by Ryan Michele
“Yes. Make no mistake, I’ll play it right, it will be self-defense, but I will take you out. I’m not the woman for you to try to throw your weight around and think for one fucking second I’ll tolerate it.”
A hand came in front of my face, waving rapidly. It was Rocco. “What?” I barked, turning my anger from Dickhead on to him. Shit.
“What’s goin’ on here?”
“Dickhead thinks I still want him. Says I’m his. Now, Rocco, can you tell him how I love to cut shit up? I will gut him like a fish if he comes at me.”
“I was just talkin’,” Dickhead started as Rocco’s angry eyes went to him.
Rocco stood, his voice angry. “You fuckin’ said what?” Rocco reached over and pulled Dickhead out of his seat by the shirt and held him up. The entire bar turned its eyes to our table.
Peeking around, Wrong Way’s eyes locked with mine. First, surprise hit him. Then his brows knit together—either in confusion or anger, I couldn’t be for sure.
Rocco shook Dickhead, rocking the table as our drinks began to fall one by one. Leaping up, I was able to save myself from smelling like a whore who’d been up all night.
Rocco’s temper flared. I loved that man with everything inside of me, but not even me, the one who’d been with him the longest, could calm him once he got to this part of his rage.
He was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. It didn’t mean I couldn’t try, though. That was what friends did.
Moving up beside him, my hand rested on his forearm. “Rocco. Stop. He’s not worth it.”
“Fuck you!” Dickhead spat. “You thought I was when I was bangin’ your brains out.”
That was when a very familiar gravelly voice came from behind me. One I thought about daily. One that sent chills down my spine and caused my core to clench in anticipation. “That’s a damn lie. I have fucked her brains out, and she’s had me back. Whatever you had didn’t make her come back,” Wrong Way said to the group.
Maybe I should’ve felt embarrassment, but I didn’t. If anything, my panties were wet just from hearing his voice. Add in the declaration, and I was surprised I didn’t come on the spot.
“She did not!” Dickhead spat at Wrong Way as Rocco pushed him away from the table.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Rocco demanded, but Dickhead’s attention was on Wrong Way.
“She didn’t fuck you.”
Wrong Way smirked and set his beer on the table. He then proceeded to take off his cut, then pulled his shirt over his head with one hand. Fuck, that was a sexy move. Wrong Way turned around, and there were my marks over the ink covering his back. Cuts from my nails and bruises from my grip covered his back.
Instantly I moved to him, my hand going to the marks. “Didn’t realize they got that deep. Are you okay?” I asked breathily.
“Am now.”
Fuck, this was going to be bad.
10
Wrong Way
While I loved seeing Hayden makeup free and comfortable at her house, seeing her like this was taking every ounce of control I had not to punch this asshole out, throw her over my shoulder, and take her home.
Her eyes were dark, sultry, and her hair was curled more than she normally wore. The clothes hit all the right places, exploiting her sensuous curves. No one could wear jeans like her. No one. Fuck, she was beautiful. Beyond beautiful.
She gave me a soft smile, then turned to the asshole calling her his. Fuck that and fuck him. He’d be lucky if he walked out of here alive.
“You need to knock this shit off. I’m over this. You can’t go around acting crazy and sayin’ stupid shit.” Hayden’s set face told me she was more than over this guy. “We’ve been over forever; buy a fuckin’ clue.”
“But I love you,” he said, using the most pathetic expression to persuade her.
Hayden made some low gurgling sound in her throat. She didn’t believe a word the asshole was saying either. Good.
Hands on hips, she retaliated sharply. “The only person you love is yourself. If you cared at all about me, you wouldn’t have cheated.”
Anger burned in my blood. What fucker in his right mind would cheat on a woman like Hayden? No fucking body. If he had her in his bed, he was a moron for giving it up.
