Present day…
Rock’s definitely going to blow a gasket when I show up at his house. From talking to Z, I already know he’s had his time with Hope interrupted once this morning. Another interruption might get my ass kicked.
But this shit is important. Club comes first. He’s the prez. He knows that.
I try his cell several times and get nothing, so I drive over to his house, praying like fuck they’re still there. This Viper problem just never seems to go the fuck away.
I’m relieved to see his SUV and bike in the driveway. I park outside the gate and walk in.
Moaning catches my ear as I open the side door to the house. It’s coming from the garage.
Vipers would be out of their mind to pull something smack in the middle of our territory. At our president’s house for fuck’s sake. Just in case, I pull my piece and creep closer to the garage. When I peek around the open door, I almost burst out laughing. Tucking my gun back into its holster, I lean against the doorframe and take in the live sex show in front of me.
Now I’m starting to understand a little better what Rock sees in this bitch. Nice, plump tits. Honest fucking reactions; no fake porn star moaning. She opens her eyes and catches me watching. She tenses up and tries to warn him, but then he does something to her that sends her over the edge. When she finally finds her brain again, I decide to end the game with a test.
If Rock asks me to join in, I’ll know she ain’t gonna be around for long. If he rips my head off, the club may just have a problem on their hands. It’s risky. But I haven’t seen Rock territorial over a piece of ass in years.
“Don’t worry about me, darling. Nothing I haven’t seen before,” I say, giving her my cockiest wink.
Rock stands and spins so fast he almost tosses Hope on the ground. He’s actually shielding her with his body, so I can’t get a good look at those fabulous tits… or anything else, except his furious face.
I’ll be damned. He’s in love with her.
“What the fuck!” he yells.
Whoa. Well, this may have been a mistake. I’ve never seen him this crazed over a chick. Ever.
I back up a few steps. He’s not fucking around in the slightest. I hold out my hand in a sort of truce gesture. “Sorry. Door was open. I tried calling you.”
“Out,” Rock barks.
Yeah, I back the fuck out while I still have all my teeth. Even though I shut the door behind me, I hear Hope burst into tears on the other side. I feel like absolute shit. She’s near hysterical, and Rock’s talking all soft to her, trying to calm her down. Maybe I’ve been hanging with strippers and club girls too long. I can’t remember the last woman I met who had so much modesty.
What the ever-loving fuck is Rock doing with her? No way is this going to end well. For any of us. Even her.
Even with these revelations, guilt jabs at me when she walks inside and I get a look at her face. She’s fucking magenta from the neck up, and she’s got tearstains down her cheeks.
“Sorry, Hope,” I manage to get out.
She recovers enough to whisper something in Rock’s ear that makes his eyes flare. Shit, these two have enough heat behind them that even I’m uncomfortable being in the same room.
Rock and I make a plan to deal with the Viper issue. I’ll ask Z to call the prez of our downstate charter to see if he can spare any guys and possibly some nomads who might be close by.
Since I’m tight with the sergeant-at-arms in the Wolf Knight’s crew, I’ll handle bringing them into the meeting. We’ll all meet at Crystal Ball to hammer things out.
Our immediate concern is this possible threat from the Vipers. Prez’s love life will have to wait. Although, his ridiculous obsession with this woman got us into this mess in the first place. Doesn’t matter. I’ll back him no matter what, but deep down, it definitely irritates me.
Things are quiet when I return to the clubhouse. It’s still early for most of us, so I’m not surprised. I am surprised to find Trinity’s Jeep in front. Stepping into the office I share with Rock and Z, I sit down and make my phone calls. Z’s already talked to downstate, and we’ve got guys on their way up now. Whisper and Ulfric assure me they have our backs on this one hundred percent.
My job’s done until this evening, so I decide to search for Trinity and see what she’s up to.
I find her in the kitchen, cooking and singing softly to herself.
“Hey.”
She jumps, but relaxes when she turns and sees it’s me. “Hey, Wrath.”
“Whatcha makin’?”
Her shoulders bounce once and her cheeks redden. “Ravioli. From a package. Nothing special. Are you hungry?”
“Sure.”
Her face breaks into a smile, and she turns back to the fridge and starts digging stuff out.
