Beauty & the Biker by Beth Ciotta Read Free Book Online

animals—”
    “He’s not evil,” Bella said. Otherwise he would have given her the willies instead of the thigh sweats. Not that she intended to share that racy tidbit. Her friends were worried enough.
    “Maybe not,” Georgie said while licking icing from her fingers. “But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.”
    “He moved onto Mike’s property over a month ago,” Angel said, “and no one knows anything about him. The only gossip I’ve heard at the salon is that Savage is private to the point of rude.”
    “Come on, Bella,” Emma said. “The man rejected your welcome basket then he took advantage of your dad’s compromised state. What kind of person does that?”
    “An asshole,” Chrissy said.
    “Exactly,” Emma said.
    “He gave back the truck,” Bella said, feeling the need to defend Savage. Those haunted eyes .
    “No, he didn’t,” Georgie said. “He made a trade. You for Big Red.”
    “And why did he need to bargain for a date?” Emma asked. “I’ve seen the dude up close at Desi’s. He’s not exactly hard on the eyes. And that body.” She whistled.
    “Jerk or not,” Angel said, “I can name at least two women who’d sleep with biker boy in an instant.”
    “He didn’t come on to me,” Bella said. “He asked for a date.”
    “He didn’t ask anything,” Georgie pointed out. “He blackmailed you into slave labor and accompanying him…Where? A class reunion? A Hell’s Angel retreat?”
    “I don’t know. He didn’t say and I didn’t ask. I know. I know,” Bella said, refusing to wither under her friends’ horrified expressions. “But we made a deal and I’m not welshing. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.” She crooked a hesitant smile. “Maybe it will be fun. An unexpected adventure.”
    Chrissy raised a brow. “You sound like Emma.”
    “That’s worrisome,” Emma said.
    Bella blinked. “Why?”
    They spoke as one. “Because you’re you !”
    Somehow , Bella thought, that sounds like an insult . But she knew what they meant. An adrenaline junkie and history buff, Emma split her time between the Nowhere Historical Museum, Eagle Butte’s Hiking Tours, and riding shotgun with Chrissy’s older brother, Zeke, as a photographer for the Z-Crew Stormchasers. The latter being more a hobby than a paying gig. A woman who got her kicks flirting with tornadoes, Emma was built for spontaneous thrills.
    Bella was into thrills but not when it involved real-life risk. When it came to exploring daring opportunities, she lived vicariously through the characters she read about and/or the one’s she dreamed up in her head. Unlike Emma, Bella wouldn’t fly off with a man she had absolutely no future with—no matter the destination—knowing the excursion—no matter how exciting—would involve casual sex. So, yeah, the deal she’d made with Savage fell outside of her norm.
    “Uncle Archie must feel like a total shit,” Chrissy said. “First he gambles away Big Red then his daughter barters herself… Ow!” The petite blond glared at Georgie. “Why did you kick me? I’m not judging. I’m empathizing. I feel for Uncle Archie. He’s a good man and—”
    “He doesn’t know about the deal,” Bella said, lowering her voice to a near whisper. Not that Buzz-Bee’s was crowded at the moment. Still, it only took one person with big ears and a bigger mouth to fire up the gossip train.
    “How does he think you got the truck back?” Chrissy asked.
    “I told him I gave Savage an earful regarding his un-neighborly behavior and—”
    Emma held up a palm. “Hold, please. Trying to get a visual.”
    “Right?” Georgie said with a smile. “Bella in her princess gown giving biker dude hell?”
    “You never give anyone hell,” Angel said.
    Bella blushed. “I was pretty miffed.”
    “Miffed.” Chrissy snorted. “Please tell me you let a proper curse word fly in the heat of your rant.”
    “I’m not proud, but I did stoop to name calling.”
    Impressed, Georgie