CHAPTER 3 #2
“What is it?” The question slips past my lips easily.
“A family.”
My eyes slide closed, and I think about what it means to have a real family.
I was always an inconvenience to my parents, and they never let me forget it.
My childhood was filled with people paid to take care of me, to teach me, to show me love and affection while my parents never considered whether those people actually liked me.
Sometimes they did and I got lucky. Other times…not so much. I’m not sure which was worse to endure—the indifference of my parents or the cruelty of strangers who I always knew were being paid to spend time with me.
I’ve never known what a real family is. That void, the obvious hole in my life and my need to be loved completely, unconditionally, is part of why Sylvester was able to tear me down so easily.
But, of course, that was only after he gave me just enough to hook me, just enough affection, just enough attention, just enough love.
It was never real.
When I open my eyes, Opal is there. She is real. She’s never lied to me, and she’s never tried to hurt me.
“I know they’re important to you,” I whisper the words.
“They’re the only family I’ve ever known, always there at my back, never letting me walk the world alone.”
I ache with Opal’s words. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
“Come on,” she gives my hand another squeeze and reaches for the door, “everyone’s out back. Let me introduce you.”
The first few minutes are a total blur. There were names and faces. Hot faces. Every brother I was introduced to was handsome, even the older guys who had their arms around a woman’s shoulders.
“This is my dad, Warden, and my mom, Patsy,” Opal’s words finally pierce the veil and I’m able to focus just enough.
I smile at the couple who have curiosity written all over their faces. My gaze flicks to Warden, but there’s something warm about Patsy which makes me want to gravitate towards her. Something safe.
“It’s really nice to meet you both,” my voice comes out softer than I would like it to, but I can feel eyes on me.
I try to glance around to figure out where they’re coming from, but don’t see anything out of place.
Then again, how would I even know? “Opal has told me so much about you and the club, thank you for welcoming me.”
Patsy’s smile is soft and she moves slowly when she reaches for my hand. When she touches me, some of the tension in my shoulders ease. My eyes flick back to Warden, but he’s so tall and broad. I hate how fear tries to take hold. He hasn’t earned it.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Patsy drawls.
“I was starting to worry Opal was telling me about her imaginary friend.” She looks over at her daughter with so much love and affection that I push away the jealousy that licks at me.
I don’t begrudge her a happy home life; everyone should be so lucky.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” she teases.
“Mom,” Opal holds out the word while her dad chuckles, the sound low and throaty.
Patsy just laughs and winks at her daughter. She’s about to say something else when a trio of men walk up to us, the one in the middle with dark hair styled in a faux hawk and gray eyes, is glancing between Opal, Patsy, and myself.
“Snake,” Patsy gushes and the man grins at the woman before wrapping her up in a hug. “Good to see you, son,” she murmurs.
I take a second look at him then. He’s muscular, but his body is leaner than some of the other guys around us. Both the guys with him are bulkier, one is so much so that I have no doubt he would hurt me if he wanted to. The thought has me swallowing hard.
Warden steps a little closer to me and when I glance up at him, he’s not looking at the guys, he’s studying me. Even though it makes no sense, I do feel safer with him close. He feels almost like a shield. I’m tempted to hide behind him.
“Have you met Graycie, yet?” Patsy asks as she releases Snake, whose cut declares him as the Vice President.
When I look up at him, his gray eyes are already on me. There’s something about the way he’s looking at me, like he already knows how this meeting is going to go, which sets my teeth on edge. I’m not sure if it’s a sensation I like or one that I want to run away from yet.
“I hadn’t made it around to him yet,” Opal pouts slightly.
She clears her throat, but she doesn’t start with Snake. She points to the man who is almost the most muscular, but not quite, out of the three. The way he’s looking at me is a mix of curiosity and suspicion. There’s a severity about him which isn’t helped by his shaved head.
“Graycie, this is Ryker. He’s the President.
” Next, she points at the third guy, who has the most bulk on him out of the three.
His hair is buzzed and he keeps glancing at Opal, and I swear I see longing there, but I can’t be sure.
He’s hot, he just doesn’t do anything for me.
His patch says Sergeant at Arms and I’m a little confused about why they need someone in the position.
In a motorcycle club. “This is Sidewinder,” Opal huffs out the words like they’re an afterthought.
Sidewinder looks wounded for a moment, but then he covers it with a smirk. Opal blinks a few times, but then Snake is leaning forward and it takes everything in me to stay still. “What about me, little sister?”
Opal groans and flings her hand back and forth between me and her brother. “This is Snake. He’s my brother and he’s always been an annoying dick.”
“Opal,” Patsy admonishes, “that is no way to introduce someone to your family.”
The look on Opal’s face is sheepish and I almost giggle. I have to bite my lip to stop myself and when I look up, Snake’s gray eyes are locked on where my teeth are digging into my flesh. I swear I see heat in his eyes, but then he blinks and it’s gone.
“It’s nice to meet you, Graycie,” Snake rasps the words and the things the sound does to my body do not bode well for me.
This guy is my best friend’s brother. Not any best friend either, the only best friend that I’ve had in years. He’s off limits.
Even if he is looking at me like I’m exactly what he’s been waiting for. My smile feels brittle on my face while I force out the words, “It’s nice to meet you too, Snake.” I glance around the group and add, “All of you.”
“How did Opal manage to meet you before I had the honor?” There’s meaning underneath Snake’s question, a desire, and an offer to make it into a reality which has my thighs clenching.
“Luck, I guess,” I sass the man.
His lip curls slowly and it sparks something in me which I feel in the middle of my chest. This spark. It’s different from what I’ve felt with anyone else.
It scares the fuck out of me.
“Where are you working?” Ryker asks the question and when I look at him, he’s watching me like he’s waiting for me to freak out and pull a runner. Or burst into tears.
“I work at Bunz Out,” I tell him. I haven’t seen any of the brothers in the bakery, but there’s no way Lara opened her business without the club being, at least, aware of it happening.
“Oh,” Sidewinder drawls and snaps his fingers, “the bakery?”
I nod as the guys exchange a look. “I might need to stop in there and check it out,” Snake drawls.
The way he’s looking at me tells me he’ll be checking out far more than just the bakery. It should scare the hell out of me. His gray eyes trace over my body while making too many promises. I find myself believing in the possibility of there being more in this world than heartache and pain for me.
Maybe.
When I hear someone huff nearby, I glance over to find a beautiful blonde woman glaring at me. No one else seems to pay her any mind. When she notices me looking, she turns, flicks her hair over her shoulder, and flounces away.
I can’t dwell on it because Opal tugs me away from the group and yells something about getting me food over her shoulder. With every step I can feel gray eyes taking me in, and I can’t help but wonder if this is what desire actually feels like.
I’m fairly certain that I want to get lost in the sensation, in him.
And I can’t help but wonder what his hands would feel like on my body, even hours later when I’ve eaten, smiled, laughed, and am ready to go home after having far more fun than I ever expected. His eyes tracked me the entire day and a small part of me found some sort of comfort in it.
I can only hope the feeling doesn’t get me in trouble. He won’t actually come into the bakery. Will he?