Chapter 9
ISABELLA
“ I could have just gotten a rideshare,” I mumble as Trace opens his truck door for me.
“Nah. I’m headed back to the Clubhouse anyway.
Besides, I’m pretty sure Seb would cut off my balls if I allowed you to go in a car with someone neither of us vetted,” Trace says with a shrug, before wincing.
“Fuck. Now he’s really gonna have me by the balls for saying ‘cut off my balls’ to his old lady. ”
My mouth drops open in shock. “I am not old!”
Trace throws back his head in raucous laughter. “I know that. Damn, darlin’. You’ve gotta be a decade younger than me. The term ‘old lady’ is an MC thing. It means your woman.”
“I’m not —” I say, but he cuts me off as I slide into the seat. One hand on the top of the truck and the other casually draped across the door, Trace looks at me seriously.
“It’s a status thing. A sign of respect, and also a sign that no other club member can fuck with you.
Whether you think you’re Seb’s or not, he’ll let everyone know that you’re off limits.
Although in my opinion, you could do worse than Sebastian Garcia.
” With that, he closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side.
Sliding in, he turns on the ignition and buckles his seatbelt.
“I don’t know a more honorable man than Seb.
He’d take the shirt off his back and give it to just about anyone.
You could tell him you have no interest in him romantically, and I know he’d still have us looking after you, because even if he couldn’t have you, he’d want you safe. ”
I don’t reply as I let Trace’s words marinate.
I know Sebastian is honorable. My brothers wouldn’t respect him if he weren’t.
They certainly wouldn’t allow me to stay at Sebastian’s home right now.
I got a couple of strongly worded texts from Dominic this afternoon, threatening to come and remove me from Sebastian’s if I didn’t answer him about the status of our relationship, but then got texts from his wife Kate, telling me she’d calmed him down.
She also encouraged me to ‘ride the sexy motorcycle man,’ but I chose not to acknowledge that text.
Speaking of texts, the sibling group text has been overly active today. Honestly, all the group texts revolving around my family have been busier than normal, and usually the chat with the girls is complete bedlam. Today, however, my brothers are out for blood.
Alex: I’ve got a buddy who is Denver PD, and he’s staking out Rick’s apartment.
Dominic: Hypothetically speaking, how easy is it to dispose of something that weighs around two hundred pounds?
Leo: Depends on a variety of factors.
Arianna: Didn’t someone threaten to drop my ex in a lake in the mountains?
Alex: Your husband did, and he roped me into it as an accessory.
Luca: How is no one asking Leo for more information? We need to know what Leo knows, and if he’s used any of this knowledge before.
Gianna: How am I the only one who thinks this entire conversation shouldn’t be in text form? Paper trails, people!
Dominic: She’s right. At this point, we’re all fucked. Leo, whatcha got?
Leo: Does the person really weigh exactly two hundred?
Leo: Body weight on land is higher than in water.
Leo: Body fat percentage?
Leo: What object is being used to weigh the body down?
Leo: Some items are denser under water, so different items may “weigh” the same, but weigh a body down differently.
Leo: Are we dumping the body — I mean, the object — in a landfill? Underground? In water?
Leo: Ocean or freshwater?
Alex: …
Dominic: Jesus Christ.
Luca: I fucking LOVE this family.
Gianna: Travis is going to enjoy the play-by-play of this chat when he gets home from work.
Arianna: You can’t tell him! Isn’t that like some kind of cardinal rule, like Fight Club?
Luca: First rule of Siblings for Hire Club: don’t tell your spouses.
Luca: Second rule of Siblings for Hire Club: come up with a better name for the club.
Alex: Bad Boyfriends Club.
Alex: Taking out the Trash.
Dominic: Boyfriend Butchering.
Gianna: Can we not name this never-gonna-happen club, please?
Luca: Ho-ho-homicide House.
Dominic: The Slaughter Saloon.
Arianna: Guys.
Luca: Club Carnage. Where fun becomes deadly.
Leo: We’re not naming any kind of club where we may or may not off Belle’s ex-boyfriend. Hypothetically.
Leo: And I’m unavailable for the next few weeks anyway.
Leo: Since I know you all will expect the majority of the covert bullshit to fall on me.
Leo: So don’t.
Luca: Unavailable for a few weeks?
Dominic: What’s going on?
Alex: Where the hell are you anyway, Leo?
Arianna: Gia, he’s your twin. Use that twin voodoo crap and pin down his location.
Gianna: Last time I checked, sharing a womb didn’t make me a human Find My Friends GPS, Ari.
