16. Conniving and Devious
Chapter 16
Conniving and Devious
Simone
With his hand at the small of my back, Steel guided me into their clubhouse. It was brighter than I expected, since they had florescent lighting throughout the common room. To my immediate left I saw at least seven aluminum baseball bats hanging from a wooden wall mount. That was convenient… and telling. I glanced over my shoulder at Steel.
“Keep moving,” he murmured.
I kept moving and realized none of the women were here. “Torque didn’t mess around.”
A member across the room sauntered to the bar. “No, he doesn’t. Tor knows how to scare ‘em off.”
His voice sounded vaguely familiar, and I noted his name patch read ‘Tie.’
“Did he go outside?” Steel asked, moving beside me and I caught a whiff of his crisp, woodsy cologne.
Tie huffed out a laugh. “Probably. He ain’t got no shame.”
Torque entered the room from hallway to the right. “I’m not outside, asshole.”
A mischievous smile crossed Tie’s face. “My bad, Veep.”
Torque rolled his eyes at Tie, then faced Steel, but not before giving me an unimpressed look.
I shoved the key to Steel’s room into my pocket. “I’ll just head out back.”
Steel looped a finger into the belt loop of my shorts. “Jade.”
I turned to him, wondering if he wanted a kiss before I left, but the earnest look in his eyes stopped me short.
“Remember what I said.”
My eyes slid to Torque and back to him. Something about this byplay irritated me, but I didn’t know why. Through a small miracle, I kept my temper in check. “Hard for me to forget.”
His brows drew down, but I pulled free of his hold, ignored Torque, and walked to the back door.
Before I made it outside, I heard Torque ask, “Why did you bring her here?”
Tie called out, “Who cares? I’m glad he did.”
The door closed behind me before I heard if Steel even responded. Compared to the front of the clubhouse, which had oaks and pine trees shading the entry, there weren’t many trees out back to block the sunlight. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright sunshine. I stood on a slab of concrete, which vaguely reminded me of the Riot Clubhouse, but there weren’t any picnic tables and I knew this wasn’t an area for loitering.
To my left, was more of the building and from the small window, I realized it was their kitchen which jutted out into the back – as if it were an addition to the original structure.
I shielded the sun from my eyes with my hand. The backyard gently sloped down and I saw a humongous pit with a low circular brick barricade. From the remnants of wood in the center, I assumed it was a firepit. A few feet away from the bricks were anti-gravity lounge chairs, plastic Adirondack chairs, and a couple of free-standing porch swings hanging from metal frames.
From my right side, Rafferty’s deep voice made me jump a foot in the air. Luckily, I covered my mouth to keep anyone from hearing my yelp of surprise.
It took me a moment, but his words finally registered. “The club girls say they have bonfires almost every weekend,” he’d murmured.
I blew out a breath and turned toward him. “What are you doing here?” I whispered.
“After I helped Steel load up his bike at the ass-crack of dawn, he invited me to come up here.”
My eyes widened and I shook my head. “You’re spending the night here? As a hang-around?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m staying at his place, but he told me he’d meet me here after he dropped you off. I’m guessing something came up since you’re actually here, when that wasn’t his plan this morning.”
My mind was reeling. I loved that I had a familiar face here, but he wasn’t here for me. Raff was here for Steel. On the one hand, I couldn’t ream out Rafferty since he’d been invited, but on the other hand, I thought he was more loyal.
“Are you even interested in this club?” I asked.
“Keep your voice down. I might be. Not sure yet. Steel seems pretty solid. I won’t know what I want if I keep my head in the sand, or keep dicking around waiting on Dad and the others to approve me as a prospect.”
I stared off into the backyard. At the sight of what looked like half a dozen spindly logs leaning vertically toward a single point, I asked, “Why are they having a bigger fire to the side of a perfectly decent fire pit?”
Rafferty chuckled. “Look closer, uh… Jade. Those logs are held up with chicken wire to make a see-through tee-pee.”
I shifted a foot forward, and the metal wire became more discernable. “Oh. That’s cool, like for star-gazing.”
Rafferty choked on laughter. “Yeah, because bikers lay around star-gazing .”
I glanced back to him. “What are you getting at?”
