by Debra Kayn
"Do we really need to stay down here?" he asked on an exhale.
She nodded. "Yeah, we—"
The girls surrounded her, reaching out to hug her. Swept away from Ink, she could only stand and return each squeeze and smile. Peppered with questions, she shook her head and laughed. What they didn't know would continue to be her and Ink's secret.
Ink extended his arm out to her. She clasped his hand and let him drag her back to his side. She caught her mom's gaze and puckered her lips, sending her a kiss. In return, she received her mother's approval and love.
"Hell, I didn't see this coming," Sawyer said.
Germ smacked Sawyer on the back of the head. "Maybe because you're always at the house with Risa, but everyone saw this happening."
"Shut up." Lilly gawked at Germ. "That's not true."
Remmy stood with Natalie in front of him, arms wrapped around his woman's waist. "I caught Ink with his hands under your shirt at the coffee shack when you were sixteen. Granted, his hands were on your back, so I didn't say anything."
She whipped her gaze to Ink. "I-I thought I had a bug in my shirt."
"You didn't have a bug on you when I caught Ink swatting your ass when you stole his gloves out of the pouch on his Harley back in Pitnam," Stripper said.
She pointed her finger at him. "Okay, I did do that and he punished me."
"Yeah, you looked like you were broke up and hurting...or moaning." Stripper shrugged. "Wasn't any of my business."
She covered her cheeks. "For your information, I was eighteen...I should never have taken them without asking permission."
Rain's loud exhale drew everyone's attention. Lilly gazed at her dad and wrinkled her nose. Going by his lowered brows and tight mouth, he appeared to be the only one who remained clueless about what was going on.
"What about when Lilly showed up in Federal and Ink fought Kurt?" Big Dawg sat down in a chair. "I bet it was going on then."
Kurt shook his head. "Ink stayed away."
Oh, my God. They were all crazy. She glanced at her dad. Rain stared right through Ink. If the others didn't stop, her dad was going to start another fight.
The Silver Girls stood together, glancing at each other and ignoring everyone else. Lilly sighed and leaned against Ink. Everyone was trying too hard to put the pieces together.
Lee's laughter grew louder than the low mumblings. "Well, at least we found out who Ink's hickey licker is."
Kurt backhanded Lee in the chest. Remmy punched Beckett. Stripper gave a whoop and tackled Big Dawg, pushing him into the pool table. Crain moved away from behind the girls, and tapped Germ on the shoulder. The moment the big guy turned around, Crain's right punch sent him careening over a chair.
Risa, Natalie, her mom, Shari moved into the far corner of the room and sent their own supportive gazes Lilly's way. She rolled her eyes. One second the Bantorus members teased her, and the next they all protected her by distracting Rain from killing Ink.
"It's not helping," Ink muttered.
Rain continued to stand, staring a hole in Ink. Lilly, amused by her family, had to settle things down before someone got hurt at her expense.
"Dad?" she yelled over the grunts and groans. "I love you."
Rain's upper body hitched in what she imagined was a loud grunt. He broke his gaze and shouted, "Someone get me a beer. No, get me the whiskey, and stop the God damn fighting. It's too damn early to deal with this shit. My daughter deserves a party. Someone ride into town and buy a cake or some shit."
Her mom walked over and kissed her dad. The Silver Girls rushed over to get everyone a drink. The bikers took their cue and slowly rose to their feet and dropped their hands to their sides.
She turned around and gazed up at Ink. "Dad's handling it well, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I'm still standing." He inhaled deeply. "I'm not sure I'll push him by being alone with him quite yet, but as long as the others are here, I'm good."
"Stop." She kissed his chin. "There's nothing he can do now."
Jojo approached them, handing Lilly a huckleberry ale and Ink a beer. "Congratulations, you two. I'm so happy for you both."
Lilly gave her a hug. "That means a lot, Jo."
"From me, too." Ink leaned over and received the offered hug.
"Well..." Jojo reached out and rubbed both of their arms. "I think I'll go find Sawyer and hang out with him since everyone is here."
