Read Know Me (DEFIANT Motorcycle Club) for Free Online Page A

Crest Tolleson, I’d been expressly off limits to any man both in his circle and out of it.  It was a protective shield I’d never fully appreciated until now.  I supposed here I was off limits as well, but for a different reason.  Here, I belonged to Orion.  At least for now.
    I meandered by the wash for a long time; examining pretty rocks and small objects which had been left when the temporary waters dried up.  Several times tiny squirrel-like creatures skittered across my path.  One curious fellow reared up on his hind legs and observed me boldly for a full minute before resuming his travels. 
    When my mind began wanderi ng it was filled with unpleasant things.  Dice. Talon. Mario. Ford.  All the others who’d belonged to the harsh world of the Warlocks. Punctuating the memories of all those rough men and their tumultuous stories was always the face of my father.  And then the scream of wrath which had ripped from his throat as he met Ruger and the other SF’s in a final, furious battle that he’d lost.  I hadn’t asked Orion what he knew of the massacre and I hadn’t sought out the internet since I’d arrived. I already knew more than I wanted to.  Whatever else there was would surely not add any comfort. 
    The two club members who had been watching me disappeared and were presently replaced by others.  Finally, I grew thirsty enough to make my way indoors.  I waved at the Defiant men, looking them in the eye.  Crest had always warned me not to keep my head down.  He said something in the base natures of all men demanded that challengers meet them face on.  He said they would never respect one who looked away, especially not a woman.  Crest Tolleson was a wise man. 
    The clubhouse was quiet, though the smell of recent cigarette smoke hung heavy in the main living room.  The sunken couch was shabby and the table in the center was badly chipped, but the place wasn’t too badly tended, leading me to wonder who was keeping it up.  In the shadows of the bar I had glimpsed two other women besides Rachel.  They were young and watched me with quiet curiosity.  I wondered who they were to the Defiant men. 
    With a sigh I straightened out the couch cushions and made my way into the kitchen.  I wasn’t even sure who else lived here besides Orion.  Obviously the men tended to wander in and out of the club headquarters as necessary, but I’d also counted a half dozen trailers on the bare ground beyond the property.  Rachel had mentioned that she occupied one of them with Casper, who seemed to be a man of some importance around here.  I’d seen the patch on his jacket which made him second only to Orion. 
    As I entered the kitchen I felt a blush creeping over my skin, remembering what had happened the last time I was in there. It wasn’t like me to fall under a man’s spell so easily.  I shied away from the things other girls sought so eagerly and pushed aside the urges in my body as stubbornly as I could.  Perhaps that was why Orion was able to reach me.  All it took was one resolute touch and he saw through me plain as if my story were written on my face.  Of course, Orion Jackson had lived two of my lifetimes.  His benefit of experience was something the tentative boys of my past didn’t have. 
    The sight which greeted me in the kitchen caught me off guard .  I stopped dead in my tracks and stared, feeling rather than hearing the gasp in my own throat. 
    I hadn’t seen Orion since our brief, heated tryst this morning.  But he must have found his way back here at some point.  No one else would have left a large box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the middle of the table with the word ‘KIRA’ scrawled across the front in black magic marker. 
    I picked up the box, listening to the lose pasta rattling around inside.  It had been my favorite meal as a kid.  A simple one that I was capable of making all on my own very early on.  I used to take some pride in cooking up big