“Think about it, woman. There are cushions inside each one, which means those are for fucking. If a brother wants privacy, he can put a blanket around it.”
My attempt to hide my lip curl failed.
“What’s with the face? Aunt Abby would fuckin’ love this.”
A silent chuckle shook my body. “She and Uncle Blood are probably the only ones, that’s for sure.”
His eyes darted toward the kitchen and back to me. “Be careful. This place isn’t anything like back home, and those women are…” he trailed off and he thought for a long moment. “Let’s just say they’re different.”
I dipped my chin. “You can do better than that. I’m guessing they’re conniving and devious. Hell, half a dozen of them came out to eavesdrop on Steel’s ex laying into him.”
His chin lifted in a slow nod. “That’s what that was all about.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Wait, how did you know?”
A sly smirk curled his lips. “I was inside at the time. All the bitches except one chased out after Debra. Then a short while later, Torque ordered everyone to get the fuck out. The woman who had stayed inside with me led me to the hot tub before the rest of the women came outside. She wanted me to get in with her, but I turned her down.”
I eyed him up and down. “Obviously.”
He shrugged. “Just saying, you want to meet them, that’s where they are. All of them.”
“In one hot tub?” I asked.
His expression turned mischievous. “It’s a split-level tub. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. You should check it out.”
I struggled to envision it. “You going to lead the way? Introduce me?”
His eyes bulged. “Fuck, no. You were right. They’re all devious as shit. I’m gonna go for a ride and see the rest of Augusta. Tell Steel, I’ll meet you two at his place around five.”
With three strides, Rafferty darted around the side of the clubhouse leaving me alone. I debated going back inside and checking out Steel’s room. After hearing what Rafferty said about the women, I didn’t expect them to be very accepting. Not to mention I had a low tolerance level for petty bullshit – especially from women.
If Mom had taught me anything, it was that females had enough to deal with in life. Adding more bullshit to another woman’s plate was just rude.
If Dad had taught me anything, it was to tackle things I didn’t like head-on. Putting it off wasn’t likely to make this any easier. If nothing else, I’d get to see what a split-level hot tub looked like.
I stepped off the concrete, turned to the left, and walked along a path of square, coral-colored pavers that ran along the back of the clubhouse.
For late March, the sun beat down on me relentlessly. Relief swept through me at the sight of a medium-size, metal-roofed open-air pavilion. Four wooden picnic tables sat in the center and two hexagonal picnic tables flanked the outside. Piles of clothing were heaped on one of the hexagonal tables.
Then I took in the hot tub which sat in between the clubhouse and the pavilion. It looked as though two hot tubs had been set side-by-side, but one was raised up to the height of an above-ground pool. It sat four feet higher than the other tub. On the outside end of the shorter tub, there was a bar and a couple of bar stools. Cans of beer and hard seltzer littered the surface.
As Rafferty said, all of the women were in the tub. Four in the lower tub, and three in the elevated tub where two of those women were making out.
“You’re lucky Steel didn’t see you earlier. Takes a lotta nerve to come back here after what you did,” a woman with kinky curls said from the lower level. Her eyes were aimed at one of the women in the upper hot tub.
Another woman in the lower level who had wavy auburn hair shook her head and scoffed. “That was months ago, never mind that. Since Kendall and Bella decided to make out up there, are you coming down here, Josie?”
“Not yet, Tessa,” Josie said, looking over the ledge at the other woman. Her eyes caught my movement and she glared at me. “Oh, look, y’all, it’s Jordan’s ex-girlfriend.”
Embarrassment rolled through me, but I powered past it. Something about Josie seemed off. The other women were looking at me with clear disdain, but Josie’s expression held something… extra.
I heard water sloshing and the two women who were making out had come to this edge of the tub to get a better look at me. One had blonde hair piled high on her head in a sloppy, but cute, top-knot. The other had wavy, shoulder-length brown hair and light brown eyes.
“Oh, you’re pretty,” the one with brown hair said. I had a feeling she’d been the one to stay inside with Rafferty.
“Kendall, you think everyone’s pretty,” Josie sneered.
She shot Josie a look full of attitude. “Well, everybody is, in their own sweet way. Even you.”
