One Hard Ride

Josie

The burly biker with the whiskey-colored eyes might not look like daddy material, but he seems to want this baby more than anything. His sweet talking promises are messing with my mind… and my heart. I’m trying to resist him. A one-night-stand mistake can’t possibly be the start to forever.

Brick

I knew the beauty with the curves was mine the first time I saw her. Now that she’s living at my place and carrying my baby, the writing’s on the wall. I just need for her to see it. She belongs with me, and I’ll do anything to prove it—even keep my hands off her—until she’s ready to admit we're meant to be together.

The men of the Lonestar Riders MC might be wild and rough around the edges, but their hearts will be tamed when they meet the curvy girl of their dreams. Each book features one couple, is a complete story, and can be read alone.

I stared at my best friend and MC brother Fuse like he’d just sprouted another fucking head. There had to be a mistake. “How can Josie be pregnant?” 

The line creasing his forehead deepened. “It’s like this, Brick. Guys have a dick. Gals have a pussy. When the dick goes into the pussy—”

“Fuck you. I know how it works.” I funneled a hand through my hair. It was too short to grab, but it gave me something to do besides sit there with my mouth hanging open at the news the woman I’d had a one-night stand with was pregnant.

“Then what don’t you understand? You fucked Josie, and now she’s knocked up.” His shoulders rolled. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this.”

“Why the hell not?” Even though I was shocked, I was even more surprised that he didn’t think I fell into the “need to know” category on this bit of news. He’d been my best friend since we were eight years old. Knowing he might try to keep something like that from me made me want to knock him into next week.

“She made me promise.” He wrapped his hand around the mug of beer in front of him and lifted it to his lips.

“Who, Quinn?” My older brother, Ryker, asked.

Fuse and Quinn had gotten together a few months ago. He was head over heels for her, and as far as I could tell, she felt the same about him. It made sense that Quinn would want to be protective of her best friend, but still, I had a right to know.

Fuse glanced over at me and shook his head. “No, man. Josie.”

“What the fuck?” My gut pinched. I’d been trying to forget about the bombshell with the curves since the night we spent together. Trying pretty damn unsuccessfully. Now we’d be tied together forever. I wasn’t against having a permanent connection to Josie Turner. She was everything I wanted in a woman: smart, drop-dead-gorgeous, funny, and sexy-as-sin. The only reason we hadn’t gone out again was because she shut me down. 

Fuse swallowed the rest of his beer and signaled for another for him and Ryker. Both of them were way ahead of me. I’d barely even taken two sips of my own. The three of us occupied a trio of barstools at our favorite beer joint. Most nights I’d run into at least half a dozen of my MC brothers in the joint, but tonight it was just me, Ryker, and Fuse.

“Did she say what she wanted to do about it?” Ryker asked.

I still couldn’t understand how it had happened. She said she was on the pill, and I’d used a condom. We’d been careful. At least, I thought we had. I couldn’t remember every single detail of what went down that night, but the way I felt when I was with Josie was something I’d never forget.

“I’m not sure,” Fuse said. “She and Quinn were talking on the back patio. I got close enough to drop off takeout from your mom’s restaurant, then bailed.”

“Wait. She’s in town?” My mouth went dry. I got up from my stool and tossed some cash onto the bar. “You didn’t tell me she was at your place. I figured she’d called Quinn, but if she’s there, I need to go talk to her.”

Ryker’s fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”

I shook off his grip. No one would be able to stop me from heading over there, not even the two of them. “Why wouldn’t it be? She needs to know I’m going to do everything I can to support her.”

“Look, I know you’re all about doing the right thing, but she just found out.” Fuse centered his beer on top of the paper coaster. “Why don’t you let Quinn talk to her, then I can do a little recon and figure out where her head’s at about this?”

As much as I wanted to tell him to fuck off and head straight to his place to find Josie, I wasn’t such a dumbass that I couldn’t see his point.

Fuse picked up my money and shoved it into my chest. “Beer’s on me. It’s the least I can do after ruining your night.”

He didn’t get it. Other guys might be scared shitless at the news they were going to be a dad. I was that rare breed of male who looked forward to settling down and starting a family. I’d grown up in a house where my parents still held hands, and even after thirty years of marriage, they loved spending time together. With two older brothers and three younger sisters, our house was always full of chaos and love.

That was the kind of future I wanted. That was the kind of life I’d been trying to find. At almost thirty years old, I figured it was out of my grasp. But now… dammit, now I was going to be a father.

