Page 11 of Fang (Lotus MC: San Antonio #2)

A s I pull the sweatshirt over my head, I stumble blindly toward my bed.

When my knees hit the edge, I fall onto it.

For a split second it feels like the wind is knocked out of me, but then the softness of my blankets makes up for it.

These dorm mattresses are no joke. It doesn’t matter if you have a mattress pad or a million blankets, they are still hard.

I drag myself up my bed and grab my pillow.

I wrap my arms around it and lay my head down.

My eyes fall shut as my body relaxes. I could fall back asleep right now.

Last night all I did was toss and turn. My mind wouldn’t stop racing with a million and one thoughts.

Then when exhaustion finally took over and I went under, I had weird as hell dreams.

Like coming up with a May the Fourth Be With You strip routine. I bet the Star Wars fanatics would eat it up.

I bury my face back into my pillow and contemplate the merits of ditching class. Surely it would be okay if it was just once, right?

You can’t.

Class. I have to get up and get ready for class even though it’s the last thing I want to do.

Get up, Cami. You’re better than this.

As I try to convince my body to move, there’s a knock on my door. Groaning, I roll over and get up. When I swing open the door, I jerk back, caught off guard.

“What are you doing here?”

Fang raises his brow, and the corner of his mouth kicks up. “I told you I would give you a ride, remember?”

I shake my head. Shit, I forgot that my car is in the shop.

“Did you forget that your car is out of commission for a minute?” he asks with humor in his voice.

“Shut up,” I mutter.

He holds out a cup that I didn’t notice he was holding. “Here. This is for you.”

“What is it?”

“Coffee.”

Reluctantly I take it from him. I pop the lid off and smell it as the steam hits my face. I’ve never been big on coffee but I think today might be the exception.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now do you need more time before we take off?”

“You don’t have to give me a ride. I can walk. It isn’t that far,” I tell him as I take a sip.

Holy shit, that’s good.

“Do you normally walk to your next class?”

“Well, no.”

“All right then. Let me take you.”

I study the tattooed bad boy in front of me.

Internally I scoff. Fang isn’t a boy at all but a man. All fucking man.

I shake my head before my thoughts can turn dirty.

“Do you do this for all the club girls? Give them rides, I mean.”

He shrugs. “We both know I don’t, but you’re in school and could use the assist.”

I don’t know why, but his response pleases me. For some reason I like knowing that I’m the one he’s willing to step up and help even if I really don’t need it.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now do you need to grab anything?”

For a split second, I contemplate changing into something a little less casual than my leggings and hoodie. I have the biggest urge to change into something a little nicer just because he’s here and I’m about to go out with him.

Don’t do it.

If he can’t handle you looking like a hobo, then he doesn’t deserve you looking like a million bucks.

I turn around and take a few steps forward. Quickly I drink half of the coffee down and set it on my desk. I’ll drink the rest later, maybe. I grab my bag off my desk chair and swing it over my shoulder as I grab my keys and small crossbody bag.

“Ready,” I tell him as I turn back toward him.

As we leave my room, Fang places his hand on the small of my back. Something about the simple touch lights me on fire, despite the layers of fabric between us. He keeps it there all the way to his bike.

I can’t help but study him when he grabs his helmet and puts it on me.

Out here in the sunlight, I realize something.

His beard has a tinge of red to it despite the fact his hair is black.

In fact, his hair is so black that it almost has a bluish tinge to it at times. It’s so unexpected, and I love it.

“Keep looking at me like that and see what happens,” he murmurs as he takes a step back.

I open my mouth to come up with a witty reply, but nothing comes out.

Speechless.

He’s somehow rendered me speechless.

Fang smirks as he gets onto his bike and holds out his hand. I place mine in his and get on the back of his bike. The V of my legs is pressed tight against his hips, leaving no room between us.

Just looking down, I can’t help but wonder what it would look like if I was in front of him instead of behind him.

“You ready?” he asks as he turns on his bike.

Thank God for the helmet covering my heated cheeks. I need to get laid or something. This is becoming ridiculous.

“Let’s go.”

While he drives, I relax into his body. When we come to the turn, I tap his stomach and point to where to go. The ride goes by way too fast, and before I know it, we are pulling up in front of the building.

He shuts his bike off and holds out his hand. Once again, he helps me off the bike. When Igo to take a step back to put space between us so he can get off, he grabs me by the hips, catching me off guard. With one hand on my hip, Fang reaches up and undoes the buckle on the helmet.

When I slip it off, I catch him watching me with heated eyes.

So close. All I would have to do is…

“I’ll see you later,” he says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah,” I say breathlessly as I hand over his helmet.

“Have a good day in class,” he murmurs.

I shoot him a quick smile and turn. As I walk away, I feel his eyes on me. I fight the urge to look over my shoulder at him one last time.

“Is that why you won’t give me a chance? You’re too busy giving it up to biker scum? I knew you were a whore, Cami, but I didn’t know it was like that,” Zak hisses.

Groaning, I tilt my head back.

Whatever level of horniness I was feeling from just being in Fang’s proximity dissipates.

Fang…

An idea takes hold, and I can’t help but smile.

“Better watch yourself, Zak. I don’t know if you noticed, but my man is a patched-in member of a club. If he hears you insult me, he will…” I run my thumb over my neck, insinuating that Fang would take him from living to six feet under in the blink of an eye.

“That guy is your boyfriend? Seriously?” He scoffs.