“I thought you were already making it.”
“I am, but I’ll make it better if you’re going to eat with me. No reason to make anything fancy for myself.”
“Trin, don’t go to any trouble.”
She turns, completely deflated. Her lips push into a sad pout. “I don’t mind.”
“Okay. Want me to help?”
She looks at me like I’m nuts. “I got it.”
I kinda feel like a jackass just sitting here watching her cook for me. But it’s nice too. She tumbles a bunch of cut-up vegetables through spices and roasts them in the oven, then adds them to some jar sauce she’s simmering on the stove and pours everything over a dish of ravioli.
We eat together in silence for a while. “This is great, Trin.”
Her cheeks flush. “Thanks.”
“How come you don’t cook for us like this all the time?”
She shrugs. “Except for breakfast, none of you guys are ever usually here at the same time.”
This is true. We all usually fend for ourselves.
Z has to walk in and ruin our moment.
“Smells awesome in here. What’re you making, girl?”
Trin’s eyes light up at the compliment. “Help yourself.”
Z comes over and curls his hands over her shoulders first. Then the fucker leans over and plants a kiss on her cheek.
“Ready for later?” I ask, hoping to distract him.
“Yeah, why the fuck you think I’m here?” He cocks his head at me. “Also heard from Rock. What’d you do to piss him off now?”
My lips curl in a smirk. I’m sure Rock gave him an earful. “Walked in on him and Hope in the garage.”
Z gives me a blank look. “So?”
“Fucking.”
Trinity ducks her head and snickers.
Z rolls his eyes. “Fuck. He thought I caught a glimpse of her ass this morning and almost lost his shit.”
Already bored with this conversation, I just grunt in response.
“You’re not feeling her, are you?” he asks.
“No, and I think he’s dead serious about her too.”
“No shit.”
Does he really not see where I’m going with this? “Eventually, it’s going to be a problem.”
“Bro, I’d stay far the fuck away from that one. You know damn well he’s been into that broad since the day they met.”
“Don’t you have some paperwork to do, VP? Let me worry about this shit.”
It takes a lot to offend Z. He gives me the finger and walks over to the stove. Trinity, of course, jumps up to help him.
I’ve lost my appetite.
Naturally, Wrath storms over to me the minute I step out of Rock’s office at Crystal Ball later that night. Rock asked me to bring some supplies and girls down with me after he finished his meeting with the Wolf Knights MC. We’ve also got Lost Kings members visiting from out of town. I want to help out any way I can, but I’m also hoping to avoid being hit on tonight.
Wrapping his hand around my upper arm, Wrath pulls me to the side.
He leans down enough for his lips to graze my ear. “No, Trinity.” His hoarse voice sends a shiver of desire skittering down my spine.
Why? Why after all these years does my body still respond to him like this?
I try to shake him off. “Rock asked for my help.”
He loosens his grip on my arm but doesn’t release me. “You’re not dancing for these assholes.”
My chest tightens. He’s the only man I’ve ever been with who asked about my scars. But that’s not why he’s forbidding me from dancing. Jealousy, plain and simple, is written all over his face.
Some tender emotion I didn’t think I still had toward him brings my palm to his cheek. “I’m just here to serve drinks, Wyatt. But thank you.”
His face softens the way it always does when I use his given name. One by one, he unwraps his fingers from my arm.
“You know one of them will want… Trinity, there’s sixteen girls and forty bikers. They’re not all Kings. I don’t want anyone messin’ with you.”
I’d partied with the Wolf Knights before. They were a little more “handsy” than LOKI, but they weren’t a bunch of twisted fucks who thought “no” was a code word for “jam your dick in my ass” either. “I’ll be fine.” I duck behind the bar, leaving Wrath to chew on whatever’s bothering him.
The meeting with Ulfric’s crew seems to be over, but Wrath still makes the rounds. He really is good at his job. Alert to everything. He watches Rock’s every move, which as the sergeant-at-arms is his responsibility. When I guess he’s determined there’s no threat, he takes up residence at the end of the bar.
