"Is it enough? Because I'll go on record right now and say, it's all I have to give."

Her heart cracked in the middle. The elephant in the room just appeared.

"I know it's not what you deserve. You're a marriage-and-kids kind of woman. Eventually, you'll get sick of my bullshit and move on. I get that. But I want every minute I have with you until that happens."

"Why?"

"Because even a thick-headed asshole like me recognizes a dime piece when he sees it, and I'm talking about more than that banging-ass body you have." He winked.

Unsure what to say, Joey studied him. What had happened to make him shy from commitment?

"You want the story, but now's not the time. Later?" he offered.

She nodded, dumbly.

"We square?" he asked, eyeballing her cautiously.

"Yeah, we're square, Moose," she said.

"Good." He set her on the ground. "Let's finish getting ready, so we can meet them out front, and go see the land they're thinking of having the ceremony on."

"Okay." She loved his steady dependability. It sounded funny, considering he was a biker, but she'd never known a more loyal man. His mind was always three steps ahead of hers and his strength seemed infallible. Tall and curvy, she didn't often have cause to feel petite, dainty or light as a feather. Moose gave her those three gifts without trying. Do you really need a label to be happy? Her head said no, but her heart, little rebel that it was, refused to fall in line. Careful that denial doesn't wind you up as a broken, bombed-out shell like Mommy dearest. Disgusted with the war splitting her mind down the middle, she hurried to the bed and busied herself with the business of getting ready.

Joey ignored the feel of his eyes on her. Let him wonder. A friend with benefits didn't get rights to her heart or her mind. She slid on her black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and the soft pink sweater with a black heart in the center. Clothes were armor. They shielded her from the elements and elevated her to the bad-ass woman status that made her feel as if she could take on the world. She sank down onto the edge of the bed, slipped on socks and pulled on knee-high boots. Opting to go without makeup, she fluffed her hair and glanced over at Moose. "I'm ready."

He devastated her senses by wearing a simple pair of worn blue jeans, a black long-sleeved thermal that accentuated the breadth of his chest and the rock-hard planes of his stomach. Over it, he wore his cut, and the ever-present pair of black biker boots.

She licked her lips and tried not to drool as she looked up to his face. His beard was trimmed close to his face.

"Don't look at me like that, Jo-Jo. We'll never leave the room."

"Look at you like what?" she said.

"Like you want to eat me." He smirked. "Or be eaten." He licked his lips. "You know I can never get enough of that wet pussy."

His blunt words made her panties wet. "Stop," she said. The breathy tone of her voice spelled out her desire.

"Let's get out of here. I don't trust myself with you." He shook his head, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his body.

Solid and warm, he lulled her into a sense of calm and rightness.

Then the door opened and they pulled apart, stepping back into their false roles. It was her fault. He could give a fuck less. She was the coward with enough baggage to fill up a small airplane hangar. When he finds out. She shoved the thought aside and focused at the task on hand. Hiding was something she was good at; she'd been doing it her whole life. There was no reason to believe her long-kept secret would be exposed now.

The day he'd been dreading had come up and blindsided him. Stupid to not think it would be around the corner. She wanted to know where they stood. What could he tell her? You're my current fuck buddy? He hadn't lied. There would be no other women while he was with her. Just the thought of trying to stick his dick in anyone else damn near made him impotent. Her pussy had him on lockdown.

Since he wasn't in the habit of lying, he admitted to himself it was more than that. The brassy woman could've been tailor-made for him. Horror movies, rock music, whiskey and laidback evenings were the staples they existed on. With her job, she could work from anywhere, and often did, hanging out in the clubhouse so much, her presence didn't cause anyone to bat an eyelash. The Prez hadn't asked him about it yet. But he'd seen the curiosity in his eyes. An unclaimed girl was asking for trouble.

He ran his fingers through his beard and signaled Red. I need a drink to deal with this bullshit. It'd been going so well, he'd half-ass convinced himself she felt the way he did about commitment.

Red swayed over to him and grinned. "What'll it be, Moose?"

