Strip You Bare by Maisey Yates Page B

they never wanted to let go, she was having a hard time remembering why she’d been angry. Remembering why she didn’t just want this. Want him. Even if he was an inarticulate ass half the time.
    She didn’t want to
marry
him, after all.
    But a little more time with his body?
    Who are you? You stormed away from him because he was being an ass. Have some pride.
    Pride in what? That was the question. She took great pride in her last name, in her roots that ran deep beneath the swampy ground here in Louisiana, but right now she didn’t much care for them. Right now, she just wanted to live independently, live in the moment, live for herself.
    You have a luncheon tomorrow. You have to sit in front of Tansey, Jillian, and Louisa, and pretend this didn’t happen.
    Right. Somehow, she would have to pretend that the only thing of note in her life was the recent dissolution of her engagement, not the screaming orgasm she’d been given by a stranger. Not the fact that she’d just lost her virginity. Not the fact that she was having illicit fantasies of experiencing it yet again.
    She needed him
out
. She needed a more generous stretch of time between facing her friends and Micah having his hands on her skin. And she most certainly needed to put her foot down. Most certainly needed to figure out when this would end, and how. Probably now. Seeing as he had simply walked into her apartment like he had every right, ending it this very moment was likely the most logical.
    “Does the tough-guy, biker schtick ever get old?”
    “Does this fake, cold, rich-chick thing ever get old?”
    She snorted a laugh. “Touché.”
    “I think you still have a fundamental misunderstanding of what exactly a motorcycle club is.”
    “Enlighten me.”
    “I’m not here to enlighten you, baby. On the other hand, I’d love to fuck you again.”
    Her internal muscles clenched in response, and the heat that fired through her veins was from something different than the rage she had hoped might come to her rescue. Sadly, there was no anger, there was no fear. She just wanted him.
    That, however, made her angry.
    One time shouldn’t make her lose her head quite this badly. One man should not have this much power over her body.
    “That’s off the table,” she said, setting her glass of wine down on the coffee table by her couch. “But you are welcome to educate me about your little biker gang.”
    “No, you really don’t want that. The fact that you think you do only proves how little you know.”
    “You’re right. When it comes to your world, I don’t know very much. But that doesn’t make me ignorant.”
    “The thing is, if I’m ignorant about your world, it just means I’ll use the wrong fork at dinner. You stay stupid about mine? You could end up dead.”
    A shiver scampered down her spine. “Are you threatening me?”
    “I don’t have to threaten you. I wouldn’t threaten you, Sarah. We don’t know each other that well, but I hope you know that. I’m not part of this anymore. But I’m back in it for now. Trust me when I tell you I associate with some men who would. I told you, I’m looking into some things here, and whoever is involved doesn’t think anything about killing people. Wouldn’t think anything about killing you. You may not understand it, you might think it’s stupid. But the rules for clubs here run deep. You’re protected by society, by the rules you have here. By the law. We are under all that. Deep underground. It doesn’t touch us. We have to fight for our own, protect our own. And you can be damn sure there are those of us who kill. This isn’t a game, and no one is playing at being tough.”
    She swallowed hard. “I thought you were going to protect me,” she said, her voice small.
    “How can I do that if you don’t understand what’s in the shadows?”
    “Okay, I get it. You’re talking about seriously violent guys. You aren’t going to protect me any better if you’re sleeping with me. So,