Bella Chapter 1

I was running later than I planned, which I hated. I was one of those people who, if I wasn't at least ten minutes early, I was late, and it made me anxious. I would've been there already if it wasn't for my last student of the day. I knew it would be a stressful lesson, but I had no idea how stressful it would be. I liked most of my students and clients and had fun working with them, but there were always a few who made me want to scream and pull out my hair. I didn't have the luxury of turning business away, so I suffered through those times. This was the case with my last lesson today.

Actually, the child and the mother were both a pain in my ass. I needed the money, but a part of me kept praying that the girl would get bored with riding and quit. It was due to them having money and thinking anyone who wasn't as wealthy as them and members of the damn country club were beneath them. They treated me and people like me as servants, and it put my teeth on edge.

Kathy brought her bratty daughter, fourteen-year-old Kiley, to me three months ago. From what I understood, Kiley woke up one morning and decided she just had to learn to ride. I wouldn't have minded so much if she actually took it seriously, but she didn't. She ignored instructions and worried more about looking cute on the horse than about enjoying the riding and learning. Who wore sequined jeans, expensive designer cowboy boots, and fancy tops to the corral just to get them dirty? Kiley, that's who.

Unfortunately, she was like her mom—a vain airhead who was nasty and self-absorbed. The number of times I wanted to slap both of them was climbing, and after today, they had me almost there. It was all due to Kiley throwing a fit when I told her it was time to finish her ride because time was up, and I had an engagement to attend. Recalling the conversation made my hands tighten on the steering wheel of my truck.

With her hand on her jutted-out hip, Kathy gave me a sneering look. "I pay you good money to teach my daughter to ride. I don't pay you to cut her lessons short. She hasn't had her hour yet. I guess you can't tell time," she said snidely.

I wanted to snap back and say, no, you're the one who can't tell time, bitch. I didn't, but I had to bite my tongue for a couple of seconds to prevent it from slipping out. Instead, I said to her, "I do know the time. Her lesson is from eleven until twelve o'clock. It's twelve o'clock. The fact you arrived fifteen minutes late today is the reason she didn't get her full hour. I can't stay over. I have an obligation elsewhere. Bring her fifteen minutes early next time, and she can make up her time."

"Mom, tell her she has to stay! I'm not done," Kiley snapped as she glared at me from atop the horse.

"I had a hair appointment, and it ran over. Finish the hour today. You can be late for whatever you have going. I doubt it's anything important," Kathy said with a roll of her elaborately made-up eyes.

My temper was rising, and I felt so close to blowing. If I did, it would be ugly. The urge to reach out and rip those spiders she called eyelashes off her face and shove them up her ass was strong. I didn't mind fake lashes, but come on, there was a limit. She looked like there were fucking legs growing out of her eyelids. I couldn't afford to be that way for a couple of reasons. One, I was a better person than her. The other reason, I didn't want an assault charge against me.

"My engagement is important to me. She has five minutes. Then I need to unsaddle her horse and see to it before I can leave. I'm sorry, but she can make it up next time," I said firmly. I wasn't about to let her get her way. I was done with her and her snot of a kid. If she fired me, so what? I had more people singing my praises than I had dissenters. From what I saw, other people who came here and met her couldn't stand her either. I doubted she'd ruin my business.

Typically, the students would help care for their own horses after riding them. It was part of the learning process I used, but Kiley was too good to do it. She and her mom saw it as my job, and honestly, I didn't want her to touch my horses more than absolutely necessary. Not bothering to listen to Kathy bitch more, I walked around the corral to her daughter.

"It's time to put Venus away. She needs to cool off, get a rubdown, and get some food and water."

I gave her a stern look. Like her mom, she rolled her eyes. "Fine," she snapped, then rode over to the block to dismount. She threw the reins at me and then stomped over to her mom. I could hear her whining and Kathy making threats to never come back. I wanted to beg her to make it so. When they couldn't get a rise out of me, they finally sashayed off to their Lexus and tore out in a cloud of dust.

By the time I finished taking care of Venus, took a shower, and got myself cleaned up to be presentable, it was creeping close to two o'clock, the time I told Londyn I'd be there. I rushed to my truck and got on the road. When she called a few days ago to ask me to come, I was stunned. I had no idea she knew one of the local motorcycle clubs, let alone was hanging out with them at their compound. She explained she would be meeting them all for the first time today, and she needed reinforcements. She also told me about one of the members who was driving her crazy, Torpedo. I was curious. I wasn't one to leave a friend high and dry, so I said yes, even though the thought of being around a bunch of bikers made me uneasy.

