Page 10

Dozer

The sun was up before I was able to catch a couple of hours sleep. Not that I felt rested. No surprise. My life was shit. Being left alone was usually my salvation, but since Pippa had wrecked me, solitude had become my trial.

My phone pinged with a text. I rolled over in bed and grabbed my cell.

I must have been tired because I had a couple missed calls from my mom. Ignoring those, I checked the missed text messages.

Pippa: I miss you.

Romeo: You’re a dick. First thing she asked was where is he?

Romeo: You said she never smiles when you’re around. This is why.

Hana: What happened with Pip?

Blade: Fuck, fix your shit. Hana is on my ass.

Pippa: Do you still want to come with me today?

Pippa: I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you leave. Please call me.

And the last text that just came in.

Pippa: I’m on my way to the MC. Can we talk ?

I didn’t reply to any of them. I grabbed my towel and headed for the shower. Her scent clung to me. The memory of her kiss, of her mouth, sucking my cock…fuck.

In the bathroom, I stepped into the shower. Cold water, like needles to my flesh, couldn’t ease the pressure in my dick. Turning the water warm, I imagined her on her knees, her fingers wrapped around my length as she curled her tongue around the head.

I rubbed one out, shooting my load into the drain, but it did nothing to settle the tension stiffening my shoulders. I couldn’t pretend that jealousy wasn’t festering in my gut and rolling into my life like a wrecking ball of destruction.

Words didn’t mean shit. I’d seen the way Pippa looked at Romeo, heard her laugh, and watched her eyes sparkle like the sun.

I wasn’t even the moon. I was the eclipse, wishing I could be part of her but only taking away her brilliance.

With my towel wrapped around my waist, I headed back to my room. I paused when I entered. Pippa sat on the end of my bed.

I checked the hall for Romeo.

“You shouldn’t be in here.”

One brow lifted. “Are you expecting someone else in your room?”

I shut the door and crossed to my dresser. “No. I never have girls in my room.”

“Except Levi,” she mumbled.

I couldn’t look at her, couldn’t be a dick if I was staring into her eyes. I’d thought I wanted to know how she felt about me. Not anymore. Not when I could glean the truth myself. I needed a reminder on who started this. I did.

She sank her teeth into her lip. Her eyes brightened with unshed tears. “What did I do wrong?”

I grabbed a pair of boxers, turned to her, and dropped the towel.

A little gasp escaped her slightly parted lips. My dick hardened. I wasn’t responsible for my involuntary responses to her. My gut tightened, my mouth watered, and yeah, my dick wanted in on the decision.

I tugged on boxers, tucking my dick to the side, and then stuffed my legs into a pair of jeans.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I just figured out I can’t do this, not with you. You should get Romeo to go with you today.”

She stood and crossed her arms in front of her. Silent tears slipped onto her cheeks. “I must have done something.”

Fuck. “Pip, don’t.” Fuck. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. She rested her wet cheek against my chest.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I tipped her chin to look at me. “I can’t fuck my best friend’s girl. I can’t be your backup.”

The fucked up part…I would let my best friend fuck my girl. But I’d have to know she was mine. Pippa wasn’t.

“You’re not. I need you.”

I kissed her, a sweet touch of lips. “You have me, baby. Ask Levi. I can be an awesome friend. ”

Her fingertips on my bare back made a liar out of me. I breathed in the scent of her hair. Her soft breasts pressed into my chest, her curves fitting perfectly to me.

“You should go.”

“I don’t want to, but I’m not going to beg you to feel something for me.” She turned and left.

“Fuck!” Not feel something? I felt too fucking much.

I finished getting dressed and waited a few minutes, making sure Pippa wouldn’t be hovering anywhere nearby. Then I strode down the hall and left the MC through the side door.

The day was already warm. Sunshine burned off the morning haze. It was a perfect day for a ride. Wind whipped my face. The road blurred as I lost myself in the freedom of the ride. Nothing felt as good as riding my bike…

Nothing had felt as good until Pippa.