I can’t help but chuckle. “Trust me, he’s all man. There’s nothing boyish about him. Now stay the fuck away from me.”

I turn and walk away with a smile on my face. Yeah, a small part of me feels bad for lying and dragging Fang into another one of my messes. This one is harmless, though. Besides, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

Sitting at my desk, I stare at the computer screen blankly. I know I should be concentrating on other shit, but there’s only one thing on my mind. Or rather, one person.

Cami.

She looked so fucking beautiful this morning it was almost hard to breathe.

I don’t know why, but I love how she dresses for comfort when she’s not here and not for attention.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pair of skintight jeans and a low top on a beautiful woman, but there’s just something about her looking like she should be curled up in bed rather than wandering around town running errands.

When she answered the door, I had to stop myself from pulling her into my arms. I loved the way she was shocked to see me.

The way she blinked more than once, like she was trying to make sure I was really there and it wasn’t a dream.

It took everything in me not to barge into her cramped-ass dorm room and throw her down onto her bed. Instead, I took her to class.

Just thinking of dropping her off reminds me of that asshole I saw that approached her. Who the hell is he? How does she know him? Is he an ex? Some dickbag who is pursuing her? I want to know. I need to know.

I can’t ask, though, because it’s none of my business. Something that I’m sure Cami would be quick to remind me if I asked.

I have no claim over her whatsoever, even though I wish I did.

Still, I can’t help but wonder. Whoever he is, I know one thing: the feelings aren’t mutual.

She looked at him with so much disdain I’m surprised he was standing.

Even from a distance, I could see hate rolling off of her in waves.

She’s lucky she walked away when she did.

Otherwise I don’t know if I would have been able to stop myself from stepping in.

I know it would have made her lose her mind on me, but it would have been worth it.

Because I’m a misogynist who would rather have her attention on me than anyone else.

A knock on the office door pulls me from my thoughts.

“Come in,” I say gruffly as I run a hand through my hair.

Happy walks in and shuts the door behind him before moving to sit in the chair in front of me. I raise a brow when he kicks his boots up onto the edge of my desk.

“Seriously?”

“What? They’re clean,” he protests.

I shake my head.

“Liquor order has been counted, accepted, and put away.”

He reaches into his cut and pulls out a receipt.

“Thank you.” I lean forward and take it from him.

I set it on the desk and lean back. “Anything else happening out there?”

He nods. “Yeah, cleaning crew just got done.”

While we clean nightly, once a week I have a crew come in to properly disinfect the place. I should probably do it more, but that’s a problem for when business picks up more.

“Cool. They put everything back how it’s supposed to be?”

He dips his chin once and rests his hands on his stomach, lacing his fingers together. “Prospect One made sure of it.”

“Thanks for taking care of that for me.”

“It’s no problem.”

I expect him to get up and leave, but he doesn’t budge. If anything, he makes himself more comfortable.

“What are you doing?” I ask after a minute.

“Waiting for you to tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Work,” I tell him, looking back at the computer screen.

Happy shoots me a look that says I’m full of shit. “Try again.”

Sighing, I contemplate telling him. I could use a sounding board, and I know he would give me his honest opinion.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

“Cami.”

A smile crosses his face, making the scars on his cheek more pronounced. “About time you admitted you like her.”

“I never said that,” I lie.

“Please, we can all see it. So what’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing. Not yet anyway,” I amend.

“Why not? And don’t give me any of that, I’m too old bullshit,” he says mockingly.

“I’m not sure if the feelings are mutual.”

“That’s bullshit. Anyone with two eyes can see it. So man up and make your move.”

“I thought about it, but I don’t know,” I confess.

“What has you second-guessing yourself?”

“This morning.”

His eyebrows wing up, and he smiles.

“Shit, not like that.” I shake my head. “Her car is in the shop, and so I gave her a ride to class.”

“I bet you gave her a ride all right,” he quips, making me roll my eyes.

“Everything was fine until I saw a guy approach her.”

Happy’s smile falls as he drops his feet onto the floor.

“What guy?” he asks as he leans forward, bracing his forearms on his knees.

“I don’t know who he was.”

“But she stopped to talk to him?” he asks.

I nod.

“Did she look happy to talk to him?” he presses.

“No.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

“I don’t know…”

“Look, man, it’s time to shit or get off the pot. Either claim her or walk away.”

“She’s an employee,” I remind him.

Happy rolls his eyes. “So fucking what? There’s nothing saying you two can’t be together. Stop being a little bitch and ask her out.”

“She’s a stripper,” I argue weakly.

He laughs. “We both know that girl is not a stripper. It might be what she is doing right now for money, but she is so much more than that.”

He’s right, of course. It’s what intrigues me about her the most. She isn’t a stripper for any other reason than necessity.

“If she and I start dating, it will go against everything I’ve told the other dancers. Who knows what the hell they will do.”

He shrugs. “Sounds to me like you’re worrying for no reason. You have to ask her out and she has to accept before you can start inviting problems in.”

I run my hand through my hair and pull lightly.

“She’s a good girl, and if you don’t scoop her up now, some jackass might. Just think about it,” he says as he stands.

I watch as he walks out of my office as my mind runs wild. The idea of her being with someone else sends jealousy racing through me.

Hell no. Not on my watch.

Could it really be that easy, though? Could it be as simple as asking her out and her saying yes?

Surely it can’t be, right?

There’s only one way to find out.