Chapter Twenty-One
N erves run through me as I walk up to the front door of the clubhouse. Tonight’s one of the club parties that I’ve heard so much about and only gotten a glimpse of. When I was here a few weeks ago during the last one, it was still early when Gunner got back and pulled me from the party.
The accusations he tossed at me that night still sting, but I get it. Logically, I know I didn’t do anything wrong, and he knows it too, but old hurts have a way of popping up when you least expect it. The man has had the patience of a saint when it comes to me, so the least I can do is return the favor.
Besides, at the end of the day, I love him and he loves me.
“Hey, Trouble,” he says as I step through the door.
“Hi.”
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me until I’m breathless. I sigh as he rests his forehead against mine.
“You ready for this?” he asks quietly.
“It’s just a party.”
“One that’s going to get out of hand fast and make the rally look like children’s play since everyone will have their guard down,” he mutters before kissing me once more. “Come on.”
He places his big hand on my lower back, right above my ass, and moves us toward the couch.
“Hey guys,” I say, waving awkwardly at the guys sitting around.
“Hey kid, what are you doing hanging out with us old men?” Tank quips, making everyone laugh.
My eyes dart between Smoke and Gunner. “I guess you told them, huh?”
“Damn right, we did,” Smoke says as he raises a beer.
“What did we do?” Kelly asks as she slides into his lap.
“Told the boys about Sloane giving us hell,” he tells her.
Gunner pulls me down on the couch in front of him, my back tucked against his chest.
“She was only teasing.” Kelly rolls her eyes at her husband before looking at me. “How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Same.” She smiles.
“What were you guys talking about when we came up?” Gunner asks.
“Talking about the prospects and how we have a couple new applicants,” Smoke tells me.
“And I told you, no shop talk,” Kelly says.
“Babe, we’re at the shop,” he points out.
“He’s not wrong, Kels,” Gunner says.
“Of course you take his side.” She sighs. “Talk away.”
“We were discussing possible road names for the prospects for when it’s time to patch them in,” Bear tells us.
“I still like calling Prospect One Acid,” Mac says as he takes a drink of his beer.
One of the girls comes around with a tray of cold ones, and Gunner grabs two. He hands one to me and turns back to Mac.
“You could have said thank you,” I say quietly.
“Trust me, if I thank them, they will think it means something,” he says under his breath.
I shake my head as he opens the beer bottle for me. I’m not a fan of beer, but I have a feeling I might need a drink by the time the night is over.
“Why Acid?” Kelly asks Mac.
“Have you not noticed the kid is always popping antacids? Kid’s got heartburn problems,” Mac says.
“Seriously? He’s like eighteen. What the fuck does he know about heartburn?” Tank scoffs.
Mac shrugs. “Hey, I’m just telling you what I know.”
“Can I ask a question?” I ask.
“What’s up?” Bear asks.
“How do you guys get your road names? Or what’s the story behind them?”
“Oh, I haven’t even thought to ask how everyone got their names. I know how Smoke got his, but that’s it,” Kelly says.
“Well, your boy Gunner had a thing for firearms as a kid. The guy could hit a bull’s-eye from day one without trying. Before the old men could stop him, he was running and gunning down targets while moving,” Smoke tells me.
Tank nods. “Ain’t no one else I’d want watching my back in a firefight.”
“My brother’s name is Ghost. He can’t be seen, meanwhile I’m only a whisper in the air, like smoke.” Smoke shrugs.
“Let’s be real, the old club may say that, but all of us guys know the truth. Our boy used to have a thing for fire,” Mac says.
“Where there’s Smoke, there’s fire,” the guys say in unison, making them all laugh.
“I’m so glad you aren’t burning things down now,” Kelly tells him.
“I’m reformed,” he tells her.
“What about you, Bear?” I ask, looking away from the loving couple.
“When the dude snores, he sounds like a bear,” Mac says bluntly.
“I do not,” Bear protests.
“Yes, you do,” the guys all say at once.
