Slow Burn (Lost Kings MC #1)My jaw locked as I held back the laughter I knew would only get her more ticked off at me. I hadn’t even realized I’d started after her until the glare of the afternoon sun hit me. By then, I needed to grab her and make things right before she stormed off. And never came back. Because the thought of not seeing her again left me cold.

“Fine, Hope. I respect you. I’m sorry I got carried away. It won’t happen again.” There. I’d managed to give her my most reasonable tone of voice and not choke on the words because I wasn’t even a little sorry. Her shoulders relaxed, and the expression on her face softened as she finally met my gaze.

“Thank you. It’s not your fault. Around you, I feel—”

The absurdly loud buzz of a motorcycle on the main road drowned her soft voice out. Since bikes were my thing, naturally I tipped my head up to see who would be stupid enough to ride that loud near my club.

Fuck.

I recognized the ape hangers and the logo on the cut. I pushed Hope behind me as I watched the Viper cruise by. His bottom rocker identified him as from out of town. Not good. Where there was one, there had to be more of them moving in from other charters. The fucker had the nerve to take an unnatural interest in Hope, and I didn’t like it one fucking bit.

“What’s wrong?” Her timid voice came from behind me. Pride surged through me when I realized she’d moved and stayed put without me even having to ask. She trusted me. Her hands settled against my shoulder blades, and I swear even through the thin material of my tee and the thick leather cut, her warmth pulsed against my skin.

When the Viper finally moved out of sight, I hooked my arm around her waist and hauled her in front of me.

“Nothing. Just never know.”

Her forehead wrinkled, but she wisely chose to keep her opinions to herself.

“Now, what were you saying?”

Guilt flashed in her eyes. Her gaze darted somewhere over my shoulder before she answered, “I don’t remember.”

I took her words at face value. I’d messed with her head enough today. If it wasn’t for the damn ring around her finger, I’d have her on my bike on the way to my house so damn fast. But, believe it or not, I didn’t believe in cheating either. And honestly, I liked her too much to disrespect her. Above everything else, I knew I couldn’t stand it if she ended up hating me.

“I should make an appointment to come into your office to talk about a few business things.”

“My office is in my house. I meet my clients at a friend’s office downtown usually.”

Fuck me. The thought of going to her house, seeing what she liked to surround herself with, and getting in her personal space excited me a lot more than I liked to admit.