Chapter 2

My mouth went dry and my dick turned to stone when I saw who was behind the wheel of the Mini Cooper.

I double blinked to make sure I wasn't dreaming. What were the odds that the woman I'd been dreaming about for a month and was planning to go after soon would show up here and unknowingly offer herself up on a silver platter?

Her eyes—which I now knew were a deep navy blue—sparked with desire, clearly shocking her, and I bit back a smile. The dark blue orbs briefly swept over my body before returning to my face. The apples of her cheeks dusted with pink, but her pretty lips mashed together, and anger swallowed her flare of interest.

I was surprised by the sudden change, but I was even more mystified at how she could look adorable and so fucking sexy at the same time.

"Lost, baby?" I grunted.

Her eyes widened just the tiniest bit at the nickname, and satisfaction rolled through me. She was obviously affected by me, which would work in my favor when I claimed her.

"No, I'm not lost!" she snapped. "I want to speak to whoever is in charge."

I raised an eyebrow at her demand. "Sure you're not lost?" She had to be. She couldn't possibly know what she was asking, and truthfully, no one spoke to a Silver Saint like that.

"You're a Silver Saint, right? A part of the motorcycle club?"

My jaw almost dropped. How did this sweet, innocent—and from the looks of her clothes and car, wealthy—little girl know anything about an MC? We weren't all that hard to find because the garage and tattoo shop were located at one end of the compound, but they had their own dedicated entrance, which still blocked them from entering the rest of the grounds. But our known location was one of the reasons we kept it heavily guarded.

"Yes! Now, I want to talk to the person in charge. I want to know why—"

"Not happening, baby," I interrupted. Her moxie was cute as fuck to me, but Mac wouldn't agree and would probably scare my curvy goddess to death. I couldn't allow that.

She gasped and unbuckled, then opened her car door. I grabbed the top to keep it from slamming into my legs or bouncing back and injuring her. But my attention was quickly stolen by her shapely legs and curvy hips as she exited the vehicle. Then she turned and leaned in to grab something. It took all my fucking energy not to grab her spectacular ass and drag her up against my body.

She stood back up and slung the long strap of a brown purse over her shoulder. Then she planted her feet and dropped her head back nearly all the way to look up at my face—trying to stare me down. I had to bite back a smile again, which should have been shocking. Being in this woman's presence made me happier than I'd been in years.

"If you won't let me drive through, then I'll just stand by the gate until it opens and find your boss by myself."

This time, I couldn't hold back a laugh. Her cheeks flamed, but impressively, she didn't look away. This girl was practically radiating sweetness and innocence, so her show of backbone made pride well up in my chest.

"How 'bout you tell me what's got you fired up, and I'll see if I can help?" I trailed off with a raised eyebrow. It was both a request for her name and a statement that I knew she was affected by me.

Her face flushed pink, and the color spread down her neck and under her shirt. How far did it go? Was that what she'd look like when she was coming?

"Kiara."

Her answer brought me out of my lustful haze, but the blood in my body remained in my rock-hard dick.

"Kiara," I repeated, enjoying the feel of her name on my tongue. More blood moved south, making my voice gruff when I grunted, "Knight."

"Um, okay. Knight." She licked her lips and dropped her eyes.

Fuck, the sound of my name coming from her mouth was sexy as fuck. I wanted to hear her call me by my real name, but I was afraid that if she did, I might pick her up and fuck her on the hood of her car right out here where someone could see her.

"Tell me," I demanded.

Her pretty eyes narrowed, and she planted her hands on her hips. "I want to know why you have it out for my father. What kind of people would ruin a good man? Monsters! That's what kind! What could you possibly have against him? He—"

"Hold up, baby," I interrupted her, raising my hand in the air. "Slow down. Breathe. Now, try again."

She repeated what she'd said but slower, and my brow furrowed. What the hell was she talking about?

"Who is your father, baby?"

"Jonathan Timkins," she snapped.

Fury exploded inside me at the name of that rat bastard, but then shock quickly eclipsed it. How could this beautiful girl, who smelled like flowers and blushed so innocently, be related to trash like Timkins?

