Page 24 of Lore (Serpents of Chaos MC #3)

ATIANA

Lu, Ora, and I stand by one of the pool tables, watching Haze and Lore sleep. Haze is hugging Lore, with Lore as the little spoon, and we’re all taking photos.

“Just how wild did they get last night?” Ora asks, holding Zade close to her chest and laughing.

Lu touches Haze’s cheek. She’s got Dove on her hip, who is eating a slice of banana. “Drinking away his sorrows. He’s going to regret it today.”

“When one goes down, they all do,” Ora murmurs, looking behind them to the couch where War is fast asleep. Prez is on the opposite couch. “Did everyone else make it back to their rooms?”

“The twins are in the pole room with Rose and Brandy,” Lu says, rolling her eyes. “The prospects are at the gate. They missed out on the fun.”

“Someone had to be responsible,” I mutter, taking a step away and almost squashing Omen on the floor. “Oh, there’s another one.”

We all share a look, and then burst out laughing, which ends up waking some of the men.

“Fuck,” Haze murmurs, sitting up and frowning when it’s Lore in front of him instead of Lu.

“Have a good sleep?” Lu asks, as Haze rolls onto his back and covers his eyes with his arm.

Lore sits up and looks down at Haze. “You better have kept your hands and dick to yourself last night.”

“I didn’t know you liked to be the little spoon,” I quip, moving to stand between his legs that are dangling off the pool table. “Do you want me to be the big spoon tonight?”

Lore scrubs his hand down his face and makes a growling sound. When I try to move away, he pulls me closer against his chest and buries his face in my neck. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Butterfly. One drink led to a whole bottle.” He lifts his head and grins at Dove. “Good morning, Princess.”

Dove beams and holds out her hands to him. He steals her from Lu and stands up with her in his arms.

Lu and Haze are whispering quietly to each other, so we move away and give them some space, heading to the kitchen to make a greasy breakfast for everyone.

Rider comes in to help, cracking the eggs for me. Soon, all the men are at the table, looking a little worse for wear, forcing themselves to eat something.

Angel puts a bottle of scotch on the table.

“Hair of the dog.” He shrugs when I stare at him.

Angel is someone I haven’t spoken to much, but I feel like with him, still waters run deep.

He’s not the friendliest of the brothers, nor does he sit around for a chat.

The scar that slashes through his face makes him appear a little intimidating, scary even.

But he doesn’t come off as dark and twisted as Ghost does.

Dark and tortured, maybe.

He has a very dominant energy.

Mysterious.

Angel has seen some things.

And I’d love to know what his story is.

“Thanks, baby,” Lore says, eating a piece of bacon. He still has Dove attached to him, sitting on his knee while she eats from her plate. Rider is sitting next to him, with Romeo on his other side.

Lore made sure I ate before any of the men, which I found really sweet.

Glancing around the table, ignoring all the suffering, I take a moment to appreciate the family he’s given not just my kids, but me too.

I fought to get here, but now I’m here…

Yeah, I’m a lucky woman.

* * *

The next day, Lore takes the kids to the aquarium.

He wanted to get them out of the clubhouse and take them somewhere fun for some one-on-one time.

Although with all the manpower he took with him, it’s more like a Serpents’ day out.

Still, I thought it was sweet that he wanted to spend time with both kids, not just Rider.

He told me I can have some much-deserved alone time.

The problem is, I can’t remember the last time I had any kid-free time, and now I don’t know what to do with myself.

Even though I can’t leave the clubhouse, Lore handed me his credit card and told me to do some online shopping.

Instead, I’m sitting by the pool tanning and reading a smutty book on my Kindle.

Lore sends through some photos of him and the kids, and they look like they are having a wonderful time.

Is this what it feels like to have an involved parent?

Trent worked a lot, and I managed all things home and children, especially since Rider wasn’t his.

I did everything for him while Trent took no responsibility.

Which is why I expected Lore to be the same way with Dove, but he doesn’t treat her differently at all.

No one would realize that she wasn’t biologically his.

I’m so lucky to have that.

