Chapter Nine
DANGER
The best way to start any day was waking up with Lunar in my bed.
Having animalistic sex with her for the third time since last night was even better.
She keeps up with me and is just as crazy as I am in the bedroom.
I’m lucky to have found someone who equals not only my stamina but also my need for the balance of pleasure and pain.
I look across the table at Lunar while we sit at the hotel café eating breakfast. Ryan and the guys are here with us, and it’s great to see Lunar and Ryan hitting it off so well. Matt and Nate mostly keep to themselves.
As I watch Lunar, I can’t help but think how perfect she is and how completely opposite she is to Ella in every fucking way.
Ella was always so young and fragile, weak and gentle, whereas Lunar is so much more of a woman and knows how to take care of herself.
She’s strong, confident, sexy, sassy as hell, and an animal between the sheets.
Fuck, if I weren’t so opposed to women right now, I’d be more inclined to make an honest woman out of her, but a fuck buddy will have to do until I figure my shit out.
I can’t risk having her as anything more.
The waitress pours our coffee and leaves.
“Can you pass the sugar, please, Nate?” Lunar asks.
Nate smirks, looking from me to Lunar. “Danger, you should call Lunar, sugar,” Nate teases knowing exactly what shit he’s stirring.
I tense at the thought of Ella, instantly recalling the nickname I used to call her.
“That sounds sweet, pardon the pun—”
“I will never… ever… call Lunar sugar. She is nothing like her,” I interrupt Lunar as she stares up at me in shock.
My chair slides out from under me, squealing on the tiled floor, and everyone glances up.
Lunar raises her eyebrow, and I murmur, “You’re a fucking jerk, Nate,” before I head off toward the buffet area for some much-needed breathing space.
Hearing Nate compare Lunar to Ella pisses me off.
Nate has struck a nerve deep inside me. Ella’s with Chad and has moved on.
So why can’t I? It’s fucked up, and I need to sort my shit out and fast.
A hand touches my arm, which causes me to flinch and break my thoughts. I turn to Lunar, who’s standing there. She frowns with a heavy sigh. “Was it a mistake?”
My chest heaves. It’s the smack to the forehead I needed to get me out of my funk. “No. Nate’s a dick. Bringing her up like that, reminding me of the name I used to call her, struck a nerve. I most definitely don’t regret our time. Not at all.”
She sighs. “He was just teasing, you know?”
Slumping my shoulders, I drop my chin to my chest. “I know. I overreacted. Ella fucks with my head.” Thinking about Ella is killing my damn mood.
Lunar nods, leaning forward, wrapping her arms around my neck, and pulls her body flush to mine. I look down at her while all thoughts of Ella vanish, and all I can think about is Lunar and her sensational body pressed against mine.
“Then let me help you forget about her.”
I nod and wrap my arms around her, pulling tighter. “Sounds perfect, only if you let me help you forget about Steel.”
She tilts her head to the side. “How did you—?”
“I can tell you’re not over him. The way you tried to pull back from me after our first kiss. It’s not just because of my demons. It’s because of yours too.”
“Well, damn! You’re smarter than you look, big guy.”
I lean my forehead against hers. “Also, Techie told me.”
Lunar laughs and slaps my chest, her tits jiggling along with her laughter. She grabs hold and then tightens her grip on my biceps. “You’re a smart arse, Danger. Now, let’s eat breakfast before I die of hunger.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We return to the table and finish breakfast. Everyone is quiet, including me, lost in our own thoughts. I don’t want to discuss anything with the boys in front of Lunar, but I will ensure they know this type of shit-talking is off-limits.
I make a mental note to address it later, in private. There’s no point in making a public spectacle.
Lunar says her goodbyes before I walk her to the cab stand outside the hotel. I turn to her, swiping a stray hair behind her ear. “I can drive you back to the club in the van. You don’t have to cab it,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her to me.
She smiles and tilts her head. “I know, but you need to spend some quality time with the boys. I can’t take up all your time. They’ll resent me, and I don’t want that.”
I nod. “Okay, if you’re sure. Just let me know when you get there.”
“Overprotective much?” She giggles.
“Do it, or I’ll spank your ass harder next time.”
“Hmm… that’s more of an incentive for me not to text you.”
I groan, forcing my semi-hard cock into her hips.
She whimpers, leaning in, pressing her lips to mine, biting down on my bottom lip, and moaning as she pulls back. “Okay, gotta go… talk soon.”
