10. Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
ORA
After feeling bold all week, I’m second-guessing my outfit as soon as I step into the clubhouse. We took longer than anticipated at dinner, ordering one too many strawberry daiquiris with our meal. Lu looks incredible in tight, black ripped jeans, a tight, white crop top showing off her flat stomach, and a leather jacket. I went a little more risqué. I’m in my favorite knee-high leather boots—the ones I paid nine hundred dollars for but now never wear because they aren’t that comfortable—a short, pleated black skirt and a tight, black, long-sleeve top. No cleavage tonight, but a whole lot of thigh and maybe even some cheeky ass cheek if I bend over. My long, pin-straight dark hair just reaches my ass, swirling around me with every step.
My red lips curve as Lu squeezes my hand. “Holy shit, I’ve never seen so many hot men anywhere other than my dreams.”
She’s not wrong.
Sexy, muscular men dressed in leather and surrounded by an air of trouble stand around the bar and dance floor. I don’t know where to look. My eyes drop to the couch where a topless woman is sitting on a man’s lap, then my wide eyes turn to Lu. “It’s basically a sex party.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to one.” She grins, playfully nudging me with her hip. “Come on, Ora. Let’s have a drink. It will loosen you up a little. This is your man’s world, and you need to decide if you can live in it.”
She’s right. War is the VP, and this is his lifestyle.
I can’t want the man and not the club.
This is also my father’s lifestyle, and I can see now how having kids and being a dad didn’t fit into it.
But if War wants me, he needs to fit into my world too.
Lu leads me toward the bar, where a crowd and plenty of tall, built men are towering over us, so we can’t even see whoever is serving the drinks tonight.
I hear my name being called, and then Bones is at my side, wrapping one arm around me and one around Lu. “Where’s War?” I ask him.
Bones laughs and picks me up, lifting me above the crowd so I can see. I spot War standing in the corner of the room, beer in hand, talking to none other than his president. He’s wearing all black, his dark hair slicked back, and his inked biceps on show. My eyes narrow when I notice two women slide up to them, one touching his arm with a bright yellow fingernail. She sidles up against him, basically resting her cheek on his pecs. War keeps talking to Rome, not touching her but not pushing her away.
The woman is none other than Daisy.
Then another two women walk toward them, one flirting with Rome and the other pasting herself against War’s other side.
He still doesn’t push them away.
Is this what he’s up to whenever I’m not around? I tap Bone’s shoulder, and he lets me down.
“I need a drink,” I announce, and he pushes up to the front and knocks his fist onto the bar. “Rose, give these two ladies whatever they want. Serve them first.”
Rose scowls but nods. “Two vodka cranberries, please,” Lu orders for us.
The two of us share a look as Rose all but slams the glasses down on the bar, one only best friends can understand. We both know we aren’t going to be making friends with Rose any time soon.
“Are our drinks safe?” Lu smirks, her eyes rounding.
One thing about Lu that no one would suspect—the woman knows how to fight. She’s trained in Muay Thai since she was a kid and has even fought in some proper fights. She’s taught me a few moves and sometimes gets me to hold pads for her.
If Rose or any other woman here wants a fight, they’re going to lose.
“Bones, who is that?” Lu asks, staring up at the stage as a good-looking man with short brown hair and amber eyes starts to sing. He has the face of an angel. Well, at least a fallen one. Tattoos peek out from the sleeves of his leather cut. His voice is like liquid silk, deep and husky, and he commands his audience. His song is deep, about love and loss, and I wonder if he wrote the lyrics.
“That’s Haze,” Bones replies, grinning. “He’s our treasurer and local heartthrob.”
Lu doesn’t look away from him. “Haze, huh? I’m going home with him tonight.”
Bones laughs and tips back the rest of his beer. “You’ll have to fight off a few to get there, unless you don’t mind sharing.”
Lu’s pink lips curve upward. “I’m an only child. I don’t share.”
Suddenly, big hands squeeze my hips, pulling me back against a hard, familiar body. “Fuck, Ora. You’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Part of me wants to drag you out of here so the other men don’t get to see you like this.”
