The rest of our weekend is excitement-free. No more break-ins at Wrath’s gym. The group returns on Sunday. Hope seems unimpressed with our downstate charter and I smother a smile when she describes Tawny using a bunch of big words that basically add up to “scary biker bitch.”
The guys spend the afternoon unloading the van. Hope runs home, which clearly irritates Rock. I mind my own business on both issues.
Teller calls with news that his grandmother died and wants to know if he can bring Heidi to the clubhouse. I promise to have Rock call him back right away.
Since I’m not sure what the guys are actually doing out in the garage, I call out for Rock instead of going inside.
“What’s up, Trinny?” he asks as he marches out to meet me.
“Teller’s grandmother died. He wants to bring Heidi up. He asked if you’d call him back.”
“Fuck. Yeah of course.” He pulls out his own phone and walks way.
Wrath navigates his way to me and I fill him in.
“Poor bug. Kid’s had it rough her whole life.” I melt at the way he talks about Heidi, even though I know most of the time he thinks she’s a brat.
He’s wrong about himself, he’d be a great dad.
Heidi won’t look or speak to any of us when she gets here. Not even Murphy cheers her up. Axel also joins us, but she rolls herself into a ball on the couch and sobs.
Rejected for the second time, Murphy storms past me. “She’s asking for Hope.”
Well, at least it’s something.
Hope makes it back quick and Heidi responds to her right away. I’m not jealous. Don’t have a motherly bone in my body.
What I can do is help Teller make the funeral arrangements. I also call Swan and ask her to come up and give me a hand.
The day of the funeral, Wrath warns me Tawny and Sway are coming up. Just what I need.
While I’m in the kitchen with Hope, I figure I better warn her in case Rock hasn’t.
“Heads up—Sway and Tawny are on their way up for the funeral.”
“Oh. That’s nice of them.”
Sometimes I understand why Wrath calls her clueless. “More than likely, he’s using it as an excuse to come up for something else.”
“Oh. Are you worried?” she asks.
“Not really.” I better tell her this now. “I won’t be offended if you want to boss me around in front of Tawny.”
A harsh chuckle bursts out of her. “Yeah, that’s not happening, Trin.”
God bless her. “I’m not an ol’ lady, Hope.”
She pins me with a hard stare. “I don’t give a fuck. You’re my friend.”
My chest burns with so much emotion, I’m going to burst into tears or laughter. “Wow, look at you with the potty mouth,” I tease.
“What are you talking about? I swear all the time.” She almost sounds insulted.
Our silly discussion is interrupted by Rock and Wrath storming into the kitchen. “You girls okay?” Rock asks, his gaze dashing between the two of us.
“Yeah, Hope’s just cussing like a sailor,” I tell him.
Rock’s eyebrow quirks up.
Wrath shakes his head. “Cinderella.”
Rock takes her out of the kitchen and Wrath closes in on me.
“We need to talk.”
Z and I have to call the guys to church the morning of the funeral. Even though Teller specifically asked the brothers not to make a fuss, Sway’s using the service as an excuse to come visit. What he really wants, is to grab some guns he mistakenly gave us. Rock knows I’m annoyed. About the guns, yeah. That’s some stupid, fucked-up shit. But after what Trin told me, I don’t want Sway anywhere near her. Tawny either. She tosses any bullshit at Trinity, I’ll knock her big-haired ass out.
“Rock, unless you think you need me, I’m going to hang with Trinity.” Been to enough fuckin’ funerals in my life. Don’t need to go to one for a woman I barely know who hates my guts.
“Yeah. That’s fine. I gotta give Hope a head’s up that Tawny’s coming.” He runs his hands over his face. “What a pain in the balls.”
“No shit.”
We find the girls in the kitchen. Rock takes Hope and I corner Trinity. “We need to talk.” Reaching out, I brush some hair off her face and her eyes close. “You need some rest, babe.”
“I know. Once today’s over with.”
“Listen, I’m gonna hang with you at the house. I know I’m not much help—”
“But you want to keep Sway away from me?”
Shit. Guess I’m pretty fuckin’ obvious. “Yeah.”
She sighs. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
I expected her to kick up more of a fuss.
When we get out to the grandmother’s house, Teller lets us in. “Thanks so much, guys,” he mumbles before taking off.
I’m happy to be in charge of providing refreshments to everyone after the funeral. With Wyatt sitting at the kitchen table, keeping a close eye on me, I’m able to organize the unfamiliar space quickly.
Besides a few civilian friends of Heidi and Teller, friends of the grandmother’s also show up. It’s a weird mix of elderly and bikers.
