The Biker's Priestess

CHAPTER 2: POSSESSIVE WORDS

INKA

“I saw your missed calls. I’m sorry, my phone died and—” Riley continued, but the apology died instantly on her lips the moment she saw him.

She stopped so abruptly it was almost comical, except for the fact that fear flickered across her face a second later. It wasn't panic exactly, but caution and maybe... respect? The kind people gave men they knew were dangerous?

Her eyes darted from the hand loosely wrapped around my throat to his face before she swallowed hard.

“Shadow,” she said carefully, her usual confidence noticeably absent. “I didn’t realize you were… handling this.”

Shadow.

The name fit him far too well, dark, dangerous and impossible to escape once it touched you.

He didn’t so much as glance in her direction. His attention remained entirely on me, his fingers still resting against my throat like he could feel every frantic beat of my pulse beneath his hand.

“Inka,” he repeated slowly, his deep voice rough as he rolled my name across his tongue like something forbidden he intended to savor. His dark eyes were still locked onto mine with terrifying intensity. “Pretty f*****g name for a pretty little runaway.”

My stomach dropped, a cold wave of panic sliding down my spine so quickly it nearly stole my breath. Runaway? How the hell did he know that?

For one horrifying second, I wondered if he somehow knew everything. But before I could spiral any further, Riley shifted beside us, clearly uncomfortable beneath the heavy silence tightening around the room.

“She just needs the spare key,” she explained quickly. “She locked herself out of her house. I’ll grab it and she’ll be gone in two minutes.”

Her words seemed to vanish into thin air. And Shadow’s mouth curved slowly, but the expression held nothing warm. It was the kind of smile a wolf might wear before sinking its teeth into something helpless.

“She’s not going anywhere yet.”

His fingers tightened just slightly around my throat, still not enough to hurt but enough to remind me exactly how easily he could.

Heat rushed through my body so intense it was embarrassing as the shame and unwanted desire twisted together deep in my stomach. My thighs instinctively pressed together even tighter beneath my dress while my n*****s hardened painfully now against the thin fabric.

I hated it. I hated the way my body reacted to him as if it belonged to someone else entirely, like some traitorous part of me recognized him as danger but wanted him anyway.

“Shadow, please,” Riley tried again, her voice quieter now, more careful. “She doesn’t know how things work around here.”

“That’s exactly why she’s staying.”

For the first time, he finally looked at Riley, though his body never shifted away from mine. He remained planted between me and any possible escape, broad shoulders still boxing me in against the bar.

“Go get the key. Then leave us alone.”

The command wasn’t loud, but it carried absolute authority. Riley hesitated, fear evident in the tightness around her mouth as her eyes flickered toward me. She wanted to argue. She desperately wanted to help. But in the end, she gave a reluctant nod.

Then she disappeared toward the back hallway without another word. And just like that, I was alone with him again.

The air felt even heavier the second she left, and Shadow’s gaze drifted slowly over my face before his free hand rose toward me.

I flinched instinctively, but instead of hurting me, his fingers brushed gently against my temple, sweeping a loose strand of hair behind my ear with surprising tenderness.

The softness of the touch unsettled me more than the grip around my throat ever could. Men like him weren’t supposed to touch gently. Yet somehow that made him even more terrifying.

The look in his eyes, however, was pure predator, like he wanted to tear my dress off right here and take me on top of the bar while the whole room watched.

“You’re shaking, Inka,” he murmured, leaning in until his lips touched the shell of my ear once more. “Is it fear… or are you soaked for me already?”

My breath hitched sharply. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough.” His nose traced along my jaw as he inhaled deeply, breathing me in like he was memorizing my scent. “I’ve seen enough broken, beautiful things running from their sins to recognize one when she walks into my bar. You’ve got ghosts chasing you, baby. But tonight… they’re going to have to get through me.”

A broken sound escaped my throat, half whimper, half protest. I should have been terrified. I was terrified. But my body was betraying me, growing slick and aching between my thighs at his dark, possessive words.

Riley returned, holding out the spare key with a nervous hand. “Here, Inka. You should probably head home now,” she said the last part like she believed I had the choice and I reached for it like I did. But Shadow caught my wrist first, guiding my hand back down.

His grip was firm, and my breath hitched once more.

“She won’t be needing that tonight,” he said casually, like he was in charge of me and that was when I finally snapped.

“Excuse me? You can’t just—”

“I can,” he cut me off, voice dropping into a low, commanding growl that made my p***y clench. “You’re staying. We’re going to have a drink. You’re going to tell me why a woman like you looks like she’s running for her life. And then…”

His thumb stroked slowly over the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse fluttered wildly.

“Then I’m going to take you home with me and ruin every last bit of that innocence you’re trying so hard to hide.”

My core throbbed at his filthy promise and shame burned my cheeks.

“I can’t—” I whispered, but the words sounded weak even to my own ears.

Shadow leaned in closer, pressing his hard, muscular body against mine just enough for me to feel his thick, intimidating length straining against his jeans. “You can. And you will. Because the second you walked through those doors, you became mine, little runaway.”

I froze at the intensity in his voice, and Riley gave me one last worried look before retreating, clearly knowing better than to argue with him.

Shadow finally released my throat, only to slide his large hand down my back and grip my waist possessively, pulling me flush against him.

“Come on, baby,” he guided me toward a shadowed booth in the corner. “Let’s get to know each other properly.”

I let him lead me because with his heat surrounding me and his dangerous obsession already sinking its claws deep into my skin, I wasn’t sure I had any choice left.

And the most terrifying part?

Some dark, hidden part of me wasn’t sure I wanted one. What the hell was happening to me?