I’m instantly thrown back to when we first met. Those few nights he came into the bar to see me, take me out after work. Before everything went to shit between us. Hot tears blur my vision, and I turn away from the room to hide out by the sink while I pretend to wash my hands. Leaning over, I splash some water on my face, not caring what it will do to the minimal makeup I splattered on before leaving the clubhouse. A quick check in the bar mirror shows everything appears okay. Without thinking, I grab the bottle of Jack I’d tucked under the bar just for Wrath.
Call me sentimental. Stupid would probably be more accurate.
I set the bottle and a glass in front of him, then walk away to uncap a round of beers.
The weight of his heavy gaze bores through me, but I fight the urge to turn his way for as long as I can.
Merlin, the VP for the Wolf Knights, sits down a few stools away from Wrath, which immediately sends a bad signal.
“Hey, Trin. How you doin’ tonight?” he asks.
With a lot of effort, I paste on a hospitable smile. “I’m good. How’ve you been?”
I’d have to be dead, or blind, deaf, and dumb not to feel the tension radiating from Wrath’s corner as Merlin strokes his fingers over my arm.
Any minute, Wrath’s going to lose his shit. I don’t know why he seems to have this sudden urge to piss a circle around me. As far as I know, neither of us has declared a truce to the war we’d started with each other eight years ago.
Speaking of war, if Merlin doesn’t back the fuck down, this is going to get ugly.
Cookie strolls up to Merlin and runs her fingers over his neck and down his chest. “How come you haven’t said hello to me yet, Mer?” she asks in a girlish voice, complete with babyish pout.
Merlin digs that shit, and Cookie knows it. It’s right about then that in my head, I forgive her for sucking Wrath off in front of the entire club the other night. Merlin is nice enough but rather unimpressive in the sack.
Wrath perks up and moves down a few seats, when Cookie escorts Merlin to one of the back rooms. Picturing the scene back there sends a shiver of revulsion through me, and I stop to catch my breath.
Concern darkens Wrath’s eyes. “You okay?”
I nod once and turn to fill a plastic tub with ice, stick some beer bottles and cans in it, and set it on the counter. The party seems to be winding down. There’s more fucking and smoking up than people needing my bar services.
“You done, Angel Face?”
Holy shit. We both kind of stare at each other. He hasn’t called me that in a long time.
“Yeah, I think so,” I answer, trying to smooth over the awkward moment.
Someone turns up the music. To drown out the moaning and groaning filling the club, I suppose. It’s a slow song. A painful duet about being broken. Amazement fills me when Wrath holds out his hand at the end of the bar.
“Come dance with me.”
Slipping my hand into his sends a warm shiver down my spine.
He tugs me out in front of the bar where there’s empty space and wraps his arms around me.
“Since when do you dance, Wrecking Ball?” I ask, looking up at him.
A soft, pained smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. Tiny white orbs of light dance around the room with us. Leaving us in shadows most of the time. We’re not really dancing as much as we’re swaying together with our arms wrapped around one another.
Something a little more upbeat comes on next. Although when I listen to the words, it actually depresses me. Whoever wrote it could have been writing about Wrath and me. Or maybe I’m feeling extra sensitive tonight and everything reminds me of us.
Either way, I’m having fun shimmying my hips from side to side and moving to the beat. Wrath keeps his arm around my waist but his body away from me. Pressing back into him, I understand why.
Except for a round of angry sex maybe four years back, we haven’t touched each other this much since those three wonderful nights we had together almost eight years ago. Our nights at Fletcher Park and at the drive-in remain the first and last real dates I’ve ever been on. While I’m content and grateful for my place in the club, there’s a part of me that always wonders…
Tears suddenly fill my eyes, and I try to pull out of his embrace. I can’t keep doing this same dance with him over and over.
“What’s wrong, Trin?” he rasps, keeping his arms around me.
“Nothing. I’m just getting tired.” It’s not a lie. Since we seem to have called a truce, being near him has a sedative effect on me. I haven’t had anything to drink tonight, but my body is relaxed and happy for a change.
“I rode here with Rock—don’t have my bike.”
I shake my head. “I drove myself. I’ll be okay.”
“I wouldn’t mind a ride home,” he says after he finishes the biggest, fakest grizzly bear yawn.