Bella tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear and said in a low, warning tone. “Kendall.”
Kendall stood giving me a full view of her bare, voluptuous, double-D breasts. Yep, I bet she stuck around with Rafferty instead of following the bitch brigade outside. “What? I work at the Palace. You give as many lap dances as I have, you come to appreciate beauty in all forms.”
“Like that makes you some kind of expert, bitch,” Tessa said.
Kendall gave her a look and smiled at me. “You should get in. Take your clothes off, we don’t care if you’re naked. Most of us are strippers, so you don’t have anything we haven’t seen.”
To stall, I looked up toward the pavilion and noticed security cameras. They were all aimed away from the hot tub, so that was good. My eyes darted to the clubhouse and saw another camera which was pointed directly at the tub. Not so good.
I returned Kendall’s smile. “Sorry, I’ll have to pass.”
Josie didn’t hide her snicker, and a few of the others joined in afterward.
Kendall’s eyes darted toward the building. “Oh, if you’re worried about the cameras, Tie likes to keep a watch on us. I mean, what’s the point of security if some jackass barges through the gates and attacks us, right?”
From the lower tub, a brunette with a deeper voice said, “Yeah, Kendall, that’s what he’s doing. Protecting us. You know men are pervs.”
“Well, you’re welcome to one of my White Claws,” Kendall said.
I really liked her. With a regretful smile, I shook my head. “I appreciate it, but I can’t.”
“How come? Is it that stick up your ass?” Josie asked.
I cocked my head to the side. “No. It’s for the same reason I can’t get in the hot tub. Pregnant women aren’t supposed to drink, and while I have a bun in the oven, hopping in that tub could actually cook my baby. That isn’t happening on my watch.”
Josie’s snide smile fell away and it struck me. She had messed with Steel’s condoms ‘months ago’.
I found it odd that she was on the property, that took a lot of nerve. While this place seemed wilder than the Riot clubhouse, not one brother would tolerate a conniving bitch who had messed with his stash being on the grounds – let alone using their hot tub. I had half a mind to mention it, but something told me keeping that nugget in my back pocket would serve me better. Steel had said she’d been taught a lesson. Did her being here mean she’d been forgiven?
I heard footsteps approaching. Josie’s eyes darted past me and a mixture of lust, excitement, and trepidation crossed her face.
Steel wrapped his arms around me from behind and put his lips below my ear. “What are you doing, babe?”
I turned in his arms, slid my hand up his chest, and grinned. “You know, just taking care of our baby.” I said loud enough for the women to hear. Then, in a lower voice I murmured, “And stirring the hornet’s nest.”
With that, I slid my leg up alongside his, and nipped his bottom lip because I had found he really liked when I did that. As expected, he groaned and took control of the kiss. His hands went to my ass and he lifted me up.
Next thing I knew, I heard the hollow clattering of empty aluminum cans and my back was on the bar of the hot tub. Steel pressed his chest to mine and kissed me harder for another couple minutes. In the background, I heard water sloshing and women complaining, but my attention was all on Steel.
He gently broke the kiss and his lips moved to my ear. “Don’t do that shit again, Jade. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but don’t force me to lose control, again. It won’t go well.”
Being reprimanded always sucked, and while he’d kept it somewhat private, I still felt embarrassed. After a moment, he helped me off the bar and I looked around to see the women had all left.
That was weird .
Steel read my look. “They know not to watch me with any woman. That’s why they left.”
I nodded.
In a low voice he said, “You’re pissed.”
“Apparently, so are you,” I muttered.
His small smile stood out against his stubble. “I’m actually not.”
I narrowed one eye at him. “Then what’s with reprimanding me on the bar?”
He cocked a brow as though he hadn’t just done that and the idea intrigued him. “Didn’t reprimand you, baby, but I know when I’ve been played. You need to know I don’t like it.”
I decided to change the subject. “Do you know that a security camera is trained on the hot tub, those women know it and basically put on a show for whoever’s watching? Or is that a side hustle for your club?”
That small smile turned into a grin. “It isn’t a side hustle, but that sounds like a great idea, smart girl.”
My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“What? I’d pay some of them. Hell, most of those women work at our strip club already. They want extra cake, I don’t have a problem with that.”
