Chapter Ten
SOME PEOPLE COULD tie a cherry stem with their tongue, wiggle their ears, or bend their thumb back so far it touched their forearm.
Beth had her own party trick. One she’d never bothered to mention to anyone but had honed to perfection over the years.
With a quick inhale, she could almost, to the brand, tell what someone was smoking.
The easy ones were cigarettes, cigars, and weed.
She’d grown up smelling all three regularly.
Over the years, she’d noticed subtle differences in types and brands, leading up to today, where she stood in the clubhouse, detecting the rich and bold notes of Jigsaw’s favorite Padrón cigars.
She inhaled deeply, holding the comforting aroma of easier times in her lungs. It’d been too long since she had been surrounded by anything other than the stale ashtray odor of Jason’s Pall Malls.
“You know, you don’t have to suck in second-hand smoke to get your fix. Jig will be more than happy to share his cigars.”
Beth turned her head to find Lindsey sliding onto a barstool next to her. Her friend practically yelled to be heard over the ear-splitting rock music.
“I’m good,” she said with a chuckle as her face heated. “Just being a weirdo and sucking in the scents of my childhood.”
Lindsey tilted her head and studied her with a scrunched look of confusion.
“Jig started smoking those specific cigars when I was twelve or so.” She shrugged. “Smells like my childhood.”
“That’s sweet. My childhood smelled like desperation and poverty.” Lindsey winced. “Wow, I made that dark. Ignore me. I’m in a strange mood.”
Beth tilted the neck of her beer bottle Lindsey’s way. “Cheers to that. I’ve been in a strange mood since I came home.”
Smiling, Lindsey tapped her glass to the bottle. “To pulling our heads out of our asses.”
“I’ll drink to that.” They sipped their drinks, then Beth leaned in. “You look hot tonight. Trying to impress anyone?”
Dressed in a leather miniskirt, leopard print halter top that showed a generous amount of cleavage, and cowgirl boots, Lindsey looked like she’d come ready for the hunt.
“Nah,” she said with a shake of her head.
“No one in particular, though I’m hoping someone will give me an orgasm or two tonight.
” She sighed. “It’s been way too long, and while I love my vibrator, I started talking to it last week.
I figure that means it’s been too long since I’ve had a human man in my bed. ”
Beth burst out laughing. “It’s only concerning if the vibrator talks back.”
“Oh shit. It hasn’t gotten that bad yet.” They laughed together, clinking their drinks again.
The MC party had been in full swing for the past few hours.
All around her, men and women drank, danced, smoked, and hooked up.
Her parents sat at a table in the corner with some of the others who’d been around for decades, while the younger patched members danced and worked to reel in their nightly conquest.
Civilians, or those not raised in MC culture, might find the scene weird or inappropriate, but to Beth, it represented home.
The loud music, the testosterone-fueled atmosphere, the free-flowing booze, and even blatant public displays of affection were all so familiar that something inside her ached while at the same time tension uncoiled.
This was where she and everyone in her club family could be their authentic selves without judgment, and she hadn’t realized the hole leaving home left in her life.
But she was back now, and with each passing day, she thought she might stay for good.
“Hey, I’m gonna go chat with Rizz. Wanna come?”
Beth glanced over to where a beautiful man she’d only met for the first time a few days ago was standing by himself, staring across the room at Lindsey.
He was trim and tall, with a blond goatee and glacier-blue eyes.
“Um, hell no. He looks like he wants to rip all your clothes off. No way am I interfering with that. Go get your ho on, girl.”
Gaze glittering, Lindsey raised an eyebrow. “You sure? I don’t want to leave you all alone over here.”
Beth shook her head. “I’m gonna mingle, I promise. Just wanna finish this beer and get another.”
“All right.” Lindsey stood and leaned forward to kiss Beth’s cheek. “Love you, cuz. So glad you’re home.” Then she winked. “Don’t wait up.”
Laughing, Beth gave her friend a gentle shove. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Lindsey waved over her shoulder as she let out a throaty laugh, already in seductress mode.
Beth watched for a few moments as Lindsey made her way to Rizz.
When she reached him, she plucked the beer out of his hand and brought the bottle to her glossy lips, tipping her head back for a long sip.