My arm cocked back as I landed a vicious blow to the asshole’s nose. Hayden didn’t even jump or scream. Hell, some girls would even cling to my arm if I’d done this. Not Hayden. Instead, she looked down at the ground, the man covering his nose and getting bloody in the process like she couldn’t care less.
I stepped forward, glaring down at him. “You’re one fucked up motherfucker. You cheated on her.” My arm went out as I pointed to Hayden. Her eyes went wide just for a moment, but I caught it. She’d never shared this with me, but I was glad I now knew. “You stay away from her. I hear you text her, call her, get in the same airspace as her, I’ll fuckin’ take you out. You got me?”
The asshole’s eyes flashed back and forth between Hayden and me. He wasn’t taking me seriously, or he really was a moron. “Are you two dating?” he asked as if it was unfathomable.
Fuck him. I was much better for her than he ever would be.
Instead of answering, I hit him hard in the temple, knocking him fully out. He wasn’t worth another second of my time.
Stormy was there shaking his head at Hayden. “Told you there’d be trouble.”
“What’d ya mean?” I asked, turning away from the limp body to face the owner of the bar.
“Look at her. Yeah, my liquor sales are through the roof, but fuck, it always ends in this.”
Hayden sidled up next to Stormy, and he draped his arm around her. I felt my blood start to heat once more. She didn’t have something going on with the old man. His woman wouldn’t stand for it, but they were close. That was obvious.
I’d known Stormy for years. He’d helped us out at the club numerous times, but I didn’t know he had a connection to Hayden.
“Sorry. I’ll head out,” she said to him with a smile.
Stormy shook his head. “Nah. At least with one down, the others know what’ll happen if they come near ya.”
She quirked her brow, and her sassy mouth opened. “Sorry about the liquor sales.”
Stormy burst out laughing, Hayden following. Stormy pulled her in tight and kissed the top of her head then released her. It was more of a father/daughter type thing, and that allowed my blood to cool once again.
“They’ll still buy ‘em thinkin’ you’ll pick them to go home with,” Stormy told her.
This sudden feeling snaked around my insides. The possessiveness of the entire situation was foreign to me, but it was too intense to stop.
Gripping Hayden, I pulled her to me, dropped my head, and took her mouth—hard. She melted into me instantly as I deepened it, her body flush with mine and her arms going around my neck. Fuck, this woman could kiss a man into coming in his damn pants.
After long moments, I pulled away to see Hayden’s eyes still closed, the euphoria feeling flowing through her. That was my girl. Yeah, my girl. I thought it and realized I felt it to my fucking core.
“Now she has the Ravage MC protection. Anyone fucks with her, they fuck with us. End of story.”
“Ummm… What’s goin’ on here?” a man with dark hair and eyes asked, looking between me and Hayden, who just opened her eyes and came back to the reality she was in a large group of people.
I knew him right away because I’d checked up on her and in turn checked up on him. But I didn’t like her best friend being a man. In my experience, men and women as friends always ended with them fucking. Some were able to stay friends, while others got together, but there were some who never spoke to each other afterward.
I sure as hell hoped that Hayden wasn’t interested in Rocco because I’d have to beat the shit out of him.
It was cute how she shook her head, trying to get the muddling out. Fucking loved I did that to her.
“Rocco, this is Wrong Way. Wrong Way
—my best friend, Rocco.”
Rocco held out his hand to me, and I took it. Not hard, but firm. His smile widened, and I knew I made my point.
“Nice to meet ya. How do you know Hayden?” Rocco asked me, but it was Hayden who answered, obviously never telling her best friend about our fucking.
“We’re just friends,” she said a little too quickly for my liking. When our eyes connected, I lifted my brow in question. The fuck we were just friends. She turned back to Rocco. “He’s Ms. M’s grandson.”
“And fuckin’,” I added. Hayden’s head whipped up to me, but I didn’t give a fuck. He wanted to put his balls on the table, he needed to man up.
Rocco got our situation. I could see it on his face. I could also see he didn’t like it all that much. Well, fuck him too.