My eyes couldn’t get any wider, but my outrage had tripled.
“I’m kidding, Jade. Hell, you think taxes will get me thrown in jail, that kind of porn would get us shut down in a heartbeat.”
I waved my arm toward the camera. “That’s my point. Are you certain a brother isn’t uploading six minute or twenty minute clips somewhere behind your back?”
His eyes hardened along with his tone. “If he is, it’s the last fuckin’ thing he’ll do and he damn well knows it.”
I nodded. “Good to know. Can we get out of the sun?”
He smiled. “Do you one better. We’re gonna get in the truck and grab some food.”
“Excellent,” I said smiling, but it was short-lived. I dug his key out of my pocket with a small frown. “Here, I never got to see your room, but I think you need this back.”
Rather than take the key, he took my whole hand in his. A pensive look on his face. “I’ll show you my room – next weekend.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Why not this weekend?”
He grinned. “Too much shit going on, and I need time for the things I have planned for you, in my room, and especially in my bed.”
“All right, honey,” I said, my breasts tingling and definitely looking forward to the next visit.
Back inside the truck, I waited until we were rolling down the road before I asked, “Steel, what’s the deal with inviting Rafferty, but not telling me?”
“The deal is that I don’t discuss club business with you. Period. That includes who I’m approaching to prospect with any of my chapters.”
“He’s like a brother to me, though.”
Steel shook his head. “Like a brother doesn’t make him your brother. What I plan with him isn’t your business, not any more than what I plan with you is his.”
I scoffed. “Strange. He knew you hadn’t planned to take me to the clubhouse.”
“Simone, I’m not your father, this is not his club, and I’m not gonna do the shit he does.”
I tipped my head back on the seat. “I get that, Steel. ”
His jaw ticked. “I don’t think you do.”
“Trust me, baseball bats hanging by the door tell the tale.”
“You think that makes the clubs different?”
I shook my head. “No, I know that makes your club rougher than my Dad’s.”
“Why are we arguing?”
I widened my eyes at the windshield and shrugged. “Because I dared to ask you a question, but you assume I’m questioning your leadership.”
He laughed. “Jesus.”
“What are you laughing at?”
He shook his head. “I can’t remember when a woman took such an attitude with me.”
I chuckled. “Just you wait, we have a little girl, she’s probably going to be my carbon copy, if not in looks, then definitely in attitude.”
“Don’t be so sure, woman.”
“Oh, I can be sure. It’s very likely that I’m the person she’s going to be around the most, and sorry to say, my snark can’t be restrained all the time.”
“That’s for sure.”
“Are we done fighting or are we just letting sleeping dogs lie?”
“Fuck if I know, you started it.”
“What?”
He shook his head. “We weren’t fighting.”
I gazed at his profile. “But you don’t care that I’m close to Raff?”
“No, I can’t care that you’re close to him. Hell, that’s reason enough to either dismiss him or make it a thousand times harder on him.”
That was true.
“All right. I’m sorry I asked.”
He reached out and squeezed my thigh. “No, I shouldn’t have overreacted. I’m hungry – in more ways than one, and we have to wait before I can fuck you because we’re going to one of the best barbeque places in town, if not all of Georgia.”
“Cool.”
“What’s cool is that it’s five minutes from my place.”
My eyes widened. “That is cool. By the way, Rafferty said he’d be at your place around five.”
His eyes cut to me for a moment. “Did he text you that?”
I shook my head. “No, he snuck up on me right after I went out the back door. Scared the hell outta me.”
“Is he always stealthy?”
The thought of lying crossed my mind, but that was wrong. “When he puts his mind to it, you bet your ass.”
Steel nodded and hung a right onto a two-lane road. If it weren’t for the occasional dip and hill in the road, it would have reminded me of rural Florida. Tons of pine trees, a smattering of oaks, kudzu climbing trees where the land wasn’t maintained. On the cleared lots, the homes ranged from double-wides to ranch-style houses.
After a few miles, Steel hung a left. We passed a church before the restaurant came into view. The lot was crowded, but Steel snagged an open spot by the end of the building.
He powered off the truck, draped an arm along the back of my seat, and grinned. “Prepare to have your world rocked.”