Rizz’s eyes darkened as he watched Lindsey’s throat work.
Before she lowered the bottle, he had his arm around her waist and was whispering something in her ear that had her giggling.
Beth chuckled as she lifted her own bottle. “Get it, girl,” she whispered with a grin.
As she turned back toward the bar to ask the prospect for a second beer, her breath hitched.
Seated on a couch against the wall was Saint.
She hadn’t seen him come in and assumed he’d bailed on this party as he did the one the night they returned home.
But no, there he sat, wearing a serious expression while he chatted with Zach.
And holy shit did he look good. He hadn’t bothered shaving since she’d last seen him yesterday, and a dark, scruffy stubble coated his cheeks, giving him an air of danger.
Or maybe it was the intense expression in his dark eyes.
Or the bulge of his muscles beneath the tight sleeves of his T-shirt.
Whatever it was, her heart thumped, and she squirmed on her stool as her pussy tingled.
She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since their little field trip to crack house central yesterday.
He’d handled the precarious situation with a calm, impressive competence.
Despite their creepy surroundings, she’d felt safe with him the entire time.
He’d made her safety his number one priority, keeping her close and pretending she was his.
And she’d liked it.
A little too much.
The feel of his hands on her skin, his lips whispering next to her ear, and his firm body pressed all along hers had made it difficult to concentrate and nearly impossible to feel fear. On the way home, she’d had to fight to keep from rubbing up against his back and humping him like a horny dog.
Now, watching him have what was obviously a serious conversation with Zach, all those feelings came rushing back with a vengeance. She wanted him more than she’d wanted any man in a long time, maybe ever, and that was a big problem.
After a few moments, Zach slapped Saint’s knee and stood. They bumped knuckles, then Zach took off toward his ol’ lady, Toni, who danced with Stephanie and Chloe.
Beth shifted her gaze from the women she considered aunts to Saint, who was staring at her with raw intensity, electricity shooting down her spine.
Their gazes locked, heated and powerful.
She might as well have been naked. It felt as though he could see beneath every layer of her clothes and every wall she’d ever put up to guard her vulnerable center.
An invisible force wrapped around her, creating a strong pull in his direction, a near compulsion to go to him, and just as she was about to give in to the extremely foolish urge, a woman cut through her line of sight.
Melody.
She waited tables at Toni’s diner and had served Beth and Shell the other morning when they popped in for breakfast, though she sure looked different tonight.
The long, dark, curly hair she typically pulled back tumbled down her back in a gorgeous waterfall tonight.
Dressed in ass-revealing denim shorts and what had to be a fucking bikini top, Melody planted herself next to Saint on the couch.
Right next to him.
Practically in his lap.
A sickening twist curdled the beer in Beth’s stomach as Saint shifted his attention from her to Melody, who planted a hand on his chest and basically drooled on him. She hiked up a leg and rested it on his thigh. If she shifted it a few inches, she’d be straddling him.
Saint didn’t smile at her, but he didn’t shove her away either. He placed a hand on her side, just above her hip.
Anchoring her to him or preventing her from ending up fully straddled across his lap?
They spoke back and forth a few times before Melody threw her head back and laughed as though Saint was the funniest man in the world.
Beth’s eyes narrowed. If this went on much longer, she’d be tempted to march over there and rip Melody off him by her cheap hair extensions.
Saint nodded at something Melody said, which seemed to embolden her even further. She walked her red-tipped nails up his chest. When she could go no further, she grasped his chin and turned his head slightly, planting a long kiss on his cheek.
Beth’s grip on her bottle tightened. Was he enjoying this? Did he like Melody’s bony fingers on his skin and her overfilled lips on his face?
Why do you care?
Shit. Why did she care?
Saint was not the man for her. He wasn’t even a man for her.
He was one hundred percent off-limits due to his position in the club.
Copper would lose his mind. Hell, Saint most likely didn’t see her as anything more than his president’s daughter, and there she was, losing her mind with jealousy over a man who’d never want her.
She could be as attracted to him as she wanted, but that’s where it had to end.
God, why did he have to be so attractive?
And protective?
And good?
Why did he make her feel safe and empowered at the same time?