Andre
Two Days Later
I’m sitting next to Grant when the front door opens. Kristel walks through, and her gaze darts over to me. It narrows for a moment before she walks quickly in my direction. There’s a sway in her hips and her shoulders are tense. I can tell just from here that she’s upset.
“What the hell, Andre?”
“What the what?” I sit up and draw in a puff of my cigarette. Seconds later, I exhale it through my nostrils.
“You just left. After…” She pauses and glances to Grant and the six other men in the place who are watching her. “After a few days ago. When I was here. And you told me I could join up.” There’s something far less confident and a lot more awkward about the way she’s talking now.
“It was a good time, but I still had things to do.” I draw in another lungful of smoke and tilt my head. When I release it this time, it’s straight at her face.
A hard pout curves her mouth down, and she almost looks ready to stomp one of her feet. “You are so damn full of it, you know that? I don’t know how you managed to become the leader of this group with the manners youdon’t have.”
I snort softly, then let out a laugh. It’s a deep one born from my belly, and it rings throughout the whole bar. “Aren’t you just the most adorable thing?” As I speak, smoke billows from my lips. “Listen, I’m gonna get Will to train you into the gang. He’s the best lieutenant I’ve got, and he’ll be able to get you running with the rest of us in no time.”
Her arms fold across her chest, and her jaw works back and forth. “Will. He’s the one who had fun with my best friend, right?” Both of her eyebrows lift, and she doesn’t look impressed.
“It’s possible. Listen.” I can feel the heat building between my thighs. She’s just so damn gorgeous when she’s mad like this. “Are you serious about joining Black Knights or not? Because there are a lot of people who would love to be in your position right now. But if you’re just gonna stand around and whine, because I left the bathroom without you after we fucked, then I dunno.” I shrug and tilt my head.
The whole room goes silent, and I hear a few of the guys cackle with laughter. Kristel swallows hard and rolls back her shoulders. She clenches her fists, and I’ve got to admit she’s a whole lot tougher than she looks. She’s all of 5’5” and 120 pounds soaking wet, but a room full of criminals just riles her up. It’s refreshing and arousing, and I shift toward her before I stand up. My arms fold across my chest, and I look right into her blue eyes. Even though I don’t say anything, I make sure she can see the challenge in my own gaze.
“Fine.” She huffs and tilts up her chin. “But you’re still an ass.”
“I’m told it’s like my middle name.” I give her a smug smile and wiggle my tongue at her.
“You ruined a perfectly good night.” Her voice is less convincing than it was as she gives my chest a shove.
“You think so? Sure I didn’t make it? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard any woman scream the way you did.” I bite gently on my bottom lip and lower my gaze to her mouth. There’s a smile edging across her lips, but I can tell she’s in a battle to keep it at bay.
She hefts a sigh and plays with one of the buttons on my shirt. “You’re like a big puppy.” Her mouth is nearly on my own, but she keeps some distance between us. “Which makes it so hard to stay mad at you.”
“All right, love birds, it’s time to get to work.” Will sweeps out from around the bar and slaps a hand playfully next to mine. “Big boss, you probably have a few essentials to discuss with Grant boy here, and I… have a date with the blonde beauty. Isn’t that right, Kristel?”
I roll my eyes and let out a chuckle. “So am I the big boss or are you? You’ve got me all confused.”
Will sticks his tongue out at me and wrinkles his nose before he turns to Kristel. “Ready? I’m gonna take you downstairs where we can talk about some of the rules, what you want out of being here, things like that. You up for it?”
Kristel gives me a glance and pushes some hair behind one of her ears. The smile she’s wearing is absolutely breathtaking, and I have to either kiss her or look away; I choose to look away. My focus turns to Grant and the shots he’s got on the bar, but I swear I can feel her gaze against the back of my neck. She doesn’t say anything else that I can hear, but I do listen as her footsteps pad quietly toward the stairs. Once she’s out of earshot, I huff out a breath.
“Dude… you’ve got some big problems.” Grant is staring at me like he’s worried.
“Huh?” I blink and narrow my eyes on him. “What kind of problems?”
He snorts and takes back one of the shots. “Actually, there’s just one problem. And her name is Kristel.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Would I be right if I told you that you haven’t stopped thinking about that girl since the first time you met her two days ago?”
I hesitate. One of my hands lifts a shot, but I stare into the alcoholic depths instead of drinking it. It’s not like I take women home with me all the time. I’m a pretty picky guy, but when I find someone I like, I usually go back at least once or twice. As I justify everything in my mind, I give Grant a shrug. “So what? She’s hot, and she wasn’t a bad fuck. I had an itch, I scratched it. Period.”
“No…” He shakes a finger at me. “It’s not the end. You’re still itchy, aren’t you? You still want to take her into whatever room you can and fuck her brains out, don’t you?” That finger of his gets closer. “I’ve known you for a long-ass time, Andre, and the only woman you’ve ever bedded twice was Patty. Since she got killed, you’ve been avoiding commitment like it’s the cops. So, don’t try and brush this off like it’s nothing. I’m not stupid. I’m not even drunk yet, either.”
A frown tugs at the corners of my mouth, and a sigh follows soon after. As much as I hate to admit it, I think Grant has a point. “Why are you always so damn right all the time? And so logical? It’s ridiculous.”
“Why are you acting like such a girl?” Grant grins at me and pushes a shot in my direction. “Here, this should help settle your nerves and clear your head. If we’re lucky, it will chase away all thoughts of Kristel, too.” He pauses and looks thoughtful. “Actually, scratch that last. I think you’re doomed.”
“You better hope you’re wrong.” I sigh and take back the shot. “Because I hate it when you’re right. It happens way too often.” As I set the shot glass down, I eye him sideways.
“That’s because you’re way too obvious.” He chuckles and pushes another shot my way. “There’s another way you could look at all of this, though?” Grant shrugs. “Everyone else wants her, too. You could just tell yourself you’re keeping her safe from the masses.”
“Now that really would be a lie.” I decline the next shot, but reach out and pull a bottle of beer over. After a long moment of thought, I shrug. “So what if I do like her? It’s not a crime, is it?”
Grant smiles. “Not really. But it could cloud your judgment. She’s already got you twisted around her fingers so much that you invited her into the group after just a few minutes with her. That could be both dangerous and advantageous depending on how you look at it. Do you even know anything about her family? Do you have any idea what she wants? Do you know if she can handle something as heavy as all this? What if she’s just a fling and you decide you don’t want her anymore? Did you invite her just because you’re attracted to her?”
As the man opens his mouth to ask me more questions, I hold up a hand to stop him. “You’re the bartender and bouncer. Not my dad.”
“Now you’re sounding like a girl again.” He laughs. “It’s my job to protect you, asswipe. And to serve you the best drinks anywhere. So you can either deal with it, or you can fire me. Either way, you still have a potential problem downstairs.”
“Fuck.” I take back a few large mouthfuls of beer and stare toward the stairs. Damn it, I really do hate it when Grant is right.