Chapter Three #2
Kodiak braced his hands on each side of the doorway, leaned in, and smiled when he saw me. “Good. You’re here. I gotta admit, I got a chub when Bullet told me you were one of the seven bikers. Everyone in the MC has heard you fucking your girl.”
“You’re about to be disappointed.” Lacey strode toward the door. “I need to tell Jinx and the guys the live stream is canceled.” She shoved Kodiak’s arm out of the way and disappeared down the hall.
Kodiak came into the room and plopped down next to Bullet. “What’s going on?”
Bullet rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Cockblocked by his old lady.”
Kodiak groaned and leaned his head back. “Fuck, Cruz. Take your balls out of her purse. You’re looking at serious scratch. Didn’t your dad ever teach you it’s better to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission?”
“Nah.” He never taught me the value of keeping my promises either. This time, I wasn’t breaking my word to McKelle. I wasn’t lying when I told her my dick was hers, and my balls were firmly in place. “I’m not fucking Jinx.”
“Fine. Just stand in the room and watch the rest of us fuck her. You can be too shy to fuck her. Or you can be too dumb to fuck her.”
I’d be asleep in the corner imagining I was doing my own filthy fairytale of Beauty and the Beast, devouring my club princess.
Bullet clasped his hands between his thighs. “Like I said, it’s your call. You don’t have to fuck her. You don’t even have to touch her. She’ll be too busy getting railed by Grumps here to keep count. Just be on camera.”
Kodiak narrowed his gaze on me. Once I patched in, these guys would be my brothers. They were counting on me. I could keep my promise to McKelle, and still not go back on my word to Bullet.
Hell, even Dozer had a picture of my dick in his phone. My dick wasn’t the issue. It’s where I’d been putting it. And it wasn’t going anywhere near Jinx. So, I was good, right? Keeping my promise to both McKelle and not letting my brothers down. Doing a favor for a patch.
McKelle
“Oh, sweet little, Rosie.” I cradled Levi’s baby and walked around the room as she slept curled into my chest. I’d made friends with all the girls at the MC.
I was closest to Kiss, but I was a sucker for a baby.
I’d volunteered to watch Rosie, even if it was just to hold her so Levi could clean her house and get a shower. “Are you a pampered princess?”
“It’s called spoiled,” Levi said. “It breaks my heart when she cries.”
“That explains why you only sleep when someone’s holding you,” I whispered sweetly to the baby.
“My mom says she’ll eventually learn to sleep on her own, and that she settles because she hears a heartbeat.” Levi sighed and a gentle smile curled her lips. “She’s only going to be tiny for a few months.”
I breathed in the soft scent of Rosie’s skin. “She’s so sweet.”
“She is.” Levi sat on the couch with her legs crossed and folded Rosie’s little clothes. “Thanks for coming over. Pippa and Hana spend Sundays at Torch’s house. Jazzy is with Rogue.”
“I don’t care if I’m your last choice. I’ll always come hold her.”
Levi laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that.” She blushed. “Sorry. I just wanted you to know I appreciate you coming over. Romeo is down at the shop. He’s helping a friend fix his bike. Something about a clutch burnout. Ryatt was in a panic because he uses the bike for work.”
I pivoted toward her. “Ryatt?”
“Romeo knows him from when they were both in foster care. He goes to NA meetings with Kiss.”
“I know Ryatt.” And I hated to admit, but hearing his name caused a flutter in my belly.
Ryatt had a teasing smile. He was good for Kiss. They had their sponsor connection for treatment. I didn’t know what his drug issues were, but he seemed to have them under control.
“I’ve been to a few of Kiss’s meetings,” I said.
“Oh.” She grew quiet, running her fingers along a pink shirt she folded.
“Kiss and I are friendly, but I don’t think we’ll ever be close again.
I’m happy that she’s happy. I want her to be healthy.
” A flash of regret crossed her face, then she started folding clothes again.
“So, is that how you became friends with Ryatt?”
“I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but more than acquaintances. He seems like a good guy,” I said. A good friend kind of guy. “He’s going to volunteer at the next track day.”
“That’s good. I don’t think he has a lot of friends. Romeo keeps asking him to come hang around at the MC. He’ll sponsor Ryatt if he decides to prospect.”
Careful not to wake the baby, I slowly eased into the rocking chair. “I didn’t think Hellers allowed sportbike people into their club.”
Levi laughed. “Ryatt would have to get a real bike.”
My mouth dropped open. “Be nice.”
“I’m teasing. Besides, once he’s hanging out with the Hellers, Ryatt will want a Harley.” She cocked a brow. “Romeo’s Nightster is definitely sporty. Just not like the bikes you and Ryatt ride. A sportbike would be uncomfortable on the long runs.”
