Desire: Big Bear Outlaw MC Romance Book 1 (2 page)

What did I have in common with a bunch of old men
with long greasy hair and longer rap sheets? What did I have in
common with men who wore matching leather jackets and liked women
and girls who wore bras for tops?

“
I don
’
t know, Delilah. I
’
m not sure about
this,
”
I tried to back out.

“
No, please, please, come. I don
’
t really know this
guy and, honestly, this place seems a little scary to
me.
”

“
I know! Me too! So why are we going
there?
”

“
I like Carter, he
’
s really
cute,
”
she blushed.
“
I just want someone to come with me, so
I
’
m
not all alone out there, in the land of bikers.
”

I still had my reservations, but
she was right. It was better for us to go together. The last thing
I wanted was to see her face on a missing poster on the ten
o
’
clock news.

When we pulled into the
Hart
’
s Auto Repair parking lot, the party had already started,
and the place looked even worse than I could
’
ve imagined. Girls
in bikini tops and the shortest skirts I have ever seen
–
the ones
with their butt cheeks hanging out
–
draped themselves
over everything that moved
–
men, women, motorcycles. The girls
were young, about our age, but the men were old, like my
dad
’
s age.

“
How old is Carter again?
”
I asked looking around. I could
barely see a single person who was under forty.

“
I don
’
t know, twenty-five? Twenty-eight?
”
Delilah asked me as
if I knew. Delilah walked back and forth, in between the parked
bikes and falling over couples, looking for Carter. I followed
her.

“
Everyone here is
very
old,
”
I whispered.

“
Really?
”
she asked.
“
I
didn
’
t notice.
”

How could she not notice? Many of
the men had gray hair that they didn
’
t try to hide one
bit. Most of them also had wrinkled necks, and one even had an
oxygen tank like the one I had seen at the retirement home where my
grandmother lived.

Granted, most of the men here did
look fit for their age, they probably lifted weights and worked
out, but that didn
’
t change the fact that they were as old or older
than my father.

Finally, we spotted Carter. He stood around the
grill laughing loudly with a group of younger guys. All of them
wore leather jackets with the words Big Bear Motorcycle Club on the
back.

“
Hey, you made it!
”
Carter wrapped his arm around
Delilah
’
s neck and gave her a big friendly kiss on the cheek. I
knew why Delilah liked him. Carter had dark jet black hair, pale
skin, razor-sharp cheekbones, and a pronounced jaw. His hair
wasn
’
t as long as the others
’
, but it was
straight and fell into his face in a mesmerizing way that drew
attention to his bright green eyes.

“
This is my friend, Emma,
”
she said.

Carter introduced his friends. Kyle Hart had deep
chocolate hair and earnest eyes, and Danny had long stringy hair,
soft doughy features, and kind eyes. Danny was a tall guy who
towered over the others, even though they were all about six feet
tall.

I faintly remembered Danny from
high
school. He had been a
few years ahead of me. Kyle also went to my high school, but I
didn
’
t remember him at all.

“
I graduated six years ago,
”
he said.

“
Me and Danny dropped out,
”
Carter laughed.
“
We got suspended for
fighting.
”

“
I got my GED, afterward,
”
Danny added.

Carter was proud of dropping out,
but the tone of Danny
’
s voice showed that he was
embarrassed.

It was probably wrong, but I felt
myself judging. Some girls wore dating drop outs as a badge of
honor, but to me, it was just sad. Right now, these guys had more
money than most of us in college. They had time to work and make a
good income and supplement it with who knows what else. In a few
years that would all change. Everyone knew that dropouts
didn
’
t have many prospects.

“
So, how does all this work?
”
I finally asked
during a brief lull in the conversation about how much they hated
school.

“
Emma, that
’
s rude,
”
Delilah hissed.

“
Oh, I
’
m sorry,
”
I said.
“
I just
don
’
t know how this works.
”

“
What exactly?
”
Kyle asked.

“
This whole gang, whatever you all do here. What is this
exactly?
”

“
It
’
s a motorcycle club,
”
Kyle said.
“
This
isn
’
t a gang. My father started it with his friend in the early
80s. It
’
s a brotherhood.
”

“
Like a religious order?
”
I laughed.

