From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanna Wylde comes a new story in her Reapers MC seriesโฆ
Peaches Taylor spent the last seven years slinging drinks and dodging drunks at the Starkwood Saloon. Some might call it a dead end job, but to her it was an investmentโanother six months, and sheโd have enough money to buy the place.
Life would’ve been perfect if Eli hadnโt come home.
Eli King is ready to settle down. He stood by his brothers when they needed him, paying the price for their freedom with his own. Now itโs time to claim his rewardโthe Starkwood Saloon. Heโs got the cash to buy the bar, the skills to run it, and just one person standing between him and his dream: Peaches Taylor.
Sheโs been driving him crazy since they were kids, and not in the good way. When she was six, she shoved a spider down his pants. When he was ten, he locked her in a closet overnight. Then she hot-wired his car at seventeen, and things got uglyโฆ
Theyโre adults now, and the Starkwood isnโt a toy to fight overโitโs the hill theyโll die on. No prisoners. No compromises. No mercy.
Peaches Taylor and Eli King are going to war.
Coming this week is a brand-new, sizzling story in Joanna Wylde’s Reapers MC series! I’m so excited to share a sneak peek from Eli’s Triumph!
โWhat do you think those bikers are talking about?โ Megan asked, leaning next to me against the railing.
โWhich ones?โ I said, locking eyes with a man sitting across the room.
Eli King.
The only guy on Earth with the power to drive me absolutely crazy just by existing. Not the good kind of crazy, either. More of a plotting-vengeance-at-four-in-the-morning-because-you-canโt-unhear-him-fucking-his-girlfriend-through-a-wall kind of crazy.
My nemesis sat enjoying a beer with three of the five Reapers whoโd sauntered into the bar thirty minutes earlier. Theyโd taken over one of the far tables, settling in for the duration while the other two disappeared into the back with Gus.
Eli had abandoned his post to join themโapparently, club membership came before his job, which shouldnโt have surprised me. His uncle always put the club first, too. That annoyed me, but whatโd annoyed me more was the way Eli had asked for a beer when I took their order. Like I was his serving wench, and he wasnโt the damned bartender who was supposed to be pouring those beers instead of drinking them.
Now, he leaned back in his chair, all relaxed and smug. Watching me. Probably pretending he was a king for real. Maybe I should start a rumor that he needs to wear a plastic crown to get it upโฆ
Eli cocked a brow as I narrowed my eyes. Then he raised his bottle in salute as if to say, โHey, Peaches, having fun working while I sit on my ass drinking?โ
God, I loathed him. I hated his stupid long legs and his dumb arm muscles, and his hair. Heโd gotten it cut, I realized. Had to have been that morning because itโd still been all shaggy last night. Definitely hadnโt shaved, though. Just a hint of stubble around his chinโฆ Shit.
Eli was being all sexy today, and that was the worst.
He lifted his bottle, flicking his tongue across his bottom lip right before taking a sip. I found my breath faltering because it reminded me ofโ
No. Not going there. Never going there. Didnโt matter how attractive he was, didnโt matter that Gus said heโd always seen us together. And it really didnโt matter that Eliโs ass looked absolutely fucking fantastic in a pair of faded jeans.
The man was a force of pure destruction, something I knew all too well, and the fact that heโd come back from prison even more pumped up and ripped than before, wellโฆthat was just Godโs sick joke on women everywhere. Under all those muscles, Eli was still the asshole whoโd taken Lemur hostage when I was five.
The torment hadnโt stopped there, either.
When I was sixteen, heโd beaten up my first boyfriend, Mark McDougal. Mark had dumped me after that. Said I wasnโt worth getting an ass-kicking. Not even when I wore my black bikini. Just thinking about it made my jaw clench. Ugh.
I forced myself to take a nice, deep, refreshing yoga breath, repeating a peaceful mantra as I refused to notice how Eliโs throat moved when he swallowed.
Inhale the goodness and love. Exhale the negativity and darkness.
He lowered the beer, still holding my eyes. Crap. Heโd gotten into my head again, and he knew it. Not only that, he knew that I knew, which meant we werenโt just catching each otherโs gaze across the room by accident. Nope. This was now the latest battle in our little war. My fingers tightened around the lemon Iโd been slicing, sending juice squirting across the counter.
Yet another mess Iโd have to clean up because of Gusโs stupid nephew.
โThe two guys in the office with Gus,โ Megan said, breaking through my thoughts. I hadnโt even remembered she was standing next to me, let alone what weโd been talking about.
โWhat?โ I asked, trying not to blink because Eli wasnโt blinking.
โWhat do you think theyโre talking about?โ
โDoesnโt matter. You shouldnโt be curious about them,โ I replied absently, my eyes starting to burn.
โAre you serious?โ she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice. โThat sounds a little dramatic.โ
I sighed. Megan had only been waiting tables at the Starkwood Saloon for a week. She didnโt know the rules yet, so Iโd have to educate her.
โTheyโre part of the Reapers Motorcycle Club,โ I said. โAnd itโs not a great idea to be asking questions about them. Doesnโt matter what theyโre talking about because itโs none of our businessโฆ Hey, does it seem like heโs planning something to you? I donโt trust that look on his face. Thatโs the look he gets when heโs up to something.โ
โHuh?โ
โEli,โ I said shortly. My eyes were seriously starting to hurt. Why wasnโt he blinking? Was he even human? Maybe heโs half demon. Demons probably donโt have to blink at all.