Page 3 of Greedy Grizzly
I envied his freedom.
While Toby bounced from country to country, answering to no one but himself, I remained glued to my little computer corner as I watched my MC brothers raise hell and save the day.
I was a nobody.
AndonlyToby’s friend.
Maddy, aka Angel, was Toby’s younger sister. He was her babies uncle and Storm’s brother-in-law. They were Toby’s family and the reason he came to town.
Part of me wished I’d never met Toby, that Storm hadn’t wanted him to give me a crash course in advanced security systems.
All of our worlds had changed the night Toby Hamilton stepped foot onto the compound. It’d been the night Storm had realized Maddy was the little sister of his high school best friend,Toby. I remembered it like it was yesterday. Prez had freaked out and took off on his Harley, guilt-ridden because he’d been behind the death of Tommy, Maddy’s and Toby’s other brother. And she’d been the little girl who’d worshipped him. Track and Lynx had gone after him.
I’d sat back watching the entire scene and how Toby had taken control. I’d been in awe of him ever since.
I reread the final line in the email one more time…Also, I need to talk to you about something important, something life-changing.
After all the generic shit he’d mentioned, the last sentence grabbed me by the throat and choked me. What did he want to talk about that was life-changing?
I hit reply and typed out…Sure. See you when you get here.Then I hit send, and immediately regretted my cold, uncaring words.
Fuck!
Not much I could do about taking my words back. The response had been sent and there was no canceling it. Of course, Toby would never dissect my words. They wouldn’t phase him. Everything rolled off him like water off a duck’s back. I’d never known anyone like Toby—chill and carefree. Nothing ever bothered him.
Closing out my email and shutting down my computer, I vaulted off my chair in a huff to go find Libby.
“Is everything okay?” Storm asked in a gruff tone.
I froze mid-step and darted my gaze to his. He hiked his dark brow, showing his annoyance with my rude interruption.
“Yeah.” I slowly sat back down, feeling like a dumbass as I took in the half-dozen pairs of curious eyes fixed on me. How could I have forgotten I wasn’t alone in the meeting room?
“Maybe he needs to take a piss,” Hero said.
“Or a dump. Nobody jumps to their feet that fast unless they’re about to shit their pants or they saw scandalous images of them on social media.” Lynx snorted, and my face instantly heated. “Which is it, Grizz?”
Several other guys snorted and laughed.
I hated being the center of attention. Hated being made fun of, even though I knew it was just Lynx being Lynx. A long time ago, I had looked into his school files, and several teachers had called him the class clown. All these years later, he hadn’t outgrown that label.
“Enough,” Storm hissed through his gritted teeth, and the room fell silent. He considered me for a quick second, then hit the gavel on the table. “We’re done here. Boxer and Ire, I need you to stay behind.”
The two of them grunted and remained in their chairs. Prez was probably going to discuss Maddox’s progress at the gym. Boxer and Ire had recently started training the future president of our KLMC Minnesota chapter. Maddox would be able to kill with his bare hands once they were finished with him.
I waited for the others to vacate the room before I bolted to find Libby. She would know what was up with Toby. They were close. Really. Close.
It had been six months since Toby’s last visit, during the holidays. He’d spent Christmas with Storm and Angel, and their kids. Angel’s parents had come to the compound, and I’d seen very little of Toby. Libby had been with him though. She had a thing for him, which didn’t make sense to me. He wasn’t a biker like the rest of us. He looked like a professional businessman, which I didn’t think was her type. Or mine.
But on New Year’s Eve, he’d partied with Libby and me. We’d gotten drunk. Passed around a joint in between all the booze, and had a great time. A fun time, and fun wasn’t a word I ever used.
I rarely let loose, always guarded and trying to be invisible. But that night I had lowered my walls and almost…almostrevealed my hidden desire as I admired him in the black-collared shirt he’d worn. His teasing glances and mouthwatering cologne had kept my dick painfully hard all night. I would have given anything to have him relieve me. I would have agreed to a threesome with Libby in my bedroom so it wouldn’t be weird for him. Though I suspected Toby was bi-sexual, my suspicions had never been confirmed.
And then it happened… Our lips brushed against the other’s when we hugged, following the clock striking midnight. The crowd was loud and wild in the clubhouse’s bar. Everybody was cheering and hugging. We were pushed together. Our bodiesfirmly against each other. Face to face, it was the perfect opportunity to speak my mind and heart.
But Toby acted oblivious to our close proximity. Like ouralmostkiss was a harmless nothing. A total drunken accident. Like it meant nothing to him. The fleeting moment expired a second later, when he roughly patted my back and moved on to the next person to wish a happy New Year. Naturally, I felt like a ridiculous, hopeful fool.
My confession of love had died on my lips and I’d gone to bed vowing to act like it never happened so things wouldn’t be weird between Toby and me.
