Page 71 of Outcast

Oh, yeah. She'd thought I was the one out of my depths because I didn't ride bikes. Like that was the base-level requirement to fuck the Dirty Dogs princess.

I never said I couldn’t ride, but there was no point in tellingher. If Vicente ever caught me riding with them, I’d be punished worse than my brother Grey for embarrassing him.

I grabbed her hand and walked her to the back hallway, out of sight of any patrons and any men who could report back to my father.

Caging her into the wall, I nipped her bottom lip. "I can still make you scream my name."

She glared at me in defiance, like she knew exactly what I was trying to do.

I grinned. Rita was the one person I couldn't bluff my way with. Her gaze dropped to my lips and she released her ire. "You want to date me, you have to ride a bike. That's non-negotiable."

Date. Such an innocent word but I savored the meaning behind it, ignoring all the reasons I couldn’t take her home with me.

"Why does it matter to you so much?" I nuzzled the soft spot just under her earlobe. It seemed so juvenile she'd care.

"How are you going to integrate into the Dirty Dogs if you can't keep up withPapáor the other men?" She huffed. "We'll have to get you a Riker. You'll be the butt of all jokes for the next decade. Matías Castillo. Son of the notorious Institution leader and trike rider." She rolled her eyes.

I grinned at her ridiculousness. I didn’t give a shit what the Dirty Dogs said. Except for Javier. I did respect him.

Sliding my hand under her dress, I nibbled down the column of her throat. Her breathing changed and I realized this was the key. Sex was the distraction she couldn't see through.

I used it to my advantage because I didn't have the heart to tell her the only way out of the Institution was death.

"Hell no." She glanced at the chairs like they were poison.

"Rita," I spoke softly, moving closer until I pulled a chair three or four feet from the other. "I'll sit over here. Please?"

If this was my only chance, I didn't want to fuck it up by starting in a hostile environment. Sitting down, I placed my palms on my knees and waited. Eventually, she huffed out an aggrieved breath, and sat down in the chair closest to me.

Rearranging my features, I remained calm. The last thing I wanted to do was irritate her with some fucked up expression.

"You want to talk? Fine." Her narrowed brown eyes locked on my earlobe. "Whether we're in the compound, at the club, or anywhere, you do not step into Dirty Dogs business. Ever."

I stiffened. Where the fuck had that come from?

"You're not a Dirty Dog, and you made it clear you never wanted to be. So–"

"I only stepped in to diffuse the situation," I interjected, then silently cursed. Fuck. I hadn't meant to talk over her.

"I don't need your help. I don't want it. I don't want anything from you." Her gaze met mine for half a second, then slid to my nose.

What the fuck?

"You don't want me to help, fine. Noted. But that's not what I wanted to talk about." I curled my fingers over my knees. "I wanted to apologize."

She reared back. "For what?" I opened my mouth, but she continued. "Because you've done a thousand and one things to me that you don't have any remorse for. So whatthingare you giving me an empty apology for?"

The back of my throat burned. "Let me just explain?" When she flat-out turned her face to the wall, I continued. "I love you."

She sucked in a shallow breath, but otherwise didn't move. This was the second time I’d told her I loved her, andas much as I felt like I was trying to stand in a mudslide, Ihadto tell her.

"I love you so damn much, Rita. But I was fucked up. You met my father. At the very end, you saw how he made my brothers’ lives hell, and those were hissons. His fucking sons!" My voice started to rise and I dropped my gaze.

I needed to get a grip. I would not ruin this chance by losing my cool.

"I loved you enough to walk away." The words settled between us with a soft boom.

She shook her head vehemently. "That doesn't work, Matías. He was dead before you left. You could have told me anytime that was why you stayed away." She laughed. "I would have fallen at your feet because that's how much I loved you, even though I was a dirty fucking secret. But now? I can't accept that. I won't."

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