Page 12 of Pike

The taste of him still lingers on my tongue. How the hell am I supposed to go on with my night when all I can taste is Pike? I don’t know if I can after the way we kissed, but the night isn’t over yet. I passed off the wallet to Blake like I usually do and then mingled a little bit more. I’m not done, not by a long shot. He wants more and I have to give it. It doesn’t matter that I feel like shit for doing it. It doesn’t matter that I don’t want to do it. I look over my shoulder at Blake once more when he nods his head at me. That’s when I saddle up next to one of the other guys. It doesn’t feel right. It feels so wrong, but I have no other choice. That’s when someone grabs my arm and pulls me. I slam into a hard chest when I hear a grunt that sounds like pain.

“Come with me, Jailbait, and don’t scream,” Pike says. Internally, I curse myself for what I did, but there’s no turning back now. It’s done.

So I follow Pike as he tugs me through the room full of people. I try to stall but it does no good. He keeps pulling me until we’re in the hallway.

“What are you doing?”

“We need to talk,” he replies as he keeps walking. I glance over my shoulder to see if Blake is watching, but I don’t see him anywhere. Before I know it, I’m being yanked into a room, and the door slams closed behind me. I jolt when Pike releases my wrist and begins to pace the room. I watch him move, his muscles flexing through the sleeves of his shirt. He runs his hand through his hair before blowing out a breath.

“Why? You that hard up for money?” he asks me. I shake my head, but I don’t want to look at him.

“What are you talking about?” I play the dumb card. I know how to play my part. I know what my role is.

“My wallet, Jailbait. I know you took it.”

“I didn’t take shit.”

“Yeah, you did. You took my wallet, and now I wanna know why.” He stops walking and turns to face me now, and my heart kicks up a notch. He’s breathtaking and perfect. I just can’t picture him being a biker, and yet here we are.

“I didn’t take anything. Maybe you misplaced it,” I tell him. I can talk my way out of these situations. I can use what I have to my advantage, too. I always do. Pike chuckles, but he isn’t amused. He looks downright pissed, and I can’t say I blame him at all. He should be pissed, has every right to be. I stole from him.

“You have it, and I want it back,” he says as I plaster a smile on my face.

“If I had it, I would gladly return it,” I tell him. That’s when he moves. He doesn’t come toward me, but he does start pacing again. His hands flex by his sides as he turns to look at me once more.

“Strip.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Strip,” he tells me once more. I shake my head and let out a little laugh, letting him know there’s no way in hell I’m going to strip for him. I refuse.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You wanna walk outta here tonight, Jailbait? You’re gonna strip.”

“I’m not sleeping with you.”

“You wanted to earlier,” he says.

“I changed my mind.”

“And you stole my wallet. Now strip,” he demands this time. I reach for the hem of my dress and swallow hard. I can do this. This is the least of anything I’ve had to do because of Blake. It just doesn’t feel right with Pike, though. This shouldn’t be how things go down, but I do it anyway. I let the dress slide over my flesh and hit the floor at my feet. Standing in nothing but a bra and panties, he takes me in.

“Where’d you hide it?”

“I didn’t take it.” Lies. Always lies. He steps closer to me, filling my space with the scent of him and liquor. I should pull my dress back on and run. I should get the hell out of here but I don’t. I stay standing, vulnerable to him.

“You took it. I know you took it,” he says, lifting his hand and running his fingers along my shoulder. I shiver and try to step back, but he just counters my steps and keeps invading my space.

“I could check your whole body. You know that, right?”

“But you won’t.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asks, his eyes burning through me. Pike licks his lips, and I damn near fall at his feet. I would do just about anything he asked of me right now. That’s how intense this thing is between us.

“Because you already said you wouldn’t sleep with me.”

“I didn’t say anything about sleepin’ with you, Jailbait. I said I could check your whole body for what you stole from me.”

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