I pulled up to the small red brick house with white shutters and a white picket fence. Levi’s compact yellow car sat in the driveway. I rested my bike behind it, dropped my helmet on the handlebar, and jogged up to the porch. With a few knocks, I rattled the wooden screen door and let myself in.

“Mom, it’s just me.”

Levi’s mom, technically her grandma, Willow came from the kitchen. She didn’t look much like a grandma. In high school, she was definitely on the MILF menu for most of the guys. For me, she was just Levi’s mom.

Levi’s sperm-doner dad was serving life and her waste of a real mom had a twenty-five year stretch around her neck. Levi understood the shit I was feeling with my dad locked up. At least, I still had a chance he’d be coming home.

“How’s Henry?” I asked.

“He’s the Bear.” Henry was part of the MC, but his job on the oil pipelines had him away more than around. With the exception of patching us up when shit went sideways, Willow didn’t spend much time at the clubhouse while he was away. She was a nurse and worked long hours. I had no idea if she kept randoms on the side like Faye. She wasn’t married to Bear, but she’d been his old lady as long as I’d known them. That made Levi one of us.

“Levi is in her room.”

I strode down the short hall in the two-bedroom bungalow. The door to her room was ajar. I pushed it open and launched onto her bed. Levi sat on the floor in front of a large mirror doing her girl stuff. Makeup spread across the carpet.

“What’s up?” she asked running a flat iron through her hair.

“I need you.” I growled and dug the heels of my palms into my eyes. “Want to catch a movie or something?”

She met my gaze in the mirror. Her lips twisted. “I’m sorry. I can’t.” Those lips smiled. “I have a date.”

I jackknifed to sitting. “The fuck you do. With who?”

“Just a guy from school. Before you ask, there is nothing to tell. I haven’t even kissed him.” One of her perfectly arched brows lifted. “But I can’t say the same for you and Pippa.”

“You’re not referring to her as ‘the slut.’ ”

“I know. She’s still a slut, but I can’t hate her. Besides, you and Romeo like her. I thought you were a threesome now.” There was still a touch of annoyance in her words.

I groaned and flopped back to the bed. “You know I can’t do this.”

“Not every girl is your mom. You can’t set girls up to cheat, and when they do, punish them.”

“I don’t set them up to cheat, but eventually, they all do.”

“She isn’t cheating on you when she’s with Romeo.”

“I know, but how would you feel if you finally had Romeo, connected, and thought he felt the connection, too, then after your world fucking exploded because he turned to Pippa, smiled, and connected with her. You were nothing special. Just another orgasm.”

“I’d feel like you do. That’s why they’re both sluts. It’s why it doesn’t matter how I feel about Romeo. He’d have to change for me, and he won’t. He goes downtown on girls like public transportation. Every twenty minutes with a new passenger.”

That was fucking funny.

“I still love him, and I still wish he saw me as more than sweet, virgin Levi.” She stood, came to the bed, and sat on the edge. “You aren’t going to be her boyfriend, so just be her friend.”

“And spend every minute with my dick hard and a knife in my chest because I can’t stop thinking about her naked.”

“Want me to tell you how Romeo makes me wet, and I don’t even know what I’m missing out on? I’m still a virgin, Dozer, because I’ve stupidly been waiting for him to finish fucking…everyone else.”

I cupped her cheek. “He doesn’t deserve you. No one does.”

“I’m going to be twenty-two in a couple months. I can’t wait forever. You want me to die a virgin?”

“Fuck, no. Just make sure whoever he is knows how special you are.”

She bent over and kissed me in a closed-mouthed friend peck. “What are you going to do?”

Fuck. I pulled out my cell phone and sent Pippa a text. “I’m going to be her friend.”

Pippa

My stomach hurt, my eyes burned, my chest felt as if someone had parked a truck on it, and the organ inside was slowly dying from the pressure. What had happened between good night and good morning?

