Chapter Forty-Three
Haizley
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much. The time I spent living at the clubhouse with Aspen had given me a chance to get to know the women associated with the club. But tonight, I had gotten to really know them.
Despite not being able to drink, you would have never known Beck and Sam weren’t drunk. The two of them fed off each other. Trading silly insults back and forth, and trying to pull Ellie into their shenanigans, but she was just too sweet.
For most of the evening, Simon Nelson sat with us. He and his sister Sadie ran the salon in town. Simon acted like one of the girls and traded fashion tips and discussed hot guys with us. He gave us a list of brothers he would ‘give his left nut’ to wake up next to, and it included almost all of them.
He wasn’t shy about letting the girls know their men weren’t safe from his advances just because they were taken. Beck offered Micah to him if she was allowed to watch, and the table erupted into uncontrollable laughter as we all looked toward the bar.
Simon confessed he did in fact have his eye on someone, but was convinced the man wasn’t out so he was biding his time. I watched him as he talked about the object of his desire, and when he quickly glanced in the direction of an older man, my eyes went wide like saucers.
Indie texted me shortly after we’d arrived, so I invited her to join us as well. Grace was the only one who knew Indie, besides me, and they peppered her with questions about tattoos and piercings.
“Haizley has a piercing,” Grace blurted out.
“What?” Beck turned to me. “Where?” she asked, looking over my face and seeing nothing beyond the earrings I wore.
I felt my face heat and covered it with my hands. “Oh God,” I mumbled.
“Gunner has seen it, if that gives you a hint.”
“Grace!” I chastised, and she just laughed.
“Don’t share any secrets with Grace. She sucks at keeping them,” Ellie teased.
“She’s been pretty good at keeping one,” Amber joked, her eyebrows waggling in Grace’s direction.
“There is no secret. Nothing is going on. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that,” she insisted.
Beck’s brow furrowed as she stared at my chest, like she was trying to see through my clothes.
“Further south,” Indie whispered with a giggle.
Gasps went around the table, and I was mortified.
“Did it hurt?” Ellie asked with curious optimism.
“Like a bitch.” I laughed.
Hey, the cat is out of the bag, may as well embrace it. The alcohol certainly helped to make me feel less self-conscious.
We spent the next few minutes talking about piercings and tattoos when Grayson Powell stepped up to the table.
“Jessica Montoya.”
The table fell quiet, and we all looked at Jessie. She looked up at Grayson and narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”
Grayson walked around to where Jessie sat and picked up her hand. Pulling her out of her seat, he said, “Dance with me.”
“I don’t know how to dance,” she countered.
Ellie snorted, and Jessie glared at her.
“Then we will stand still and sway. Or you can stand on my feet while I move you around the room.”
“Listen, asshole...” Her voice trailed off as Grayson dragged her to the dance floor, choosing to ignore her protests. We watched as he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear.
She visibly shuddered, and we all clapped and cheered. She turned her glare on us and flipped us the bird as we laughed.
“Hey, isn’t that Lily?” Ellie asked.
We all turned to where she was looking, and there was a young woman who looked about twenty, sitting at a table with Bryce Caswell. Bryce went to school with Beck and them.
“Yea, she’s been in here with him a lot. I think they’re dating,” Grace offered.
“Does Ben know?” Beck asked.
We looked over to where Big Ben and Ace were sitting together and saw them both glaring at Lily and Bryce.
“Is there something between Lily and Ben?” I asked.
“No,” Brandy confirmed. “Ben is too chickenshit to make a move. Uh oh, Haizley. Penny looks like she’s trying to move in on your man.” Brandy hitched her chin toward the bar.
When I looked up, Gunner’s piercing gaze locked with mine and he lifted a brow, silently asking me what I was gonna do.
“That woman has been after Goliath for ages. He wouldn’t touch that skank with a ten-foot pole,” Simon said, trying to reassure me. But Gunner’s words from the diner washed over me.
“Next time, when that jealousy overtakes you, you better fucking stake your claim.”
I stood and headed to the bar. He watched me as I stalked toward him. This time I was the wolf, protecting what was mine.
He didn’t smile as he watched me walk across the room. But I saw the amusement in his eyes. My eyes dropped to his crotch, and the bulge there told me he was getting off on this.
Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the years of torment Penelope had dumped on me in school. Maybe it was the way Gunner’s arousal heated me to my core. Whatever it was, I was ready to put on a show.
I walked up and inserted myself between Gunner’s knees. I didn’t speak to Penny, didn’t even look at her; I just placed my hands on Gunner’s thighs, stepped on the rung of the stool, and planted my mouth on his.
The outrageous gasp from Penny destroyed my inhibitions, and I climbed Gunner like a tree, straddling him as he sat on the bar stool. His hands went to my ass cheeks, and he pulled me closer. Our tongues dueled together, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“That’s fucking hot,” someone said beside us.
When I finally pulled back, my panties were drenched, and his cock was lodged firmly against me.
“Hey, baby.”
“Good girl,” he whispered.
“Gunner, what the hell?” Penny screeched.
I shimmied down his body and turned. Snuggling my back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
“I told you I had a woman.”
“But her?”
“Yes, me,” I said, straightening up and stepping out of Gunner’s arms to face Penny.
Penny crossed her arms and had a smug look on her face when she said, “I don’t see a property cut.”