Seeing her at the courthouse for the first time made more sense now.

I had always had a sort of sixth sense about people, and nothing about this girl set off any alarms. Other than the effect of her hot little body on my libido. Which had been pretty much dormant for…I couldn't remember how long.

"Who told you the Silver Saints were targeting him, baby?" I asked curiously, trying to piece together what exactly she thought she knew.

She pinched her lips for a second, letting me know she didn't have complete faith in her source.

"My mom. But I know my dad, and he would never do the things he's being accused of!" Her beautiful eyes glistened, and something in my chest tightened. I could see that she really believed what she was saying.

Obviously, the asshole had kept her in the dark. A part of me hated to be the one to give her the truth, but I knew if it was left to any of my other brothers, they wouldn't handle her with care.

"Stay," I said quietly before spinning on my heel and entering the guard shack again. I grabbed a radio and called Grey, another patch who was splitting gate duty with me today. "Need you to start your shift early. Something came up. Got a situation to deal with."

"Need backup?" he asked through the crackle of the radio.

"Nah. Just something that can't wait."

"Be there in ten."

I stepped back outside and smirked when I saw Kiara pacing, her hands planted on her sexy hips and a scowl on her face. When she noticed me, she stopped short and growled, "Stay? I am not a dog."

Before I could stop myself, I invaded her space, pushing her back until she was up against the car and caged in when I put my hands on the roof on either side of her head. "Trust me, baby. I know you're a woman," I murmured in her ear.

She shivered, and I clenched my fists to avoid grabbing her and plastering her curves up against me. She looked so fucking soft.

"Something came up, huh? I can see why."

Kiara jumped at Grey's snort of amusement and began pushing on my chest to force me away. But the only thing I moved was my head when I turned to glare at my brother.

He didn't notice because he was too busy trying to get a glimpse of my girl.

"Keep it up, and we'll see how long your eyes remain in your head."

Grey's gaze snapped to mine, and he grinned at what he saw there. "I got this. Go deal with your"—his eyes dropped to where my crotch was pressed against Kiara—"situation."

Deciding to ignore him rather than deck him, I turned my attention back to the tiny goddess in my arms. "Hop in."

I reluctantly stepped back and opened her door. She stared at me with her mouth slightly open, not moving. So I gently turned her by the shoulders and gave her ass a little slap, which broke her out of her stunned state. She gasped, but before she could say anything, I ordered, "In."

I helped her down into the driver's seat, then shut her door and jogged around the hood to join her in the Mini Cooper. It was a tight squeeze for a big man like me, but it was worth it when Kiara glanced over at me and chuckled.

The pure and sweet sound washed over me, tightening something in my chest. I smiled, and her cheeks turned pink before she faced the front and squeaked, "Where are we going?"

Grey had already opened the gate, so I waved toward it, indicating that she should drive through. "Follow the drive to the right until we get to the garage by the south entrance to the compound."

It only took a few minutes to get to the side entrance to the garage. The lot in front of it was broken into spaces for bikes and others for cars or trucks. I directed her to a stall, and she carefully pulled into it, her eyes wide and round as she took in the huge trucks parked on either side of us.

"Just a short walk to my workshop. I live in the apartment above it. We'll talk there."

She halted and stared at me suspiciously. "You expect me to go with a strange man into his apartment to ‘talk'?" Her fingers curled into air quotes, making me chuckle.

"Relax, baby. We can stay in the workshop. Don't worry your pretty little head. Your virtue is safe." I swallowed hard so I wouldn't add, "For now."

Kiara gasped and stared up at me in shock. "How do you know I'm a—" Her whole face flushed, and her eyes dropped to the ground.

"I didn't, baby. I was speaking metaphorically," I explained through choked laughter, amused, but also using it to disguise my primal reaction to the revelation. Knowing she would be mine and mine alone made it difficult to bury the caveman inside me.

She sputtered for a second, then seemed to just accept everything with a sigh. When her eyes met mine again, the embarrassment was gone. I felt even more drawn to this girl who could be so fierce but knew when to let things go. I hoped she used the same logic when I told her the truth about her father.

