Chapter 6

I had just finished my afternoon lecture when I received a text from Landon.

Landon: Meet me at the pit after class. Don’t make me come find you.

I stared at the screen, heart hammering. The pit was the underground training lot behind the auto shop, a restricted area where patched members sometimes sparred or worked on the most sacred club bikes. It was strictly off-limits for students and women, unless summoned.

Why did he want us to meet there? I had not given him an answer to his offer yet and I assumed the text had something to do with that.

By the time I made it to the pit, the sun had started to dip behind the old warehouse roofs, throwing everything in a dusky orange haze.

No one was around; at least, no one visible. The main floor was empty except for a few bikes lined up against the far wall, one of which I knew by heart. Landon’s ride.

I spotted him before he turned, leaning against a stack of crates like he’d been waiting for hours. A cigarette dangled from his lips, the smoke curling around his jaw, making the tattoos on his neck shift when he spoke.

"You’re late."

"I had class," I muttered, crossing my arms. "Some of us actually go to school, you know."

Landon had graduated years ago when Leo and I were still in high school. At twenty-six, he had two degrees in Business Administration and Criminal Justice, but I guess he didn’t need them much seeing as he'd be taking over the Brotherhood leadership once his father retired.

"You want me to teach you how to make my brother fall for you, and you’re starting with that fucking attitude?"

"I haven't said yes, yet," I shot back, though my voice lacked conviction and seemed to echo in the vast space.

He exhaled smoke in a steady stream, flicked the cigarette away into the dust, and pushed off the crates. "No, but you showed up. That is a yes in our language."

He came closer, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. I could see the faint scar cutting through his right eyebrow, the sharp line of his jaw and the dark scruff on his chin. God, he was beautiful in the most dangerous way possible.

"I still think this is a bad idea," I whispered, the air catching in my throat.

"It probably is," he agreed. "But when has that ever stopped you from chasing what you want?"

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook and flipped it open.

"So," he said, looking down at the page like he was about to read me my fate. "Before we start, there are rules."

"Rules?"

His mouth quirked. "You sound surprised."

"Because I am. Are you going to make me sign a contract or something?"

He looked up, and the humor in his eyes was gone. "No. But if you’re serious about this, you’re going to do exactly what I say.You do that, and maybe you’ll have a chance with Leo."

I swallowed, trying to steady my voice. "Fine. What are the rules?"

"I only have four rules," he said, his tone shifting into something deadly serious. "Rule one. This stays between us. You tell no one. Not Tess or Maeve. And especially not my brother. This only works if he’s blindsided by the new you."

I nodded. I could totally do that.

"Rule two." His eyes lifted from the page, pinning me in place. "You do exactly as I say. No arguments. You want to learn how to get into his head? You have to first learn how to surrender control."

A nervous flutter started low in my belly.

"And rule three…" He took a half-step closer, eliminating the last bit of space between us. The heat from his body radiated against mine. "The lessons are physical. I can’t teach you how to unravel a man with a look if you flinch from a touch. You’ll have to get comfortable with being… handled. Being touched by me."

My breath hitched. Handled. The images that word conjured were anything but innocent.

"And rule four?" I asked quietly.

I could feel the heat of his gaze tracing over me, even as I tried to keep still.

"And rule four," he murmured, coming to a stop behind me,"you don’t fall for me."

My heart stopped.

​I turned abruptly, but he was already looking away smiling, like he hadn’t just dropped a thermonuclear bomb into our conversation.

"What?"

"You heard me." He leaned against the crate again, arms crossed. "Don’t start confusing gratitude or curiosity with whatever fantasy you’ve got running in your head. You want Leo, not me. We are strictly business. Remember that."

I stared at him, insulted and strangely relieved at the same time. "That’s not going to be a problem, Reaper. I don't even like you. You’re not really my type."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Good. Let’s keep it that way."

But I didn’t miss the flicker in his eyes; that flash of something dark and hungry before he blinked it away. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving only the indifferent mask he always wore.

He pulled back then. "Tomorrow, we start. Be ready at six."

"In the morning?"

"Do I look like I do mornings, Trouble?" he said dryly. "Evening. You’ll see why."

