3. Rhys
three
Rhys
The last thing I wanted to do today was hang out at the lake with Ghost and Phantom, all because their old ladies, Prue and Piper, and their younger siblings wanted to spend the day at the beach.
But Savage assigned Reaper and me to go as added protection.
We’re still not sure whether all the Sons of Decimation are in custody, since we recently uncovered evidence of illegal activity involving our police department and theirs.
Thanks to Cee and Sloane, we’ve narrowed it down.
Just thinking about Cee has me shifting in the cheap lawn chair I’m sitting in to ease the pressure in my balls.
The taste of her skin is all I’ve been able to think about for the past couple of days.
I reach up, touching the spot on my neck where she left a hickey—the damn thing is fading too fast. Sure, the guys at the clubhouse gave me shit about it, and even Diesel’s grandmother, who tries to set me up on a dating app every day, has backed off.
“So what do you think? Is the deputy police chief involved in human trafficking?” I lift my bottle of water to my lips and take a long drink, almost choking when I spot Cee and another young woman spreading a beach blanket near the shore.
Both women are wearing tiny bikinis that barely cover their tits, ass, and pussy.
I’m not the only one who notices—a group of guys playing volleyball has stopped to stare openly at the two curvy beauties.
“What the fuck is Cee wearing?” I leap out of my chair, knocking the flimsy thing over in the process.
“Calm down.” Reaper grabs my arm, holding me back. “They're not ours.”
I shake my arm free of his grasp and glare at him, only to find him staring in their direction, his jaw clenched. The young woman with Cee glances our way, gives us a quick smile, then lies down on the blanket. Cee follows her gaze, nods to me, then joins the other woman on the blanket.
“Do you know the girl with Cee?” I’m pretty sure it’s the Sloane that Cee was referring to, but I don’t want to assume.
“That’s Sloane Hayward, my ex-stepsister.” His tone is flat, but his nostrils flare.
“Ex-stepsister?” I press, needing to keep my mind off a near-naked Cee, lying only a few yards away from me.
“Her dad was married to my mom for a few years before he moved on to wife number four after cheating on her.” The bitterness in his voice isn’t lost on me.
“Sorry, brother. That sucks, but it’s not Sloane’s fault he cheated. So why call her your ex-stepsister?”
“It’s just easier for everyone if we cut ties completely.”
We remain standing in the shade of the large oak tree, dividing our attention among our club brothers and their families, and among Cee and Sloane.
It isn’t until a couple of the douchebags playing volleyball approach Cee and Sloane, refusing to take no for an answer when they shake their heads, that I stride over to them.
“Come on, ladies, just one game of volleyball. You can be on my team, Fancy.” The little prick licks his lips, his eyes roaming up and down Cee’s body.
“She said no.” I step closer to the punk trying to take what’s mine, careful not to touch him or he’ll claim I assaulted him.
The punk doesn’t even look at me, his eyes still on Cee. “Who’s the greasy biker, Fancy? Is he the one who gave you all those hickeys?”
My eyes drift to Cee’s neck, to all the marks I left there. They’re starting to fade, but damn, she looks like she lost a fight with a vacuum cleaner hose. Even as I remember how good it felt to press my lips to her skin, I’m imagining where else my mark would look good on her body.
“So what if I am?” I step closer, clenching my fists, praying he will throw the first punch.
“Look, buddy.” The punk holds up his hands, glancing around at the crowd that’s gathered.
“We can share. I don’t mind sloppy seconds, as long as you don’t stretch her out too much for me.
” He snickers just before a football sails over my shoulder and hits him square in the nose with more force than I would have thought possible.
He clutches his nose as blood runs down his fingers, onto his palm, and down his arm.
“Sorry about that.” Ghost jogs over to retrieve the football he and Prue’s brother, Jonah, had been tossing earlier.
“You broke my nose!”
“Calm down, Derek. Do you know who these guys are?” one of the punk's friends says, finally seeming to realize who they are messing with.
“Yeah, Derek.” I step closer until I’m towering over him. “I suggest you and your friends take your volleyball and get the hell off the beach before I find out whether douchebags float or sink.”
“Do you know who you’re messing with?” Derek snarls. I’ll give it to him—he’s either ballsy or stupid—my money’s on the latter.
“Shut up, Derek.” His friend tugs on his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You’ll pay for this,” Derek says before two of his friends drag him away.
“I’m sorry, Sloane and Fancy. You know, Derek’s all talk.
He’ll forget about it and move on.” Derek’s peacemaker friend reaches out to touch Cee’s arm.
A growl escapes me, and he jerks back in surprise.
“Sorry.” He glances from Cee to me. “No need to worry. Cee and Sloane aren’t my type.
” He pauses, licking his lips as his eyes roam over my body. “But you are.”
“Back off, Troy. He’s taken.” Cee crosses her arms over her ample chest and glares at Troy. I’m not going to lie, it’s sexy as hell having Cee claim me.
“They both are.” Sloane mimics Cee’s stance, shooting Troy a glare of her own. I glance at Reaper just in time to see his body stiffen for a split second at Sloane’s words.
“Alright.” Troy holds his hands up in surrender. “I get it. They’re taken. You don’t have to pee on them to mark your territory—even if that might be fun.” I take an involuntary step forward, baring my teeth. “I’m out of here.” Troy turns and runs toward the parking lot.
“You got this under control?” Ghost asks, and I nod. He turns and walks back to where Phantom is standing with Prue, Piper, and their younger siblings.
“Wait up.” Reaper glances at Sloane for a split second before striding after Ghost, leaving Sloane staring after him. Sloane quickly recovers and busies herself with folding the beach blanket, giving Cee and me a moment alone.
“Are you okay?” I keep my boots planted in the sand, not daring to take a step toward Cee, knowing I’ll have her in my arms in a heartbeat if I do.
“I’m fine,” she says with a tight smile. “What Derek said is hardly the worst thing anyone has said to me.” She turns to walk away.
“What does that mean?” This time, I step toward her and grab her arm, holding her there until she explains what she means.
She turns with a sigh. “Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything, Viper.” The fact that she uses my road name instead of my birth name hits me harder than I expected. “Besides, we can’t blow our cover.” She lowers her voice, reminding me I don’t have a claim on her—what we have is a job to do.
With a nod, she walks over to Sloane, who’s finishing packing up their things. They head to the parking lot, leaving me wondering why it hurts so much to watch her walk away.