“Mac is short for MacDaddy…I’m sure you can figure that one out for yourself.” Tank smirks.
Mac shrugs. “Every female deserves a little bit of love, and they all know the score before anything happens.”
“It’s so weird to hear you say that because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you with a woman,” Kelly says, shaking her head.
He shrugs his shoulder. “I’m picky.”
“Wait, how can you be picky but love women?” I ask.
“Dude doesn’t have a type. He might not sleep with every woman he meets, but when he does take a woman home for the night, you can sure as hell bet that she won’t look like the one who was in his bed last,” Smoke tells me.
“Enough about MacDaddy. Tank is well…look at the fucker, he’s a tank,” Gunner says behind me.
I look around the guys and smile. “You know, they are all fitting. Some of them might be a little less creative than others, but they fit.”
“Glad we have your approval, kid.” Bear smiles.
“What about everyone else?” I ask.
The guys look around the room and point out random members and tell me how they got their names. I already knew that these guys cared about their brothers, but it becomes glaringly obvious as the night goes on. The respect that the rest of the guys have for these five is unmatched too.
While the party starts to get wilder around us, it’s like we are in our own little bubble. Untouched from it all. My cheeks hurt from laughing at their stories, and I love it.
“You thirsty?” Gunner whispers in my ear.
“Yeah, if you could get me something else to drink, I’d be willing to pay you in sexual favors,” I say quietly.
“Trouble, we both know you’ll let me do whatever I want with you without those favors.” He kisses the side of my head. “I’ll be back.”
He gets up and heads toward the bar, not bothering to ask anyone else if they want anything.
“Bring me back a beer, babe!” Tank yells.
Gunner’s only response is to give him his middle finger over his shoulder, making us laugh.
Yeah, I could get used to this.
“Can I get one of those vodka can things and another beer?”
“Sure thing, VP,” Prospect One says from behind the bar. “Is there a specific flavor Sloane wants?”
“There are different flavors?”
“Yeah, you got pineapple, black cherry, mango, grapefruit…” he rambles.
I hold up my hand, cutting him off. “Let’s go black cherry.”
As I wait for him to grab drinks, I feel someone come up behind me.
“Hey there, handsome,” a woman says as she tries to place her hand with long-ass fake nails on my arm.
I drop my arm and nod.
“You new around here?” she asks as she takes another step closer.
I look down at my cut and eye my Vice President patch. Nope, still there. It didn’t fall off sometime this evening.
“No,” I tell her bluntly.
“Are you sure? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.”
“Here you go, VP. I hope your old lady likes that one,” Prospect One says as he slides the drinks toward me.
“Oh, did you order that for me? You shouldn’t have.” Nails reaches for Sloane’s drink but is shoved back.
“And you’re done,” Sloane says as she places herself between the other woman and me.
“Excuse me?” the other woman scoffs.
Sloane crosses her arms over her chest. “You aren’t excused.”
I lean against the bar, settling in for the show. I feel the other woman look over at me, but I don’t bother looking up from my girl.
“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” the woman demands.
“He will, actually. See, he likes it when I run my mouth. It makes him hot, and then he fucks me hard and fast. It works for us.” Sloane shrugs.
“Sweetheart, if that’s true, he’s only playing you. He needs a real woman who knows how to please him. You need to go back to your dollhouse and leave the adults to talk,” the woman says condescendingly.
Sloane chuckles darkly as she cracks her knuckles.
Shit…
“Oh sweetheart, the only one who’s going to be playing with dolls tonight is you after I beat your head in for disrespecting me and the vice president of this club by pretending like you didn’t know exactly who he was. As for pleasing him…” Sloane looks over her shoulder. “You got any complaints on our sex life, daddy?”
“You know I don’t, Trouble.”
She nods her head. “That’s what I thought.” She turns back to the other woman. “Now why don’t you run along now and leave? I don’t think any of the men here want your shit-covered hands touching them.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, the brothers start laughing and cheering, egging her on.