I gestured for her to walk ahead, then put my hand on the small of her back. The proprietary gesture and the scowl I shot at anyone who looked at her for more than two seconds made it clear she was with me.

Once we reached the door to my workshop, I unlocked it and turned off the alarm before ushering Kiara inside. When I flipped the lights on, Kiara looked around with awe, filling me with satisfaction. I was proud of my creations but seeing the look on Kiara's face made me feel something new.

"You're a swordsmith?" she breathed as she took in the equipment and walls filled with specialty-bladed weapons, primarily swords. "Did you make all of these?"

"Yep."

"They're amazing." She wandered to the closest one and reached up to trace some of the etchings on the blade of a saber that an Army cavalry has ordered as a gift for their retiring lieutenant.

"Feel free to look around. Be right back."

I crossed the studio to an open door that led to my office. We didn't want any of the evidence on the judge to be kept in Mac's office since he met with so many people there. So I kept it hidden away in my safe. After retrieving it, I found Kiara admiring a tiny music box with a knight in shining armor sitting on top of a horse with his sword in the air—balancing in the lid. He held a princess in his arms, and the song it played was from some movie that I couldn't remember the name of. "It's definitely not my normal kind of project," I explained when she glanced at me with a puzzled expression. "But my prez asked me to make it for his old lady, and I like a challenge."

"Well, it's beautiful," she murmured softly, her eyes a little dreamy as she looked the box over once more. I filed that away to think about later.

"Thanks. Let's sit." I pointed at a small table and chairs set by a little kitchenette. Once we were seated, I slid the files across the top, and she placed her palm on top of them. But rather than rip the first one open, she hesitated. Then her gaze raised to mine, and the fear swimming in the dark blue depths had my chest clenching again.

"I'm sorry." The softly spoken words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I almost shook my head in exasperation. If my brothers were around to see me acting like such a pussy, I'd never hear the end of it. But the only person I was worried about was my girl.

She swallowed, then took a deep breath and put her shoulders back before opening the top folder. As she read through the files, the silence was heavy, broken only by the sounds of our breathing and her shuffling paper.

Her expression slowly went from stoic to disbelief, until it finally crumpled into devastation.

Eventually, Kiara slowly pushed the files back to the center of the table and glanced up at me. She looked so lost, I just wanted to gather her into my arms and make it all go away. But I didn't have the power to change anything. And considering the shock she had just been slapped with, I knew it wasn"t the right time to force her to face the sizzling attraction building between us.

Instead, I stood and walked to her side, then held out my hand. I was about to pull my arm back when she finally grasped my palm and allowed me to help her stand. For someone so tiny, she had a hell of a grip and was squeezing the fuck out of my fingers.

My mind immediately wandered to what it would feel like if it was her virgin pussy sucking on my digits. Which only proved that I was still a bastard. She was too good for me, and I knew it. But it didn't change the outcome. I was keeping Kiara. She was mine.

However, I was resigned to letting her go—for the moment. "Gonna walk you to your car, baby."

She didn't say anything, and she didn't release my hand as I led her back to the parking lot.

"You gonna be okay driving?"

Kiara glanced around us, as if just realizing where we were. She dropped my hand like it had burned her and cradled her palm against her chest with the other. "Um, yes. Thank–thank you for showing me…I don't know…I can't believe…but–but…" She broke off with a little sob, and I couldn't help but lean down to kiss her forehead.

"I know you need time to let it all sink in. Give me your phone." When she didn't immediately move to comply, I grabbed her bag and dug it out myself. I quickly programmed my number in it, then hit call so I'd have hers before dropping the device back into her purse. "If you have questions or want to talk, give me a call."

Kiara sniffled for a second, then nodded before turning and climbing into her little car.

As she drove off, my gut clenched. I fucking hated that she was going back home and would be anywhere near that slimy asshole. But the fact that he'd kept her in the dark and that she'd driven into MC territory to demand answers told me that he loved his daughter. Still…I would ride out there and check on her tonight. Now that I'd found my girl again, I couldn't stay away for long.