Biker's Bride: A Bad Boy Romance (Demons MC) (Includes bonus novel Kinged!) (25 page)

I had no idea how fast fights were, but it couldn’t have been thirty seconds before the two guys were on the ground, groaning in pain. My big mystery man didn’t even pause to look at them, he just kept moving through the crowd, and went out the other side.

I stood and stared at the two guys on the ground for a few seconds, and then something took control of me. I had no clue what happened or why, but there was something about that guy, something I needed to figure out. I ran after him as fast as I could, my heels wobbling. I wished I had worn better shoes, but my legs looked fantastic, long and lean. I didn’t have a lot of friends in the city yet, and maybe there was some loneliness still lingering inside of me that was driving me to talk to that guy. He was the first stranger to be genuinely kind to me in a while, and although I had an amazing best friend and a good job, I was still missing something. Maybe that’s why I was running down a crowded Philly street, half-drunk and breathing hard.

I caught sight of him as he turned the corner ahead. I sped up, heels clacking, and hair flying. I knew I looked like a psycho, and people probably thought I was a drunken idiot, but I didn’t care. My mind was firmly on that mystery guy, his fist smashing into the polo asshole’s face. I didn’t understand why he got involved like that, but I wanted to ask him, and to find out his name. I wanted him to answer me when I asked him who he was.

I rounded the corner and saw him just ahead. He was walking fast but not running. He didn’t look concerned or upset, like he had just knocked out two assholes in a street fight. As I got closer, he looked over his shoulder, probably alerted by my crazy loud shoes. Inwardly, I cursed, and wished I had been able to get closer before he saw me.

Instead of running, he stopped and turned. That took me by surprise, and I crashed directly into his broad chest. He caught me in his arms and absorbed my momentum, stopping me short. I looked up, my heels bent at an angle, hair a mess, to see his handsome face smirking down at me. I could feel the muscles in his chest straining against his shirt, and his whole body rippled with strength and solidity. I felt something rush into me in that moment, and excitement spiked up my stomach. I felt embarrassed to be basically hugging some strange guy, but it felt good, and I was reluctant to let go. He was really not my type, not by a long shot, but I found myself wanting to know him anyway.

“Didn’t have to catch up just to thank me,” he growled down at me.

“I’m not here to thank you,” I said. What a presumptuous asshole.

“Why are you chasing me, then?”

I didn’t have a good answer for that. “Uh, I uh, I wanted to know your name, I guess.” I sounded really lame, but it was partly true.

He laughed and gently moved my face from his chest. I stood up straight and adjusted myself. I got a better view of him: muscles, tattoos, tattered cutoff shorts, beat up old converse sneakers, more tattoos. He looked beautiful and wild, completely unlike any man I had been with before.

“My name’s Rex,” he said. “If you want to keep staring, stare while walking.”

Before I could reply, he turned and started off again at a brisk pace. I hustled to keep up.

“My name’s Darcy,” I said.

He grunted in return and kept walking.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“Away from here.”

Thanks, dick. I knew that. “But where?” I asked.

He looked at me, but didn’t answer. I changed the subject.

“Why did you do that?”

He turned right at the next block and crossed the street. I had to work hard to keep up with his long, purposeful strides.

“Didn’t like the dude that knocked you over. I thought he deserved a little punishment for being an asshole.”

How chivalrous. He actually beat the crap out of two guys to protect my honor? I thought I would be confused and upset, but I actually found a spike of excitement run through my stomach.

“You did that for me?”

He gave me another look and laughed. “Not for you. Just didn’t like how he treated you.”

“Is Rex your real name?”

He laughed again, but didn’t answer.

“What do you do, Rex?” It was like interrogating a statue.

“I work at a bar in South Philly called Drake’s.”

“Oh yeah? Do you like your job?”

“No, not really.”

“Maybe I should stop by sometime.”

“You’re too hot for Drake’s.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt a little flattered, but also annoyed.

