Page 5 of Wild Night (Vicious Reapers MC #2)

CHAPTER FOUR

IVY

Riding up to the clubhouse gates, I jerk my chin toward the prospect who is standing guard.

He doesn’t hesitate to let me pass through.

He doesn’t even speak to me. He knows who I am and opens the gates for me to pass by.

When there is enough room for me to get through, I ride straight for the clubhouse main building.

The only car in the lot among the bikes is a red two-door Mercedes. It’s as sexy as its owner. Piggy looked it up to see who the car was registered to, and it was Posey. I’m not sure why, but that surprised me. I figured it would be registered to Lucian or whoever he really is.

Parking my bike, I climb off and make my way into the bar, only to be greeted by a sight I wasn’t expecting to come across. There, standing in the middle of the room, a pool cue in her hand, is Posey.

She’s wearing a skirt that is a little too short and an oversized shirt tucked into the waist that hangs off the shoulder, with a pair of thick-soled wedge sandals. Her dark hair is pulled back in a slick ponytail.

Fucking hell.

If I thought she looked like sex on a stick in that skimpy red dress last night, it doesn’t hold a candle to her right now.

Standing in my club, at the pool table, her hip popped.

I want nothing more than to bend her over that pool table and fuck her, right here and now, and show every single man here that she’s mine.

I run my fingers through my hair as I watch her for a moment. She laughs at something someone says. The sound moves through the room, then through me, and I swear to fuck it enters my bloodstream, filling me—consuming me.

Then I hear a deep voice speak, and my spine straightens as I realize it’s Viking she’s standing with, who she’s talking to, and I’m instantly filled with a jealous rage.

He reaches out, touching her shoulder. She’s facing him, and I can’t see the expression she wears at his touch, but he’s far too fucking comfortable.

Viking senses me, and I watch as he lifts his gaze to meet mine, and then the fucker winks as he grins from across the room at me. I should beat the fucking shit out of him right here and now. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

But instead of doing that, the look, the wink, it prompts me to move closer to them. Closing the distance between us, I place my hand on the small of Posey’s back and feel her muscles stiffen beneath my touch.

Slowly, she turns her head to the side, her eyes lift, and then they meet mine. If she was wearing a smile before, it fades the instant our gazes connect. Which only makes my lips twitch into a smirk.

“Can I help you?” she asks coolly.

This woman is special. I knew she was different last night, but this only confirms it. The absolute sass and hostility shouldn’t be as attractive as they are, but I want more. In fact, I think I might continue to piss her off and wonder if she’ll bring that to bed with her.

I hope she does.

“Yeah, you sure fucking can,” I murmur.

I watch as she rolls her eyes to the ceiling, then tries to step away from me, but I don’t let her. Sliding my hand from the small of her back, I curl my fingers around her waist and keep her right where she is.

Viking clears his throat but thankfully walks away. He was just fucking with me. I know that he and everyone else watched me take her back to a bedroom and not leave last night. I claimed her without saying a single fucking word, and they all know it.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

“I told you I’d be seeing you around.”

I’m trying hard as hell to play it cool, not just to save face but to protect myself, too.

The last thing I need is to catch feelings for this woman, which is why I wanted to stay away because I know it’s going to be really fucking easy to do.

But the club is more important than that, which I need to continue to remind myself of over and over.

“Okay,” she says, her eyes widening.

“Want dinner?” I ask.

At that moment, a collective cheer erupts in the room, and I shift my attention away from Posey and watch as both Bullet and Dakota walk through the door. My conversation with Posey is on pause because the king and queen have arrived.

I expect Posey to step away from me and walk toward them, but she doesn’t. She stays frozen in her spot, and her muscles tense again. That is not the reaction I expected her to have at seeing her niece. Especially since she said that Dakota is the whole reason she’s here.

I’ve had the feeling there is more, especially after finding out about this husband, but now it’s confirmed. Posey is hiding something, and she’s not just here for a friendly visit. I’m going to get to the bottom of this shit before it blows the whole club into a million fucking pieces.

And my reward for all my hard work—fucking Posey… often.

