Page 16 of Strength from Loyalty (Lost Kings MC 3)

  “When we find out where we’re staying, bring Hope’s stuff in, then mine.”

  “Yeah, no problem, prez.”

  Sway walks out of his office with a big grin in place. “Motherfucker! It’s been too long, brother.” He greets me with a solid slap on my back.

  Z gets the same greeting.

  “Come on, let’s get you a drink and some shitty bar food.”

  After we’re set up at the bar, Sway makes a big show of looking around the room. “Weren’t you bringing your ol’ lady?”

  “Yeah, she’s with Tawny.”

  “God help her. Sorry, man,” he says, completely serious.

  Glad to see nothing’s changed here.

  “You’re out of your fuckin’ mind to be takin’ an ol’ lady when you got all those fuckin’ strippers beggin’ for your cock.”

  Standing next to me, Z snorts and looks away.

  Sway pokes a finger at Z. “You disagreein’, fucker?”

  “Yeah. When you meet her, you’ll understand,” he answers, slapping away Sway’s hand.

  I cock my head at Z. Startin’ to wonder about him lately.

  Sway is surprisingly impressed. “Got your officer’s approval?”

  “Fuckin’ A.”

  Thankfully, we move on from talkin’ about my love life.

  “Where’s your RC?”

  “Already took off with one of your girls.”

  Sway nods knowingly. “Serena. Bitch has been pining for him since the last time he was here. I got half a mind to send her back with you fucks.”

  Just what we need.

  Tawny pulls me into a quieter lounge area. There are a number of other women surrounding us. Some she says hello and introduces me to, some she outright ignores.

  Club whores.

  Rock tried to explain this dynamic to me once. But it’s one of those things that needs to be personally observed to be understood.

  Tawny stops to introduce me to one of the women she seems to feel is worthy. “Angie, this here is Rock’s girl.”

  Angie is a tiny little thing. She’s got a softer face than Tawny, but something about her still sets my radar off.

  She walks around me, checking out my patch. “Well, well. He’s patched you in already.” She glances down at the officer’s patches on my side and sneers. “Got the guys to vote you in? You must really be something,” she says as if she’s not impressed.

  “Ignore Angie. She’s just pissed Bull keeps blocking her vote,” Tawny says with a wave of her hand. But while she says to ignore Angie, she seems secretly pleased.

  I don’t like either of them.

  Is this what Rock expects of me?

  Will this be what I turn into twenty years from now?

  Yikes. Obviously, I haven’t given enough thought to our long-term future. My fingers automatically start twisting my engagement ring, which suddenly feels very tight.

  Tawny pulls me over to a couch and sits us down. She snaps her fingers at one of the girls loitering around, and a few minutes later, two beers are set down on the table in front of us. I smile and nod my thanks, which makes Tawny chuckle.

  “How on earth did you hook up with Rock? It must be some story.”

  I’m not really sure where to start. It’s a long and complicated tale. I don’t feel like explaining to this woman that I’m a lawyer. I doubt it will be received well.

  “I hear you’re a lawyer,” she prods.

  Well, there goes that plan.

  One corner of my mouth twitches into something resembling a smile. “Yeah, I got assigned to represent him at an arraignment and things just kind of snowballed from there.”

  Geez, what an understatement.

  Her eyes drop down to take in my ring, which I’m still nervously twisting round and round.

  “A ring and a patch. Rock’s really not fucking around this time,” she observes.

  “How long have you known him?”

  She tips her head back as if she’s counting up the years in her head. “Long time. Sway was a member upstate when Rock was prospecting.”

  “Oh, really? How long have you and… Sway been together?”

  “Since high school. So twenty-eight years?”

  Wow, okay, so that only puts her maybe mid-forties. Here I was thinking she was a lot older. I should probably keep that to myself. No woman wants to hear that.

  One of the girls runs into the room, shrieking for Tawny.

  “Excuse me, honey. Fucking drama with these bitches nonstop,” she says as she takes off.

  Not sure what to do with myself, I look around the room. None of the other girls will meet my eyes. Little pit bull Angie has disappeared.

  No one told me I had to stay here, right?

  As soon as I get up, I need to find a bathroom. It’s an old hotel, and this is basically the reception/lounge area, so there’s got to be a bathroom somewhere.

  I find one out in the hallway. As I’m walking out, I run smack into a familiar face.

  Cookie.

  The last time I saw her, she called me an uppity cunt and Rock had her booted from the clubhouse.

  You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

  “Hope! My God. I heard you were here.” She scans me up and down.

  “Cookie, right?” As if I could forget.

  She blushes and looks at the floor. “I was hoping I’d run into you so I could apologize for how I acted when we met.”

