Hope (The Virtues #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

think you ought to get the fuck out of my sight—now.”

    Trask’s words were so calm and measured as he spoke. I could hear the restraint in his voice. I knew what his temper could be like, and I marveled that he remained so cool. His eyes looked completely focused and dark.

    The creep who couldn’t keep his hands off of me scrambled to his feet, very careful not to touch Trask, who was still leaning over him with that intimidating look on his face. I realized I was smiling. My heart was still pounding, but not from fear. It was for a completely different reason. Even after ten years of not speaking to each other, Trask had stepped in to me my knight in shining armor. I brought my hands up to cover my mouth, somehow embarrassed again.

    The bar began to return to normal around me, or maybe my tunnel vision just faded away. The band started up another song, something slower and quieter, and I saw people turning away from the scene. Trask stood up only after the man had exited the bar, and even then, he watched the door for a few seconds before spinning around and grabbing me by the arm.

    His grip was hard as he rushed me away from the scene of the crime. I looked up at him to ask why, but Trask was stone-faced and looking straight ahead. Was he angry with me?

    His other hand circled my hip, and we moved back toward the long bar where his brothers drank. I wanted to protest, but his commanding presence was overwhelming. I found myself willing to go wherever he led. We pushed through a swinging door into the kitchen, but didn’t stop.

    Past the small food prep area, Trask opened another door, papers and calendar pages swinging with it as it moved. He pushed me into the room by my hips. I tried to understand why he was upset, but instead I was consumed with the memories of his body, reveries that intensified with every strong touch he inflicted upon me.

    We stood opposite each other in the tiny office. Trask leaned against a desk and looked me over. I was against a wall, and I did the same to him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He was still so familiar, but he’d changed too. We took each other in for a few minutes, and I wondered if he thought I’d changed at all.

    It was hard to reconcile my memories of Trask with the man standing before me. His muscles were still there, but the tattoos winding up and around his biceps were new. The gruff demeanor was hard to comprehend, as well. He’d never been so harsh with me. It was all at odds with the image of a varsity baseball pitcher that I had dated in high school. No one would have guessed that he was such a straight-laced team player if they saw him in his leather club vest.

    His eyes traveled back up to my face, and for the first time since high school, I saw him smile.

    “Hope Cantwell, as I live and breathe. Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes?” His words were soothing, cooling, and smooth. I noticed an accent and twang where there’d been none before. Maybe he had molded the affectation into the whole biker persona he was pulling off.

    Wherever the accent came from, it worked wonders. I had to giggle and take a moment to compose myself.

    I feigned his accent, letting him know I saw through the bullshit, “Trask Rivers,” I made sure the A in his name was hard like the dry riverbed outside, “you sure do know how to make an entrance.”

    The man I’d learned love from laughed, “All right, all right.” The tone I recognized was back. “I don’t know what to ask you first, Hope. You’re back in Bakersfield? You’re in The Bandolero?”

    I was about to answer, but before I could, he moved right in front of me and pinned me to the wall. Adrenaline sizzled through my body again as my eyes widened. His hands were at my shoulders, just over the straps of my dress, but his fingers were on my skin, and I felt so much at once. Fear, confusion, and passion consumed me. Being pinned to the wall by my old lover was the complete opposite of the