Our president is a no-show for yet another party. His own birthday party, no less. Sending him a reminder text gets me nothing.
Fucker.
Trinity and I have reached a truce since the Cherry incident. We’re not quite back to where we were—yet.
I’ve been trying to make things up to her. Show her how much she means to me. Make her happy. Some days it works. Then others, she seems to remember what an asshole I am and puts her guard up.
If Rock ruins this party Trinity’s been planning all week, I'm gonna give serious consideration to kicking his ass.
"He'll be here," I reassure her.
"Do you think he's gonna bring Hope with him?" Trin sounds eager to see Rock’s woman, and that surprises me.
"To a club party? Fuck, no. No way is he gonna expose his precious Miss Priss to this shit."
That’s exactly why I think it's a perfect time to remind Rock of what he's been missing. When Z calls and asks if it's all right for Dex to let Inga and some skank friend of hers up to the clubhouse as a birthday surprise, I say hell fuckin' yes. Rock thinks it's some sort of secret that he hasn't nailed any of his regulars in the last year or so. Been saving himself like some sort of fuckin' virgin for his weddin' night. Although, I gotta give him credit, I’ve never had that sort of self-control.
Never wanted to before.
Without his delicate little flower around, Inga should have a shot.
Trin touches my arm, thankfully pulling me away from my thoughts. I've been obsessing over my brother's sex life more than I care to think about tonight.
“Did he answer you?”
Fuck me, I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone in the life who wears their heart on their sleeve the way Trinity does.
“Not yet, babe.”
My phone buzzes.
Rock: Be there in 20.
I nod at Trinity. “He’s on his way.”
She’s grinning from ear to ear, and while I understand their relationship a little better since Rock and I had our sit down, sometimes it still annoys the fuck out of me.
“You gonna put this much effort into my birthday?” Shit, I didn’t mean for that to come out so harsh.
“If you let me, yeah.”
“I ain’t ever stopped you. You’ve always been too busy fawning over everyone else—”
“Are you fucking serious? Why are you doing this tonight?”
I don’t want to fight with her. “I’m going outside.”
I storm out the back door before that sexy fucking pout of hers changes my mind.
Fuckingfuckfuckfuck!
Rock’s bike pulls into the parking area stopping me dead in my tracks. Hope’s on the back.
Shit’s gonna get awkward tonight.
Maybe Inga will be enough to scare Hope away for good. Because this bullshit with him not paying attention and dropping his work in my lap is pissing me off to no end.
And it’s this chick’s fault.
Jesus Christ, he can’t keep his fucking hands off her for a minute. I whistle as I walk over to get his attention.
“Prez,” I greet—you know, just in case he’s forgotten what his fucking role in this club is.
I say hello to Cinderella with a sneer and then ignore her. Rock glares at me. Hope ignores both of us and pulls something out of the pack on Rock’s bike and he takes it from her.
“What’s in the box, prez?”
“Birthday present from Hope,” he answers as he slips his arm around her.
Huh.
I follow them in, convinced she’ll lose her shit when she steps inside and witnesses what’s going down. Parties aren’t usually like this anymore. But they’ve gotten significantly raunchier in his absence.
Rock gets attacked at the door. Hope should freak out any minute.
But she doesn’t. Rock sits her down in a far corner and motions me over.
I meet him halfway and he slaps my shoulder, holding on harder than he needs to. “Watch over Hope. I’ll be right back.” He tightens his grip. “Watch your fuckin’ mouth and treat her with respect.”
“Oh, ab-so-lute-ly, prez.”
“I’m not joking, fucker. You’re the only one in this room I trust with her right now.”
Okay, that sticks in my throat a little.
As I approach her, something resembling guilt touches me. She looks completely forlorn and out of place.
“Didn’t think this would be your scene,” I shout over the music as I drop down next to her.
She hesitates. Good, I want her to be afraid of me.
“How long have you and Rock known each other?” she asks.
Long enough to know you won’t survive in our world. “Long damn time.”
“Did you meet through the club?”
Her question surprises me. “No. We knew each other before.” I nod at Z who’s across the room auditioning potential fuck-n-gos. “Knew Z too. We all prospected together. Very different time,” I add.
“Oh.”
“You know much about MCs, Hope?” I don’t even have to ask, I know the answer.
“No. I mean, only what I’ve learned from Rock.”
Sounds about right and I can almost guarantee Rock has given her a carefully edited version of what the club is about. I let my gaze wander over her in a way designed to make her uncomfortable and I’m rewarded with her turning pink.
“What are you doing here then?” I ask.
She tilts her head, confused. “I’m here with Rock.”
No shit. “What’s a woman like you doing with my president? You guys got nothing in common.”
Her eyes gloss over. Great, she’s a crier. Girl ain’t gonna last a minute here. I’ve barely gotten started. She blinks rapidly and sits up a little straighter. “I like him, and he likes me.”
Is she fucking blind? Like? So fucking obsessed with her he almost pulled us into a war with the Vipers because he couldn’t stay away from her, is closer to the truth. Never mind the club. She’ll destroy my best friend. He’s fuckin’ in love with her and I bet she’s one of those good girl types looking to satisfy her bad boy fantasy, but has no interest in him long-term.
“You’re just as clueless as Cinda-fuckin-rella aren’t you? He doesn’t ‘like’ you. He’s fuckin’ in love with you. As in droppin’ responsibilities and getting us into bad shit in love with you. And you’re just over there in your little preppy, lawyer world, thinking what exactly? You’ll take a walk on the wild side? Throw on some leather and be one of us? You ain’t ever gonna be one of us, sweetie.”
She recoils in surprise. But this is only a taste of what she’s in for if she keeps hanging around here. No tears—yet. Nope. Girl sits up straighter—which pushes her tits out, distracting me for a second—and nails me with what I’m sure she thinks is a tough stare. “Are you sure you’re not in love with him, Wrath? You sound like a jealous boyfriend,” she spits out.
Well now. Bitch has some backbone.
“Well, fuck if you aren’t a spitfire.” I can’t help laughing. That whole jealous boyfriend comment was completely unexpected.
“Well, fuck if you’re not a big jerk.”
All right then. “That I am, sugar.”
A painful thud against my leg draws my attention up.
“That did not look like a friendly conversation, asshole. I told you to look after Hope, not terrorize her,” Rock shouts at me before motioning Hope to move and then pulling her into his lap. She cuddles right up to him and he props his chin on top of her head.
That’s new.
I nail her with a look, daring her to tattle on me. “We’re solid. Right, Hope?”
By that expression screwing up her pretty face, she wants to tell me to fuck right off.
“Yup. Wrath was just giving me the lay of the land,” she answers while staring me down.
Interesting.
Rock’s already got his hand up her shirt. This should be good.
Hope struggles to sit up and I sense Trinity just out of my reach.
“Hi. Trinity, right?” Hope asks. I only hear the question, because I’m focused on Trinity, who clearly ducked into her room and dolled herself up after our argument. She doesn’t normally waste a ton of energy on spackling on makeup and shit like all the other chicks. Why the fuck did she do it tonight? I’m also distracted by her tits. She’s covered, but the tank top fits like a second skin and while her tits aren’t quite on display, they definitely grab my attention.
“Yeah. Good to see you again, Hope.”
Trin reaches over and taps Rock. “You want a drink, Rock-around-the-clock?” This is some weird thing the two of them have done for years, so it doesn’t faze me. Hope, on the other hand narrows her gaze for a second.
Join the club, sweetheart.
“Will you bring me a Crown and Coke, please, hon? Hope, what do you want?”
“I’m okay. Um, maybe just water with lime?”
I snort. Figures.
Trinity finally spares me a look.
Rock talks his girl into a drink. Then Hope straight up stuns me. “Hold on, Trinity, I’ll help you.”
Of course the idea of the president’s girl helping her serve drinks freaks Trinity the fuck out. She darts away, while Rock keeps his girl anchored to his lap.
And then they’re going at it again. Good, maybe I’ll get a better look at her tits. A whiff of unease settles over me, knowing Inga might drop in at any moment.
The two of them are so wrapped up in each other they don’t notice the giant fucking cake, blazing with a crapload of candles, coming their way, until someone dims the lights.
Cookie and Swan help Trinity carry the blasted thing. It’s obvious Cookie’s going to be a problem tonight. Trinity warned me a while ago that Cookie did not take Rock’s whole revirginization thing too well. And now the reason for it is perched in Rock’s fucking lap.
Christ.
“Okay, now I really need you naked, Hope.” Yes, please, for fuck’s sake, get a room.
