Gidget slunk back into the clubhouse a few hours later. Her stint at the fashion event hadn’t yielded as many bites as she would have liked. She religiously attended every mover-and-shaker event in the tri-county area, and updated her blog and social media with frightening regularity. All with the hopes that maybe the next event would be the one to make her go viral…
But tonight’s event wasn’t it. Disappointment accompanied her back to the clubhouse, along with three new numbers from guys who had hung around her like fruit flies at the party. She didn’t even have the energy to flirt with them to make herself feel better. She just wanted to get home and sulk. Some days, the whole idea of being a famous fashion blogger felt like a fool’s dream.
“Welcome back, Gidget.” Some of the club brothers invited her for a shot as she pushed into the clubhouse. She stopped at the bar and tossed back some tequila before heading to the back hallway. As she moved through the partying people, she had an eye out for Butch. Just to see where he was. How he was integrating. Whether or not his eyes were on her, like she hoped.
But he was nowhere. She pushed through the double doors into the back hallway, and the sounds of the party grew muted. Her bedroom was the second on the left. She stomped inside, leaving the door hanging open, and flopped onto the bed.
She lay there for a few moments, thoughts spinning inside her head. Worries blurring into doubt, doubt blurring into frustration.
“Hey.”
A deep voice made her bolt upright. Butch stood in the doorway, his steely gaze trained on her. Goosebumps prickled up and down her arms.
“What do you want?” She sat up, smoothing the front of her dress down, admiring the glint of her gold bracelet on her wrist.
“Wanted to talk about earlier today.” He barely blinked as he watched her. “Wanted to know why you even told your dad in the first place.”
She heaved a sigh. “He needs to know about stuff like that.”
“But you lied about the circumstances,” Butch said.
“He didn’t need to know the real reason I was out there,” she shot back. “That’s my business.”
“What was the real reason?”
His simple question caught her off guard. She hopped to her feet and pulled a flash out from her dresser drawer, taking a quick pull. “Why should I tell you?”
“We’re gonna be spending plenty of time together,” Butch said, his gaze blazing up and down her body as she paced the room. “Seems like we should get to know each other.”
Her cheeks burned at his words. “What do you mean, time together? You’re a new club brother, but you’re not my nanny.”
Butch hefted with a laugh. “So you haven’t talked to your dad.”
Gidget narrowed her eyes at him. His tone rubbed her the wrong way. “Don’t act like you’re all high and mighty. You’ve been a brother for thirty seconds.”
Butch’s face tightened. “A lot longer than that. Besides, for someone who’s been in the club life for so long, seems you should know why these reasons matter.”
“Matter to who?”
“To people trying not to get killed.”
Butch’s tone made her mouth clamp shut. She gritted her teeth. Was this horniness or frustration? It was a combination of both. She hated when people tried to rule her…especially nobody newbies like this guy.
“You don’t have to worry about getting killed after what happened today, Butch,” Gidget said, affecting the most condescending tone possible. Even hearing it come out of her mouth made her wince on the inside. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, I promise you.”
“After our meeting today, it’s going to be a little bit bigger of a deal. And if I’m supposed to be following your every damn move, I need to know these things. Now what the hell did you do to get three Skulls coming after you?”
Butch’s words resonated in the air between them like an opera singer’s shrill high note. What did he say? She replayed his words over in her head a few times, trying to formulate the best response without cracking her hard shell.
“Nobody’s following my moves,” she said, taking another pull at the flask. And then another.
“You’re wrong.” Butch cracked his knuckles, his gaze raking up and down her again. Her pussy pulsed in response. Would it be so wrong to nudge the door shut with her hip and ask for a reprieve, a do-over, a fresh start where they could get to know each other without all the drama of the chase that day?
But she couldn’t give in to him. Not when her pride demanded so much more.
“We’ll see about that,” she spat, turning back to her dresser. She fished around for a pair of panties. She’d have a stern chat with her dad—but until then, she’d make sure Butch knew who was in control. Let him see what he couldn’t have, not even if begged.
She strutted over to the door leading to her personal bathroom, slipping out of her heels in the process. Gidget could feel his eyes on her, burning a path over her calves. She inched up her dress slowly, turning back to look at Butch.
“You like what you see?” She lifted a brow, hiking up the dress to her hips. She’d worn a lacy black thong, and her ass had to be on full display for him.
Butch’s jaw flinched but his gaze didn’t move from hers. The jerk didn’t even look down.
“Get out of here, you pervert,” she said, her heart racing in her chest. Why didn’t he take the bait? Butch held her gaze for a moment longer and then left the room quickly, leaving a wake of tension behind him.
That had been the sexiest and most frustrating encounter of her life. Something deep inside her had wanted Butch from the second he showed up earlier that day as her rescuer. Not just because he’d saved her—because there was a darkness there, something he wore tight around him like a shield. His dark, quiet stare did nothing to quell the fire.
Gidget slipped off the rest of her clothes, watching the door to see if he’d return. He didn’t. With a sigh, she shook out her hair and turned on the shower, waiting for a frothy steam to envelop the bathroom before she stepped inside.
As soon as the warm water hit her back she let a low moan, something uncoiling deep inside her, like the loosening of a long-twisted knot. Her head lolled back and she leaned against the white tiles of the shower wall, her hand drifting between her legs. Butch’s face burned in her eyelids. She imagined his square jaw, those pouty lips skipping kisses up her thighs, the dark gaze looking up at her from between her legs.