POSEY

The people have been quietly chatting, drinking beer, and listening to the music on a low hum. But as the door opens, and Bishop and Dakota burst into the bar’s hangout area, the entire room erupts into applause and shouts as if someone famous has walked through the door.

But maybe they are famous. Maybe that’s what being the president of a club is all about. The notoriety and everything that goes along with being in charge. It’s probably really good to be the king.

Dakota’s eyes find mine, and she gives me a huge smile before breaking away from her new husband. Ivy stands beside me, unmoving, like a solid statue. At least until Dakota arrives. Only then does he take a step to the side.

For a moment, I think he’s going to stay right where he is next to me, but instead, he moves toward Bishop, and the two of them vanish down a hallway that I didn’t even realize was there.

“Posey?” Dakota’s voice calls out, breaking me from my intense staring.

Jerking back slightly, I shift my attention to her, plastering on another fake smile. “Your reception was amazing. I feel bad for being so late. I was trying to make it in time for the ceremony,” I say.

My words are sincere. I don’t have to fake them even a little. I should have made it to the ceremony. It should have been a priority, and I should have come here for the purpose of seeing her wedding and not out of selfishness.

But I’m a Bennet through and through because my whole reason for being here is because I’m a selfish asshole.

“I don’t care about that, but Posey, why are you here?”

God, she can see right through me. It shouldn’t surprise me.

It’s not like I’m good at hiding anything or lying.

I’m really not. I never have been. Sinking my teeth into the corner of my bottom lip, I worry the flesh there while trying to think of something to say that doesn’t make me sound like a bitch.

Exhaling a breath, I give her what I hope is a sincere smile before I begin speaking. I don’t think there is anything I can say to make me sound less like a jerk here. I’ve pretty much shown my ass completely—bare and everything.

“My trip here started out selfishly, but by the time I saw you, I realized this is where I need to be. We’re all each other has as far as family, and while family hasn’t always meant what it should have to me, I want to make an effort and get to know you.

I would love to get to know this woman who is my niece, who I didn’t even know existed. ”

“Selfishly? Like how?” she asks.

I’m not going to get around this. No matter how I talk and the circles I try to spin around in.

Opening my mouth, I start to tell her about Lucian when I hear her name being called.

Her head whips around, and she looks over her shoulder in the direction of the hallway where Bishop walks out, Ivy close behind him.

Dakota shifts her attention back to meet mine, her smile all-consuming. It reaches her eyes, her lips, everything. I swear, even her hair is happy right now.

“Okay, I’m going on my honeymoon. Promise me you’ll be here when I get back?”

Honeymoon.

I hadn’t thought about that. Perhaps because Lucian and I never went anywhere.

That should have been a red flag, but my rose-colored glasses were firmly in place.

Nothing would have seemed off to me at that time.

My world was Lucian, and all I wanted was to be his wife.

Being Mrs. Whitmore was the only thing that mattered to me in the whole world.

Look where that stupidity got me…

Broke. Alone. And a million other things. But what I’m not is Mrs. Whitmore. At least I don’t think I am. I have a feeling that there is more to the story, so much more that I’ll probably never have answers to.

“I’m not going anywhere, at least not until you kick me out of here.”

Her lips twitch. “I would never kick you out of anywhere. You’re family.”

I almost laugh because she might not be thinking the same thing by the time my past catches up with me. I have a feeling that my past is about to make itself known sooner rather than later. I don’t tell her that, at least not yet.

“We’ll be back in ten days. And when I come back, I want it all. The reason you’re running, everything.”

Wincing at her words, I try to give her a smile and nod. Dakota reaches out and takes my hands in hers. Then her gaze lifts to mine, her lips curve up into a grin as she watches me, shaking her head once, then she leans forward slightly as if she’s going to tell me a secret.

God, I hate myself for this. I should have gone somewhere else. I don’t know where, but I should have gone anywhere else. What I shouldn’t have done is drag my shit to my only living relative. I should have handled it like a woman and then come to her.

But I’m weak, so here I am.

Dakota releases her grasp on my hands and instead wraps her arms around me in a hug, pulling me close to her.

“I’ll be here,” I rasp, and I hope it’s not a lie.