Pure Temptation (Priceless)

Where the hell did he come from? He hasn’t been at his normal table tonight. Believe me, I looked. I thought maybe he’d finally given up.

What he’d be giving up, I’m not exactly sure. Annoying me? Pretending he’s my older brother too? I might be close with his sister now and Vee, but he’s not my brother. That would be all kinds of messed up with the dirty thoughts my mind is always having about him. Oh, and let's not forget the dreams. Who could? Ones that I can’t get to stop but I know that I need to.

The man is as big as our VP Archer. He’s not one to be missed; even in a crowd he stands out. I can normally sense him too. How? No clue, but I can. It might have something to do with me being able to read people so well or something.

No, I don’t think I’m psychic or that people have auras or any of that other stuff. It’s the small things you notice about people. Especially when you’re around them as much as I am. You learn to trust your gut.

A lot of folks don’t realize that eighty percent of how people communicate is body language. When you grow up in a rough motorcycle club, you learn to read people from a young age. It can keep you out of situations you want no part of.

It’s not a talent I find myself needing as much these days. Not since my father got us out of the Feral Sinner’s Club. Still, it’s a nice skill to have. Especially when it comes to men. A woman needs every advantage when it comes to understanding them.

“I know you’re not talking to me.” I pull the pins out of my hair that were holding up my two little buns, letting it fall loose. I let out a small moan of relief.

I announced last call thirty minutes ago. People can keep on drinking, but I’m done serving for the night. No need to be all dolled up anymore. My feet are killing me, but the wad of cash in my pocket made it more than worth it. I make more here working Thursday night through Sunday than I do at my day gig during the week. But I need to keep both in order to keep my head above water and take care of my responsibilities.

Kane’s hand comes down on the wall beside me, caging me in with his body. I lift my head to glare at him, but damn me if his eyes don’t take the air right out of my lungs. Kane always has this stern, no-nonsense look, but when my eyes lock with his, they soften around the edges. They often do. I might have checked a few times when Kane was talking to his sister or Vee if his eyes did that with them, and they didn’t. Not the way they do with me.

“Let me take you home. Promise your car will be in your driveway before the sun comes up.”

“Kane.” He lifts his hand, cupping my cheek. He’s touching me. He never touches.

It’s something I’ve only noticed lately. He’ll get close to me, damn close, but he never touches me. Once I picked up on that, I tested it by trying to brush against him. He always leaned back just enough so I wound up only grazing him. He did the same thing every single time. I was starting to get a bit of a complex.

“Please.” Well, damn. His thumb swipes across my bottom lip. That’s not very brotherly at all. I can’t help but lick my lips. “Addilyn.” There is a warning in his tone. I’m not sure what it’s for. “Say I can take you home,” he orders. What is happening here?

“You can take me home.” The words fall from my lips before I can overthink them. When he smiles and a dimple forms in his left cheek, I’m not mad at myself. “Let me grab my crap from Archer’s office.”

“All right.” He drops his hands, taking a step back from me. “I’ll wait.”

“Might be a second. I need to close out a few things.”

“I’ll wait as long as it takes.” Why does that feel like he’s talking about more than right now?

“Mmkay.” I bite my bottom lip, slipping by him to finish wrapping up for the night.

There isn’t a ton to close out, so I know it won’t take me too long. We don’t keep much of a running tab. If you’re a member of the club or work for the mine, everything is comped, for the most part.

Once you have your foot in the door, the Ravens club treats you like family. Jason is a generous boss and wants the club and his workers to have a sense of belonging. Those are the rules during the week, but come the weekend, things change a bit.