I pull her back into me, letting her feel how hard I am from her little show. “I’m going to fuck you so good, Trouble.”
She presses her ass against my hard cock. “I was counting on it, daddy.”
Head down, Nails runs away. Literally tucking tail and running.
“Shit-covered hands, Sloane? Really?” Prospect One chuckles.
Sloane shrugs. “You can’t tell me with nails that long there isn’t shit under them somewhere. I don’t care how much soap she uses or how long she washes her hands. She has shit under those nails. There ain’t no way she doesn’t poke her own booty hole when she wipes.”
The prospect tips his head back and laughs.
Over having to share her with others, I spin her around so she’s facing me and pick her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I carry her outside, not stopping until we’re away from everyone else. I sit down on the top of the picnic table with her straddling my lap.
“Who knew my girl was the jealous type?” I muse as I run my beard over her neck, making her arch against me.
She pulls on the back of my hair. “I’m not jealous, I’m possessive. There’s a difference.”
“My mistake.” I chuckle. “Either way, I fucking love the way you claimed me in there, Trouble. You were such a good girl making your presence known without throwing your fists.” I grind her down onto my cock, making her whimper. “Although I think I would have liked it if you had.”
“You might have liked it for a minute, but you would have been pissed if I hurt myself,” she says before kissing me.
She’s not wrong. The thought of her hurting herself drives me mad.
While we kiss and she grinds her pussy against me, I slide my hands under her shirt, cupping her breasts before twisting her nipples.
“Why did you bring me outside instead of your room again?” she asks breathlessly.
“No fuckin’ idea. Startin’ to regret it now, though. Goddamn, you’re soaked for me, aren’t you? I can feel how hot you are through both of our jeans.”
She swivels her hips. “You could always unbutton my jeans and find out for yourself just how wet I am.”
“Trouble…”
“What? I can’t help it, daddy. I’m always wet when you’re around,” she says before biting my lip, making my eyes roll into the back of my head.
“Fuck it.”
Quickly, I stand and spin us, pinning her chest against the table. Right when my hand moves to the button of her jeans, the alarm goes off.
“Motherfucker,” I growl.
Sloane whips her head back and looks at me with wide eyes. “What is that?”
“That’s the alarm we have surrounding the place. I need you to be a good girl and go wait in my room until I come and get you. Don’t stop for anyone, and don’t let anyone in, you got me?”
“I got you. Love you.”
With one last kiss, Sloane runs off, dodging between brothers who come out, loaded down with firepower.
“Did you see what it was?” I ask when Smoke hands me a gun.
He shakes his head. “Nothing popped on the camera.”
“Hopefully it’s a fuckin’ animal then,” Tank mumbles as he passes.
With adrenaline coursing through our veins, my brothers and I search the property line, making sure no one got through. When the grounds have been checked from top to bottom, we reconvene right outside the clubhouse.
“Anything?” Smoke asks.
Everyone shakes their heads.
“Well, we know the alarms work,” I say, making a few of the guys grunt.
“Yeah, but it got me all ready for a little action,” Mac mutters.
“Then go find yourself a sweetbutt and have some fun,” Smoke tells him before addressing the rest of the brothers. “Let’s call it a night. I want a couple more guys on guard tonight, though, just to be safe. Any volunteers?”
A couple of the guys raise their hands.
Smoke nods. “Good, everyone else, I’ll see you in the morning.”
I don’t wait around and head back inside to find my girl. As soon as I unlock my bedroom door, she launches herself at me.
“You’re okay!” she cries.
“I’m okay, Trouble. It was just a false alarm,” I mumble against her neck.
She pulls back slightly and cups my jaw. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Now how about you and I get in bed and watch a movie before we pass out?”
She raises a brow. “You don’t want to pick up where we left off?”
“I do, but not tonight. Just in case.”
Understanding fills her eyes, like she gets it. Hell, maybe she does, and that’s why she’s perfect for me.