Page 28 of Taming Raptor

“Now hang on,” he warned before he made good on his words.

The song ended and the lights went out on the stage. Sweat trickled down my back and my chest rapidly rose and fell as I rested on my knees, legs spread, head bowed. The whooping and cheering echoed with the last of the song vibrating through my ears.

The second I lifted my gaze, it locked with the heated hazel one of the man who had become entirely too important to me. His smirk told me that he knew exactly what I was doing with the pose at the end of my performance. I’d impulsively added it when I saw him enter the main part of the club a third of the way through my performance.

I got to my feet and bowed, the nipple tassels swinging lightly with my movements. Raptor pushed off the wall and started cutting through the crowd toward the back hall.

As I went behind the curtain, Solomon handed me my red silk robe as I passed Sugar on her way out to the stage. “Thanks, hon,” I told him. He smiled and winked.

“You know I got you, babe,” he replied. I took no offense to him calling me babe since he called all of the girls that. He was our newest bouncer and with his bulky size, shaved head, and massive muscles, he cut a formidable figure. The girls loved him because he was so respectful. That he was also handsome as hell didn’t hurt—well, a close second to one broody biker, anyway.

When I got back to the dressing room, I was already taking my chandelier earrings off. Raptor was waiting at my station I was using for the night. He seemed preoccupied and didn’t notice me walk in. For a moment I stared at him. He sent my heart into a skittering flutter as I watched him chewing on his lip.

“You didn’t need to stick around all night,” I finally said as I moved his way, heels clicking on the concrete floor of the dressing room. His heated gaze practically burned me as the corner of his perfect mouth kicked up.

“I know.”

With a small smile, I shook my head and dropped the earrings on the dressing table. With his silent attention locked on me instead of the other two women sitting topless at their stations getting ready, I was conscious of my every movement.

“You done for the night?”

“Yeah,” I replied as I twisted my hair and clipped it up. The waves cascaded down to my shoulders giving me a Grecian goddess look. He reached out, grabbing one of my curls and smoothing it between his thumb and fingers.

“Need a ride?”

I paused and met his gaze through the mirror. Then I turned in my seat, resting my elbow on the table and propping my chin on my hand. “You offering?”

“I have my bike. Thought maybe we could go for a ride before we went back to the clubhouse.”

He picked at his thumbnail and wouldn’t look at me as he waited for an answer. Yep, something was definitely wrong. This had all started after his return from Texas. My stomach dropped when I wondered if he was tired of me and preparing me for it—the end.

“Sure,” I replied, pasting a falsely bright grin on my face.

“Cool. I’ll meet you out back.” He leaned over and looked me in the eye. For half a heartbeat something passed through his that stole my breath. It was quickly replaced with a blankness that was so unlike him that I swallowed hard and dropped my gaze to his boots. Using two of his fingers, he touched the underside of my chin and tipped my head up to bring my attention back to him. He leaned in and brushed a featherlight kiss over my lips, then he righted himself and walked out of the room.

He left me so confused my head spun.

Anxious, I quickly took my hair back down, braided it, and changed. Wearing skinny jeans, tall, heeled boots, a bustier top with a short leather jacket, I waved to the girls and left the dressing room.

“Solomon, I’m taking off. Can you help Frankie and Scott close up tonight?”

“Of course, Miss Cookie.”

I chuckled. “Thank you. You can call me Sage, you know.”

“Sorry, it’s habit since that’s how you introduced yourself when you hired me. Have a good night then, Miss Sage,” he offered with a jaunty wave and a grin. I blew him a kiss and went out the back door.

The night air was crisp, and I questioned my decision. At least I did until I saw Raptor sitting on his bike, one foot resting up on the floorboard while he messed with his phone. He turned his head my direction when the door closed. The cocky little smirk he gave me had my heart fluttering again.

“Damn. I’m not sure if you look better now or when you were on the stage earlier.” He pocketed his phone and handed me a helmet decorated with pink dragonflies. I looked at it curiously. “I borrowed it from Loralei. You two look like you’re about the same size.”

Relief hit me when he confirmed it wasn’t bought for some other chick or a community helmet for all the other women he had ride on his bike. As if he read my mind, he chuckled.

“Just so you know, I’m picky about who rides back there.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about that,” I lied.

His dark eyes twinkled in the glow of the parking lot light, but he didn’t say anything until I put the helmet on. “Looks good on you.”

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