Zach (Hell's Handlers MC 1)

“Trouble in paradise?” Zach asked as she ascended the three steps back to the porch.

“You could say that.” She grunted. “I’d actually broken up with him about five seconds before you wandered over here. Wasn’t too well received.” She sighed and shook her head. “Sure you don’t want a beer? I could use a few myself.”

Broke up with the boyfriend.

Only in town for six weeks.

Jackpot.

“Sure, I’d love one.”

Chapter Five

The man was sex in jeans. And leather. And a tight T-shirt that almost looked a little damp as it stretched tight across a seriously impressive set of pecs. The thick head of blond hair was so coiffed she wanted to run her fingers through it and muss it all up. Zach’s smooth face resembled a model from a new Ralph Lauren ad she’d seen in a magazine on the plane ride to Tennessee.

Flawless skin, sharp jawline, piercing blue eyes. If it weren’t for the tiny slant to his nose, he’d be model material for sure. The nose looked like it’d been broken in the past.

Interesting.

The rest of his body, though, well it wasn’t exactly model worthy. No, it was too hard, too bulky to fit with any of the preppy clothing ads she’d seen. No, Zach’s body was made for snug jeans, T-shirts, and leather.

Convenient, since that seemed to be his outfit of choice.

Yes, she’d gaped at the man while mid breakup with her ex standing right behind her. What she hadn’t meant to do was come across as flirtatious. Just friendly. Neighborly. But then he’d scanned her with those ocean eyes, and she’d felt as though her clothes were invisible to him. When his heated gaze lingered on her breasts she’d been tempted to grab him, run inside, and tackle him to the bed. It had been a long time since a man looked at her with such blatant interest and desire.

Chris never had. And at the start, it had been tolerable. Passion and fire weren’t what she was looking for from him. Dependability, stability, long-haul potential, crash proof. Those were the qualities she’d admired in Chris.

They were also the qualities families looked for in a minivan.

Not sexy.

But she didn’t know how to combine sexy and a solid relationship. Actually, she wasn’t convinced it could be done. Not with the type of men she truly found attractive. Men like Zach. Hard, dangerous, and players.

So, she chose the complete opposite to protect herself.

And was unfulfilled.

Breaking up with Chris was the right move. And long overdue. He’d be upset for a while, but in the end, it wasn’t fair to string him along in a relationship she wasn’t fully invested in.

“I was sorry to hear about your parents,” Zach said as he accepted the beer she offered when she returned.

“Thanks.” She lowered into the empty rocking chair adjacent to Zach’s.

He planted his booted heel against the porch railing and set his chair in motion. The muscles of his thigh stretched and bunched under the denim as he rocked. “Never spoke to them much, despite living next door to them my entire life. They were assholes.”

Surprise had Toni sucking in a sharp breath and a mouthful of beer. She sprang forward and coughed as the liquid burned a path down the wrong pipe. Zach’s large hand pounded her back, forcing the beer from her lungs. “Shit.” She gasped for breath.

“Christ, babe, I’m sorry.”

Unable to speak due to a spasming diaphragm, Toni waved away his concern. “N-no worries,” she said after another cough. “Whew. I was not expecting you to say that.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, sorry, guess that was kinda a dick thing to say about your family who just passed.”

She swiped her hand back and forth again. “Really, it’s okay. It’s honest. They could be assholes. No one knows that better than me.” A weird emotion she couldn’t identify settled as an ache in her chest. “I stayed away for a long time for a reason. And now I’m left with this strange mix of sadness, regret, some anger, and indifference.” Oh, my gosh, had she really just laid that on the near stranger from next door? “Wow, a little heavy, considering we barely know each other. I’m sorry. Just ignore me.”

Zach chuckled then flashed her his perfect toothpaste-ad smile. “Doesn’t bother me.”

As though he sensed she needed a minute to get over Chris’s departure and talk of her complicated relationship with her parents, Zach fell silent. It was nice. Sitting on the porch with a beer, watching the sun dip behind the mountains, not feeling the need to fill the silence.

“So,” Zach said after a few moments. “I hear scoundrels like me are now allowed at your diner.”

The laugh that bubbled out of her felt great. Hot, funny, wasn’t scared of serious talk. Zach should come with a flashing neon danger sign, because he was hell on the ovaries. Just what she did not need. She was not staying in Townsend for a man. She’d gotten rid of a man two minutes ago. She was there to figure out her life and sort her parents’ affairs. That’s all.