Prologue
Jesse
My bike rumbles down the suburban street, passing perfectly cut hedges and pristine lawns. Heads turn to watch as I cruise past and I give a friendly wave, ignoring the disapproving glances.
The street that Valerie lives on is lined with two-story houses with white picket fences set back on lush green lawns. Until I get to Valerie’s house.
Valerie is the lawyer for the Underground Crows MC, and she’s also the sister of our club president, Bruno.
While her house is as suburban looking as the others, there’s thumping bass music coming from the backyard, the sound of chatter, and the smell of barbeque mixed with something suspiciously sweet wafting on the air.
I bet she’s as thrilled to be hosting her niece’s eighteenth birthday party as I am to be here.
The street in front of her house is crammed with beat-up old cars, the kind that teenagers drive, meaning I have to park a ways down the street.
In my saddle bag is a present wrapped in Hello Kitty paper and tied with a pink bow.
I don’t know if the birthday girl still likes Hello Kitty.
I’ve barely seen her for the last three years since her father, Bruno’s, been inside.
By the sound of the music and smell of weed, I’m starting to think maybe she doesn’t.
I got back to the Sunset Coast yesterday after eight months on the road, and the first thing I did was visit Bruno. That’s how I got roped into this.
The last place I want to be is at the eighteenth birthday party of the Pres’s daughter. I’d rather be at the clubhouse catching up with my MC brothers and getting shitfaced. But when the President asks you to do something, you do it. Especially when his daughter, Lily, is involved.
Dragging my feet up the stairs, the door opens before I can ring the bell.
I’m expecting to see Valerie, but this young woman certainly isn’t Valerie.
She’s wearing tight black jeans and a billowy emerald top that’s the exact same shade as her eyes.
Her auburn hair is cut shoulder length and dyed black at the tips.
She’s wearing too much eye makeup, and her lips have a high, glossy shine.
One hand rests on her hip and the other hangs by her side, bracelets jangling.
This is definitely not a girl who’s still into Hello Kitty.
“Lily?”
She looks like Lily but a grown-up badass version of her.
“What’s the matter, Jesse? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“You’re all grown up.”
It’s a stupid thing to say, but this woman’s left me speechless.
She smiles at me, and I’m pleased to see there’s still softness around her mouth. Lily was always a smiling, happy girl, and I’m not sure I like this tough version of her. Although I can’t get my eyes off her tightly pressed together cleavage and the way her jeans hug her voluptuous curves.
The last time I saw Lily she had braces and was gangly and awkward. Now she’s all curvy woman and confidence.
I hand the present over, pretty sure she’s not going to want the sparkly Hello Kitty purse inside.
“Happy birthday,” I mutter. “I don’t know what teenage girls are into.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
She stands up on tiptoe and gives me a peck on the cheek. It’s meant to be friendly, as a thank you for the present. But as she leans in, I get a whiff of her floral body wash, and her chest presses against mine. It’s only for an instant, but it’s enough to make my pulse scoot up a notch.
Her glossy lips leave a sticky mark on my cheek that I don’t want to wipe off. Her sleeve pulls up, revealing a colorful arm tattoo. It looks fully dry to me, which means some asshole did it for her when she was underage.
“Does your dad know you’ve got that tattoo?”
Lily rolls her eyes, and I don’t blame her. I sound like a scolding father. But I’m as protective of her as if she was my own.
“I’m eighteen now, Jesse. I don’t need Daddy’s approval for everything I do. I’m a legal adult. I can make my own decisions. About everything.”
She bites her lower lip, and her gaze travels down my body.
Am I imagining it, or is Lily flirting with me? There’s no mistaking. She’s making eyes at me. Which is all sorts of wrong. Especially because I like it.
“Is your aunt here?” I need to put some distance between us.
Lily opens the door wide while still standing against it, so that as I push past her, my arm brushes her chest.
Christ, the heat coming off her is enough to scorch my skin.
What am I thinking? She’s eighteen, and I’m forty-one.
It’s indecent. Not to mention the fact that she’s Bruno’s daughter, the club president, and my best friend.
I can’t be thinking these thoughts about her. Not if I want to keep my balls.
I move quickly through the dining room and into the backyard.
I find Valerie with Gina and Kray running the BBQ.
A few of the other club members are here, but mostly it’s kids.
Lily’s school friends, I guess. They’re lounging around the pool.
A couple of them are drinking beers under Valerie’s watch.
And there’s the distinct smell of weed. Sure, it’s legal in this state, but I’m pretty sure Bruno wouldn’t want drugs at his daughter’s party.
I follow my nose and find a group of teenagers sitting around the pool. There’s a guy perched on the edge of a lounge chair holding court. He’s gesticulating wildly, grasping a doobie in one hand and a beer can in the other.
He goes to pass the joint, but I get there first, snatching it out of his hand.
“Hey man, what the fuck?”
I throw it into the pool, and it sizzles as it goes out.
“It’s legal, man.” The kid stands up, but when he sees me, he hesitates. I’m a big man, six foot three, broad shoulders with a solid frame, and I’m wearing the Underground Crows MC patch.
