“R.J.? Really?” Blaze said. He looked a bit nervous, and I’d never seen that look on his face before.
“Yeah,” Ace said. “When you get a chance.”
Ace patted the table, took a swig of his beer, and walked off.
“Who the hell is R.J.?” I asked Blaze.
“The president of the club,” he said. His look had gone from anxious to bewildered. I was confused.
“What do you think he wants?” I asked.
Blaze’s face lit up. “Who knows? Maybe he wants to formally offer me membership?”
“You’re not already a member?” I asked. “I’m confused.”
“Not technically,” he said. “I’m still an initiate.”
“Oh,” I said. Just another one of his bold faced, manipulative lies.
He rubbed his hands nervously against his jeans. They must have been sweating a bit. His eyes scanned around the room, presumably looking for this R.J. guy.
“What’s he look like?” I asked.
Blaze shrugged me off, as if he were annoyed with my presence.
“Okay…” I replied. I took a sip of my drink.
From across the room, I couldn’t help but spot a tall, handsome drink of water staring at us. I’d seen him stare at us when we first walked in, and we had passed him on our way to the bathroom line earlier. We’d made eye contact several times, now that I’d thought about it, and he was probably one of the most gorgeous creatures I’d ever laid eyes on, but I wasn’t there to pick up men. And I had vowed to myself never to get involved with anyone in a “biker club” ever again. I needed to get far away from this seedy little world.
I locked eyes with the guy, turned away, and then turned towards him again. He was still staring at me. At least I was pretty sure he was staring at me. My face blushed, and I hoped to God Blaze didn’t notice.
I looked away and resumed working on my drink. I was pretty much stuck there. Part of me wished I could get away for just two seconds, tell that guy I was being held against my will, and get the hell away from Blaze. It would be nothing short of a miracle, but I knew it wasn’t realistic. It would take an act of God for that to happen. A divine intervention.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome making his way over to our table. The way people moved and got out of his way told me he was a man of some sort of power or influence. His presence alone commanded respect and boy did he get it.
“R.J.,” Blaze said as he stood up the moment the man reached our table.
So that was the infamous R.J. The closer he got to us, the less I could take my eyes off him. I never wanted to stop staring at him. He was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. His full lips pursed the moment he saw me, and his intense, dark eyes were framed with long, black eyelashes. His jaw line was chiseled like some sort of Greek God sculpture, and his eyebrows were strong and furrowed. He stood a few inches past six feet tall, and his shoulders were broad while his hips were narrow. His cut wore his nickname alongside the title “president” and the logo for the Hell’s Highway Motorcycle Club.
R.J. ignored Blaze at first, staring deep into my soul it seemed, and then took a seat in the spot across from me. Blaze seemed irritated at first but then sat back down next to me.
“I heard you wanted to talk to me, sir,” Blaze began.
I’d never heard him call anyone “sir” before. This guy was important.
“I did,” R.J. said as his eyes never left mine.
Part of me wanted to plead to him with my eyes. Part of me wanted to shout out to R.J. to help me, save me, and get me out of there, but the truth was I didn’t know if I could trust him. And given my string of poor decisions over the past week, I didn’t know if I could even trust my own instincts.
I sat paralyzed, waiting for R.J. to say something. Blaze noticed our locking gazes, and I was sure he was fuming on the inside, but I knew he couldn’t act like that in front of the president.
R.J. squared his shoulders back as he finally released my gaze and turned his eyes towards Blaze. He sat up tall, and I’ll admit he was a bit intimidating, but I wasn’t the one he was trying to intimidate.
Blaze cleared his throat, and I could just feel the nervousness oozing out of his every poor. I kind of liked watching him squirm. Okay, I loved watching him squirm.
“Can I have a word with you?” R.J. said to him. “Alone?”
Blaze turned to me and shot me the most evil look I’d ever seen, as if to tell me to stay put, don’t move, and don’t do anything stupid.
“It’s fine,” I said with a willing smile as I rubbed his arm. I tried to reassure him as much as I could. I could tell he didn’t want to leave me.