Page 5 of Kyle

It’s been there between us ever since—this unspoken, unrealized attraction. I know he feels it. Sometimes I catch him looking at me, and I see it in his eyes. Even the way he tries to avoid me tells me there’s more behind those looks than he ever lets on.

I wish I felt free to break it off with his brother, but every time my eyes fall on his scar, I can’t bring myself to do it.

Perhaps that’s why Kyle defers to Rafe in all things. Perhaps he feels sorry for him.

It’s not that Rafe isn’t a great guy. He is. It’s not that he isn’t attractive or fun to be with. I just don’t have that connection with him. I thought maybe if I moved here to be with him, things would progress, and I’d get those feelings. But I’m notsure it’s ever going to happen. I know Rafe has fun with me, and we get on well, but I don’t know if he’s interested in anything permanent.

I’ve been a free spirit for years, but I know in my heart I’m ready to settle down.

I have to be sure I’m doing it with the right man.

The bikes slow and make a left turn into the parking lot of a nightclub that already looks packed. A marque out front proclaims its bike night, and the place is slammed full of motorcycles, chrome gleaming in the fading evening twilight and the neon of the club.

Loud music pours from inside, and people mingle in and out of the doors and onto the outside patio. The club finds an area, and they all back in one by one, like a well-choreographed dance.

When Rafe’s bike comes to a stop, I climb off and unbuckle my helmet, while he drops the kickstand and kills the engine. All around me, other couples do the same. Billy and Melissa, Marcus and Brandy, TJ and Gigi, Harley Jean and Reckless, with Green and Kyle the only two loners. The rest of the older club members hung back tonight.

I’ve never been to this bar, but it looks like a lot of fun.

Rafe takes my hand, and we fall in with the others, making our way to the door.

It’s wall-to-wall people, and I stay close to Rafe as we wind through the crowd.

We end up at a table outside in a rear courtyard. I get the vibe that Kyle would like to sit as far away from me as possible, but by the time he and Green bring up the rear of our group, the last two seats left are directly diagonal to me at the end of the table and across from me.

Green grabs the seat across from me, leaving Kyle next to me, and he doesn’t look too happy about it. Spinning his chair around, he rests his forearms on the back.

We chat for forever, it seems, and we still haven’t seen a waitress. Rafe, TJ, and Billy go up to the bar to get us a few pitchers of beer. While they’re gone, I can’t help letting my gaze drop to take in the bulging muscles and the tattoos covering Kyle’s arms. The work is good. Really good. He looks like a total badass.

His eyes catch and hold mine for a moment before he breaks contact and says something to Green about the plug wires on his bike.

I sit awkwardly until Harley slides into Rafe’s empty seat. “How’s it going, Sutton?”

“Good. How are you?”

“Want to go throw some darts?” she asks, nodding to the electronic dart boards inside the door.

“Sure.” We step inside and grab an open machine.

Before I throw the first dart, Harley steps over to me.

“So what’s the deal with you and Kyle?”

I frown, panicking on the inside, wondering if my interest has been plain on my face. “What do you mean?”

“You two barely speak. Does he not like you dating his brother or something?”

I shrug. “Not that I know of. I guess you’ll have to ask him.”

From the expression on her face, she doesn’t like my answer. “Before Brayden and Rebel left for Alabama, she told me she thought there was a real connection between you two before Rafe stepped in and made a move. Is that true?”

My gaze goes over her shoulder and out the big windows to the patio, finding Kyle. He’s looking my way. By now Rafe has returned to the table, and he’s talking to Kyle, who points over Rafe’s shoulder toward us. Rafe twists and spots us, then rises from his chair.

I don’t have much time.

“Harley, if you want the truth, it was Kyle I was interested in when we first met, but he never made a move. Or maybe Rafe just beat him to it. After that, he pretty much looked away and got quiet.”

She studies me for a moment. “You know why, don’t you?”

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