“Really?” He disappeared into the crowd, looking for the elusive Miki.

Sara let out a laugh as she realized that Miki would make her pay dearly for this tomorrow.

“Having a good time fuckin’ with my friend?”

Or she may be paying for it a lot sooner.

He was behind her. His breath in her ear, as he leaned into her. He didn’t touch her, but her entire body was on fire wanting him to touch her.

“I didn’t…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence. This was getting just ridiculous. She forced her body to move away from him. “Look, I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she snapped as she turned to face him. Great. The sleeveless Harley T-shirt he wore, revealing large tanned muscular arms sporting tattoos on both triceps and his left forearm, was not helping her keep her composure, “And I’m sure your sturdy friend there can take care of himself.”

“Against her? Are you kidding? That girl’s mean as a snake.”

“No, she’s… Don’t talk about my friends.”

“Don’t mess with mine.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

The two stood staring at each other. And Sara didn’t know whether to punch him in the stomach or lick the black tribal tattoo on his right shoulder.

In order to avoid both, she turned and walked away. She’d gotten several feet when she realized he was walking beside her. She stopped, “What?”

“I didn’t say a word.”

Sara took several more steps but realized he was still there with her. She stopped again, this time turning to face him. “What are you doing?”

“Living life to its fullest.”

Sara’s eyes narrowed, “Go away.”

“Why?” Zach leaned into her, but still didn’t touch her, “Do I make you nervous?”

She snorted, “Please. I’ve known tougher gangs than you people.” She started walking again, but stopped short when she realized he was no longer walking with her. It was what she had asked for but she didn’t expect him to actually listen. She looked back at him, “What?”

“Well,” he slowly moved toward her. His muscles just rippled. It was driving her crazy. “At first, I stopped because I didn’t know why you were calling me a gang member. Then I was just watching your ass move in that skirt. That pretty much kept me rooted to the spot.”

Sara rubbed her nose to hide a smile. “Sorry I insulted you. Do you prefer Motorcycle Club?”

“You do know that we’re not some kind of biker gang, right?”

Of course they were. How could they not be? Groups of grown adults didn’t move around in packs, living together and throwing wild raves if they weren’t a gang.

“We just like to ride. We like the freedom.”

“Then you guys are…”

“Business partners. We own and operate a bunch of clubs.”

“Really?” Sara took a sip of her water as Zach dug into the back pocket of his jeans. She would love to dig into the back pocket of his jeans herself.

Jesus, girl! Get a grip.

“Here.” He handed her a business card. It was on high-quality card stock and the letters were embossed, but all it had was his name, Zach Sheridan, and a cell phone number.

Sara held the card up, “And?”

“Only reputable business people have business cards.”

Sara loved his sarcasm. It was so ridiculous. “And the Hells Angels have their own Web sites. They sell T-shirts.” Sara started walking again. Her leg was starting to tighten up. She was desperately hoping that she could walk the pain off. She didn’t want the night to end. She was, as much as she hated to admit it, having a great time with Zach. He was a fun idiot.

But she had yet to figure out why this guy was spending any time with her. There were women around this place who would drop to their knees at just a wink from him. She watched them watch him. And yet he seemed to be ignoring them completely. She wondered what he was up to. What was the man thinking?

***

I’d give my eye teeth just to have this woman sitting on my face right now.

***

“Pole.”

“What?”

“You’re about to walk into a…” Zach walked face first into a pole between two booths. “…pole.”

Zach took a step back and grabbed his forehead. “Motherfucker!”

“Don’t be a whiner.” Sara turned him so that he faced her, pulling his hands down from his face. “Here. Let me see.” She put her hands on his expansive shoulders and lowered him so that she could examine his head. “I don’t even think you’ll have a bruise.”

“Will you nurse me back to health if it’s a concussion?”

Sara smiled, “No. I’ll leave you alone. Naked. Food for the wolves.”

“Naked, huh?”

“Therapy.” She pushed him away or, at the very least, tried. “For many, like you, it’s a viable option.” She walked past him, hoping he didn’t hear her voice catch, or see that her nipples were burrowing a hole through her tank top.

***

Zach was doing his best to keep some semblance of self-control around Sara. But she wasn’t making it easy on him. Letting him walk into poles. Touching his shoulders. Using the word “naked.”

And the woman was completely oblivious to the hold she had over him. She was looking at everyone but him. Constantly scanning the crowd, looking for any sign of trouble. He realized that while her friends partied and danced she watched their backs and her own.