Chapter 8

ROSE

The shot of whiskey burned my tongue and stung my throat the entire way down. It didn’t matter that it was in my stomach at this point. I could still feel it lingering even after swallowing a few more times. I could’ve had a swig of beer to make the burning go away but I wasn’t planning on getting drunk tonight.

I did my best to stop myself from grimacing. It wasn’t enough to stop the blond woman in front of me from smiling.

“Why do bikers insist on drinking the harshest, bitterest swill just to prove how tough they are?” I sighed.

“You know the rules,” she said. “You’re not a biker unless you’re drinking the hard stuff. And the Cobras are the hardest club in town. They’ve got a reputation to keep up.”

The sarcasm dripping from her voice made me smile. “I’ll go along with that… So why am I drinking it?”

“Because you’re in the Bone Pit. You’ve gotta fit in with everybody else.”

“The Bone Pit… How appropriate…”

I looked around the rowdy bar and saw everybody enjoying themselves. The roughest kind of men you’d find in all of Ivory. And the women looked like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed, too. The scene wasn’t as wild as a place like Finn’s but the Bone Pit wasn’t exactly a place I could quietly read a book.

“Audrey… How do you put up with this?”

The young blond looked around and shrugged. “I don’t. Micah and I only spend time here when we’ve got nothing better to do. He and I both know it’s all about club business when he’s here. You don’t look too comfortable around this crowd. I get that. Trust me. It’s not my type of crowd either. But the great thing about being with a Cobra is that you don’t have to worry about anybody trying to mess with you. You’re in the safest place in Ivory you can be.”

Audrey spoke with assured confidence that made me forget a fight could break out around me at any moment. As rough as the men and women around me looked, any worries I might’ve had left me quickly.

“I come here to say hello to Micah before my shift at the hospital,” she said. “When you’re working graveyard in the ER, I could take a nap in a place like this.”

Audrey’s maturity was surprising, considering how young she looked. She was pretty, too. I believed every word she said about not having to worry, because a good-looking girl like her would’ve gotten a lot of attention anywhere else. The patrons must’ve known she belonged to one of the Cobras.

“Dating a club member. Working at the hospital. It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Micah and I have been through a lot. If you knew the things we went through to get to this point, you’d know how easy life is for us now.”

I looked over to the side where Ashton was sitting with the rest of his club. He didn’t look much different. The same dark-blond hair slicked over his head. That same confident smile. That same leather kutte that made him stick out from all the ordinary bikers I’d seen around town. But seeing him in his own setting made him more appealing in a way I couldn’t explain.

“You two serious?” she asked.

I turned my eyes back toward her, watching the grin form on her lips. I wasn’t young enough to be embarrassed about my relationships but Audrey was certainly trying to tease me.

“Not serious.” I shook my head and sighed. “Ashton and I are just getting to know each other. It’s not like we’re in a hurry or anything.”

“That’s a good way of looking at it. Relationships are never simple. Especially relationships with a club member. Most of these guys in here are just looking for a hole to stick their dick in. They’re more than willing to move on when the time comes.”

“That… doesn’t sound like something a woman wants to hear.”

“A woman doesn’t wanna hear it because she’s looking at it the wrong way. These guys just wanna get laid. What’s wrong with you wanting to do the same? A hot redhead like you… If Ashton ain’t special, there’s a line of guys waiting to satisfy you. You want my advice? Don’t take things too seriously. Have your fun. Get yourself off. From what I know about Ashton, he’s a nice guy. But he’s still a man. And all men are dogs.”

“Even Micah?”

“Even Micah.” She gave me a wink and got up from her seat. I smiled back at her and nodded. Maybe it was the liquor that put me in a good mood, but everything she said made sense. “I’ve got a shift but maybe next time I’ll stick around and have a drink with you.”

“Yeah… That sounds like fun.”

I watched Audrey head over to the table where the other club members were. She grabbed Micah by the hand and the two of them disappeared into the back of the clubhouse. I sat by myself at the bar and watched Ashton approach. He leaned next to me, a beer in his hand.

“You need another drink?” he asked.

“I don’t know what kinda whiskey I just drank, but I’m still feeling it. It might be a little longer before I can take another one.”

“That’s the beauty of it. You keep drinking and eventually you don’t feel anything.”

I slapped him across the arm and chuckled. The lighting of the bar made him look more handsome than usual when he smiled.

“What do you think of Audrey?”

“I don’t know… She seems like a sweet girl but it’s like she’s got another side to her. I don’t think a sweet girl would ever be able to handle being with a club member, especially a Cobra.”

“Is that right?” He put his beer down on the counter then moved closer to me. He pushed his face to mine and shoved his tongue between my lips. I tasted the beer on his tongue, sucking on it for a few seconds. Our deep, messy kiss would’ve been loud if not for the music and conversation around us. “You’re with me, Rose. Are you telling me you’re not a sweet girl?”

“Hmm… I have my moments. But I don’t think I’m sweet. I’m not whatever the opposite is either. I’m just… me.”

“Whatever it is, I like it.”

He moved his face back to mine and kissed me. I could still taste the whiskey lingering on my stomach. His kiss was like a match, igniting the liquor and stirring a desire within me that made me forget there were so many people around me. I let my lips rest on his for a moment before pulling away.

“What do you think?” His eyes locked on me, his soft smile betrayed the rugged appeal I was sure everybody else saw.

“It’s a nice place. A real MC clubhouse. The club looks like they’ve got their heads on straight. Rex. Micah. Jordan. Doc. Grant. They all seem like good guys.”

“Good guys… In some ways, I suppose they are. But I won’t lie to you, Rose. We’re not the most lawful men in town…”

I smirked at his comment. “Trust me. I know what you’re getting at. And I understand. You should meet my brother, Joey. He’s been getting into trouble ever since we were younger. I’ve got experience being around someone who’s had their fair share of run-ins with the law.”

I thought about my brother for a moment. The alcohol wasn’t enough to distract me from wondering what he was up to with the money he borrowed.

“Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just right now… It looks like you got something on your mind.”

I sighed a deep breath and shook the thoughts of my brother out of my head. “It’s nothing.” I worked a smile onto my face and wrapped my hands around his neck. I pulled him in close for a kiss, whispering onto his lips. “The only thing on my mind right now is you… I want you, Ashton… I want you inside me…”

I had no reservations about telling him exactly what I wanted. There was no point in being shy or embarrassed about it. I knew he was more than willing to give me what I wanted.

“I like the clubhouse.” I kept my lips against his, soft kisses while I kept whispering. “Is there a place we can go?”

He pressed his forehead to mine and locked his stare on me. “Yeah… Let’s get outta here.”

The anticipation made my stomach turn. Thank goodness I wouldn’t have to wait long to satisfy it.