I broke off, my eyes prickling, and tried to pull away again, not wanting Smoke to see how much Justin’s words had slipped beneath my skin. How much they’d made me doubt myself.
But Smoke didn’t let me go. ‘There’s no better place for Annie than with you,’ he said with quiet emphasis. ‘She doesn’t need a fucking pool. All she needs is love, and you do that better than anyone.’
My heart swelled up tight in my chest. ‘Sometimes I can’t help thinking that maybe she’d be better off with him. He has money and—’
‘Quiet,’ Smoke interrupted, with so much authority I fell silent. ‘That prick’s got nothing Annie needs. If he was any kind of decent father, he would be in her life, but he’s not. And if he was any kind of decent man, he wouldn’t have fucking touched you in the first place. But he did. Which makes him and his opinions worth shit.’
I opened my mouth to tell him how much I’d needed to hear that that, but he put his thumb across my lips and pressed down lightly, silencing me.
‘Don’t worry, kitten,’ he went on softly. ‘You don’t need to worry—especially not about money. I’m here now, and I’ll deal with it.’
I had issues with that, but for some reason my brain wouldn’t work. I couldn’t repress the helpless shiver that chased over my skin at his touch either.
A black flame leapt in his eyes, hot and dark, and for a second I had the mad urge to open my mouth and suck on his thumb. Bite it.
Maybe he saw that, too, because I swore I caught the flicker of a feral kind of smile on his beautiful mouth.
‘Black pencil skirt. Green blouse. Black stilettos. Stockings.’ His hand fell away, releasing me. ‘Now, go get ready. The sitter will be here any minute.’
CHAPTER TEN
Smoke
THE PARTY WAS already underway by the time Cat and I got to the clubhouse. We were hosting The Demon’s Share brothers—a smaller club from down south who were allies—and us Knights always liked to put on a good show.
The rides were parked outside—a massive line of them, chrome gleaming under the streetlights—and the prospects assigned to guard them were hanging out by the doorway, smoking and drinking and flirting with a bunch of girls who were trying to get in.
I helped Cat off my bike, unable to keep my eyes off her as she smoothed down the skirt that had got rucked up on the ride over.
She’d put on exactly what I told her to and she looked so fucking hot—exactly as I’d pictured her. The pencil skirt hugged her ass like a greedy pair of hands, and the soft green blouse was transparent enough to see the lacy black bra she wore underneath it. Plus, it was nearly the same colour as her eyes.
The effect was like a classy, sexy secretary. She’d even done her hair in a loose bun that I wanted to pull the pins out of and run my fingers through.
All she was missing was my property patch on her back.
Well, I’d fix that once we were inside. My plan was to take her in, claim her in front of all the brothers so no one could be in any doubt, and when she came out again, she’d be my old lady.
My property.
A deep satisfaction sat in my gut, along with a desire so strong it was like a kick to the head.
Tonight I’d make her mine.
Finished with smoothing herself, she flicked a nervous glance at the doorway. Nervous was okay, though. Nervous was better than the weariness I’d seen in her face earlier, when she was standing by her bed looking at her clothes. Better than the terrible doubt when she’d told me what that asshole Justin had said to her.
He was a bastard for hooking into her doubts and using them against her, and I wanted to kill the guy with my bare hands. Hell, when he came for Annie with that custody order, maybe I’d even get the chance.
‘It’ll be okay,’ I said to reassure her. ‘It’s not like your dad’s club, remember?’
The Knights looked after their own way better than her old man’s club had. And even if they didn’t, I sure as hell did.
‘Thanks, Dane,’ she said tartly, pissed off that I’d picked up on her nervousness. ‘I’ll take that under advisement.’
I almost grinned. ‘You want to be careful, Cat. I might call you kitten in there, and then you’ll be stuck with it for life. The brothers like a nickname.’
She rolled her eyes, but her mouth curved, and for a second, we were almost friends again. Then I remembered the way that mouth had tasted, and all the things I wanted to make it do, and I knew that it couldn’t happen.
Because I didn’t want friendship—not from her.
Friendship wasn’t enough any more.
Reaching out, I grabbed her hand, lacing her fingers through mine. ‘Ready?’
‘As I’ll ever be, I guess.’
We walked up to the entrance, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of the girls still trying to get in. The prospects gave me a chin jerk as we approached, stepping aside. As we went past them I could see them give Cat appreciative glances, no doubt noting the fact that she didn’t have a property patch on her back.
I gave the little fucks my enforcer stare and they quickly looked away.
Damn straight.
There were a lot of people milling around—Knights and more than a few Demons. Some of them called my name, but I didn’t stop, heading down the corridor that led out to the back of the building where the courtyard was.
That tended to be where the action was whenever there was a party, which meant Keep would be there. And it was him I wanted to see first of all. I needed him to know what I was going to do, because it was only polite to inform my president. Especially if he was going to give me shit about it.
Then I was planning to get the vest with the property patch on it and make Cat put it on in front of the whole club, so there would be no doubt about whose she was. So everyone would know she was fucking mine.
We went through the doors at the end of the hallway and outside into the courtyard, and sure enough a bonfire was blazing in the middle of the space.
