potentially life-changing start to my dream business. No way was I going to let it be ruined by a jar of ten-year-old garlic powder. No, this moment called for Himalayan sea salt and truffle oil.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be long. In fact”—I looked at the now fully loaded bed of his giant truck—“I’ll probably be there before you finish unloading.”
He signed. “Fine, I’ll walk you to your car. Where’d you park?”
I reared back. “Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’m just a few rows over.”
“Not letting you walk by yourself.”
I laughed. “Seriously? It’s like noon on a Saturday in the Costco parking lot. I think I’ll be fine.”
“Let’s go, pixie.”
My chest warmed as we walked toward my parking space. It had been a long time since someone had cared so much for my wellbeing, and my pathetic heart loved it.
“Well, this is me.” I gestured toward my light green Vespa. “I guess I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Are you fucking kidding me with this?” The look of disgust on his face had me giggling.
“What? You don’t like my bike? Seems a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. Bessie earned her fair share of sneers. But I didn’t care. My girl got eighty miles to the gallon. The only places I ever went were school, work, and the beach, all of which were within a twenty-mile radius. If, and that’s a big if, I ever got a wild hair to make a cross-country trip, I’d rent a car.
Bear lowered his head and massaged his temples. “Where do you live?”
My head jerked back. The man was hot, but yeah, we weren’t there yet.
“Nearby. Now if you’ll excuse me.” I grabbed my matching helmet and clipped it on. “I’ve got work to do.” I climbed on my scooter and drove off, leaving the grumbling man in the parking lot.
6
BEAR
It had taken everything in me not to pull Lexie off that death scooter and throw her into my truck. I could have had a prospect bring the trailer and haul her Vespa to the junkyard, but then what? I become her permanent Uber driver?
My inner asshole shouted “Yes!” There was something calming about the thought of having her by my side at all times, keeping her safe from trouble. But fuck, that was crazy talk. Not even a full day and I was already acting like a fool.
I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot and got our two prospects busy unloading the back of the truck. Lexie had wanted grab some empty boxes to arrange everything nicely, but fuck that. Things weren’t supposed to be easy for prospects.
This was their year to prove that they could, and would, take whatever we gave them. This was a period where we tested their character, loyalty, and resilience. If they failed on any of those three, they were out. Hell, even if they did great in all three, they could still be out. Dan and Jordan had been with us about ninemonths. They’d done well to make it this far. Most prospects didn’t. Once they realized it wasn’t all free pussy and booze, a lot of the guys dropped out.
Dan was young. He came to us fresh out of high school. Jordan was a little older, maybe twenty-one. Dan was eager, willing to do anything we asked, but I worried he might be too green. Too nice and missing the hard edge we needed to carry out the less than above board work that was required. We needed someone who would do a job, no questions asked. But we didn’t want someone who was so willing that he would blindly follow any command. Jordan, on the other hand, might have too much edge. I was keeping my eye on him, but if he made it out of the prospect phase, he had great potential as an enforcer.
