Plus, biker romance novels are hot as fuck,” I reply, thinking about my Kindle. Most of the books on there require one-handed reading, and fifty percent of those are about motorcycle clubs.
“Pfft, all that shit is fiction. Everything in them is romanticized. The notion is ridiculous. All that leads to is cutsluts looking for an old man.”
I raise my eyebrows at that. “There is so much wrong with what you just said I don’t even know where to start. Firstly, cutsluts? Really? That’s just nasty. Secondly, Jax Teller might look like a god among men, but even so, if my man cheated on me, I would go all Bobbitt on his ass and give him a cockectomy. And thirdly, why do all men assume women want romance? Sometimes, Derek, we just want dick. Big, thick, hard—”
He holds his hand up to shut me up.
“I’ll take a Reuben. Now get out of my office,” he tells me, making me laugh.
“Sure, boss, no worries.” I climb to my feet and pull the door open, looking over my shoulder with a sinister grin.
“Do you want six inches? Maybe extra meat?” I close the door quickly when he starts cursing, and head back downstairs feeling lighter than I have for a while.
I call Bella’s Deli and place my order so I don’t have to wait around too long when I get there. I decide to leave the car and walk as it’s only ten minutes away and it’s nice out today. Thankfully, it’s not too busy when I get there, maybe a handful of people eating and only two people waiting to be served.
Joining the queue, I wait patiently as the people before me get served. As I’m making my way to the counter, I feel someone else join the queue behind me, stepping just a little too close for comfort. Why do people think this is okay? Personal bubble, people, respect it.
I try to ignore them, moving forward as I reach the front, but they step with me, close enough that I can feel whoever it is brush against me. I’m flush with the counter and have nowhere else to go, so I grit my teeth and literally throw my card at the young girl behind the counter so I can pay and leave.
The pretty redhead is just handing my card back to me when I feel the asshole behind me close the sliver of a gap between us. Worse still, I can feel the unmistakable outline of a hard dick pressed against me.
“What the fuck?” I snap, whirling around to face him, only to freeze when I see Garrett behind me, grinning unrepentantly. “What are you doing here?” I know damn well this isn’t his usual haunt. It’s why I felt comfortable enough coming here in the first place.
“I heard this place is the best. If I had known just how enticing the selection is, I would have come here sooner.”
The way he draws out the words enticing and come makes me feel dirty and not in a good way.
“I have to go,” I mumble, grabbing the bag of food from the counter, even though my appetite has disappeared along with my good mood.
“I’ll be seeing you, Reign,” he calls out as I hurry out of the shop, my heart lurching as I hear the threat beneath his jovial tone.
Freaking slimeball.
Chapter Nine
Reign
I arrive at the restaurant ten minutes late which, to be fair, is normal for me and take in the steakhouse as I wait for the hostess to finish dealing with the person in front of me.
Carter’s kind of reminds me of a log cabin. It’s all dark wood walls, tables, and flooring teamed with sumptuous red leather seats and cream table linens with baskets of freshly baked rolls on top of them.
There are four brightly lit halogen fireplaces spread around the room with the thermostats switched down so the room feels cozy and welcoming without boiling you alive. My favorite thing is the lighting. The ceiling is covered in bright white bulbs inside what look like repurposed mason jars hanging intermittently at different heights. As a kid, they reminded me of fireflies and for some reason, I was convinced this place held magic. As an adult, I still believe it holds magic but of a different kind.
This is the place my dad took my mom on their first date and every year on their anniversary. We celebrated birthdays and graduations and even held wakes here to say goodbye to loved