by Nicole James
Bear looks over at her. “Sorry, darlin’, guess I should watch my mouth around a sweet young thing like you.”
“No problem.” Kami smiles, trying not to stir the pot, but I see the glances she’s been giving me, especially when Magnolia and Asia were mentioned.
Bear drains his beer and stands. “Let’s hit the road, boys.”
“So soon?” Kami asks, and he grins.
Crow and Mako stand, and Bear lifts his chin toward Kami, and can’t resist adding, “Bring her to the clubhouse party tonight.”
When I don’t nod, because I’m hoping like hell that’s not an order, he lifts a brow, waiting. He’s a patch, so I have no choice but to comply.
“Yeah, sure. If she wants to come.”
“Oh, she wants to come.” He grins at my obvious discomfort, slaps a hand on my shoulder and walks out, following the others to the bikes parked in my back yard, the ones I never heard roll up.
The minute they’re gone, I whirl on her. “Well, now we’re fucked.”
“Why? I thought they were okay.”
“Okay? None of this is okay. You didn’t see him hitting on you?”
“Well, yeah, but he cooled when he heard my age.”
“That’s not gonna protect you for long. He was fucking interested.”
“But he said sisters were off-limits. I heard him.”
“Unless he gets my okay. And I’ve got a bad feelin’ he’s gonna press me for that okay.”
“Oh.” She shrugs. “So I won’t go.”
“Yeah, that’s not an option anymore. He told me to bring you.”
“So?”
“So, he’s a patch. What they say goes.”
“That’s crazy.”
I sigh. “You’re just going to have to avoid him all night.”
She stares at me wide-eyed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Now you have me scared.”
I pull her to me and kiss her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’d never let anything happen to you, understand?”
She stares into my eyes and nods.
I hope to God it’s a promise I can keep without pulling a knife on someone tonight.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kami—
I’m standing off to the side of the green felt table watching several members of the Kings of Carnage shoot pool. My eyes travel around their clubhouse, taking it all in as I sip on my drink. I never in a million years thought I’d see the inside of one of these places.
Loud music blasts from speakers somewhere, and the place is packed. Saint told me there are a lot of hang-arounds and friends of the club up tonight. There are also a lot of women. Saint said some of them are club girls, some are club brats, and some are Centerfold’s girls—strippers from the club, come to party and make some extra money. Apparently they don’t do shit for free—his words, not mine.
Sticking with our cover story, I’ve been introduced as Saint’s sister to everyone, which is fine with me.
I listen intently as the men sputter crude stories laced with profanity, occasionally all erupting into hearty laughter.
A pretty young blonde introduces herself as Bambi. She’s sweet with a friendly smile and we chat for a while. Saint is busy doing prospect duties, which tonight includes watching the door. Every once in a while he comes and checks on me. He’s reminded me more than once to stay where I am because he’s got a clear view from the front door to the pool table.
Bambi leans close and talks in my ear so she can be heard over the music.
“Just an FYI, Asia is after your brother.” She extends her index finger from the side of her cup, pointing toward a tall girl with dark hair down to her ass, big boobs and blue eyes framed by long fake lashes.
My eyes skate over her from head to toe. She’s wearing a strapless short dress in ice blue. “That one?”
“Yep. Of course, I don’t think it matters which one of these guys, she just wants to land a patch, any patch. Guess Saint just got lucky. Of course he doesn’t have his patch yet, but I’m sure he’ll get one.”
Jealousy flared through my blood, as I sip my drink, but what can I say or do? I decide on a rather sisterly tactic, and make up a bunch stuff. “Is she aware how bad his feet smell?”
Bambi pulls back. “Gross.”
“And he snores.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m betting half the guys in here do that.”
“Well, do half the guys in here keep their teeth in a jar?”
She cocks a brow. “What?”
“Well, just the front four. They got knocked out when he was young.”
“Oh, I dated a hockey player that wore a dental plate like that.”
I’m running out of things to make up. What would really turn her off? “Oh, and the worst part is, he passes gas all the time.” I make a fanning motion with my hand. “It used to be so bad at home, I’d have to go out in the yard.” I give her the side-eye. That should do it.
She stares at me a long moment. “A good-looking guy like him? You’re just making that up.”
“I’m not. Cross my heart.” I actually make the sign.
She turns to study him across the room. “I’ve never noticed that.”
“Ask the guys, they’ll tell you.” Okay now I’m skating on thin ice. This could completely backfire if she actually asks someone. But I can’t help myself. “Just sayin’, I’m his sister, and he’s not the prize you think he is.”
She snorts laughter through her nose. “Oh, my God. I can’t wait to tell Asia. She’s been such a bitch to me lately. This ought to deflate her a bit.”
“So, you know a lot of these guys?”
“Some of them.”
Between conversations I occasionally feel my phone vibrate in my hand, and look down to see a text from Saint.
Saint: You okay?
Me: I’m fine.
Bear walks up and leans against a post near me, a beer in his hand and a half-buzzed smile on his face. With a raspy, whisky-graveled voice, he greets me. “Hey sweetheart.”
