Page 89 of Fox (Road Rebels MC 4)
“Thorn,” he said.
***
Thorn was a hard man to read. There was only one expression his handsome face was capable of portraying-that of not giving a fuck. However, the very fact that he was sitting beside me at the bar now made me feel jittery. It made me feel like he probably actually wanted to be there. I could feel another bout of nervousness kicking in, and this time it had nothing to do with fear.
“I feel like I should thank you again for showing up when you did,” I managed to say in a squeaky voice. My attraction towards him was taking over my senses. Thorn took a quick sip of his whiskey and turned his green eyes to me.
“I’ll never say no to praise. What else do you feel like you should say to me?” he replied, and I tried to stifle a smile. Every time he looked at me, I felt like I was naked. Like he could see right through me, and for some reason; I enjoyed feeling that way. He still had not mentioned anything about recognizing me from somewhere, which was extremely refreshing.
“Let me think…that you’re a hero, that poets should write legends about your bravery, that without you here I don’t know what would have happened to me,” I joked, and Thorn grinned, in that handsome boyish way of his. Was it just me flattering myself when I thought that he didn’t grin often?
“You’re welcome,” he said and took another sip of his drink. He watched me from the corner of his eye as he did that, and I felt a blush creep over my skin, and I quickly recognized that I liked being watched by him. I realized that I had been sitting with my breasts sticking firmly out, my back straight and my legs neatly crossed. I still had no idea if he was attracted to me too, or if he was just being a nice guy.
“But seriously, I don’t know how many guys would do what you just did. Chivalry is dead,” I said, and Thorn seemed to clench his jaw before he put his glass down on the counter. His green eyes roamed over my body, drinking in the shape of my breasts, the flash of flesh revealed by my crop top.
“It’s not dead where I come from,” he said, and he said this in all seriousness. I was staring at his leather cut, and he knew I was curious. He moved in his seat, and I watched his lithe, muscular body move too. There were so many things I wanted him to do to me, which I was too shy to admit even to myself.
“Where do you come from, Thorn?” I asked, and he stared at me for a few moments, while I looked curiously at his tattoos and his cut again. Thorn shrugged his shoulders and then took in a deep breath.
“I guess the easiest answer to that question is that I belong to a motorcycle club, do you know what that is?” he asked, and I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, Thorn, I don’t know what you think of me, but I do know what that is,” I replied. I had guessed as much before he had even said it. I could picture Thorn easily in a life of riding muscle cars and bikes, drinking like a tank, shooting guns for fun. However, I had also seen a side of him which wasn’t easy to picture at first glance. I could see that he was a man of integrity and strong moral values. Something that he probably tried to hide on a daily basis, to create his aggressive persona.
Thorn smiled at me.
“Well, in that case, you probably know that you should stay away from me,” he said.
“Why? What did you think I wanted to do instead?” I asked, and we were smiling at each other again. He was holding my gaze strongly. We both knew exactly what we wanted to do. I didn’t have a shadow of doubt in my mind anymore, that Thorn was just as attracted to me as I was to him.
“I don’t want to make assumptions,” he said, and I leaned towards him, with my elbows on the bar counter.
“Make them,” I said, in a low husky voice while our eyes were locked together. Thorn was watching me, memorizing every curve and shape on my face. There were a few moments of silence between us, but it was suddenly snapped when my cell phone went off in my purse.
Thorn moved away from me, and with my lips suddenly dry, I did the same. I pulled my phone out of my purse and noticed that there were several missed calls and text messages from my friends. I scanned through them quickly. They were all at a nearby nightclub, and they were begging me to meet them.
“Social engagements?” Thorn’s deep, authoritative voice made me drag my face up to look at him.
“Something like that,” I said, and I popped my phone back into my purse again. My martini glass was empty now, and I nervously tucked some more hair behind my ears.
For a few moments, Thorn said nothing, and then he pulled a pen out of his back pocket and started scribbling a phone number on a paper napkin.
“That’s my number. You can call me anytime if you need anything,” he said and handed it to me. He took one last gulp of his whiskey and stood up from his stool. I still hadn’t managed to get a word out. I couldn’t believe that our brief encounter was ending so quickly and so suddenly.
“Take care of yourself, Ensley,” he said, as he began to walk away. His green eyes were making one last sweeping motion over my body while I remained sitting on my stool.
“Take care, Thorn,” I replied, in a weak voice, while I clutched the paper napkin tightly in one hand. He had made the decision himself, that it was time for the night to come to an end and I had no other choice but to accept it.
I watched him turn and then with his helmet under his arm, weave around the crowds to the door. It took every ounce of my willpower to not follow him out.
Chapter 9
Thorn
Should I have gone with her? I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that Ensley needed me. Even though nothing about Ensley demonstrated weakness. She was a strong, capable woman, who was obviously able to handle herself. I had stepped in when things had gone too far, but she hadn’t asked for my help.
I was back in my apartment now. It was too early according to usual standards to call it a night, but after meeting Ensley, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to go down to Dirty Harry’s and hang out with the guys. For some reason, I wanted to be by myself and with my thoughts on her.
It’s not that I knew her, I didn’t know her at all. Our conversation at the downtown bar had been short and sweet, like a polite thank-you for my help in getting rid of the guy who was bugging her. She had disclosed nothing about herself, and she knew very little about me. Apart from the obvious sexual attraction between us, there was very little else to go by.
But I had seen the fear in Ensley’s eyes when that guy had grabbed her waist. He wasn’t merely bugging her, there was definitely more to it than that. Her mood had quickly changed when he was gone, but even though I barely knew her, she couldn’t hide her fear from me. I could see that there was something deep and dark troubling her, and my first instinct had been to want to help her. I had no idea why.
Maybe the best thing to do would have been to walk away. I wanted to help her, just like I would have wanted to help any woman in that situation. However, I stayed and talked to her because I wanted her. Our mutual attraction was obvious. There was sparkling electricity in the air that neither of us could deny. From a distance, I had made the assumption that a girl like her would never g
o for a guy like me but once we started talking, when I saw the way she was looking at me and my body; I knew she was thinking the same things that I was.
How fucking mind-blowing it would be to be naked together.
I was sitting on my couch now, just staring into space, in my dark living room sipping on a bottle of beer. Just from the thought of the way she had looked at me, with her piercing blue eyes from under her heavy eyelids-I could feel a movement in my pants. My cock was awake. My body knew what it wanted, and I wished that I hadn’t left.
But she hadn’t asked me to stay either. She had accepted the paper napkin from me, but other than that; she had made no indication that she wanted anything more from me.
I let out a long, frustrated sigh. She had my number now, so the ball was in her court. I had no way of finding her or reaching her. I had no personal information on her, except her first name. Chances were that she would never call me, that after tonight she would forget that we even met. But I knew that it would take me some time to forget her face and forget how badly I wanted her under me.
I couldn’t think of the last woman who had made me feel this way.
Maybe she needed me now. Maybe it was stupid of me to walk out of the bar when I did, but she looked busy when she looked at her phone. It was obvious to me at that moment that she had an active social life, that she probably had somewhere to be, that maybe she had a boyfriend. My pride didn’t allow me to hold her back.
She also seemed to be on her way out of the bar when I showed up, and I didn’t want to stand in her way. Now, we were apart, and as much as I wanted to see her again, there was no way for me to get in touch with her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing all right. There was no doubt in my mind that she caused a stir among men at every bar or club she walked into. Ensley was one of the hottest women I had set my eyes on.
