Page 27

I shrug. “It’s what’s needed.” I’m not about to tell her I’ve taken a personal interest in this as well.

Well, not yet. I’m sure she’ll figure it out when half the damn club is in her place or just outside it.

Rather give her the time to figure out I’m interested in more than sex in the closet with her, at least for now.

I’m trying not to be an idiot about this.

I know a few club brothers have been in the past when it comes to their ladies, but I like to think I’m smarter than them.

I’m not the type to just lay claim to a girl right away.

I’m also not the type to push something away that might be good for me. Call me somewhere in between.

Something about Viv makes me see things differently with her.

Something that could be more than just fucking a few times.

It’s new, so I’m holding out on calling it anything but different for now.

Maybe later I’ll talk about how it’s never felt like this with another.

But on the flip side, I ain’t staying. And what kind of jackass would I be to assume she’d just pack up and come with me?

She doesn’t seem the type. I might not know her well, but what I get off her is that she isn’t the completely submissive kind.

The “willing to do anything to make her man happy” type.

Not that I want it, or am against it, but I like the fight I get out of her.

The banter to keep it beyond the norm. At least so far.

Who knows with time. And that’s what I’m giving this—time.

She rolls her eyes but does so as she gets up and heads to me. “If you say so.” She gets close and stops for a second to kiss my cheek. “Thanks for dinner, by the way.”

I feel my face grow into a smile. I’m like a damn sloth with how long it takes my brain to catch up to what she said. “Anytime.”

“Get your hands off me, asshole, before I break them off.”

The snarl from the kitchen has us both walking back quickly to see Summer in a standoff with Bane at the door .

“Go home,” he barks at her, and I raise my eyebrow.

I might not know him as well as the others, but I know of him.

And Bane ain’t the type to yell at a woman.

He cherishes them, gives them what they need, and holds back only to increase their pleasure.

He’s even known as a pleasure Dom, whatever that is.

But he’s also a biker, and when we get pissed off at things we can’t control, sometimes our manners go out the window.

Which I think is happening here. Bane’s used to women literally crawling at his feet.

Having someone spit in his face is probably testing his control more than anything.

Not sure if he’ll snap and start spanking her now or get her over the table and fuck her into submission first. It’s a toss-up.

But there’s no missing the bulge in his pants.

I’m not the type to look, but I notice things.

I get paid to see what others don’t. But I’m surprised Summer doesn’t notice it herself, considering she’s practically touching the guy.

They can both deny it all they want. I bet Bane isn’t thrilled about the fact either, which might explain his level of anger toward the woman to begin with.

“Hey, girl, thanks for coming,” Viv says, as if all this is normal for a Friday night.

The smug look Summer gives Bane before she elbows past him has Mickey snorting a laugh, which he attempts to cover up with a cough when Bane glares at him.

“Of course, hon. Mack’s on his way up. He just had to go through your new security system first.”

“Security?” Viv raises an eyebrow at her, then looks at me, but her friend answers first.

“Yeah, girl, you got half a damn TSA group out there. Funny that they think Mack’s the threat over me. Last time I heard, he wasn’t the one who stabbed a guy in the eye with a nail file from her purse.”

“What?” Bane snaps, and Summer just gives him a simple one-shoulder shrug as she leans against the space by the fridge.

“Guy was trying to tell me what to do. Let that be a lesson.”

Viv rolls her eyes and heads to the fridge herself. Opening it, she pulls out a bottled water before handing another to her girl. “He told you it was a handicapped spot and that parking there was a problem.”

“I was handicapped. I had a kid who needed to pee, and it was the only spot open. He wasn’t even handicapped himself. He was just upset that I got the spot and he didn’t,” Summer grumbles as she twists the cap off her bottle and takes a drink.

Viv walks around the table, still littered with pictures of her face, and pulls out a chair.

It brings her closer to Lucky, who puts up his hands in surrender and walks as far away as possible.

Which brings a twist of a smile to Viv’s lips, and one to mine too.

Guy’s still uneasy around her. Then again, he did get hit twice by her without her even trying.

I saw what she can do when she does, and I don’t want to be on the other side of that hook either. The left or the right.

“Why’d you call them?” I’m genuinely curious.

I’m not against her bringing in a friend, but it’s past midnight, and I know Summerdoesn’t live close.

I might have looked into her a bit. Don’t ask.

And don’t look past it or start thinking that I did it to get the friend to like me so I can get Viv to like me. Just curious is all. Get over it .

“It was needed.” She parrots my own words back at me, and I just give her a chin lift.

A throat clears, and I finally notice that a cop is in the room.

He’s young, not a detective but a foot patrolman based on his uniform.

And green. I can tell he’s new to the force.

But despite that, he doesn’t seem taken aback by the show of force my club has in the apartment.

No cowering or mumbling for backup or something else that would make him seem intimidated.

I don’t know shit about him, but I like his character already.

I wonder if we can convince him to drop the badge and take up a patch.

Damn. There I go again on recruiting. It must be something my subconscious is trying like hell to push on me.

It’s something a president would think about daily, sizing up every man they come into contact with to see if they’re worthy.

Maybe not patch worthy, but enough to respect the man in the skin, no matter what way they go.

To see if the person in front of them will end up betraying them for any reason.

“Boss, this is Officer Pavers. He’ll be taking Viv’s and your statement,” Rooster says with a chin lift at the guy.

I hold in my smirk as the cop stands taller. Not sure if it’s because Rooster addressed him as an officer or because he was being introduced to me.

He’s clean-shaven and got enough meat on his bones that he might put up a decent fight if the time came. Other than that, I get little off him, but I acknowledge the respect and am glad I don’t have to deal with a pig who thinks that because he has a badge, he can get away with being a dick .

“Sir, if you and Miss Vivian can tell me what happened, I can take your statements and then bag the pictures and get them to our forensics department downtown.”

I barely open my mouth before someone else enters. I don’t recognize him but see an eerie resemblance to the cop.

“Hey, Viv, Summer.” He nods to the girls and then looks at my boys, and I note him catching our badges. His eyes land on my face after seeing my president patch. “I’m Mack.”

“Brother,” Officer Pavers grits out, and everyone shifts their attention to the man who seemed calm a second ago but now looks like he’s thirty seconds from throwing down.

Mack takes a deep breath and bobs his head in greeting. “Little brother. Good to see you.”

“Can’t say the same.”

And with that, I go to the fridge and grab a beer. The last one. I make a note to stock up Viv’s fridge. This night just got longer, and I need something other than the memory of a sweet pussy gripping my cock to get me through it.

Of course, that helps too.