Dove will never know what it’s like to grow up with an angry man in her home.

Lore would kill anyone who raised their voice at her, or even looked at her the wrong way.

Bones, one of my two bodyguards for the day, sits on one of the lounge chairs and pulls his shirt off. “Fuck yeah, now we’re talking. I’ll watch over you any time, Atiana. I can’t remember the last time I had such a chill afternoon.”

“Me either,” I admit.

Skull is relaxing with a book—that’s how I know that it’s him. He’s been reading quietly since I came out here, avoiding staring at me in my white bikini. I head into the kitchen and make a few strawberry daiquiris, giving one to each of the twins who look at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“You’re not going to lose any street cred. No one else is here.” I smirk, dipping my feet into the pool while I sit on the edge. I take a sip and grin as I watch both of them do the same.

“Okay, yeah. It’s fucking refreshing,” Bones reluctantly admits while Skull nods in agreement.

He pulls out his phone and stares down at it. “Ah fuck,” he curses, sharing a look with his twin.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, looking up as Skull comes and shows me his phone.

“Lu’s bakery security feed is set up in not just our security room here, but all of our phones too,” he explains, turning the volume up.

“The twins aren’t answering my calls,” a woman sneers at Lu, who is standing at her pastel pink counter with her arm on her hips. “Can you tell them to contact me?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not your messenger. You’ll have to get in touch with them yourself,” Lu replies, using a stern voice.

“Just tell them?—”

“This is my place of business. Have you ever thought that if they’re ignoring you, they might not want to see you again?” Lu cuts her off, losing her patience.

“Ouch,” I mutter.

“She’s not wrong.” Bones smirks, and I nudge him with my elbow.

“You can’t speak to me like that!” the woman screams, making me flinch.

“Call Haze,” Bones tells Skull, who quickly makes the call.

“Actually, I can, so leave before I call security. Or are you that pathetic you’re hoping the twins will come and tell you off themselves?”

When the woman goes quiet, I’m guessing Lu is right on the money.

“Don’t you have any pride?” Lu asks, delivering the final blow.

This time, we all flinch. “Remind me not to get on her bad side,” I whisper.

“Haze, send someone to the bakery. There’s a woman in there harassing Lu,” Skull says, starting to pace around the pool. “It’s someone we’ve fucked, and she’s not taking the hint.” He pauses and then nods to himself. “Yeah, thanks. We’d go, but we’re watching Atiana. Okay. Bye.”

“Fuck you!” the woman yells, slamming her hands down on the counter. “You don’t know me. You’re just a biker slut. You can’t judge me!”

Oh boy.

“Wait a minute,” I say, looking up at Bones, frowning at his screen. “She slept with both of you?” My gaze darts between them. The two of them do almost everything together. “Separately or at the same time?”

Bone smirks, and Skull turns his face away so I can’t see his expression. “That’s a private question, sweetheart.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s a yes! No wonder she’s acting so crazy… you probably fucked her so hard it messed with her brain.”

They both start laughing, Bones bending over at the waist. I check out the only tattoo that I know they both have—the big serpent that matches the club insignia on his back.

It’s a nicely muscled back.

“No woman stands a chance around here,” I mutter under my breath.

Bones is still laughing, so I take his phone from him so I can continue to watch the show. Lu has now jumped over the counter and has the woman locked in some kind of chokehold. “I need her to teach me that.”

“You fucked with the wrong pastry chef!” I hear Lu tell her.

Skull’s shoulders start shaking with barely restrained laughter.

We soon see Haze run inside with War beside him. Haze grabs Lu, holding her in his arms and quietly saying something to her while War stands in front of the woman, crossing his muscular arms.

“You don’t fucking come back here again, you hear me?” he barks, his tone low and deathly.

“The twins?—”

“I said... you don’t come here again . You want to make enemies out of the Serpents of Chaos MC?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

He nods toward the door. “Then get the fuck out of here .”

We all share a look, the crisis of their dick drunk ex-hookup now over.

“Can I get that feed set up on my phone too?”