Wrath comes over and squeezes my arm. His mouth quirks up. But before he says what’s on his mind, he gets a text. “Fuck, Rock needs me outside for a sec. You okay in here?”
I haven’t seen Tawny or Sway yet, so I nod.
He’s not gone five seconds before Tawny sashays into the kitchen like she fuckin’ owns it. God, I hate this bitch.
“Don’t you have someone you should be servicing?” she says instead of an actual greeting.
“Just doing my job. Can I get you anything?” I ask sweetly.
“I thought your job was getting on your knees when a brother asks. You think you’re hot shit because that scary mountain man’s panting after you today? That ain’t gonna last. None of these guys will take used goods as an old lady.”
The fact that I know this bitch fucks around behind her husband’s back, and yet has the nerve to judge me, pisses me off. I’m trying to come up with a clever way to say that when she asks where Hope is.
“She should be taking care of this stuff, not you,” she bitches. I almost snort at that. Hope’s not particularly domestic.
As if she knew we were talking about her, Hope wanders in. “Hi, Tawny,” she says brightly.
The old bitch is all sunshine and unicorns for Hope. “There you are. The old lady of the upstate charter.”
I throw Hope a thumbs up for distracting Tawny and breathe a sigh of relief when they leave the kitchen.
But her damage is done. The words used goods keep banging around in my head and I don’t know how to stop them.
I want to pump my fist in the air when I get the okay from Rock to have the girls wrap things up at Teller’s house.
Get me the fuck outta here. Trin’s quiet and I just know Tawny did something to upset my girl. Need to get her alone to figure out what it is so I can fix it.
Sway and Tawny take forever to leave. The whole time I’m making small talk with Sway outside our clubhouse, I want to plant my fist in his throat. Once they leave, I’m on the hunt for my girl. Z stops me right before I get to the kitchen.
“They leave?” he asks.
“Yeah, finally. You seen Trin?”
“No.” His mouth turns up. “You shoulda heard Hope this morning, tellin’ Rock she ain’t gonna treat Trinity bad just to impress Queen Bitch.”
“What’re you talking about?”
His shoulders lift. “I dunno. Somethin’ musta went down when we were visiting. I was busy getting’ shot—”
“Quit your whining.”
He just laughs. “Tawny must have told her to boss Trin around or something and Hope told Rock—not happening.”
Fuck me. I want to protect Trin, but there’s some things…well, I’m real happy she’s got someone else in her corner.
I catch up to my girl in the kitchen.
“You avoiding me, Angel Face?” I whisper in her ear.
The tremor that runs through her body gets me hard as fuckin’ steel. “You done in here?”
“I guess so.”
“Good. I need you to myself.”
She gives me a strange look. “You were with me all day.”
“Not the same.”
I steer her to her room, and close the door behind us. “What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head, but something’s bothering her. “Tell me.”
“Nothing. Tawny just got in my head.”
I don’t like the sounds of that at all.
“Tell me.”
Pain twists her face. “Nothing. Same old shit.”
We’re sitting side-by-side on her bed but she’s staring at her hands in her lap.
“Hey, fuck her.” I grab one of her hands until she looks at me.
A smile tips the corners of her mouth up. “You’re so sweet for a Wrecking Ball,” she teases.
“Only to you.” Any more words are lost as she leans over and kisses me.
“Thanks for sticking with me today.”
“Obviously I didn’t do a good job.”
“Yeah, you did.”
She stands and slips off the plain, black sweater and dark jeans.
I raise an eyebrow when she pauses to look at me. “Keep going.”
Instead of stripping down, she walks forward and presses into me. That’s fine. I take the opportunity to run my hands over her bare skin.
Flipping her onto the bed, I lean over her and take her mouth. She stretches, arching her back, arms over her head. Spread out like a playboy fantasy, all for me. I lock down a hard shudder that threatens to work through my body.
“Tell me what you want, Trin.”
“You. I want your big, rough hands all over me. I want you to take me. Hard.”
My mouth goes dry. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.” She beckons me closer. “First, come here.”
It’s awkward, but she gets me in the middle of the bed and strips off my shirt. Slowly, admiring every bit.
She keeps her eyes on mine while she works my shorts off. “Weren’t you cold in shorts?” she asks as she tosses them on the floor.
“Nope. I’m always hot when I’m around you.”
She laughs at the silly line. I’d laugh too, but she’s curled her fingers around my dick and I can’t form any sounds. Each slide of her palm shifts my entire world.
Next, she drags her tongue along the head of my cock, unhinging my fucking mind. At my sides, my fists clench and release. I sprawl one hand across the nape of her neck, then back off.
She pulls back and lifts her lips in a sultry smile. “Don’t hold back.”