"Beer, whatever we have on ice is fine." He peered at Joey.

"I'm fine," Joey said with a shake of her head.

Red cut her eyes at Joey and turned on her heels to get a beer from the fridge behind the bar.

"One of these days, I'm going to put that bitch in her place," Joey grumbled.

"Why didn't you now?" Moose asked, genuinely curious.

"We both know I don't have the right. We're at the same level."

His gut twisted. "Don't ever let me hear that shit come out of your mouth again, Jo-Jo. You're no fucking whore." He gripped the bar and his knuckles turned white.

"Did I say I was? I'm going with protocol," Joey said.

"Fuck that," he said. He slammed his hand down on the counter and Joey flinched.

"Here's your beer," Red said with a wink. She slid him the bottle with a shit-eating grin he wanted to smack off her face. That bitch did nothing but get fucked and ruin shit for everyone else. The door opened, so he turned as Shooter and Juliette walked in, all smiles and sunshine. Fuck me. He took a long drag of his beer and nodded to Shooter, who tilted his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. Moose shrugged and shifted his gaze to Joey.

Shooter gave a nod to acknowledge he understood and guided Juliette to the bar. "You guys ready to go check out the space?" Shooter asked.

"Soon as I finish this beer," Moose said as Joey and Juliette hugged their greeting, whispering about girly shit. He drained the bottle and set the empty brown glass on the counter. "I'm good."

"So if this space doesn't work, we have one more backup we'll look at today. Is that okay?" Juliette asked.

Moose liked the soft-spoken woman. She'd been good for his boy and knew how to keep her mouth shut. "Yeah, Librarian. It's all good. We're here to back you guys up," Moose said.

"Thanks." Juliette smiled.

"Let's hit it then," Shooter said.

Calmed by the rhythm of wheels on the pavement and wind on his face, Moose had a clear head once more when they toured the wooded property owned by the Lords.

"How many people are you expecting?" Joey asked. Arms hooked, the girls resembled high schoolers with their fresh faces and the giggly vibe rolling off them.

Moose shook his head wondering how the hell they had ended up here. Shooter had been a lifelong bachelor. Then he met a girl in a club and went down for the count.

"We were thinking maybe sixty for the ceremony. The reception is a whole other story," Juliette said.

"You going to close it down, brother?" Moose said.

"Hell yeah. I figure we have cabins here and we can set up tents. No way will anyone be driving out here," Shooter said with a grin.

"Are we bringing in the other chapters?" Moose asked, stepping over a thick tree root as they walked away from the cabins down to the open space in front of the river.

"I figure we'll send out the invite. Don't want anyone feeling snubbed. I swear sometimes these motherfuckers are more sensitive than little girls," Shooter said.

Moose snickered.

Shooter came to a stop and looked over his shoulder. "This is the tree I was telling you about, babe."

"It's gorgeous," Juliette said craning her neck to peer up at the ancient oak tree. "We could set up an arch or canopy of some sort."

"And all the chairs could fit here," Joey said, gesturing with her hands.

"Yeah, it's a contender. The fact that we can use it for free makes it look even better to me. But I don't want you to settle. Whatever you want, we'll have."

"Shooter, it's one day. We're not going to go into debt over it," Juliette scoffed.

Shooter laughed, and Moose joined him.

"What's so funny about that?" Joey placed her hands on her hips, ready to defend her friend.

Sexy lioness. Moose felt caught in a trance for a few seconds.

"Honey, we have more money than you could imagine," Shooter retorted.

"Oh," Juliette whispered.

"Shit, at least you know she's not in for the payoff." Moose nudged Shooter.

He snickered. "Ain't that the truth? You want to look at the second space?"

"Yeah. But I think I'm already sold." Juliette shrugged.