I can’t wipe the smile from my face as I slowly let her go. “Bye, gorgeous.”
“See ya, big guy.” She smirks, leaning in, kissing me quickly again, then pulls away and slides into the nearest cab.
Taking a deep breath, I rearrange my cock while shaking my head.
She’s a tornado, a force of nature that I’m glad to let sweep me away. Right now, I would happily let her rock my foundations and destroy me. Because that is what natural disasters do, and this—me and Lunar—is a seismic event waiting to happen, and I can’t fucking wait.
LUNAR
To escape the brothers in case they decide I’m fair game, I’ve been hiding in my room all day. Well, mostly, it’s so I can text Danger, which I’ve been doing for a number of hours now.
It’s dark, and the club is having a bonfire.
I’m on a high from the great time I had with Danger, and I don’t want it to go to waste.
I know most of the guys out there will be wasted by now, and their cocks probably aren’t in any sort of working order, so I finally head out of my room to join the party.
I know I have a duty to the club, but I am just not feeling it right now.
Danger has my head spinning.
Thinking of a life I’m not sure I could ever have.
Of possibilities that I’m not sure are mine to want.
Wishful thinking is depressing.
Heading down the hall and then through the clubroom, where the music is loud and heavy, I walk to the back door.
The bonfire is huge, and most of the brothers sit around happily, wasted, laughing at each other’s jokes.
I look toward the burning tree, swallowing heavily.
So many memories have been made under that tree.
It’s where the club honors the fallen. Where they patch in new brothers, and even where the president married Steel’s mother.
It’s a sacred place, and as I look beneath it at Steel, with Willow, his new girl, on his lap, I notice a knot in my stomach.
Because I know there’s no way he would take just any girl near that tree.
She means something to him.
Fuck, she must mean everything.
My breath become a little short as the guys burst out laughing at some joke that’s said, enjoying Willow’s company.
I can’t help it, causing a twang of jealousy to flow through me.
Even though I had an unbelievably great time with Danger, it doesn’t stop my feelings for Steel and the fact he’s here with another woman right in front of me.
Basically, declaring his love for her.
It stings.
And even though Danger is far better for me than Steel could ever be, I still can’t help but get worked up over it.
The thing about Willow is she isn’t from a club background. She’s a kindergarten teacher, and so this life and everything that comes with it—swearing, booze, sex—I just can’t see how she fits into all this. How on earth is this ever going to work between them?
“Go on, Willow, say cock!” Crash urges as I listen to their conversation.
Her cheeks flush pink in embarrassment. I have to admit, for a twenty-something-year-old woman not to be able to say cock, it’s a little strange.
“Cock!” Ryder calls out.
I stifle a laugh at the door when Willow cringes at the crassness of the word.
“Big black shiny cock,” Lookout adds.
I shake my head. Lookout always takes things that step too far into the weird zone. God love him.
“Oh my God!” She looks at Steel, and he shrugs, mouthing cock at her while she purses her lips and smirks.
“Cock, cock, cock!” The guys start to chant, and inwardly, I smile.
Willow groans. “Oh my God. Cock! Cocking cock! Cock, balls, arse, tittie, fuck,” she yells out, bringing her hand up to her mouth like she’s shocked by her outburst.
The guys all laugh, and I might as well join the party now that the cussing is in the open.
I walk outside. “Wow! You have quite the potty mouth on you there, Flame.”
Due to her flaming red hair, Flame is Steel’s nickname for Willow.
Willow shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t swear like that—”
“Stop it, Flame. Own it. Swearin’ like that was hot, babe. You got my cockin’, cock, cock and balls all achin’ for you again,” Steel teases.
Those words instantly form a lump in my throat as Willow starts choking on thin air, and everyone laughs at her expense. Steel pats her back, but she glares at him. “I’m gonna kill you in your sleep,” she whispers, and he grins at her like she’s the best thing in his world.
“Oh, babe, you’re too fuckin’ adorable to kill anyone.”
“Shut up! You guys are mean to me,” Willow whines, pouting, then Steel leans in and bites her bottom lip.
My stomach flips at seeing his affection toward her.
He was never like that with me, and even though I know I will never be with Steel and I have to let him go, it still hurts.
I can’t help myself before I lash out. “Urgh, pa-lease! You guys are disgusting,” I shout to break them up when I walk over and sit down.
“Just ’cause you’re not Steel’s number one anymore, Lunar, doesn’t mean you have to show your bitch,” Ryder calls out.
“O-o-oh,” the other guys all murmur.