Ride Hard (Raven Riders 1)

“Wow,” Haven said, a warm satisfaction curling through her belly. “That was almost ten dozen cookies.” Not counting the ones they’d kept in the kitchen for themselves.

“Well, there were a lot of guys here tonight,” Cora said. “Not as many anymore though. It’s starting to clear out.” She ate another cookie and brushed her hands off. “I’ll go grab the trays.”

“I’ll help,” Haven said, butterflies doing a loop-the-loop inside her.

Cora smiled, but refrained from making a comment that probably would’ve had Haven second-guessing herself. They headed into the mess hall.

About a half dozen guys stood in a circle with Bunny, who gave Haven and Cora a wave and a smile. “You girls don’t have to worry about that,” she said.

“We got it, Bunny,” Haven said.

Dare looked over his shoulder, then did a double take. His eyes went wide and his gaze ran a long, slow up-and-down over Haven’s body, nearly pinning her in place. Heat filled her face. More than that, she felt hot everywhere. Part of her regretted wearing the new clothes—a second pair of jeans Bunny insisted they buy and a fitted pale-blue T-shirt—and part of her thrilled at the hungry look that suddenly came over Dare’s face. That hunger scared her, too, so she turned on her heels and rushed into the kitchen with one of the trays.

“Did you see how Dare looked at you?” Cora whispered loudly.

“Sshh! Oh, my God, shut up,” Haven whispered back. The tray clanged against the counter, sending both of them into a fit of giggles.

“You have to go back out there and get the others,” Cora said, her expression full of challenge. “It’s a roomful of people. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Heart racing, Haven planted her hands on her hips. “You think I won’t.”

Cora’s eyebrows rose and she looked at her nails and sighed, a smile playing around her lips.

Haven turned around and went back into the mess hall. It was possible that there wasn’t any oxygen in that room, though, because the minute she saw Dare again she got a little light-headed. What the heck was wrong with her? A single look should not throw a person into a complete freak-out. Then again, Haven wasn’t normal. Or, at least, she hadn’t been in a long time.

“You know you’re not expected to”—Dare gestured at the table—“work around here, right? There’s no quid pro quo.”

She slid one tray on top of the other. “Okay,” she said. “Keeping busy is good, though.”

He gave a nod, and Haven felt his gaze running over her face as if he’d touched her with his fingers. Unsure what else to say, she ducked her head and made her way back to the kitchen again. She used her back to push the door open and found Dare still watching her, those intense brown eyes following her every move.

Why was he looking at her like that? Or maybe it was just her imagination?

The swinging door cut off Haven’s view of him, and she turned and set the trays on the counter by the sink.

“Suddenly, you’re the lion after they visited the wizard!” Cora said, a big grin on her face.

“Hardly,” Haven said, filling the sink with water. Although it did feel good to do something all her instincts were warning her against doing, even if it was something totally small and unimpressive. At least, to other people it would seem that way. For Haven, being in a roomful of strangers was nearly the equivalent of going skydiving or bungee jumping. Actually, she’d probably be fine doing those things. It was people who scared her more than anything, because it was people who could do you the most harm.

In fact, now that she thought about it, she’d love to try skydiving someday. Imagine the thrill of the jump, the rush of the air, the once-in-a-lifetime view of the world, and the incredible pride you’d feel at having taken that chance when it was all done. So, yeah, a big kitchen of her own and skydiving. Look at her making plans, however crazy they might be.

Bunny came in just as they were drying the last of the trays. “Another hit, Haven.” She helped them put away the last of the dishes. “You know, they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. You realize you’re about to make forty bikers fall madly in love with you, right?”

It was a joke, of course, but the comment still whipped a shiver of nervousness across Haven’s skin. “Nope,” she said. “They’ll all be in love with you.”

Bunny grabbed her purse from a cabinet near the back door. “Ah, the old case of mistaken identity. How tragic for them.” She gave Haven a wink. “Rodeo and I are heading out for the night. Call me if you need anything. Or just ask Dare. The man never leaves.” She waved over her shoulder and disappeared back the way she came.