“Not in this house it isn’t.”
He wisely keeps his mouth shut and sinks back onto the lounger. I feel him scowling after me as I head across the yard and back to the adults.
Kray hands me a beer, and we chat for a while. He introduces me to his old lady, Cleo, and their adopted daughter.
But I’m only half listening. I scan the yard until I catch sight of a flash of green. Lily’s leaning against the fence, laughing at something a boy is saying to her.
A wave of jealousy rips through my body, and I curl my hands into fists. I want to go over there and pull him away from her. Which is ridiculous. What right do I have?
As if she knows I’m looking at her, Lily raises her gaze straight to mine. The boy is oblivious that he’s lost her attention, droning on about something. Lily gives me a small smile. Time seems to slow down as we eye each other across the lawn.
Her cheeks dimple when she smiles. It suits her, and I wonder what she looks like without all the makeup on.
Valerie goes quiet, and I realize someone’s asked me a question.
“Hmmm?”
I turn quickly back to the conversation as Kray hands me another beer. Sucking on it greedily, I will myself not to glance at Lily. Instead, I focus on Valerie. We talk for a while about how she’s getting on with Bruno’s case. She thinks she’ll have him out in a few months.
That’s a relief to hear. The club needs a president, and Bruno is the best there is. I’ve known him since we were at school together. He’s my best friend as well as the club president.
I excuse myself to use the bathroom and make my way into the house.
As I’m walking back down the hall, I hear raised voices in one of the bedrooms. A girl, protesting. I walk quietly to the door and look in. Lily is up against the wall and the man who was smoking the reefer has her pinned there, his arms on either side of her head.
“I’m not interested, Karl. You’re high.”
“Just a kiss, Lily.”
He leans toward her and I lunge forward, grabbing him around the neck.
“She said no, fuck head.”
The guy’s eyes bulge out of their sockets, and his face goes red. I’m squeezing him too tight, but I don’t care. My body’s full of rage. I could kill this fucker for laying a hand on Lily.
“Jesse.” Lily’s voice is pleading, and her eyes are as wide as his. The last thing I want to do is scare her.
I release the kid, and he grabs at his throat. “What the fuck?”
I don’t give him a chance to try to explain. Grabbing his shoulder, I turn him toward the door and march him out of the house. He stumbles through the front door, and I give him a good shove to make sure he’s got the message.
“Get the fuck off this property and stay away from Lily.”
He stumbles down the steps and out the gate, not looking back. I’ve scared the shit out of him, and I hope he has the good sense to stay the fuck away. Who’s stupid enough to fuck with the President of the Underground Crows’s daughter?
When I turn around Lily’s watching me, her green eyes flashing dangerously.
“I had it under control, Jesse.”
“Is that what you were doing, sweetheart?”
“Yes. I was about to knee him in the balls, actually.”
A smile tugs at my lips. I don’t doubt that for a second. She looks like she could handle herself, but I’d rather be there to protect her. I can’t explain the wave of protectiveness that’s come over me.
She bites her lower lip, and she looks up at me in a way that sets my skin on fire.
“Why would I let a boy touch me when I’m looking for a real man?”
My breath catches in my throat. There’s no denying what she’s implying. I take a step towards her, and she backs up. Now I’m the asshole backing her against the wall. But I make no move to step away.
“Careful, Lily…”
My eyes flicker to her lips, so full and glossy and kissable. I’m aching to kiss those lips, to pin her to the wall and show her what a real man feels like.
“I’ve been waiting for you to get back, Jesse.”
She arches her back so her chest grazes mine, sending a raw heat coursing through my veins. I’m confused by what she’s saying, by this whole situation.
I’ve been around Lily ever since she was a baby.
I bounced her on my knee and chased her around the clubhouse when she was a little girl.
As she got older, she got shy around me.
I thought she was just being an awkward adolescent girl and didn’t pay her much mind.
I’ve barely seen her in the last few years.
With Bruno inside, she’s not been around the clubhouse, and I’ve not thought much about the teenage girl.
“I’m a woman now, Jesse. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
She steps towards me and presses her fingernails lightly on my chest. It’s so delicate, her touch, but it sets my whole body zinging. My gaze follows her fingers as they trail down my stomach and stop at my naval.
“Lily. What are you doing?”
I should pull away but I’m enthralled by her, by the things she’s making me feel. Waking up my senses and heating my blood.
Her lips part, and she leans toward me. The scent of her sweet breath and cherry lip balm makes my head goes fuzzy, and I’m almost overwhelmed by desire.
“Daddy doesn’t need to know.”
Daddy…Bruno, the MC president. Shit.
I spin away from her just before her lips brush mine. There is no way in hell I should be here kissing Lily. She’s eighteen. She’s the president’s daughter. It cannot happen.
I throw open the front door and stumble down the steps, needing to put as much distance between us as possible.
“I gotta go,” I call behind me.
When I get on my bike, my heart’s beating fast. I almost kissed the president’s daughter. My best friend’s daughter. She’s got a teenage infatuation with me, and I almost exploited that.
What the hell was I thinking?