Dove jumped down from her stool and grabbed Sloane’s arm. “Come on, girl. Food.”

  “We can order our own food, Dove,” Sloane hissed.

  Two waitresses pushed out the door to the kitchen with two trays laden down with food. We watched them make their way over to the club and set down plates of food.

  “Food,” Dove moaned. “Food we don’t have to wait twenty minutes for,” she reasoned. “You know I need to eat right now because my stomach is full of booze from Shot Row.”

  “We got plenty of food,” I added.

  “Why?” Sloane whispered.

  “Why are you being offered free food and a table full of hot guys?” Dove asked. “Isn’t this like one of your romance books? You should be salivating right now, Sloane.”

  “Fine!” Sloane called. She grabbed her wallet and turned toward me. “Lead the way, biker. Might as well enjoy this before I wake up alone in my bed.”

  “Uh, okay?” Dove laughed.

  I didn’t want to bring Sloane over by the guys, but it was my in to spend more time with her. Instead of waiting half an hour for food, they could just come to eat with us, and I could spend more time with Sloane.

  I needed to figure out why this chick was having a hold on me.

  I held my hand out to Sloane, and she stared at it.

  “I won’t bite, babe.”

  She pursed her lips and glanced up at me. “Like I haven’t read that before.” She put her hand in mine, and I helped her down from her stool.

  I pulled Sloane over to the guys, with Dove following close behind.

  “Guys, this is Sloane and Dove,” I called.

  “Hey,” Dove interrupted. “How did you know my name?” she asked.

  Sloane shifted uncomfortably next to me and looked down at the floor. “Uh, well, I met Aero earlier, and I might have said my name was Dove.”

  “What?” Dove laughed. “Why on earth did you do that?”

  “Because she wasn’t too sure about giving a mean ol’ biker her name.”

  “No,” Sloane insisted. “I just…”

  Dove sat down next to Pirate, and he set an empty plate in front of her. “Hello, darlin’,” he drawled.

  “I’m here for the food, handsome. Save the charm for someone else.” She grabbed a plate of wings and slid four onto her plate. “Did you guys get ranch?”

  Sloane closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Your friend is pretty good at making herself comfortable,” I called softly. Her hand was still in mine, and she wasn’t trying to escape me this time.

  “Dove has never met a stranger in her life. Swear to god she could befriend an alligator in the bayou.” Sloane opened her eyes and looked up at me. “I’m actually pretty jealous of that fact.”

  I shrugged, “You seem to be doing just fine, babe.”

  “Running into an elevator, almost falling on my butt, and lying about my name is doing fine?” she asked. “I do much better with my nose in a book.”

  I shrugged, “I mean, you definitely made my afternoon interesting.” That was not a lie at all. Before running into Sloane, I had planned on heading up to my room and spending the rest of the night watching TV with Throttle. “And if you have your nose in a book all the time, you’re missing out on life.”

  Earlier, and this right here, was a hundred times better.

  “The real world is a mess, Aero. I do better with my nose in a book where drama happens, but it’s all solved within a few pages.” Her eyes connected with mine, and she smiled sadly. “Books are safe.”

  Well, if that didn’t make me want to get to know Sloane even more, I didn’t know what would. What happened in her world to make her think living in a book was better? Sure, I could see how reading could be an escape, but the real world couldn’t be that bad, right?

  I pulled out the chair next to her and motioned for her to sit. “Well, why don’t you spend the night in my world, babe, and then you can tell me if your books are better.”

  She huffed but sat down. “Your world seems to be just like one of my books,” she mumbled. “I just need to know which one of you guys is the prez.”

  “Yarder,” Fade answered. “He’s up in his room with Compass because they’re both sticks in the mud who are always on alert because they think shit is always going to hit the fan.”

  “And are they normally right?” Sloane asked.

  Fade shrugged, “I mean, yeah, but it’s not much fun living in fear of shit happening. It’s better to live and take the hit from life when it comes.”

