Page 22 of Fang (Lotus MC: San Antonio #2)

I t’s Monday morning, and the last place I want to be is here on campus. I would rather be somewhere else, somewhere with him. The weekend went by too fast. Especially with the way it started out so shitty.

Fang handled it well, though. Or at least I think he did. I expected him to push again to try and convince me to quit dancing, but he didn’t.

My phone dings, so I step off to the side, out of the way of people walking on the sidewalk. I pull it out of my bag and see that I have an email. The only reason I don’t ignore it is because it’s from the professor of my next class.

Students,

Class is canceled for the day due to water pouring out of the ceiling in the classroom. I will let you know when we will meet next. Sorry for the short notice.

Well then, how about that.

While I could go back to my room and catch up on some sleep or even do some homework, there’s somewhere else I would rather be.

The club.

I don’t know if Fang is at work yet, but if he’s not, I can work on a new routine. There’s a song that’s been stuck in my head for days. I just don’t know if I can make it work or not, and my room isn’t big enough for me to choreograph in.

I place my phone back in my bag. Before I can even take a step though, someone shoulder-checks me from behind. It’s all I can do to stop myself from falling.

“What the fuck!” I yell.

“What, I thought you liked spending time on your knees,” Zak sneers.

I have to stop myself from gasping when I see him. His face is fucked to high heaven. Jesus Christ, Fang did a number on him. I know I should feel bad, but I don’t.

“What are you staring at, you whore?” he hisses.

“My man’s handiwork,” I tell him honestly.

“I never would have guessed you were a stripper. You really are just like your momma, huh? Taking your clothes off just to make a buck,” he says.

“Zak, come on, man,” one of his friends says.

His friend tries to grab his shoulder to pull him away, only Zak pulls away from him.

“No, she thinks she’s so much better than me when she isn’t. She dances naked on stage!” Zak yells.

Without thinking about it, I reach out and slap him. My palm hits his face so hard it stings.

“Who the fuck do you think you are to shame a woman for doing whatever it takes to get through school debt-free? I don’t have a mommy and daddy to fall back on Zak.

Everything I have, I have because I earned it.

Now I’ve told you more than once to stay the fuck away from me, and I mean it. I will get the authorities involved.”

He scoffs. “They won’t do shit. You know who my parents are.”

“Yeah, well, if they don’t, it’s not like we don’t know who will. Let me tell you, he will do more than fuck up that face of yours.”

Before he can say anything else, I storm off. My hands shake with rage. I don’t want to get the cops involved or the administration, but I might have to. This is becoming too much. I don’t know how much more I can take.

Dance. I need to dance.

Breathing hard, I pop my headphones out as I exit the stage. After the first month here, I learned not to practice new routines with the music playing over the sound system. The girls here are willing to do anything toget a prime spot, and that includes stealing other dancers’ songs and routines.

Working on my new dance helped calm me down, but I still don’t know what to do about Zak. I just hate the thought of making waves. I have this fear that he or his family would retaliate, and I’d be the one to pay for it.

When I step into the locker room, dancers are already getting ready. Like usual, I keep my head down and head toward my locker. When I get to it though, anger rolls through me once again.

On my locker, written in pink lipstick, is the word prostitute .

“Who did this?” I demand.

None of the girls look my way, actively avoiding me.

I slap the locker, getting all of their attention. “Who wrote this, huh?”

None of them fess up.

My eyes seek out one person. “Was it you? You think this is funny, because I don’t.”

Venus rolls her eyes and turns back to her station.

“Cami,” Happy says.

I look over at him and find him standing on the edge of the room.

“What?” I snap.

Guilt instantly rolls through me. I shouldn’t take my anger out on him. He’s not the one who’s giving me problems.

“Come with me for a second, please?”

Huffing, I walk toward him.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” I tell him when we hit the hallway.

“You’re fine.”

“What did you need?”

“I thought you could use a minute. Fang’s in his office if you want to go say hi.”

When he raises his brow, I can’t help but duck my head.

Well, I guess he knows there’s something going on between Fang and me.

