Chapter Nineteen
FUCKING GATOR.
He sat across from Beth with the biggest, most self-satisfied smirk she’d ever seen.
She glared daggers at him, but, of course, it only made him laugh and wink.
Not only did her dad show up five seconds after she walked out of the room, but her mom and basically every other club member arrived for what Shell called ‘family breakfast.’ She claimed the fanfare was a frequent ordeal Beth would know about if she ‘bothered to come home more than once a year.’
Point taken.
When she offered to help with the food, her mom steered her out of the kitchen. “Thanks, honey, but I’ve seen your cooking skills,” she’d said, which was how Beth found herself sitting across from Gator, cutting fruit at the table, and stressing over whether Saint was wedged in the window.
“Hey, Rizz,” Gator called to his club brother across the room. “Have you seen Saint this morning? Thought he’d be here by now.”
Beth narrowed her eyes at the shit-stirrer. She pointed her knife at him and mouthed, Your dick is next, before hacking it through the strawberry with brutal force.
Gator paled and moved his hands below the table to cover his junk.
Beth gave him a sweet smile and resumed her task.
“You’re fucking evil,” Gator muttered.
The door opened, and before anyone greeted the newcomer, the back of Beth’s neck tingled.
Saint had arrived.
Her hands stopped moving, and she forgot what the hell she was doing until Gator grabbed a strawberry chunk from her bowl and threw it at her forehead. It bounced off, landing right back in the bowl.
“Score,” he cried out, raising his arms in victory.
Beth blinked. Okay, she could do this. She could act normal around the man she’d slept with. The one who would cause out-of-control drama in the club if anyone found out. Well, anyone but Gator, apparently.
“Ew,” she said as she wiped her head with the back of her hand. “That’s your piece. You’d better eat it without touching another strawberry.”
Rolling his eyes, Gator grabbed the hunk of chopped strawberry and popped it into his mouth. “Yummy.” He waggled his eyebrows.
And then Saint was there, standing behind her, and she could barely breathe as her body went on high alert.
Now that he’d seen and touched all of her, now that he’d been inside her, she seemed to be aware of him on a visceral level.
Her skin prickled with heat. Her breath came shorter.
Every nerve ending was tuned to his presence like a compass finding north.
“Good morning,” Saint said as he took the seat beside her.
“What’s up, brother?” Gator asked, holding out a fist, which Saint bumped.
Beth risked a sideways glance his way. Thank God he wasn’t wearing the same thing he’d had on last night. She might expire on the spot if she had to sit there and listen to the guys grill him about who he’d been with the night before.
“Hey,” she said in a breathless, high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like her usual self.
Wow, Gator mouthed because she was looking across the table at him instead of at Saint. “You suck at this.”
Pull yourself together.
If she didn’t figure out a way to act normal, she’d be the one to give the entire thing away. Copper was no one’s fool. If she acted like a lovesick teenager, he’d pick up on it right away. Maybe she should feign a stomachache and go home before she fucked the entire thing up.
Saint faced her with a raised eyebrow. “Want some help with that?”
“Nope. I’m good.” So good, in fact, he should go somewhere else before she did something stupid like climb in his lap and kiss the hell out of him.
How did he look so good early in the morning after climbing out of a damn window?
She needed a gallon of coffee, under-eye patches, and more coffee to feel halfway human, and here he was looking like a damn snack after performing high-level evasive maneuvers.
At least no one saw him.
Wait, no one saw him, right?
Her heart kicked into gear, slamming against her rib cage. For all she knew, one of Saint’s brothers saw him sneaking out of the room, and they now had to trust he could keep this massive secret, which would never happen because who’d keep secrets from their president?
Gator. Gator would keep the secret, and that meant he’d be in a horrible position if anyone found that out. This was so bad. Why had she slept with Saint?
The worst part of it all was how she couldn’t regret it.
If she had to go back in time, she’d probably do it again.
She liked him. Liked him in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
And that was an enormous problem. What the hell was she supposed to do about these feelings?
How could they ever try for something more with a Copper-sized obstacle directly in their path?
Her stomach flipped. She wouldn’t be able to eat a bite of breakfast at this point.
A knee pressed against hers. Instead of jolting, her heart rate immediately settled.
Saint.
