23 Ivy
Ivy
Grip sat on the couch, stuffing his feet into his boots.
From the middle of the bed, I watched him intently.
His mood was off today.
That was really the only way I could explain it. But if I was being honest, he was kind of one moody motherfucker. I never knew what I was going to get with him. Fucking whiplash every time he walked into the room.
Maybe I was being a bit harsh. Things had been a little different the last couple of days.
Whether it was Vike getting hurt or that shared moment between Grip, Vike, and me two nights ago, I couldn’t say.
I just knew there was a shift. Honestly, there was no other way to put it.
Grip had stayed in the room and slept beside me every night, and while Viking didn’t stay in the room with us, I knew it wasn’t because he needed to be away from Grip or me or the situation.
I got the feeling Grip and Viking didn’t share a bed, even though the room they shared clearly only had one.
That was just what I’d picked up, but I hadn’t found the courage to ask.
I thought things were… fine. Not great, not bad, but fine.
But maybe I was wrong.
Today, Grip wasn’t being nice or attentive. He wasn’t looking at me like he was glad he knew me. I couldn’t help but worry. Something was going on, and I knew it had to do with me this time.
As if Grip felt me watching him, his eyes jerked up to meet mine. He said nothing, but by the ticking of his jaw, something was going on in his head.
I tried to smile, despite the tense air.
That one little thing seemed to break something inside of him.
He blew out a harsh breath as his hand frantically through his hair.
I tried not to think about how it felt. Soft and silky. I loved the way the strands felt sliding through my fingers. Loved the smell of his shampoo that came with it. I found myself itching to reach out and touch his hair.
“You gotta stop lookin’ at me like that, little lamb,” he said, and I hadn’t realized that I was.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and averted my gaze.
I wanted to say something else, but I was at a loss for words.
Just then, Viking burst through the door, a wild look dancing in his eyes.
“Prez is comin’,” Vike said as he lumbered to the bed and took a seat on the corner. His body was so massive, it almost blocked my view of the open doorway.
He didn’t sound scared like he was hiding something, but there was a sense of hesitation in his tone. A barely noticeable panic of some sort.
Since I was smart enough to know that now was not the time to ask, I kept my mouth shut.
Ice walked in a second later, Bones hot on his heels, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were always practically joined at the hip.
Ice waited for Bones clear threshold before closing the door. Then he rested his shoulder against it. I wasn’t fooled by his casual stance.
“Couple of things we need to work out,” Bones said. His muscled arms bulged as they crossed over his broad chest.
“Too much time has gone by,” Ice spoke, his words directed at both Grip and Vike. It was almost as if I wasn’t even here. “Got boys talking like they are tired of waiting to get a piece.”
Of me.
That was the part he’d left off, but I knew what he was talking about.
“I’ve held them off as long as I can, but any longer would seem like I’m doing favors,” Ice went on. “We got rules. Gotta follow them. So you two need to make a choice here and now.”
Vike’s head whipped in the direction of Grip, and through a single look, they had a whole conversation.
I had to play my cards right.
I had to be who they thought I was in order to get what I needed.
“Cut her loose or claim?” Ice asked.
“What does that mean?” I cut in, trying to stall whatever choice the two men were in the process of making. I knew what it meant, but I needed specifics. I needed to know the possibilities of what my near future looked like.
“It means,” Ice said, his head dropping to the side as he pinned me with a look around Vike’s big body. “That, depending on what they decide, you’re gonna have some choices to make, too.
“And those would be?” I boldly asked.
“If they cut you loose, then you are up for grabs. You want to stay here, you become communal property.”
“A club whore,” Bones cut it. No beating around the bush from him.
“That is, if you want to stay here at the clubhouse. If not, we can set you up with a motel room and put a Prospect on you for protection,” Ice went on, not even a hint that he was pissed the way his VP had cut in.
“That’s only if we cut you free,” Grip said, his eyes on his jeans. More specifically, the frayed patch over his knee, looking at it like it was the most fascinating thing ever.
“You came here for help,” Ice said, his tone flat. “I don’t have to go above and beyond. Don’t like what you are tryin’ to bring to my club, and if it weren’t for that pendant, I would have thrown your ass out right away. But I gotta hold true to the rules. However, I don’t have to care .”
Well, he had me there.
It wouldn’t have been much to toss me in a rundown motel room and have some shitty Prospect sit on me.
That was not an option for me.
So if Grip and Viking cut me loose, I’d turn into a club whore in an instant.
Because those were the rules.
If a woman was in the clubhouse, they were there for a reason. A slut. A little whore that was open for any and everyone who wanted a piece.