He turned back to his bike and swung one leg over the seat, the engine rumbling to life under him. He looked at me over his shoulder. "You coming, or are you planning to walk?"

I hesitated. "Where are we going?"

"To the dorms. You shouldn’t be walking alone after dark."

***

The night was just starting when I got back to the dorms.

Maeve was curled up on the floor with a pillow between her knees, Tess had taken over my bed, and I was sitting cross-legged on hers, holding the popcorn bowl hostage.

The TV flickered across the room, throwing flashes of light over our faces as we watched a "movie". It had started as some cheesy romantic drama but somewhere along the way, it shifted to something else.

"Oh my God," I muttered, pulling a pillow over my face as the on-screen couple contorted into a position that defied several laws of physics. "That’s not even physically possible."

Maeve snorted, her wine sloshing dangerously close to the sheets. "It is if you commit, babe."

"Commit?" I peeked through my fingers, only to instantly wish I hadn’t. "Did he just... He did not just put his thing in—"

Tess cackled, lobbing a popcorn kernel at my head. "You’re such a prude. How are you still blushing at this stuff? We’re in college, Kasey. Not in Catholic bootcamp."

"Correction," Maeve sang, propping her chin on her hand. "She’s a good girl. She still hides her eyes when the characters kiss for more than three seconds."

"I do not!"

They both looked at me like I’d just claimed I didn’t breathe oxygen.

Tess smirked. "Kasey, last week you squealed when that dude in the cafeteria called you beautiful and asked if you'd like to go out with him."

"Because he was old enough to be my dad, Tess! That’s called being normal."

"Still counts," Maeve sing-songed. "Besides, it’s not like anyone our age has even gotten close to doing that to you." She gestured wildly at the television with her wine glass. "Which is, frankly, a tragedy."

"A tragedy?" I frowned, hugging the pillow tighter.

Tess nodded. "Yeah. A face and body like that, and no one’s made you see stars? It’s criminal."

That was because I’d been saving my first time for Leo. That’s how much I loved him. My love for him was pathetic, maybe, but real. I wasn’t about to start sleeping around just because he was out there treating hearts like collectibles.

Every time I heard he’d hooked up with someone new, it gutted me a little more. But still, I held on. Because to me, sex wasn’t casual, it was sacred. Something you gave to someone who meant something. Someone you trusted. Someone you loved. And for the longest time, that someone was Leo.

Maeve nudged my knee with her foot. "You need to live a little. Watch some p**n once in a while."

"I do!" The words slipped out.

The room went silent. The only sound was the faint, rhythmic moaning from the television.

Tess turned to me slowly, her brows arching into her hairline. "You do?"

Panic burned my cheeks, and I scrambled to salvage the situation. "I mean...no. Not like that. I just—sometimes, when I can’t sleep—I’m a biology student, Tess. I study anatomy. It’s strictly educational."

"Oh my God," Maeve gasped, eyes wide with mock scandal. "Our innocent little Kasey is a closet freak who watches p**n on the guise of academic research."

I launched the pillow at her, but she caught it, collapsing into a fit of giggles that made her wine slosh again. "Stop it!"

Tess’s grined. "Now it all makes sense. You get that dazed and wide-eyed look every time Leo walks by because you’re mentally undressing him. You’re picturing him doing that to you." She pointed a finger at the screen]

That name made my chest tighten instantly.

"Seriously," Maeve said, her tone softening a fraction. "If he hasn’t noticed you by now, maybe he never will. Maybe you should let him go, Kase."

Her words settled like stones in my stomach. Because she was right.

Tess groaned dramatically, falling back onto the bed. "Ugh, I can’t believe we’re out of wine."

"Good,” I muttered. "Maybe then I can actually watch a movie that is not p**n."

Maeve stretched, yawning. "Fine. You pick the next one, Saint Kasey."

Saint.

If only they knew about the things I read when everyone was asleep. The videos I watched with my earphones in, my heart hammering and my hand trembling when something inside me came undone.

I wasn’t a saint.

Just a coward who never had the chance to try.

And maybe… that was about to change.

Because tomorrow, I was going to meet Landon at six.

And he was going to teach me how to bring Leo to his knees.