Warrant (Righteous Outlaws #1)(3)

She let out an unsettling squeal, and, as one who always acts and then  thinks, I raced forward, cracking the guy good with one punch to the  face.





Aubree





William went down like a sack of potatoes, as the biker from the bar  flexed his fingers and then straightened his leather vest. My legs gave  out, and I collapsed beside William, shaking him and silently praying he  was okay.

I might not have wanted to marry him, but that didn't mean I wanted to see him get knocked unconscious either.

"Oh my God!" Amaya screamed, as she and Vicky came out of the bathroom and noticed us down on the floor.

I ignored them, and tapped William's face. "William!" I exclaimed,  shaking his shoulder. When he didn't respond, I turned my attention to  the biker. "Why did you do that?"

He shrugged. "You seemed like you needed help. You could say thank you."

"Thank you? You just punched my friend in the face! Why the hell would I thank you?"

I caught his eyes and, this time, I wasn't blinded by the alcohol. The  fog in my head had cleared, and I could see him clearly. His eyes were a  beautiful shade of green that reminded of the evergreens in Aspen. How  they stood out so vibrantly against the rest of the gorgeous background.  His dirty blonde hair was long, and so unlike the clean cut boys I grew  up with.

The tattoos on his neck should have scared me, but they only intrigued  me. Made me want to know what each one meant, and if it hurt when he got  them. I always secretly wanted a tattoo, but Father would kill me.  Twenty-two years old, and I still cared about what my father would say  and think. But this guy …  he looked like the only person he cared about  was himself, and not in the conceited way like William, but in a way  that brought chills to my spine.                       
       
           



       

William stirred beneath me, so I brought my gaze away from the leather  clad man and down to my ex-boyfriend. "William, are you okay?" I asked,  cradling his face.

He blinked a few times, and, then when he was fully aware of where he  was, he pushed up. "Where is he?" he asked, with fear streaking across  his newly tanned skin from a recent trip to St. Barts.

I turned to the biker, but he was gone. For some reason, I didn't want  him to be. So, despite the voice in my head telling me to stay safely  inside with William, I pushed into the night. I was sick of being a good  girl. Sick of doing everything everyone expected me to do. If I wanted  to chat up a biker in a bar, then dammit that was exactly what I was  going to do and neither Amaya, Vicky, William nor even my father was  going to stop me.

I came home after college graduation to figure my life out. And I wasn't  going to do that by falling into the same routine I'd been following  since I was a kid. I was sick of lunch at the club, and weekly charity  events about causes I didn't even care about. I hated it. I spent my  time trying to pacify William and my parents by letting them think that  William and I had a future. All I had to do was say yes to his proposal,  but then what? My college education became a waste of my time as I got  molded into a society woman that William carried around on his arm like  some damn trophy. No. I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't going to become  my mother. I couldn't live a life that was carved out for me by everyone  but me. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I damn well knew what I didn't  want.

So, maybe I had lost my mind as I ran out into the parking lot,  searching for that beautiful man covered in tattoos and leather, who  looked like my parents' definition of the devil. But, maybe he could  show me a different life. Show me what else is out there, and what I've  been missing all these years even if for only a little while.

I thought college was my ticket to change, but I should have known going  to the college that was my parents' first choice for me would only mean  an extension of my mundane life. The people who walked the campus were  no different than me, and it was easy to fall into the same old familiar  routine.

It's the reason why I wanted to come to this bar tonight. It was a total  dive bar, and something my friends and I would normally never be caught  dead in. The floors were sticky, and the place itself smelled like  stale beer, and reeked of cigarette smoke from years of built up  nicotine embedded in the walls, but it was something different.  Something to break up the monotony.

"Aubree?" I heard William's voice echo through the night, but I didn't  turn toward it. In high school, I was always at his beck and call and I  was tired of it. He could wait a damn minute, or he could come find me.

I rounded the side of the building and pressed my back against the wall,  appreciating the fresh air and the darkness that surrounded me.

"Looking for someone, Sunshine?"

Startled, I gasped, but quickly recovered, pushing off the wall and  turning my head toward the deep voice. He straddled his motorcycle, his  hair pushed back beneath a black helmet that only covered his head. A  cigarette dangled from his lips, a swirl of smoke ascending from the tip  before disappearing into the night sky.

I fidgeted with my hands and then stopped when my mother's voice popped  into my head, reminding that it looked childish. I took a deep breath,  and let the alcohol do the talking. "I found him."

He laughed and it was loud and hearty, but sexy as hell. "You were looking for me?"

I slid my teeth over my lip, stepping out from the darkness of the  building and into the faint light, shining down from the street lamp. "I  was."

"And, what did you plan on doing when you found me?" he asked, and took a long pull of his cigarette.

Watching his lips draw together around the base of the cigarette was  strangely erotic. Desire shot to my core, and my nipples tingled with  dirty thoughts that I shouldn't be having, but couldn't seem to stop.

This man was the total opposite of the life I was accustomed to. The  life that was so boring it was slowly killing me. I didn't want to be a  Stepford Wife like my mother and her friends. I took another deep  breath, and found the courage to step even closer still.

"I wanted to thank you," I said, but embarrassment kept me from looking him in the eye.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you were just yelling at me inside."

I shrugged. "I did, but I thought about it. I overreacted a little."

"A little?"

"No guy has ever hit another guy for me. It was actually kind of sweet."  I found the courage to look up, but, instead of a smile, I was met with  a look of disapproval.                       
       
           



       

"I don't do sweet," he stated dryly, obviously not happy with my choice  of words. I guessed no one had ever described him as such, but I sensed a  bit of sweetness beneath that tough façade. I wasn't stupid. I knew  this guy was definitely trouble, but at the same time I didn't think he  would hurt me. He was new and exciting and God knew I could use some  excitement in this boring life I was leading. Not to mention, he was hot  as hell and was doing something to my insides that I had no explanation  for.

"Good because I'm sick of sweet," I replied.

"Aubree!" William's voice was closer, and I could sense him behind me. "What are you doing?"

"You better go, Sunshine," the biker said, revving his engine.

I heard William's shoes stomping on the pavement, and I turned to him.  He was just around the bend of the building and coming our way.

Without a second thought, I kicked my leg over the bike, and wrapped my  arms around the bad boys hard stomach. "Drive," I commanded.

He didn't. He let his hand off the handlebars, and unfastened his  helmet, turning and putting it on my head. His finger lingered on my  chin, causing goosebumps to prickle my skin. He gave the slightest of  smiles, and it made my panties wet. "A head as pretty as yours should be  protected," he said and then, without another word, turned back around  and took off.

With the hard metal of the bike between my legs, and my arms securely  wrapped around this gorgeous man, my chest pressed tightly to his back,  excitement ran through me, dipping low in my stomach. It was the same  feeling I got on a roller coaster, just as it flew down the tracks. It  was exhilarating and dangerous and I loved every second of it.

I had no idea where we were going, and nor did I care. My friends and  William probably thought I had lost my mind, but it was the total  opposite actually. For the first time in so long, I was finally seeing  things clearly. This thrill was what was missing from my life and, my  God, it felt amazing. It made me feel alive again, and was quelling that  craving inside that had been screaming to get out. Even if it was just  for a single night, I would relish this moment, this feeling of freedom  and uncertainty, forever.