Going to Claudia’s baby shower was going to take my day from miserable to wretched. Maybe it couldn’t get much worse. Dozer had carved a whole in my chest. I’d never felt this hollow and empty.

I picked a pink, summer dress with cap sleeves. Something my mother would love and my dad would think appropriate for his princess. The dress draped to just above the knee. At least, I’d look like I had legs.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I slipped on wedge sandals. My phone pinged.

Dozer: Is Romeo going with you ?

I hadn’t asked him again because I didn’t need the extra complication. Romeo had done me a favor when he’d declined to go. No boyfriend was better than one that would send my dad into orbit. Dozer was too intimidating, and Romeo looked too naughty.

Pippa: No. I’ll be fine.

Three dots appeared so I knew he was typing. Apparently typing a book since I was still waiting. And waiting.

Dozer: You sound like me. I’ll go with you. We’re friends and friends do favors. See you in twenty minutes.

Shit. I dropped the phone on my bed and rushed into the bathroom. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth.

Definitely the wrong look. I jerked the clip from my hair and fluffed my curls. Then I added a bit of darker shadow to my eyelids. Better.

I ran my hands over the dress. Maybe this dress was too girly. My breasts filled the top and the hem showed plenty of skin. Tucking my thumbs into my plain, white panties, I stripped them off and rushed to my dresser. In a mad scramble, I plucked a lacy, pink pair and stepped into them.

I grabbed my over-the-shoulder clutch purse and my keys.

If anything, my racing heart told me that I wasn’t done with Dozer. He said he couldn’t be with me, but I was going to prove to him he couldn’t stay away.

I sat on the couch, chewed my nails, and listened for the roar of his motorcycle.

Nervous energy tainted my blood .

Oh shit. He was here. I rushed to the kitchen door, opened it, and pressed the button for the automatic door.

He cut the engine on the bike. “Ready?”

“Yeah, do you want to park your bike in the garage?”

He smiled, showing teeth, and crinkling the corners of his eyes.

I melted.

“No, but you should put on a pair of jeans and shoes. You can change when we get there.”

“I can’t ride on your bike to my parents’ house.”

He dropped the kickstand. “Why?”

I walked over to him. “Because I’m not allowed to ride on motorcycles.”

“Since when?”

“Since forever. And what are you wearing under your cut?”

“I didn’t think your parents would appreciate your pretend boyfriend flying Heller Raiders colors. I’ll leave my cut in the saddlebag.”

I rested my hand on his thigh. His gaze lingered on my fingers. Realizing he didn’t want me touching him, I jerked my hand back. “Thank you. What about the bike? Can we take my car?”

“Do you know what you’re asking? I had to go home to my mother’s to find the shirt, I’m not going to wear my cut, I’m unarmed, and you want me to ride in a cage. Are you driving?”

I hesitantly smiled. “It’s a big favor, I know. ”

“Fuck, Pip, you might as well take my balls and put those in your purse.” He started rolling his bike into the garage.

“I want your balls and everything attached to them if you’re offering.”

Dozer stilled.

“Sorry,” I said even though I wasn’t.

I climbed behind the wheel and waited for Dozer to get into the passenger seat. Once in the car, he tossed his cut into the backseat and stretched his neck. “We need to tint the fucking windows. I don’t want anyone seeing me riding in your car.”

“You rode in my car the other morning.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” he grumbled.

I put the car into reverse and backed out of the garage. While still in the driveway, I lowered the garage door with the clicker.

“Did you get the window fixed?” he asked.

“Not yet. I will.”

“I’ll take care of it tonight when we get back.”

“Can’t. I told Hana, Jazzy and yes, even Levi that I’d meet them for a bite to eat before we go to Liquid Chrome.”

“Tomorrow then.”

“Okay. Are you coming to Chrome?”

“Nah, I have shit to do.”

I cast a quick glance in his direction. “You were just willing to be at my house fixing a window. Dozer, just come to Chrome. Have fun.”

When he didn’t answer, I turned on the radio.

He reached over and turned it down. “Tell me about your family. ”

“Just prepare yourself. Vance and Gabi will be there.”

