Chapter 2
MACKENZIE
I was reckless that night.
So reckless, but he was so sexy and older than me, so I thought I was safe.
As a teacher, I need to be careful what I do and who I do it with.
I hadn’t started my new job yet, and when he came and spoke to me at the bar, I thought he was the hottest man I’d ever seen in my life.
Messy, thick, dark hair, shorter on the sides, ocean-blue eyes framed in thick dark lashes, full lips, and a toned body covered in ink and leather.
He’s tall, towering over my five-foot-four, and perfectly muscled.
I’ve never had a one-night stand before, not to mention one in a nightclub’s office, but Chance muddled my usually organized brain.
When I saw him, I was hit with Cupid’s arrow—dazed, stupid, and fucking turned-on.
And although I knew he was older than me, I didn’t ever think he would be old enough to have a teenage child. How old was he when he’d had Cash? Fifteen?
I only just started working at this school after transferring from Melbourne, and I’ve already slept with one of my students’ parents.
In the back room… of a bar.
Wonderful.
And now, Cash likely knows. I have been working to get to know him and trying to help him focus on his studies. He’s a really smart kid, but he doesn’t care about his grades, just does what he needs to do to pass, and is usually in some kind of trouble.
The girls love him.
The boys either hate him, want to be him, or both.
“I heard you had a run-in with Mr. Hot Biker himself.” My new colleague, Tegan, grins. She teaches history in the classroom next to mine and has been very welcoming. She fans her face and sighs. “He’s hot, right? In a ruin-your-life type of way.”
I almost choke on my mouthful of coffee. “I wasn’t really checking him out,” I lie. “Just trying to get a word in. He just left without even speaking to Mr. Rogers.”
And then I got in trouble with him over that. Apparently, I should have gotten him instantly before Chance had the chance to run out of here.
Chance.
The name suits him.
Seeing him today has cured my little crush because he was a straight-up asshole, not to mention the hickeys on his neck. He didn’t take long to have someone else in his bed, but what did I expect?
We didn’t even know each other’s names.
I’m just another piece of ass to him, and that’s on me.
I never should have slept with him that night, but I had only moved into town the day before, was looking for a distraction, and he gave me one.
I was in a self-destructive mood, thinking about what happened with my ex, and the chemistry between us was too hot to turn down.
But now I’m paying for my crimes.
I know he could make my life hell if he spoke up about us sleeping together, but I don’t think he’d do that. He’s a biker, not a snitch. Still, I hate the fact that he now has that over me.
“Mr. Rogers can chase after him himself.” Tegan shrugs, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.
“He hates having to deal with Cash and his family. No one wants to get on the wrong side of the president of the Royal Bastards Motorcycle Club. Did you know that they are one-percenters?” She lowers her voice to a whisper, “That means they are criminals.”
This just keeps getting better.
“Well,” I reply, keeping my tone even. “My only concern is Cash. Did you know that his English lit paper scored third-highest in the class? He’s super smart. He could go to any university he wanted, and—”
“Cash is going to follow in his father’s footsteps. You’re wasting your time with that one,” she says, gently touching my forearm. “It’s nice that you care so much, Mackenzie, but trust me, he’s a lost cause.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” I reply, my brow furrowing. I didn’t become a teacher to consider any child a lost cause. Cash can do anything he wants with his life, and I want to make sure he knows that.
She wraps her arm around me and leads me out the door. “Come on, there are cupcakes in the staff room.”
Food usually helps.
Never seeing Chance again might help even more.
Mr. Rogers tried to call Chance to discuss Cash’s suspension, but got no answer, so he sent a voice message and an email instead.
I push the whole incident from my mind and get on with the rest of my day.
When I arrive home that evening, the car trunk filled with groceries, I’m shocked to see a black motorcycle parked in my driveway, with a sexy, infuriating biker leaning against it.
How did he know where I live?
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I get out of my car.
