Chapter 10 #2
My smile grew as I studied him. "Afraid the guys will give you grief for getting slapped by a girl?" I teased.
He chuckled. "If they do, I'll just have you give them a demonstration." He rubbed his hand over his face. "You hit hard." His eyes twinkled with deviousness. "For a girl."
Gasping, I smacked his chest. "For anyone."
"Girl," he echoed. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me over toward where the party was happening.
"Looks like you two deserve congratulations as well," Lockout said as we approached. He pulled me in for a hug. "If he gives you any shit, you let me know."
Laughing, I shot Hellfire a look. "Oh, leverage. Now you can't mess up or you'll have Smoke and Lock coming for you."
The men standing around chuckled. "More than that," Priest told me. "You're kind of like a little sister to all of us. You've been around as long as this shithead." Priest punctuated the sentence by smacking the back of his hand into Smoke's stomach.
My brother groaned and rubbed his abs. "What was that for?"
"Just a reminder to behave," Priest replied with a grin.
"Not all of us see her as our sister," Hell reminded the group.
Toxic started humming the chords for Sweet Home Alabama, sending the group into another round of laughter.
I happily walked back under Hellfire's arm, letting him tuck me up against his side.
I was ready to spend the night with the people I loved most in this world, minus my dad, who was busy enjoying his life in Europe.
I'd like to think he'd be happy if he knew what I was doing right now. He always wanted me to find a man who made me happy. I’d give him a call soon and catch him up on everything.
Looking up at Hellfire as he laughed at something Lockout said, I realized that if he hadn’t taken this step, I would have remained single forever. There was no one else I wanted to spend my life with.
"You're staring again," Smoke growled from behind us.
I jumped as my brother's voice cut into my thoughts. Turning, I glared at him. "How long are you going to do this for?" I asked, with a shake of my head.
He grinned. "Sorry."
"No, you're not," I muttered.
He shrugged and winked at me. "You two have fun," he told us, before he walked away to join Dani at one of the tables where she was sitting with Gwen and Keely.
"Well, this is a nice surprise."
My eyes widened at the sound of the bitchy voice that could only belong to one woman. Looking over at Hellfire, I saw his face harden as he turned around. "What are you doing here?"
Pixie's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Hellfire. "I'm here to party. What else would I be doing?"
"Maybe you should go find someone else to party with," Hellfire suggested in a low, menacing tone. He and his cousin had a complicated relationship.
I never understood why he didn’t insist that Lock make her leave. Her being a sweet butt here obviously bothered Hell, but he never said a word about it. She’s one of the few people I’ve seen him treat badly though; that was usually reserved for enemies.
Pixie's eyes cut my way. "Why? You got a problem with me being here?"
"This is a party for the families," I told her. That was clearly the case, as children ran around laughing and all the wives were here. She was just trying to see what she could get away with. Pushing the boundaries like she usually did. She’d been quiet for a while, ever since she pulled that stunt and fought with Seek. She’d kept her nose clean.
Looked like that was over. "No club girls allowed.
" My eyes narrowed. She was in her usual jean skirt.
It was so short her ass was nearly hanging out, and her top was a bright pink thing that didn't cover her belly or the majority of her breasts.
"Sylvia's here," Pixie said, her face twisting into a pout.
"Syl is family," Hellfire told her.
"And I'm not?" She put her hands on her hips. "Since when?"
"Since you started fucking every nomad who comes through this place," he snarled. "You may be my cousin, but you're nothing but a-." He took a deep breath, probably remembering that whatever he said to Pixie could get back to his family. "You don’t belong here. Get out."
Pixie's eyes narrowed as she wrenched them off Hellfire and looked at me. "What about the bar in the clubhouse?"
"It's shut down for the night," I told her. "Scarlett was supposed to pass the message on to you."
"Well, she didn't." Her gaze shifted and a longing crossed her face as she watched the families gathering around Seek, Sloane, and Dani.
"Leave, Pixie," Hell told her, his voice gentling as he saw the emotion on her face.
"Fine," she snapped, spinning on her heel. She stomped away, her ass swinging in her skirt. I frowned when she stopped and spoke to Smokehouse for a minute. He had made his way over toward the door once he saw she was here. There was no way he was going to let her ruin Dani’s night.
Or the others. He nodded at whatever she said and she left without another word.
Hellfire turned back to me with a sigh. "Sorry about that."
"Not your fault." I shrugged. "She's family."
"Sort of," he agreed, his eyes warming as they met mine. His head cocked to the side as he studied me. "Does anything rile you up?"
My brows shot up. "What do you mean? Of course things rile me up."
He grinned. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Lots of stuff." I pressed my lips together when I saw his smile widen. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Because you're always so calm. You never get angry. You never lose your temper." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "You never slap anyone."
My cheeks flushed at his taunting. "I do, too. Stick around and you'll end up seeing me angry. We can start now," I teased as I walked away from him.
"Wait. What?" he asked.
My laughter floated through the room. "You heard me."
I was still chuckling when I reached the group of women who were gathered around, eating from their heaping plates.
The guys were busy dishing up their own plates, having dished up food for their old ladies and kids first. This was the life I grew up in.
The only way I wanted to live going forward.
I wouldn't belong anywhere else. This lifestyle and group had my heart. I’d do anything for them.
Thoughts of the threats coming for my family made me frown.
Nothing would take them away from me. Nothing.