Rules were rules.
And while these men said fuck the laws put in place by normal society, they obeyed their own laws to a T.
“Call Church,” Viking said, and there was an eerie edge to his tone. More eerie than I’d heard from him before, and that said something.
I wished I could have seen Vike’s face, but the only thing I had to go on was the twitching of his back muscles as the tension overtook his body.
I shifted my gaze to Grip. From his shocked expression, I gathered that Vike was about to make a decision for the two of them. As the edges of his shock wore off, Grip’s eyes told me he knew what that decision was.
However, I was still clueless.
It had a chance to go either way.
Had I done enough? That was the thought that popped into my mind first. But then I felt sick about it.
If they let me go, they could go back to their life as it was. An open room and club girls all around. No strings. Nothing holding them back.
Not that I was kidding myself and thinking I was a string or a reason Grip and Vike held themselves back from sleeping around. I knew I didn’t have that much power over them.
But I didn’t want them to let me go. Not just because I needed their protection, but also because I cared about them. Really, really cared. My heart hurt at the thought of them throwing me away.
Yeah, my feelings ran deep for both Vike and Grip.
Though I’d rather swallow nails than admit it to myself.
Feelings weren’t part of the plan. I had to close myself off.
There was no other option. I didn’t know my fate.
I didn’t know how far I could really go to get what I needed.
And if I was being honest, the thought that I’d become a club whore just to save my own skin was hard to stomach.
It was all starting to sink in.
My gut churned, but I swallowed hard and forced back my emotions.
“I don’t want any surprises. Need to have your answer now,” Ice told them, and I almost wanted to jump off the bed and kiss the man because now I wouldn’t have to wait to know.
Bones clapped his hands together before rubbing them back and forth, showing that he was entertained by all of this. I should have been irritated by it, but it was kind of the tension breaker I needed.
Vike’s gaze was on Grip.
I held my breath, my nails digging into the exposed skin around my ankle.
Grip held Viking’s eyes for a long moment.
Then those eyes shifted slowly to meet mine.
“We’re claiming her,” Grip told Prez, and though he said it on a half-sigh, his eyes told me how sure he was.
I wanted to see Ice’s reaction, but I couldn’t look away from Grip. He held me captive, and I could no longer lie to myself.
This was everything I’d hoped for. Not just wanted or needed, but truly hoped for.
In the background, Ice grunted.
“Damn, know a lot of brothers that are gonna be disappointed,” Bones said, but I wasn’t really listening to him. My pulse roared in my ears, almost blocking him out. “Must be some magic between those thighs if you got these two turning away club pussy.”
Vike growled, and it snapped me out of my trance.
“Easy, Vike,” Grip said, tone a lot calmer than the expression on his face. He hadn’t liked what the VP said either.
Bones held up his hands in a lazy surrender. The smirk on his face said he’d gotten the reaction he was hoping for.
“Alright,” Ice barked. “Know what that means?”
Grip nodded at his Prez.
“You’ll be moving into Grip and Vike’s house now,” Ice said, a small smirk on his face. I imagined it was because I was a problem that wouldn’t be right in his face anymore. “No ol’ ladies at the clubhouse unless it’s a special occasion.”
I held back an eye roll.
Because heaven forbid the ol’ ladies see how the club really was. Or that their men cheated on them.
If this thing lasted, would that be Viking and Grip, too? Would I eventually become the ball and chain they kept at home?
Nope, it was way too soon to worry about that.
“Church in twenty,” Ice said as he turned and opened the door.
I blinked and he was gone, his VP right behind him, leaving the door wide open like he didn’t give a damn.
The room was silent.
Dead silent.
It made my skin crawl with an uncomfortable feeling.
They had twenty minutes to think about their decision before it was made official. That meant they had time to take it back.
“So is my pussy magic?” I asked, trying to break the tension.
I could only hope. And if it was, I had no problem reminding them of that.
Grip looked at me with wide, shocked eyes.
He recovered quickly, and with a shake of his head, he was on his feet, crossing the room, and slamming the door like lightning had struck him on the ass.
“I don’t know, Vike, is her pussy magic?” Grip asked as he practically jumped at me on the bed.
Viking still hadn’t moved, and I was getting a little worried.
Grip didn’t seem to notice as he buried his face in my neck and started to suck on my skin. He was marking me, making sure it would stick, even though he was about to throw it out to the table.
“Magical pussy and a mouth made for sin,” Grip breathed into my ear right before he took that so-called sinful mouth with a power that had me dizzy.
Oh, yeah. There was no going back.