Instead of letting her man take her upstairs and fuck her brains out like she’s clearly dying to do, Hope protests. She doesn’t want Trinity to feel bad if Rock leaves before having the cake she made him.
Woman barely knows Trinity, but she’s worried about the same fuckin’ thing that’s been pissing me off all damn week. Shit. What the fuck did I do? Now I feel even worse knowing Inga’s on her way.
Rock—arrogant fuck that he is—doesn’t give a shit about the cake or anything else besides getting his dick wet.
Thank fuck for his arrogance. Crisis averted. He picks her up, and carries her to the bar to grab a slice of cake.
Yes, get her upstairs before Inga shows up.
The gods have apparently decided to punish this angry biker thug tonight.
“Happy Birthday, Mr. President!” Inga shouts as she struts in the door.
Hope drops her cake, bits of it smoosh and fly everywhere.
Fuck me.
Inga isn’t going to let a little thing like Rock’s girlfriend get in her way. She gets as close as she can to him. Hands him one of her porno films and tells him she’s going to do a private dance for him.
Now that bitch has balls.
I should probably try to fix this clusterfuckin’ mess I made.
Who the hell thought it was a good idea to allow that skank in the door?
One glance at Wrath, and I know exactly how that bitch got here. I can guess why too.
Poor Hope looks like she wants to puke. Please God, if she does, let it be all over Inga’s trashy slut costume.
“Did you do this?” I ask Wrath in a low voice.
He ignores me.
Yup. Guilty as sin.
Jerk.
I poke him in his side and he glances down. At least he’s not smirking for once. I raise an eyebrow at him and his mouth curves into a sheepish grin. There’s no time to prepare myself before he drops down and tosses me over his shoulder.
“Put me down, you big jackass!” I yelp as he carries me down the hall, but I’m laughing and slapping his ass as I say it.
Everyone’s crowded into the champagne room, and honestly the idea of watching Inga and Peach do their lesbian-whore routine—that I’m sure will be an insult to lesbians and whores everywhere—is very low on my list of things to do. But maybe Hope will feel less awkward if I stick around, and I promised prez I’d try to help her fit in here.
I step out in the hall and spot Rock having a serious talk with her. Wrath’s right behind me—because he hasn’t caused enough trouble tonight.
“Rock! Show’s about to start,” Wrath shouts behind me and I jump about ten feet in the air.
“Let her know she should come too,” Wrath says in a low voice.
Trying to fix your mess a little late, jackass.
“Come on, Hope. Hurry,” I yell to her.
Wrath was right. She grabs Rock’s hand and drags him down the hall.
Inga’s pissed to see Hope and that Z’s taken over the “throne” she arranged for Rock.
Ha. Too bad, bitch.
Rock settles Hope into a darker corner of the room. Probably a good idea. While I grew up around shit like this—and worse—I don’t really picture Hope frequenting many strip clubs.
Inga is a straight up whore—oh, excuse me, adult film actress. I’ve only had a few run-ins with the skinny cunt. Those few times were enough to know that if Rock had ever decided to make her his old lady, I’d seriously consider joining a different MC.
Wrath pulls me into his lap. His lips brush my ear. “You okay?”
Leaning back I whisper in his ear. “No. I really hate this bitch.”
His brow wrinkles, but he doesn’t laugh like I thought he would. Before he questions me, the speakers blare to life.
Showtime.
I keep my eyes anywhere but on the disgusting duo and laugh my ass off when I see Rock’s not watching the show either. Nope. He’s strictly focused on his woman and it’s a beautiful sight.
Unfortunately Inga also notices she’s not commanding all the attention. Her moves become more desperate, until she stalks over to them like the dirty, predatory animal she is and drags Hope into the middle of the room to “dance.”
What Inga and Peach do to Hope is closer to molestation than dancing. The guys of course love it. Well except for Rock. When the two start trying to get Hope’s shirt off, that’s when I decide enough is enough.
I pretty much muppet flail my way into the middle of the dance floor, but it distracts the two bitches long enough for Rock to carry Hope out of the room. Like the dick that he is, Wrath shouts, “Take it off!”
I’m sure he thought I wouldn’t. But it’s dark enough that I take the dare, whipping my tank top over my head and flinging it at his shocked face.
Poor Dex over in the corner looks pretty fucking miserable. He keeps his gaze fixed on Inga.
Really Dex? You can do so much better.
Dex has always been good to me and I hate to see him unhappy, so I dance over to him and bump him with my leg. His head tips up and the corners of his mouth curve into a smile.
“What are you up to, crazy girl?”
“Nothing.” I jerk my head at Inga. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a thing for her.”
He shrugs. “We talk a lot when she’s in town.”
I wasn’t aware that bitch knew how to actually hold a conversation. At least Dex looks a little less miserable. I pat his shoulder and he gives me a smirk, lowering his gaze to my tits.
Oh yeah. Forgot I was running around without a shirt there for a second.
Where the fuck did it land?
Oh.
Wrath’s glaring at us. Well, me.
For fucks sake, can’t I talk to any of the brothers without him going Fred Flinstone on me? After that bullshit with Cherry, he has a lot of nerve. Besides, Dex and I have never been anything more than friends. He helped save me the night Jug showed up. I’ll always be grateful to him for that.
Inga and Peach have given up the pretense of a strip show and are just making out on Z’s lap now.
I walk over to Wrath and grab my tank top, slipping it over my head.
He won’t look at me, but he does snap his fingers at Inga.
“Are you fucking kidding?” I snarl at him. After I just told him how much I hate that bitch?
“Hey, Wrath,” she coos. Not so subtly bumping me out of the way.
Fuck both of them.
I’m not sure why I head back to the party instead of my room, but I do. Pissed off must be written all over my face, because Rock motions me to join him right away.
“Where’s Wrath?”
Oh the usual, being a jackass. “Trying to fuck Inga or Peach.”
He lifts an eyebrow.
Whatever.
“Wrath! Get over here,” Rock shouts.
I feel him next to me, but refuse to acknowledge the big jerk.
Rock’s clearly pissed. Whether it’s because Wrath was trying to hook up with his ex or because of me, I don’t know.
I do think it’s funny as fuck when he tells Wrath to ride down to Crystal Ball.
Prez asks me to stay with Hope while he has a word with Wrath. I imagine it will be more than one word. I’m more than happy to say yes.
Waving my hand at the degenerate crowd in front of us, I ask, “You doing okay with all this?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what the guys were thinking bringing Inga here. I swear we don’t have porn star entertainment every weekend.”
Hope laughs. “Yes, I got that it was a special occasion,” she says with a wry smile.
Yeah, she was planning to fuck your man. But I think Hope knows that, no need to point it out to her.
“Listen, don’t let Inga or any of these muffler bunnies give you shit.” I wave a hand at the room.
Hope looks over the crowd. “A few of the girls have definitely had interesting…stories for me.”
Yeah, I bet they have.
She gives me a curious look and I have the urge to clear the air with her. “I’ve never slept with Rock, if you’re wondering.”
Yup. That did the trick, she relaxes a little and gives me a warm smile.
“I can only imagine what you’ve heard.”
“What’s your role here?” Her tone is neutral and I figure it’s best to get this out of the way now.
“Well, club took me in about eight years ago. I have a room here. Club pays my expenses. I kind of take care of the place, clean up after these pigs. And I make myself available to the guys on an as-needed basis.”
It’s obvious she doesn’t know what to make of that. “Why?”
Christ, as if I could ever put it into words. But I try anyway. “I dunno. I grew up around MCs, so I guess I just feel safer around one.” As the words come out of my mouth I realize how fucked up that is.
“Safe?” She’s not being judgmental. I sense she’s honestly curious.
I think about a way to explain it that makes sense. “Have you seen these guys?” I point at Wrath who’s storming over with a fierce expression. “Wrath is a dick, sure, but he’d never let anyone hurt me.” Well, at least physically. Emotionally he’s ripped my heart out too many fucking times to count, but Hope and I are not at the girl-talk stage of our relationship yet.
“I wouldn’t let anyone mess with you either, mama,” Teller remarks. Jesus. He’d been so fixated on his phone, I forgot he was sitting next to us. I punch him in the arm and he smiles.
Hope wants to get into details about the club that I can’t help her with. But I tell her as much as I can. She seems confused but satisfied with my answers.
Wrath, impatient as ever, weasels in between me and Teller, yanking me into his lap.
“How did you find these guys?” Hope asks.
