Free Wild Ride (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) by Chantal Fernando

I’ve told the men not to call me unless someone is dying.
    “No,” she says, resting her head on my shoulder. “I’ve dated a fair bit over the years, but no one made the cut.”
    “Pressure much,” I grumble, kissing the top of her head.
    She looks up at me and smiles. “I think if we’re still seeing each other in about two months, I’ll introduce you to him. Do you even like kids?”
    “I don’t not like kids,” I say, cringing. “I don’t have any experience with kids. I think that yours will be a different situation though, because I kind of get it now. He’s a part of you, an extension of you. It’s a package deal, I understand that, but you’re going to have to be patient, because this is all new to me.”
    “We have time” is all she says. “I told Bailey it was you I went on the date with.”
    “And?”
    “And she gave me a few warnings but said whatever makes me happy will make her happy.”
    “Bailey loves me,” I tease, grinning wolfishly. “She’s been to my clubhouse and everything. Kicked our asses in beer pong, her and Anna. Vipers, the two of them.”
    She throws her head back and laughs. “I heard about that night. Yeah, they had fun, but they paid for it when they went home.”
    I wince and run my hand through my hair. “Yeah, I should’ve known they’d get caught. I fucked up that night—I know that now. I just wanted Anna to come see me on my birthday. I didn’t think about anything else, which was selfish of me.”
    “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Talon,” she says, squeezing my shoulder gently. “You all paid for what happened that night, but you learn from it and move on.”
    “It’s not that simple. You’ll see soon enough,” I say quietly.
    The reason I feel guilty is that I learned soon after that my clubhouse isn’t the safest place to be, and I unknowingly put the women in danger. With me there, nothing would have happened to them, because I wouldn’t have let it, but still. I won’t let my own cousin stay there, and I’m sure as hell not going to bring Tia there. I have a few properties I could move into if things go further between us, so she can come and see me there. The clubhouse is definitely not going to be a place she frequents regularly.
    “Our clubhouse is different from the Wind Dragons’,” is all I tell her. No need to scare her off before I’ve even gotten her.
    “You go there a lot, do you?” she teases, smirking. She cups my face in her hands and kisses me gently. “As long as you don’t try to stop me from seeing my friends, I don’t care. If you get all controlling and shit, telling me I can’t go see Bailey and Rake or whatever, that’s a deal breaker for me. I’m not the kind of woman who ditches her friends the second she gets a man.”
    “I’d never try to pull you away from the people who care about you,” I tell her, scowling and feeling a little fuckin’ insulted. “I’m not like that. Yeah, I can be demanding, and a little bossy or whatever, but you’re your own woman, and I like that you’re strong and independent. I push you, then you push right back, and we work it out. I can be a bit much, Tia, and I need a woman who can give that right back to me, do you understand what I’m saying?”
    “You don’t want a weak woman who will just take all your shit and let you push her around?” she says, smirking. She points her index finger at my chest. “Good, because I won’t take any of your shit.”
    “Good.”
    “My ex, Rhett’s father, was super controlling. He was the one making the money while I stayed at home, so he used to hold that over my head. It’s probably the reason I’m so hesitant to rely on other people now,” she explains, then pauses. “I don’t think I’ve ever admitted that out loud before.”
    I grit my teeth at the thought of any man not treating her right. “Does he still see your son?”
    “No,” she says, looking sad for a moment. “He remarried and has more children. I