The engaged couple moved together, and Moose marveled at the changes in his brother. The hard edges had softened, at least around the librarian. If he saw himself with Joey, would it look the same? The thought frightened him. The drive over to the outdoor gardens gave him just enough time to scramble his head-space. He'd come to expect Joey to be around. How had one night of mind-blowing sex graduated to a semi-relationship? The thought made him want to get on his bike and drive until he couldn't keep his eyes open. Being beholden to someone else wasn't on his agenda. He'd given up enough of his life taking care of a female. Bitterness rose in his throat while he only half listened to the chatter going on around him.

This time is different. Joey doesn't need to be taken care of...yet. His mental battle raged with no clear winner. Life is a game of risk...just a question of what he was willing to do to keep what he had. The ultimate situation pissed him off. He had left Canada and joined the Lords she could do what he wanted. Now he felt like he'd come full circle.

By the time they reached the clubhouse, his anger had hit a boiling point.

"Thanks for coming with us." Shooter broke into his thoughts.

"Anytime, bro. As long as you don't drag me through the mall all day, I'm your man," Moose joked. They clasped hands, and he turned on his heel, grateful to leave the wedding and his muddled situation with Joey behind. He walked inside and parked himself at a seat at the end of the bar.

"Where's your shadow?" a voice said.

Moose gazed up and tensed as the Prez, Tiny, leaned against the bar.

"Still talking wedding crap with Shooter's old lady, or on her way home."

Tiny nodded. "It's not my practice to get into people's business. But you need to decide what you're doing with her and put the word out. The whores are going to start thinking they can do whatever they want soon, otherwise."

"She's not some whore." Moose scowled.

Tiny held up his hand. "No disrespect meant, but you've been close-mouthed about it and holed up in the room. The chatter is spreading. I like to put an end to shit before it pops off and things get out control. You know how I like to run my ship."

Moose nodded. "I know-she's different, but I'm not in the market for an old lady."

Tiny nodded. "There are other steps between that."

"Well, she's not a sweet butt. I'd crack someone's jaw."

"So a sweetheart?" Tiny asked.

Moose swirled the concept around in his head. Exclusively dating, but not married status. "Yeah, I can live with that."

"Spread the word tonight. What's between the two of you is your business. Don't make me have to step in again." Tiny stared him down.

"I feel you."

"Good." Tiny tapped the bar with his knuckles and walked off.

"Trouble in paradise?" Red asked. "You know you'd never have that problem with me."

"I don't do sloppy fifths and sixths," Moose retorted.

She narrowed her eyes and huffed.

"We have a problem?"

Red shut her mouth and shook her head.

These whores thought if they lay on their back with enough of them, eventually they'd luck up and become an old lady. That wasn't how it went. No one wanted someone the whole club had ridden like a train, and Red's bitchy attitude was toxic. An uppity, vindictive bitch could fuck your shit up before you knew what was going on. "Good. I want a shot of whiskey straight up. Matter of fact...just give me the whole damn bottle."

Red reached behind her, grabbed a bottle half full of brown liquid and slammed it down on the bar in front of him. "You're a real peach." She flipped him off and stalked away.

The sudden realization he'd taken her down a few pegs because of the way she'd treated Joey had him screwing off the metal top faster than he could blink. He sipped straight from the source, intent on getting mind-blanking drunk. The relief of no thought beckoned and he happily answered the call.

"Shit man, you're wrecked," Gadget said.

"Not yet." Moose held up the bottle. "Still got more of the good stuff to go."

Gadget shook his head. "Going to be regretting that tomorrow. We have that charity ride tomorrow afternoon."

"I can swing it." Moose shrugged.

"All right," Gadget said.

Moose rolled his eyes and finished off the amber liquid, slamming the bottle down on the bar. He gripped the edge and eased himself up. The room swayed and the blissful numbness he'd intended kicked in. He stumbled through the room and into the hallway, keeping himself upright with one hand on the faded white wall. Damn, has my room always been so fucking far away? He turned the knob on his door and stumbled through the threshold, slamming the door shut with his foot. He staggered to the bed and collapsed face first. Oblivion swallowed him whole.

"You lying asshole!" Joey's shrill scream pulled him from a dead sleep. He sat up, ready to kill someone. His eyes popped open and he groaned. "What?" He slurred the question out.