Bad Ride by Dani Wyatt (librera reader txt) 📕

“We’re not talking here. Follow me.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer and I can’t help but note the ache in his face, and I know I need to explain. I need to adult, even if it’s uncomfortable, and in two weeks when it’s time for my period, we can see which way things are going to go. I owe him at least that much. So when the light turns green, I follow him out of town until he slows and my throat tightens.

He pulls into the Men of Valor Club and I have the sinking feeling this is going to end badly.

“Chewy, we need to talk,” I say as I climb out of my car, and he kicks down the stand on his bike. “I’m sorry about last night.”

“So am I,” he says, coming over to me. His arm snakes around my hips and I can’t help the way my body reacts around him. It’s like I have no control as I lean into him, feeling his strength against me.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I should have taken better care of you last night. Things got rough, I just lost control and scared you I’m sure. I’ll do better, I am who I am, but I’ll try to be more of a gentleman. I’m going to show you that’s not the case. You and me, babe, we’re for real.”

My breath catches in my throat, but I force myself to shake my head. “No, that’s not—”

“I’m not afraid of commitment, Annie. Last night wasn’t a fuck for me. It was fate.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Come on.” His hand at the small of my back is insistent as he leads me towards the clubhouse doors, and what can I do?

This man isn’t just physically strong, he has this kind of iron will that seems to dominate my every thought. Here I was, ready with all the things I wanted to say, and now I’m letting him lead me in through the doors as the room falls silent.

“What?” he asks, his eyes sweeping the faces of everyone looking our way. “You never seen a woman before?”

The silence stretches for a moment longer, then one of the guys, an older man with a thick beard and heavily-tattooed arms that stretch his shirtsleeves, lets loose a deep, rumbling laugh. “Not on your arm we haven’t, Chewy.”

“Hey, fuck you, Bullet.”

There’s a shocked silence, and something tells me that the man who just spoke outranks Chewy by some order of magnitude. It seems strange to me to think that Chewy would ever be in a room where he wasn’t in charge, but I guess a club like this is like a family. Doesn’t matter how big or scary you are, there’s a pecking order and you fall into line or you get out.

“Fuck yourself, Drake,” Bullet says with a grin, a soft chuckle rumbling his chest. “But before you do, there’s business to discuss.”

There’s a rumble of laughter from the rest of the room before a young woman heads our way with a smile. “This way, hon, leave the men to talk business.”

After that, everything changes.

While Chewy and some of the other club members talk in hushed tones at a corner table, the women make me feel about as at home as I’ve ever felt anywhere in my life. They’re all the wives and girlfriends of club members, and while I have a hard time remembering all the names, they make it clear that if I’m with Chewy, I’m one of them and they have my back.

It’s been so long since I’ve had anything like this. One of the women, Clair, is kind of like a mother hen, keeping a watch over us all and listening to problems. It seems like no matter what you’re dealing with, you can go to her and have a sympathetic ear. Then there’s the girl, Petal, who tells me how sweet Chewy is, and how I’ve found a good one and should hold onto him, and honestly I’m starting to believe her.

All I can think as we enjoy drinks and gossip is, my dad is so wrong.

These people aren’t bad. They aren’t evil. They’re just a bunch of men and women who’ve formed their own sort of family and look out for each other. They don’t have the need to fit into what society and it’s self-imposed ‘norms’ are. They are free and unencumbered by expectations.

And it’s something I want.

After an hour, anything I had planned to say to Chewy is long forgotten. How could I ever think of giving up on him? I excuse myself from the group, making my way for the ladies’ room, but change my mind and head over to Chewy instead, missing being close to him and wanting to be sure I explain more about why I left last night.

And that’s when I overhear just a snippet of their conversation.

“If we don’t, Ranger, someone else is going to take that contract.”

“We’re not running chop shops, Ice, that’s not us. Hardworking people bought those vehicles, and in case you haven’t noticed we have a code here.”

“Sure, but the local pressure is building…Chewy--”

The conversation dies away when they see me standing there, and Chewy turns, clapping his hand on the shoulder of the guy next to him as he drops his voice. “Give me a minute, Savage.” When his eyes meet mine, it’s like they soften all on their own. “How are things going? The girls treating you right?”

I nod. “They’ve made me realize a couple of things… Can we talk?”

“Sure. Let me finish up here with the guys then we’ll go back to my place.”

My voice is hesitant as I say, “Well, actually I was thinking you could come back to mine. If you want to, I mean… well, my dad is going to be out of town on business tonight and I thought perhaps you could… It’s probably me being dumb, forget I said—”

“The hell I will,” he says with a growl. When I