by Tia Lewis
“Come on! Another round!” Gunner pounded his fist against the bar. Tamara lined up the glasses and poured the shots like a pro. If it weren't for the diamond on her finger and Creed standing right next to him, he probably would’ve hit on her, too. I was glad Bobby was lending us a bunch of his girls for the night. My brother needed to get laid, and more than once.
I told myself it was natural, and if I had just spent almost a quarter of my life in prison, I would want to get laid, too. I would want to drink until I couldn’t see straight and fuck until I didn’t have the strength to walk. I couldn’t hold any of what he did that night against him, maybe not even what he did for the next week or even more. He had a lot to adjust to. So I told myself to step back and let him have his fun.
As long as his fun didn’t involve fucking Violet. For some reason, just the thought of that made my blood boil.
“You okay?” Drake must’ve seen the look on my face. I didn’t even know what was going on in my head was showing.
“Yeah. Fine.” I grinned to prove my point. He only frowned, but he let it go.
“Come on!” Gunner shouted. “I want some music! Get that jukebox going!” So Tamara went over and turned it on, and in seconds the floor was vibrating from the heavy bass and drums of some nameless metal song. Gunner had always loved metal. Some things never changed.
Soon, the place started to fill up. Most of the Vipers showed up, along with girls from the three brothels we owned a piece of. I was pretty sure Gunner’s eyes would fall out of his head when he saw them—they were all gorgeous, classy, and all of them wanted a piece of him for the night. Bobby had trained them well. There were also a handful of our girls, the ones who usually came to party but didn’t hang around in-between times the way Violet and the others did. They were fun and sexy, and Gunner made a point of grabbing at them, too.
When the food was ready, I went in to grab some before everybody else tore it apart. Violet and Darcy were carrying out a tray of wings when I caught Violet’s eye.
She was all smiles. Women were so much tougher than men gave them credit for, I thought. Then again, if a woman was going to hang out with a biker club, she had to be pretty tough, and she had to know what she was getting herself into. We were all pretty respectful, but we were still men, and she was still a pretty girl. More than pretty. Especially when she dressed the way she was dressed just then—her tits never looked so good. And why she had spent so much time with that inky black hair when blonde looked so good on her, I had no clue.
Maybe I didn’t blame my brother for wanting to get close to her.
I shook the thought from my head and ate fast. I wanted to keep an eye on him, just to be sure he didn’t make a total jackass out of himself in front of our business partner. Drake wouldn’t be cool with that. I had tried to clue him in on the relationship we had with Bobby and his club, but Gunner didn’t want to hear about any of the technical stuff. He had only cared about having fun. I didn’t want his fun to ruin anything we had taken years to set up.
He walked into the dining room with a girl on each arm. “Jesus Christ, this looks fucking phenomenal,” he laughed. “I have been craving all this for years.”
Violet smiled from behind one of the tables. “That’s why your brother had us set this all up for you.”
“He did?” Gunner looked at me with a wide grin. “He knows what I like, I guess.” When he looked back at her, she blushed and looked down at the floor. My blood started simmering again. He already had two half-naked whores walking around with him and tons more by the bar. Why did he need to hit on her, too?
“I even ordered pizza from that shop we always used to go to. Remember?” I pointed it out to him, and he was distracted enough to move on. When I looked back at Violet, it was obvious that she was relieved. I hated him just then for making her so uncomfortable. She wasn’t like Bobby’s girls or even like the girls who partied with us. She was different. I felt like I had to protect her.
Bobby and Drake were talking over by the bar, and I went over to say hi. “Thanks for bringing out your all-stars tonight,” I grinned as we shook hands.
“Hey, a man’s coming home party is a big deal,” Bobby said with a smile. “Hopefully, this will be the only one we ever have to celebrate for him.”
“I’ll drink to that.” I grabbed a beer from the bar, where Tamara had lined them up. Nicole was helping her back there, and the two of them were weaving back and forth, trying to keep everybody happy at once.
“I’m sure this is a big night for you, too,” he continued. “Having your brother home and everything.”
“Oh, for sure. I’ve missed the hell outta him.”
He nodded. “I understand he made some friends while inside.”
Bobby was funny like that. He could go from being friendly and fun to serious, even a little menacing, in the blink of an eye. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “What do you mean?” I asked, and I tried to stay friendly and light even though my instincts told me to be on guard.
He was still smiling, but it was a little tighter than before. “Maybe you and I should have a meeting, just the two of us.”
Fuck me. What the hell did he do? “I’d be happy to. I hope everything’s okay.”
“I’m sure it will be, but I think it would be best if we discussed a few rumors that have reached my ears in the last few weeks. Nothing dramatic—if we take care of it in a timely fashion, that is.”
I glanced in Drake’s direction, but he was talking with Creed and a couple of the Vipers. “Does he know about this?” I asked, jerking my head that way.
“Oh, no. I thought it would be better to bring it to you. His brother. You see what I mean.”