  Waiting for the punch line, I cross my arms over my chest.

  Her gaze lands on my face again, and I detect nothing but sincerity.

  “That night, I was a little tipsy. You know Rock and I… Well, he’d been so distant from all the girls for so long, and then you kind of showed up out of nowhere and you’re nothing like us, and it kind of hurt. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. I’m sorry.”

  Holy shitballs.

  Not that I have any reason to, but I want to apologize to her. Instead, I reach out and squeeze her arm. “I understand.”

  Relief floods her face. “Thank you.”

  “So you ended up here?” I ask.

  “Yeah.” She turns and points to a guy who’s a slightly smaller, less absurdly sexy version of Rock standing at the end of the hallway. He catches her eye and smiles. “I’m with Steer. He’s the VP here.”

  Well, didn’t she land on her feet? “That’s good.”

  She nods. “I’m glad I saw you. I felt really awful, but I knew Rock would never let me back up there, even to apologize.”

  A thought pops into my head. “Hey, the two charters must mingle from time to time, right?”

  “Oh yeah, especially in the summers.”

  “Cool, so I’m sure we’ll see you guys up at our clubhouse.”

  She seems startled. But hell, if she’s hooked up with the VP down here, I’m sure as heck not going to be the reason he can’t bring his ol’ lady to our clubhouse.

  “That’s sweet of you, Hope. Thanks.”

  We talk for a few more minutes, then go our separate ways.

  From where I’m sitting at the bar, I’m able to spot Hope as she comes out of the bathroom. I’d heard Cookie was down here but never thought she’d be here tonight. She best stay the fuck away from me.

  Instead, she catches Hope in the hallway. For some unfathomable reason, Hope’s by herself—Tawny’s doing a stellar job lookin’ out for my girl.

  Everything in me wants to go to her and make sure she’s okay. But with Sway sittin’ so close, I can’t let him think my girl’s weak.

  Thankfully, they seem to be getting along. Hope gives her what I recognize as her professional lawyer smile.

  Sway follows my line of vision.

  “Oh yeah, heard they didn’t get along so well. Sorry if it’s a problem that she’s here tonight. Steer seems to have taken a shine to Cookie.”

  “Nah, no problem.”

  Hope’s weaving her way through the crowd toward me, and I give her a chin lift so she knows it’s okay to approach us.

This gets a genuine smile from her, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

  When she’s close enough, I pull her against me, tucking her between my knees. She perches on my thigh and curls her arm around my waist. Sway has turned away to speak to the girl behind the bar, so for the moment, I have Hope to myself.

  Leaning down, in a low voice, I ask if she’s okay.

  I get a nod.

  “I saw you speaking to Cookie. Sorry ‘bout that.”

  She seems surprised. “It’s all good. She apologized. I told her we’re fine and that I hoped we’d see her when the clubs get together or whatever.”

  Well, isn’t my girl full of surprises? “That was very kind, doll. Thank you.”

  She shrugs and takes a sip of my Scotch. The wrinkled-nose face she makes is pretty funny. I hand her a bottle of water and try to keep myself under control while she wraps her lips around it and takes a deep gulp.

  “Everything okay?” she whispers when she’s finished.

  Before Sway turns his attention on us, I want to give Hope a heads-up. “Don’t get mad, but you need to sit here and look pretty, okay? Don’t volunteer more information than necessary.”

  Instead of anger, she responds with a soft smile and runs her hand over my cheek. “I’m good, Rochlan.”

  “You’re the best,” I murmur into her ear.

  Her eyelids drop and she presses a kiss against my jaw.

  This isn’t the time or place to get carried away—not that it would matter with what’s going on in this room around us. I don’t want to stop her, but my exhibitionist days are over. Not with Hope. She’s mine and mine alone. All of her. Still, I can’t find it in me to stop her as she nuzzles and trails her soft lips against my neck.

  Sway stops her for me. “So you must be Hope,” he says with a lot of laughter behind the words.

  Hope’s body snaps straight, but she stays tight to me. A glance shows me her cheeks are flushed pink.

  “Sway.” He introduces himself, holding out his hand. Hope’s gaze skips to me, and I nod before she accepts his hand. For some reason, I find it awfully fucking hot she sought out my permission before touching another man, even for something as simple as a handshake.

  I need my fucking caveman brain examined.

  “Thank you for inviting me down.”

  “Sure thing. My woman take care of you?”

  “Ah, she did, but she got called away for something, so we didn’t get a lot of time to talk.”

  “Sounds about right. Tomorrow, you gals can get acquainted while we handle business.”

  Hope sort of twitches against me, and I’d bet my bike she’s holding back laughter at the over-the-top way he says that. Sway and I go way back, and I got a lotta respect for him. But the fucker talks like a cartoon biker sometimes.