How to answer that one? I wave my hand in the air and then automatically rest it against Wrath’s arms, which are somehow wrapped around my waist. “Club girls know how to find bikers.”
“Fuck yeah, baby,” Wrath says in a low, rumbling tone that sends a quiver of desire through me.
Bastard.
As if that’s not bad enough, he nips my ear and flicks his tongue over it.
Oh dear God, why is he doing this to me now? Is this his way of embarrassing me in front of Rock’s girl again? I slam my elbow into his chest until he stops fucking around.
“But honestly, I was tending bar downtown with this girl.” I twist so I can see Wrath and I hope he reads the Don’t fucking do that again, in my expression. “You remember Stormy?”
He smirks in response. “Yup. Poser skank.”
Yeah, that about covers it.
Even though I’m sitting next to what has to be the most clueless woman I’ve ever met, I’ve got a fucking boner.
From having Trinity in my lap, not from listening to Hope.
I gotta move my legs to get some of the pressure off. As I stretch, she rolls and struggles to stay upright.
Nope. Trinity wriggling against my dick just made the situation in my pants worse.
“Watch it, woman,” I growl in her ear.
I really want to take Trinity upstairs and pay her back for the way she’s been tormenting me all night. Fucking dancing around in that sorry excuse for a bra, dancing for Dex, when she’s never—
“Thug life,” Teller says, jerking me back into the stupid conversation he’s having with Hope.
She smiles like it’s a joke. “You’re not thugs.” She glances at me and teasingly says. “Well, you probably are.”
Is she fucking serious?
“I definitely am,” I say, staring her down.
“Anyway,” Teller continues, because I think he senses I’m about to lose my temper with this chick. “Stormy-girl found herself a nice citizen husband.”
She has no idea what that is. Now since Rock just took me in the war room and explained that not only is he planning for this broad to be his ol’ lady, but he also wants to marry her and I risked a throat punch by telling him she would be better off as a citizen wife, I find that funny.
“She was one of those good girl types, lookin’ to take a walk on the wild side. You know, spice up her dull, sheltered life? Attaching herself to outlaws made her feel special,” I explain to her slowly, so maybe this time the message sticks.
Trinity knows me well enough to sense I’m not done mouthin’ off.
“That’s not entirely true,” she says with a shake of her head. “She got tired of being passed around. No one was gonna claim her back then, and she really wanted to get married and start a family.”
Oh please, the idea of that lazy cow having children with some miserable bastard is a joke. “No one was claiming club ass. Back then.”
Shit. I realize how that must have sounded to Trinity.
She leans as far forward as I’ll allow, which ain’t much. “From what I hear, Rock hasn’t been with any of the club girls in like a year or something,” she tells Hope in a conspirator voice. I almost snort. What the fuck—is where Rock sticks his damn dick national news for these chicks?
“All the girls gossip about the guys,” Trinity says with a snicker.
Of course.
Welterweight chuckles. “Boys compare notes too.”
Teller can fuck right off. His comparing notes about Trinity days are over.
“Anyway, I just wanted you to know. Me and Rock. Never.” Trinity slashes her hand through the air.
Holy fuck.
“He’s more like a big brother or father figure—”
“Fuck, Trinny. I am not old enough to be your dad,” Rock grumbles, having overheard the last part of that conversation. I choke back a laugh.
He shares a moment with Hope, and I’ll admit the adoring way she stares up at him makes me feel shitty. She may not have wanted to admit it to a scary thug like me earlier, but she’s clearly in love with my brother.
All right, I better get this over with. “Uh…Hope, I’m sorry about Inga coming here tonight. I gave the okay for it. I didn’t think Rock would actually bring you to a club party.”
Trinity’s jaw drops and I’m mildly insulted.
She presses the back of her hand against my forehead and I fight the urge to lean into her touch. “You feeling okay, Wyatt?”
She’s teasing me, but God dammit for a second I can’t even breathe when she says my name.
Because of Rock’s meddling, Teller asks Hope for some legal advice. She’s clearly stressed about involving herself in Teller’s case and I wonder about Rock for sticking his nose in her business. I figure a lawyer woman will go ballistic over something like that, so I sit back and wait for the fireworks.
But they don’t come. Her jaw locks and she keeps her mouth shut.
Interesting.
Murphy ambles over looking like shit warmed over. I’m about to say so, when Teller introduces him to Hope.
“Hi, first lady,” he says to Hope with a chuckle.
For fuck’s sake.
Of course Rock thinks that’s hilarious. “First Lady—I like it.”
Trinity shifts again and my dick’s begging for mercy.
“Geez, why don’t you just piss on his leg, girl. Damn. You been in his lap all night. We get it.”
Cookie. Been waitin’ for this scene to go down all night. Bitch has been obvious about how much she dislikes Princess Clueless.
Hope’s nose wrinkles, but she tries hard to act normal. “Uh, hi. I’m Hope.”
“Uh, hi. I’m Cookie. I’m you two years ago,” Cookie snarks back.
That’s too ridiculous to ignore. “Hardly.”
Cookie glares at me. Watch it sweetheart. She keeps mouthing off like this, ain’t nothing I can do to save her fuckin’ ass. Bitch has been in the life long enough that she should know better.
“Cookie,” Rock warns. “You’re being rude to my woman.”
That’s one.
She finally backs down, but not long enough.
“Well, she ain’t gotta be so uppity. Bragging about being a lawyer and shit. I saw her leave the champagne room before. Thinks she’s too good to hang with us?”
While I still don’t think Cinderella has any business hanging out here, she hasn’t once thrown attitude or acted better than anyone else. This is chick shit though, so I keep my mouth shut.
Trin sits up straighter—again making my dick freak out.
“Are you fucking stupid?” she snaps. “Rock carried his woman outta there. We all saw it. Bitch, go sit down,” she finishes flicking her hand at Cookie.
I lean down, pressing my forehead up against Trinity—mistake, she smells fucking awesome—and laugh.
“You ain’t got nothing to say?” Cookie snaps at Hope. I can’t believe she’s not letting this go. Has every bitch here lost their mind tonight? Hope stays silent, which only seems to piss Cookie off more. “See? Uppity.”
“Maybe she’s freaked out that you’re acting like a psycho-bitch?” Teller offers.
“Cookie, simmer the fuck down,” Rock warns, in a low voice that should be scaring the piss out of Cookie.
That’s two.
She’s done. Just waitin’ for Rock to give the signal.
“Fuck you too, Trinity. You wanna suck up to this uppity cunt, go ahead, but don’t forget you’re a whore like the rest of us.”
If Rock doesn’t throw her ass out, I will. No fucking way is she is gettin’ away with calling Trinity a whore. I fuckin’ hate when Trinity calls herself a whore, but this bitch saying it? No.
I glance up at Hope who seems shocked. Doubt she’s ever been called a cunt before. And while she annoys the shit out of me, she’s been nothing but nice to everyone all night long.
Rock all but throws Hope into the couch, he’s up so fast. He gets right in Cookie’s face. “You’re done.”
Finally, asshole.
I loosen my hold on Trinity, because my help is definitely needed to end this situation.
“Rock. I been with the club almost five years. You really gonna pick her over me?” she whines.
Exactly, you’ve been here long enough to know how this shit works.
“Cookie, you were warned multiple times.” He reaches back and flicks his hand. “Wrath.”
“On it.” I pat Trinity’s ass, and she slides off my lap onto the couch, next to Hope.
I stand and roll my shoulders. “Let’s go.” I grab her arm.
She starts sobbing. “I’m sorry, Rock.”
Too late.
I keep moving to the door, Rock following behind. “You’re banned, Cookie. You can see if one of the other charters will take you in, but you ever show your face back here, I’ll end you.”
She stumbles as I tug her outside and then the waterworks flow. “Wrath, don’t let him do this. Talk to him.”
I hate being around crying females. I snap my fingers at Hoot. He and Birch hustle over, probably thrilled to have something to do besides stand guard over our bikes.
Placing both hands on her shoulders, I look down into her tear-streaked face. “Cookie, come on. You know that kind of disrespect won’t stand.”
“But what’s he doing with someone like her? I don’t…I don’t get it.”
Neither do I. “Yeah, but it ain’t your call, darlin’. You been around long enough to know better. Mouthin’ off to Trinity like that didn’t help your cause either.”
She finally shows a hint of genuine remorse, then shakes it off. “Yeah, but why’s she gettin’ all cozy with that bitch? She always acts like she’s better than us and now—”
“False. Trin takes her responsibilities seriously up here. She doesn’t stop by to party and fuck. She works her ass off to keep this place running. And Rock asked her to spend time with Hope, so she was doing what her Prez told her.” I emphasize that last point, so she understands. Had she listened to Rock’s multiple warnings we wouldn’t be doing this right now.