“
We
’
re not religious, but we do believe in this club. I guess
Big Bear is our religion.
”

“
And what does the Big Bear Motorcycle Club
do?
”
I asked.
“
Besides, drink, party, and hang out with really
young girls?
”

“
Emma!
”
Delilah shook her head.

“
What? I
’
m just joking.
”
I said quickly, trying to laugh it
off.

A part of me was joking, but only
a part. Kyle stepped closer to me, so close I felt his breath on my
cheek. Maybe I had stepped over the line, I wanted to step back,
but I didn
’
t dare give way to him.

“
You see that guy over there,
”
Kyle said, pointing
to an older man with deeply set eyes and large overhanging brows
that made him look like a villain.

“
He
’
s my stepfather. He
’
s the president of
the club. He runs the show. And that
’
s my
mom.
”

He pointed to a beautiful woman with long dark hair
and thick blonde streaks. Her jewelry jingled as she laughed, and
though she was in her fifties, she dressed as if she were in her
mid-twenties. She wore tight jeans that accentuated her curves and
a tight black wrap tank top.

“
The Big Bear MC isn
’
t anything sinister,
Emma. We
’
re a family. Just a group of guys who work at the Hart
repair shop and ride motorcycles and hang out on the weekends. Yes,
we like pretty girls, and they like us, so what?
”

Kyle had an intensity to him. He was serious and
standoffish, and it drew me closer to him.

I shrugged and nodded.
“
I was
just wondering,
”
I said quietly. He held my gaze without looking away,
and a knot formed at the bottom of my stomach. My heart skipped a
beat, and I tried to catch my breath. Finally, I looked away, and
he turned back to Delilah.

I took a sip of the beer that Danny had handed me
and tried to join in the conversation. I nodded and laughed along
with everyone else. And then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted
a familiar face.

Somewhere in the distance, I saw a flash of his long
blonde hair.

Jack Hart.

He leaned back in a lounge chair
laughing with his whole body. Loose strands of hair fell into his
face as he rocked back and forth. He tucked them behind his
ears
, over and over, but they
got untucked almost immediately. He was talking to a beautiful girl
with long blonde hair and a snug crop top, the kind that I would
never have the courage to wear.

“
That
’
s Jack Hart,
”
Delilah leaned over and whispered in
my ear.
“
Kyle
’
s brother.
”

I nodded. I knew of him, but I
didn
’
t know that he had a brother.

“
Yeah, I know,
”
I said.
“
He
’
s in my English
class.
”

I had seen Jack at school, but I
didn
’
t know how I felt about him. He hung out with a completely
different group of people than I did, and frankly I never thought
much of any of them. Many were drops outs destined to bum around
this town forever.

Many were druggies. Druggies
scared me, I
’
d never tried a single drug
–
not even a
joint
–
and a huge part of me was embarrassed over my inexperience.
I played it off as something that I just didn
’
t do, but I was
secretly afraid. I was afraid of trying anything that had the power
to make me lose control.

Our eyes met across the parking
lot. He spotted me and then took a double take as if he were
wondering, is that you? I didn
’
t know why, but for
some reason I shrugged.

A beautiful blonde hung around his shoulders and
kissed him on the neck. His eyes remained firmly on mine. Her
kisses became intense and passionate. Her body started to move to
the music pumping out of the boom box. She tried to get him to move
his body along with hers, but he remained perfectly still, staring
at me. Eventually, I looked away and turned back toward Carter,
Delilah, and Danny.

“
Emma
’
s plan is to get out of this town as quickly as she
can,
”
Delilah said.
“
And
I
’
m
with her on that.
”

“
Oh yeah?
”
Carter laughed.
“
What are you
planning on doing?
”

Delilah shrugged.
“
Not sure
yet, but whatever it is, I
’
m not doing it
around here.
”

Carter shook his head.
“
I
don
’
t see what
’
s wrong with this place. It has nice weather,
and all of my friends are here. Nah, I
’
m staying for a
while. You should, too. You
’
ll see,
there
’
s nothing much else out there.
”

“
And how would you know?
”
Danny chimed in.
“
You
’
ve never been anywhere, but here.
”

Carter shrugged.
“
I
don
’
t need to go anywhere to know that I
’
m not missing
much.
”

After turning away from Jack, I
tried to join Delilah
’
s conversation in a real way, but a part of me
remained standing apart, facing him. Frozen in my tracks, I wanted
to turn back to see Jack and to remain standing here, deliberately
avoiding him.