He didn’t say anything.
“Or I’m done with you,” she continued softly.
His body went solid behind her and his arm tightened around her waist.
“Just want to make sure I’m clear about that,” she added. She turned in his arms until she faced him, both of them laying on their sides.
His eyes appeared dark as he studied her face. “Ain’t sharin’ you, princess,” he grumbled.
“Nobody says you have to.” She arched a brow before asking, “Should I tell you the same thing?”
He traced a finger down her cheek and when it got near her mouth she snapped at it playfully. He was brave enough to brush his thumb over her bottom lip and she snagged it with her teeth and tugged on it gently.
“Like to use those teeth of yours,” he murmured. She released his thumb when he asked, “You do any of the brothers?”
She frowned at the sudden switch in topics. “What do you mean?”
“Know what I mean, princess.”
Her brows furrowed. “Does it matter?” She raised a wait-a-minute finger. “Hold up. Should it matter?” She felt her blood pressure rise to borderline bitch mode.
“Got a right to know.”
She stared at him incredulously then shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, babe.”
She pushed herself to seat and stared down at him. “No. You don’t.”
“That answer’s pretty tellin’.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah, babe, it is. Instead of simply denyin’ it, you’re fightin’ it. Makes me think you have.”
She struggled to keep from lashing out at him and his double standards. “Did you fuck Lola?”
A look crossed Slade’s face. He couldn’t deny it. The sweet butt herself made it well known that she’d had sex with Slade. And not just once, either. She also knew that Diamond had an interest in Slade, so the woman bragged about it loudly whenever she could. It took everything Di had not to throat-punch the skank.
Sweet butts aka patch whores were one of the reasons Di hated attending the club parties. All a brother had to do was look their direction and they spread their legs and crooked their finger at them.
No matter what Slade thought, Di had never slept with any of the club brothers. No way. She was either related to them or they felt like brothers to her even if they weren’t actually related by blood. Even as hot and tempting as Crow could be, there would be no way she’d sleep with him, even if he wanted to. He was like a sibling and just the thought skeeved her out.
But Slade being new, and more importantly, since she didn’t grow up with him, made him different.
Like her sister Jewel, Di was born to be an ol’ lady. It was in her blood and in her soul. Hell, her mother was a DAMC ol’ lady, her father a life-long Angel, and her granddaddy a founding member.
To her, nothing would be more freeing than to be on the back of a sled with the wind in her hair and the open road in front of her and her man.
Her man.
However, until Slade came along, she held no hope of finding an old man of her very own. She had almost given up. Then Slade walked into The Iron Horse one night and everything changed.
But the thought of him fucking Lola, or one of Dawg’s girls or any of the patch whores, made her stomach churn. Yes, that was life in the club and it was nothing she wasn’t used to, but then the rest of the brothers weren’t Slade. She didn’t want any of them in her bed.
Now that Slade was in her bed, she had to stop thinking about who all came before her in his. Even after she sat on the back of his sled on some of the club runs last summer, he’d found relief elsewhere.
And that shit hurt.
He had pushed her away because he thought she was too difficult to deal with.
Di admitted she had her moments. She was as hard-headed as any of the club brothers. But still...
“Here’s the deal,” she finally said when he never answered her question about Lola. “Crow was right.” She felt his body go solid again at the mention of the ink slinger’s name, but she pushed on. “I can admit that when I’m getting laid, my bitchiness tends to retreat. So you’d probably become the club hero if you’re giving it to me on the regular.”
He opened his mouth, but she raised her hand up to stop him.
“You want to be in my bed, then you’re in my bed. Not Lola’s, not some other patch whore’s. Not one of the stripper’s.” She leaned in closer to him to make sure he knew just how serious she was. “I’m not sharing, either. Got me?”
Something she didn’t recognize moved across his face, but it quickly disappeared.
But she wasn’t done yet. “I catch you at Heaven’s Angels, you’re no longer welcome in my bed. I catch you touching or sucking face or... whatever... with any of those skanks, I’m done. You wanted rules? You got them.”
“Woman...” he grunted, and she couldn’t tell if he was amused at her little speech or pissed. Maybe more like stunned.
“Might not be the only rules, either. I’ll have to think more on that.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Not lookin’ for an ol’ lady.”
“Okay.”
His eyes widened for a split second then narrowed as if he didn’t believe she’d accept that.
She would.
One reason why was loyalty was important to Di. And she wasn’t ready to explore being Slade’s ol’ lady anyway until she knew for certain that he could keep his dick out of other women.
Over the years, she’d seen some ol’ ladies come and go because their men couldn’t keep their dicks in their pants. She didn’t want that heartbreak. She wanted something solid, like Sophie, Kiki, Jewel and Ivy. Hell, she wanted “forever” like Janice and Mama Bear.
Her mother was emotionally destroyed when her father, Rocky, was sentenced to life in prison for murder.
Whatever man Di decided to settle down with, she wanted it to stick. Crow mentioned Slade might be searching for something, that he may be a rolling stone. She didn’t need to invest her emotions and tie up her heart with someone who may, one day, decide to move on.
