Page 13

CHAPTER 13

H e promised to take care of her if she needed him. And for the first time in her life, Lovie believed someone meant what they said. Had anyone ever told her that? “I believe in you. I don’t trust many people, but I trust you.”

Eyes could change color. She knew this because Law’s eyes darkened to a smoldering chestnut brown. Eyes that held her transfixed, mesmerized. Could a gaze burn? Flames of desire licked her skin, and she knew if she could read his mind, her panties would catch fire. She’d never wanted to play with fire before, but she did now.

“You can’t say things like that when people are around, Lovelyn. Not when I can't show you how much those words mean.”

Pictures of all the ways he might mean flooded her mind. He was right. Timing was everything. She’d remember that.

Her connection to him made no sense. Experience with men had never been an option. Losing their V card wasn’t something most women had to worry about. It was embarrassing. Most of her school friends were married and had children.

Whatever her stepfather had threatened the Warriors with, it had worked. Most of the time, they wouldn’t even talk to her. How lonely did you have to be to long for a conversation with an outlaw biker? If it hadn’t been for Owlbert and Buzzy, she’d have gone crazy.

“…over there,” Law said.

Wait, what was he talking about? Brows raised, he seemed to be waiting for an answer. She just wasn’t sure about what. “Sorry?”

“Listen to Daddy when he’s talking, fairy cat. I said someone is waiting for you right over there.”

Following his gaze, she turned to the boxing ring at the far end of the room. And everything else disappeared. Zane stood in the ring, punching the air as he waited for a large, muscular man to join him.

Zane wasn’t still at the hospital. He was here. In the same room.

She grabbed her Viking’s arm. “Did you do this?”

He shrugged, as if it wasn’t the most beautiful gift in the world. “I didn’t think a hospital was the best place for a reunion. Are you ready to go talk to him?”

Staring across the room, she nodded. Everything but her brother disappeared.

Her feet moved of their own accord as she silently crossed the room, Law still by her side, holding her hand. Zane’s back was to her, so he didn’t notice their approach.

The ropes around the ring barely slowed her down. Once she stood behind him, she reached out to touch his shoulder but hesitated. Four years was a long time, especially for someone as young as Zane. Would he still want her to be part of his life? He was practically grown.

No longer a gangly youth, Zane was growing into the shape of a man now. He’d let his hair grow. Tears brimmed her eyes. Her breathing stuttered. Four years she’d dreamed of this day and now that it was here all she felt was fear.

Law squeezed her hand, reminding her he was there beside her. The man Zane was about to fight looked at her and smiled. He had a nice smile. Not as spectacular as a Viking Daddy smile, but nice. It must have caught Zane’s attention, because he turned to catch a glimpse of what the man was smiling at.

Her brother now also had the face of a man. It was no boy who stared at her. He was tall now, taller than her. So grown. She’d missed so much. She just prayed it wasn’t too much. Her body had become a statue, unable to move.

Then Zane’s arms were around her, clinging to her. If he tried to hold back his tears, he didn’t succeed. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the canvas, but it didn’t matter. Refusing to release her, Zane went down to his knees, too.

Time meant nothing to either of them, but eventually, Zane pulled back. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you? I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“I’m fine. I never stopped trying to get back to you. But look at you. You’ve grown into a handsome young man. I promise I’ll never leave you again.”

He shook his head. “I knew you’d be trying to get away. That’s one of the things that scared me the most. But you’re here now, and we’re together. Sabre and me will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

Apparently, the big sister in her hadn’t gone far. She stepped right back into the role. Her smile never wavering, she corrected his grammar. “Sabre and I. Phillip should sue that fancy school you attended.”

He blushed at her comment and looked to the side.

Way to go, Lovie. You haven’t seen him in four years, and the first thing you do is embarrass him in front of his friends. That reminded her… just how did a teenager in California become friends with a small private security company in Tennessee? Guilt painted his face a deep pink. What was going on ?

“What’s wrong, Zane? You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

Straightening his shoulders, he looked her in the eye, jaw set. Lovie braced for whatever he was about to tell her.

“I didn’t graduate from the prep school.”

Was that all? Did he really think she’d care about that? Phillip had never sent her to an Ivy League prep school, and she’d managed to make it through law school just fine.

“Did Phillip pull you out? Wait, has something happened to Phillip?” Her tone in that last question made her wince. She hadn’t sounded excited about the prospect of Phillip being gone, had she?

“No, he didn’t pull me out. As far as I know, he’s fine.”

“As far as you know? What do you mean as far as you know?” He didn’t answer her question. Now the hair on the back of her neck prickled. Something was very wrong here. “Zane, why are you in Tennessee instead of California?”

Zane’s chin notched up. “When you got kidnapped, I couldn’t get Dad to do anything about it. He was too busy getting his name in all the papers for getting murderers out of jail. So, I started looking through his papers and shit, um, stuff. Sorry. Anyway, Lovie, I don’t know how to make this easy to hear, but Dad knew about your kidnapping before it happened. He knew about the Lawless Warriors and the Society. I think he might be the one who arranged it.”

This wasn’t new information to Lovie. The Warriors had been happy to tell her all about Phillip’s dealings with both of those organizations. What she didn’t understand was what that had to do with Zane not graduating from the school he’d attended since kindergarten and how he’d wound up in Tennessee.

Law stepped up beside her. “Let’s take this to the table, kid. That work for you, Gage?”

The man next to her brother must have been Gage. He nodded and unstrapped his gloves with a curt nod and a “Yup. ”

A burst of loud, high-pitched laughter filled the room. A group of women sat in folding lounge chairs in front of the wall of windows. She must have walked right by them. With all her focus on reaching Zane, she hadn’t even seen them.

