“Get your fucking hands off her,” I growled, my body shaking with anger.
Target released his grip on Harmony’s hair and she scooted across the bed to the other side. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, but like the trooper she was she gallantly glared across the room.
“Hey Brother,” Target said casually, slipping his pathetic cock back in his pants and holding his hands in the air. “I just came to apologize to Harmony about some shit that happened the other day and she wanted to show me how sorry she was. I couldn’t help it man. I was trying to hold her off.”
“You bastard,” Harmony yelled as she picked up a heavy textbook off the bed and threw it at him. The girl’s aim was fucking perfect and I had to hide a smirk as the book hit him in the side of the head, throwing him off balance. His fists clenched as he righted himself and pointed across at her with his finger.
“You better watch yourself, bitch.”
“Enough,” I boomed. “Outside, fucker.”
I saw his wary gaze as he turned to me. “This shit was all her, man.”
I saw the rage and determination on Harmony’s face as she moved around the bed toward him. I gripped her around the waist as she tried to shuffle past me and held onto her tight while she kicked and yelled abuse at the slimy little bastard.
“The fuck is going on here?” Optimus said, moving into the small doorway with a deep scowl on his face.
“Your boy there just earned himself an ass-beating for touching something that belongs to me,” I explained calmly, still trying to hold a struggling Harmony.
“Prez…” Target started, but Optimus shut him down quickly.
“Shut your mouth, Target,” he snapped. “Harmony, calm your ass down!”
Harmony glared at Optimus but stopped fighting in my arms. I turned her toward me and cupped her face in my hand. A few stray tears trickled down her cheek.
“Explain,” I ordered softly.
“He came to me. Telling me to suck his cock and shit.”
“Prez—” Target tried again.
“I said, shut your fucking mouth.”
My focus was on Harmony. I could see her eyes blazing with anger. I knew Harmony was telling the truth, but I could tell she was scared I wasn’t going to believe her. She knew without a witness, Brothers all had the power of their word over club girls. Your Brothers are meant to be the ones you can trust without fault. They are the ones who are supposed to have your back. But I think Optimus and I both knew Harmony wouldn’t lie about this shit. She had no reason to.
I wiped a stray tear and turned her toward the bathroom. “Go clean up. I’m going to deal with this.” She looked at me over her shoulder, a fierce look on her face. But she soon nodded and headed toward the bathroom, closing the door after her. I didn’t miss a beat. As soon as that door was shut I spun toward Target, who was glaring at the space where Harmony had disappeared. “Outside, asshole. Now.”
He stormed from the room. I didn’t miss the way he shoved past me. I may not be his president, but I was a Brothers by Blood President and the lack of disrespect from this little shit was insulting.
Optimus wiped his hand down his face and groaned in frustration. “What do you think?”
“I think he knew exactly what he was doing and the fucker’s going to get what’s coming,” I muttered.
Optimus nodded. “Target’s been causing a lot of issues lately. There’s been complaints from the girls at X-Rated about him trying to touch them and shit while he’s on his shift.”
I slammed my hand against the wall. “That little fucker was at Church this morning. I made it fucking loud and clear that no one would be touching Harmony while I was around. She is mine.”
“You did what?” a soft voice whispered.
I turned to see her standing in the doorway to the bathroom. Her cheeks were still flushed with anger, but her eyes were now widened with shock.
“I’ll catch up with the little shit soon,” I said, not taking my eyes away from her. Staring her down and challenging her to say something about what she’d just heard.
“Yeah, Brother.” Optimus patted me on the back and left, closing the door behind him.
Harmony stood silently, just staring at me. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but words never came out.
“You got something to say, say it,” I said sternly, folding my arms across my body.
“Why?”
“Why?” I repeated, baiting her. The wide eyes soon turned to deep slits as she became frustrated with me.
“Yes. Why, Kit?”
“Because I’m not gonna sit around and watch all these men be all over you and treating you like a whore.”
A dark laugh escaped her. “News flash, Kit. That’s exactly what I am. That’s what I have been for the past three years and that’s probably what I’ll be for the foreseeable future. That is if Optimus doesn’t throw me out on my fucking ass thanks to Target,” she said the man’s name with venom in her tone.
I moved forward and began to circle her like a predator. She was my prey. I wanted to sink my teeth into her and watch her writhe under me. She stared straight ahead and bit down hard on her lip. She’d said too much and now she realized that she had run her mouth and that it could possibly get her into trouble.
I stood at her back and leaned forward tucking her hair over her shoulder and my lips brushed her ear, but her body didn’t waver. “Is that what you want? To be a fucking whore for the rest of your life?” She didn’t answer, so I tried a different tact. I moved in front of her so I could read her eyes. “Forget the club rules about staying silent and not talking back to a Brother. In this room right now, I’m giving you the chance to say what you fucking like. No repercussions.” She raised a brow slightly but continued to bite and suck her lip into her mouth, like she was holding back her words. “Your only chance, Harmony. Right now. That’s all you fucking get.”
“No,” she gritted out between her teeth.
I leaned back against the closed door. “No, what?”
“No, I don’t want to be a whore for the rest of my life!” She screwed up her face like she had a bad taste in her mouth.
Now we were getting somewhere. “Then why the fuck are you so upset about me taking claim to you?”
“You claim me? Yet you will barely even touch me! I’d rather you just fucked me and walk away.”
I felt anger bubble in my stomach. “So you want me to treat you like a whore?”
She shrugged and I could see the fight starting to leave her body. “Men take what they want and then they walk away. It’s what I know. It’s what I’ve always known. You start throwing the word claim around and shit-like feelings begin to get involved. That’s how people get hurt.”
“You been hurt before? Had your heart broken?”
A gentle smile crossed her lips and she moved to sit at the edge of the bed. “No. I haven’t. Because I live by what I say. I don’t want to be owned. I’m happy doing what I’m doing.”
I stepped forward, sick of dancing around this crap. “My claim still stands. While you’re with me you don’t touch the other men.”
She pursed her lips and I waited for the retort, but it never came. This was exactly why my need for her was so strong. I’d given her time to have her say and she’d said it. But in the end, she knows my word is law and she kept her pretty little mouth shut.
“And when you leave in a few days?”
“Cross that bridge when we come to it, babe.”
She nodded, but I didn’t like the look of defeat on her face. Being claimed by a Brother was an honor, but Harmony was too busy worrying about her damn feelings to let go and explore our connection. There was a connection there, I felt it. I was a little pissed at Optimus for keeping her as a club whore for so damn long, when it was pretty obvious she was Old Lady material. She loved the club, she followed the rules, and she respected the men.
That being said, “I think it’s time I made you realize why being mine is going to be so damn good.”