There were plenty of people milling around, talking and drinking, some dancing to the music that was blaring from the outdoor speaker system. The smell of cigarettes and weed was in the air, combining with the scent of burning wood from the fire, reminding me of what I loved about the club so much.
It was home. It was friendship. It was having people at your back who you could trust with your life. It was being part of a family. It was everything I’d never had as a kid.
And now it would be Cat, too.
I led her through the crowds, spotting Keep’s tall figure over by the fire. He was talking to Big Red, the VP, and Chase, the president of Demon’s Share.
Some of the brothers were beginning to stare at us, nudging each other and grinning.
‘Fuckin’ told ya,’ someone muttered as we went by.
I ignored all of them, catching Keep’s eye as we approached, tightening my fingers around Cat’s.
His brows rose, his gaze flicking to Cat, then back at me. ‘What the fuck is this?’
I could feel Cat stiffen beside me, so I ran my thumb over the back of her hand in reassurance. Keep had met Cat a couple of times before but only in passing.
‘It’s exactly what you think it is,’ I said.
Keep didn’t take his eyes off me. ‘Why don’t you get Leanne to show Cat where to find a drink, Red? I need to talk to Smoke here for a second.’
Leanne was Red’s old lady, and the fact that Keep had asked her to look after Cat was a sign he thought she was more than a casual fuck. But the look on his face was not friendly. Luckily it was directed at me, and I could handle it.
He might be my president, and my uncle, but he wasn’t going to tell me who I could and couldn’t have as my property. He mightn’t like it, but in this case he was going to have to suck it up.
‘Smoke—’ Cat began, obviously not lik
ing where this was going.
‘It’s okay.’ I turned to meet her uncertain green eyes and cupped her cheek in my palm, blatantly taking advantage of our pretence to touch her. Her skin was so soft and so warm, and I allowed myself to enjoy the feel of it. ‘I’ll come find you in a second.’
I could tell she didn’t want to go, but after a gesture from Red brought Leanne over, she allowed herself to be led off.
‘Mind telling me why she’s here?’ Keep asked in the quiet voice he only used when someone was in deep shit.
Everyone else suddenly found other things to do, melting away into the rest of the crowd, leaving Keep and me alone.
I stared back, holding my ground. I knew he was going to be pissed, but I wasn’t budging when it came to Cat and Annie’s safety. I’d do anything I could to make sure the pair of them stayed where they belonged. With me.
‘I think you know why she’s here,’ I said flatly. ‘Going to make her my old lady.’
Keep’s expression didn’t change. He was a man who kept his feelings close to his vest. A family trait, that.
‘This got something to do with what we talked about last week?’
No point in denying it. ‘Yeah.’
His eyes had got cold. ‘So you’re willing to put at risk everything we worked for—everything I worked for—to save your friend?’
He said it casually, like it was no big deal. Generally that was a sign that it was a huge fucking deal.
I knew that. I knew what bringing Cat here would mean.
‘It’s not just her. It’s the kid, Keep. It’s Annie. She’s six years old. You really want her to go back to her violent old man?’
It was a low blow that went deeper than just Annie and Cat, and Keep knew it.
I was talking about my dad. About how everyone had known he was handy with fists, that he knocked me and Mom around, and yet no one had done anything. Not until the day he hit Mom once too hard and she went into the hospital and never come out again.
It was only then that someone tried to do something. Me.
‘Or is it not our business?’ I stared hard at him. ‘Not our fucking problem?’
He shifted, folded his arms, and I knew that I’d got to him.
‘Jesus, Smoke. You’re just playing pretend with her—I can see that. I’ve never believed she was anything more than your friend, no matter what the others said.’
I took a couple of steps until I was right in front of him, looking him right in the eye. It was a direct challenge, but sometimes that was the best way to handle things with Keep. The truth didn’t hurt either.
‘She’s mine,’ I said. ‘She always has been, and she always will be.’
Keep’s blue stare flickered. ‘And if she puts the Knights at risk because of her fucking ex? Will you be saying the same thing then?’
‘You can talk to the police chief. You can get him to call his motherfucking son off.’
‘Yeah, and that’ll damage the relationship we have with him—you know that.’
‘We can handle it.’ Hell, we’d handled every other challenge that had been thrown at us over the years. We could handle this, too. ‘Unless, of course, you think we’re not strong enough.’
Keep gave a short laugh. ‘You’re trouble, boy. I knew you would be.’
I didn’t argue, and I didn’t look away. ‘I’m going to take her, Keep. Whether you like it or not.’
My uncle stared at me for a long, uncomfortable minute. ‘For the record, I don’t like it, and I’m not happy about it. And if this all goes to shit because of it, we’ll all know where the blame lies. Understand?’
‘Sure. I understand.’
He was silent, the look on his face unreadable. ‘This is one favour you’re going to owe me. Are we clear?’
I didn’t like the sound of that, but what else could I do but agree? ‘Yeah, crystal.’
Keep let out a breath. ‘Okay, then, you claim her. But I’ll need the pair of you to fuck off out of my sight for a couple of days.’