His arms are crossed over his impressive chest, and his blue eyes are pinned on me, not giving anything away. “So, you’re a high school teacher,” he finally says in that deep, growly tone of his.
“So you’re a student’s father,” I fire back, scowling at him. “How did you even know where I live?”
“I had one of my men do a search on you, Mackenzie Masters. Twenty-three. Just moved here from Melbourne. What’s a city girl like you doing in rural Western Australia?”
“None of your business,” I reply, narrowing my eyes. “You were an asshole today, you know that?”
A muscle works in his jaw.
Turning my back on him, I open my trunk and start to pull out the bags of groceries. He’s there before I can grab the second one, carrying them all and walking beside me to my front door. I hate that his delicious cologne lingers behind him, and that all I can do now is follow him.
“You don’t have to do that,” I grumble, trying to ignore the draw I feel toward him, even now. Why did this have to become so complicated? I haven’t felt this chemistry with a man ever. It was never like this with my ex, Jesse, which makes me feel I did the right thing by breaking up with him.
“Unlock the door, Siren,” Chance gently commands.
“Siren?” I ask, frowning as I slide past his large body and fumble with my keys to unlock the door. I hesitate before stepping aside for him to enter.
“You’re safe with me,” he vows, and for some reason, I know I am, physically at least. Sighing, I hold the door open for him, and he follows me to my kitchen and puts the bags down on the counter. “Want me to help you unload?”
“No, thank you.” I ask again, “Siren?”
“I didn’t know your name, so that’s what I was calling you in my head.” He smirks, running his thumb across the stubble on his jaw. “Mackenzie suits you.”
I cross my arms over my chest and study him, my gaze dropping to his leather cut that says ‘President.’ Was he wearing it the night I met him?
I don’t even remember. That’s how wild I was for him.
“I wouldn’t have touched you if I knew you were the parent of one of my students. I didn’t think you were that old.”
“Old enough to handle you right and give you what you need,” he replies, blue eyes dancing with amusement and heat.
“And how old is that?” I press.
“Thirty-six.”
Twelve years older than me. I thought he was about twenty-eight. Fuck, he looks good for his age, especially that muscular body of his. He must work out… a lot.
Thirty-six. That means he must have had Cash when he was around eighteen or nineteen.
“Got any other kids?”
“No,” he replies instantly.
“His mother?”
“Not in the picture.”
My eyes narrow. “And what are you doing here?”
His throat works as he swallows. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. It wasn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I just wasn’t expecting to see the woman I fucked in our bar’s office at my son’s school.”
My eyebrows rise. I wasn’t expecting an apology, but then my gaze drops to his neck, to the hickies that look real-fucking-fresh, and I decide how to handle this. “Thank you for the apology. I appreciate it. But you shouldn’t have come here, it’s very unprofessional, and—”
“We’re long past that, don’t you think?” He closes the space between us, pushing me back against the counter. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay between us. I don’t want you taking it out on Cash because I was a dick.”
My jaw drops. “I would never do that.”
“Good to know,” he rasps, blue eyes roaming over my face.
“It’s bad enough I had a one-night stand with a student’s father,” I mutter, closing my eyes and taking a breath. “It was very unlike me. I knew it was a bad idea, and now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.”
“You aren’t my teacher, Siren. You haven’t done anything wrong here. Well, besides the fact that you left that night, and I wasn’t done with you. I told you to wait.”
“I’m not yours to order around,” I snap.
His dominant gaze drops to my lips. “I wanted a proper taste. Shame.”
Holy shit.
I put my hand on his chest to push him away, but instead linger there, feeling his hard body. “You might not have been done with me, but I was done with you,” I lie.
He smirks, licking his lower lip. “So we’re good? We can keep what happened between us. No one has to know our business.”
I nod, relief filling me.
He moves away from me, studying me for a moment before he nods once and heads out my front door.
I wait for the rumble of his motorcycle to fade away before I run into my room and pull out my vibrator.