Kingdom's Reign

Chapter 2

2

Kingdom.

I understand how he got his nickname.

Angel had somewhat of a temper, and he did not cower easily to other men. Today, however, he backed down from Kingdom. The biker was clearly a man to be handled with care.

From the moment she locked eyes on him, she was mesmerized. His magnetism coupled with an air of danger had her hooked. It wasn’t simple l**t either. She was taken aback by an unbidden image of Kingdom unleashing all his unbridled power on her body. What it would be like to have all that raw strength of his let loose on her, unchecked. She bit down on her bottom lip and squirmed in her seat. She was feeling hot all over and would’ve fanned herself but for his friends, sitting forward in their seats, at attention. The shop was small enough that they had overheard every word of the pissing match, the aggression bouncing off the walls of the tight space.

The biker was smokin’ hot, as Greta, her receptionist, would put it. It was probably commonplace for him to remark on a woman’s attractiveness. His was a mild flirtation, at best.

Not that I don’t get compliments. Working in a profession dominated by men, she routinely garnered male attention. Admittedly, she had a pretty face, but a man like Kingdom wouldn’t show interest in a woman without a sexy body to go with it. Neither model thin nor curvy, her body type inhabited a no-man’s-land. A beast like Kingdom wouldn’t settle for anything less than an off-the-charts s*x goddess.

Nevertheless, it hadn’t stopped her from devouring the sight of him during his little showdown with Angel. Beginning at his dark head, her gaze cascaded over his rolling shoulders as he leaned against the counter, down his broad back to that firm a*s encased in worn jeans and ended at his motorcycle boots. He was a man who kept a firm hold on the space around him.

I’d like his firm hold on me, holding me down while he pounds into—Sage refocused in time to see him stand tall, saunter towards the hallway leading to Angel’s room and disappear around the corner. Even after he was gone, she kept staring at the spot, the ghost of his hulky frame still hovering beside her. She imagined the composition of those toned, hard muscles underneath his clothes. The uber-male type didn’t usually do it for her, but he was a thing of beauty. He’d been right when he’d guessed that she loved things of beauty. She so did. Despite his overbearing masculinity, or perhaps because of it, he was a beaut of a specimen.

“Like what you see?” a voice cut into her musings.

Sage’s head snapped up to find two sets of eyes turned on her. The bikers who’d accompanied Kingdom. She shook her head, curtains of hair covering her embarrassment for getting caught staring after Kingdom like a lost puppy. Curse her and her bad luck.

In her professional life, Sage was considered tough, but she took off her mask when she covered for Camilla at the store. Angel’s name may be on the awning outside, but, except for the needle, everything went through Camilla’s hands.

Working at the shop was a welcome break from her hectic work life. That’s right, work life. Because she hadn’t had any other kind of life since Stanton, her good-for-nothing ex-fiancé left. Or as Camilla called him, that rat-assed bastard. It was a bad idea to get on the wrong side of a Cuban American woman. Stanton was lucky that his p***s was still attached to the rest of his body after cheating on her only a few weeks before their wedding date.

The taller of Kingdom’s friends eased back into his seat and nodded toward the empty hall leading to Angel’s room, remarking casually, “He’s a pretty boy.”

She disagreed but wisely chose to keep her opinion to herself. Feigning nonchalance as if she hadn’t been caught in the act of panting after his friend, Sage shrugged.

The biker called her out, “Ain’t nothin’ to be embarrassed about, baby.”

She wanted to cover her head in shame except that, well, the look on his face was lenient. He wasn’t judging or mocking her.

“A woman would have to be blind not to notice your friend,” she remarked.

“I’ll be sure to tell him.”

She practically choked on her own saliva. God, please kill me now.

His expression turned calculating. “What ’bout me? Ain’t I pretty?”

At a loss for words, her gaze flitted about the room nervously before landing on him. She scrutinized him, taking in his tall, brawny physique, harsh features, and grimly set mouth. The scar jagging down the side of his face topped off a whole package of menace. Not one of his features redeemed him to a place of normality. Whereas Kingdom was forceful, there was a touch of refinement to him. His friend, on the other hand, could easily be termed scary. A sane woman would require a heavy dose of bravery to tangle with him.

“I wouldn’t exactly call you handsome but”—she paused—“you are appealing in your own right.” Appealing in a disturbing sort of way.

He guffawed. “Good answer. You’d be lyin’ otherwise.” He stretched his huge frame to standing and sauntered over to her.

Sage fidgeted with the border of her t-shirt.

He rolled the word over his tongue. “Appealing.”

Her nerves amped up a level. She didn’t think she could handle it if he made a move on her. She searched for an excuse. “I’m a one-man type of woman. I noticed pretty boy first, so it’s a bit late to change allegiances.”

He chuckled softly as he leaned over with eyes holding a promise. “Little girl, if I wanted you, you fuckin’ a brother couldn’t stop me.”

Ugh. Who came out with a pick-up phrase like that? A sociopath, that’s who. She’d dealt with tough men, some of them who had been incarcerated for years, but, even with her experience, this biker was a different animal altogether. An untamed beast lay not-so-dormant beneath the guise of a human being.

“Tank!” his friend barked sharply from his seat against the wall. “Back the f**k off. You’re scarin’ her. She’s a lady. You wouldn’t know what to do with one if you caught a real one in your hands.”

The man named Tank twisted his torso in the direction of his friend, who lounged back against his chair. He snorted. “Yeah, I do. Lesson number one, brother—insert d**k in pussy.”

Sage choked on her saliva and coughed.

“There you go, you crude motherfucker. Back up before your nasty face makes her faint. s**t, she was tryin’ to be nice when she didn’t call you out as the nasty-lookin’ fucker that you are.”

Tank turned back to her. Coolly, he demanded, “Your name.”

Sage looked at him blankly.

“Babe, your name.” This was not a question.

Swallowing down her irritation, Sage replied, “I’m Sage.” She reached out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m called Tank,” he drawled as he took her hand. “Didn’t mean to rattle you with my plain speaking.”

She lifted an eyebrow. Pfft. Like hell you didn’t. Hoping to distract him, she suggested, “Why don’t you and your friend take a break and go grab something to eat? Angel may be a speed demon, but it may take a while. It’s an intricate tat.”

Tank continued to study her intently.

Feeling her face heat up, she asked blandly, “Unless, perhaps, you would like a tattoo as well?”

Tank held up both arms to show Sage intricate tattoos starting his knuckles and traveling up his arms until they slipped from view under his sleeves. Another tat played peekaboo from the collar of his shirt. “Ain’t got much room left.”

Once again, his friend called out, “Aren’t you done yappin’ your mouth? Sit the f**k down, already.”

There was loud cursing coming from the back. “i***t’s inkin’ up his ribs,” Tank said with a shrug.

She winced, aware of how much it hurt to tattoo the ribs. There was no flesh to protect the bones. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when Tank turned away from her and joined his friend by the wall.

Her courage made an appearance as she joked, “Maybe your friend needs someone to hold his hand.”

Tank bit out a laugh. “You gunnin’ for the position?”

Sage huffed a surprised laugh. As if. She may be attracted to Kingdom, but there was no chance in hell she’d hook up with him. Even if he returned her interest, she didn’t believe in casual hookups.

No matter how many wicked images of his mouth and tongue ran through her head.