I can feel him growing hard against my ass, but I’m still annoyed at what I just saw. I have two options here, communicate like a big girl or be a bitch and let him figure out what he has done wrong.
“Bones, why the fuck didn’t you come tell me she was here?” War asks, his fingers tightening as they move up to my waist.
“Got them a drink first,” Bones replies, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.
“Besides, you seemed a little busy, anyway,” I say a little too sweetly, turning around to face him.
Dark eyes scan my expression like he’s trying to read me. Then, without warning, he takes my glass and puts it back down on the bar, picks me up, and throws me over his shoulder. He smells so good, and that just pisses me off more. “Keep an eye on Lu for a minute,” he calls out over the music.
The men all cheer when they see War carrying me into the hallway that leads to the kitchen. When we’re alone, he puts me down and pushes me back up against the wall, caging me in with his palms against the brick. His leather boots touch mine.
“You going to tell me why you just got here and already have an attitude?”
I should, but the last thing I want to admit is how fucking jealous I felt watching a woman he’s slept with even being near him.
“I don’t have an attitude,” I reply, pursing my red lips. “Come on, I’m not leaving Lu out there alone.”
“Ora,” he murmurs, lifting my chin. “Tell me, now. If you don’t tell me, I can’t fix it.”
You know what? Fine.
“Well, let’s see… I walk in here, completely out of my element, by the way, to see you, only to find you standing there with a woman you’ve slept with, her hands on you. And then another woman joins in, all up against you, and you didn’t even push them away. If that’s how you want to be, that’s fine. Just don’t expect me to act taken if you’re not going to.”
Okay, I put it all out there, and if I am asked, I’m going to blame it on the vodka. We haven’t spoken about being exclusive or anything like that, but he did ask me to come here. War put me on the back of his bike and told his club I was his. He doesn’t get to do all these things, then act like he isn’t claimed too.
I’m not here to play games, and it’s better I know now before my feelings get hurt. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this drawn to a man, and I need to be smart about it. If I need to cut my losses and run to save my heart, then so be it.
“I didn’t even notice them,” he replies softly, staring down at me. His lips slowly curve into a smirk. “But you being jealous is hot as fuck.”
“War,” I warn, and he brings his lips to my forehead, planting a soft kiss there. “You going to start noticing?”
He laughs, his shoulders shaking. His left hand drops to absently slide across my bare thigh. “Yeah, baby, I’m gonna start noticing.” He places a soft kiss on my nose before lifting me against the wall with his fingers gripping the backs of my thighs and kissing me deeply, his tongue exploring my mouth, tasting me, devouring me. His finger strokes against my panties a few times before slipping inside, sliding against the wetness he finds there.
“So ready for me,” he growls out against my lips. “Fucking perfect, Ora.”
His thumb circles my clit while my fingers tangle in his hair, holding him closer to me. I moan loudly as he slides another finger inside me. “That’s it, baby. That’s my good girl. Fuck my hand just like that.”
“Fuck, War, you going to share that?” comes a dark rumble.
War’s head suddenly shoots up and twists to the right. “Get the fuck out of here, Angel.”
I get a glimpse of a dark head of long hair before the man chuckles and disappears.
“Come, baby, before I have to kill the next one of my brothers who gets to see you like this. All those little fucking sexy noises you make are only for me,” he rasps, using his fingers to work his magic until I come. He kisses me, capturing my moans, and then sets me back down on the floor. With his hungry eyes locked on mine, he pulls his fingers out and licks them clean.
I whimper.
He grins.
Another kiss, and then I head to War’s room to use his bathroom. When I’m walking back down to the party, I hear voices coming from one of the rooms.
“Did you get it?” a deep voice asks.
There’s silence, but the man must nod or something in reply.
“Good,” the deep voice replies, and I recognize it’s Rome.
“You going to tell me why, Prez?”
“You do as you’re told, Bones. You don’t get to question me.”
I rush past and back down the stairs where War is waiting for me, leaning against the wall with his foot up, arms crossed.
“Okay?” he asks, and I nod.
War takes my hand and leads me back to the party.