When he stood back, he gave me a look over. “Mm, bite your lip a couple times.” I did as he said. “There. Now you look like you’ve been fucked. I’ll take you out there under my arm, and no one will doubt what I was just doing to you.”
“Thank you, Jordan,” I whispered. His support gave me more confidence than any girl power song ever could.
He just nodded and tugged open the door.
We walked out of the laundry room, and Jordan had his arm over my shoulder. Once we were in full view of the room, he leaned over and whispered, “Want a drink?” and nipped my ear. I physically felt the blush rush up my neck and into my cheeks.
“Please,” I said back. I nearly forgot Number 1. Alcohol.
Jordan led me to the bar where a couple of Wraiths sat on the stools. His arm dropped to around my waist and he kept me tucked against him. I was so grateful that he didn’t let me go.
“What do you want, babe?”
I felt a moment of panic. I should have thought about this before. What didn’t sound high maintenance? Then I looked at Jordan and saw the sexy look he was giving me. It was actually greedy, as if he would buy anything to have me. I straightened my shoulders.
“SoCo and lime shot. Then I want a Captain and Coke to sip on,” I said and curved my body into Jordan.
Bobby nodded and went off to get it.
“Hey, Jordan. How about an introduction?” I looked at the Wraith closest to me. He was huge but not unattractive. His friend was cute, too. They both were looking over at me with interest.
“This is Izzy, our newest Heart.” I gave them both my flirtiest smile. “Izzy, this is Demon and Xander.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. Demon’s name seemed appropriate with his large chest, heavily muscled arms, and broad nose. Add some horns and I could see him tossing a maiden over his shoulder and carrying her into the underworld.
Xander looked more like the jocks I knew in high school, handsome but he knew it. I could tell by his cocky smirk as he gave me a once over.
Xander gave me a chin-lift in greeting while Demon just stared at my mouth.
“Here you are, Izzy.” Bobby set my drinks in front of me. I grabbed the shot and threw it back quickly. I needed the alcohol in my system like ten minutes ago. I tried not to grimace as it went down.
Jordan released my hip and leaned back to watch me. I threw a shy smile back at him and then reached for the other drink, taking my time to wrap my lips around the straw.
“Damn girl,” Demon growled. “You’ve got perfect lips.”
His comment made me uncomfortable along with his eyes, staring directly at my mouth in open lust. I’d never had a man be so blatant about his interest.
Catwoman. Catwoman. Catwoman.
“So I’ve been told,” I said and drew another small sip out of the straw, making sure my tongue gave it a small lick before pulling it away.
My heart skipped a beat at my own bravery. It was true that I was practically a nun compared to these men. But they didn’t know that. To them, I was Izzy, a new mystery. My anonymity was freeing in a way. I’d been granted the opportunity to explore my sensual side in a safe environment.
Demon stood up and leaned close to me. “I’d like to feel those lips,” he whispered. The temptation was there, but the wiser option was to lean back against Jordan.
“Cool down, Demon. Until all my brothers have their fill, she’s off limits to others,” Jordan warned.
Demon didn’t take his eyes off me. “Hmm, for the first time ever, I’m envious of an Ace.”
I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes, trying to remain unaffected by the comment. My neglected ego wanted to soak up Demon’s words and glances for the rest of the night. But I knew the promise in his eyes would fade if I gave in. “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” was another song I listened to earlier to help in this exact situation. I knew my will would be tested.
Jordan must have seen the indecision in my eyes because he grabbed my hand. “Let’s go outside, Izzy.”
I finally broke eye contact with Demon as Jordan tugged me along.
The alcohol had reached my blood by this point, giving me that small nudge into happy land. I glanced around as we walked outside, trying to familiarize myself with this group of strange people.
Every biker we passed had on a cut, but the only thing that was similar between all the different groups was one patch. It was simply the number one with a percent sign. I did remember Skinny mentioning something about it. Outlaw clubs wore this patch because the other ninety-nine percent of bikers were law-abiding citizens.
