Page 22 of Savage Fire

After Fang helped her climb into a lifted shiny red on black Dodge truck, Tessa couldn’t help but admire the beast. Big, brutal, but beautiful, like it’s owner. It probably growled like him, too.

She grinned. “I never took you for a truck guy,” she admitted, running her hand over the wood inlays in the dash in front of her. Expensive. Pretty. The seats were black leather with red trim, and the dashboard was decked out in all the fancy digital bells and whistles. It probably told him when he was running out of gas…in a woman’s British accent. Nah, a truck like that it was probably Vin Diesel or Stone Cold Steve Austin.

He chuckled, the vibrations of the beast growling to life ricocheting off the windows and plunging into her core. Goddamn, who knew diesel trucks could get you wet? Hmmm, she’d have to see if riding Fang’s bike would have the same effect.

“I bet you pictured me with a Caddy low rider, one of those flashy purple and chrome machines that can shake their ass with the push of a button.”

She blushed, a little ashamed at her assumption.

“I’ll admit, that’s what I pictured. But I have to admit, the truck fits you better…Javier.”

His big body tensed at the sound of his name.

She furrowed her brow, confused. What was with that? And it wasn’t the first time it happened, either.

“So, why aren’t we taking your bike?” she asked, somewhat disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to ride at his back. She’d seen his bike before and had nearly drooled. She wasn’t a bike aficionado, but she knew enough to recognize that the black, red, and chrome beast was beautiful, growly, and fast.

He turned to her, giving her a small grin.

“I knew you’d look sexy as fuck, and I didn’t want to take the chance that the ride would mess up all your hard work. I’ll take you for a ride some other time, make a day of it.”

Damn, she liked that answer, especially the part where he was making future plans forthem.

Fang drove the truck out of the compound gates and headed toward the metro area, silent but still well aware of her in the passenger seat. She could feel his attention on her, even though his eyes were on the road and hers were watching the scenery outside her window. Vegas a night was spectacular, even the scrubby bits that surrounded the clubhouse for miles around. Though the clubhouse was outside the city proper, that didn’t mean it wasn’t a beacon for those looking to have a good time. And there were some homes and businesses popping up down the road, owners moving in because they knew the Savage Raiders MC would keep things safe and clean. While not a one percenter club like some would think, the Savage Raiders MC could handle their own. And they’d proven it, like when they’d rescued her from Alfanzo Madrigal, taking down his whole human trafficking operation, and making themselves indispensable to Manuello, the head of Madrigal’s former Cartel. That rescue had been the turning point in her fight against her attraction to Fang. When she’d first met him, she immediately pegged him as an unrepentant playboy, and he’d only reinforced that by flirting with her, and going out of his way to interact with her whenever she was in the clubhouse with Skathi. After he rescued her, he was still the flirt, but she saw beneath all that, too. Andthatwas the Fang she wanted to know.Thatwas the Javier Lopez she wanted to be on a date with.

For some reason she might regret later, she decided to push. “Come on, Fang…who is the real Javier? Who is it behind the leather andrico suaveattitude that gets all the panties wet and the motors revving?”

He chuckled, smiling wolfishly, seeming to have shucked the tension from moments earlier.

Of course, the asshole would find mention ofpantiesinteresting.

“Do I make your panties wet,mi fuega?”

She huffed. “You know you do,pendejo. Let’s focus on the rest of the sentence, shall we?”

His smile diminishing only slightly, Tessa noticed the tightness that hardened the lines of his mouth. That smile…thatwas a predator’s smile. The killing kind.

“How is it you even know my real name?” he asked, obviously seeing no point in answeringherquestion. Why, was answering a simple question so difficult? Was there something there to hide?

Like you don’t have things to hide, things youarehiding. From Fang and your own mother.Yeah, but she had her reasons for both. With Fang, they were still getting to know one another, and one big way to put a damper on potential sexy times was to talk about horrible past experiences…like fleeing a polygamy commune in the dead of night. As for her mother…Tessa just felt like keeping her whereabouts to herself for the time being wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like her mother could come visit her when Jacob was still ruling every moment of her mother’s life.

Don’t fool yourself, that isn’t the only reason you haven’t told her.No, it wasn’t. And she hadn’t the heart to admit why yet. But the truth was there, floating around her head like a black cloud, ready to dump a monsoon on her head.

Fine, if Fang didn’t want to answer, she’d let him avoid the question. For now.

She shrugged, smiling smugly. “I may or may not have found your wallet sitting on the bar in the common room the week after we met. And I may or may not have opened it and checked your license.”

He shook his head, smirking. “May or may not, huh?”

She shrugged again, her heart dancing, loving the light, easy teasing between them. This—this—was the Fang she remembered from those nights in her apartment.Thiswas the Fang that rooted himself in her heart, making her care more than was safe.Thiswas the Fang she could give herself to—body and soul.ThisFang wasdangerous.

“And what did you find when you looked through my wallet,mi corazon? Find anything interesting?”

She curled her lips, tapping her finger against her chin. “Hmm…. I learned that your real name is Javier Lopez. You’re thirty-seven-years-old, you’re six-foot-three, two-hundred-and-twenty pounds, and that you have brown hair and eyes.”

More like dark roast coffee hair, and mocha chocolate eyes,she mentally swooned.

“Hmmm.” Fang lifted a single brow, the glittering mischief in his eyes making her bloodwhoosh. “Learned nothing important, though, did you?”

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