Chapter 2 PLAYING WITH FIRE

MAYA'S POV

The garage went dead silent. The guy who was mixing something in the blender stopped completely. The two men on the leather couch stared at me like I had just spoken in ancient Greek.

Wait, Maya, what do you mean ride? You need to clarify before they think you walked into a biker gang looking for a fuck instead of research material!

I gave a nervous chuckle and held up my hands. "Ride motorcycles, of course! Not... whatever you guys are thinking about. Nope. Definitely just bikes."

Not that I'd mind riding their captain though. Oh lord, keep it together, M.V. Cole. You are an author doing field research, not a thirsty fangirl. Even if he is built like a dark romance wet dream

One of the guys sitting on the couch, a taller fellow with a messy blonde undercut and tattoos up his neck, leaned back and smirked.

"And what exactly do you think we are thinking about, sweetheart?" he asked teasingly.

"Well... let's not talk about that," I said quickly, waving my hand in the air. "Let's keep it strictly professional!"

I want anything but professional, a mess is what makes the story addicting.

The gorgeous man standing in front of me didn't smile. His gray eyes narrowed slightly, inspecting my clothes, my face, and my anxious body language like a predator analyzing prey.

"How did you get to know us?" he asked, his tone flat, demanding, and sharp. "We don't post our address anywhere. We don't have a public page. So who sent you?"

I blinked, my fingers nervously playing with the strap of my purse. "Oh! I was just looking for a random MC to join, you know? Surfing the web, asking around... and yours was the first one I came across. So I wanted to give it a try. I'm actually a runaway looking for a fresh start. And looking at you right now..." I flashed him a playful grin. "...I think I definitely found the right place."

"A runaway, huh?" Jax stepped half an inch closer, towering over me. "You look too soft to be running from anything."

"We haven't had any girls here before," he added slowly, his dark voice filling the room. "My club members and I... we don't know how to handle girls."

I smiled, holding his gaze. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that at all. I love being roughhandled."

The entire room froze.

The two guys on the couch gasped so hard they nearly choked on their own spit. The guy by the counter dropped a metal spoon onto the tile floor, making a loud clang. They all stared at me like I had suddenly grown two extra heads.

I bit my lower lip, realizing how wild that sounded out loud, but I held my ground. If I wanted to write a wild book, I had to be a wild heroine.

Jax kept his eyes fixed on mine. For a fraction of a second, his jaw clenched, and I saw a dark, dangerous spark flare up in his grey eyes before he smoothed it over.

He was clearly suspicious. I look way too beautiful to be harmful. I guess bikers are just overly suspicious.

"Okay," he said simply.

The three men in the room gasped in unison.

"Wait, what?!" the blonde guy shouted, springing up from the leather sofa. "Jax, are you serious? You want to accept a girl into the clubhouse? With the Vipers creeping around our turf?"

"Jax, man, we don't even let strangers past the gate," the guy by the kitchen counter chimed in, looking completely bewildered. "She just walked in off the street! What if she's working for someone else? She just waltzed in here, she's probably a spy or something."

Hello! I'm right here!

"I said okay," Jax repeated, his voice carrying an icy authority that instantly shut every other man in the room up. Nobody dared to argue with him again. Ohh Alpha command at its finest. My writer brain was furiously taking notes. I haven't spent a lot of time here but I already know I'm going to have a lot to write about.

I practically squealed with joy, clapping my hands together. "Thank you!" I beamed, looking up at him with pure excitement. "So, when do we start? And what's your name? Or would you prefer I just call you Handsome?"

The blonde guy shook his head with a chuckle, walking over to lean against a parked motorcycle. "His name is Jax. He's our Captain."

The guy by the counter snorted, looking at me with a mixture of pity and amusement. "If you're lying about who you are, sweetheart, you probably won't like what's coming to you. In our club, we don't take lies easily."

What I am doing is not considered lying is it? I am just omitting information because they probably have no need for it…that's what I am doing. That's not a lie, right?

"Yeah," the blonde guy chimed in, leaning forward. "Is Ricky still alive? Man, he will never forget what Captain did to him when he caught him lying about his background only for us to find out that mother fucker was related to the rival club."

The third guy on the couch chuckled softly. "Even I was shocked. I mean, Ricky's lie didn't even get anyone killed, but Captain still messed him up real bad."

“Can't blame Captain though, he clearly told us all. No lies, no matter how small. He got what was coming for him.”

My smile froze solid on my face. My breath caught right in my throat, and I swallowed down a hard lump.

What the fuck have I walked into? I thought, my heart hammering like crazy against my ribs as I gulped. These guys aren't just pretend bad boys. They are real, terrifying outlaws.

Jax threw a harsh, silent glare at his crew, and their talking died down instantly. He turned back to face me, his cold, unreadable mask firmly back in place.

Jax... My brain finally connected the dots despite my panic. Oh! He's the Captain Eleanor talked about. Miss Vance sure knows how to send me straight into danger.

I forced my shaky nerves down, looking Jax up and down one more time. I took in his sharp jawline, his broad chest, and those lethal grey eyes that felt like a death sentence. I leaned in just a tiny bit, lowered my voice to a sultry purr, and looked straight into his dark gaze.

"Nice to meet you, Handsome..." I paused, letting a small, wicked wink slip despite the fear screaming inside me. "...sorry, Captain Jax."