Page 17 of Shadow's Surrender
Tania squealed in delight, then rushed over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re sweet as hell, baby.”
“Whoever wants to get the hell outta here and get their asses to a pool, this is your chance,” Animal said.
Wendy and Rosie leapt up from the couch, their sheer bras and panties plastered to their skin.
“Give us a few minutes to change and get our stuff together,” Rosie said as she scurried toward the stairway. “You guys, we’re going swimming,” she yelled as she bolted up the stairs, her footsteps growing fainter.
The club members chuckled as they watched Tania and Wendy rush after Rosie.
Tank clasped Shadow on the shoulder. “You made the girls happy, so they’ll be extra willing to please later tonight.”
“Yeah,” he answered, not really feeling it. Since he’d fucked that sweet piece at Eli’s party, he hadn’t been up to banging any of the club women. For reasons that pissed him off to no end, the sexy blonde had been a permanent fixture in his head for the past several days.
“Let’s ride,” Animal said as he walked out the door into the parking lot.
After dousing his head and neck with cold water from the nearby hose, Shadow pulled off his cut and slipped on a long-sleeved T-shirt he grabbed from his saddlebag. Then, he threw on his cut, straddled his bike, and waited for Hawk to give the signal to pull out.
Soon twelve Harleys roared through the twisting back roads, and Shadow reveled in feeling the breeze against his face. Silverton was roughly sixty miles from Pinewood Springs, and for part of the trip, the two-lane road followed the path of a small river that ran along its border. Shadow glanced at the clear water as it glittered under the sun and cascaded over the rocks while the motorcycles descended the mountain. Around the next curve, the road cut through a valley nestled between the Rocky Mountains. The sweet smell of grass swirled around him as he took in the hundreds of cows grazing on the green and yellow pastures.
At the end of the valley, the group of bikes rode over a few hills until they entered the town’s limits. Silverton looked like a town from the Old West with its two-story store fronts made of faded red brick and wood.
The brothers pulled into the parking lot of Coyote’s Café and secured spaces near the front of the roadhouse. Chrome from other motorcycles gleamed under the strong sun, and Shadow switched off the engine and jumped off his bike. The scent of hickory and grilled meat tantalized him as he walked toward the wooden steps leading to the restaurant.
Coyote Café had been serving thirsty and hungry travelers for the past eighty years and was a popular road stop for both bikers and motorists traveling through the Colorado backroads. It sat in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and was built from railroad ties and mortar from a nearby rail yard.
“That was an awesome ride,” Chas said as he took off his sunglasses then started to clean the lenses on his T-shirt.
“An icy cold beer is calling my name,” Smokey said as he walked in tandem with Shadow.
“Me too, bro,” Shadow replied, hooking his shades to his damp T-shirt.
“It’s time for us to cool the fuck off,” Rags said, opening the front door.
A blast of chilled air rushed over them as they stepped into the busy eatery.
“Over there,” Chas said, jerking his head toward the back where Hawk and Animal were pushing tables together.
“Good food, cold beer, and some real hot chicks at the bar,” Smokey said.
Shadow glanced over and saw a curvy woman with long blonde hair leaning against it, her back to him. He sucked in a deep breath as he stood rooted to the spot and stared. As if sensing that someone was watching her, the woman turned around and he let out a breath. It wasn’ther.
“How ’bout that blonde who’s giving you the eye?” Smokey said as he nudged him. “She’s a sweet piece.” A low appreciative whistle came from the slight gap between his teeth.
“Yeah,” Shadow replied, looking away from her. “Hawk’s motioning us over.” He turned around and made his way to the back of the roadhouse.
There was one thing that Shadow had had a lot of in his biker years and that was hookups with chicks. Some of his one-night stands were wild and fun, while others were just dull and plain bad, but heneverthought about any chick the next day. So he couldn’t figure out why the fuck he’d kept thinking abouther.She was just a one-time fuck. I’ve had tons of those.But Scarlett was different, he grudgingly admitted to himself; she was a hookup, for sure, but she wasn’t like the rest of them. There was something about her that made him want to see her again, and it wasn’t just for sex, although he’d love another go with her.Wait … what the fuck am I thinking? I’d love to fuck her again … that’s all. Nothing more.Shadow ignored the fact that he never met up again with one-nighters, but he’d become so good about pushing down any feelings or thoughts he didn’t like, he was immune to them. His heart had turned to iron after his mother had been murdered.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled out the wooden chair then plopped down. The fact that he was still thinking about the pampered, rich chick pissed him the hell off. He and rich folks didn’t mix too well, especially since he suspected that it was his mother’s rich boyfriend who had offed her and, so far, had gotten away with it.
“You good?” Jax asked.
Startled, Shadow looked up and saw Jax, Animal, Smokey, and Helm staring at him, concern etching their faces. He hadn’t realized that he’d clutched the water glass so tightly that it shattered in his hands. Drops of blood fell from his fingers and spotted the wood tabletop.
“Uh … yeah. Fuck,” he said, taking the napkins Animal handed him. “I didn’t know I was holding it so hard.” He laughed dryly, but he knew his buddies didn’t believe his bullshit.
“Here you go.” Helm slid his full glass of water toward him.
“What did you do, honey?” the dark-haired waitress in jean shorts and a form-fitting tee asked him as she wiped the area in front of him with a rag.
