Nora Ellis never met a biker, until the night Noah “Yak” Spencer came to her rescue after her disastrous bachelorette party. It doesn’t take long for her to see the heart of gold beneath his tough-guy exterior. When Nora finds out her ex-fiancĂ© was cheating, Yak is there. When a dire health crisis threatens to tear her life apart, Yak helps her keep it together. Even though the timing is truly lousy, Nora quickly finds herself longing for more than friendship with the sexy biker…
For Nora’s sake, Yak needs to keep his distance. Sure, she’s everything he has ever wanted—gorgeous, smart, and tough as nails. But with the problems she’s facing, Yak decides she's untouchable. Until Nora hints she wants more.
Nora doesn’t belong in his world. Her involvement could get her killed. Still, Yak can’t stay away. As matters with the club become deadly, how far will he go to protect the woman he has grown to love?
Half-way through my bowl of soup, Yak announced, “I’m givin’ you space for a reason.”
I turned my head to him. “Because I’m ill?”
His head tipped to the side a touch. “More because you’re dealing with major life issues – more than one, when you think about it.”
I swallowed a spoonful of soup. “If by more than one, you’re referring to Destin, I’m over it.”
He gave me a skeptical look. “No, you’re not. And if you are, I have to wonder why you’d get engaged to him in the first place.”
My brows shot up. “If he’d only cast me aside because of my health diagnosis, that would have been one thing. It happens to a fair number of people facing dire health issues. The spouse can’t handle the upcoming changes, bills, whatever. Not that I think that’s any more forgivable, but, Yak. He was cheating –maybe not physically, but there’s no reason Mia should have been able to dive right into his bed like she did. Not unless there was open communication happening between them already.”
“She was at your bachelorette party… Wasn’t she going to be in your wedding? Wouldn’t that force the two of them to be on talking terms? And what I want to know is why did she insist on taking you bitches to Platinum’s? That is such an odd choice, though your party wasn’t the first batch of women to come through our doors.”
After a single deep nod, I smiled. “Exactly. She dragged us to Platinum’s because she met up with Destin while we were there. At a minimum, Destin had to have been flirting or giving Mia some sort of signal that things could go there because that’s awful fast for things to progress –even if they did date before I came along.”
He shook his head. “We’re off the subject. I’m giving you space because you need a different kind of man in your life.”
A mirthless laugh bubbled out of me. “Oh, we’re back to this except, instead of it being what I deserve, you’re going to tell me what I need.” I shook my head. “Yak, I like you… as a person. Am I also attracted to you? Yes. But, what little I know of you, I like you. That shouldn’t mean you have to give me space.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “I won’t be around while you’re having your treatments.”
I set my bowl on the coffee table, then threw my hands up in the air. “For heaven’s sake, why? That sounds like you’re scared and you don’t strike me as a coward, Noah.”
“Stop using my real name,” he grumbled.
I chuckled. “Not a chance, Noah. If that bothers you, then good. It bothers me that you’re treating me like a fragile piece of art.”
He stood, grabbed my bowl, and took it to the sink along with his. “Not my first time dealing with someone I care about who has cancer.”
Now we were getting somewhere.
The biggest smile stretched across my face.
From the kitchen sink, he aimed an assessing look at me. “What the hell are you smiling about?”
“I’m someone you care about.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it, his eyes sliding to the side like he hated that I’d caught him.
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