Page 28 of Taming Bull

Tavonte’s hesitancy to commit to the club suddenly made sense. For two weeks now, he’d been shadowing me at work. He always engaged in conversation with the brothers. His suggestions were golden, and he fit right in, but he seemed hesitant to lay down roots. I wondered if Link knew he wouldn’t stay, and that’s why he had him riding with me instead of hanging out in the shop with the rest of the mechanics. He’d become a friend, and I was bummed he wouldn’t be sticking around.

Still, I understood him completely. That was exactly the way I’d felt before I left for the Navy. “Be careful, man. Sometimes you go lookin’, and you lose more than you gain.”

He frowned at me. “You and I both know you would have suffocated in some small Texas town.”

I wasn’t ready for that kind of introspection, so I lightened the conversation. “Well, this sucks. Here I thought we were gonna bond as Ms. Moore’s ski poles.”

Tavonte shuddered, then dropped his head. His shoulders shook as he chuckled. “Sick, man. I can’t believe you put that visual in my head. Again.”

“Consider it a parting gift. You’re welcome. Have you let Link know you’re leaving yet?”

He flipped his phone in the air and caught it. “No. I should probably get on that, huh?”

“Yeah. He’ll want everyone to gather and send you off.”

Tavonte cocked his head to the side and gave me a brow lift. “Why? It’s not like I joined or anything. The club doesn’t owe me shit.”

“Be that as it may, you gave ten years of your life in service to this country, and now you’re rushing off to help your mom and sister. You may not be a Dead President, but you’re sure as hell one of us.”

He gave me a lopsided grin before hitting a button on his phone and holding it to his ear. “Thanks, brother. I can’t stay, but I’m sure as shit glad I stopped here.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah. Me too.”

8

Bull

IFIGURED LILY would be at Tavonte’s going away party, but I was in no way prepared for the actual sight of her. It felt like coming across a bottle of water after a long run through the desert in full gear. But she was still just out of my reach. Wearing distressed skinny jeans, a tight black Harley shirt, and black knee-high boots, she looked like a biker’s wet dream: sexy, soft, and a little badass. Her long, brown hair was down in big, soft curls that made me want to run them through my fingers to feel the silky strands. Her eyes and lips were made up to look even bigger and more seductive than usual. It was like every time I saw her, she got hotter.

One of these days, she was going to burn up my retinas.

Her tight-ass T-shirt left little to the imagination. Plain as day, the outline of her breasts promised one hell of a good time. She’d filled out some since I’d first met her, and her more pronounced curves were tempting as fuck. Her slender waist led into hips I’d love to grip as I took her from behind. She spun around to talk to Carly, and I got an eyeful of the most perfect ass Seattle had to offer. God, the way it strained the taut fabric of her jeans made me wish I was denim. The memory of her licking her beer bottle popped into my mind and my cock strained painfully against the back of my zipper.

Fuck!

Adjusting my erection, I forced myself to remember that this was Lily I was eye-fucking. Shit would never work between us, so I had to play it cool. I had no business looking at her like she was a goddamn warm apple pie I wanted to eat. Or stick my dick in. Maybe lick then fuck.

Get it together, Roberts, she’s like a sister to you.

Only, she wasn’t. Not at all. That lie hadn’t worked on Lily, and it sure as shit wasn’t working on me. I had to force myself to look away. If I didn’t, I’d walk over there, grab her hand, and tow her fine ass up to my room. And then where would we be? Would I really throw away our friendship just to get my dick wet?

Maybe.

It wasn’t like we were on the friendliest of terms now, so what did I have to lose.

Everything.

The entire club would hate me if I hurt Lily. Hell, I’d hate myself.

That sobering promise of self-loathing gave me the strength I needed to pull my gaze away from her enticing body. Still keeping her in my peripheral—so I could continue to check her out without being tempted to jump her bones—I made small talk with some of the brothers around me. But I honestly couldn’t remember a damn thing that was said. All I could think about was Lily. How she looked. What she’d feel like, writhing under me. What kind of noises she’d make when she came.

The way the people of my hometown would look at her if I ever brought her home.

Shit!

“When are you gonna man up and talk to her?” Tavonte asked, pulling me out of my fucked-up musings.

I turned to face him, effectively losing sight of the object of my obsession. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

---