  Dove grabbed an empty plate and put it in front of Sloane. “You need to eat.” She licked her finger and reached for another chicken wing. “The wings are okay.”

  “Girl,” Sloane laughed. “I would say they are more than okay with all those clean bones on your plate.”

  I sat next to Sloane and leaned back in my chair.

  I watched Sloane tentatively put a few mozzarella sticks and potato skins on her plate.

  Thankfully, she wasn’t one of those girls who didn’t want to eat in front of people. That was something I wouldn’t be able to handle. We all ate, and there wasn’t a reason to hide it.

  “So,” Cue Ball called. “You’re one of the book chicks, right?” he called to Dove and Sloane.

  Dove raised her hand and shook it. “I am not. I’m here as Sloane’s book hauler. I also ogled the cover models, but that’s about it.”

  “And also got drunk off your butt,” Sloane laughed.

  “Wait, wait,” Smoke called. “How the hell did you get drunk at a book signing?”

  “You’d be surprised at how wild Sloane and her bookies are.” Dove grabbed a mozzarella stick and poured some marinara sauce on her plate.

  “Bookies?” I asked.

  Sloane glanced at me. “Uh, that’s just what Dove calls us.” She cleared her throat. “People who go to signings.”

  “Hey, it’s better than book sluts,” Dove called. “I called her that for a little bit, but she did not like that.” Dove wiggled her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Even though it’s true.”

  Sloane’s cheeks flushed pink, and her eyes dropped to her plate. “God, please help me,” she whispered.

  “Whoa, whoa. Just want kind of books are you guys reading?” Fade asked.

  Dove raised her arm and circled her finger around. “This right here, drama, and hot sex in the bathroom, bedroom, sometimes the kitchen table, and if she’s really reading a dirty one, it doesn’t matter where they are.”

  Sloane closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest.

  “Hell yeah,” Stretch called. “That sounds like some shit I would read.”

  “You think I can borrow some of your books?” Fade asked.

  I could tell Sloane was embarrassed as hell. “Knock it off,” I called.

  “Why?” Fade asked. “I’m serious as fuck. It’s pretty fucking cool that she reads shit like that. Probably way better than reading about rocket science or the weather.”

  “The weather?” Sloane busted out. “Who on earth would think that is what I read?”

  Cue Ball stood and held out both of his arms. “Everyone shut up. I need you to clarify something for me.”

  Oh, Jesus.

  “This is going to be good,” Stretch muttered.

  Dove pulled out her phone and took a photo of Cue Ball. “You look like God in that painting of the last supper.”

  “Did you just call me God?” Cue Ball asked.

  Dove rolled her eyes and put her phone back in her pocket. “Should have kept my mouth shut.”

  “Spit out whatever you want to say, Cue Ball,” Pirate grumbled.

  He circled his finger in the air. “All of these chicks in this room sit all innocent reading their books when they’re actually reading about throbbing cocks and motorcycles?”

  Sloane shrugged, “I mean, there's more to it, but those two things do seem to happen in most of the books women here read. There is a story to most of them, though,” she pointed out.

  “Don’t let her fool you,” Dove laughed. “Sloane loves her books, and she will fight anyone to the death who even dares to talk bad about them. I just love giving her shit.”

  “You only shit on the ones you love,” Sloane laughed.

  Cue Ball threw his hands in the air. “That’s it. I’m going to find me a bookworm and see if she wants to test out book scenes with me.”

  All the guys except for Dice spread out around the bar area.

  “I’m going to get a drink,” Dove called.

  “The waitress should be around soon,” Dice replied.

  Dove shook her head. “Nah, I think I need to walk. I’m starting to sober up, and I need another drink now.”

  Dove made her way over to the bar, and Dice stood. “I’ll just keep an eye on her.”

  I nodded and reached for a mozzarella stick.

  “Maybe I should go with Dove.” Sloane pushed her chair back, and I laid my hand on her arm.