What the heck is he up to? We did have a lot of fun watching back-to-back scary movies last night. He didn’t make a single move on me. Wrath acting like such a reserved gentleman is unnerving. I prop my hand on my hip and adopt a schoolteacher tone. “Are you going to insist on driving my car?”
I sense him struggling, and I almost laugh that he’s so concerned with not ticking me off. I honestly don’t care if he insists on driving, but I can’t help messing with Wrath. He’s such a caveman.
“No, I had beer before,” he finally answers.
“Mm-hmm.”
I pull out of his embrace and reach behind the counter to grab my purse.
“You need to let Rock know we’re taking off?”
Wrath searches the club. Not seeing prez anywhere, he holds out his hand to me and we head down the back hallway. Wrath’s jaw tightens as we get to Rock’s office door, but I don’t ask why. After two sharp knocks, Rock’s tired voice calls us to come in.
He’s stretched out on the couch by himself.
“You okay?” Wrath asks.
“Yeah, just waiting for the place to empty out.” Rock sits up and eyes both of us. “You two taking off?”
Wrath looks from me to Rock. “I was. But I’ll stay and move everyone out if you want to go see Hope.”
“Nah. I’ll go see her in the morning. You two go ahead. Dex and Teller still out there?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks. Night.”
We step back into the hall, and I can tell Wrath is conflicted about leaving. “We can stay.”
He glances down at me. “Let me just go talk to the guys for a sec. Stay here.”
Naturally, the minute he takes off, Merlin comes stumbling around the corner. I groan when he spots me.
“Trinity, where you been hidin’ all night?”
“Behind the bar.” You know, the place where I talked to you maybe an hour ago? “How you doing, Merlin?”
“Good. Real good.” Jesus, what the fuck did Cookie do to him back there? “You leaving so early, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m waiting here for Wrath.”
Merlin isn’t so high that he misses the implication of my words.
He gets into my personal space a little more than I care for by pressing me up against the wall opposite Rock’s office door. “You with him?” He throws his arms against the wall behind my head, caging me in.
I’m saved from answering.
“What’s going on?” Wrath growls from the hallway entrance.
Merlin’s slow to turn away from me, but I slip out from underneath his arm and hold my hand out to Wrath. “Nothing. I was just telling Merlin we were about to head out.”
Wrath’s face registers a second of surprise before he takes my hand, tugs me to him, and slips a possessive arm around my waist. Okay, that’s overkill, but I’m not complaining because it feels really good to be up against him.
Merlin straightens up and away from the wall. “Have fun, kids,” he says with a wink and heads back into the club.
“Come on, Trin.”
Yup, I’m ready to bolt.
I’m still shaking with rage when Trinity pulls out onto the highway. Fucking Merlin thinking he’s going to what? Fuck her in the goddamn hallway?
“You fuck him?” I blurt out. Smooth, real smooth, jackass.
Trinity throws me a cool glance before focusing on the road. “Who?”
“Merlin,” I manage to grind out.
“Why are you asking?”
Fuck. Why am I asking? I can already sense the answer is a big fat yes. So why do I need her to confirm it?
“Never mind, Trin. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
She glances at me again. I can tell I’ve shocked her. I’m furious at myself for ruining the good mood we had going on at the club. Dancing with her erased any lingering bad feelings. Having her in my arms again left me certain I needed to fix things between us.
“Do you need me to stop anywhere?” she asks after we’ve put some miles between us and Crystal Ball.
The longer I’m in her presence, the calmer I feel. I almost forget I wanted to slit the throat of one of our allies not fifteen minutes ago. “Sure. I’m out of beer. Do you mind stopping at Ward’s?”
The small grocery store is the last thing we’ll pass before taking the long country road to the MC.
“Nope.”
The parking lot is almost empty this time of night. I arch a brow when Trinity grabs a shopping cart. “I need to get some things too,” she explains.
I gotta admit this is fucking weird. Doing something so ordinary with Trinity. What’s weirder is how much I enjoy it. She cruises up and down the aisles, searching for a bunch of stuff. It cracks me up how particular she is about everything she buys, from pasta sauce to her chocolate bars. I know she’s in charge of ordering supplies and food for the clubhouse too, but I’ve never gone on any of those trips with her. A lot of times, I think she just has stuff delivered. But this trip is personal, and it’s intriguing.
