Page 15

Bones, Lore, and Danger all start to undress, Lore wrapping his hands as they get ready to spar with each other. I try my best not to look, but it’s hard, and at the end of the day, I am single. They are all ripped to perfection, so much so that I don’t know which one to linger on. Lore is covered in ink and quite broad, while Danger is lankier but still muscular. His deep dimples should be illegal. Bones looks exactly like Skull, just a hell of a lot cockier. My mouth is suddenly very dry. My pussy, on the other hand…

Lore comes over with his gloves on and his hair falling out of its man bun. “Can you fix this for me, Cupcake?”

And then he kneels in front of me.

Kneels.

Swallowing hard, I run my fingers through his thick, dark hair, and instead of putting it back in a bun, I plait it into a braid so it won’t fall into his face when he’s fighting.

Of course, this is the position Haze catches me in, my fingers in Lore’s hair as he’s on his knees in front of me, shirtless and in nothing but a pair of shorts. To top it off, I look sweaty and disheveled.

“What the fuck,” Haze barks, storming toward us just as I tie Lore’s braid and tap his bare shoulder to let him know I’m done. He stands up, flashing a smirk in Haze’s direction. For men who are connected by loyalty, they really do enjoy riling each other up.

Haze is glaring at Lore, looking like he wants to strangle him. He comes up behind me, hands on my hips, his front pressed to my back. His stance is rigid. “Did you miss Church when I claimed her at the table?”

Lore strokes his beard. “No, brother. I was there.”

“Good,” Haze rumbles, his fingers tightening. “Keep your fucking hands off her, Lore.”

“I believe she had her hands on me,” Lore replies, smirking. He’s such a shit-stirrer.

Haze goes to move around me, but I stop him by moving with him. “She is right here. Stop it, both of you. I was just sorting out his hair, and Haze, we aren’t even together. What is this claiming shit all about?”

“You already belonged to the club, Luella,” Haze mutters, his thumbs running circles over the dimples on my lower back.

“Just because I’m friends with Ora?”

“Yes,” they both answer at the same time.

“So I belong to the Serpents of Chaos MC?” I clarify, shaking my head in disbelief.

“You’re club property, darlin’.” Lore grins, flashing his straight white teeth. “You’re under our protection. That’s why you’re here now, gracing us with your presence.”

“Oh, so I belong to all of you then. So I can fuck any of the club brothers?”

I know that’s not what he meant. He claimed me as his, as in, off-limits to the other members.

But I want to push him.

It’s been me doing the chasing for what feels like my whole life, and now I want to be chased.

“Luella,” Haze warns, turning me around to face him. His hand moves to the side of my neck. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Take however long you need to catch up, baby, but it doesn’t change the fact.”

“I don’t belong to any man,” I fire back. “Last I checked, there’s no ring on my finger.” I flash him my bare hand. “No property cut on my back, and no baby in my stomach. You saved that for someone else, didn’t you?”

His amber eyes flick with anger, regret, and determination. It’s the last one that sets me on edge. “I fucked Daisy before you came back into my life. Throw it at me all you want, I can take it, but you’ll be doing it while staying the fuck away from other men.”

Okay, that was hot.

Not that I’d let him know.

I go up on my tiptoes and point a finger in his face. “You’re delusional, Haze. That young girl who was obsessed with you, the one who worshiped you and put you on a pedestal higher than she could ever reach, is gone.”

“I don’t want the girl. I want the woman,” he fires back, leaning down to press a soft, chaste, unexpected kiss against my mouth. “And I want my best friend back.”

With that parting shot hitting its mark, he leaves the gym.

Fuck.