Retribution: A Motorcycle Club Romance by Sienna Valentine Page A

worsened when he licked his full
lips and absently pushed his hair back from his face as he sat down in front of
Charlie at the bar. Christ, he’s so hot it hurts.
     
    As if he could hear her thoughts, the
man lifted his gaze and trailed it across the bar until it landed on her. It
was then that Eva realized she had stopped to stare at him mid-drink, with her
mouth half-open and her pint of beer hanging in the air. She cleared her throat
and dropped the beer back on the table as she averted her eyes back to her book,
trying desperately to at least look like she was again lost in the text.
     
    When she dared glance back up again,
he was still looking at her. Staring, even. His brown eyes were so deep, they
looked endless from where she sat, and held a sadness that Eva couldn’t help
but feel. His face had gone much softer, and when he looked at the book in her
hands, she saw the ghost of an endearing half-smile.
     
    Charlie suddenly looked up from his manual
on the counter. “Oh, ‘scuse me, I didn’t see you there. What can I get you?”
     
    The man held her gaze just a second
longer before he turned to Charlie. “Two shots of whiskey and a stein.”
     
    Eva’s stomach fluttered at the sound
of his voice, a deep timbre spoken softly, deliberately. She couldn’t believe
herself, getting all worked up over some… well, what was he? He certainly looked
dangerous, but she couldn’t place exactly why. Plenty of guys kept in shape and
carried knives. Plenty of guys had scars on their arms, and their neck. It was
something else in the way he carried himself. Whatever it was, it didn’t
frighten her like it had with the strangers. Instead, Eva felt honest-to-god
arousal in a way she hadn’t felt in months—maybe even years.
     
    An unwelcome, paranoid thought
protruded into her mind—that maybe this dark, handsome stranger was related to the earlier ones. Was he here to continue the work they had started?
He didn’t look particularly agitated. She did hope he wasn’t with them. It
would certainly tarnish his handsomeness.
     
    Charlie served him and Eva heard the
man ask, “You new here?”
     
    “Yeah, there’s been a bit of an
ownership shake-up. Temporary,” said Charlie, holding his hands up as he said
the last word. He stretched one of them out to the man. “I’m Charlie Murdock.
Owen had some family business to attend to. My sister and I will be running
things in the meantime. Hopefully, you shouldn’t feel too much of a
difference.”
     
    The man looked at Charlie’s hand a
moment before he shook it. “Will.” He took a pause. “You and your sister?” he
added, trailing his gaze back over to Eva before Charlie could answer.
     
    “Eva, over there,” said Charlie as he
nodded toward her. Both men looked at her and Eva squirmed a bit in her chair. She
raised a hand in an awkward wave, and then pretended to dive back into her
book. She could feel Will’s eyes on her still, but she didn’t dare look up and
confirm it. Laura’s gonna love this , she thought.
     
    She didn’t hear Will say anything
else, but she did hear the sound of both the shot glasses being put back on the
counter, one after the other. Her gaze flicked up and over the book for another
quick peek. The man was just sitting on his stool now, staring at some empty
point behind the bar, lost in thought. And not a happy thought, if she had to
judge. She didn’t envy whoever he must have been thinking about. There was an
air about him that reminded her of a half-sleeping wolf.
     
    The song on the jukebox changed to
something from Jimi Hendrix and Eva started to try and get back into her book.
She’d only read a few paragraphs before feeling compelled to pause for another
glance up at dark, handsome Will at the bar. After a few minutes, she realized
she wasn’t digesting anything she was reading. All she could think about was
how strong Will’s hands would feel on her.
     
    Eva cleared her throat and blushed to
herself. She