Her fingers slipped desperately over the tight nub of her clit as she imagined what a gruff kiss might feel like, what sculpted planes awaited beneath that black t-shirt. She tweaked a hard nipple, relishing the jolt of pleasure through her body as though it had come from him. Wishing she could feel the stubble of his jaw against her face, the heaviness of his body on top of hers.
It wasn’t long before she reached a shuddering climax, one that made her gasp. Her pussy pulsed in the aftermath, and she slumped against the shower wall, the water beating down on her.
Butch had started something she had no intention of losing.
Because Gidget always—always—got her way.
***
Butch tossed and turned the first full night in his new bed. In his new home. In his new family. There were way too many thoughts to get to sleep, so he alternated between re-playing the information he’d gotten at his first ever meeting with the brothers, and envisioning Gidget bent over the side of his bed, that round, perky ass on display.
Butch grunted and turned again. His cock had been in a semi-state of hardness the entire night, and he refused to get off to her, not when that brat treated him like he was dirt. It didn’t matter how sexy she was, or how much he was dying to smooth a hand across that tanned flesh.
Hell, a year inside the system couldn’t make him break when it came to women. He was used to being alone and taking care of his own needs.
But Gidget…
Stop it. He turned over again, exhaling loudly. Maybe she was still awake, naked under her soft sheets, her lithe, sun-kissed body smoother than silk. He cleared his throat, pinching his eyes shut.
How was he supposed to keep tabs on her when the sight of her made his cock jump? He wouldn’t be able to think about keeping her head on straight when all he wanted to do was get her bent over in front of him?
Butch fought his thoughts until he reached something resembling rest—a brief respite where his mind blanked out and maybe he was asleep, or maybe he wasn’t. Footsteps down the hall made him jolt to alertness when his clock read eight a.m. He sighed, readjusting the pillow, a dogged sort of exhaustion clinging to him.
But more sleep wouldn’t come. He rolled out of bed, opting for a quick, ice cold shower to jostle some alertness into him. He shrugged on a black tee and jeans before heading into the clubhouse to see who he might find.
Coffee seemed like a good idea too, so he headed for the kitchen to start getting familiar with the layout. He peeked into the fridge, which was chock full of styrofoam boxes with chicken scratch names and warnings like “Fuck off don’t touch” written on top. Cupboards were stocked haphazardly, exactly what he’d expected for a clubhouse populated primarily by men 25 years old and over. After a little search, he found the coffee and started up a pot to share. He leaned against the countertop as the machine came to life, studying the scratch marks on the countertop like it had a fortune for him.
“Early bird, huh?”
Zebra’s voice startled Butch. He jolted, gripping the edges of the countertop. “Shit, you scared me.”
“I’m not usually up this early. But I’ve gotta go on an errand today.” He sat in a chair at the breakfast nook, yawning. He was already suited up with his cut and chaps, like it was gonna be a long-haul ride. “You look like you didn’t sleep for shit.”
“I didn’t.” Butch rubbed at his face, like maybe it might help the dark circles under his eyes go away. “Can’t sleep real well in new places.”
“You’ll get used to it, I promise.” Zebra crossed his arms, smiling up at him. “So? How you feeling after your first day out?”
“Tired.” Butch blinked as he watched the coffee pot slowly fill with the dark liquid. The smell perked him up, but wouldn’t make his eyes stop burning. “But good. Getting used to it.”
“Yeah. It’s a good life to get used to, too.” Zebra smirked over at him. “And I promise, whatever your next assignment is, it’ll be better than the one you’ve got.”
Butch sighed, crossing his arms. “Yeah. About that.” He shook his head, struggling to find the words. “That girl is never gonna let me follow her.”
“I know. She don’t let nobody keep track of her.”
“And she…” Butch faltered, wondering if he should even go there. Bring up the sexual dynamics. It was like he wanted permission to go there with her, from a high-up brother.
“Is hotter than hell, I know,” Zebra finished for him.
Butch tutted, pulling out two mugs from the cupboard. “I don’t get what game she’s playing.”
“Game?”
“Coming onto me then telling me to get the fuck out of her room last night,” Butch clarified, pouring equal amounts of the bitter brew into their mugs.
Zebra let a low whistle. “That’s classic Gidget right there.”
“She does that with all the brothers?”
“No…not with us.” Zebra received his mug when Butch handed it over. He took a sip and then grimaced. “You forget how to make coffee in prison?”
“It’ll get the job done,” Butch said, taking a sip. It tasted like shit.
“Well she don’t act like that with most of us. We’ve known her too damn long, you know? But that’s how she is. She strings along guys like they’re licorice. She’ll burn ya, so don’t take it too hard.”
Butch grunted, taking another sip of his coffee. The evening before, he’d been resolved to ignore her. But now, he was worried he’d tear her clothes off the next time he saw her. “I’m not taking it hard, just confused. She won’t make it easy.”
“She don’t make nothing easy,” Zebra said, grimacing another gulp of coffee down. “But it’s Geo’s orders, so you gotta make sure she’s reined in. Preferably while keeping your hands off her.”
“Yeah?”
“We see her like a sister, but let’s be real—any one of us would rail her if she’d let us. Geo wouldn’t like her protector getting too cozy though, you know what I’m saying?”
Butch set his jaw, studying the acid swirls in his coffee. “Right.”
Zebra downed the rest of his coffee, then slapped the table. “I’m off, brother. I’ll see you later.”
He left the kitchen, leaving Butch in a contemplative silence. There was a lot to take in on the outside world already. And he needed a hell of a lot more caffeine if he was gonna be staring at Gidget all day, every day, without laying a finger on her.