“Hey, Bear.”
“How’re you liking our little party?”
“I’m having fun, thanks. And if this is what you consider little,” I gesture to the crowd, “I can’t imagine a Kings’ big bash.”
He chuckles. “I’m sure we’ll have one of those sometime while you’re in town. You ladies need another drink?”
I’ve been nursing this one for a while now, but I shrug my shoulders. “Sure.”
“I’d love one, Bear, thank you, doll,” Bambi purrs.
Bear winks, and moves off, disappearing through the crowd.
I study Bambi. “You like him?”
She shrugs. “That boy is what fantasies are made of, but we haven’t hooked up.”
“You’ve been around a while, huh?”
“Yes, ever since the club got into our business.”
“What business is that?”
“Um, never mind. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
I tilt my head up. “Oh. You must work at Centerfolds.”
She looks like I just insulted her. “Hardly!”
“And Asia… how did you meet her?”
“We work together.”
“How did she meet Saint?”
“Look, I may have said too much already. The guys don’t like us to talk about their business.”
“What’s your job got to do with their business?”
“Nothing. Forget it. Okay?”
I can see I’m starting to piss her off. “Okay.”
She changes the subject. “Bear seems interested in you. I saw the way he looked you over.”
“Oh, I don’t think I need to get involved with any of these men.”
“I’m not sure getting involved is how I’d classify what that Nomad wants to do with you.” She giggles, waggling her brows.
“Oh. Just sex, you mean?”
“Just sex can be an awful
lot of fun. Don’t knock it. And I’m betting Bear would make sure he left you with a dreamy smile on your face. I mean, look at the man. All that long hair and those eyes. He’s gorgeous.”
I understand her point, but when I imagine being with a man, that man has dark hair and dark eyes, and goes by the name of Saint.
***
Saint—
I see Kami across the room, and my hand tightens around my glass of whiskey. She turns, her eyes searching me out in the crowd. When she finds me, her face lights up with a smile that makes me want to give her everything. Kami is young and fresh, enthusiastic and curious, all wrapped up in an eager innocence, everything these other women are not. Her youthful beauty and dewy glowing skin are intoxicating, especially when you add in her alluring perfume. Whatever that brand is, it’s the most addicting stuff I’ve ever come across. My gaze travels over her. Pale skin like unblemished porcelain, unmarked by any tattoos. I long to see the contrast of my tanned tattooed skin pressed against her fairer flesh.
I’ve had a million fantasies about this woman in the last few months.
“Thinking about who you’re going to fuck, prospect?”
A sharp voice jolts me out of my reverie, and I blink to find Sly standing next to me, a whiskey in his hand. He arches a brow at me as he lifts his chin toward the other side of the clubhouse.
“Kami’s fucking hot,” he says. “She’s definitely caught Bear’s attention from what I heard.”
“Lots of hot girls here. Bear can find another one. He needs to leave my sister alone.”
Sly takes a sip of his drink, but that eyebrow stays arched. “Sister, riiiight.” He drags the word out, and I know I’m not fooling him one bit, but damned if I’ll admit anything.
“Great party,” I volunteer, trying to deflect attention away from me, and my overt ogling of Kami. The last thing I need is my sponsor thinking I’m lusting after a girl who’s supposed to be my sister. That would be fucked up.
“We need to talk. Come on.” He walks past me.
“Yes, sir.” I drain the last of my Jack, set the glass down on a nearby table, and follow.
As we walk down a darkened hallway, we pass one with an open door. I see a threesome going at it on one of the beds. They’re all skin and mouths…
When I first started prospecting, I would have been right there with them, but now the whole scene fails to interest me.
Now, if Kami had been in there…
I follow Sly down the hall to a small room he uses as an office. He’s the treasurer, so there’s a big safe in it that takes up a good amount of space. I’ve never seen inside it, but I know the club keeps cash on hand, though most of their money gets divided up among several bank accounts.
He sits behind his desk, and I drop into a chair on this side of it. He reaches behind him to a credenza and grabs a bottle of Jack and a couple of shot glasses. He fills them and slides one toward me.
“Got a call from the Birmingham Chapter of the Evil Dead MC about you. Seems you did them a solid and represented us well. Want to tell me what happened in your words?”
I shrug. “I was comin’ back from droppin’ Magnolia off in Heflin, just across the State Line. They said they’d come into Georgia to get lottery tickets.”
He strokes his jaw. “Yeah, makes sense. Bama doesn’t have the lottery.”
“Anyway, I saw a semi run ‘em both off the road. One laid his bike down on the interstate and the other went over the embankment into a ditch. I stopped to help.”
Sly nods. “They said you came runnin’. Also said they’ve got nothin’ but respect for the way you handled yourself, and they wanted me to know it.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I was too. How a prospect behaves when he comes up against another club is a true tell of his character. You did good, kid.”
“This mean I’m one step closer to earning that patch?”