I nodded and hoped he didn’t think it meant I owed him anything. I liked doing business with Bobby, but that didn’t mean I felt like being indebted to him. I knew he could turn on a dime and become a violent animal if he felt provoked. “Sure. I appreciate that, Bobby. More than I can say.”
“Don’t mention it.” He nodded, then moved away and left me standing there on my own. My brother had been out of prison for five hours, and already I wanted to kick his ass. It had to be a record.
I turned in the direction of the dining room and saw Violet standing there, laughing with Darcy over something, and I wanted to tell her about it. She always made me feel better when something was bothering me. She had a way about her like she always knew just what to say. It had been a long time since I knew anybody like that. Even Emily couldn’t do that for me because Emily never wanted to know much about the club. We had no future—I had figured that out early on but had stuck with her because I liked her so much. It was obvious before long that we wouldn’t work out.
I had even been able to tell her about that night, how Gunner had covered for me. I knew I could trust her with that when I couldn’t trust anybody else.
“Hey!” Drake waved me over, and I told myself to forget about it just then.
“Where are you right now?”
“Huh?” I tried to focus on the redhead in front of me. She was one of Bobby’s girls—tall, curvy, with a bright smile and pouty lips. The kind of lips a man couldn’t help but imagine wrapped around his cock. They kept catching my attention—them and the huge tits practically hanging out of the low-cut dress she was wearing.
She leaned in and brushed those tits against my arm. “I asked where you are right now. You seem like you’re a million miles away.”
“I’m here,” I said with a smile. I could hardly focus on her. Probably because I had been trying to drink away the worry I was feeling about Gunner and whatever Bobby wanted to talk to me about. He was such a fucking snake—the more I thought about it, the more pissed I got. He could’ve waited until Monday to give me a call and ask me to come in, but no. He had to ruin the party for me by saying something about it then. He pretended like he wanted me to have fun and enjoy having my brother back in the club, but he always had something going on under the surface. I remember
ed Creed’s story from maybe a couple of years earlier about how he accidentally saw Bobby beating the shit out of one of his girls—there had been other rumors since then, too. On the surface, he was Mr. Nice Guy. Sweet to the girls, over-generous with his business partners. But cross him, and he’d drag you out to the alley and beat you bloody.
I kept wondering if I should tell Drake and kept telling myself not to. If Bobby hadn’t said anything to him, he had to have his reasons. Maybe he really was trying to be a good guy and keep things off Drake’s radar unless he had to. He was cutting my brother some slack for whatever stupid bullshit thing he had done to get Bobby’s attention.
Redhead ran a hand up and down my arm. “I don’t feel like you’re really here. Not with me. Are you thinking about somebody else?” She pouted like she expected me to say I was. And yeah, I was, but not who she thought. I wondered what she would say if I told her I was thinking about her boss. How fast would that turn the tables?
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“I can help you with that,” she suggested. I had to read her lips since the music and voices drowned her out, but it wasn’t tough to figure out what she was talking about. Her hand left my arm and moved lower—pretty soon, I felt her hand circling my crotch. And damned if I didn’t respond. Only a dead man wouldn’t.
“I think you have the wrong brother,” I said, and I tried to laugh it off.
“No, I don’t. I know which one you are. You’re the one with the sexy eyes and all those tats up and down your arms. I keep wondering what you’ve got going on in other places.” She squeezed a little, and I jumped to life under her palm. I kept staring at her lips. They were so glossy, parted a little… She stretched up to brush them against mine…
Something caught my eye, and I turned my head away in time to miss her kiss. Violet was across the room, watching. She looked disgusted like she had just seen something nasty. A rat or something. But it was me she was looking at.
Redhead noticed where I was looking, too. “Oh. Is that your old lady? I didn’t know you were hooked up.” Her hand disappeared.
“She’s not,” I said.
“Well, you’d better tell her that.” She wiggled her fingers in a little wave as she walked away. I didn’t know if I was pissed off or glad. I caught Violet’s eye again, and she smirked. What the hell was wrong with her? She was never the kind of girl who would cock block a guy. Not until just then, anyway.
I pointed to the stairs, and she followed me there. I wanted to talk to her, but not down there. I wouldn’t be able to hear anything, and I didn’t want to scream at her over the noise. I looked around for Gunner as I pushed my way through the room, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
Violet was waiting for me when I got to the stairs. “You seen my brother?” I shouted.
She shook her head. “Not for a while. I think he’s still up there.” She pointed upstairs. “Last time I saw him, he was going up with two girls.”
Lucky him. My cock ached a little after the attention it was getting went away. “What’s with you tonight?”
She pointed to herself. “With me? What do you mean?”
“You’re just hanging around the edge of the room.”
She shrugged. “I’m tired. It took a lot of work to get this done today.”
I felt guilty for putting so much on her shoulders, but she told me she wanted to do it. That she was happy to. Maybe I took advantage of that, but she was always so helpful. “Do you have a minute? There’s something I need to run past you. It’s been bugging me all night.”
“Sure.” She started up the stairs, and I followed her. It only hit me when I reached the top that anybody who saw us would’ve thought we were going up to screw around.