Jordan pulled me toward the bonfire they set up in the middle of the parking lot. On our way, a loud whistle came from the right making us both stop. Greyson was standing on top of one of the vans with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. Everyone quieted down.
“I just want to thank you all for coming to the Aces’ fortieth anniversary party.” The crowd erupted with cheers and whistles. “You are all welcome here as family and friends. The last forty years have brought some bad things but many good things, too. We have fought for our way of life together, and I’m proud to call you all brothers. We are free,” he shouted and took the bottle by the neck. “So here is to another forty years of freedom.” He chucked the bottle over the crowd, and it broke into the bonfire, creating a small explosion.
The crowd cheered again, and then rock music started up. Jordan grabbed my hand again and took me to where Duncan and Sam were sitting on lawn chairs a few feet away from the fire, a cooler sitting between them.
Jordan tapped Duncan on the shoulder. “Did you forget something?”
“Forget what?” Then Duncan’s eyes land on me. His eyes lit up and gave me a once over. “Izzy. I like it. Come over here. I kept your seat warm,” he said patting his lap.
I giggled and sat down on Duncan’s lap. He hugged me to his broad chest.
Jordan then leaned down so only Duncan and I could hear him. “Be careful. I’ve already had to head off Demon from the hunt.”
“I hear ya,” Duncan said, and then Jordan headed back inside. “Sorry, I should have waited for you inside. I thought you would have come looking for me.”
“Why would I look for you?”
“Didn’t Rem tell you? We decided that each of the guys should take a night to watch you and pretend ‘claim’ you for the night.”
“No, he didn’t tell me. Maybe he forgot?” But I knew, he didn’t forget. He just didn’t like me.
I followed Duncan’s gaze to look at Rem sitting a few feet away. I was more than surprised to find him staring back at me. He was too far away to hear our conversation, but I could feel those eyes moving over me. He looked at me as if he had every right to and maybe he did.
“Whatever. Anyway, we decided to take turns protecting you for the next three nights. I got you tonight, Jordan will have you tomorrow, and Hawk and Max will claim you the last night.”
“Sounds good.” I just nodded even though I wasn’t sure why Hawk and Max would share a night.
Fueled by liquid courage, I tried to mingle and flirt with Duncan’s help. We stayed out by the fire and let others come to us. Duncan said everyone would be curious about me so it would be best not to talk too much. I quickly surmised that not talking was the M.O. of most of the club whores. They never spoke, just petted their man as they conversed.
When others were not around, he introduced me to more of his “brothers”. I met Legend, Cougar, and Jackal, who were all nomads. When I asked Duncan what a nomad was he said that I should think of them as traveling salesman. “They bring in business from outside the territory,” he said. I didn’t want to know what business he was talking about so I just nodded.
Jackal was the friendliest, but it was mostly flirting on his part. He was tall and handsome, but so were all the other Aces. There must be something in the water or maybe the whiskey. Legend had more muscle than any of the guys I’d met, and he had a scar down his left cheek. He didn’t participate in ou
r conversations. Instead, he just listened.
Cougar was the first Ace I encountered that matched the stereotype I had in my head of a biker, overweight with a long graying beard. He didn’t stay at the party for long.
Duncan said the senior members would be here, but I only met the one named Stump. He was Donny’s father and owned his own construction business. After we talked, I asked why he was named Stump. He blushed and said, “It refers to my dick, short but thick.” I couldn’t help but blush, too.
As it got late, Duncan started holding me a little closer. The boy was a natural flirt, and I spent most of the time in his lap. We whispered in each other’s ear to make our conversations look intimate, but we were just asking simple questions.
I found out that Duncan was twenty-five and had an affinity for explosives, something he picked up from his years in the Marines. His mother lived in Watertown, and he’d never met his father.
I told him about school and Katie, but most of his questions were about my sex life. I gave as many non-answers as I could, but I might have let a few things slip through my buzzed brain and out my mouth.