He gave me a weird look, but didn’t answer. He made a left at the corner ahead, and cut across traffic. I had to stop and wait for the cars to pass, or else risk getting run over. I was shocked by how confidently he dodged the bikes and the late night traffic, like he was convinced he couldn’t get hit. By the time the cars cleared, he was gone.

I hurried to the next cross street, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I checked the next few blocks, even looked into a bar or two, but he was nowhere. I had no idea how, but he vanished. He couldn’t have been out of my sight for more than a minute, and yet he managed to completely lose me.

Frustrated, I walked slowly back to the bar. I couldn’t get his face and his body out of my mind, and the thought that he had knocked those guys out for my sake was driving me insane. I had met many guys in my life, and been with a few of them too, but I had never met a man like Rex, whoever he was.

“D
arcy! Where have you been?”

A few days after meeting Rex, I was sitting in a small conference room in the overly bright Adstringo office building with my best friend Amy. We hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and even though she was going to act like I’d been the one MIA, the truth was she barely got out anymore. She was too busy with her then-fiancé billionaire Shane Green, who also happened to be everyone’s boss. She was something of a legend in the office, though she had no clue. That was my Amy, absolutely oblivious.

“I’ve been around, kiddo. Trying to make some friends in the office.” I called her “kiddo” sometimes; it was a weird inside joke from when we were in college. I was her sugar daddy, or something like that. I couldn’t remember how it started anymore, but it stuck around.

She had just finished telling me about the wedding proposal. Apparently, Shane had taken her to the roof of the Art Museum, and popped the question. He rented the entire building for them, brought in an expensive dinner, and had live music, the whole nine. It wasn’t something the Art Museum normally did, but a man like Shane Green could make it happen. I wasn’t so much jealous of her as exhausted by her good luck. Shane wasn’t my type, and the whole Art Museum roof thing seemed a little cheesy in my opinion, but Amy had found her soul mate, and that was something special.

I had moved to Philadelphia from New York three months earlier. Things in the big city had gotten routine, and I felt like I was stuck in a rut. I probably partied too much and met too many guys, but I had nothing better to do. Most of my friends had found a steady boyfriend, or had moved away from the city. It was hard; I was two years out of college, and still trying to figure out my life. When Amy said there was an opening in marketing at Adstringo, and that I’d be working directly with her on the app she had made, I jumped at the chance. They helped pay for my move, found me a decent apartment near the Art Museum, and the rest was history.

Amy smiled at me from across the table. She had sent me a message earlier in the day asking to meet up for a quick recap on the app’s launch. We sat alone in a glass-enclosed room, with a plain white table in the middle, a small projector, and a small screen on one wall. Amy was projecting sales data, but neither of us was paying much attention to it.

“New friends? I thought I was all you needed,” she said.

I laughed. “Unfortunately you’ve been a bit busy lately with Mr. Billionaire.”

“That’s true. I’m sorry.” She looked genuinely upset, and I felt a little bad. I shouldn’t guilt her into spending more time with me, especially when things were going so well for her.

“No, it’s totally cool. I went out with Linda, Becky, and Marissa. It was pretty fun.”

Amy smiled. “Good, I’m glad. I like Linda.”

“I know, she’s pretty great. The other two are boring as rocks though.”

“It’s like sitting in a quarry with those two.” I laughed at her joke.

“Worse, at least quarries can be fun. Those two are just dull.”

It felt good to be chatting like that. I had to admit I’d been feeling isolated lately. Getting used to a new city was tough, especially when you spent so many years in a place like New York. Philly was great, but it was different, smaller, and I had to make an effort to get to know the landscape. Amy tried her best, but she wasn’t that available. Still, she had done so much for me already, and I couldn’t be upset with her for not devoting every spare second to me.

“So, how are things going? Feel settled yet?” Amy asked me.

I wasn’t sure how to answer. It hadn’t been very long, and I still wasn’t used to the city, but I loved my job. Adstringo was a fantastic place to work, even better than most places in New York. And most importantly of all, our offices were only a few blocks from my apartment, which made my commute super easy.

