Chapter 7
Ace
I watched in amusement as one by one, all of my brothers who had women called to make sure that they were being good and staying out of trouble. A tiny seed of jealousy that I couldn’t deny took root inside my gut, which I quickly brushed aside, telling myself that I was the lucky one. No strings, no worries. I could just sit back and smirk, wondering if any of them regretted, even a tiny bit, that they were going home to the same pussy every night. I knew better than to question it, though. Their expressions and the looks in their eyes when their women were around revealed that they were content and happy as shit.
Suckers.
"Don't you wish you had some of that, brother?"
Gabe was leaning close to me, but his eyes were on Rod and Sid as they were talking on their phones. I shrugged, pretending that I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. "Some of what?"
He snorted. "The fucking happiness a good woman brings to a man."
I grinned. "Don't need limiting myself to the same pussy to make me happy, brother. I like variety." I reached for my beer.
"Yeah, right," he smirked. "That's why the only woman I've seen you take out back the last few months is our very own Emerson."
I glared at him. He'd noticed? I glanced around our table, wondering who else had noticed and had come to the conclusion that I had something going on with Emerson. Christ, did Emerson think we had something going on, too? No, she knew the score. I'd been damned careful of staying away from that kind of shit. It was why I kept myself detached from her when we weren't doing the deed, why I didn't kiss or touch her.
Not that I didn't want to. Hell, my dick was jerking even now at the thought of sinking inside her tight pussy. But something about Emerson kept me away from fucking her, warning me that it would be a big mistake.
"You look scared," Gabe chuckled, as if he could see the panic running through me.
I didn't like his knowing look, and decided to turn the tables on him. "What about you, brother? I don't see you with a woman."
He shrugged, undaunted. "I like men," he deadpanned.
I almost bust a gut laughing, and when I could finally bring myself under control again, I said, "You're the biggest man-whore here." It was true. Gabe made no bones about his sexual escapades and bragged about the different women that he had in his bed every night. Of all of us, he was the most likely never to settle down.
"Women are all good," Tanner announced in a satisfied tone right before he threw back his tequila. "We'll give them half an hour head start at JJ’s and then head on over."
"Only half an hour?" Gabe grinned.
"Long enough to make sure they don’t get into any trouble," Rod remarked. "Cookie's still a little on the wild side."
"Have to rein her in, brother. Show her who's boss."
Rod laughed at Gabe's comment. "Oh, she knows who's boss. But she likes pushing me. Likes me going all caveman on her ass."
"They all do," Tanner grinned. "They'd be pissed if we didn't show up and drag their sexy asses out of JJ’s."
"Sounds like your women know what they're doing. Have you brothers wrapped around their little fingers."
All eyes turned on me. The lifting of Tanner's brows was my first indication that he was about to drop a bomb. "Think so, brother?" He paused meaningfully before adding, "Emerson is with them."
What. The. Fuck. Since when did Emerson hang out with our women? I knew about the spa day they’d spent together, but clubbing? That was news to me. Had she been doing it all along? I didn't usually go with my brothers when they went to retrieve their women, but this was the first time I’d heard that Emerson was part of the group. I wasn't sure how I felt about her out drinking and dancing as an unattached female.
"Not so cocky now, are ya?" Skipper joked.
I shot him the bird. "I don't know why you all think that Emerson means something to me. We're not even friends."
Mark snorted with laughter. "Are you shitting us? Okay, let's forget about the fact that you're here five minutes and then you're grabbing her and taking her out back. We know she doesn't smoke, so something else must be going on."
I leaned back in my chair. "So? There have been plenty of times when one of you has taken a woman out back for a fuck or a blowjob."
"If that's all Emerson is to you, why can't you keep your eyes off her? You think we don't see you sneakin' peeks at her?"
I shrugged off Sid's observation. "So I like stalking pretty women, and she has a fucking talented mouth." I felt like an asshole for revealing that.
Gabe began to nod. "Oh, yeah? Well, since she means nothing to you, then I think I'll give her a try."
I held down the anger that came with the image of Emerson going down on Gabe. "You do that, brother."
"Has she got a tight pussy?"
"Can we change the fucking subject?" I growled.
Movement next to the bar drew my attention to the new stripper Tanner had hired a few nights ago. She was grinding the pole as if it were her last fuck; the miniscule thong between her legs had ridden up between her pussy lips. Even from my distance I could see the glistening of moisture coating her bare pussy. She was getting off. I had a mind to prove to my brothers that Emerson meant nothing to me by dragging her off the stage and out back.
"What's the new stripper's name, brother?" I asked Tanner. All eyes shot to the pole that she was humping.
"Don't even think about it, man." Tanner's serious tone drew my gaze back to his. "See that big man sitting in the front row?" My eyes went to the man that looked like the fucking hulk. "That's his woman. He sits there every time she has a dance. He'd break you in half before you even got close to her."
Why hadn’t I noticed him before? I rubbed the bottom half of my face, my fingertips brushing against the ridges of scars marring the right side of my face and reminding me why I was alone.
"She's too fucking pretty for you," Gabe joked. "Besides, she's got her own beast."
My brothers were probably the only ones who could get away with making comments about my looks. They'd lived through the same hell as I had when they’d been deployed and at war. I was the only one who'd come home all fucked up.
I didn't really want to fuck the stripper, who had a killer body. It was Emerson's face that I saw. She was the one who made my dick ache. I held up my middle finger to show Gabe what I thought about his remark.
"Well, it's time we rescued our ladies." Mark stated, scraping back his chair and getting to his feet. "Judith gets worn out early these days, and I want to get her home and beneath me before she falls asleep."
I watched silently as my brothers got to their feet to leave.
Skipper was the one to make eye contact with me as he stared down at me. "You coming?"
I looked at Gabe, the only one besides me who hadn't moved. He was watching me like a hawk, as if my answer mattered to him. The rest of our brothers who weren't there were on the streets for most of the night, their presence giving added security to the citizens of our town.
I finally smirked and shook my head. "Naw, no reason to." I turned from the surprise in his eyes, looking back to the stripper pole.
Emerson's pretty face and all that fucking hair filled my thoughts. Would she be wearing it down? Was she all sexed up in something short and revealing, and wearing come-fuck-me-heels? Was she moving that little body to the sound of music? Grinding her ass against a man and turning him hard? Fuck. That wasn't an image that I wanted in my head. Why would she go clubbing with the girls if she wasn't planning to hook up? She was the only one in the group without a man.
I released a deep, almost angry breath, and glared back at Gabe. "You know what--I think I will go after all." I got to my feet, meeting his knowing smirk. "Maybe I'll find a nice piece of ass for the night."
He didn't say anything, but we both knew I was talking shit. I wasn't looking for a piece of ass for the night, unless it was Emerson's.