“You didn’t ruin my night.” I pushed the cash into my pocket and resettled on my stool at the bar.

“Don’t tell me you’re happy about this?” Ryker gave me some major side eye. “I know you want to get married and have kids and all that shit, but is this the way you want it to happen? I mean, who the hell even knows if it’s yours?”

Within seconds, I’d jumped off my stool and fisted the front of his shirt. Ryker might be my brother by blood and through the MC, but he was way out of line. “Watch what you’re implying about the mother of my kid.”

“Bro, I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He put up his hands, palms out.

I let him go. His doubt dulled the shine of my excitement, like a huge cloud moving in front of the sun. 

“You think that’s what she’s like?” I turned toward Fuse. I didn’t know Josie well, but I sure as hell wanted to get to know her better. The night we’d spent together had stuck with me. More like seared itself on my brain. Neither one of us had seen it coming, and we hadn’t talked about it since it happened.

It hadn’t been from lack of trying on my end. I’d texted her a few times, but she said she wasn’t looking for anything serious. Besides, she lived in Dallas, about a four-hour drive on my bike. I figured I’d try to convince her to give the long distance thing a try the next time I saw her. It was bound to happen sooner or later since she was best friends with my best friend’s gal. But now, fuck, now it looked like we’d be seeing a lot more of each other, anyway. At least I sure as hell hoped we would.

Fuse slid my beer closer to me. “I don’t know what she’s like, but I do know you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I took a sip of my beer while I waited for him to respond. The cold liquid slid down my throat. I didn’t even taste it. Not with thoughts of Josie filling my head.

“You’re an easy mark, bro. Chicks latch onto you like leeches because you’re so fucking nice to them, even the ones you don’t like. Then you don’t want to hurt their feelings, so they stick around and suck you dry.”

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he kept going.

“That girl you hooked up with a couple of years ago… what was her name? Donna? Debbie?”

“Dahlia?” Hell, I hadn’t thought of her in forever. He didn’t have to say another word. I already knew where he was headed with the conversation. “She was going through a lot.”

“So she said.” Fuse rolled his eyes. “She suckered you into paying her rent for how long?”

Having a friend who knew me so well sucked sometimes. “Josie’s nothing like Dahlia.”

“What about Bella?” Ryker cocked his head. A smug grin spread over his lips. “She strung you along all through high school because you drove her back and forth to school and she didn’t want to ride the bus.” 

“Josie’s nothing like Bella either.” She wasn’t like any woman I’d ever been with before. I had a tendency to go for damsels in distress. Nothing made me feel more like a man than swooping in to save a woman who needed me. But Josie didn’t need a damn thing from me. Well, except maybe sex, but we’d both wanted that.

“What’s she like then? Why don’t you tell me?” Fuse angled his big body toward me and rested his elbow on the bar.

“She’s like…” I struggled to find the right words to describe her. “Hell, I don’t know. She’s independent. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. She’s…fuck, she’s like if Megan Fox and Wonder Woman somehow had a baby girl—”

“Classic Wonder Woman or are we talking Gal Gadot?” Ryker’s eyes lit up, and he leaned a little closer, suddenly a lot more interested in the conversation.

I scoffed. “What’s it matter?”

“Dude,”—his brows arched—“it matters. If we’re talking Gal Gadot, every guy I know would pay good money to see that happen. Even more to take part.”

I smacked the back of my hand against his leather jacket. “It’s not happening. I’m just trying to illustrate my point.”

“Yeah, but a guy can dream.” He let out a sigh, then shook his head. I doubted any woman would ever be able to tame my older brother.

“You can dream, asshole. Not me, though. Quinn’s a million times better than a Fox-Gadot hookup.” Fuse held out his mug to clink it against Ryker’s.

“Will both of you shut the fuck up so I can get on with my point?” I asked.

“Go ahead.” Ryker nodded.

“Josie’s tough on the outside, but I know she’s soft on the inside. I guess I find her confidence pretty damn attractive.” She was fearless. The combination of her drive and independence was so fucking sexy. I’d never met anyone quite like her, and I’d known from the moment I set eyes on her that she needed to be mine.

“Attractive enough to be her baby daddy for the rest of your life?” Ryker picked up his beer and leaned against the back of his stool.

That was the kicker. Josie was everything I was looking for in a woman, and now she was in a position to give me everything I’d ever wanted. There was only one thing that worried me.

I had no idea how she felt about being pregnant.

And even worse… I had no idea how she felt about me.