Page 17 of Stripping Keys (Devil’s Riot MC Tennessee #6)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

MARLA

I don’t know what it is about Keys. I either find myself wanting to open up to him or running away all at once. My emotions seem to want to open up to him in a way, but I’ve always kept them close at hand with a tight grip on them.

I opened up to him without much of a fight, and that’s not like me. I don’t do that. I’m not the person who lets anyone in, and yet he’s always had a way of weaseling in past my defenses.

My body was never going to be the same again, not after having Keys spend the past two days straight, using it against me. Okay, so that’s not quite true. He didn’t use my body against me. What he did was just more powerful than any truth serum ever could be.

His touch alone had tingles along my skin. Having all of him, I don’t even have the words to explain it. It was just so much. All at once. Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for Keys’s tactics.

Staring at him now while he communes with his brothers across the room, I wonder what I’m doing.

Why I’m even still here. Keys refused to give me the keys to my car, claiming he couldn’t trust that I wasn’t going to take off. Well, he’s right about that. I’m freaking out, and I wanted out of there as fast as possible. He wasn’t allowing me to do that. I was stuck here with him.

“What’s got you thinking so hard?”

I jerk at the sound of West’s voice. I tilt my head in his direction as he pulls a chair back and plops down in it next to me.

“Where have you been?” I ask, watching him closely, noticing something was different about him. There was a peace in his eyes that hadn’t ever been there before. “What’s up with you? Something seems different.” I don’t beat around the bush with West.

“Just something I hadn’t expected to happen.” West shrugs and darts his gaze away.

Narrowing my eyes, I take a better look at him, especially his neck.

Holy shit.

“Is that . . .”

My question falls off as someone joins us. That someone being the last person I ever expected, and that person dropped an arm across the back of West’s chair.

“Can we talk, Marla?” Marshall asks, acting like my big brother and not like I’m learning something huge here.

How has this . . .

I didn’t even know Marshall was . . .

Oh my . . .

This is just . . .

Okay, I’m freaking here, and honestly, I don’t have the right to ask him questions about his love life. Not when I’ve kept so much from him.

We’re just a bunch of fucked up siblings. Loving and wanting to protect each other but pushing one another away at the same time.

“Marla,” West calls, breaking through my mini freakout.

Blinking, I clear my throat and nod. “What do you want to talk about?”

Marshall looks to West, then back to me. “First things first,” he grunts, his expression more serious than I’ve ever seen it. “West and I are together. He’s mine. I’m his.”

“I didn’t even think you were gay.”

“Didn’t think I was either, but West is the only guy I’ve found I want. We’ve been fuckin’ for a while.”

“TMI, Marshall,” I snap and plug my ears. “I don’t want to hear about you fuckin’ anyone, let alone my best friend.”

West shakes his head and looks sheepish as he meets my gaze. “I didn’t want to keep it from you, but I didn’t know how to tell you either. I didn’t know what was going on.”

“And now you know?” I ask, furrowing my brows.

“I guess you could say that,” West confirms.

“No guessing about it,” Marshall growls, turning toward West. “Do we gotta go back to the room for me to prove that shit to you?”

Oh God, I so don’t need to deal with witnessing this.

“What’s going on over here?”

I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of Keys’s gruff voice. I jerk my head in his direction to find him standing just over my shoulder. How had I not noticed him coming toward me, let alone get so close?

This is what happens when I’m distracted by everything else. I lose focus. I’d blame it on Keys and his work of art cock, but I can’t this time. It has to do with the fact that my brother is dropping a huge bomb on me.

I can’t say I’m not happy for him. I really am. West is my best friend, and he deserves to be happy. He deserves someone who is going to put him first.

Maybe Marshall will do that. Considering the way he’s going all he-man, I’m guessing he surely will.

Clearing my throat, I find my voice to answer Keys’s question. “My brother is just explaining to me how he’s been fuckin’ my best friend.”

Keys raises a brow and looks to the other two at the table, then back to me, but before he can speak, I keep going.

“I didn’t need to know that part, obviously.

But as long as West is happy, I’m good.” Twisting to look at my brother, I narrow my gaze.

“I don’t care that you’re with West. I’ll be happy for you, but fuck anything up and I’ll take my knife to your gut, do you understand?

Doesn’t matter whether we’re siblings or not.