“Shit.” She looks down at the ground. “What do I do now?”
“Leave.”
Her eyes tear up again.
“Go down to Sway’s compound. Those guys like you.”
Defeat’s written all over her face. “Yeah, okay.”
I motion Hoot and Birch over. “Drive her home.”
Hoot ushers her to the van and I wait until they drive off before turning around.
Rock’s waitin’ in the doorway. “You make it clear?”
“Yeah, she knows.”
Rock shakes his head. “Fuck. I shoulda given Hope more warning shit like that might happen.”
Ya think?
“She did okay.” We both glance over to where Trinity and Teller are clearly trying to cheer Hope up. He snorts. “Thank fuck for Trinny. Don’t know what we’d do without her,” he turns and glares at me.
“Yeah, she’s been talking you up all night too.”
Rock raises an eyebrow, silently asking me to continue. “You know, the usual, letting Hope know you’re only parking your dick in her garage. Shit like that.”
Rock snorts. “Fantastic.”
I drill him with a stare. “She also made a point of telling Hope she’s never fucked you.”
Rock’s expression doesn’t change. “Good.”
I run down to check on the champagne room and duck into the kitchen. No fights. No one drowning in puke or anything else unsavory.
Finding Trin and Teller cozy together when I return is the definition of unsavory.
I’m not gonna play games or compete with anyone for her attention. I kick Teller’s foot. “Swan’s looking for you.”
I’m not above lying though.
Trin gives me a look. She sees right through my bullshit. I sit next to her and casually drape my arm over the back of the couch.
“We were just talking,” she says.
When I don’t respond, she falls back against the couch and closes her eyes. “What are we doing?”
Good fucking question. A hundred different answers run through my head. I want her to be my girl and I’m tryin’ hard to figure out how to make that happen, short of kidnapping her and having “property of Wrath” tattooed on her forehead.
“Takin’ the weekend off from training,” I answer.
She smirks, turns and opens her eyes. Even with all the black shit smeared around them, her honey eyes are the sweetest things I’ve seen all night.
“What’s with all the eye shit tonight?” I ask, pointing at her face.
Her mouth turns down. Fuck, I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.
“I thought you liked the plastic slut look? Peach set her make-up shotgun on whore tonight and you couldn’t wait to get on her.”
Fuck it. I’m gonna lay it out for her. “I didn’t want Peach.”
She rolls her eyes.
“I was pissed seeing you dancing for Dex like that.” You should be doing that shit for me.
“Dex and I are just friends. For some stupid reason, he seems to have a thing for skank-a-rella.”
I snort at that. “What’s your deal with Inga? I didn’t realize you guys even knew each other.”
Trin sits up, turns to face me and tucks one leg under her. “Sure, I’ve run into her from time to time down at CB. She made it clear that she wasn’t a whore like me.” Trin twirls her hair and makes an airhead face. “She’s an adult film actress,” she says with a phony voice and snotty attitude I can definitely picture Inga using.
“You tell Rock?”
“No. She’s a good stripper. What’s he going to do, fire her because she’s a bitch to me?”
She’s right, but it still pisses me off.
“She fucks on film for money. I fuck to keep a roof over my head. No different in my book.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, would you stop with that shit? You’re a part of this family, Trin. Doesn’t matter who you do or don’t fuck.”
She glances down at her hands resting in her lap and shakes her head.
Placing my hand over hers I ask her to go for a walk with me.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Let’s walk down the hill and visit the big Buddha guy.”
The corners of her mouth lift and she laughs. “Okay. Let me go grab a sweatshirt.”
I’m waitin’ by the door for a while and I start to wonder if she changed her mind. When she returns, she’s got a LOKI sweatshirt on that’s about two sizes too big for her, and a freshly scrubbed face.
Reaching out, I brush my hand over her cheek. “You didn’t have to do that. I was only joking around.”
She shrugs and takes my hand, leading us outside. Our feet crunch over the gravel as we make our way around the clubhouse and down the long driveway.
Once we get some distance between us and the clubhouse, it’s easier to appreciate our surroundings.
“I love it up here,” she hush-whispers. She’s walking so slow, I stop to see what she’s doing and find her staring up at the sky.
“Watch your step, babe.”
She drops her head and we continue our walk. Z’s got a bunch of motion-detector solar lights installed along the driveway, so we can at least see where we’re going.
When we finally get to the statue, we sit on one of the low stone benches. Trin tips her head back to stare at the sky again.
“It’s so pretty.”
“Yes.” But I’m looking at her, not the stars.
“Do you ever look up and wonder if somewhere out in all that blackness is another planet full of people?”
This time I do lean back and take in the oil-black sky and stars. “Not since I was a kid.”
She hums in agreement. “Do you think we’ll ever know?”
“Maybe.” I glance over at her, but she’s still gazing up at the stars. “You okay?”
She doesn’t answer for a while. “I’ll be thirty soon.”
I guess I knew that. “Yeah.”
“There was a time in my life I didn’t think I’d live to see twenty-five, let alone thirty.”
Given what Rock’s told me about her past, I understand. I’ve certainly felt that way once or twice in my life. “I know what you mean.”
She finally stops staring at the sky and turns to face me. “Yeah, you probably do.”
She’s close enough to kiss, but I also want her to keep talking.
She sighs. “I’ve concentrated on survival for so long, I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life. Or what I should do.”
Her tone. Her words. The lost look on her face. All of it scares me. “Do you want to leave the club?”
“No. It’s the only real home and family I’ve ever had.”
I slip my arm around her and pull her against me. Her head drops on my shoulder. “I think that’s true for all of us.”
To be honest, I’m shocked to be having this conversation with Wrath. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’m happy with my life here. But there’s that one percent of me, always questioning. Is this all there is to life? Warming one bed after another? Parties? Do I want a family? Could I raise a kid in the life, the way I was? If I wanted to leave, where would I go?
“Want to head back?” Wrath asks.
“Not yet.”
He stands and stretches. “That bench is killing me,” he says as if he’s apologizing for leaving my side.
“Sorry.”
“You’re not the only one getting older. Been abusing this body for years.”
If by abusing, he means working it into sinful perfection then, yeah, he’s right. “Think you should give up fighting?”
He stares down at his hands, opening and closing them into fists. “I need it.”
Yeah, he needs to unleash his anger the same way I need to have sex to feel good about myself.
Admitting what he probably thinks is weakness must have left him feeling vulnerable. He jumps up, grabbing a thick branch and hangs from it. Then starts doing chin-ups.
“What are you doing? You’re going to kill that tree,” I scold.
He lifts himself up a few more times, and yeah, I definitely admire the flexing of his arms, then he drops down. “Don’t want you to think I’m getting soft.”
I knew it. “You’re the hardest man I know.”
He doesn’t get all cocky, just nods.
An unexpected yawn escapes me, and I realize I’ve been going all day. I’m tired.
“Come on, babe. You’ve had a busy day and it’s a long hike back up the hill.” Wrath holds his hand out and I take it. He pulls me up on my feet and yanks me against him. Without thinking about it, my arms wrap around his middle and I lay my cheek against his chest. He holds me like that for a while. That’s it. His hands don’t slide down and grab my ass or anything like that. He does kiss the top of my head, though.
Pulling away, I take his hand and we head back to the clubhouse. I don’t think much about the fact that we’re holding hands, but I am grateful for it a minute later, when I stumble over a rut in the road. My ankle twists, but I don’t fall because Wrath’s there to catch me.
Sucking in air through my teeth, I bend over and press my fingers against my foot and up my leg. “Fuck.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Just need to shake it off.” I’m proved wrong a second later when I try to step on it and yelp in pain.
“Come on.” Wrath scoops me into his arms, one arm behind my back, one under my knees.
“You can’t carry me back the whole way like this.”
“Babe, we’re not that far. It’ll be a good workout.”
That makes me chuckle and smack his chest. “You’re crazy.”
He’s barely out of breath by the time we get inside. People have disappeared to more quiet locations, because the living room is almost empty. Wrath sets me on the couch.
“Stay here, I’ll go grab an ice pack.”
“Okay.”
He pauses briefly as if he’s surprised I didn’t argue with him. How can I argue? My ankle’s throbbing. The thought of hobbling to the kitchen makes me cringe.
While he’s gone, I slip off my sneakers and socks. The ankle looks a little puffy, but not horrible.