I knew enough about how bikers lived from back home to know they weren't people I'd usually spend time with. I was surprised Londyn was, and I wanted to know why. There had to be a reason. There was a club in my hometown in South Dakota. Everyone knew to give them a wide berth. They would roar through town all the time and cause trouble as often as they could. I personally had no run-ins with them since I was out at the ranch ninety-nine percent of the time. Trips to town were few and far between. Others weren't as fortunate.

Cruising from one end of Tenillo to another took time. I kept getting caught at stop lights or behind people puttering along at fifteen or more miles below the speed limit. I growled at them. The horses and I lived on the east side of town, just outside the city limits. The Ares Infidels had their place on the south side, out in the country.

I admit, I was curious to see what their place was like. I'd driven out their way more than a few times, and I knew it was fenced in, which looked intimidating. They had razor wire along the top, and I'd seen several buildings plus houses further back. I slowed down the first time to look, but a guy at the gate walked out and gave me a probing look, so I got out of there. I tried it a few more times, but I was never fully satisfied.

When I was about five minutes away, I sent Londyn a voice-to-text message. Thank God for smartphones and hands-free. I made it in six minutes. As I approached the gate this time, I had butterflies in my stomach. It was as imposing as the other times. A man came to the gate and opened it far enough to walk out. I rolled down my window.

He eyed me. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm Bella, and Londyn is—" I was cut short by him smiling. His whole demeanor changed from slightly suspicious to friendly.

"Oh, yeah, we've been expecting you. Let me get the gate for you. I'm Ashes. You can park out in front of the clubhouse. It's the big building on the left," he informed me as he pointed behind him.

I watched as he went back inside, and the gate began to open. As I drove through, I saw Londyn standing up ahead by the clubhouse. There was a big, tall man standing behind her. He had his head lowered to her neck. Was he kissing her? Hmm, interesting. This had to be Torpedo, who she mentioned. She'd told me enough to have me intrigued.

I waved. She waved back, and then she pointed to a spot for me to park. I hurried to take it. I hadn't seen her in what felt like ages, and I missed her. I jumped out of my truck as soon as it was in park and turned it off. I couldn't help but smile at her. I hurried over and hugged her tightly. She hugged me back. As she let go of me, I couldn't resist turning to the man with her. She would probably kick my ass later for it, but I had to say it.

"Oh my, Londyn, he's utterly yummy. You're even hotter than she described, and that was hot as hell. Hi, I'm Bella. It's great to meet you." I held out my hand.

He grinned, which pushed his hotness up another couple of notches. Damn. "Well, for those hot and yummy remarks, it's all my pleasure to meet you. You'll have to tell me later what else she said."

I had to grin, but I did shake my head no. "I can't do that, big guy. It's girl code. You know, like bro code. Wow, this place is awesome. I've driven by, but you can't see all this. It looks like you have a big crew here. Look at those bikes."

I would have to be blind or dead not to see and appreciate the bikes. They were sexy and beautiful. Many of them were works of art with gorgeous paint jobs.

"Do you ride?" he asked me.

I laughed. "I ride live horses, not steel ones, although I wouldn't say no to trying it. I'm a riding instructor and equine therapist, in case Londyn didn't tell you."

"She did mention it, and I think it's cool as hell. I've never been on a horse before. Maybe one day I can come and try it, and you can try riding a bike with someone. It could be a lot of fun as long as the horse doesn't throw my ass off." He gave me a look of horror. I doubted anything horrified or scared him. I liked him.

I laughed again. "I promise I'll get you a gentle one, and you'll see there's nothing to be afraid of. I have kids as young as two on the horses."

"Well then, if they can do it, so can I. Why don't we get you inside and then out back so we can introduce you to the masses? Be prepared to be overwhelmed. We're loud, sometimes crude, but we don't bite."

I snickered and then fell into step with them. Londyn got started by making sure I saw Diane and Sadie were there. Of course, we had to hug. Sadie was talking a mile a minute since she was so excited to be there. After that, Torpedo introduced Londyn and me to more people. Eventually, we went over to a couple of men who were standing alone.

"Bella, remember I told you about my friend, Malik, and my other friend, Arek? These are them. Don't believe half what they say, and don't let Arek convince you to go see his babies."

"It's nice to meet you both. Babies?"

"Yeah, she means my weapons. I love them, and they're my kids," Arek said with a wink.