That bit of information seemed to perk him up.

“My family is horrible to Gabi. Since she got with Vance, they’re better. I think it’s because he’s intimidating as hell when he wants to be. They watch what they say because they don’t know how he’ll react.”

“They should have known him as a Heller. They wouldn’t say shit.”

“My sister Claudia is having her second bambino and Elio, her husband, is in the family business. Needless to say, my father loves Elio and is the reason I need a boyfriend. My father wants to see me married, preferably to someone who adds to his business or strengthens our family’s influence.”

“What about your mom?”

“Complicated. My parents love each other, but I don’t think they really like each other. I’m the youngest. I think they had me to fix their marriage. Since the day I was born, they’ve focused on me instead of each other. They still treat me like a child.”

“No motorcycles.”

I nodded. “No drinking, no weed, no fun. Just school.”

“People, even family, suck. My advice, fuck ’em.”

I laughed. “I’m bitching around the silver spoon in my mouth. I live on an allowance, and yep, I play the game because I fear poverty. Actually, I’m not afraid of not having money. I just don’t want to be their project anymore. ”

“I got an allowance of ten bucks a month when I was little. That stopped at middle school, but by then, I was lifting small shit and selling weed to friends.”

Ten dollars? I spent that at Vintage brew every morning before school. Growing up, I had a credit card. I wasn’t aware if it had a spending limit. If it did, I never reached it.

I turned into the gated community and pulled up to the house. Cars filled the drive leading to a six-car garage. More cars lined the street.

“You live here? What kind of business? You’re Italian so like mafia shit.”

“Nothing like that, at least I don’t think so. My dad is in business. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a few friendly connections. I stay out of it, and you know where I live.”

Shrubs surrounded the two-story, white and gray mansion. Flowers lined the walkway leading up to a wide porch with two Grecian columns framing the massive doorway.

I walked with Dozer along the path to the breezeway. Vance’s motorcycle was parked near the garage.

“My family speaks Italian, mostly. Over the years it’s become a hybrid. Italian-glish. Especially my Aunt Rosa. Her sentences start in Italian and end in English. Sometimes starting in English and ending in Italian. It depends on how much wine she’s had.”

“Aren’t baby shower parties usually just for females?”

“Not for the Ricci’s. This is how Italians celebrate. Food and family. ”

“More fucking F-words in my life,” he grumbled.

“Don’t worry. We’ll say hello and then find a quiet corner.”

“Pip.” He rested a hand on my arm. “I’m supposed to pretend to be your boyfriend.”

I looked up into his face. It was too late for me to be just friends. Mi sono innamorata di te. I fell in love with you. “We can just be friends.” I lied.

He released a breath, and I took another wound to the heart.

I opened the door to a pink explosion. Dozer stilled next to me. Without thinking, I slipped my hand into his. He squeezed me back and followed me into family hell.

Dozer

Plan or not, within two minutes, I was her boyfriend to everyone who stopped us and said some version of, “You must be Pippa’s boyfriend.”

“Pippa, I need you,” a woman approached.

“Mom, this is Dozer. Dozer, this is my mom, Angela.”

“Kevin Monroe,” I said.

Her gaze raked over me, and a forced smile curled her lips.

“I’ll be right back,” Pippa said.

Her mom wrapped an arm around her and shuffled her off in one direction, and I was left staring at a sea of people I’d never met before and wouldn’t meet again .

I slid my hands into my pockets and drifted to the edge of the room. The house was fucking huge. This wasn’t wealth. This was total opulence.

Little kids ran through the room and out through another breezeway leading to a decorated terrace.

Outside, a group of guys played cards and smoked cigars. Chafing dishes lined an outdoor galley kitchen. My stomach growled. Glancing around the area, I waited for Pippa. A familiar face moved through the crowd.

Why was she here?

Our gazes connected. I wasn’t sure what the emotion was in my gut, but it didn’t feel good. My pulse pounded in my chest.