“Let me see,” Wrath says, startling me.
He drops next to me, gently pulling my feet into his lap. With a tenderness you wouldn’t expect from such a frightening guy, he inspects both ankles. Finally, he reaches over to the coffee table and grabs an ace bandage. He unwinds it and wraps my foot and ankle with a skill that suggests he’s done this before.
“I think it’s just a sprain, but if it keeps swelling, I’ll take you down to urgent care in the morning.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He glances up. “Tired?”
Yeah, that’s it.
I nod and he places an icepack on my foot. “I’ll hold it here for twenty minutes, then take it off. Why don’t you close your eyes?”
I sit up a bit farther, and trace my fingers over his cheek. “Thank you for always taking good care of me.”
For a second he leans into my touch, then snorts and looks away. “I don’t seem to do a very good job.”
“Yeah, you do.”
I’m fucking pissed with myself for lettin’ Trin get hurt. It feels good to take care of her though. Even better that she didn’t put up a fuss. After twenty minutes, I set the ice pack to the side. Things look okay. The swelling isn’t getting worse. Her foot hasn’t turned any weird colors. Hopefully she’s better in the morning.
She sighs and turns over, then sits up. Bleary-eyed, she blinks at me a few times.
“Come here, babe.” I hold out my arm, and she ducks under it, snuggling up against me.
After a while, she slides down, until she’s sleeping on my leg. I’m pretty sure she’s drooling on me too, but I’m so happy, I don’t care. Resting my hand on her hip, I try to lean back and close my eyes.
“Wrath?” A whiny voice startles me awake. Trinity’s still tucked against me sound asleep. No, it’s Cherry in front of me.
“Wanna go upstairs?” she asks with a raised eyebrow and freaky fish-pout.
“No. I’m good, thanks.”
She wrinkles her nose and glares at Trinity. “Doesn’t look much good to me. Come on.” She holds out her hand to me.
“No.” I pick up the now warm icepack and hand it to her. “Go toss this back in the freezer for me.”
She snatches the pack out of my hand and flounces off in a huff. What-thefuckever.
My arm tightens against Trinity and I manage to fall back asleep.
Way too fuckin’ early, Murphy walks in, looking like hell again.
“What up, brother?” he whispers, with a chin lift at Trinity.
“Twisted her ankle. Where you been? You look like shit.”
The corner of his mouth lifts, but he doesn’t give me an answer. “Teller around?”
“Last I saw him, he was headin’ to the champagne room. Not sure where he ended up, though.”
His gaze skips to Trinity again. “She need anything?”
Me. “No, I got it.”
“All right.” He heads down to the hall. I don’t even want to think about what kind of mess is waiting down there.
Murphy returns a few seconds later. “Can’t find him. I’ll catch him later.”
“Okay.”
No sooner is he out the door, Rock and Hope float downstairs, looking disgustingly in love.
“Hey, prez,” I greet in a whisper, so he doesn’t wake Trin up.
Hope does this princess-finger-wave thing at me and I smirk at her.
Of course within five seconds, they’ve got their tongues down each other’s throats. Couldn’t they have just stayed upstairs to do this shit? A sarcastic sigh slips out of me as I wait for them to finish.
“You’re up early,” Rock says with a grin. “She okay?” he asks, lifting his chin at Trinity.
My gaze skips to Hope, who’s taking all of this in. Trinity’s eagerness to be friends with Hope prickles my memory. I feel compelled to let her know we didn’t fuck last night. Especially after Cookie called her a whore in front of everyone.
“I didn’t get any ass last night, thanks to you,” I grumble. What the fuck is wrong with me? I don’t give a fuck what Cinderella thinks of me.
But it’s not me I’m worried about, it’s Trinity.
Rock snorts. “Yeah, it’s all my fault you’re such a prick.”
I can live with that. I earned it after last night.
Z pounds down the stairs like a five-year-old. “Morning, fuckers. Oh, hey, Hope. I’m surprised you’re still here.”
Rock grunts at him and I’m pretty sure he calls him an asshole under his breath.
Heh.
“Where’s Peach?” I ask him. I’m hoping she and Inga cleared the building sometime last night and I just missed it.
“Upstairs,” he answers.
“You nail her?” I couldn’t give a shit less, but I feel like the question is expected of me.
Z shrugs before answering. “She’s a shit lay. Mosta them strippers and porn stars are. They act like they’re doing ya a favor and just lay there. Fuckin’ boring.”
There’s a ninety-nine percent chance Rock wants to kick both our asses for having this conversation in front of Hope.
Surprisingly she snorts and then giggles. “But you still did her anyway?”
Z widens his eyes. Guess he wasn’t expecting that from her. “Well, yeah. Of course.” He flashes another smile. “It’s my duty to fuck as many women as possible.”
I know my brother well enough to know he honestly believes that and that he’s trying to get a rise out of Hope.
She doesn’t take the bait. Actually, she laughs even harder. “You and Lilly really are kindred spirits.”
Oh, that’s fantastic. The goofy grin on his face slips. “What?”
Hope chuckles. “She has a similar theory on dating.” I know it’s just killing him not to pump her for more information.
Unfortunately, Inga joins us next. “Fuuuck.” She throws herself on the couch next to Trinity, jostling her awake. I’ve never hit a woman in my life, but I could choke Inga out right about now and not suffer an ounce of guilt. The two girls glare at each other for a second.
“Morning, Trinny,” Rock greets her with a slow grin.
Dick.
Trinity glances at everyone and mumbles good morning, before pushing off the couch and hurrying down the hall.
I still want to smack Inga. Instead, I follow Trinity, catching up to her outside the bathroom.
Grabbing her elbow to stop her, I ask, “How’s your ankle?”
The corner of her mouth lifts. “Oh.” She glances down and wriggles her foot. “Much better.” Her hand reaches up, brushing over my cheek. Fuck, I love her hands on me.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“Any time, babe.”
She squirms a little. “I gotta pee.”
Chuckling, I swing the door open for her. After it shuts, I return to the living room. Inga’s unfortunately still hanging out, being a useless twat.
When Trinity returns, she perches on the end of the couch near Rock, and again I wish Inga would get the fuck out of here.
Hope turns and gives Trinity a sweet smile.
“So, I get how Dex got his nickname now,” Inga says even though no one asked. Like the disgusting bitch she is, she wiggles her fingers in the air. “Real good with his hands.” She turns toward Trinity.
Hope makes this grossed out face that’s pretty damn funny.
Trinity’s gaze skips to me. “That’s what I’ve heard.”
Shaking my head, I answer. “That’s not how he got his road name.”
I guess if Inga can’t embarrass Trinity, Hope will do. “So, how did you like our show last night, Hope?” Inga asks in her casual-bitch voice.
“You’re very talented,” she answers with a straight face. Fuck me, Hope should get an award for that.
Inga’s not finished. “Rocky took you away from us before we got to the good stuff. You actually move really well, once you loosen up.” The way she says it does not sound like a compliment.
“Uh, thanks.”
“If you ever want lessons—I mean, you’re a little on the old side—I can teach you how to work the pole.”
Rock finally wakes the fuck up. He wraps his arms around Hope and throws a glare at stripper-Barbie. “Knock it off, Inga.”
“Yeah, she knows how to work Rock’s pole just fine,” Z adds. I quiver with laughter. He’s such an asshole.
Hope straightens up and gives Inga a haughty look. This should be interesting.
“Inga, I get that you used to fuck my man, but if I wanted to hang out with a bitch, I’d get a dog. Keep your thinly veiled insults to yourself, you’re not fooling anyone.”
A bit wordy, but she might just survive being a biker’s old lady after all.
Once the fireworks are over, I slide off the couch and head to the kitchen. “I’ll get breakfast started.”
“Hang on, Trinny,” Rock says, stopping me in my tracks. “After Ing and Peach get the fuck out, round up whoever’s awake, and we’ll go down to Hog Heaven.”
Awesome. I love that place. They have the best friggin’ blueberry pancakes and one of these days I’ll sweet talk Frank into giving me his recipe.
I trot down to my room, stepping carefully on the foot I rolled last night. Amazingly my ankle feels fine.
After calling Hog Heaven and being told the best Frank can do is a corner table, because he’s got a huge wedding party coming in, I change and freshen up in my room.
When I return to the living room, Wrath and Z are bullshitting while they wait for Rock.
“They’re probably fucking again,” Z gripes.
“Shut up,” I giggle and smack him on the arm.
