Angelina and Miki had gone into the bedroom to argue in whispers. So, a few minutes on the porch wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Sara silently moved to the door. She eased it open and slipped out into the night.

***

Zach was about to howl in frustration when he got the call. He had been searching for her for hours. He knew she was with her friends, but he lost her scent once she left Marrec’s. He tried her house. The two restaurants in town and the local movie theater.

Then Conall called. “You better get over here.”

It turned out that “here” was the club he first saw her in. He had gone there earlier, but it was a quiet evening with just a few patrons hanging out.

But when he rode his bike up, Conall was standing outside with Kelly and Julie. Standing with them was a small group of patrons, wearing their requisite Goth black and leather. They all looked like they were waiting for something, but he was afraid to ask what.

He got off his bike and walked up to Conall. “Well? Where is she?”

“In there.” Conall motioned to the club. “But you better hurry up. The owner’s about to call the cops. I’ll hold him off as long as I can.”

Zach headed toward the entrance. He heard Conall’s voice behind him, “Be careful, Zach.”

Zach walked into the club and right into a bar fight. Several men were already knocked out and bloody on the floor. But at least six other men were still fighting. He looked for Sara assuming she’d be in the middle of it. She wasn’t.

But in seconds he picked up her scent. He was shocked he hadn’t caught it five miles back, it was that strong. He looked across the room. She was sitting on the stool watching the men fight. It hit Zach like a thunderbolt. They were fighting over her. And she was letting them. In fact, she looked as if she were thoroughly enjoying herself.

The men fighting were bikers. Gang members she’d probably known over the years who never paid much attention to her. Until now.

Okay. This is bad, he thought to himself. But it could be worse.

Sara looked up from the fighting men in front of her. She cast around and he realized that she had picked up his scent. She turned and looked right at him and he felt his heart stop. She was beautiful before but now…

She slid off the stool she had been perched on and walked toward him, expertly avoiding the tangle of bloody men.

As she came close to him, she licked her lips and Zach wasn’t sure how much more he could take before he lost the control he was barely holding on to.

Sara stood in front of him, a smile sliding across her full lips. She reached up and kissed him. Nothing fancy. Just her lips touching his. She just as suddenly pulled away from him.

“Have fun.” She spat. She moved away and he was hit from every side by six bikers who hated his guts.

***

Okay. That was really bitchy, Sara thought as she watched Zach hit the floor. Every man she’d touched that evening had some how ended up in this huge brawl in the middle of her favorite club. And she knew that kissing Zach would send the remainder of these idiots his way. And yet she felt he kind of deserved it.

Christ what was wrong with her? She had been out of control since she walked out of Miki’s house.

Well, actually, it started off innocently enough. She went for a walk along the highway, enjoying the chilly night air against her skin and the smell of the trees. Then she’d heard music and realized she was nearing the club. She figured she should go back to Miki’s first; let her know she was okay. But, she reasoned, a soda would really hit the spot after such a long walk. So she went to the club first. But as soon as she walked in she knew something was different.

In the past, she’d walked in and out of Skelly’s without anyone ever noticing her unless she was with Angelina. But as soon as she walked in tonight, all activity stopped. And every man in the place turned to look at her.

At first, she panicked. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention. But as she forced herself to move through the club, she realized that she wasn’t scared. In fact, she felt remarkably confident. She walked with her head held up and looked every man that looked at her straight in the eye. Daring them to make a move.

That started off pretty simply too. A couple of bikers she knew bought her a round of drinks that she didn’t touch. But rival gang members pushed them out of the way to talk to Sara. And that was all she wrote. She worried that guns might be drawn, but it seemed that all the men felt the need to fight mano y mano.

So she’d sat on a stool and let them. Until she saw Zach. No. That’s wrong. She didn’t see him at first. She sensed him. Then she smelled him. He smelled primal and oh, so male. Her mouth actually watered.

She debated whether to ignore him but, she thought, Why shouldn’t the fucker fight for me too?” And that’s where the kiss came in. She knew she had him as soon as she licked her lips.

But she was starting to worry. Zach wasn’t coming up out of the throng of men. And she had no intention of going home with anyone else tonight.

She was about to start dragging men off of him herself, until she heard an angry snarl and saw a biker she knew only as Ray fly by her. Then another. Then another.

In less than three minutes, Zach had wiped the floor with the biggest, toughest bikers she had ever known.

When he was done he turned and faced her. He was breathing deeply and his face was battered and bloody, already starting to swell in some spots. His lip had been split and it was dripping blood. She had the overwhelming desire to lick the blood away.