“I think so. I’m getting used to the city at least,” I said.

She nodded. “It took me a while to adjust. You’ll get there.”

“It’s great here, though. People are pretty welcoming.”

“I’m glad, seriously. I’m sorry again I haven’t been as available as I should be.”

I laughed. “Stop apologizing you weirdo. It’s all good. Let’s go over this data before we start talking about your rock again.” I glanced at her enormous ring and felt a pang of jealousy. It probably cost more than everything I owned combined.

“Fine, just try not to stare at this gaudy thing too much.” Amy waved her hand in the air, and then started to run through the slides.

Working with Amy was easy. We’d been good friends since we met in college during our freshman year. We were placed in the same dorm room, and hit it off immediately. She was quiet and serious, and I had to work hard at first to break her out of her shell. We lived together ever since, and the only time we ever spent apart was right after college, when she moved back to Philly. During her year away from me, she managed to completely write and market a smartphone app that connected underprivileged kids with inexpensive tutors, she landed her dream job at Adstringo after they bought her app, and she fell in love with Adstringo’s reclusive CEO billionaire Shane Green.

My job was no different from what I used to do in New York. The only difference was, I got to spend my afternoons with my oldest best friend, and I made a lot more money. Philadelphia was a decent city, and I was slowly making friends in the company. Everyone was kind and the atmosphere in the office was always lighthearted and casual, which was the opposite of some of the big, stuffy ad agencies I had worked at.

But there was something missing in my life, some gap I had trouble filling. My mind wandered as Amy talked, and I daydreamed about Rex. I pictured his muscles and his tattoos, and remembered the way he didn’t hesitate to beat those guys down for knocking me over. I knew I should have been more modern and find physical violence appalling or something, but I had to admit it was really exciting. He protected my honor or whatever, which was more than any other guy had ever done for me. He was mysterious and dangerous, and I couldn’t stop thinking about running my fingers over his ripped chest.

I wasn’t usually the type to fantasize about a stranger, but that guy was stuck in my head. I kept thinking about the place he said he worked, and wondered if I could find it. As Amy wound down, we found ourselves chatting idly again.

“I got a question, kiddo,” I said.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Do you know a bar called Drake’s? It’s in South Philly apparently.”

Amy scrunched up her face, then shook her head. “Nope, doesn’t sound familiar. I don’t get into South Philly that often though.”

I felt disappointed. “Alright, I heard it was cool. I might check it out.”

Amy brightened. “Great! You should. Want me to come with you?”

“No, that’s okay. I know how busy you are.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”

I shook my head. “Really, it’s fine. I should learn the city on my own, anyway.”

Amy shrugged and started gathering her things. “Alright then, Darcy, you got it. Let me know if you change your mind.” We walked out of the conference room together, and then went our separate ways.

––––––––

M
y desk was in the far corner of the open office, directly in front of a row of single-occupant quiet rooms. It was a great spot as far as I was concerned: just enough privacy that I didn’t feel crowded, but not completely secluded. My neighbor was named Marissa, the same girl I had gone out with on Saturday night. She was a sweet girl, but she spoke too fast and was about as interesting as an enema. Actually, an enema would have been more interesting, and sometimes I wished I were getting one instead of listening to her blather on.

“And like, that’s how we got our first beach house,” Marissa said, winding down some incredibly boring story about how her family picked out a beach house when she was a kid. They were rich New Jersey people, and both her parents were doctors. I assumed the New Jersey thing explained how gauche and clumsy she was, but I also knew that was just my typical anti-Jersey, New York attitude speaking.

I could relate to having a wealthy family, but only partially. I grew up in a really similar situation to Marissa. My parents were extremely well off when I was in grade school, but when I hit high school, something happened, and they lost all their money. It devastated my family, and we were never the same after that. I moved in with my grandparents for the end of high school, and hadn’t spoken to my father in years.

Marissa’s family was still blissfully married and still outrageously rich. She had it easy, and was completely tone deaf to anyone else’s situation in life. Part of me hated her because of that.