"Nice. I have some of those, too. Maybe we can compare them some time, but today, I promised Londyn I'd behave." It wasn't true, but I wanted her to feel relaxed and not nervous about what her friends would say or do.

After talking to them for a few minutes, she excused us to meet more people. We eventually ended up behind the clubhouse in a large barbeque area. I was looking around when two dogs came running up to us. One was the size of a small moose, and the other was this tiny pug. They made such an odd pair that I had to smile. I dropped to my knees and held out my hand. I let them sniff me before I tried to pet them. I used both hands so they could get petted and scratched behind their ears at the same time. I loved all animals, not just horses. I missed having a dog. They got me talking as if they could understand me.

"Aren't you just the most handsome boys? I could take you home with me. Let's go sneak you into my truck."

"I'll pay you to take the little shit," Sin, the tall, handsome bald president of the club, said as he came up behind us. With him was his beautiful, petite blond wife, Lyric. I'd met them earlier inside. I had to frown at his words. Who would want to get rid of these sweet dogs?

Lyric chided him gently. "You're not getting rid of Bear, no matter what you say. You know you love him like I love Zeus."

"Like hell, I love the little bastard. He plots to kill me and tries to keep me away from our kids and out of our bed. I'm feeding him to the wolves," he grumbled.

"If you do, you'll be out of my bed forever, and your daughter will cry her eyes out. Do you want that?"

I was trying not to giggle at their interaction. He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. "Fine, he can stay and not be wolf chow. How're you liking the compound?" he asked me. Wise man, he knew when to abandon ship and drop something. She had him trained right. Wow, I didn't realize bikers could be civilized. Torpedo and Sin were changing my mind.

I'd stayed crouched down, petting the dogs as I answered him honestly. "I love it. This is such a great place. I wish my horses were out this way rather than on the other side of town. It's more peaceful."

"Hey, guys, I'm sending Dragon into town to pick up a few things. Is there anything you can think of that we need him to get?" a man asked as he came up to us. I saw him wink at Londyn. I'll be honest. I was speechless as I stood up from my position on the ground. Here was another man, and boy, oh boy, he was gorgeous with a capital G. When I stood, his eyes landed on me.

I swear I felt his eyes physically touch me as he scanned up and down my body and then gave me a sexy smile. Man, he was lethal to the female population. A quick scan of him showed me an extremely tall man, one who was probably six-and-a-half feet tall. I had to crane my neck back to look up at him. He had tanned skin. By his appearance, I thought he might have some Hispanic or Latino in him. He was athletically built with light brownish-blond hair. It was thick and tapered, longer on top to shorter on the sides and in the back. His eyes were an unusual silvery-gray, which stood out against his darker skin and hair. His jaw was covered in a darker five-o'clock shadow. I gauged him to be in his mid to late thirties.

"Hellooo," he said with a sexy grin on his handsome face.

"Boomer, this is my best friend, Bella. Bella, this is Boomer. He's one of Torpedo's club brothers," Londyn informed us.

I couldn't help but smile. "Hello, Boomer. It's nice to meet another one of Torpedo's brothers. I've heard there are a lot of you. That must be wonderful to have so many people you call family. You're very lucky."

"I am. Why haven't you brought Bella to see us and the compound before this, Londyn?" Boomer asked.

I wanted to squirm. He was staring intently at me. My cheeks heated up as I blushed. I didn't know what I should do or say. Men always baffled me. It was easier to stick to horses.

"I was hoping to keep her away from some of you and your bad influences. She's not like the others who come here. She's too nice."

He lifted his chin at her. I wasn't sure if it was to acknowledge what she said or something else. I had to say something, so I settled on making sure no one thought I was too nice.

"Londyn, you make me sound like a goody-two-shoes and that I can't take care of myself or something. I can, you know?"

She put her arm around my shoulders and gently squeezed. "I know you can, and I don't mean to make it sound like that. I just know you're way nicer than I am. And you're sweet. Ask anyone who you work with and their families who know you. You're an amazing woman."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I told the others standing with us, "I paid her to say all those things. I'll give you the money later." I acted like I was whispering the last bit to Londyn.

They laughed, and then there was a change of topic. We stayed with them for several minutes more. Boomer stayed as well. Eventually, Sin and Lyric had to move on, and so did we. It was a confusing whirl of people we were introduced to. I found myself at one point back with Sadie and Diane. They seemed happy to get a chance to talk this time. When Boomer excused himself to take care of something, I watched him leave with a hollow feeling in my stomach. I have no idea why. Before he left, he assured me he'd see me again later.