Inga and Peach clomp down the stairs in their hooker heels. Their outfits are downright garish in the harsh light of day. Like the gentleman he’s not, Z walks them both out to the parking lot. As soon as they’re gone, he bounds up the stairs. We can hear him banging on Rock’s door from downstairs and I giggle some more.
Even Wrath smirks.
When Z returns, he wraps his arms around my waist, lifts me up and spins me around. “Ride with me, mama?”
Laughing, I smack him until he sets me down.
“Okay, okay.”
Wrath lifts an eyebrow and tilts his head. I shrug and follow Z out the door.
Z’s either starving or has something on his mind, because he takes the absolute fastest route to Hog Heaven. We pull into their unpaved, gravel parking lot ahead of anyone else.
While we’re waiting for the others, he leads me over to one of the outdoor picnic benches.
“What’s up, Z?”
One corner of his mouth lifts. “You know me too well, Trin.”
“Probably.”
“You think Hope’s gonna tell her friend about last night?”
Nothing about Hope seems gossipy, but who knows. “I have no idea. What do you care, anyway? Thought you were both casual?”
He grinds his teeth but doesn’t answer.
“Why’d you do it, then?”
He runs his hand through his hair, actually looking remorseful for once. “I don’t fuckin’ know. Wasn’t worth it, that’s for sure.”
I laugh and then snort, which makes me laugh even harder.
“I’m glad you think it’s funny.”
I hiccup and then sit up straight, holding in any more giggles. “Maybe you should enter some sort of sex addiction program.”
Now it’s Z’s turn to laugh. “Thanks, you’ve been a huge help this morning.”
I tip my head at him. “I do what I can.”
We’re cut off from any more silliness by the sound of Wrath’s bike approaching. Rock’s not too far behind.
“What’d you rush down here for if you weren’t gonna go get a table, jackass?” Wrath says as he approaches. Guess he’s cranky I rode down with Z.
After breakfast, Z took off. Rock and I decide to take the girls to Fletcher Park.
The idea of taking Trinity up there gets me all kinds of excited. We’ve visited the park over the years, but usually with a group of people. I ride in the back way and slow down as I pass the first parking lot. Gotta be twenty or so members of the Devil Demons MC taking up one of the private picnic areas.
What the fuck?
If Trinity notices, she doesn’t say anything.
I pull into the parking lot for the overlook. Fuck if I don’t park right in front of the exact spot where we spent the night eight years ago.
Time for subtlety is over.
Trinity’s a smart girl—one of the things I like about her. She misses nothing.
“Is this a hint?” she asks as she takes in the view.
“Hint about what?”
She shakes her head as she walks over to the low stone wall. “Nothing.”
For a while she stares out at the view—I was right, it’s a perfect day to come up here. Then she drops her gaze to the ground on the other side of the wall and stares at it like she’s tryin’ to see eight years into the past. Hell, maybe that’s what I’m trying to do myself.
“You bring a lot of girls up here, Wrecking Ball?”
What the fuck? “No. Only you.”
She snorts and I place my hands on her shoulders to turn her around. “You’re the only girl I’ve ever wanted to impress.”
“That’s pathetic.”
“Knock your shit off.”
Her eyes widen and she takes a step back. I’m kind of surprised myself, but I’m tired of this bullshit arguing thing we’re always doing.
“I don’t know what to do with that,” she finally says.
“Yeah, I know you don’t.”
She stares out at the view again and slips her cell phone out of her pocket. “I wish I had a better camera.”
“Why don’t we move over there? Less trees in your way.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Help me up?”
“You’re gonna get us kicked out,” I tease. The park has stern signs all over the place that state not to step on or over the wall. But I dare some park ranger to come say that to my face.
My big hands fit just right into the curve of her waist as I pluck her off the blacktop. She squeals and laughs as she gets her footing. There’s no danger of her falling off the cliff or anything, but I wrap my arms around her legs just in case.
After what seems like forever, I hear the rumble of Rock’s bike cutting through the parking lot behind us. Trinity turns and waves.
Hope wants to snap a few pictures of Trinity and me sitting on the stone wall. I’m more than happy to remember this day. I want it to be a turning point for us.
When the girls are done with pictures, they check out the view, while I give Rock a head’s up about the Demon get together.
Rock’s eager to get his woman alone, so they split. Trinity and I stare at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.
“What do you want to do?” she asks.
“Let’s go for a ride.” I point west. “We can follow the back roads out to Roscoe Valley. Should be some pretty views.”
She seems surprised. “Okay. Can we stop at one of the farm stands out there?”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “Any one you want.”
With Trin at my back and the clear day, it’s hard to remember any of the bad stuff between us. The steep mountain roads require a lot of coasting and braking, but we finally roll into the valley, and the views are worth the smell of my brakes burning up.
I take a right and after a few miles a huge, orange barn comes into view. Trin taps my left shoulder, so I assume this is where she wants to stop.
She’s laughing and smiling as she hands me her helmet. “That was fun.” Her happiness is infectious. She grabs my hand and tugs me inside.
Farm stand doesn’t really describe what they have going on here. It’s a big operation. A slight older man, who I assume is the owner, stops over to ask Trinity if she needs help. She’s got a bunch of questions for him, which amuses me. I’m not really paying attention though, until he mentions they grow tomatoes hydroponically year-round and offers to show her their set-up.
Now, this is much more interesting. It’s time to drag Sparky out the basement for a field trip one of these days. Trin must know where my mind wandered off to, because she smirks at me.
After our tour, she asks me how much room I’ve got in the saddlebags.
“As long as you’re not getting a pumpkin, we should be fine,” I tell her, nodding at one of the big orange gourds that’s as tall as she is.
While we’re at the register, she makes a face. “Is there a restroom?” she asks.
The old guy points her in the right direction. Before she leaves she reaches up on tiptoes and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Be right back.”
I’m so stunned, I stand there like an idiot staring after her while she dashes to the back of the store.
The old guy chuckles. “Your wife?”
My gaze swings back to him. Wife? I can’t even get her to admit she’s my girlfriend. Can’t imagine the fuss she’ll kick up when I give her a property patch—because yes, that’s definitely happening—but wife? Never gave that much thought. Taking an ol’ lady seemed like enough of a commitment. But listening to my best friend so casually mention last night that the woman he’s barely been with for a few months will be his wife…made me wonder. And now, this guy asking. It’s like a big fucking, neon sign blinking “Wake the fuck up, jackass.”
“Not yet. She will be.”
Wrath’s so serious after we leave the farm stand. Did he get annoyed with how much time we spent there? Or is he itching to get home and tell Sparky all about the hydroponic set-up?
I nod at the bags he’s stuffing in his pack. “I’ll make us dinner when we get back.”
Finally, a smile out of him. “I’d like that.”
He takes a different, but no less stunning, route home.
Teller’s leaving as we pull up to the clubhouse, but stops to talk to us.
“Swan asked me to pick her up,” he explains.
The corner of Wrath’s mouth lifts, but he doesn’t say anything.
“That’s good, she’s usually a big help.”
As soon as Teller leaves, Wrath faces me. “Are you jealous?”
“Of what?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing.”
Confused at his change in attitude, I follow him inside. We find Ravage and Stash sitting on the living room floor, busy getting high and playing video games. Rav calls me over immediately and hugs my legs when I get near him.
“Where you been, girl?” he asks, looking up at me with red eyes.
“Out. It’s a nice day. You two should check it out. Maybe get some sun.”
Rav peers around my legs and lifts his chin at Wrath. “Got any munchy food in there?”
“Nope, all veggies,” I answer and laugh when he scrunches up his nose.
“We don’t all need to be on his fighter diet,” Stash complains.
“God forbid,” Wrath snarks from behind me.
Stash flips him off.
Ruffling my fingers through Rav’s hair, I untangle my legs from his grasp and follow Wrath to the kitchen.
“They’re like two overgrown babies,” Wrath bitches as he sets everything on the counter.
“You’re all a bunch of big babies.”
Instead of getting pissed, he chuckles. “Please, I’ve at least reached the maturity of a toddler,” he says, leaning over and setting his hand out knee high.
“I’ll give you that,” I agree with a head shake.
Opening one of the cabinets, I dig around for a couple of bigger bowls. “What are you doing?” he asks as I walk over to the pantry and return with a couple bags of chips.
“Bringing the munchy twins some snacks.” I grab a box of snack cakes from the pantry, and sling a six-pack of mountain dew from the fridge under my arm.
“I thought you were making us dinner?” He’s not trying very hard to hide the cranky toddler in his voice. Once I’ve got everything in my hands and arms, I turn to face him.