Each of the women was unique in her coloring and build, but from the ease with which they laughed and joked together, it was obvious they were close friends. The plunge her heart took landed it firmly in her stomach. How was she going to fit in with such a tight-knit group? They’d probably all been best friends since birth.

Although they were all very different, they shared a few things in common. Each woman wore an identical jewel-studded crown. And each of them held a pastel plastic margarita glass. And each must hold three normal glasses worth of… yep, those were definitely margaritas.

Lovie couldn’t help but smile. By their laughter and tilted manner of sitting in their folding chairs, they’d each already had a few. The one with the long, sleek black hair lifted a music triangle in the air with one hand and her glass, accompanied by a small silver beater in the other.

After two failed attempts at striking the triangle with the beater without spilling her drink, she swung the triangle at the beater until a lyric ping rang through the air. All the women stood, stomped their feet twice, and yelled, “?ándale! Margarita!” After that, the tiny blonde with corkscrew curls dashed to the refrigerator on the far wall and came running back with a fresh pitcher of margaritas. As everyone's glass brimmed with frozen margaritas, they stomped again and yelled, “Viva la revolución!” and sat back down.

She turned to Law. “What revolution are they wishing a long life?”

Law bit his bottom lip and grimaced. “They are fighting to overthrow nine o’clock bedtimes. If you need more information than that, you’ll have to ask General Georgia over there. She’s the one who keeps banging on that damn metal triangle.”

Lovie cleared her throat to cover a giggle. She’d never had a group of girlfriends to hang out with. They looked like an amazing group of friends.

Envy coursed through her. Why couldn’t she sit with a group of Littles, sipping margaritas and having fun? Instead, she had to sit at a big table of fuddy-duddy Daddies who sent their Littles to bed too early but she still needed to hear Zane’s story even if she was pretty sure she wouldn’t like what she heard. Sometimes, life wasn’t fair.

From behind her, Law wrapped her in his arms, pulling her so close his breath tickled her neck. Goosebumps skittered across her arms when he whispered, “Don’t worry, fairy cat. I’ll introduce you to the girls in just a few minutes. The meeting with Reid shouldn’t take too long.”

It took all she could do not to squeal. That last breath did her in. She squealed with laughter and tried to jerk away from him. “Daddy, stop! That tickles!”

Trouble danced in his eyes as he pulled her close again. With his mouth just behind her ear, he forced as much air as he could into the words he muttered against her neck. “Really, fairy cat. You’re ticklish. Are you sure? I can’t tell. What if I whisper louder? What will that do?”

She twisted and turned, dancing around in his arms, doing her best to dodge his lips on her neck. Nothing worked. Her shrieks of laughter rang out around the room, but he didn’t stop until she was begging. Of course, her laughter made it more difficult for him to understand what she was saying. “Stop. Stop! I’m gonna pee myself, Viking. Stop!”

He pulled back, grinning down at her, as carefree and happy as she had ever seen him. He loved something about pinning her close and tickling her. That was a good thing because she loved it, too. The thrill of being captured and trying to escape, only to be overpowered and forced to submit. It was the ultimate taboo fantasy in all the romance books.

Something hard, long, and thick pressed against her backside. She pushed back, but froze when she realized it was a giant Viking cock. The breath she sucked in when he pushed his hips against her again could have rivaled a hoover vacuum cleaner.

She should stop him or at least try. But she’d never experienced anything like the feel of his dick. Maybe he really was a Viking. Her pussy clenched around nothing, and need filled her. Arousal flooded her panties, and her nipples stiffened to hard nubs. His smile grew almost feral, and need smoldered in his eyes.

Someone coughed loudly behind her. They might as well have doused her with ice water. Her back shot straight. She spun around to find all the men around the table staring at her.

Hutch sat next to the bushy-bearded man who had taken Zane from the Society compound, and he was smirking. “Don’t mind us, you two. We’ll wait with the girls while you two get a room.”

OMG!

Lovie couldn’t believe what she and Law had just done. She’d forgotten about everyone else in the room. Even Zane. Sister of the year, much?

The heat burning her cheeks told her how deep her blush must be. What would everyone think of her now? It was one thing to stage a tipsy margarita protest. It was another entirely to practically fornicate with a man you’ve known less than a week.

She was a floozy. A strumpet. Her mother would be so ashamed.

Steeling her nerves, Lovie glanced back at the women behind her. A sea of gaping mouths churned back there. They were all shocked and staring.

Well, except for the one with short white hair. She still sat in her chair, grinning and enjoying her margarita. When Lovie’s eyes met hers, she lifted her glass in salute.

Lovie buried her face in Law’s chest and groaned. None of them would want to be friends with her now. Except for the little blonde, maybe.

She wanted to hide. No, to disappear. Law was huge. Maybe if she were very still, she could blend in with him like a chameleon. Then they could forget she was ever there.

A snarl split the air as Law’s chest swelled and rumbled. Vibrations worked their way through his throat and jaw. He sounded like an angry Viking ready to shoot flaming arrows at everyone in the room.

No longer smiling, Law glared at the men at the table. Holy smokes. She wasn’t sure where Law had gone, but her Viking stood with her now, ready to pillage and destroy.

Stepping between her and the table, Law clenched his fists and prepared to fight. For a Viking, he was very thin-skinned. Surely, he was used to teasing among his brothers. She used to tease Zane. He’d tease her right back.

Not that Law struck her as the teasing type. She tried to picture him taking part in lighthearted banter, but nothing came to mind. Was Hutch crazy? She’d only known Law few days, and she knew that much about him already.

“Don’t be talking trash and shit like that, brother. You just embarrassed the fuck out of Lovelyn. Do you get me, or do we need to step into the ring?”

Oh dear. This was not going to be pretty.