Priest: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Viking’s Rampage MC: Tucson Chapter Book 2)

Isat down at my desk after Priest left and let my head drop into my hands. It hadn’t been easy for me to refuse him, especially not after that kiss. I’d fallen asleep just about every night with scenarios exactly like what had just happened playing through my mind and weaving themselves into my dreams. I’d wanted more than anything to have him come back and say that he wanted me. Now that it was happening, though? I didn’t trust it. Didn’t trust him to not play me for a fool.

I wanted to trust him. It was hard not to drop my guard and just dive back in with him. I had to be reasonable though. He’d dropped me so suddenly before; I just couldn’t risk it.

“It’s for the best,” I whispered to myself.

“Jenny!”

Jerking, I looked up and let out a sigh as I watched Darlene come into my office and shut the door.

“Who was that?” she asked, eyes wide and a grin on her lips.

“A father trying to adopt one of our kids,” I told her. I refused to say more even though she was motioning for me too.

She gave me a dubious look. “He seemed like more than that. Girl, if a man stared at me the way he had you…” She fanned herself. “I’d combust on the spot.”

“He wasn’t-” I sighed and decided not to argue with her. “We’re not allowed to date co-workers or clients,” I reminded her.

She snorted. “What the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” she quipped. “If I were you I’d snatch him up in a heartbeat. I mean, he just flatly ignored Boobs and Stuff up at the front desk. She’s pissed, too. A man with that kind of narrow-minded obsession is one you want to keep around.”

It was a small comfort to know he took no interest in our very own office flirt. Priest had come in wearing jeans and a t-shirt—thankfully he’d taken his cut off so I didn’t have to explain that—but he looked damn good in them. A muscular man in jeans and a well-fitted t-shirt was far sexier than a guy in a suit. I had a feeling most of the women working in this office would snatch him up if they could.

That didn’t mean it was a good idea for me to put my trust in him again. My phone buzzed on the desk and Darlene got up.

“I’ll leave you to it, but seriously…think about it.” She wiggled her brows at me. “I know I will be.”

My jaw dropped open and then I laughed. “Go away you horn dog. I have work to do.”

Darlene and I had been work friends before I’d moved away to Texas. I was glad we were picking up where we’d left off. We’d never gotten close enough that we’d spent time together outside of work, but we enjoyed each other’s company while we were here.

I’d grown up here in Tucson, but the few friends I’d made in high school had moved away. I was what my mom liked to refer to as an extroverted introvert. It wasn’t hard for me to make acquaintances and have a good time if I happened to be in a social setting, but I much preferred to be at home when given the choice. That made it hard to make a lot of friends. Not to mention finding a new group of people to hang out with as an adult wasn’t easy. Where was I supposed to find them? The grocery store?

A picture of me walking up to a woman in the produce section and striking up a conversation about melons made me shake my head. The gym? It wasn’t exactly a place I frequented anyway, going just to find new people to meet wasn’t ideal.

When Julie had come to work for my office in Texas it had been so easy to befriend her. I’d taken her to lunch and eventually her friends had become mine. I’d tried taking a few people here to lunch before and it’d been a disaster. One I wasn’t eager to repeat.

I picked up my phone and frowned. It was a text from Priest. This man was going to drive me insane. He was dangling forbidden fruit in front of me and I desperately wanted to give in to temptation.

Ignoring his text asking what time I got off work, I forced myself to focus on my job. All I had to do was stay professional and keep my distance from him when I could and maybe he’d get the hint.

The day passed slowly and every time I found my mind wandering it landed back on the sexy biker and his kiss. By the time I shut down my computer and walked out the door my nerves were a jumbled mess.

The heat hit me as soon as I stepped outside and I hurried toward the back of the parking lot toward my car. It was nearing mid-September, but the fall in Tucson wasn’t the same as everywhere else. It would stay warm until mid-November and then would cool off into more tepid temperatures for the winter. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Priest leaning up against my car, waiting for me. For just a moment I was so excited my heart jumped in my chest. I quickly remembered I was angry at him and suppressed the urge, forcing a frown onto my face instead.

I stopped by the vehicle parked next to mine. “I don’t think Leann will appreciate you leaning on her car,” I told him with a wicked grin.