Lilly watched Jojo walk away and thought of how changes were hard for everyone. She'd narrowed the pool of single Bantorus men available to the bitches, and despite being friends with Jojo; she was content to know that Ink would no longer have use for the girls.
"Hey," Ink said. "Let's go back upstairs and let these guys party without us."
"Okay."
Halfway up the stairs, Lilly stopped and started laughing. She leaned against the wall and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Ink sat down on the step and pulled her onto his lap. She couldn't stop the amusement from coming out. All those years, thinking they were alone, sharing something wonderful, and almost everyone suspected what was going on.
There were rules that were broken, moments when Lilly hated the fact that she had a motorcycle club for a family, and the overprotective bikers who tried to keep her on the straight and narrow.
"Your family loves you." Ink brushed the hair out of her face. "Each one of them would die before they let something happen to you."
She nodded and inhaled a deep breath. "That's not why I'm laughing."
"Tell me," he said.
She sat straighter, hooked her finger in the neck of his T-shirt, and pulled the material down. Her mark, tattooed on his chest, blatantly clear to her, but nobody else.
"They call me hickey licker?" she grinned, unable to stop herself.
Ink kissed her hard and pulled back. "You have no idea how many times they riled me over every single mark you left on my neck or how many fights I had to start to make sure they forgot about wondering which girl was giving them to me."
"Yeah?" She looped her arms around his neck.
He nodded. "Only you, Ace."
"Take me upstairs," she whispered.
He stood with her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. She kicked her foot out and shut the door. She hit the bed laughing, until Ink's mouth took the amusement right out of her. Before the day was over, she'd live up to her nickname. Her man was going to wear her mark all over his body.
Chapter Twenty Two
The Silver Girls sat down at the tables in the Sterling Building and the Moroad girls strolled over and took their position on the floor. Lilly walked from the corner of the room to the other side where the Bantorus members usually sat during the work night. From this angle, the lighting sucked and if she stood in the opposite corner, it wasn't any better.
"I'm going to order more lights." Lilly motioned for the girls to move to the left. "Everything looks good when there are only four dancers on the floor, but any more than that, and we have dancers in the dark. I'd like to have all eight of you dancing at least once a night, because nothing gets the guys more riled than to see all of you together."
Katie tossed her black dyed hair behind her shoulder and ignored her. Lilly caught the attitude and walked over to the woman who was almost twenty-five years old and claimed to love a man in prison. For some reason, Katie walked into the building this afternoon acting as if she was doing everyone a favor by being here.
Lowering her voice, so the others wouldn't hear, Lilly said, "Is there a problem?"
Katie raised her brows and crossed her thin arms. "No."
"I can't help but see your heart isn't into dancing today. Do you need the day off?" she asked.
If Katie took her up on the offer, Lilly planned to tell her to stay home next weekend. The girls needed to learn to work together, and she only wanted dancers who were going to put their heart and soul into their job.
Katie's gaze flashed to the other girls and came back to Lilly. "Sorry
. I have a lot on my mind. I'll pay attention."
Lilly took Katie's elbow and walked her to the side of the room away from everyone. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Katie shook her head. "My man received a mark on his record for behavior. He got in a fight with someone during his work shift when he's escorted offsite to pick up litter along the highway. That means he'll have six months added on to his time. I can't afford to pay the rent on my own much longer and I really need this job. I'm sorry for my bitchy attitude. I'm just in a bad mood. It won't happen again."
"Your man's club won't support you?" Lilly couldn't imagine a MC not taking care of their own.
Katie fingered the edge of her low scooped shirt. "They want to, but I can't ask them for money. The members that are working in the mine are trying to carry everyone's debts. The other bikers can't get a job with their records. Right now, I have to support myself, and Cam is happy we're earning our keep by dancing for Silver Girls. Please don't think I'm ungrateful for the job."
"I understand." Lilly squeezed Katie's arm in support. "Do you have a lease?"
