Chapter 10
Smokehouse
D oes she even realize how beautiful she looks sitting there? Probably not.
She didn’t seem like the type to realize that she knotted men up until they were willing to agree to anything just to spend some time with her.
Even I, a jaded womanizer, wasn't immune to her charms. Her hair shone like a golden waterfall under the lighting in the small dining room.
Her blue eyes pulled me in every time she met my gaze.
The hug and kiss she’d given me earlier had nearly knocked me on my ass.
It wasn’t like I’d never been kissed before.
It was the emotion that was behind her actions that had confused me.
Or rather, my reaction to those emotions.
I liked it. Having her arms around me was natural.
I’d wanted to gather her closer and kiss her again.
I never thought I would be so happy to have a woman ask me not to fuck around with other women.
It meant she was as invested in this as I was.
At least for the time being. I still didn’t trust that she wouldn’t walk out.
That possibility would always be in the back of my mind.
But for now, I didn’t want another man touching her, nor did I want her catching on to the idea of leaving me too soon.
I just wasn’t sure of my motivations. She was carrying my child.
I didn’t want anyone coming near her while she and my baby were vulnerable.
Was it more than just that? That’s what I needed to figure out.
Until I did, I wasn’t making her any promises.
Calling her my woman was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that until I made up my mind, but it had been as natural to say as breathing.
I didn’t want to hurt her inadvertently.
She was sweet. The way she’d all but melted when Priest’s girls had given her the pictures, and otter, had set something off inside of me.
I needed to know who she was, at the core.
It was an insatiable urge. It’d been damn difficult to leave her here with my sister and the others.
I’d wanted to snarl at them to leave so I could start getting to know Dani.
Instead, while the girls were helping move in, I went downstairs and had a drink with my brothers.
I think it had been the right call, those women were as warm and welcoming as Dani.
It would help everyone if they got along with one another.
I was more relaxed now. Ready to tackle whatever conversations we needed to have as we ate. Instead, we’d fallen silent. It wasn’t awkward, so I let her sit with her thoughts. At least until something occurred to me.
“I should tell you about the sweet butts.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at me. “The what ?”
She was so innocent of the ways of my world and it amused me.
It was odd, actually. Of my brothers who now had wives or girlfriends, only two had ended up marrying women who’d been involved with the club.
They hadn’t been sweet butts, but they were a part of the life.
Susie’s uncle had been the president of a chapter over in Phoenix way back in the day.
She’d grown up around club life because of it.
And Tori had been married to another biker before Bear.
Her first marriage hadn’t lasted, but she and Bear had been together for so long now there was no doubt it was going to stick.
“The sweet butts. They’re the women who hang out and work here at the club. You’ll usually see them working the bar downstairs in the clubhouse, or over in The Bunker.”
“Why are they here?”
“They’re hoping to snag themselves a biker,” I answered, being completely honest.
“Why would they stay if no one decided to make them their…old lady…right away?” she asked, hesitating as she formed the right words. She was trying to use our lingo and it was adorable.
I appreciated that she was trying. It would make it easier in the long run, even if I went with my gut, and against my heart, and didn’t wife her up.
She didn’t know it yet, but I wasn’t very trusting either.
I wasn’t sure I was the best thing for her, or she for me.
Even laying claim to her for now was only for her own safety, so no one hit on her while she was here. Or so I told myself.
“We end up with a lot of bikers coming through our doors. Some are from other clubs. Some are Nomads. They’re just hoping that the right biker will find them.”
She nodded in understanding. “So any single woman working here is a Sweet Butt?”
“No.” I shook my head. “The sweet butts party with us and usually end up fucking club members while they’re here.”
Her eyes widened. “All of them?”
I chuckled. “Only the ones who want it. It’s almost always the single guys, though more than one marriage in the past was split up thanks to too much booze and a willing woman nearby.”
The worry flashed over her face before she dropped her eyes down to her plate.
I wasn’t sure if she was upset for the other women, or scared that I’d go back on my promise.
I tried not to take it personally, she didn’t know me well, yet.
I might fuck around a lot while single, but I didn’t go back on my word.
I wouldn’t sleep with anyone else while we were working this out between us.
“Don’t worry, Wildcat. The men here are loyal. They don’t mess around on their women. Besides, we only have a handful of sweet butts here. And for all my, um, dating, I never play with them. I don’t shit where I eat.”
“That’s good.” She gave me a hesitant smile and I couldn’t help admiring her again.
I didn’t want to admit how attracted to her I was. Sleeping with her while she was here was one thing. Getting attached? That never led to anything good in my experience.
“It’s kind of early…but would you mind if I went to bed after I clean up the kitchen?”
I ground my teeth together as I studied her.
Something told me a lot of the reactions she’d had since getting here, as well as some of her habits, were because of her asshole husband.
It killed me knowing she was still married to him.
Though it pacified me a little to know she’d been trying to get him out of her life.
“Sure. Go get ready for bed. I’ll take care of the dishes.”
She looked shocked, sitting there still in her chair. “Oh, I can do that.”
“No need.” I stood and grabbed both our plates before she could get it in her head to do the same. “Go on.”
She wrung her hands together as she rose from the chair.
I could feel her eyes following me as I laid the dishes inside the sink.
Someone had already done the dishes that Jenny had used to make our dinner and they filled the rack next to the sink.
Tomorrow, I’d get our dishwasher hooked up.
For now, I plugged the sink and filled it half full to take care of the few dishes we’d used.
By the time I looked over my shoulder, she was gone.
Pausing, I listened and heard water running.
She was taking a shower. I let my mind wander as I cleaned up.
If anyone had asked, this wasn’t what I had imagined would happen when I’d picked up the gorgeous blonde in a bar that night.
Strangely, I wasn’t upset about it anymore.
Probably because there was nothing to be done but man up and face the consequences of my own actions.
I didn’t look too closely at that, because I knew in a way it was a partial lie.
Something about the woman who was now living with me was calming any nerves I had about the whole thing.
I should be losing my fucking mind. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if I’d spent the night downstairs drinking away my troubles, sleeping with the first woman who caught my fancy. Instead, here I was at—I looked down at my watch—eight p.m., doing dishes and getting ready for bed myself.
Shaking my head, I hung the dish towel back on the bar across the front of the oven and went into my own room.
I turned on my shower and tried to keep my mind from straying to the naked wet woman who was only a few rooms over.
It was going to be a test of my patience to keep my hands off her sexy body.
That was part of the reason I wasn’t downstairs.
If I was being honest with myself, no other women were going to catch my fancy, because she already had.
Plus, there was that deal we’d made with each other.
She was a drug I needed to get out of my system.
That was going to be hard to do if I couldn’t fuck her.
But I’d figure something out. The water poured over me as I showered, and then I dried off and dressed in a pair of sweats for the night.
I never slept in much, this was more a concession for her so that I didn’t forget and wander out naked in the morning.
Scratching my bare chest, I stepped outside my room and found her waiting.
She was in a pair of soft looking sleep pants and a tank top.
I damn near drooled over her even though her pants had little black bats on a pink background.
Since when had I ever been into the sweet and cute type?
I knew what a bombshell she could be when she was dressed up, but seeing her like this just made me want to carry her to bed and cuddle her while we slept.
That was new. I hated sleeping with someone else in my bed.
I almost never allowed them to stay once we were done. Dani had been the first in a long time.
I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable with the urges she was dredging up inside of me. It wasn’t fucking natural. Not for me. Not anymore. “Good night.” My voice was gruff, even to my own ears, but there was no fixing that now.