After a glance around, revealing no one paid their trio any attention, Beth turned to look at him.
He sat with as relaxed a posture as he could, resting back in his chair and looking mouth-watering in his customary T-shirt, jeans, and HHMC cut. Breathe, he mouthed. “No one suspects. I got you.”
Strong, solid, protective as hell, Saint.
She did as he asked, taking a cleansing breath before turning back to finish cutting a hundred strawberries. Across from her, Gator stared with a shrewd expression. His smile changed from the roguish one he typically sported to one of surprise and even acceptance.
“Oh,” he muttered.
“Gator…” Saint’s tone left no room for misinterpretation. If Gator didn’t shut up, Saint would knock him out.
Gator lifted his hands in surrender. “So that’s how it is.”
Saint flipped him off before Beth could respond, and at that exact moment, her father walked in from his office.
Instead of yanking his knee away, Saint kept it pressed against hers under the table. Of course, her father had no idea, but it was still a risk. Still, she didn’t freak out again. Something about him, his touch, helped even her out. Did she do the same for him?
God, she hoped so.
“Morning, kiddo,” Copper said as he strode over.
“Hey, Dad. You and Mom have a good night?”
He nodded as he dropped into the empty chair beside Gator. “We did. Watched that new comedy your mom’s been wanting to see.”
Beth grinned. She loved how, despite Copper being a huge, tough-as-nails MC president, he’d bend over backward to make his wife happy, including spending his night watching a rom-com, which he hated. But Shell loved them, and what Shell wanted, Copper delivered.
“What’s your plan for the day?”
She shot her dad a suspicious glance as she set the knife down. “Why? Are you planning on having someone follow me everywhere I go?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet.”
“Well, let me make the decision for you. That’s a big, fat no way.”
“Beth…” She shook her head at her father.
Saint frowned. “Beth…”
“Nope.” She pointed back and forth between the two of them. “You are not ganging up on me about this. Not happening. I have a job interview with a grooming salon in town, and I will not have one of you guys sitting outside the shop, intimidating the hell out of some poor salon owner.”
“Beth, they’ll be discreet,” Copper said. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”
“No.”
“You’re not interviewing at The Barking Beautician, are you?” Gator asked without any comment about her safety. Beside her, Saint practically vibrated with what she assumed was the need to shove her in a locked box and throw away the key.
She cringed. “Yes. That name is awful, but they’re the only game in town. They’re new, and they’re hiring.”
“Huh. Heard they kinda suck.”
“Jesus, Gator,” Saint muttered. “Way to be supportive.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve heard the same thing, but I need a job.”
“No, you don’t.” Copper stroked his beard. “We said you could stay at home for as long as you like. There’s no rush.”
Well, I’m sleeping with one of your enforcers, and I sure can’t do that at your house, so there kinda is a rush.
“Dad, I’m used to my own place. I miss the independence,” she said instead. “I miss working too. You know I enjoyed my job.”
“I know. I just like having you at home,” he muttered, face reddening.
She grinned. “Me too.” Nothing but a big old sap, her dad was.
“Wow, this is really touching.” Gator sighed and rested his chin on his hand as he fluttered his lashes.
Copper smacked him on the back of the head.
“Ow! What the hell? It was a compliment.”
“Look, Beth, after yesterday, I’m concerned,” Copper said without acknowledging Gator further. “These motherfuckers have already messed with you once. Until we know more, I’m not taking any chances.”
She sighed and looked at Saint, who stared at her with hot eyes. Hot eyes that dared her to deny protection again. “Fine.” Saint seemed to relax visibly. She wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand, but curled her fingers into her palm instead. “But they stay out of my way.”
Copper nodded. “Promise.”
Sure, he did. It was an easy promise to make but a much harder one to keep.
Her mom blew into the clubhouse wearing an apron and barking orders like a breakfast drill sergeant.
Everyone, all these big, potentially violent bikers jumped into action following her every command without question.
The way they all loved and respected her mother made Beth’s heart happy, but she couldn’t help but laugh.
Tiny Shell wielded a ton of influence around here.
Within five minutes, they’d set the table, delivered the food from the kitchen, and had everyone seated at various tables. Kids ran around causing the usual ruckus, teenagers sat together, staring at their phones with sullen expressions, and loud laughter rang out through the building.