  “She’ll be fine, babe. Dice will make sure nothing happens to her,” I reassured her.

  “But what if Dice is the thing that could happen to her?” she countered.

  I shook my head. “Not sure what all goes on in your books, but I can tell you it’s not all true if you think me and the Iron Fiends are the bad guys.”

  “Sometimes the bad guys seem good at first.”

  I chuckled and shook my head. “Then I guess you are just going to have to stick around and find out if I’m good or bad.”

  *

  Chapter Five

  Sloane

  How did I get here?

  Honestly.

  I was not the girl who hung out at the bar and caught the eye of the hot group of guys.

  And to top it all off, the hottest guy was sitting next to me willingly. FLIRTING WITH ME!

  “Well, Dove and I are only here until Monday, and then it’s back to reality.” A reality that did not have hot bikers in it. Or really any type of fun.

  “More book stuff tomorrow?” Aero asked.

  I shook my head. “No. All the book stuff is over. We just decided to stay an extra day to relax. We figured we might as well treat this like a vacation.”

  “Just where are you two from?” Aero asked. “This place is pretty fucking cool, but I don’t think a ton of people would pick this as their first choice for a vacation, though that might be because I’m from Texas. It’s my home, not a vacation spot.”

  “Uh, the Arkansas side of Texarkana.”

  “No shit,” he laughed. “Well, then, I guess maybe this could be a vacation spot for you.”

  “Where are you guys from?” I asked. I hadn’t been able to look at the patch on his back to see where his club was located.

  “Mt. Pleasant.”

  Well, that was not what I expected him to say. Mt. Pleasant was only an hour away from Texarkana. I thought for sure they were from the Houston or even the Dallas area. “What are you doing here?” I asked. A resort-like this was not where a motorcycle club normally hung out.

  “We had a charity run and decided to spend the night here before heading back tomorrow.”

  “I bet you guys were pretty surprised when you saw there was a book signing going on.”

  Aero chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that. Though none of us really knew what the hell was going on.”

  “And for it to be an MC signing to boot is such a huge coincidence.”

  Aero nodded.

  “Kind of got me looking to see if any mafia guys are running around, too, since you guys are here,” I joked.

  “Probably are, babe. Not like they run around with signs around their necks saying they are in the mafia.”

  “You mean like having a patch on their back saying who they are and where they are from?” I joked.

  He tipped his head. “You got me there, babe. I guess we could have taken our cuts off, but we’re not ashamed of who we are. The Iron Fiends are a well-known and respected club in Texas.”

  “Nah, everyone still would have known you were an MC. You have that look to you.” I swiped the last bite of my mozzarella stick through the marinara and popped it into my mouth. “Wild and carefree.”

  “I thought you were going to say dirty and unkempt.”

  I scoffed and shook my head. “Hardly.” Trust me, Aero looked anything but dirty and unkempt.

  “So what is your deal, Sloane? I know you’re into books because of the huge ass wagon full of them you were hauling around, but what else are you into?”

  “Uh, working?” I laughed. “If I’m not reading, I’m working.” Seriously, that was my life. Work and reading.

  “And what kind of work do you do?” he asked.

  “Uh, well, I work in a factory. I’m one of the machine operators.” It was not at all a glamorous job, but it more than paid my bills and supported my book addiction.

  Aero sat back and shook his head. “You just keep throwing curveballs at me, babe. I thought for sure you would have said librarian or something like that.”

  Oh, I had thought about being a librarian before, but I would have had to go back to school, and the pay at the factory was a lot better. Besides, I probably would have gotten fired being a librarian because I would have read all day and not actually worked. When books were at the ready, it was hard for me to resist them.

  I shrugged and pushed my plate away. “I think I spend enough time with my books the way it is. I think if my job was being surrounded by books, I would never be in reality.”

  “Nah,” Aero shrugged, “I think you’ve got a pretty good grasp on reality. I mean, you are sitting here with me right now and not reading a book.”