Katie shook her head. "No. Troy and I paid every month. It's not much of a house, but the rent is high because I'm the only one working."
"Can you afford five hundred dollars a month for rent?"
Katie nodded. "Yeah, but I'm paying nine hundred dollars, and that doesn't count food and electricity."
"That's not why I'm asking." Lilly held up her hand, motioning at the Silver Girls. "Shari? Can you run the girls through the opening routine again, and keep them on that side of the room with the lights. We're going to split the opening into two different dances."
Shari jumped up from her chair. "Sure thing, girlfriend."
"I'll go dance," Katie said backing away.
"Wait." Lilly motioned her forward. "If you can afford five hundred dollars and your club gives their okay, you can rent one of the rooms upstairs. I'm going to be taking other tenants soon, so you won't be alone in the building during non-work hours. The price is right. Once we go to working five nights a week, you'll be earning more, and you can decide if you want to continue living here or go back to renting a house. Because you work for me, I won't make you sign a yearly lease."
"Is this really happening?" Katie's eyes rounded. "I don't have to ask the club, I'll take it. When can I move in?"
"How about Friday morning? I'll have to go through the rules with you and get a key made for the second floor exit. I'll be locking the downstairs up when I'm not here. And, I have to tell you, the upstairs rooms are top notch." Lilly glanced at the others. "I just don't want you to get in trouble with Moroad MC. If you need more time to bring my offer up to the club, I'm sure the rooms won't rent out immediately and you can have time to think about it."
"I don't have to ask for the club's permission. We all have our own houses and the bikers..." Katie waved her hand. "Honestly, it's fine. Thank you so much."
"All right." Lilly grinned. "One tenant down and four more to go."
"Hey." Katie's face lit up. "If you're serious about finding more renters, I can ask some of the women who are seeing Moroad riders who aren't working here and see if they can swing enough for rent."
"They'd have to fill out an application and I'd need to do a credit check." Lilly smile tightened, not sure how Ink would feel about Moroad women staying in a building tied to Bantorus MC. She might be the owner, but she belonged to Ink, and lived by club rules. "You pass, because you're working for me. But the others, I'd have to go through the basics to screen each one."
Katie's lips pursed and then she nodded. "I'll still talk to them for you. I'm not sure they'd all pass. You know, it's hard for them on the outside."
"I get it." Lilly smiled, not understanding at all. Any of the Bantorus members could pass the steps required to rent a room. She motioned for Katie to join the others. "Go ahead and finish practicing with the others. We'll talk later."
Lilly motioned for the Silver Girls to help the others with the routine. They'd all have to learn to work together, and now that she had Katie in a better mood, they could nail their dance for Friday.
With buying new lights on her mind, she walked down the hall to the storage closet. She rummaged through the shelves looking for a tape measure. Once she purchased lights, it'd open the whole room up and spread out the customers, so they could enjoy having more girls to watch and more elbowroom. If the Silver Girls drew too big of a crowd, she could always do double shows on the weekend without compromising their days off.
"Hey, I got it." Ink reached over her head and brought down a box she was trying to reach and failing. "Is this the one you need?"
"I don't know. I'm looking for a tape measure." She opened the flap and shook her head. "This has extra curtain hooks."
Ink reached around her and grabbed the tape measure on the top shelf. "Here's one."
"Good. When the girls are done for the day, I want to measure a few areas in the room for lights."
"I'll help you." He looped his finger into the waist of her shorts and pulled her against him. "After I get a kiss."
She stood on her toes and kissed him. Her stomach fluttered and she bit his lip. "I love that we can be open now."
"Yeah." He ran his tongue over his bottom lips. "Still want the taste of you every second."
"Good." She laughed. "But you're going to have to wait until I'm done here."
"Right." He stepped away, inhaling deeply.
"What?" She narrowed her eyes. "Don't pull a Remmy or Lee and make me quit after gifting me the building. I'll fight you so hard; you won't know what hit you."
He rubbed his ribs and grinned. "Do you fight like your dad?"