“I will, but if I don’t go bring them something now, they’re going to bother and interrupt us. So give me five minutes and then I’m all yours.”
I don’t wait for an answer. The surprised and happy grin on Wrath’s face is enough.
The guys don’t even realize I’ve returned until I set the bowls in front of them. “Oh, Trin, you’re the best,” Stash gushes as I hand him the snack cakes.
“You two are gonna be hitting the treadmill hard on Monday,” I tease. That of course, prompts Rav to lift his shirt and show me his abs. “Yeah, I see your gut.”
That gets an outraged snort out of Rav. “Get out of here, woman.”
Wrath’s got all my veggies laid out on the counter when I return. “I’m scared to ask what you’re planning to make,” he jokes.
I falter a bit. Maybe he’s getting tired of me telling him what to eat all the time, even though he did ask for my help.
He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me closer. “Why so serious? I’m just kidding. I know whatever you make will be awesome.”
“Thanks.”
“Want me to help?”
Normally, I’d say no. But I bought a lot of root vegetables and squashes that need to be cut up into cubes. “You’re stronger than me, so can you cut those into one inch pieces, please?”
I hand over my favorite vegetable cleaver and he stares at it for a second. “Christ, Trin, this is serious hardware,” he jokes.
“I know. Try not to cut any of your fingers off.”
We work next to each other quietly. His idea of one inch cubes isn’t quite up to my standards, but he’s working so hard at it, I don’t comment on the slivers and hunks he passes over. Once the veggies are roasting in the oven, I wave him away and start on the chicken.
“Thank God. Meat. I thought you were only feeding me vegetables for dinner.”
Laughter bursts out of me. “Yeah, as if I’d get away with that.”
Dinner turns out well. There’s barely anything left. We eat in the kitchen and no one bothers us. Our discussion turns to the fight and some of the things he still wants to work on before then.
He taps his arm and my eyes are drawn to his inked skin and defined muscles. “…any progress I’ve made is because of you.”
Since I was distracted, I missed the first part of what he said. Reaching, out I trail my fingers over his arm. “You’ve made a lot of progress.”
Even though I shut the oven off before we sat down, my skin simmers with heat. It’s the look Wrath’s giving me.
He turns his head and goes back to talking about the fight. This whole friends only thing we’ve been doing is nice, but also confusing as hell.
“Come on, aren’t you afraid of pain?” I ask when he mentions one of the moves his opponent is famous for like it’s no big deal.
His ocean-eyes swing back to me. “No babe. The only thing that scares me is the thought of losing you.”
That can’t be true. “Why?” I stand and clear the table, bringing the dishes to the sink. When I turn, Wrath’s standing right behind me.
“You don’t get it. I want you. I just don’t want to fuck this up again.”
He says he wants me. But for what? And how can I be sure if he won’t speak the language my body and brain understand—sex?
I’m about to blurt that out when he leans over and presses his lips against mine. His hand cradles the back of my head, holding me still, while he takes his time exploring and tasting my mouth.
After I’m not sure how long, because I lose track of time, he pulls back. His lips curl into a crooked smile that makes my knees weak. “You know the last time I tried to kiss you in the kitchen, you almost barfed on me,” he says low and teasing.
My cheeks burn at the memory of that miserable Christmas Eve. “That’s not fair, I had the flu.”
Without warning, he wraps his hands around my waist, picks me up and sets me on the counter. “You feeling okay tonight?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Good.” He barely gets the whole word out, before his hands are on my face, holding me still. He covers my lips with his, taking charge. Hot and hungry, his tongue brushes against mine. Sweeping into my mouth, reminding me of what he’s capable of doing. His hands drop to my hips as he deepens the kiss. I hook my legs around him, drawing him closer. Almost frantic to have him, my fingers fiddle with his belt. One big hand covers mine, stopping me.
He bends and nuzzles my cheek. “Not yet, Angel Face. Not here.”
Surprised, I draw back. “Why?”
He doesn’t get to answer, because we’re interrupted by whoops and shouts coming from the hallway.
Wrath and I stare at each other and he raises an eyebrow.
Pushing myself off the counter, I head to the kitchen door.
Wrath grabs my hand as I pass. “Wait.” He peers out of the small square window in the kitchen door. “Looks like a party in the champagne room,” he says.
I don’t want our moment to end. I’m so close to asking Wrath—no begging him—to come to my room with me.
Except I’ve never let any of the guys in my room. Wrath’s not just anyone. As stubborn as I can be, even I know that.
He shoves the door open hard, and I see Rav and Sparky moving one of the dining room tables.
“What the fuck you two doing?” Wrath shouts at them.
Rav gives him a bleary smile. “Inga. Train. Champagne room.”
A shiver of revulsion works over me, and Wrath’s hand reaches behind him to pat me on my side. As if he knows why I find this so disturbing.
The door swings shut as he steps back inside. He shakes his head and mutters “fucking disgusting” under his breath.
“You can go. I won’t be mad.”
Why the hell did I say that?
Wrath cocks his head, and his eyebrows draw down. “Trust me, that’s the last fucking thing I feel like doing.”
My breath catches and I struggle to fill my lungs with air. “I didn’t mean that, Wyatt. I…I’d be hurt, if you—”
He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
He’s only gone long enough for me to finish washing a couple dishes. The door swings open as I’m turning off the tap.
Wrath shakes his head. “Fucking Dex. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking.”
That sucks. I feel bad for Dex, but I’m not sure how he expected things to turn out any different.
Wrath takes my hand and tugs me toward the back door.
“Come on, let’s go outside. Hopefully Rock will be back soon. Let him kick her skank ass out.”
He sits on the low stone wall opposite the clubhouse and pulls me down next to him. “We can go for a walk if you want, after Rock gets back.”
“I’d like that.”
He wraps his arm around my waist and I lean into him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Every now and then muffled shouts can be heard from the house and each one brings back very unpleasant memories for me.
Each time I shiver, Wrath’s arm hugs me tighter and a little bit more fear ebbs away.
I’m proud of myself for the way I’m keeping a lid on my anger tonight. Fucking Dex. I’m partially to blame for this situation, since I allowed Inga to come up last night.
Normally, I wouldn’t be so bent over this sort of thing, but I sensed right away how much it bothered Trinity. Raising bad memories, upsetting her—absolutely not okay.
While it probably falls under my job description to break that party up, I know Inga will throw a monumental hissy. I’d rather not leave Trin alone right now. Plus, the brothers have the right to do what they want in their own fucking clubhouse—even if the rest of us are thoroughly disgusted. Rock’s the president for a reason. I figure he can decide how to deal with it.
I’m about to take out my phone and text him, when I hear his bike making its way up the driveway. Trin turns to me and smiles.
“You’re going to make him deal with this, aren’t you?”
My shoulders lift. “It’s his ex.”
She bumps her body into mine in a teasing gesture. “Yeah, but you’re the one who gave her the okay to come up last night.”
True enough.
I get up and walk over as he’s backing his bike into his spot. The minute he shuts it down, I’m on him. No need for Hope to walk in on that cumfest.
“Inga’s back.”
His face twists. “Who the fuck brought her back here?”
“Dex has it bad for her.” I glance up at the sky for a second. “Or at least, he did.”
Trinity’s hand touches my back, so I know she followed me over.
Another wave of shouting can be heard outside.
Rock’s eyes narrow as he studies the clubhouse. “What’s going on?”
Fuck. I’m not really sure how to explain it in front of Hope. “She wanted to play choo-choo?”
“What are you, five?” Rock snaps.
Well excuse me for not wanting to freak Cinderella out, jackass.
“Who’s in there?”
“Everyone except you, me, Bricks, and maybe Z.”
Z chooses that exact moment to step outside. Guess the asshole joined in after all. “Dude, your girl, Ing, is playing a serious game of Chinese Fingercuffs.”
Oh, that’s priceless.
“She’s not my girl,” Rock spits out.
Trinity steps forward a little. “I think she’s trying to get you jealous,” she says softly.
I can’t help snorting at that. “Yeah, that’s not the way to win a guy back.”
Hope tugs on Rock’s arm and he glances at her. “So, your ex-slampiece is in there taking it in every hole from your ‘brothers?’ Is that what I’m getting out of this conversation?”
Holyfuckingshit!
Seems Cinderella isn’t so clueless after all.
Rock chokes and clearly has no idea how to respond to that. Z and I can’t stop laughing.
“No one made her,” Rock explains, which only makes me laugh harder.
“What, is she hoping you’ll go get in line?” Hope spits out.