Because if he did, she would not go with him. She would not leave the club or her family. Her roots were deeply planted in Shadow Valley, in this club, and no one, not even a man she might end up loving, could uproot her. No fucking way.
She wanted to see the fourth generation DAMC grow up and carry on the same traditions she was brought up with. She wanted to help raise every child that was born amongst the sisterhood. They were a tight knit group of women that she would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
And she would never, ever give that up.
So, yeah, she wasn’t ready to be Slade’s ol’ lady since he had no roots in this club, nothing to keep him from moving on.
Not only that, she realized she knew nothing about his past or his family. And she wondered if anyone else did. She couldn’t imagine Diesel would allow anyone with such a mysterious background to patch in, but she couldn’t be certain. She never asked him, but maybe she should.
“Princess, ain’t lookin’ for an ol’ lady,” he repeated again.
She looked him straight in the eye and said again, “Okay.”
“Just like that,” he muttered.
“Yeah, Slade, just like that. I’m not looking to tie anyone down who doesn’t want to be.” She held his gaze when she asked, “Are you just passing through?”
His brows shot up. “Whataya mean?”
“Are you just here for a little while? And once you get restless you’ll move on?”
His eyes slid to the side and he sucked in a breath before his gaze returned to her. “No need to patch in an’ get the club colors on my back if I’m plannin’ on leavin’.”
And that was the kicker. What he said was true. Who in their right mind would go through days of having Crow tattoo the club’s rockers and insignia into their skin if it was only temporary?
No one.
She brushed her fingers over his dog tags. “Won’t talk about your service, but what about your family?”
He rolled onto his back and tucked his arms under his head as he stared at the ceiling. “Not much to talk about.”
She curled against his side and traced the outline of some of his many tattoos. “Brothers? Sisters?”
“Nope.”
“Got to have a mom and a dad,” she prompted.
“Single mom. My uncle, her only sibling, had been in an MC. The one I patched into.”
“The one you left.”
“Yeah.”
“They were doing shit you didn’t like.”
“Right. Left before I got caught up an’ landed behind bars. Wasn’t in the mood to do time in a concrete box after doin’ my time in the Marines.”
She nodded and studied his profile. “What were they doing?”
“Shit.”
“What kind of shit?”
He turned his head to look at her. “Shit. Just shit, princess. Not worth talkin’ ‘bout.”
“What about your dad?”
“Don’t know ‘im. Never met ‘im.”
“Your mom never talked about him?”
Slade made a noise and rolled over until he was over top of her, staring down into her face. “Babe, this an inquisition?”
“No. Just trying to get to know you better,” she murmured, starting at his lips just inches from hers. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip.
“Not much to know.”
She doubted that was true. She just might have to have a little discussion with Diesel.
“My turn... It bug you your pop’s doin’ time?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course. He’s doing life. I don’t remember a time he wasn’t in prison.”
“How old were you when he went in?”
“I was a baby. Maybe a year old. Jewel was born right after he went in.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Yeah. My mom might as well have been a single mom like yours.”
“Visit ‘im?”
“I really don’t know him well. Sometimes he writes letters. Sometimes he calls. On a rare occasion I visit. Says he still loves my mom and I believe him. Ripped my mom to pieces to see him get sentenced to life. Three young kids and no man to help.”
“Ace stepped in.”
“Yeah, Ace and Janice stepped in. Grizz and Mama Bear, too, since my grandfather was killed by a Warrior. Grizzly has always been like a grandfather to us all since Bear was murdered. And Doc was thrown in prison just about the same time as my father.”
“Gotta be hard.”
“That’s why we all stick together.”
He nodded, then he said something that didn’t need said. “Warriors have been fuckin’ with you all for a long time.”
“Yeah,” she breathed.
“Gotta suck. Gotta hate ‘em all, yeah?”
“No reason not to hate them. They’ve killed, raped, kidnapped some of us. Stole from us. Whatever they can do to fuck with us, they do it.”
“Long-standin’ war.”
“For years DAMC tried to take the high road. That didn’t do us any good.”
Slade stared down at the women beneath him. “Right,” he murmured. “Think you’re safe out here? Out in the country?”
All these months he’d been a part of DAMC and he’d never been out to Ace’s farm once. Until this morning. From the hospital, Diamond had unexpectedly directed him out of town. When they had pulled down a long lane and past a farmhouse, she mentioned that was where Ace and Janice lived along with Ace’s ancient, crotchety mother, Lonnie.
She continued to direct him past the house and once they traveled farther down the lane he started to see large cabins. She explained that Ace’s sisters, Annie and Allie, each lived in one of their own and helped Janice take care of Lonnie. Kelsea still lived at home with her mom, Annie.
She also mentioned that some of them were rented out long-term since Ace got a good amount of rent for them since they were all two-bedroom places. However, her rent was dirt cheap which was why she could afford the newer, expensive sports car she drove. Her cabin was the farthest from the farmhouse and sort of isolated.
