Naughty Smutty Book Blog: INNOCENT RIDE The Hellions Ride, #4 Chelsea Camaron

INNOCENT RIDE

The Hellions Ride, #4

Chelsea Camaron

Release Date: February 20, 2015

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20308905-innocent-ride?ac=1

Blurb

Opposites attract, or so the saying goes. When two people from different worlds come together by a chance meeting twisted with an element of danger, can their attraction remain innocent?

She's a corporate accountant. Her life is full of structure, routine, and organization. Settled, comfortable, and content, Caroline Milton, loves knowing what to expect every minute of every day.

He's the Catawba Hellions VP and a wild one, refusing to be tamed. His motto, 'hit it, get it, and go; no repeats' where women are concerned, guarantees a new woman in his bed nightly. His life suddenly tilted on its axis, when his wild days come barreling back with a major responsibility. Drexel 'Rex' Crews finds he has a real reason to settle down his wild ways.

When a situation quickly spins out of control at work for Caroline, she reaches out to the one place she least expected to find herself dependent upon. The Hellions Motorcycle Club.

His cousin's ol' lady, Doll, comes to him with a personal favor, protect her best friend. He can't refuse. Protecting Caroline was supposed to be an innocent task.

The attraction from their first meeting is still a fire burning strong inside of them both. Neither can deny the pull. They come from different worlds.

Can Rex show Caroline the safety and security of the MC? Can Caroline tame the wild beast inside of Rex? Can their innocent ride become a journey to long lasting love?

The Man I Am

~Rex~

As the wind whips around me, she dances violently, slapping the leather of my cut harshly against my T-shirt covered chest. A storm is brewing in the air around me as another one rages on inside my darkened soul.

The road before me is curvy. They call it Dead Man’s Trail. Riding a ledge is what it feels like. With the fine line of one wrong move, life and death are in the balance as the road winds through a mountain.

I am hours from home, and I still can’t bring myself to turn around and go back. I am not on a transport or on a run for the club. I am out alone, just me, my Harley, and the open night sky.

Not a star shines tonight as the humidity rises and the wind swirls through the thick air. A summer storm is in the midst. My mind races as the pipes on my bike scream out under the pressure of my speed.

“Be a man to be proud of. Carry your name—our name—with pride,” Pop’s voice echoes in my head.

A name. My name. Our name.

Tessie gave my boy—her son, my son, our son—my name. Myfucking name.

Axel Devon Crews. Mini-me. One look and I fucking knew he was mine. My gut twists. Mine. My blood. My responsibility. My name. My fucking mirror image.

Throttle down, I push on faster, harder, needing to feel something slice through me besides the disappointments running through my mind. My life is officially at a crossroads, every mistake of my past now shoved in the forefront of my mind.

How did I get so lost? How have I become so consumed in things that don’t matter? When did I become so self-absorbed?

I would lay down my life to protect the very cut moving across my back right now. Yet, the woman who freely lay beneath me, giving her body, heart, and soul to me, I left without a glance back. She ripped her body—literally—to give life to my seed, and I did nothing more than wink, smile, and move on to the next woman. I was so focused on myself I missed the signs. I should have known. Hell, I should have been there.

Then, when the opportunity came for me to step up for her, did I do it? No. Shooter stepped in like I knew he would. He is a far better man than I am. Tessie deserves a man like him, not the mess that is me. No matter what life throws at them, he will be there to have her back, to be her security. He will be her strength and her calm within the storm. He will be her best friend and her lover. Everything that Tessie needs, wants, and damn sure deserves is found in the man I now proudly call my brother.

Sure, there was a time I wanted to rip him limb from limb. He went after what could have been mine. No, he didn’t go after her, not really, not if I keep it real with myself. I pushed him there. I sent him to her. I gave him what could have been my future. The only person to blame here is me. She needed me, and I tossed her off to him. My mistakes. My losses. I know, if I am ever given a chance to have something good again, I am not going to waste my opportunity.

When the clouds open up, the hot rain comes down, pelting me in the face, on my arms, and all my exposed skin. The road beneath me gets slick as I push on. Soft gravel gives way, and my back tire shifts under me. I don’t correct the movement. The delicate balance keeping me upright drops as does my bike, and my body hits the pavement hard. Gravel digs in even through the denim of my pants as the material rips. I feel my arms shred as my bike is no longer under my now broken body, only the unforgiving road.

Broken, shredded, a bloody mess of a man—that is what I am.

Pops’ voice is the last thing to sound through my head as I succumb to the blackness consuming me.

“The past is the past; the future is before you. Change is a power we all hold. Learning from your mistakes is growth, and it’s a necessary change. How you pick yourself up when you hit rock bottom will tell what kind of man you really are.”