Chapter 5

AVERY

She stopped and squeaked when she ran into a large, hard chest and looked up to see the very handsome face of Justin Mariner looking at her with a furrowed brow.

“Are you okay? I saw you stomp off and have been out here for several minutes…”

She swallowed and willed the words to come out of her mouth. “I, um, I’m okay. Thanks for checking.”

She started to walk off, but he gently took her hand and pulled her back to him, moving a little farther down the low-lit hallway.

“Are you sure? You seemed to get upset by something that asshat Will said,” he replied, gently rubbing her arm.

“Umm yeah, well no, I mean—” She stopped when he chuckled.

“It’s okay. If he is bothering you, I can ask him to leave. He hates me anyway, I can just add it to his list of reasons why.”

“You know Will?” she asked, finding her ability to talk working again, but everything else was rapidly stopping the more he rubbed her arm and moved closer to her.

She caught a faint smell of gas and cigars, along with some kind of aftershave on his skin. And while that combo might be disgusting to some, it drove her crazy.

She tried desperately not to breathe him in too deeply, not wanting to look like a creepy woman for sniffing him.

“I do know him. He was a year younger than me in school, and he seemed to think that he was the smartest kid in school until teachers figured out I’m a math whiz.”

“I skipped a few grades and went to college early. Ever since, he’s hated me. So anything I can do to knock his ego down a few notches makes my day.”

He smirked, having her boxed in on one side with his arm on the wall, leaning over so he could talk low in her ear.

Avery tried very hard not to roll her eyes in pleasure or moan every time she felt his warm breath on her neck. “Oh...wow...okay.”

She had no idea what to say at that point and just looked up at him, unsure of what to do next.

They stood like that for a few moments before he whispered in her ear, “I have no idea what it is, but I am drawn to you, baby.”

Avery’s eyes went wide. “But you don’t know me!”

“Oh, that’s going to change. I guarantee it,” he whispered, and gently ran his lips over hers, making her knees weak at the brief contact.

It was a jolt to her system when his lips touched hers, and she had no idea why.

Justin pulled back, just enough to say, “I’m kissing you again, Avery, so if you want to stop me, do it now.”

She looked at him, unable to process any thoughts, and watched as he lowered his lips to hers again and made contact again.

Sparks shot through them both, but neither pulled apart until Avery felt her already weak knees give out and Justin caught her.

“Damn, baby! Have you ever had that happen before?” He chuckled.

Avery shook her head, still not able to form words.

“Do you want to get out of here? We can go for a ride,” he said, eyeing her like dessert.

Avery felt her brain kick in again and shook her head again. “No. I don’t know you and I have heard things about you.”

Justin stood upright. “What did you hear?”

“You are a huge player or even a man-whore. I’m not looking to be someone’s conquest,” she replied.

Justin raised an eyebrow. “Really? Man-whore? Well, that is just plain rude!”

Avery couldn’t believe he found it amusing. “You don’t care that people think that about you?”

He shrugged. “Nope. If I listened to every single insult that people hurled at me, my ears would bleed.”

“I’m the president of a very successful motorcycle club, and I know who my friends and family are. Anyone else’s opinion, I don’t give two fucks about.”

“Now, as far as being a player, I’ll be honest. I enjoy sex. A LOT.”

“So, if I find a partner that is willing to take what I have to give, then it will be a memorable, exhausting, and fulfilling experience for us both.”

She saw the gleam in his eyes, and it just made her even more confused by him and immensely turned on.

They looked at each other for several more moments before she found her voice and whispered, “I should get back to my group…”

He grinned and nodded, moving back from her. “Have a good evening, Avery. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

She couldn’t help but feel a shiver run through her at his words. As she walked back to her group, she couldn’t help but notice how wet her underwear was.

JUSTIN

Justin watched her walk away, pulled out his phone, pressed a button, and waited until it was picked up. “Hey, Stevo! I need you to run someone.”

“Hey, Prez, who this time?” Stevo asked, getting out a paper and pen, ready to write down what his boss would ask of him.

“Avery Harper, she’s a teacher at Lexi’s school.”

“Okay. Anything particular?” Stevo asked.

“Everything—birth date, phone number, address, a total background check,” Justin said, walking back out to the main bar area and watching the scene before him.

“Okay, give me a couple of days for the full thing, but I can have preliminary stuff by tomorrow afternoon,” Stevo assured him.

“Good. I’m really glad I hired you as our resident computer whiz and hacker.” Justin smiled.

“Damn it! When you compliment me, it makes me worried. Is this chick okay? I mean, do you think she is gonna hurt Lexi?” Stevo clarified.

“Oh, not in the slightest. This is all for me,” Justin grinned, hearing his techie chuckle. Then he hung up and said to himself, “Oh, she is gonna be mine, she just doesn’t know it yet.”