“Anything else, babe?”
She pauses and a slight flush creeps over her cheeks. “No, I’m good.”
She squawks when I pay for everything, but I just laugh.
“Wrath, that was stuff for me, not the club.” She protests on the way to the parking lot.
I just shrug. “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t feel like waiting around for two separate orders.”
She hesitates while I’m loading the bags into the back of the Jeep.
“I gotta run back in. I forgot something.” She thrusts the keys at me and runs inside before I can get a word out.
Nutty girl.
Arranging the seat so I can drive is a pain in the ass, but by the time I fix the mirrors and pull up to the front door, she’s walking out.
“Hey, little girl, want some candy?” I rasp in my creepiest perv voice.
“Oh my God.” She laughs and stuffs her bag in the backseat before getting in.
“What did you get?”
“None of your business.”
Well, of course now I really want to know. Can’t be condoms. We keep the clubhouse so well stocked we should ask Trojan to sponsor our parties.
“More candy bars?”
“Knock it off.”
She’s blushing furiously and I finally get it. Girl stuff. “Sorry.”
Even out of the corner of my eye, I can tell my apology shocks her. “Why are you being so nice to me tonight?”
“Have I been mean?”
“Are you serious?”
“Sorry.”
“What for?”
“I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole that you’re shocked when I’m nice to you.”
“Wrath—”
“I mean it.”
“Okay.” She’s quiet for a while. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her twisting her hands in her lap. Obviously, there’s something she wants to say. “Thanks for worrying about me… before.”
I’m not sure which time she’s talking about. It seems like I’m always worried about Trinity.
“When I got to CB. I can’t believe you think I’d ever get up and take my clothes off in front of a room full of people. I mean, in the dark, you know, with one or—”
“Trin, stop, please.”
Christ, I don’t need the threesome reminder. It hits me—she means the scarring on her hip. I’ve always thought she was one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known and don’t give her scars a lot of thought, so yeah, I thought she came down to CB to dance. It never occurred to me the scars bother her that much.
“You’re one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen, Trinity.”
“That’s sweet, Wrath.”
I can tell by her tone she thinks I’m just blowing smoke up her ass, and I hate it. “Trin, I’m not just saying that.”
“Thanks,” she says softly, this time sounding more convinced.
For the second night in a row, we’re basically alone in the house. All the guys are either downstairs or at Crystal Ball.
“Wanna finish watching those movies?”
We’d only managed to make it through two of the Paranormal Activity movies. Just as I remembered, Trin is still a fuck lot of fun to watch scary movies with. She jumps at the scary stuff and pretends to cover her eyes. A lot of the time, she giggles. Maybe originally I’d picked them because I’d been hoping she’d want to cuddle up during the scary scenes, but what ended up happening instead? No contest.
Tonight, she does snuggle up against me, resting her head on my chest. She reaches behind us and pulls down a blanket. I settle my hand on her hip and wait for her to say something or move away, but she stays. After a while, I realize she’s asleep. My hand inches under her shirt to stroke her soft skin.
Skin I’ve really missed touching.
We’d had what turned into an angry hookup the night of the party I held to celebrate the opening of my gym. Fantastic, explosive sex that ended badly because of my stupid mouth. But I hadn’t been able to hold her or touch her like this. Not since our first three nights together.
“Wrath, I can’t,” she whispers, halting my exploration.
Right. The secret supplies she bought. At least I comfort myself with the fact she won’t be sleeping with any of my brothers for the next few days either.
“Thought you were asleep, babe.”
“I was. You’re tickling me.”
Oh. My fingers twitch over her ribs, and she giggles. “Stop.”
“Okay.” Pure lust burns through me, but I rearrange her shirt and lay my hand on top of the blanket. “Go back to sleep, Trin.”
After a while, she drops off. I flip on the weather station and mute the television. Throughout the night, the sounds of my brothers and whatever girls they’ve brought with them infiltrate our quiet little bubble. Eventually, I fall asleep too.
In the morning, I wake up alone.