He checked his phone, and I noticed it was two in the morning.
“Wow. Obviously, the Red Bulls have done their job. I am wide awake.”
“We’ll head upstairs soon. We can watch some Netflix while we wind down,” he said quietly so no one else could hear.
I looked around and saw that many people had started to couple up, as they were in various stages of foreplay. I quickly turned back to the fire when I saw one couple against the building that was already at the main event, so to speak.
Rem had taken Donny’s seat from a few hours ago but remained quiet. I would still feel his stare from time to time as the night progressed. He must think I am going to cause trouble.
“Duncan.” There was a tap on Duncan’s shoulder. I look up to see a guy with a Wraiths cut behind us. “Let’s talk about that dog before you get too deep in pussy.”
Duncan grinned at me. “All right,” he said back. “Looks like I’ll need to find you a protector.” He glanced around the fire before standing up with me in his arms.
“Here we go.” I stopped smiling when I realized he’d set me in Rem’s lap.
“Enjoy her while you can, brother, because I’ll be back to claim her as soon as I can.” He growled and kissed my cheek before walking away.
When I looked at Rem, I could tell he was uncomfortable and irritated.
“Is this okay?” I whispered to him. My nose took in his scent, light cologne with the auto garage underneath. Who knew that was sexy? I nearly burrowed against him like one of those girls in an Axe commercial.
Rem nodded but didn’t look at me. He sat stiffly and leaned away from me a little. His behavior was completely different from how Duncan behaved with me.
His disdain was probably obvious to everyone. I thought about getting up when I spotted someone looking at me from across the fire. He was one of guys from the Wraiths. He had dark hair cut short with dark eyes. His skin was a little darker, like he had some Spanish or Italian parentage. He was handsome, and his gaze was intense, too intense. He was looking at me as if he wanted to consume me.
For the first time tonight, I felt like I was in danger. I wrapped my arms around Rem’s neck and tried to snuggle closer.
“Stop,” Rem bit out as he stood and pushed me away. He gave me a glare before storming toward the clubhouse.
What the hell? Was I so disgusting to him?
“What’s his problem?”
I turned to find Mister Dark-and-Intense behind me. Like most of the men around here, he towered over me. Even in my heels, I looked at his chest, where I could see definition beneath his cut and dark chest hair peeking out of his v-neck t-shirt. Up close, I could confirm that his good looks were not a trick of the flames. His Mediterranean features made him look like a god of myth. But definitely not Zeus, more like Hades, sinful and brooding. And yet, he had the rugged aura of an American boy, complete with the sexy scruff on jaw and a cocky smile on his lips.
I managed to smirk and shrug a shoulder. “Oh, you know, Rem’s kind of grossed out by real boobs.”
He laughed and glanced down at my chest. “Boy doesn’t know what he’s missing.” His voice was deep but smooth, a born seducer.
I made to leave, knowing I was in danger, but he stopped me. “I’m Jackson, president of the Wraiths. You’re new to the Aces, right?”
“Yeah. I’m Izzy,” I said. If he was another president, it was probably best to at least be polite.
“Izzy. I like that. Want to take a walk?”
Warning bells went off in my head. They were so loud I got a little dizzy. Amy had warned me about this. A walk did not mean a stroll, it meant going somewhere dark and private. I needed to get back inside where one of the Aces could help me.
Okay, don’t say no but don’t say yes.
“I want a drink,” I said and started walking away before he could answer, hoping he wouldn’t follow. I tried to keep my pace easy.
“Hey.” I was about to reach for the door when a hand came around my elbow and spun me around. Jackson gripped my waist and brought me against his body.
Oh, no.
I could feel his strength under his shirt as I put my hands to his chest, ready to push. But my fear must have shown on my face because he immediately backed away and dropped his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, clearly angry.
I shrugged and folded my arms around myself. “I don’t know you. Maybe that is your thing.”
“It’s not.” His brow furrowed as he looked at me. “Aren’t you a little skittish for a club girl?”