A buzzer sounded from the other room. “Are you staying for lunch?” she asked as she hurried to the kitchen, her ponytail swinging. “Romeo should be back soon. He’s going to text me when he’s on his way home.”
“Is Ryatt coming with him?”
Levi stepped back into the living room and propped her hand on her hip.
“What? I’m not thirsty for him,” I said and laughed. “Okay, I think he’s lit. He has a sick bike, and I’m going to smoke his ass on the track.”
Levi rolled her eyes. “Come in here and explain.” She returned to the kitchen.
With a hand to Rosie’s back, I stood from the chair. “I’m serious,” I said and softly bounced the baby with my steps. “All I’m giving Ryatt is the friend vibe.” Not that he was giving me the amped up adrenaline rush I felt when I was with Cruz. But maybe a smidge of hot friend vibe.
I’d tell her Romeo and Blade had hot friend vibes, too.
I knew Dozer well enough to know that his dark side would hit too hard.
With Cruz, I liked to laugh and fight with equal ferocity.
Not that it had always been good for us.
We’d been through some hurts. Most guys made better friends.
Cruz was the only one I’d let close enough to make me cry.
Loving him could be hard. For two years, my parents had been saying that he was bad for me, but they didn’t know him the way I did. No one did. Sometimes I hated that I understood him so well. There had been times I’d wondered if walking away would’ve been easier.
It wasn’t. I’d tried. He just sucked at seeing beyond the moment. He made decisions without thinking of the consequences.
“I wouldn’t cheat on Cruz,” I said to Levi. “We fight, but we always come back to each other.”
Levi smirked. “Sounds like a relationship made in Heller heaven.”
“Levi, I’m so hard into Cruz. I had no idea what he meant when he decided to become a prospect for the club. But I get it now. The patch means everything to him.” And not much in his life meant anything. For a time, even me.
“We’ve come through some rough patches,” I continued. But we were good now. “Neither one of us want to ruin what we have going. Yes, I think Ryatt is hot. I’ll set him up with my friend, Katrina. She rides a Ducati, and she’s seriously into biker boys.”
“In that case, yes. At least, I assume Ryatt’s coming over. I know he hates where he’s living, and he never passes up my fine cooking.”
Rosie stretched, arched her back, and opened her sleepy eyes.
“Hi, beautiful,” I said.
Her face pinched, and her little hands curled into fists.
“She’ll be hungry.” Levi washed her hands and dried them on a paper towel. “I’ll trade you.”
“Me cook?” I handed over the baby.
“It’s tuna casserole. You can’t fail.” Levi sat at the table and lifted her shirt. Rosie stopped fussing and latched onto her boob.
I stood at the stove, grabbed the wooden spoon, and stirred the boiling macaroni noodles.
“How’s Kiss doing?” she asked.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Good. Staying clean. If you’re worried, don’t be. You should see her at meetings. She’s an example on how to live clean.”
“I miss being at the MC.” She stared down at her baby. “But my bean is too little. I know Romeo is torn when he leaves us to go to the club, but he needs his brothers.” She gently stroked Rosie’s cheek as the baby made slurping noises. Her phone pinged. She checked the message. “He’s on his way.”
I continued to stir the noodles. A minute passed with only the gurgling noises of the baby in the room. The tumble in my tummy had me asking, “So did he say if Ryatt is coming with him?”
When Levi didn’t answer, I spun toward her.
“Okay. I know he’s hot, but I have a boyfriend.
You’re close to Dozer so don’t tell me you can’t have guys as friends.
I’m only interested in Ryatt as a friend.
He rides a freaking beast of a bike, and he’s nice.
Besides, he’s going to be around the MC and the track so I don’t see why I can’t get to know him better. Just as a friend,” I clarified.
I lifted the pot from the stove and drained the noodles into the strainer in the sink. “I’m with Cruz, but he has the club, and I have the track.” I looked at the cans of cream of mushroom Levi had on the counter. “Are we having soup, too?”
Levi laughed. “Tuna casserole. I’m sure you’ve eaten it before.”
I raised a brow.
“Seriously?” she asked.
I shook my head. “My dad has a thing about food. It’s too complicated to explain. He doesn’t like blended food. Like he won’t eat mixed vegetables. He’ll have corn, peas, and carrots, just don’t serve them together in the same bowl.”
“He must drive your mom crazy.”
“They’ve been married for thirty years so I think she’s okay with it.”
“Drain the tuna, then mix it in that bowl with the soup, cheese powder, and half a can of milk. Then mix in the noodles and add it to that glass dish. And you need to hurry. It needs to bake for a few minutes.”