I crossed the room.

Levi glanced up at the huge guy with his fucking hands on her. “Can you give me a minute?” she asked him, staring up into his face with a glowing smile on her lips.

“Find me when you’re done,” the guy said. Obviously familiar with the Ricci family, he wandered into a group of Ricci’s, laughing, and smiling.

“Who is the juicer?”

“Don’t get jealous. That is my date, and those muscles are hard earned. He’s the running back for the Rooks. I met him through Pippa, but I had no idea he was her brother’s best friend. Sheesh Dozer, why can’t I get away from your slut?”

“Nah, Levi. Don’t call her that.”

“I mean it in the loveliest terms for a girl who sleeps with two guys at the same time. ”

“Glass houses, Levi. Are you living in one? Is Rook doing it for you the way Romeo does? That was what you told me. Romeo makes your pussy wet thinking about sex with him. Are you going to wonder how all those muscles will feel pressed up against you?”

“Fine, she’s still a slut, and I’m one, too. Feel better?”

“No.” I lowered my voice. “You haven’t fucked Rook, and I haven’t fucked Pippa. So stop with the name calling shit.”

“Fine.”

“Yeah, we both know what that means.”

The fight left her with a long slow exhale. “You’re right. I’ve been sweating bullets because I know I’m going to see Vance and Gabriella. Of course, Pippa would be here, but I didn’t know if she’d bring you or Romeo. I can’t see Romeo if I’m here with Coop . His name isn’t Rook.”

I pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I’m not going to say anything to Romeo.”

“But Pippa will.”

“I’ll talk to her. Go have fun with your date. It’s okay to like him, Levi. Romeo had his chance. Like you said, you can’t wait forever.”

She turned and nearly bumped into Pippa. She scurried away before Pippa could stop her.

“What is she doing here?”

“Some Arnold is her date.”

“She’s here with Coop? I’m going to kill him. I told him she’s off limits, and I told her, he’s another Romeo. He’ll hurt her, Dozer. Coop is a total player. ”

I took a deep breath. “I think we should leave it alone.” Maybe Levi needed to be played with a bit, have some fun, and get over her infatuation with Romeo. “Let it be her secret until she’s ready to share it.”

Especially from Romeo. Today she might be into the baller, but tomorrow, she could be filled with guilt for betraying her heart.

“Okay.” She took my hand and led me outside. “Ready to meet my dad and Diego?”

Not particularly. “Whatever you need.” I’d agreed to this favor. Another F-word getting me into trouble.

As far as meeting parents went, I didn’t have a lot of experience. I never went to proms or did much dating in high school. I wasn’t much for chasing pussy because I was too busy being pissed off at my mother. About that time, I latched onto Levi.

Neither one of us had relationship experience. She was saving herself, wanting love to mean something. Until Pippa, Levi was the only girl I’d ever met who’d be worth putting in the effort. One issue… With Levi, there was zero sexual chemistry.

My attraction to Pippa was like a nuclear fucking bomb, leveling me as if I were ground zero. Last night, she detonated every defense I had, leaving me raw and exposed.

Now, she was holding my hand, her scent filling my nose, and my dick was hard. My memory was too fucking good because her touch and her voice had me craving another taste.

“Dad, I want you to meet someone. Dozer, this is my dad, Leo. ”

I leaned in and offered my hand. “Kevin Monroe, but everyone calls me Dozer.”

“Sit,” he said and pointed to a chair next to him.

And so it began, the parent inquisition. What did I do? Was I in school? What did my parents do? I played the game. My dad was former Special Forces, not cooling his heels in the country club. I was a mechanic but didn’t mention I worked in a chop shop or that the bike rebuilds I did with Blade were with stolen parts.

The question I couldn’t avoid, Pippa handled. We’d met through Hana. Apparently, even Pippa’s parents couldn’t resist Vance’s hellion sister. At the mention of her name, Leo scanned the crowd.

“We’re going to say hello to Gabi,” Pippa said to her dad and slipped her hand into mine.