“What do you mean?” I put on my best bitch face.
“I’ve never had a club girl deny me, much less look scared when I touched her.”
“So I’m strange for not wanting to sleep with a man I just met?”
His anger slipped a little. “In this crowd, yeah.”
I looked down. There was no way to hide now. “You’re right. Maybe I’m not like the other girls.”
“And I like that.” He licked his lips and took a step closer. “I just want to be alone with you.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “So we can get to know each other?”
“Well, in a way.” He smirked.
“Well, I’m a Heart, so I have no obligation to be alone with you.”
He came another step closer. I could feel the warmth of his body he was so close. “Give me a chance and it won’t feel like an obligation.”
His cockiness was making me smile despite my earlier fear. “Let me guess. You’re going to give me the ride of my life.”
“Something like that.” He moved a little closer and put his hands on my hips.
I shuffled away until my back was on the wall. “While your offer is tempting, I’m not quite ready to take on the rest of your club after they hear I’ve given it up to you.”
“Oh, darling. You are the tempting one. So tempting, in fact, that I don’t think I’ll give my brothers a chance to have you. I want you warming my bed for the rest of the weekend.”
“Really?” I said and rolled my eyes. “I get to be your bed-warmer for a whole three days. I must be special.” My voice dripped with sarcasm, but in my head, I was getting confused. The song from earlier… I couldn’t seem to remember the words.
Jackson’s hand reached up to cup my cheek, his fingers rough but gentle. “Yes, you are.” He started to lean in, and I felt my heart speed up, excited to feel his lips.
“Hey, Jackson, I called dibs, man.”
Duncan was suddenly beside us. Thank God because I was about to make a big mistake.
“Let’s go, Izzy.” I gave a sad smile to Jackson and then moved to Duncan’s side. “Tracy is available if you’re looking for company, Jackson.”
Jackson gave me a look then that made me shiver. It said that we weren’t finished. I held his gaze as Duncan took me inside.
Chapt
er Ten
Rem
I downed my sixth shot of whiskey and slammed the glass back on the bar. Bobby quickly poured me another before retreating to the other end of the bar. Smart kid. He’d been around long enough to know when I was pissed.
After my eighth shot, I finally asked Bobby for a beer. The clubroom only had few people hanging around since everyone was outside. It was quiet, so I sat there alone for a few minutes, just staring ahead, my fists clenching on top of the bar. I was ready to find Duncan and beat him senseless. But just below the surface, I knew Duncan wasn’t to blame. I was the one who deserved a beat down. My anger came from embarrassment and frustration.
When Isabel was placed on my lap, a battle had begun between my brain and body. My baser instinct told me to pull her closer so I could taste her skin. But my mind knew that was not allowed, so I could only sit there, stiff and tense. Her scent alone made me hard enough to pound nails. If she had gotten any closer to me she would have felt it so I pushed her away, too scared to let her know how much she affected me.
I should apologize for pushing her away, but that meant being close to her again. This was getting out of hand. I’d taken out men twice my size, but one short little blond had me running scared.
Suddenly, Greyson slapped me on the shoulder, making me jump. “How goes it, son?” the older man said as he settled into the bar stool next to me.
“Fine,” I said without looking up.
Greyson didn’t say anything, but I could feel his stare. I always had a hard time hiding my moods from Greyson. The old man knew me too well. I finally looked up to find Greyson giving me a smirk.
My blood boiled. “What are you smirking at?”
Greyson opened his mouth to answer, but there was a shout from behind us.
“What the fuck, VP?” Duncan said as he came into the bar dragging Isabel behind him.
Ugh. I didn’t need this right now. My boner had just gone down.
“What are you screaming about, boy?” Greyson said.
Duncan transferred his angry glare to Greyson. “I left Izzy outside with Rem so she had protection. I go out there and Jackson has her pinned to the wall.”
Reign Over Me (The Covenant Book 1) Page 6
