Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Melissa
“Okay, so it's official then? Melissa isn't fair game anymore?” Ripper jokes as we make our way through the clubhouse.
Motherfucker interrupted what was probably the best fucking sex of my life, and it had nothing to do with how rough or wild it was and everything to do with how it felt to have her beneath me.
“Stay away from her,” I snap, shoving through the doors to the Chapel.
“Sit down.” Beast ignores our bickering. “We got a problem.”
I pull out my seat and drop into it. My eyes drift shut as images flood my mind. Melissa beneath me, her body arching, those soft sounds she made when I moved inside her.
I shift, jaw clenching.
My hands curl into fists on my thighs. Whatever's happening between us, no one else gets near her until we sort this mess out. And even after, no one is going near her ever. Even if she decides to leave me.
Fuck.
The thought of her actually walking this time feels like a seven-inch blade lodged in my chest. I'd probably crawl if she asked.
My throat works as I swallow. But I ain’t looking for an old lady, never have been. So what am I gonna do if she starts throwing around demands?
Fuck.
I'm fucked.
My fingers drum against the table. Yeah, keep lying to yourself, asshole. One thing I know for damn sure, those bastards who hurt her years ago are going to bleed. Whether she's mine or not.
“Hella?” Beast snaps, his voice thick. “Thoughts.”
Shit.
“On…?”
He glares. “Are you even fucking listening?”
“No. I wasn't. Got shit on my mind. What was it?”
His eyebrows draw together, deep lines etching his forehead. “Someone has been seen circling the clubhouse. White SUV, no plates.”
“Richard?” I ask, attention piqued.
Frost tosses his cigarette packet onto the table. “Nah. We got eyes on the creep. He's not left Westbeach. Stationed a couple guys at Cyanide & Sugar too, just in case homeboy wants to get freaky.”
I grit my teeth. What Melissa told me earlier still playing in my mind. I could find these fuckers in less than an hour if I wanted, but it's not what she wants, and with this asshole Richard added to the list…
Fuck me.
This is why I don't fuck with relationships.
Beast's voice pulls me back. “You good? What's going on up there?”
My jaw tightens. “Nah nothing I can't handle in due time. Back to the SUV?”
“Don't know yet,” Ripper murmurs, flicking off the ash from his joint. “Got a couple nerds working on CCTV cameras.”
“Yeah, gotcha,” I confirm.
Beast looks at Ripper. “Our other issue, how're those Vixen's?”
The room erupts with laughter as Ripper drags his palm down his face, jaw clenched in frustration.
At twenty-two, he might be one of our younger brothers, but the darkness behind his eyes runs deeper than most men twice his age.
Nobody touches his level of twisted. It's how he earned the most sacred badge of all.
Patupaiarehe. In Māori legends, they were considered dark, quiet entities who hated anything light.
They sat and observed, haunted, fairies in the forests.
Most kids grew up scared of them, never wanting to venture far on hunting or camping trips.
New Zealand may not have fucking mountain lions, or snakes, or any other animals that could kill you, but if you look deep enough…
That particular badge is reserved and not given lightly among Woodsmen. In fact, we're the only chapter that has one.
Ripper.
His lip curls. “Not bad. They're behaving, if that's what you're asking.
How long do I have put up with this shit though, man?
They're living in my fucking house and everything.
My stepsister is supposed to be moving in in a few months for her internship at AUT.
Tell me they'll be gone before then because although Briar is small and preppy, she'd probably still tear Ashley a new hole.”
A smirk pulls at my lips at the drop of Briar. “When's she coming?” I tilt my head with deliberate interest, even though everything inside of me is flat.
His eyes narrow, daggers aimed straight at me. “Fuck off.”
“Now, now... I don't dip twice with civilian bitches, they don't understand the concept.”
His jaw muscles ripple beneath his skin, then he shakes his head. “You're a fucker, you know that?”
Yeah, guilty as charged, I slept with his stepsister. In my defense, she was practically rubbing against me in her cute little cheerleader fit. Kinda fucking hard to ignore when the girl is hot as fuck.
He says he hates her, but I'm familiar with that particular brand of hatred. The kind that can only be resolved on your dick.
Last I heard, she was drowning in textbooks at some Ivy League school in the US. Ripper's mum? One of the wealthiest women in New York. Self-made fucking badass after she created a driving app. Ripper is still mummy's little psychopath. Even all the way in New Zealand.
A chuckle erupts up my throat before a boot collides with my shin under the table.
“What's so funny, fuck-face?”
“Oh, nothing,” I tease, grinning. “Just recalling how Briar felt wrapped around my cock.”
“Enough!” Beast chuckles from his seat. “Pack of bitches.” He shakes his head. “So it's final. We don't kill the motherfucker circling us and we call in security.”
“Hannibal? Get Lake to hack the system, she might be better,” Toke adds with a joint between his lips. Lake is Hannibal's sister's best friend, but she grew up with Hannibal's family after hers were murdered.
He's known her since she was twelve.
Hannibal hesitates. “Nah, man, she's too straight. Uptight bitch,” he answers, running his hand down his beard.
Beast shrugs. “We can call Zane. He's got someone.” He slams the gavel down, and everyone starts exiting.
Beast's hand flies up to my arm, and I look down at it with a smile. “What?”
He waits until everyone has left. “What's going on with you and Melissa?”
“Same shit. We're just fucking around.”
“Is that fucking around going to get someone killed? We're hosting tomorrow night, some of the boys riding in from the Southland chapter. Been a long fucking trip for them, been on the road for a week. If you haven't staked claim on Melissa, she's fair game.”
“I ain't looking for an old lady, Beast. I'll just keep her home.”
He stares back at me as if I grew an extra head. “You think you can slap a leash on a girl like that? Not gonna happen.”
“I know,” I say through gritted teeth.
“What is it?” He asks, eyes narrowed.
I drag my hand over my face. “Nah, just Melissa. Told me some dark shit that happened to her when she was in Uni. Kind of fucked me up a bit.”
When he doesn't answer, I look up at him.
He holds my stare. “Claim her, Hux. No fucking bullshit going down tomorrow all because you have too much pride to do it.”
Beast walks out and I pause. What the fuck I've gotten myself into? Beast is right. No doubt one of them will have grabby hands, and I'll have no problem spattering his blood all over these clubhouse walls.
Old lady, though? Can't be sure of that. Never thought I'd see the day where I was considering patching someone as my old lady, but when I think of Melissa, a small part inside me could want it.
Could.
Don't know if it does or if that's just my cock doing the thinking for me.
One thing is for sure, I can never be the kind of man she needs. Not ever.