Welcome to Sugartown

head until we pull up at the pub.

When I’m done, I hear Elijah’s bike on the gravel drive outside. I tear through the house, scooping up an over the shoulder bag and my helmet from the kitchen table.

I open the door and Elijah’s standing before me with his hand raised to knock. He gives me a startled smile. “Hi.”

“Hi,” I reply.

I start to pull the door shut behind me and he looks over my shoulder, “Your dad home?”

“No. He and the dragon left already.”

“Okay. You ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” I breeze past him.

I knew my entrance with Elijah would cause a stir. Walking into the only pub in town with the newest resident sexy biker after you’ve been labelled the town whore is bound to make waves. The stares and silence that ensued were deafening. And thank god my dad was down at the river or Constable Davis would be making good on his threat.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” I whisper to Elijah as he takes my hand in his and leads me to the privacy of the pool room—and, by privacy, I mean not-at-all-private, as there are at least two walls that open out to the main bar.

“No one’s looking at you, Ana, they’re looking at me and I’m used to it. If I’m not worried, then you shouldn’t be either.” He takes out his wallet from his back pocket and lines four coins up along one end of the pool table, securing it as ours for the next good long while. “You know how to rack ’em?”

I nod and bite down on my lip to avoid the smile that wants to spring forth. If there’s one thing my dad taught me to do, it’s play pool. I’ve been hustling money off of his friends, men three times my age, since I was ten-years-old.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got it,” I mutter to Elijah as I take the cues down from the wall and set about racking up the balls.

“What’s your poison, Ana?” The huskiness in his tone forces my gaze to lock onto his and heat to spread over my cheeks and between my thighs. And, as he stands there, challenging me with those melty eyes, I’m quite sure he already knows the answer to that question.

Instead of making a complete fool out of myself I smile sweetly and say, “Vodka, lime and soda.”

“Lightweight,” he whispers and the challenge is unmistakable. It’s true. I am a lightweight, but that’s not why I chose it. The truth is, I already feel so out of control around Elijah that I don’t really need the buzz of alcohol to impair my judgement anymore. “Vodka, lime and soda it is, but next time, I’m buying you a real drink.”

“You planning on getting me drunk so you can take advantage of me, Cade?”

“Ana.” He leans in close, sending a bolt of desire through me as his warm breath skates across my neck. “When I do finally get you naked beneath me—and trust me, it’s not a question of if, but when—I’m going to make sure you haven’t so much as looked at a drink. I want you to remember everything I do with my hands and my lips and my tongue.”

My breath leaves me in a rush. I clutch the edge of the pool table behind me so tightly I can feel I’m losing circulation in my fingers. I’m having a hard time believing he’s just whispered something so intimate in the middle of a packed bar and an even harder time believing I could be so turned on by it.

Elijah pulls away slowly, removing his hand that had somehow found its way onto my hip. How did I not know his hand was resting on my hip? His gaze is locked onto mine, clearly reading my every thought, because somewhere between him picking me up earlier this evening and him saying those words to me just now, the filter between us has vanished.

He smiles, this playful lopsided grin that makes just one of his dimples pop out, and just when I think I’m about to melt into a puddle and let his hands fulfil all the promises he just made, he hands me a pool cue with a taunt of, “Your break, baby girl” before sauntering off toward the bar.

I take aim at the white, imagining that cocky self-assured smile he gave me, and the table explodes with the thundering crack of scattering balls. Three find a home in the corner pocket. Elijah turns and cants his head to the side with a questioning look. I fold my arms in front of my chest, pushing my boobs up a little, marvelling at how easy it is to gain his undivided attention. I give my best attempt at a lopsided grin, like the one he shot me seconds ago. “You’re gonna regret playing me, Cade. I’m gonna eat you for breakfast.”

“Keep looking like that, baby girl, and I’ll let you eat me for dessert, too.”

My mouth drops open into a surprised little “O” and he chuckles and wanders off to get our drinks.

Once Elijah returns we begin the first of many games, all of which I win—and I’m almost 100 per cent certain he’s not holding back on me. In fact, he’s seems to be trying his best to unnerve me with every shot I make, but two can play at that game and it isn’t long before he’s losing the battle of wills and wits.

“So, where’s Mummy and Daddy tonight, Ana Belle?” Elijah asks as he breaks on our eighth game.

“Out at another club meet, and please tell me you didn’t just call the dragon lady my mother?”

His lips tip up into a crooked smile that forces just one of his dimples to pop out. “I don’t know, I can see a little bit of a family resemblance there.”

“I will hurt you, Cade.” I lean over the table and take my next shot. My boobs are spilling out of my top and I take a moment to readjust before I have a complete wardrobe malfunction—a la Tara Reid. When I glance up, I find Elijah eyeing me like prey. His gaze clouds over with lust, but there’s something darker hiding there, too. I haven’t a clue what it is, but it makes me want to run and throw myself at his mercy, all at once.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, baby girl.”

I sink another ball into the side pocket and try to pretend he doesn’t unnerve me. “What about you? Did you leave a string of heartbroken girlfriends back in … where did you say you were from again?”

“Sydney.”

Sydney. Wow. That only narrows it down to around 12,000 km?. Give or take.

Elijah takes aim at a ball that’s perfectly aligned to slide into the pocket, but he slams the cue against it with a loud crack. It ricochets off the cushion and sinks two of my balls as it slips into the pocket. “Nope. Don’t do girlfriends.”

“Oh,” I mutter, feeling disappointment surge through me.

He’s not exactly forthcoming.

A commotion from the pub’s entrance makes me miss my next shot. Elijah glances between me and the group of guys that just walked in. I don’t have to look to know that Scott and his posse of tools just arrived, and that they’re headed straight for us.

One of the reasons I was so anxious about coming here is because I know that this is where he and his collection of dickhead friends usually hang out on a Friday night. Between our awkward arrival and having so much fun whooping Elijah’s bum, I guess I forgot to be concerned.

I feel Elijah watching me and, the closer Scott’s group drifts, the more anxious I get. He leans in and his warm breath skates the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “Take the shot again, Ana, and this time forget about the room around you.”

I nod, lean over and sink my last ball before the eight. Just as I’m raising myself up off the table I see a hand place a coin against the top rail. By now, our previous coins have vanished, eaten by the table in our pursuit of beating one another.

I look up into pale blue eyes. Scott winks at me, already guessing correctly that I’m the one winning this game, meaning his coin ensures he gets to play me next. It wouldn’t matter, I’ve beaten him every time the two of us have ever played, but he’s doing it to mess with my head—and, unfortunately, it’s working.

“Hey, Blondie.” Scott uses his stupid pet name for me, the one I always hated. His eyes slide over me from head to toe and I have to supress the urge to shudder. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“No, you haven’t,” I reply harshly. I don’t add the part I’m really thinking, though. Not since the night I turned you down and you called me a cock-blocker and dumped me for a girl who would “put out”, then spent the last few weeks of our final year of school telling everyone I was a slut who banged you and three of your friends.