Free Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) by Chantal Fernando Page A

don’t want him to be.
    Then why does this hurt so much?
    “Do you want to dance some more?” I ask Anna and Lana, who are both studying me a little too closely for my liking.
    Don’t show weakness.
    I have two rules in my life. First, never let them see you bleed. And two, always have an escape plan.
    “Yeah,” Lana replies. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
    I shake my head.
    Leaving now will give him power, will let him know that he still has a hold on me. I don’t want that. I should hate this man with everything I have, but I don’t, which kind of makes me hate myself.
    I’ll never forgive him for the past, so it’s best to let things be. What I feel for Adam, what I’ll always feel for him is irrelevant. It’s warped. It’s wrapped in anger, hate, and distrust. Underneath all that, yes, there is love, but love isn’t enough, at least not this time. What could have been a fairy-tale love has now turned into nothing but pain and harsh cold reality.
    “No, why would I?” I say, my poker face being tested now more than ever before. “I love this song!”
    I wrap an arm around each of them and head back to the dance floor without looking in his direction.
    A few songs later, when the girls return to the bar for another drink, I can’t exactly avoid him anymore. He speaks to them, while I stand on the other side, scanning the bar, looking anywhere except at him. The woman who was with him has disappeared; hopefully she left. Realistically she’s probably in the bathroom or on the dance floor. When a figure appears on my left side, I know it’s him, so I don’t look up.
    “You gonna ignore me all night?” he asks, elbows on the bar. “I think I’m being pretty cool, since I told you I didn’t want to see you here again.”
    I turn my head and narrow my eyes. “You said I can hang out with the girls, and everyone wanted to come here, and they wanted me to come with them. Maybe you should stop being so petty and just let it go. You didn’t have to show up here tonight.”
    “It’s my club,” he fires back. “I’ll show up here whenever the fuck I like.”
    “Okay, fine,” I say, shrugging. “You own the club, but you don’t own me, so why don’t you just pretend like you don’t know me, and we can both have a good night. Just like I was doing before you decided to talk to me.”
    “I’m not the boy you knew, Bailey. You can’t lead me around by the dick anymore. You have no idea who I am now, and it’s only because of our history that I’m cutting you some slack, but if you’re going to be hanging around my family, perhaps you should learn some fuckin’ respect.”
    I make a sound of amusement. “I respect everyone else here.”
    “Pretty sure you weren’t always such a bitch.”
    “Like you said, we are different than who we used to be. You have no idea who I am now either. And I’m pretty sure you weren’t always such an asshole,” I fire back, then turn to leave, but he grips my upper arm in a firm hold.
    “All you better do here tonight is dance and look pretty. You go near a man, I will end him, do you understand me?”
    So he can flaunt his women around, but he expects me to stay away from men? Not that I’m on the prowl or anything. I’m legitimately here to dance and have a good time with my friends, but who does he think he is to decide that for me?
    “Like I said, you don’t own me. If I want to hook up with a guy, I will. But don’t worry, I’m not as easy as the women you’re used to.”
    Green eyes turn murky, and he stares at me like he wants to kill me. “Well, you set the standard, didn’t you? Apparently I just have shit taste in women.”
    That line hits like a blow, and I can’t hide the wince that appears on my face.
    “I hate you,” I say quietly. He flinches, but I don’t give a shit. “I don’t want to talk about anything to do with us. Ever. And you need to stop bringing it up.”
    “The past is all there is between us,” he