  “Yeah, but sitting here with you seems like I’m in one of my books,” I pointed out. “You have no idea how many times I have read about the shy girl being swept off her feet by the dangerous biker.”

  “That just goes to show all of those books you read are based on reality.”

  I quirked my eyebrow. “You really don’t understand what I read.”

  “Tell me,” he countered. “Tell me what you read that makes you want to be in a book rather than sitting here with me.”

  “I never said I would rather be reading than sitting here with you,” I protested. I had specifically said that being here with him was like a book coming to life.

  “Okay, okay, you didn’t say that, but you obviously would rather be reading ninety percent of the time.” He nodded to my shirt.

  I looked down at my chest and cringed. I’d Rather Be Reading was plastered across my chest. “It’s just a saying,” I laughed sheepishly. “I mean, who wouldn’t rather be reading than, say, being at the dentist?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Tell me about your books, babe,” he insisted.

  “Uh, really?” I had never had someone ask me to tell them about my books. Sure, I had book friends on the internet whom I talked to about what I was reading, but someone who was physically sitting across from me? Never.

  “Yeah.” Aero signaled to the waitress. “Can we get another round?” he asked.

  “Sure, sugar,” the waitress called.

  I waved my hand. “Just water for me, please.” I did not need my head to be foggy with Aero sitting next to me. I still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t a dream and wanted to do everything I could to stay asleep.

  The waitress nodded and headed over to the bar.

  I tapped my fingers on the table and looked around at everyone talking and having a good time.

  “Sloane,” Aero called. “You better start telling me about your books, or I’m going to have to creep into your room and start reading them for myself.”

  Yeah, that was not going to happen. “Uh, well, I like to read a little bit of everything, though they have romance in them. Bikers, cowboys, billionaires, and, uh,….” I trailed off and swallowed my words.

  “And what?” he laughed. “You’ve got me intrigued, babe.”

  “Shifters and aliens,” I mumbled.

  Aero tipped his head to the side. “What? Did you just say aliens?” he laughed. “Like E.T.?”

  I shook my head. Not at all like E.T. “Um, no.”

  He leveled his gaze on me. “Spit it out, Sloane, or I’m heading to your room.”

  He wouldn’t find an alien book in my room, but he would if he scrolled through my Kindle. “It’s a niche genre, Aero.” And a damn good one, but one that most people who didn’t read romance would not understand. Hell, even Dove didn’t know about the hot blue aliens I loved.

  Aero scooted his chair back, but I grabbed his arm.

  “Where are you going?” I demanded.

  “To your room, unless you tell me about the aliens,” Aero whispered.

  I closed one eye and winced. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  He shook his head.

  I squeezed his arm and leaned toward him. “You don’t play fair, Aero.”

  “I never said I did, babe.”

  I sighed and scooted my chair closer to him. “They’re romance books, but they have….”

  “Aliens?” Aero guessed.

  He was half right. “Blue,” I whispered.

  He tipped his head to the side. “Blue aliens?”

  I nodded and looked around. I knew I wasn’t the only person in the room who read alien romance, but it was still a weird thing to admit out loud, especially to a hot biker sitting next to you.

  He furrowed his brow. “Blue aliens do it for you?” he asked. “I thought I’d heard it all, babe, but you just blew my mind.”

  I closed my eyes and wished for that hole to open up and swallow me whole again. “Can we please not talk about this?” All of the words coming out of my mouth sounded ridiculous for someone who didn’t read romance. “It’s not as weird as it sounds. It’s more about the story.”

  “You know that’s what guys say about porn, right? They are in it for the story.”

  I opened my eyes and laughed. “You mean the two minutes in the beginning where the hot plumber guy knocks on the door ready to hook up the washing machine but instead ends up hooking up with the lonely housewife.”

  He winked and pointed at me. “That one is my favorite. Though I do like a woman broke down on the side of the road, and a handsome stranger comes along and helps clean out her carburetor.”

 

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