“Yeah, I got it!”

I storm past him, shoving his hand away when he reaches out to grip mine. I head downstairs, and out the front door. Ciara is waiting beside her car. She smiles when she sees me.

“Ready?” she asks.

“Yep, ready.”

I don’t look back at Cade’s house as I slide into Ciara’s front seat. When she pulls out of the drive, I turn to her.

“Head to Spike’s.”

Her eyes widen. “Addison, that’s not a good idea. Cade said no.”

“It will take five minutes, he won’t know.”

“Addison…”

“Trust me, Ciara. Do you want to speak to Spike or not?”

She nods weakly. “I do.”

“Then go.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Fuck yes I’m sure, Cade doesn’t own me.”

“He kind of doe…”

“No,” I growl. “He doesn’t. Let’s go.”

We’re both silent for long moments, then Ciara turns to me again.

“You honestly didn’t have to do this, Cade will be furious.”

“He’ll get over it. It’s about time Cade learned he can’t tell me what to do.”

“God girl, you’ve got far too much spunk.”

I laugh. “So, you and Spike? Things seem pretty bad between you two.”

She sighs and pulls a set of sunglasses over her eyes. “Yeah, it started long before my sister passed. Spike was my first, if you know what I mean?”

My mouth drops open. “Cade said you had a crush on him. He didn’t say he slept with you!”

She laughs. “Cade leaves out those details. He’s just protecting me.”

“So you and Spike…have history?”

She shrugs. “I suppose you could call it history. We met one night and we became friends. I knew he was crushing on my sister, but I didn’t care. I was a revenge fuck, I’m sure of it. He saw her one night out with another man and he got angry. He found me at the bar, and one thing lead to another. We had sex. He didn’t know it was my first time until later when my sister went sick at him. She cared about him too, and was using the other man to make him jealous. When she found out Spike slept with me, she got angry. I was heartbroken, being used like that. I knew Spike had feelings for me, but they weren’t as strong as the ones he had for Cheyenne. I went away for a while. When I came back they were married.”

Jesus, that’s a fucked up story. I can’t imagine how painful that would have been for Ciara, loving a man who was not interested in her at all.

“I’m sorry, that would have been awful,” I say gently.

“It wasn’t nice.”

“Do you still care about him?”

She quickly glances out the window. “No,” she says, but I can see how her body stiffens. Ciara is in love with Spike; it’s written all over her.

“What’s his real name?” I ask, changing the subject.

She giggles. “You know, I didn’t know the answer to that until a few years ago.”

I smile. “Everyone calls him Spike; he clearly has no need for his name.”

“No, I suppose he doesn’t. It’s Danny.”

I giggle loudly. “How did they get Spike out of Danny?”

She flushes and I give her an ‘oh you have to tell’ look.

“Oh spill!” I urge.

“Well, Spike is known for his…well, spikes.”

“His spikes?”

“He has numerous, um, spikes in his…”

“Oh, Jesus!” I yell.

Ciara laughs. “He has to take every one of them out when he gets lucky, they’re literally sharp spikes. There’s about seven of them.”

“What is wrong with that man?” I laugh. “He’s got some seriously twisted fetishes.”

She nods. “I’ve heard. The piercings are one thing, but putting big spikes in them, is a whole other story.”

“It must get frustrating for him to have to take them out every time.”

She flushes again. “He makes it part of the…experience.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“He makes it a task for women, or at least I’ve heard that’s what he does. He has them remove them, while they’re…you know…sucking him.”

“La la la la la!” I cry, pressing one hand to my ear. “Don’t wanna know!”

Ciara laughs. “No one said the man was normal.”

“Clearly, he’s not normal,” I chuckle.

Ciara and I chat the entire way to the old warehouse the Heaven’s Sinners have decided to shack up at. We park the car outside the large gates, and slip out. Ciara looks nervous as we walk towards the gates, her hands are fumbling together over and over.

“It’s going to be fine,” I say, though I’m not sure it is. Even my heart is thudding now. I know it’s a risk coming here, and I know if Cade finds out, I’m dead. God, me and my stubborn head.

“I hope so,” she murmurs.

When we reach the gates, I rattle them loudly and call out, “SPIKE!”

Ciara stares at me, completely shocked. “Aren’t you worried about screaming at the fence of a massive MC lot?”

“No.”

I watch as a group of bikers walk out of the warehouse, guns in the air. Spike walks out behind them, looking as utterly breathtaking as he always does. I wave to him, giving him a grin. “It’s me!” I yell in a singsong voice. I’m being sarcastic, of course, but I’m just trying to lighten the mood.