West is more than my best friend, and I’ll protect him as he protects me. ”

Marshall looks like he wants to say something but stops himself and instead nods, saying, “You got my word, Mar, I won’t do anything to fuck things up.”

“Good.” I nod back. “Then I won’t have to kill my own brother.”

Keys snorts and takes a seat next to me.

To my surprise, when the door opens, in walks Marley, being guided by Griz. It shouldn’t surprise me, though. I mean, her man is a member of the club, so of course she’d be around.

A part of me thought she’d storm over here and start in on me again. Another part of me wanted her to, so I can go at her as well. Yet a surprisingly small ounce of me wanted to talk to her and explain things.

No. That won’t happen.

“Mar,” Marshall calls my name, regaining my attention. “The other thing I want to talk to you about?—”

“If you’re gonna ask me about?—”

“Let me finish,” he says, interrupting me, interrupting him.

I snap my mouth shut and wait. I don’t want to get into it with him. My emotions were still uncontained, and I didn’t want to show them to him. To anyone.

I didn’t even want to share my emotions with Keys, but there was no keeping him out. I know that. He’s my kryptonite, my weakness. I would give him anything he wanted without question, which scares the living hell out of me.

“What I want to talk about is. . .” He pauses, takes a breath, releases it, and shakes his head before looking at me once again.

“I’m sorry for being hard up on wanting to know what the hell you’re into.

I won’t apologize for wanting to know everything, but I will for the way I spoke.

I’m your big brother. It’s in my DNA to want to protect you, and without knowing, I can’t do that.

Same goes for the way I am with Marley.”

“You can’t protect me, Marshall. I’m an adult. I can take care of myself,” I tell my brother.

Keys’s hand comes to my knee and gives it a squeeze. I glance at him to see he’s watching me, not my brother.

“You should share, baby,” he murmurs.

“No,” I whisper. “That won’t happen.”

Keys holds my gaze for a moment before nodding. “All right.”

I’m surprised he doesn’t try to force my hand. I’d given him my most darkest secret. He knew some of my others. I knew he wanted me to share with my family. Yet, he’s not forcing me. He said what he had to say and is still backing me on my decision.

The wall around my heart crumbles the rest of the way, leaving me exposed to being hurt. However, I have a feeling that he’d never hurt me. Not physically or mentally. Or he wouldn’t do it intentionally.

There’s still so much the two of us have to talk about. We’ll have to find time to do it, but right now isn’t the time. There’s enough going on.

Well, there might be enough going on, though I still want to know more about Keys’s past. I only know the parts he’s shared with me so far.

I give him a brief smile and return my attention to smile at West and Marshall. I was truly happy for them. The news of them together is shocking, but not in a bad way. I wanted them to be happy.

West leans toward me a little, “You know I’ve got your back on everything you do,” he starts.

Oh hell.

“But you won’t be able to keep things from Marshall,” I finish for him. This will suck for me. My brother would end up knowing everything I do without me having to tell him.

Damn.

Taking a deep breath, I glance toward Keys, then look between Marshall and West before settling a look on my best friend. “I’m not going to ask for you to keep my secrets.”

“You don’t have to,” West remarks. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“I know. All I’m asking is that you . . .” What exactly was I asking?

“That you listen to whatever West tells you and don’t go off halfcocked thinking to get in your sister’s face about it.” Keys ends up finishing for me, and boy, does he nail it.

I nod in agreement, wanting him to know that’s exactly what I’d meant.

Marshall glares at Keys for a moment before looking to West, then back to me with a nod. “Whatever he shares with me, I won’t get in your face about it, but I say here and now, I can’t guarantee that I won’t talk to you about it. You’re my sister, and I can’t not worry about you.”

“Fair enough,” I mutter.

It’s strange how things seem to have changed overnight, though it wasn’t exactly a night. Still, the meaning is still there. Things are changing, and I’m not sure how to handle it.

Thankfully, West changes the subject to something entirely different. I relax into Keys and just listen as the three men start talking.

I shouldn’t feel so relaxed. Not with everything going on. I don’t know what the club is planning to do about the threat against them.

A part of me wants to get out of here and get back to finding out if there’s more intel to be had. Okay, so a large part of me wants to do this. However, there’s a larger part of me that wants to stay right where I am.

Suddenly, Keys shifts in his seat next to me. The movement jerks me out of my thoughts, and I blink, looking up to find Meadow and Storm standing there.