And Slade did not like that at all. She shouldn’t be living out there by herself with all the shit that had been going down lately with the Warriors. She could be kidnapped, raped—hell, even killed—and no one would hear her scream for help.
“It’s safe out here.”
He frowned. “Too far away from anybody.”
“I have a phone.”
“Gotta weapon?”
“Like a gun?” she asked, surprised.
“Yeah, a fuckin’ gun to protect yourself with.”
Her eyes softened as she stared up at him. “Are you worried about me?”
Fuck. Was he?
“Should move to town,” he said.
She snorted softly. “I’m not moving to town. I’ve got it good here. Got my own place, family nearby, and loads of privacy.”
Even though that was all true, Slade didn’t like that she was out there by herself. Especially since most of the family around were only women. Ace always seemed to be at the pawn shop that he ran. From what he heard, it was to avoid that cranky old woman that Diamond mentioned.
“Anyway, I don’t need a gun.” She yanked on the dog tags that hung from his neck and pointed at the USMC logo tattooed onto his bicep. “Have a Marine in my bed, remember?”
Did she think he would land in her rack every night?
“Princess, I work ‘til early mornin’ at The Iron Horse. Sometimes it takes all I got just to drag myself up the stairs to my room. Ain’t gonna drive all the way out to the middle of bumfuck every night to warm your sheets when you’ll already be asleep an’ gotta get up early for work.”
“Not that early.”
“Early enough. An’ anyway, just said I don’t want an ol’ lady. Me bein’ in your bed every night’s just like havin’ one. Ain’t happenin’.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
His eyes narrowed on her. Every time she became agreeable, he wondered what was going through her head, how she was scheming. Diamond was not the easiest woman to deal with. Not even close. So her being so agreeable made him suspicious.
He dropped his head and murmured against her lips, “Will come out the nights I ain’t workin’ too late.”
When she opened her mouth to answer, he dipped his tongue inside and explored every inch of it. The groan he got from kissing her thoroughly was felt all the way down into his dick.
Even though he’d been exhausted from being up all night waiting for Z’s kid to be born, then up all morning fucking Diamond, he suddenly found his second wind.
Oorah.
Chapter Eight
Diamond couldn’t believe she was at one of the pig roasts when she normally couldn’t stand to be at them. Though, this one was different. Sort of. She was here only to celebrate the birth of Zeke. And she couldn’t wait to hold the new bundle of joy.
However, the new parents were inside church and surrounded by a crowd. She’d approach Sophie later when things died down.
She sat close to the bonfire since there was still a chill in the night air. A bottle of Iron City beer hung from her fingers as she tracked Lola walking across the courtyard toward the stage and Nash’s band. Dirty Deeds had been jamming out all night doing classic rock and roll.
The music was being piped into The Iron Horse so the customers over there could enjoy it live. The band usually drew a good crowd for the roadhouse even when the patrons couldn’t physically see the band, because they were just that good.
A big crowd meant a busy bar and loads of money in Hawk’s pocket, as well as, the club’s coffers. It also meant that extra hands were needed on deck over there to serve drinks, kick out underage patrons, and bounce drunk assholes.
Because of that, Di hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Slade. He was tending bar and bouncing belligere
nt drunks when necessary, while Hawk partied on the private side and kept a close eye on his future wife.
Yes, future wife.
It hadn’t been officially announced, but Kiki had showed up tonight with a freaking blinding boulder on her left ring finger. She didn’t have to say a word since it was immediately spotted from a mile away. She said she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it since the attention should be on Z’s baby.
So, besides the excitement of Zeke’s arrival, there was Hawk’s engagement to celebrate. If it wasn’t celebrated tonight, it would just be one more excuse for another pig roast. Because apparently no one in this club knew how to do anything else to celebrate but run a rod through a pig’s ass, drink and fuck. And even sometimes the fucking wasn’t done in private. Di never ate at the picnic tables under the pavilion for a reason. A pretty good one at that.
At least Kelsea had come up with the male stripper idea for Di’s birthday. Thank fuck.
While Dirty Deeds was worth listening to, the parties at church were as boring as shit. She’d heard Nash’s band play one million and one times and was pretty much at her limit with hearing covers done of AC/DC, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top, and the like. Not that she had anything against those bands, she didn’t. But after a while, it got old.
She bit back a yawn, then tipped her bottle to her lips and let the cold beer slide down her throat.
She eyeballed Lola talking closely to one of the newer prospects, Jester, and she wondered why the newest recruit wasn’t working The Iron Horse instead of Slade.
She might have to have a word with Hawk about that.
She also needed to talk to Diesel about digging into Slade’s background if he hadn’t done so already. If D gave her any shit, she would go to Axel and express her concerns. Bella’s man might help her out and do a little background check.
She’d hoped Slade would spill more about himself after a couple more nights in her bed, but he hadn’t. He hardly talked about himself at all, which made her even more curious.
Her sister came from behind her and settled into the empty chair to her right. Jewel’s hands were empty, and she shoved them into the pockets of her leather jacket.
Down & Dirty: Books 4-6: Dirty Angels MC Box Set 2 Page 50