It wasn’t a question. It was meant to be a dig. Gunner and I hadn’t talked about a cut. But even if I had one, none of the girls wore theirs tonight.
“Gunner is mine. He has been since the club moved to this town. He might be playing with you, but he’ll come back to me. He always does.”
Gunner stood up, and I placed a hand on his chest, pushing lightly. I had no hope of moving the man, but he allowed me to send him back to his stool. I knew it was for Penny’s benefit.
Stepping into her space, I added, “Penny, does your ass ever get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth? Gunner is fucking mine. He sleeps in my bed every fucking night and wakes me up with his tongue every fucking morning.”
I heard the snickers and whistles behind me, but I paid them no mind. I was focused on the woman in front of me, who thought she could still intimidate me. But we weren’t in high school anymore.
“Bitch.”
“Call me a bitch one more time,” I taunted.
“Bitch,” she said smugly.
“That’s right, bitches do as they’re told,” I fired back.
“Oh fuck, cat fight,” someone else called out.
Her face turned red in anger, and her hands fisted at her side. I blamed the alcohol for the lack of reflexes. But when her hand shot out and slapped across my face, I sobered up real quick.
I grabbed her hair with my left hand and punched her with my right. Her hands went to her nose as blood spurted out. She pulled her hand away and looked at the blood. Her eyes lifted to mine, and she reached out and scratched my face.
It all happened so fast. The guys moved as quickly as they could. They just weren’t quick enough. In a matter of seconds, we were both bleeding.
“Ok, Ronda, time to go home.” Gunner laughed.
“Who the fuck is Ronda?” I asked, confused.
“Ronda Rousey? That’s quite a right hook you have.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
His chuckle sounded more like gravel as he rumbled under my hands. “I am so fucking hard right now. We’re going to the clubhouse tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because your place is too fucking far. I need to bury my cock in your tight little pussy before I blow.”
Gunner hefted me over his shoulder and carried me out of the bar amidst clapping and cheers. I wasn’t sure what happened to Penny, and I didn’t really care right now. By tomorrow, there would be no question. Word would spread quickly that Gunner was mine, and I would cut a bitch who tried to step between us.
Everyone spilled out of the bar, heading to their vehicles. Aspen trailed behind us, seeing as she had ridden with us to the bar. Gunner set me down by his truck and opened my door. Aspen reached for the handle and Banshee took her arm and pulled her away.
“You’re with me, baby girl.” He led her to his bike, and they argued for a moment before he put his helmet on her head and swung his leg over the bike. Holding his hand out, he waited for her to take it so he could help her mount behind him.
She crossed her arms over her chest, making no move to climb on.
“Get on the fucking bike, Aspen.”
“Is she ok with him?” I whispered to Gunner.
He had been watching the exchange with me.
“Yea,” he said absently, but I wasn’t convinced. I liked Banshee. He was great with the kids. They loved trying to make him scream, so he always pretended to be scared when they snuck up on him. But right now, I was seeing a side of him I hadn’t seen in my limited time at the clubhouse, and I needed to remind myself that I didn’t really know these men yet.
When I stepped down from the truck and tried to walk over there, Gunner caught me.
“I promise, she’s safe. He would never hurt her.”
“Why is he angry?”
“I’m not sure.”
We watched as the two of them stared each other down until he stood up and swung his leg back over the bike. When he moved to pick her up, Tank stepped between them.
“Gunner, what’s going on?”
“Hang on, baby.” He walked over to where Tank and Banshee were toe to toe, muttering in low tones I couldn’t hear from where I was.
Aspen reached over and touched Tank’s arm. She shook her head, then turned to Banshee. I wasn’t sure what she said, but he shook his head and she removed the helmet, handing it back to him. Gunner led her back to the truck.
“Are you ok? What happened?” I asked her, taking her hands in mine. Her eyes were glassy like she was trying not to cry.
“Just a misunderstanding.”
“Aspen,” I pushed.
“Let it go, Haizley. Please.”
Aspen climbed into the back of Gunner’s truck and closed the door. Banshee fired up his bike and peeled out, riding in the opposite direction of the clubhouse.
“I’ll talk to him,” Gunner offered.
“Please don’t. Just let it be.” I watched her over my shoulder. Aspen stared out the window. She reminded me of the girl who first came home from the hospital, and I prayed whatever had happened with Banshee hadn’t set back her progress.
Whatever had happened served to put a damper on any desire that had been coursing through me after claiming Gunner in front of the packed bar. When we got back to the clubhouse, Aspen went to her room, closing the door soundly.
Gunner came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“We’ll figure it out.”
“If he did something—”
“He wouldn’t hurt her, Haizley.”
“Maybe not intentionally,” I said, mostly to myself. I knew Aspen was attracted to Banshee. He was older than her, but it wasn’t like Aspen was a teenager. She was thirty years old. Banshee looked to be in his mid to late forties.
Tomorrow, I planned to talk to her and hopefully convince her to confide in me. There was still a lot Aspen hadn’t shared. We mostly talked about her life here and what happened with Greg. I knew nothing about her childhood, where she grew up, her parents. Rumors spread with speculation that she was from Texas, but no one knew for sure.
“You’re thinkin’ too hard,” Gunner said behind me.
“I’m worried about her.”
“You can talk with her tomorrow. Tonight, I’m gonna make you forget your own name.”