I’m going to die from lack of oxygen if she keeps this up. “Probably,” I gasp.
Trinity attempts to diffuse the situation. “She must have run home and watched one too many Law and Order episodes. They don’t make girls pull a train to hang here,” she explains to Hope.
“What a relief,” Hope snaps.
Nope, not liking her tone toward Trinity at all. Z and I both stop laughing and glare at Rock.
Control your woman.
The look on his face clearly says Fuck off. He puts his arm around Hope’s shoulders. “We’re going upstairs.”
It’d be nice if it occurred to him that this whole situation might upset Trinity. I put my arm around her waist and tip my head at Rock. “Trin and I were going for a walk.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Z volunteers.
Yeah, Rock’s done with this whole situation. “I don’t care who does what. Make sure things don’t get too out of hand, and make sure she gets home in one piece. Make it clear she’s not welcome back. Wipe her GPS if you have to. That bitch can’t find her own ass without it.”
Hope snorts and rolls her eyes. Whether it’s because she doesn’t like how well Rock knows the competition or something else, I don’t know.
“Oh, some of the guys are filming it,” Z decides to finally mention.
Rock’s about to blow a gasket. “End that now. She’ll lose her contract if that shit gets out. What the fuck is she thinking?”
Z glances at Hope, and I bite my lip so I don’t start laughing again. “Uh, you might want to be the one to take care of that,” he suggests.
“Are you fucking serious? What the fuck are you wearing this for then?” Rock pokes at the VP patch on Z’s cut.
“I’m just saying it will be better coming from you.”
All of us clomp into the clubhouse together. Rock runs his hands through his hair, obviously stressed about having to deal with Inga. I suffer a minor twinge of guilt over the whole situation.
The girls join Teller, Murphy, and Swan in the living room. I find my attention divided between what Trinity’s up to and Rock pulling me to the side.
“Stay here with Hope and Trinny. Do not under any circumstances let the girls take a step in that hallway.”
As if I’d let the girls anywhere near that cumguzzling skank show. “Yeah, sure. Why, you gonna slip in a quick one?” I ask, ‘cause I’m pissed he thinks I have no common sense.
Someone’s not in a joking mood. Rock smacks me and I snicker. “No, fuckface. Just do what I ask,” he snaps.
“Come on, chickenshit,” he yells to Z.
“Not cool,” Z bitches back.
They carry on like that down the hallway and I decide to go join the girls.
Trinity seems to have recovered from whatever was bothering her about the whole situation. She’s trying to reassure Hope, who seems pretty pissed off.
“Really, Hope. This almost never happens here. Rock doesn’t run the club that way.”
Hope arches a brow at Trin, but doesn’t respond. Her attitude is starting to tick me off.
It’s not long before Dex and Z carry Inga out of the house kicking and screaming. I should probably help with that, except I don’t want to.
Rock returns in one piece. He throws himself on the couch and runs his hands over his face like he’s trying to erase whatever he just saw. “Jesus Christ, that was disgusting,” he mutters.
Hope’s lips twitch into a smile. She takes Rock’s hand and squeezes it. Her touch seems to calm him down pretty quick.
I’d like to get back to the evening Trin and I were having before we were so rudely interrupted. “Now you know why we were outside, prez,” I remind him. I glance at Trinity, and she sits up and flashes a nervous smile at me.
Before we can get away, the front door flies open. I start laughing the second I see who it is. This night just keeps gettin’ better and better.
“Marcel!” Heidi yells.
Teller jumps off the couch and grabs his little sister. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
And Heidi’s off babbling about teenage nonsense. I try to catch Trinity’s eye again, but she’s giggling at the family drama unfolding in our living room.
“Hi, Uncle Rock,” Heidi says when she finally winds down.
“Hey, Heidi-girl. How’d you find your way up here?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sixteen, not stupid.” The attitude on this kid is something else.
Rock stares at her until she continues. Heidi lets out one of her famous dramatic sighs. “My boyfriend, Axel, brought me. He wants to prospect for you guys. He’s eighteen. I thought you could talk to him,” she adds.
Oh boy. Here it comes. Up until this point, Murphy has been doing his best to ignore Heidi. But as soon as the word “boyfriend” comes out of her mouth, he perks right the fuck up.
“Hey, Heidi-bug,” Murphy calls.
“Don’t call me bug, Blake,” she snaps back at him. For fuck’s sake they’ve been having this same argument for about a hundred years now.
Rock snaps his fingers in front of Heidi, clearly losing his patience. “Heidi, we don’t allow prospects up here for the first year.”
She pushes her lips into a pout. “Oh.” Her gaze narrows on Rock’s hand resting on Hope’s leg. “Who are you?” she asks.
Rock makes the introduction. “Heidi, this is my girlfriend, Hope.”
“Oh, wow. That’s so cool. Uncle Rock’s never had a girlfriend before.” Nope, just lots of slampieces.
Rock gets Z to go talk to Axel. Teller and Heidi follow him out and again, I raise an eyebrow at Trinity.
“She’s fun,” Hope says with a laugh.
Fun doesn’t begin to cover Heidi. “Well, at least in two more years she’ll be Murphy’s problem.” I smirk at Murphy, who looks like he wants to punch me.
He shakes his head. “Fuck that, man. I’m just like another big brother to her.”
Rock grins. “Please—she’s been trying to take that ride since she was twelve.” I find it amusing he would say that in front of Hope. Even funnier when she gets all pissy about it.
“She’s a kid,” Hope says.
Duh. “Yeah, which is why when she’s eighteen, Murphy will sack up and put them both out of each other’s misery.” Why do I have to explain this to her?
She sits up and glares at me. “Are you serious? Murphy has to be what, ten years older than her?”
“Eight,” Murphy says quietly.
She turns and pats his leg. “Sorry.”
He flashes a grin and strokes his chin. “It’s the beard.”
Trinity taps Hope’s arm to get her attention. “I think you’re misunderstanding.”
“What am I missing?”
Good grief. Mind your own business, woman.
Trinity glances at me and Murphy before answering. “They’re not saying she has to be with Murphy. Or like she’s promised to him or anything like that. Is that what you’re thinking?”
Hope lifts her shoulders. “Well, yeah.” She glances over at me, and I roll my eyes at her. God damn she’s dense.
I lose track of the conversation for a second when Trinity has to put her hands on Murphy. “Although Murph will deny it, he’s sweet on her too. But he won’t do anything about it while she’s underage,” she explains to Cinderella.
“The age of consent is actually seventeen in New York.” Hope educates us with her brilliant legal mind. I can’t help snorting in disgust. Trinity’s nose wrinkles and I’m seriously getting pissed about this entire conversation, because I gotta imagine it’s fucking with Trinity’s head.
“What if she’s still with Axel?” Hope asks.
Murphy lifts his shoulders and lies through his teeth. “They’re more worked up about this than I am. You met her, right? She’s a pain in the ass. Not interested.”
My hand connects with the back of his head. “Keep telling yourself that, buddy.”
Hope runs out of the room and I focus on Rock who responds with a Don’t start face.
“Did you know she had a boyfriend?” Murphy asks Trinity. Yeah, so much for not being interested.
Trinity’s mouth curls into a smirk. “Heidi and I aren’t that tight. You know that.”
There I go getting all rage-y again, because I strongly suspect the reason Heidi dislikes Trin so much has something to do with walking in on something no teenager should ever witness her brother and crush doing to some chick.
Trin and Murphy are busy laughing about something—further sending my blood pressure through the roof. I turn to Rock. “You can’t have your ol’ lady questioning the club like that, brother.”
Rock raises an eyebrow at me. “Simmer down, asshole,” he growls at me.
Murph pipes up. “It’s your fucking fault. Why you always gotta hassle me about Heidi?”
Trinity finally leaves Murphy’s side and sits next to me. “Wyatt, look at it this way. Heidi’s club family. After meeting her for five seconds, Hope was ready to stand up to your scary ass in defense of her. Sounds like perfect ol’ lady material to me.”
Aw fuck, she’s right. As much as she bugs me, Heidi’s family, and I’d do pretty much anything to protect her.
“Yeah, I guess,” I answer, not quite ready to concede all the way.
Hope returns and we all stop talking for a second. Way to be obvious guys.
Rock stands and stretches, holding out his hand for Cinderella, who eagerly runs to his side. Christ, they’re enough to make you vomit. “I’ve had enough drama for one night.” Rock points at me with his free hand. “Wrath, tell Z I’ll talk to him about Axel in the morning. Someone make sure Heidi gets home. She can’t stay here.”
No shit.