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“Knock it off.”
“A man can look, can’t he?” he counters.
I resist the urge to turn around and punch him in his smug damn face.
Inside, I make a half-pot of coffee, then go into my tiny living room to wait for it to be ready. Connor has already made himself at home on my couch, and is looking around at the tiny but clean space.
“Nice,” he comments. “Homey.”
I shrug. “It’s okay. It’ll do for now.”
“So. How long have you been back in town?”
“Almost a year.”
He seems surprised. “Huh. That long, eh?” Is it my imagination, or does he look a little hurt? “You come back for any specific reason?”
“I got a job at Fairdale Hospital. I’m a nurse in the Emergency Department.”
Connor blinks and lets out a low whistle. “Impressive.”
“Thanks.” I feel my cheeks heat up.
“You like the work?”
“I do. It’s intense — well, actually, sometimes it’s also boring,” I laugh. “But I love helping people. And it makes me feel good. Like I’m making a difference.”
He nods. “I always knew you would do something important.”
My face flames hot at the compliment. I stand quickly and go back to the kitchen, bringing back two cups of coffee. I hand one to him. He takes it and looks down. “Cream, one sugar?” he asks. “You remembered.”
I sit down and take a sip from my own cup. “So, you’re still in the MC life, I see,” I say.
“Different club now.”
“So I see. Royal Bastards, eh?” I narrow my eyes at the patch on his cut. “Any reason you switched clubs?”
“I had my reasons.”
Connor’s expression changes then, almost like a shutter has come down. I don’t push it, even though I want to. Because his old club — the Chrome Skulls MC — is why we are no longer together.
“What’s your road name now?” I ask instead.
“Fury.”
Fury.I wonder whether my brother knows Connor is a Royal Bastard now. Hell, even I know the Royal Bastards are the biggest club in the area. More than that, they’re one of the most famous — or infamous — clubs in the country. I might not know a lot about the whole MC world, but I also know that my brother Quad’s club, the Eagle’s Talon — the same one Hooch belongs to as well — is a support club for the Royal Bastards’ biggest rival, the Bloody Scorpions.
Which means that Quad and Connor —Fury— are still enemies. Probably even more so now than they were before.
Connor is studying me, an inscrutable expression on his face. Somehow, I feel like he’s reading my mind, so I do my best to quickly change the channel. He takes a sip of his coffee. “So. Who was that asshole Talon who was assaulting you back at the G-Spot?” he asks drily. “He an ex-boyfriend or something?”
“Ugh, no.” I grimace. “That’s Hooch. He’s my brother Quad’s friend and club brother. You remember Quad is in the Eagle’s Talon?”
“Yeah.” Still, the inscrutable face, but I think I see his jaw harden.
“So, anyway, Hooch wants to, uh, get with me,” I say, feeling awkward. “But I’m not interested. Like, at all. Hooch won’t accept that. He just can’t seem to take no for an answer. And unfortunately, my brother is not helping matters any. He keeps trying to convince me Hooch is a ‘good guy.’” I put sarcastic air quotes around the word. “I mean, for God’s sake. Quad would lose his mind if I dated a gang banger. He was totally against me being with a biker when I was with you. But I guess now it’s okay?” I shake my head in disbelief. “A freaking one-percenter? No thank you.”
I know there’s a sharp edge to my voice when I say these last words. And sure enough, Connor picks up on it.