“Right. Didn’t know you two were cozy,” Rocco accused as Hayden got into his space.
“Knock it off. I don’t tell you who to fuck or spend time with. So you don’t give me that shit.”
Rocco stared at Hayden. “He’s in with Ravage. This is completely different.”
Hayden shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
Rocco wasn’t done, but I was over the dog and pony show. “Hayden, I have some people I want you to meet.”
Hayden’s eyes flickered up to mine with uncertainty. Did she think I would keep her a secret? While we didn’t date, we fucked, she wasn’t some side piece no one could know about. Why the hell would I? I’d rather every man in this bar know Hayden was mine, and if they touched what was mine, I’d end them. I wasn’t sure what was coming over me, but I didn’t care. No one was touching Hayden but me.
Her attention went back to her friend. “I’m good, Rocco. Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll always worry about you until my dying breath,” he declared, and it rang perfectly clear to me. He would lay down his life for her, no questions asked.
“Same,” she responded, and it was a shot to the chest. How close were these two? She said her best friend, but were they lovers at one time? They could’ve been by the way they were acting. There was something there that needed to be solved as well. Maybe they were the option where they stayed friends after a roll in the sheets. Fuck.
“I’m good. Wrong Way is good people.”
“How long has this been going on?” Rocco asked, but I answered.
“Those are questions to ask later. Preferably not in a crazy bar with all eyes on us. Now can I take Hayden to meet my brothers?” It wasn’t really a question. I was taking her no matter what, but without knowing the man or the basics to what he shared with Hayden, I figured I’d be nice … for now.
Rocco gave Hayden a look, and she nodded in response. Whatever secret words they shared unspoken, I wasn’t privy to. All I wanted to do was get her as far away from that table as I could. Preferably in my bed.
11
Hayden
Wrong Way pulled me to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I had no other option but to wrap around his waist. He moved us away from the table, but we weren’t near his friends either. We needed to talk, so my feet stopped. Wrong Way did as well.
When he looked down, he must’ve seen it in my expression because he pulled us off to the side away from others. It was loud and nowhere to have this type of conversation, but fuck me. What the hell just happened?
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, making my insides melt. Who the hell was this woman inside of me? I’d really like to beat the shit out of her.
“Hey. What was all of that?”
His devilish smirk came out. His hand gripped my hip, and that connection made the air around us heat up more. Sweat trickled down my back.
“Call it like I see it, Hayden.”
That really didn’t answer shit. “I get that, but kissing me in front of everyone. I thought we…” My voice trailed off, and I wanted to kick myself.
See, peopling equaled bad things.
He leaned in close to me. “You’re not a secret, Hayden.”
“Yeah, Wrong Way. We were. You knew that just as I did.”
His eyes flashed, and I tried to get a lock on it but failed. “You ashamed to fuck me?” His question shocked the shit out of me.
“Hell no. I just thought since you only come to my place every now and then, we just had an arrangement.”
I sounded stupid as all hell. Like some damn teenager trying to figure out what this relationship was or putting a damn label on it.
Wrong Way leaned in close. “Yeah, we do, but, baby—make no mistake, now the arrangement has changed.” His lips took mine once again, and I grasped onto him, needing to hold on for my life.
Things had changed? What things? Fuck. I was in for it now. Change … I dealt with enough of that growing up, I didn’t like it now.
He pulled away. “We’ll talk about that shit later. Let’s meet Ravage.”
His hand threaded through mine, and he led me over to the bar where several of his brothers were sitting and standing. Women were all over them, but it was the one wrapped in Crow’s arm which caught my attention.
She was the real deal. Her eyes were sharp and posture erect. While her attention was on her man, she didn’t miss a single detail going on around them. She wasn’t a woman to mess with, that was clear.
Wrong Way introduced me to the president of his club, Crow. He was very easy on the eyes and completely infatuated with the beautiful blonde woman. She was young, but there was something in her eyes that screamed she had a keen sense and an old soul.