"Better." She leaned closer and whispered, "I always win."
He chuckled. "I bet you do."
She walked out of the closet and down the hall, remembering she hadn't told Ink about the changes, and slowed down letting him catch up with her. "Guess what?"
He grunted in answer.
"I rented one of the rooms upstairs today." She stopped at the edge of the main room. "Katie needs a new place to live, and she can afford the rent."
His brows lowered. "Katie from the Moroad MC?"
"Yep." She slid her arm around his back and squeezed his ass. "It'll work perfect."
"Not happening, Ace," he said. "I know you can do what you want, but find someone else to rent the rooms. Employing their women was a favor from Bantorus, nothing more."
"She's struggling to survive." Lilly leaned into him. "Her man's in prison."
Ink held her gaze. "Every Moroad member has been in prison. That doesn't mean shit."
"Whoa." She glanced at the girls. "Are you kidding me? Even Cam?"
He growled. "Yes."
"What was Kurt thinking?" She shook her head in disbelief.
Bantorus MC stayed out of trouble. They protected their territory, created an environment that was safe for the riders, the women, and the children. While her dad always gave everyone a chance, he never willingly mixed with any motorcycle club that would put them on guard.
"Stay out of club business, Ace," Ink said. "Kurt has a reason, and all you need to do is your job."
She nodded. It wasn't the first time or the last time someone would tell her to butt out of what the club decided. She relaxed, because her new old lady status gave her certain privileges. She was no longer only the president's daughter. If she had to stand up and do what was right, she would.
The music stopped, and the girls clapped and cheered. Lilly pushed her other questions about the Moroad MC out of her mind and whooped in approval over the dance. No one would suspect that the girls only practiced that specific routine one day. They worked as a team, and all of them meshed perfectly when they put their minds to it.
Lilly walked across the room and joined the girls. "That was totally kick ass. You pull that off Friday, and you'll have miners throwing their money down."
"I can't wait." Lola grabbed her sweatshirt
, pulled it over her bikini top, and refastened the mop of blonde hair on her head with a barrette. "I'll make sure I practice in my free time. I want to be able to do the pole the way Alana does it so smoothly."
Alana grinned. "You should come to Natalie's self-defense classes at the community center every Monday and Wednesday. Afterward, I can show you some floor exercises that will strengthen your body for the pole."
"Awesome. I'd love to." Lola turned to the other Moroad girls. "Does everyone want to go and put some extra time into practicing?"
"Sure. I've got time now." Katie nodded, backing out of the room.
Lilly left the girls to chat and get ready to leave. She looked for Ink, but he wasn't in the room. A quick glance around and she went looking for him. He'd taken the tape measure with him, and she needed to buy lights before Friday night.
Outside the backdoor, she found Ink talking to Kurt and four Moroad members who'd come to pick up the girls. She approached Ink and noticed the square bulge in his back pocket. Not wanting to interrupt, she smiled at Ink and slipped her hand into his pocket and retrieved the tape measure.
"It's hard times, but we'll manage," Cam said
Lilly stood outside the circle, holding the tape measure, and curious about what they were talking about. She glanced at Ink and Kurt, but they were watching the Moroad members.
Katie spoke softly with Cam. The president's jaw tightened. "I said, we'll take care of you," Cam said.
"I know, but if I could move into the Sterling Building, it'll help the others. Lilly even said I could see if Theresa and Dana wanted to rent from her," Katie said.
Kurt and Ink both turned toward her. She met their gaze and shrugged. They'd both learn soon enough that she could handle any argument that came her way and she had her reasons for asking Katie to rent from her.
"We'll talk about this back at my house." Cam nodded to the others and walked over to his motorcycle.
Kurt stepped in front of Lilly, blocking her view. "Don't tell me you offered the rooms to the Moroad members."
"Only the girls. I'll turn the men down if they apply." She glanced between Kurt and Ink, and took in their solid stance. "Oh, come on. The women will be good tenants. Katie works for me. She's not going to mess anything up, and she knows she's on Bantorus property."