“Thank you.”

When I get to his office, I don’t even bother knocking. Fang looks up and smiles when he sees me.

“Well this is a surprise.”

“A good one, I hope,” I say as I walk toward him.

As soon as I’m within reach, he grabs me and pulls me into his lap. He kisses me until I’m breathless. He presses his forehead against mine.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” I murmur against his lips.

“Nah, I’m just trying to figure out another theme night.”

“Nineties,” I say without any hesitation.

Fang chuckles. “You came up with that real quick.”

I shrug. “I know what I like.”

“You okay? You seem tense,” he asks, changing the subject.

“It’s just been a day.”

I should probably tell him about Zak and the locker room incident, but I don’t have it in me right now to rehash it all.

“How about after your shift later we go for a ride? How does that sound?”

“What if we don’t wait and go right now?”

“Okay, let’s go,” he says without any hesitation.

“Are you sure?” I look at his desk. “You were working.”

“I’m sure if you are. Come on. Let’s go play hooky.”

I know I should try to talk her out of leaving. Remind her that it’s not a good look to skip a shift, but I don’t care. If she wants to leave, that’s what we will do. I hate her dancing almost as much as she does, but for a different reason. I hate it because I know it doesn’t make her happy.

If it did, that would be a different story. Ditching work works to my benefit, though. It’s one step closer to convincing her to quit. Even if that means the club loses money. At the end of the day, I can find someone to replace her, as fucked up as that sounds.

“You ready?” Cami asks as she comes back into my office. She replaced her sports bra and shorts with a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

“I am.” As I stand, I shut off my monitor, and I grab my jacket off the back of my chair. When I reach her, I hand her the jacket. “Put this on.”

“Are you sure?” she asks as she takes it.

“Yeah.”

My dick twitches as I watch her slide my jacket on. It looks so fucking good on her. I take her hand in mind. She waits for me to lock the office, and then we’re on the move.

“You two taking off?” Happy asks.

“Yeah, we won’t be back. Call if you need us.”

He smiles. “I won’t.”

In the parking lot, I help her put on her helmet. The entire time she stares up at me with those big amber eyes with nothing but trust. I can’t even begin to explain how it makes me feel. Once we are both ready, we take off. We ride aimlessly for hours.

It’s been a while since I’ve just ridden without a place in mind, and I didn’t realize how bad I needed it. Needed the escape. Only when my stomach rumbles do I pull over at a restaurant that looks like it’s one step above a diner.

“Holy shit, my legs are shaking.” Cami laughs as she gets off my bike.

“You’ll get used to it the more you ride,” I tell her.

I don’t let go of her until she can stand on her own. Then I get off my bike and we head inside.

“Hey, you two. You can take a seat over there,” an older waitress says.

“Thank you,” Cami tells her.

I walk her over to the booth and slide in across from her.

“Why do you do that?” she asks.

“Do what?”

“Always take the seat that faces the door.”

“Ah, you noticed that?”

The waitress brings us water and takes our drink and food orders.

“I did. Now tell me,” she says as she opens her straw.

“It’s a guy thing. I need to be able to see who comes through the door. If I can’t, I won’t know until it’s too late if someone enters who means to harm you.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Huh, I never thought of that, but I guess it makes sense.”

“No other guy in your life has ever done it?”

She shakes her head. “No. Then again, that would require a man to stick around long enough to actually go out.” She sighs. “I didn’t grow up with a dad, my mom didn’t date, and I never did until…”

“Until now,” I finish for her.

“Yeah.”

It’s fucked up how much I like knowing that I’m going to be the one to show her the way she should be treated. Knowing that I’m going to be the one to not just pick up the bar but raise it so no one else will ever be able to sway her away from me.

I need to get a grip.

I clear my throat, trying to shake off the possessiveness that’s riding me hard.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“How did you get your road name?” she asks, catching me off guard.

Out of all the things she could ask about, I wasn’t expecting that.

“It’s stupid, really.”

She leans forward and rests her chin in her palm.

