Not now. Not with Mav’s life on the line.
The club needed him. How would he ever look any of his brothers in the eye again if something happened to Mav because his head was in the clouds?
Or between Toni’s legs?
~ ~ ~ ~
The moment Toni’s front door slammed shut behind her, she dropped her bag, kicked off her flip-flops, and unhooked her bra. She let the offending undergarment fall at her feet and then breathed out a sigh of relief. One of the perks of living alone was the lack of accountability to anyone. She could drop whatever she wanted at the front door and deal with it hours later if that’s what she was in the mood for.
The past two days had been trying. Whatever was going on with the MC and Maverick’s disappearance, it felt like there was a black cloud hovering over the entire town. Many of the Hell’s Handlers had still been in the diner, but only for a quick bite or coffee before they went out to search for Maverick or home to crash.
Each man’s body bore the stress of the situation. Baggy eyes, deep-set scowls, tense postures. Then there were the quick to enflame tempers. She’d stopped a fight that morning between some poor business man who’d been staring at his phone while walking and had plowed straight into Rocket. Hot coffee splashed all over Rocket’s leather cut and you’d have thought the clumsy man had launched an all-out attack on the MC by Rocket’s reaction.
When Rocket went for the terrified man’s throat, Toni had dived between the two. A stern glare and gentle shove backed Rocket off. A free coffee refill from Shell had the businessman out of the diner and away from imminent death two minutes later. Toni had comped Rocket’s breakfast despite his statements that it was unnecessary, and all ended well.
But it had been tense. As had the atmosphere in the diner for the entirety of those two days. Then there was the poor biker who trailed her everywhere she went. To make it easy on him, Toni brought him free food and coffee throughout the day and tried to limit her travels to the diner and home. She had this burning desire to do whatever she could to help and make life and more bearable for the Handlers. Even if it was something as simple as a smile and some coffee.
Worst part about the past two days had been the lack of Zach in her life. As much as she hated to admit it, she’d been searching for him in every face that walked into her diner. But he’d been absent. Working his ass off in the search for his best friend, if the chatter was correct.
Each evening she sat on her porch hoping he’d come home, but he hadn’t. And when she heard his motorcycle pulling in at all hours of the night, she’d been so tempted to make her way to his house and check on him, but something held her back.
And now, at the end of the third day, she felt extremely guilty and childish. She’d basically thrown him out of her house instead of handling their encounter like an adult. So they’d had sex? Big deal.
Though it had been the best two sexual encounters of her life.
Okay, that was a big deal, but still, she shouldn’t have freaked out. Adults had casual sex, even fuck-buddy relationships all the time without losing their shit. Maybe she could find a way to have a causal relationship without repeating past mistakes.
Her sex-starved body sure seemed to think it was possible. Just thoughts of Zach’s hard physique, skilled hands, and talented tongue had her wet and needy. And then there was that cock…
Damn him and his incredible body.
Now that she’d had a sample of what the man had to offer, getting back in bed with him was all she could think about.
Mark’s ringtone blared from her phone. She dug it out of her pocket and answered with a clipped, “Yeah?”
“Well, hello to you too, favorite niece of mine,” came the amused reply.
Her lips quirked. “Sorry, Uncle Mark. Been a stressful few days.”
“Well sweetie, you know what’s the best form of stress relief, don’t you?”
“Mark, I don’t need to get laid, okay? I already—” Oops. Her brain must be foggier than she’d thought, because there is no way she would have admitted that in her right mind.
“Oh, my God, Andrew!” Mark yelled, making Toni wince as his voice pierced her eardrum through the phone. “Toni had sex!”
“Seriously? What are you fifteen?”
Laughter was her only answer. “Okay, tell me about your new man.”
“I’m not telling you anything about, Zach. It’s my private business. Okay?” So, she may have sounded like a huffy teenager, but really, what woman, at any age, wanted to discuss her sex life with her uncle?