He returned it and there was a dare in his gaze. “Probably not. Why don’t you give me a ride?” He pointed to the car—which was not mine—and arched a brow. He was calling my bluff.

Rolling my eyes, I walked over toward him. “How do you know which car is mine?”

“Had Rip check the security footage from the other day.” He didn’t miss a beat.

“Okay. Why are you here? Again.”

He handed over the file folder I’d given him that morning. I opened it and scanned the documents. They were all filled out. My lips twitched when I saw his handwriting. Every letter was capitalized and he’d written in small neat letters. I’d worked with veterans before and they all wrote this way. When I’d asked one he said the military insisted on it so they could read people’s handwriting.

“Thank you for getting it back to me so quickly. I’ll go through it all in the morning.” I paused, waiting for him to move. When he didn’t I gave him a pointed look. “Excuse me.”

He stepped forward, invading my space, and the breath caught in my chest. His hand went to my hip, gripping it, and heat pooled low in my belly. “Go to dinner with me.” That low, husky voice was doing things to my insides. Pleasant, wonderful things.

It wasn’t really a question, but there was a hint of a request there in his words, as small as it may be. He was a man who was used to getting what he wanted. He was trying to make me believe he wanted me.

As much as I wished I could say yes, I’d fallen for his charms before. Shaking my head, I stepped around him, grateful when he let me go. He turned and watched as I got into my car and drove off.

Glancing back in my rearview, I saw him still standing there as I pulled out onto the main road and headed toward home. My hip still felt heated from where his hand had been.

By the time I got home and changed into my comfortable pajamas he’d already texted again.

Priest: You looked beautiful today.

I sighed and left my phone to charge in my bedroom while I went into the living room to have dinner with Mom.

“You’re quiet,” she said halfway through dinner.

“Sorry,” I told her with a smile.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, not buying my fake upbeat tone.

I set my fork down and focused on her. “Would you give someone who hurt you a second chance?”

She looked taken aback for a moment, but then considered my question. “It depends on how bad they hurt me.”

This was why I loved her so much. We were more than just mother and daughter. We were friends and she always told me the truth. “I had a guy I was sort of seeing and he ended up breaking up with me over text. No explanation, just that it wasn’t going to work.”

“When was this?” she asked with a frown.

“In Texas. Anyway, now he wants to get back together.”

“With him in Texas and you here?” she asked, doubt heavy in the words. “Long distance is tough-”

“No, he lives here in Tucson.”

Confusion clouded her expression as she tried to put together the timeline without all of the information. “He’d been over visiting some friends in Texas when we met,” I told her. “Never mind all that. What would you do?”

The look on her face made me laugh. She blinked quickly—dramatically—a few times as she absorbed all the information. “Well, without knowing details I’d say give him a chance to explain.”

“I found out once I got home that he hadn’t been completely forthcoming with me about everything before…” He hadn’t told me he had kids. Or an ex-wife. I’d found out about the wife as I’d skimmed through the papers he’d dropped off with me. He’d listed her as the mother and she had his last name.

“Give him a chance to explain,” Mom suggested. “Worst case scenario he has a bullshit excuse and you cut him out of your life. Best case, you realize you can live with whatever the excuse is and see where it goes. He had his reasons, men always do. Whether it was good or bad, listen to him, and decide.”

That was logical. I just hoped my heart realized this wasn’t grounds to forgive him immediately and start pinning all my hopes and dreams on him.

You don’t make the decisions here, I mentally warned it. The way it fluttered back told me that probably wasn’t true.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Welcome, Baby.”

I forced myself to leave my phone in my bedroom while we finished dinner and cleaned up. As soon as Mom went to bed, I walked back to my room and laid on my bed. Grabbing my phone, I checked it and sure enough he’d kept texting.

Priest: Give me a chance to explain. Go to dinner with me tomorrow.

I texted him back, telling him I’d go to dinner with him and that I was going to bed. Hope filled my chest when I read his goodnight text. It probably wasn’t the best idea to go along with this, but it really was what I wanted. I needed to know why he’d cut ties with me before. Even if I didn’t like what I heard, at least I’d finally know.