Like that was going to be a problem. If everything went the way I wanted it to, Cat and I wouldn’t come up for air for at least a week.
But first things first.
There was a patch I needed to get.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cat
I DIDN’T MUCH like being shunted off with Leanne. It felt too much like being dismissed, leaving the men to talk about the important stuff while the women weren’t to worry their pretty little heads, et cetera.
But Leanne was very up-front about that kind of behaviour.
‘It’s all bullshit,’ she said as she handed me a beer from the cooler that sat under a nearby table. ‘The brothers wave their dicks around like that all the time.’ She smirked. ‘Sometimes literally. Just ignore it. I do.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind.’
I sipped my beer, my attention on the two men by the bonfire.
Keep, the Knights’ president, was about as tall as Smoke, but built on an even more massive frame. He had shoulders like a pro wrestler’s and biceps that would have put Superman to shame. There was an air of contained violence about him, a menace that had me shivering inside. He was a good-looking guy, though. Black hair and blue eyes and a charisma that was almost palpable. I knew he was Smoke’s uncle and I could kind of see the resemblance.
I didn’t like that air of violence, though. It reminded me too much of people like Smoke’s asshole of a father. Of Justin. Men who couldn’t handle themselves and took to beating people up instead.
Smoke was standing right in front of him, looking him right in the eye, and I felt a sharp spike of trepidation. God, was he putting himself and his membership of the Knights on the line for me and Annie? It made me feel uncomfortable, made me want to protest. I knew what the Knights meant to him, and even though I didn’t like them I respected the fact that they were important to him. I wouldn’t want him leaving because of me.
Leanne had opened her mouth to say something when the VP, Big Red—black bearded and green eyed—came up behind her, putting his arms around her and bending to whisper something in her ear. She laughed and then shrieked as he started dragging her off towards the entrance of the clubhouse.
They disappeared inside and I was conscious of standing beside the table on my own, in a crowd full of leather-clad, tattooed bikers. There seemed to be a lot more than there was before, and the women around were of the short-skirt, tight-top kind.
By the fire, Smoke turned on his heel and strode off towards the clubhouse. Keep’s gaze followed him.
God, I hoped nothing bad had gone down.
There was a high-pitched giggle not far from me as one of the girls was pulled into the arms of a biker, his hand pushing down under her top.
Great. So the sex games were already starting.
‘Hey, pretty.’
There were hands on my hips, pulling me back against a wall of leather before I had a chance to protest.
‘Looks like things are heating up. You need cooling down?’
The voice was unfamiliar. A hand slid up and cupped my breast.
‘No. Fuck off.’ I jerked myself away and turned around.
A massive guy with a greasy black beard stood behind me, glowering at me. He wasn’t a Knight from the look of his cut. He was from The Demon’s Share.
‘That’s no way to treat a brother, bitch,’ he said belligerently. ‘You ain’t got no patch on your back, so how about you fucking show me some respect?’
This was bad. I took a shaky breath, trying not to panic. ‘I’m Smoke’s,’ I said, with as much calm as I could. ‘And he’ll be fucking pissed you laid a hand on me.’
‘Uh-huh. But, like I said, I don’t see a patch on your back, which means—’
‘Which means she’s fucking Smoke’s.’
Ti
ger’s tall, muscled figure was suddenly between me and the bearded shithead.
‘So how about you go find someone else to play with?
The other man grunted and with one last evil look at me turned and pushed his way into the crowd.
Relief left me feeling unsteady, so I leaned surreptitiously against the table, trying not to show it. ‘Thanks, Tiger,’ I muttered.
He turned, his weird golden eyes glinting in the firelight. ‘What the fuck’s Smoke doing leaving you here alone?’
‘I had Leanne with me, but Big Red took her away. Smoke just went into the clubhouse.’
‘Huh. Fucking idiot.’ Tiger raised the beer he was holding and took a long swallow, his gaze never leaving mine. It was guarded, suspicious. ‘I’d better stay with you, then. Make sure no other fucker tries to take a shot at you.’
I wanted to tell him he didn’t need to, that I could take care of myself, but clearly that would be playing the ‘stupid’ card one too many times. So I said nothing, turning away and gazing at the gathered crowd of bikers as they whooped and hollered around the fire.
There were a couple of live-sex shows happening already and I could feel my face flaming.
I looked away, my heart hammering, wishing I was anywhere but here.
Tiger said nothing, guarding me silently, warning anyone who came near with a hard stare.
It was uncomfortable and awkward, and I was on the point of saying I’d go inside and find Smoke myself when an arm snaked around my waist, drawing me up against hard muscle and heat. But this time it was familiar and I leaned into it with relief before I could stop myself.
‘You okay, kitten?’
Smoke’s deep voice was in my ear.
‘Yes.’
I wanted to turn and lay my head on his chest, relax for a second. But I didn’t.
‘I’m fine.’
‘You shouldn’t have left her alone, man.’ Tiger was scowling. ‘Already had Bear trying to stake a claim.’
Smoke’s arm tightened around me and I was acutely conscious of the feel of him against my back. Heat and strength and the dark, earthy scent of a forest.
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