“Thank you,” she said as we walked away.

“Is there somewhere we can go for a moment alone?”

She nodded. We made our way around the side of the house.

A cluster of trees surrounded a wood and wrought iron gazebo. Outdoor lighting hung from hooks around the perimeter.

I sat on the cushioned bench, leaned my head back, and took a deep breath. “That’s a lot of fucking people.”

She giggled as she sat next to me. That sweet, fucking sound slipped under my skin. “Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but it’s not like this all the time.”

It was peacefully quiet out here. We were alone. She played with the hem of her dress. With her head bowed, her hair fell around her shoulders. Her gaze met mine. I suspected we both thought of the same thing. Tension from her family simmered into a sexual tension between us.

I lifted my hips and reached for my cigarettes and lighter, adjusting my dick at the same time. “Is this okay?” I asked, shaking a smoke from the pack.

She nodded, and the corners of her mouth twitched. “Do you have a joint stuffed in there?”

“You want me to get you high in your parents’ backyard?”

“I do.”

I slid the cigarette back into the pack and pulled the joint from the edge. I lit it and drew in a long pull. Before I could hand her the joint, she braced her hands on my chest and waited for me to get her high.

My mouth opened. Her lips hovered over mine, and she breathed in my exhale. I curled my fingers into her hair. She was going to push me.

“This is our thing,” she whispered. “Just ours.”

Pippa took the next hit, holding her breath, waiting for me to decide.

“Fuck.” My lips parted, and I breathed her in. I smoked weed with her, wanted to kiss her, feel her lips on mine, and taste her tongue.

“Hey, Pipsqueak, we’ve been looking for you.”

Levi held the jock’s hand as he led her into the gazebo.

I bent forward and stubbed out the joint on the bottom of my boot.

“Hi, Coop. We’ve been right here,” she said, sliding her hand onto my thigh .

Coop plopped down across from us, dragging Levi down next to him. I was too high to care. My thoughts were on Pippa and where her hand rested. The scent of her hair surrounded me. I leaned into her and just breathed.

The mellow intoxication of the weed should have had me relaxed, but every muscle in my body tensed. Because I wanted her. I’d seen her connection to Romeo. I could dwell in her shadow, but I wasn’t going to watch her fall in love with someone else.

Romeo wasn’t here. And she was watching me with beautiful glassy eyes.

“Do you want to kiss me?” she asked.

Coop laughed. “Pipsqueak? Are you listening to me?”

She turned away from me. “No. Because you don’t listen to me seeing as my girl is practically in your lap.”

“Your girl,” I said with a grunt.

She gently elbowed me in the ribs. “Dozer, this is Greyson Cooper.”

“Coop,” he said. “You must be one of the badass bikers she’s dating.”

I shifted my gaze to Pippa.

“Levi told him.”

About being a Heller or that we were dating?

“It’s not a secret,” Levi said. “At least I hope it’s not. Here comes Vance and Gabi.”

I jumped from my seat and hugged Vance, pounding a fist to his back.

Vance slapped my chest with one hand, his other held a beer. “Where’s your cut?”

“Fuck, dude, it’s in Pippa’s cage. ”

Vance laughed and sat on the bench. Gabi sat next to him and bent her legs over his lap. He rested his hand on her thigh.

“Where’s Romeo?” he asked.

Silence stretched between all of us.

“That must be the other biker Pipsqueak has on the side,” Coop said.

“I’m going to kill you,” Pippa said to Coop. “My personal life is not open for input from you.”

Vance turned his attention to me. “You and Pippa?”

“Just friends,” I clarified.

Levi’s snort sounded a lot like a curse word, which couldn’t be true since she was the good girl of the group. Never smoked weed, even though she drank, I could count on one hand how many times we’d been able to get her drunk. And she was a virgin. Add in cute as hell, and it was no wonder we were all protective of her.

“Maybe a little more than friends,” Gabi said.

I leaned my head back and groaned. Wasn’t this supposed to be a favor? I shook a cigarette from my pack.