Gianna: I know where he is. And he told me not to share, so I’m not saying a word.
Dominic: As head of this family, I find that answer unacceptable.
Alex: How the hell did you become head of the family? First of all, I’m the oldest. Second of all, Dad is still alive?
Dominic: Please. You really think I don’t run everything already?
Alex: Fucker.
Dominic: That’s what I thought.
Me: Can I leave?
Arianna: Don’t you dare, Belly, I’ll add you right back in!
Me: I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE FOR THIS SHIT.
Arianna: You don’t get to unsubscribe from siblings. If I have to suffer through this testosterone-fueled group text, we all do.
Luca: You’re my favorite sister, Ari.
Arianna: Fuck off, Luca. I’m only your favorite because Isabella hasn’t brought you any desserts lately.
Luca: This is true.
Isabella has left the group
Trace clears his throat, and I look up from my phone to find Sebastian staring intently at me from inside his garage. I was so engrossed in the chaos of my siblings that I didn’t realize we’d made it back home. I mean, to Sebastian’s home.
Holy hell, I cannot think of this man’s home as being my home.
“He gave me the all clear. You can get out,” Trace says quietly.
My eyes dart a glance at his profile. “The all clear? You think someone might be hiding out there?”
“It’s a precaution. Seb doesn’t take chances on those he lo — the people he cares about,” Trace stammers. “Zee will be with you at the bakery tomorrow. And then you’re off the following day, correct?”
“Yes,” I answer, my eyes widening. “How did you know that? The bakery is open every day.”
“You switch your off days every week, but you’ve been adhering to the same schedule for over a year. You flip-flop Tuesdays and Thursdays, then the third week of the month, you take off Sundays.”
“I didn’t realize you’d kept such a close eye on me,” I tease.
Trace chuckles. “I think you know who has kept a close eye on you, and it sure as shit wasn’t me.”
I feel heat spread up my neck as I giggle awkwardly. “Thanks for being there today, and helping me clean up after the cabinet catastrophe.”
“My pleasure. Now get out before Seb stalks over here and demands a duel. I can see the steam coming out of his ears from here.”
I look up quickly, and notice Sebastian’s eyes trained on me.
He definitely looks unhappier than he did when we originally pulled up, but I find it hard to believe it’s solely because I spent a minute speaking with Trace.
Thanking him again, I exit his truck and approach Sebastian slowly. “Is everything okay?”
“What were you talking to Trace about?” he asks.
“My schedule,” I say slowly, watching as Sebastian’s eyes dance along the horizon as he pulls me into the garage. I hear Trace drive away as Sebastian closes the door. “And how apparently you gave him a look that told him I could get out of the car?”
“I did.” His hand finds mine as we walk between his motorcycle and my car.
“Do you really think some sharpshooter is just hanging out on MC land, waiting for the fat baker to come home from work?”
Sebastian stops, turning so quickly I run into him.
His eyes narrow as he steps into my space, and I subconsciously back up until I hit the side of my car.
He crowds against me, his hand finding my neck, and I shudder.
“I don’t know which part of that sentence I need to address first, or which part pisses me off the most. Don’t ever speak about a sharpshooter possibly staking you out.
You think I’d actually let one fucking inch of my property go unsurveilled right now?
Even taking you out of the equation, Isabella, I have a child here. I would never put her safety at risk.”
Blood drains from my face. “I’m sorry. That was so uncouth of me. Of course you wouldn’t.”
His thumb rubs against my pulse point, and his eyes drop to my lips as he lines his body up with mine. “And do you really think I’d put your safety at risk? Now that I finally have you close to me? Now that you might actually be seeing what I’ve been saying all along?”
I don’t answer as his hand slides up to my jaw, and his thumb pushes against my lower lip.
With enough pressure, my mouth opens slightly, and I watch as Sebastian’s eyes become hooded.
His other hand drifts down my side, latching onto my thigh, lifting it.
I gasp when he lines himself up with my core, and I feel every inch of him.
“Do you feel what you do to me, mi Reina ? I haven’t even touched you.
Tasted you. Fuck, I haven’t even kissed you.
But I’m hard as steel just being in your orbit.
I dream about your body, Isabella. Every inch of you is perfection.
I’ve wanted you for years. Years . I crave you, exactly as you are.
And the word ‘fat’ shouldn’t ever be used to describe your exquisite body. ”
I’m absolutely panting, on the verge of an orgasm just from his words. Each word was spoken with such clarity, his hot breath breaking across my skin like fire, and I’m overcome with desire unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.