Page 1 of Satisfied
Chapter One
Abby
He’s watching me.
I feel his eyes on my skin with the same intensity as a caress. His gaze is like a physical touch, tracing my body in a long stare that sends shivers rolling down my back. A gaze that burns right through my clothes and into my skin, leaving me feeling hot all over.
He isn’t even trying to be subtle about it; there’s no disguising where those golden eyes are focused. In a room full of people, he’s only focused on one thing.
Me.
Those eyes have been locked on me since the moment he stepped into the room, dismissing everyone else in it. It baffles me that someone would look at me with such longing in his gaze—a longing I’ve tried my best to pretend it doesn’t exist.
Oh, I know the feeling of being wanted by a man all too well.
Heck, I have the marks to prove it.
My hand instinctively moves to my ribs and rubs at the fading bruise left there by my ex, a man who once claimed to want me. The memory of being shoved down and kicked repeatedly is all too fresh in my mind. The shove could have been excused as an accident in the heat of the moment, but the bruised eye and split lip that followed were not an accident. The pain I’ve carried in my ribs for weeks serves to remind me of how dangerous it is to be wanted.
God knows what more my ex-boyfriend would have done if I hadn’t run away and found my way to a women’s shelter, bruised and broken.
Now I’ve caught the attention of another man, one who could be far more dangerous.
“Abby.”
A voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I look up to find Doc watching me, his dark brows arched inquisitively. The Steel Rebels Motorcycle Club’s unofficial doctor, fondly known as Doc by everyone at the shelter, has been tending to my wounds since I showed up three weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that despite his tough appearance, he’s a gentle giant. One would think it’s him I would fall for after he saved my life, but no, my focus has been entirely on someone else. “You left us for a minute there—are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I murmur, keeping my eyes on Doc while fighting the urge to look up at the quiet man standing by the door. “I…I’m not in pain anymore. Most of the bruises have faded and I can even go to sleep without the meds.”
Sure, I wake up sweating and sobbing from nightmares about the events that led me to this place, but I don’t tell Doc that. I don’t want to worry anyone with my problems any more than I already have.
“Are you sure you’re getting enough rest?” A hand reaches out and takes mine, pulling my focus from Doc to the woman seated beside me on the bed. She’s stunning, with large green eyes and hair the color of ripening wheat. Cara works at the shelter and is one of the people who has stuck by my side since I showed up here, crying for help. She didn’t just nurse me back to health; she became a friend. I smile when she brings her hand to my forehead. “You look a little pale—”
“I’m fine, Cara.” I smile, touched by her concern. “I’m just a little distracted is all.”
She nods, but I can see the doubt on her face. We both turn back to the doctor as he tells me this is his last visit since my injuries are healed. I nod along with his words even as I feel my focus drift again from the doctor to the man across the room, the other friend I’ve made here.
Ransom.
His presence here isn’t as easy to explain as the others. He showed up on my first day with Doc’s medical supplies, and he never left. He saw me at my worst, carried me to my room, and has been a constant presence ever since. Through it all, he hasn’t left my side, always rushing to help whenever I need anything. Our conversations have been the brightest spots in my days, and honestly, he’s become my best friend—a distractingly gorgeous best friend.
His eyes resemble molten gold, constantly shifting with the light, and his dark brown hair is a beautiful mess of curls. Oh, and he has a habit of running his fingers through his hair, disturbing his curls in a way that makes my pulse race…
I lose the fight with myself and lift my eyes to his.
And suddenly, it’s just us two in the room. My eyes drop from that intense face and down to the rest of him. I shudder out a slow breath when I notice the way he fills out his shirt, the fabric stretching across his broad shoulders and chest. The dark jeans fit him snugly, his legs long and lean. Christ, he’s so tall too, easily the tallest man I’ve ever seen, and I wonder if he’s tall all through…
Snap out of it, Abby!
…And sometimes he wears these glasses with sleek frames that do little to conceal those intense golden eyes. Eyes that seem to catch every detail. They carry an intensity that causes a nervous flutter in my stomach akin to the feeling a schoolgirl gets when she runs into her crush. Those eyes create a storm of emotions in my chest that are neither innocent nor pure. No,they’re heavy and all-consuming, and it all boils down to one thing.
I want him.
After everything I’ve been through, I have no business wanting this man. In fact, I have no business wanting any man at all. My wounds from my ex haven’t completely faded, and here I am fantasizing about combing my fingers through Ransom’s hair and fisting those curls before kissing that firm mouth, trailing my lips down his jaw and throat…
“I must be out of my goddamned mind!” I mumble.
“What?”