“Are you okay?” Pippa slid her palm onto my shoulder and leaned in. Her breath caressed my cheek, tightening my gut. This wasn’t what she wanted either. I was supposed to be a distraction to her dad’s influence on her social life, not force her to explain her sexual relationships.

Especially since I was the one who darkened her bedroom .

“I’m fine.” I instinctively rested my hand on her bare thigh. We both stilled with the touch of my fingers against her flesh.

“Did you know about this?” Vance asked Gabi.

She laughed. “Yes, it’s why I turned off the cameras inside the house.” She turned to me and Pippa. “Outside cameras and the door and window alarms are still active.”

“That’s your baby sister,” Vance said to Gabi.

“I know. Don’t judge.” She leaned into Vance and pressed her lips against his neck. Vance squeezed her thigh and nipped at her skin, enjoying whatever it was she whispered in his ear.

“Have you talked to Blade?” Levi asked.

“A couple of times,” Vance said. “I wanted him to know I was sorry about his dad. Razor was a piece of shit, but it’s still tough losing a parent.”

Vance would know. He’d lost both of his shit parents. Their deaths had changed his life, pulled him away from us, away from the MC.

“I was surprised Rogue wasn’t voted in as president,” Vance said.

“Some of the old timers were, too,” I said. “Romeo sewed on the treasurer patch.”

“I wish I could have been there.” He patted Gabi’s leg.

“We’re all going to Chrome tonight,” Pippa said. “You should come celebrate with us.”

“Not my kind of club,” Vance said.

Levi wrapped her fingers around Coop’s arm, her breasts brushed against him. Coop’s gaze traveled down her face and neck until he stared into the neckline of her top. He ran his knuckles across her collarbone.

What the fuck was he doing touching her when he barely knew her? Her lashes fluttered, and she licked her lips. Levi was in over her head. I wanted her to have some fun, not be decimated by a guy who played women like a professional sport.

I glared at Levi. She tilted her head and smiled. Stop , she mouthed.

“How is Tank doing? Have you been in to see him?” Vance tipped his beer to his lips.

I tore my attention away from Coop and Levi.

“Most weekends,” I said because I’d missed a few. “He’s hanging in there. They’ve got him on fucking bullshit charges.”

Coop narrowed his gaze on me. “You don’t just ride a motorcycle?”

“Heller Raiders, and that girl you have beside you belongs to us. Just a warning.”

“And the girl next to you, she doesn’t belong to your club…or to you.”

Fuck, I didn’t need this jock douche to tell me that.

“Don’t worry about the Hellers,” Vance said to Coop. “We don’t look for trouble.”

My gaze connected with Vance, our thoughts reciting our mantra.

“It fucking finds us,” we said at the same time.

Hell yeah, it felt good to hear him claim some of his old self, refer back to when he wore his Heller patch. He never should have had to give it up.

“If you decide to come to Chrome tonight,” Pippa said to Vance, “then you have to agree to come to have fun, not sit at the table and glare at everything I do. No protective future brother-in-law shit.”

“Prepare yourself,” I said to Vance. “Your sister kisses her.”

“With tongue,” Pippa added.

He kissed Gabi. “Fuck. I’m sorry. My sister is corrupting yours.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve been corrupting me since I climbed onto the back of your bike.”

Pippa stood and grabbed my hands. “Let’s eat. I’ve got the munchies.”

Vance shook his head.

Yes, I was getting her high, too. As her boyfriend of the day, I rested my hands on her hips and backed her against one of the support beams. “You’re only making it harder—”

“I know.” She pressed closer feeling just how hard she was making the situation. “I’m not walking away from you, Dozer. I don’t know why you’re trying to push me away, but I’m not going to let you.”

“Do you want cake?” Gabi asked me and wagged her brows.

Vance laughed and grabbed Gabi around the waist. “She doesn’t mean pussy. There really is cake.”

Pippa’s eyes widened.

Fuck, trouble definitely found me.