Chapter Fourteen
Corey
Watching Damon holding Julian, my heart melts a little, and if I wanted to have children, I’m sure my ovaries would be bursting.
“He’s so good with him,” Julianna comments after she finishes her dance. “Look, he’s singing and dancing with him now.”
I know Julianna and Damon are close and that he probably talks to her about things. So I ask her, “What do you know?”
She laughs. “About what?”
“About how Damon feels about me,” I reply boldly, turning to face her and blocking her view of him. “First I was getting all the signals, then mixed signals, then no signals, and now he’s acting interested again.”
“He’s always liked you as far as I know,” she says, grabbing a drink from the table next to us. “You need to talk to him about it all, Corey. But for what it’s worth, I’m rooting for you both. I always have been.” She kisses me on the cheek and then goes to get her baby back.
“Yeah, I guess that’s the mature thing to do,” I mumble to myself, just as Jag comes up and gently nudges me.
“That’s some talent you have,” he compliments, clearly impressed. “I can’t even draw a stick person that well.”
I tilt my head to the side. “You’re a tech genius and a hacker. You don’t need to draw a stick anything.”
Plus, by the look of him in his tight jeans, he wields a big enough stick.
He grins impishly, his green eyes alight with mischief. “True. And I have a decent body. And I’m pretty good-looking.”
“Okay, calm down,” I reply in a dry tone, but I can’t help but laugh. Jag is always so light and fun to be around. “You’re also clearly very modest.”
“Name one modest biker,” he states, scanning the crowd. “I don’t know even one.”
Now that he mentions it...
Okay, I suppose those two words don’t really go well together.
“You know I like hanging out with you, right?” he says, flashing me a lopsided grin. “And you buy mangoes and chocolate, and you’re cute as fuck. But even more than that, annoying Damon really is a highlight for me. Look at him right now. He looks like he wants to kill me.”
I turn to look and see Damon talking with Jeremiah, having given Julian to Julianna, but his eyes are locked on me, and he doesn’t look happy at how close Jag and I are standing and talking with each other. I suppose I can see where Jag is coming from. Maybe it will encourage Damon to carry me to my bedroom, strip off my clothes, and show me firsthand what all the fuss is about. And I know it’s going to be good, and well worth the wait, because just the way he makes me feel from across the yard is intense enough. I can only imagine what it will be like when he’s got me naked underneath him.
“You’re drooling a little,” Jag says, laughing as he crosses his arms over his broad chest.
I wipe my mouth, which makes him laugh harder.
River comes over and stands next to me, an odd expression on his face. “What’s so funny?”
Is he worried something is happening with me and Jag? Maybe it might make him appreciate Damon more.
“Nothing,” I reply in a sweet, singsong voice. “What did you think of the mural?”
“I think it’s perfect,” he says, blue eyes gentling. “Do you want me to take a photo of it so Mom can see?”
The mention of my mother ruins my good mood. “I don’t think she’d really care, do you?”
The relationship I have with her is definitely a sore point. I mean, who doesn’t want a good relationship with their parents? They are the ones who are supposed to show us unconditional love, and instead I got saddled with an abusive father and a mother who always treats me like she doesn’t want a daughter around. She clearly doesn’t care—she’s off living her best life on River’s money, fostering animals instead of showing the same love and attention to her own child.
“I’m sure she’d love to see it. You got your artistic side from her,” he says, pulling out his phone and going over to take the photo. He’s so oblivious when it comes to her.
Yeah, so maybe it’ll get the attention of her narcissistic side. She can claim my talent comes from her, and then probably criticize it. Wonderful.
“He’s such a proud brother,” Jag points out, now stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. “And he doesn’t look like he wants to kill me anymore whenever he sees me with you.”
“Probably because he knows we’re just friends and you’re usually just being a dickhead.” I grin, and Jag grabs me in a pretend headlock and messes up my hair.
When I finally stand upright and gaze over at Damon, he looks like he wants to kill us both.
“He’s obviously not getting the friend zone memo.” Jag smirks, just as Leif, the Viking prospect, comes over to us, a beer in his hand.
“Your mural is amazing,” he says, smiling. He’s tall, very, very tall, and his blond hair is loose around his shoulders.
“Thank you so much,” I reply genuinely, just as River returns to show me the photo he took.
“Look how good it is, Corey. I’m sending it to her,” he announces, pressing send.
“Want to send it to Tatum, too?” I joke, but then wish I didn’t with the way his expression darkens.
“I don’t know what game he’s playing, but he’s going to lose,” he says, sliding his phone into his jeans pocket. “If he reaches out to you in any way, tell me right away. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“I will. Don’t worry, I have no foolish notions about wanting to get to know him,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “As far as I’m concerned, I only have two brothers—one here and one in heaven.”
“The third one is about to be in hell,” I hear him mutter under his breath.
Damon finishes his conversation and strolls over to join the party, standing next to me. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Actually yes, I’d love a beer,” I tell him, and he goes to get me one.
Good boy.
River watches him but doesn’t say anything. I guess it’s not a crime to be a gentleman.
“Who do you like better, Damon or Jag?” I ask, feeling a little bold this evening.
“Why?” he asks, lips tightening into a straight line. “You need to be more specific.”
“Just in general,” I insist, shrugging.
Something is going to happen with me and Damon. I can feel it in my bones, and I need to prepare River. But no matter how he reacts, I’m not going to let him control my life and tell me I can’t be with who I want. That doesn’t mean that I like him being upset, though.
“They’re both my MC brothers” is all he says, giving nothing else away, but I know he has to like Damon more. Not that there’s anything wrong with Jag, but he hasn’t been around too long, with the Devils MC getting him in as a prospect a few months ago, and Damon has been an Angel for a long time, and is quickly moving up in the ranks.
River loves power, and he’d want me to be with someone like that. At least that’s what I’m hoping.
The alcohol starts flowing, the music gets louder, and we all start having some fun as the sun goes down.
Once everyone is thoroughly inebriated, we ask Diamond if he can show us some of his stripper moves. We even put on “Pony” by Ginuwine. He does a little teasing body roll move, but then shakes his hands like nope, sorry, not happening .
But even that little move was sexy as hell.
“Come on!” we all cheer.
He laughs, a little nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I don’t want to die before I’m patched in.”
Smart man.
“Fair enough,” Julianna replies, but low-key sounds disappointed.
“So where are all the single women?” he asks, taking a seat next to us. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but I feel like daggers are being pointed at me every time I talk to one of you. And rightly so—you are all beautiful, and if you were mine, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight, either.”
I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “Well, we used to have more women around, but one of them ended up being a traitorous bitch, and we haven’t really brought new women into the circle. But you’re right, we should invite...” I pause. “All of our friends.”
I share a look with Bella and Julianna, because we all know that we don’t have any other friends.
There’s Julianna’s other sister, Veronica, who we’re cool with, but she’s kind of distanced herself ever since Julianna took over. She still lives with her parents, and Julianna does see her, but she doesn’t really come to hang out. I mean, she was in love with Victor, who the MC did kill. There was also the woman who was supposed to work for Julianna and Bella and ended up being a spy for Rosalind.
Diamond reads the room. “You don’t have any other friends, do you?”
We all burst out laughing, because it’s true.
But we could find some, right?
When my phone buzzes with a text, I wonder who it could be because all of my friends are right here with me.
It’s from an unknown number.
I’m not the monster everyone has made me out to be, Corey. And I AM your brother. Come meet me for a chat.
How the hell did he get my number?
Corey: Why are you here?
Tatum: I want to find out who killed my father. And we got kicked out of our last town, so I thought it was the perfect time. We can talk more in person.
Fuck.