“This is Rylynn. Crow’s ol’ lady,” Wrong Way said, and Rylynn held out her hand. I took it. Her grip was hard and firm. I gave it right back to her.
“Hayden.”
Rylynn took a few minutes, sizing me up, or at least it felt like it. With a straight face, I couldn’t read her. When her hand released mine, a smile lifted her lips. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Same.”
“How long you been with this guy?” Her thumb pointed to Wrong Way.
Before I could answer, Wrong Way did, “None of your fuckin’ business, woman. Stay outta my shit.”
“I’ll always be in your shit. Gotta make sure you get a good one.”
She must think this relationship was beyond sex, but it wasn’t. Was it? Things changed rang in my head.
I shook it off and shrugged. “He can be a pain in the ass. Good thing he has you to look out for him.”
The comment wasn’t meant to be a barb at her, but by the look on her face she took it as one. I stood there waiting to see if she saw where I was going with it. It was a few tense moments before she burst out laughing.
Relief hit that I didn’t even know I was waiting for.
“True. All these men need to be looked after. It’s a full-time job.” Rylynn rolled her eyes but smiled the entire time.
Yes. I could really like this woman.
Wrong Way introduced me to his other brothers: Brewer, Phoenix, Hornet, Rooster and then Tex. Stella was still at his side, but her brow was raised in question.
“What the fuck?” I asked her over the noise.
“What the fuck what? Looks like you’ve been hidin’ somethin’.” She pulled me in and whisper-yelled in my ear. “Fuck, I bet he’s fuckin’ great in bed.”
It was my turn to burst out laughing. She had no idea. At all.
The night was a bit strange for me. Since I didn’t get out much, being with a man like Wrong Way was a different experience. Dickhead and Wrong Way were on two completely different playing fields.
While Wrong Way had me in his sights the entire time, he gave me space. Dickhead was always in my business, so afraid I’d run off on him. It was stupid since he was the one who cheated. With Wrong Way, though, I didn’t feel like an object. I felt like his.
Tiny came up to me, holding a tray of three shots. “Seriously?” I asked, knowing this wouldn’t be good. Wrong Way wasn’t the kind of man who would let others buy the woman he was with drinks. No damn way.
I was not wrong.
His face turned stony as he grabbed a chair and stood on it. He whistled loudly, the room going quiet and music off. My pulse quickened. I didn’t like attention, and he was drawing it all in on him, on us. This was Wrong Way, full of confidence. While I was confident in myself, I still wasn’t okay with being noticed.
“Any of you fuckers buy her another drink, you’ll be meetin’ me and Ravage outside. Got me?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he jumped down and came directly to me, pulling me in for another kiss.
I didn’t feel like a possession to him, but I felt like his. It was completely illogical, but that was exactly how I felt. I liked it. Maybe a bit too much.
While the music played, we had a good time together.
The rest of the night went off without another incident. Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure Stormy would have me back in his bar after tonight. Who was I kidding, he would.
Rocco came over to check on me, and we were able to chat while I introduced him to Wrong Way’s people. I could tell Wrong Way didn’t like Rocco, but what I couldn’t tell was if it was because he was a man or just a man around me.
As the night came to an end, I was feeling good. Not drunk, but not sober either. Wrong Way went from not having his hands on me to having one hand on me at all times. It was different than Dickhead’s, though. It was nice, and I appreciated it.
It made me feel wanted.
He leaned down to my ear. “I’m takin’ ya home.”
A smile widened my face. “Yes, yes you are,” I responded. He grabbed my hand and pulled me from the bar. I had just enough time to wave to everyone and give Rocco a nod before I was out the door with the man.
Well, this was an interesting turn of events.
12
Wrong Way
Every man that bought her a drink, I wanted to hang up by his balls and take a bat to him. It was why I called attention to us. Normally, I wouldn’t do that shit, but having other men buy drinks for the woman I was with was a no-go.