“The guys noticed that my canines are longer than most people. They used to tease me about being a vampire and told me to keep my fangs to myself. One night I might have bitten someone to get the upper hand in a fight, and, well, it stuck.” I shrug.

“That’s…” she says as her shoulders shake.

“Laugh it up.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Not at all.”

The waitress drops off our food and leaves without saying anything. A mother with a crying baby walks by, and as they pass, Cami looks at the child with a look I can’t quite place.

“You want kids?” I ask without thinking about it.

“What?” she asks, shaking her head, caught off guard by the question.

“Do you want kids? Not today, obviously, but in general.”

“I’ve never really thought it would be a possibility,” she says quietly.

“Why not?”

She chews on the corner of her lip for a moment, trying to find the words to explain.

“It’s not that I don’t think I could physically have one, as far as I know I can, but I don’t think I’d be a good mom.”

“Why?”

“You know what I went through with my mom. That’s what I know, and…”

“You would be nothing like her,” I say cutting her off.

“You don’t know that.”

Leaning forward, I take her hand in mine. “I do, and you won’t convince me otherwise. You know what it’s like to grow up with a neglectful mom. You know exactly what not to do when it comes to raising a kid. You know not to do anything that she would have done.”

“Maybe you’re right, but honestly it would depend on who would be the dad. If I were to have a kid, I would want them to have two parents who love them like crazy.”

Our kids will.

She shifts in her seat but doesn’t let go of my hand. “What about you? Do you want them?”

“Yes. When the time comes.”

“Your future old lady is going to be lucky to have you.”

Humming, I bite my tongue. I want to tell her that my old lady is already lucky, my old lady being her, but I don’t. She needs more time. I need to show her that I’m serious.

While we eat, we get to know each other more. By the time we’ve paid the bill, the sun is starting to set.

“Do you want me to take you back to your room?” I ask as I hand her the bright orange helmet that will only ever belong to her.

“I was actually wondering if I could go home with you. I really don’t want to be alone tonight,” she says quietly.

“All right then, let’s go.”

We get on the bike and head off. It only takes us twenty minutes to get back to the clubhouse.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. Come over here, honey, and show me some love,” Biggy coos.

Cami’s hand tightens in mine, but she doesn’t pull away or try to run.

“Fuck off,” Bailey tells him before I can.

“What am I going to do with you?” Savage asks.

“You tell me,” Bailey says to him before turning toward us. “How are you two?”

“Good.” Cami tells her.

“What’s he still doing here?” I ask Savage, tipping my chin toward Biggy.

Savage sighs. “He asked for a transfer.”

“To here? Seriously?”

“Yeah, and I can’t turn it down without cause. I’m required to give him the trial period.”

“Being an asshole is a good enough reason,” I mutter.

Savage gives me a sympathetic look. “It’s not, and you know it. I’m sorry, man, but rules are rules. My hands are tied.”

“I get it.” I turn toward Cami. “You still want to stay?”

“Yeah.”

Relief flows through me. I’m glad that he hasn’t scared her away. At least, not completely.

I turn back to Bailey and Savage. “All right, we’re going to turn in for the night. You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Night,” Savage and Bailey say in unison.

As we head toward my room, Biggy catcalls us. I stop walking and turn to give him a piece of my mind, but Cami yanks on my hand.

“He’s not worth it. Come on.”

I know she’s right, so I lead her to my room. When we step inside, I lock the door.

“Tell me what you need.”

“A T-shirt to sleep in and cuddles.”

I raise a brow. “Cuddles?”

A blush covers her cheeks. “Yeah, unless you don’t want to.”

“Little dancer, I’m going to cuddle the fuck out of you.” I reach over and grab a clean shirt off the top of my dresser and hand it to her. “Now put this on and get in bed.”

After taking off my clothes, I get into bed with her and pull her to my side. She rests her head on my chest.

“I’m sorry about him.”

She kisses my chest, right over my heart. “It’s not your fault.”

We talk softly back and forth until her breathing evens out. Only when I know she’s asleep do I shut my eyes.