We went to my room, and the difference between downstairs and up there was like night and day. I could still hear the pounding music through the floor—the few bottles on my dresser rattled a little—but I didn’t have to scream for her to hear me.
“What’s up?” She sat on the edge of the bed. It occurred to me how trusting she was. She believed with all her heart that I had something to talk to her about, that I wasn’t just luring her to my room so I could take advantage of her while everybody else was partying. Did she know how innocent she was for a girl who saw the things she saw?
I gave her the quick rundown of what Bobby said, and how he said it. “I don’t know what it means, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all night.”
She chewed her lip. “He sounded kind of menacing, huh?”
“Yeah. You know how he is. He uses the right words, but his tone of voice.”
“Chilling.”
“Right.”
“What do you think he could’ve done to get Bobby’s attention? He made friends, right? Maybe with the wrong people?”
“I thought the same thing. If he hasn’t taken it to Drake yet, I shouldn’t.”
“Right. And who knows? It might really be nothing. If it were a big deal, Bobby would’ve gone to Drake right away. He probably thinks it’s something you can handle, like a brother-to-brother thing. I’m sure you can handle it, too.”
Funny, but I felt better. I really did. She only said the same things I was already thinking, but hearing her say them made all the difference. I could feel the weight lifting off my shoulders. “Thanks. It was cool that you left the party just so I could tell you that.”
She waved a hand. “Please. Like I was partying.”
“You really weren’t, were you? Why not? Don’t you have fun at parties?”
“Sometimes. But I don’t know, I guess I’m not in the mood tonight.” She smirked. “You looked like you were having fun.”
“Yeah, past tense. Thanks for that.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Never mind. It’s not worth it.”
“No. Tell me. Please.”
I shook my head as I sat next to her. “The girl…she thought you were my old lady because of the way you were looking over.”
“Oh, shit.” She leaned forward with her head in her hands. “I’m sorry. That’s so stupid. I shouldn’t have been watching you.”
“Why were you?”
“I don’t know. I just happened to look over at that very second.” I was pretty sure she was lying. It wouldn’t be the first time I wondered if she had a crush on me—I usually told myself she was just a nice girl who liked to be helpful to the club members. But the way she was watching me with that girl told another story.
“It’s cool. The night is young.” She flinched a little when I said it, and I felt like a fucking ass. Sometimes it was better to shut the hell up.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Her voice was soft and a little shaky. She stood up and walked past me on her way to the door. I caught her by the wrist at the last second.
“Wait.” She stopped, then slowly turned to me. I looked up at her. She was gorgeous, with all that long hair and that tight little body. I liked her a lot. And she was there, in my room, next to my bed.
Her eyes were wide. “What is it? What do you want?”
“Come here.” I pulled her to me. After a split second, she moved closer.
5
Violet
It wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. No way. I was dreaming it. I had fallen asleep downstairs, at the party, and I was dreaming that I was in Diesel’s room and he was pulling me to him, between his legs. It was all a dream, the way he was looking at me, his hand around my wrist.
“Okay. I’m here.” I was standing in front of him, between his thighs. “What now?”
“What did you think about my brother touching you the way he did earlier?”
Oh. That’s what he wanted to talk about? My heart sank. “I thought it was…what it was.”
He snickered. “Don’t bullshit me. What did you really think about it?”
Those dark eyes of his burned up at me through the darkness. I could’ve drowned in them a million times over all the conversat
ions we’d had in the past. All the times he’d smiled, and those eyes had sparkled. Or when he was in a bad mood, and they looked darker than ever. When he was furious, and they burned with deep, almost scary intensity. At that moment, in his room, they had a look I had never seen before. One I had only fantasized about.
“You really want to know?” He nodded. “I thought he was disgusting, but I figured I should give him a break. He’s been away for a long time.”
He smiled. “You’re a sweet girl. You’ve always been a sweet girl.”
Oh, frigging fantastic. Next thing I knew, he’d be telling me I was just like a sister to him. “I try,” I chuckled.
“Why are you so sweet to me? I’m not a nice guy.” He let go of my wrist, but caught my fingers between his and laced them together. My heart took off at a gallop.
“Who says?”
“For starters, the NYPD.”
I laughed. “What do they know? I know you.”
“You do, huh?” I didn’t think he could pull me any closer, but he did. My body was mere inches from his. I felt the warmth of him and just about melted.
“Yes. I do.” I took a chance and reached out with my free hand to touch his hair. I had wanted to touch his hair, so thick and lush, for ages. It brushed his collar in back, and in front, it sort of flopped over his forehead. I brushed it back gently. Carefully. Instead of jerking his head away, like I was terrified he would do, he closed his eyes.
“That’s nice,” he whispered. The breath caught in my throat. I was sure my heart would explode at any second. I would die right there, but at least I would be touching him, and he would be enjoying it.
“I know you,” I murmured as I stroked his hair. “I know you’re a good man. A strong man. You deserve to have somebody who’s sweet to you. You need somebody to look out for you, too. Everybody does.”