He grins. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. But, I will tell you this—you keep up the good work, your time’s coming.” He lifts his glass to me, and we both down the shots.
“Thanks. Means a lot.”
He nods, and tilts his head to the side. “Anything else you want to tell me?”
I panic for a moment, not sure what he’s referring to. “You mean about the Evil Dead?”
“I mean about anything. What I need most from a brother is honesty. I’ve got to be able to trust you completely before I slap that patch on your back, understand?”
“Yes, sir.” I splay my hands. “You can trust me.”
He points a finger at me. “Gonna be some tests comin’ up shortly. We’ll see how you do. Do well, and you won’t have to stay a prospect much longer, Saint.”
“That’s good to know.” I can’t help wondering what kind of tests he’s talking about, but I know better than to ask. If the man wanted me to know more, he’d share.
***
Kami—
Bear returns with our drinks, but thankfully a moment later he’s called away by one of his Kings’ brothers, who clasps a handle of vodka under one arm.
Bambi leans close. “That’s Chaos. He’s the President. I always stay out of his way.”
I nod, and after they walk off, a group of men move into the space they vacated. They’re not wearing cuts, so they must be what Saint referred to as hang-arounds. They start cracking insulting, humorless jokes, their eyes moving over Bambi and I like were free for the taking. I’m feeling flushed, and pull the neckline of my shirt away from my skin, fanning myself with the fabric. It’s hot as hell in here, and I also want to escape these drunken hang-around clowns with their raunchy jokes. “Want to go outside and get some air?”
“Sure.”
We make our way to the door, but Saint is no longer there. I wonder where he’s off to, and what job they’ve got him on now. He’s been replaced with one of the men I remember from their visit to the house, who gives us a chin lift.
“Ladies.”
“Hi, Crow.” I smile.
Laughter billows through the front door, along with the smell of wood smoke.
We exit the door, and find a group of men circled around a fire in a burn barrel, talking and joking. We mingle in with a couple of girls whom Bambi introduces as Leigh and Magnolia.
“Leigh’s father is Chaos,” Bambi explains.
“Oh, I see.” I return her smile.
Her friend, Magnolia, pipes up. “You’re brother is hot, Kami.”
Bambi and I exchange a look, and we burst out laughing.
It’s late, Bambi is chatting with some guy, and I’m sitting on top of the hood of a pickup, on my fourth drink, feeling a little woozy and wondering when Saint will finally get free, when my phone vibrates.
Saint: Where you at, short cake?
Me: Outside by the fire.
A minute later he walks over and grins at me. “How are you, babe?”
I smile, happy to see him.
“Your eyes are glassy. How much have you had to drink?”
“A few.”
He frowns, grabs my waist and lifts me to the ground. Everyone’s so drunk; I don’t think anyone even notices.
He holds me against him, and we’re staring into each other’s eyes. “I need to get you home. I think you’ve had enough.”
I can’t wait to leave and spend some time with him.
He pulls me back further into the crowded parking lot, and around the truck, and backs me against the side, drops his head and kisses me like he’s been wanting to do it all night. When he finally breaks the kiss, he looks over my head, checking, I suppose, that no one saw us. “Come on, let’s go.”
His arm lands around my shoulders and he walks us to his bike.
***
Sly—
“Ain’t no man looks at a sister like that.” Bear shakes his head, peering through the fire and smoke rising from the burn barrel.
Sly looks over to his prospect, takes a long hit off a joint, then passes it to the Nomad. “Le
t it go, Bear. Not your concern. I’ll deal with him. Besides, we’ve got some details to work out on that run this weekend. Come on.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kami—
Saint helps me off the bike. I sway on my feet, and he tucks me to his side and gets me inside and to my bed. I sit and he kneels at my feet, pulling off my boots and then my jeans.
“Asia wants you.” I stare at his gorgeous face while he tugs.
He tosses my jeans aside and meets my gaze, laying his hands on the bed on either side of my hips. “Lot of girls want attention. But real women want respect. Be the girl that wants respect, Kami. Don’t worry about Asia. She holds no interest for me.”
“She’s gorgeous.”
He shakes out two aspirin and drops them into my palm, ignoring my comment. “Take these.”
I toss them back.
“Drink this.” He hands me a bottle of water. “It’ll keep you from having a headache tomorrow.”
I take a couple of gulps and he rises to his feet, towering over me.
“Finish it, babe.” He waits while I chug it down, then he pulls my shirt over my head, and I gasp. I’m left with only my bra and panties, but he moves to the dresser and digs through a drawer. He stalks back to the bed with a white ribbed tank, and pulls it over my head. It clings to my curves, and I see his eyes drop to my breasts and darken. I want him to touch me, but I’m so tired, I can barely keep myself from falling over to the pillow.
A moment later he’s tucking me under the covers and flicking off the light.
“Get some rest.”
I smile at him, close my eyes and I’m out within seconds.
***
I roll over, squinting against the afternoon sun streaming in the window. It aggravates the slight pounding in my head. Two water bottles sit on the nightstand, and last night comes flooding back.