  Sway’s gaze springs to the door. “Excuse me for a sec,” he says as he slides off his stool.

  Behind the bar, Sara hands me a basket of cheese sticks.

  Hope twists around, and I nudge her so she’s resting against my other leg, facing the bar. “You hungry?”

  Her nose wrinkles. “Yes. But—”

  “Not a lot of gourmet dishes here, doll,” I say softly against her ear. The shiver that works over her body surprises me. Suddenly, I’m very aware no one has given us a room yet. I need to remedy that soon.

  Picking up one of the chubby, greasy sticks, I lift it to Hope’s mouth. “Open.”

  A frisky smile kicks up the corners of her mouth as she follows my order. I groan as she sits and waits patiently, lips parted, for me to bring the food to her. Something about the trust she displays while waiting for each bite sends heat streaking through me.

  What started out being sort of silly and playful, a way to ease the tension I think we’re both feeling on this adventure, ends up turning my crank in a spectacular manner. Feeding my girl from my hand, taking care of her that way, a rush of power goes straight to my head.

  Christ, the things I want to do to her. Right this fucking second.

  When she’s finished, I press a kiss to her forehead, and she lets out a satisfied sigh. As I run the back of my knuckles over her cheek, she leans into my touch. In the middle of this wild clubhouse with all sorts of crazy shit going on around us, my girl and I are having this intense moment, and I wish we were anywhere else in the world.

  “Sorry ‘bout that,” Sway says, sliding back into his seat.

  Really. Anywhere else in the world right now would be great.

  I don’t know what’s gotten into Rock. Or me for that matter.

  I seriously want to jump him.

  That’s nothing new. I pretty much always want to fuck his brains out. But something about tonight is different. There’s a strange dynamic going on between us. Some sort of power shift happened on the ride down here. I’m not sure what to make of it.

  The fact that it doesn’t bother me bothers me.

  I’m used to feeling out of place in Rock’s world. But Sway’s clubhouse brings a whole new level of discomfort to my usual confused state.

  After hanging with Tawny and Sway, I appreciate Trinity and, I’ll be honest, even Wrath a whole lot more. I have a whole new respect for the way Rock runs his club; that’s for sure.

  Rock has me sort of cocooned against him, as I’m sure he can feel my unease. I appreciate the shelter of his body and plan to take cover against him as long as I can.

  A gentle tap on my shoulder shakes me out of my thoughts. “You doin’ okay?” Z asks softly.

  A smile tugs at my mouth, and I sit up. “Yeah. Where have you been hiding?”

  “I been around,” he answers with a smirk.

  “Yeah, I bet.” I giggle and give him a soft shove. Rock’s arm tightens around my waist and laughter rumbles out of him.

  “Well, I guess some things don’t change,” comes from a shrill voice behind me.

  Rock’s body jerks upright, tossing me forward into Z, who turns and steps in front of me protectively.

  I wriggle around to see what has them so worked up and find a short, curvy woman in front of me. Fan-fucking-tastic. Is there nowhere I’m safe from running into Rock’s past pieces of ass? Wasn’t Cookie enough fun for one night?

  “Carla,” Rock says tightly.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Z asks, still shielding me from the woman.

  “My old man has business with the club. Never thought I’d run into you.”

  “You should go find him,” Z suggests.

  Maybe I was wrong and this is a former fling of his.

  “Jesus, Rock. What’s it been? Eleven, twelve years?”

  Or not.

  “Not long enough,” he answers.

  Angling her way past Z, she narrows her gaze at me, thrusting out her hand. “Hi, I’m Rock’s ex-wife.”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake.

  I’ve heard plenty about this woman. But no one has ever uttered her name. Wrath and Z both have other choice words they use to refer to her. Rock almost never mentions her. I know she cheated on him and his two best friends hate her—that’s about it.

  Reaching past Z, I take her tiny hand. She eyes me up and down, finding me lacking, I’m sure. “Hope.” I introduce myself.

  She raises an eyebrow as if she expects me to elaborate. When I don’t, she sweeps her nasty gaze over me again, this time lingering on my vest and then finally my left hand, which is currently resting on Rock’s leg.

  “His ol’ lady,” she finally concludes. “Wow, that’s some rock you got from Rock,” she says with a smirk. My, she’s a sharp one. “So you’re getting married again finally? I’m happy for you.”

  I want to laugh in her face. It’s not like Rock’s been some lonely bachelor all these years.

  “Thanks,” Rock answers, not sounding a bit thankful at all.

  Sway returns, and Z relocates behind Rock’s chair.

  “Jesus Christ, who the fuck dragged your sorry ass in here, Carla?” Sway asks. With those w

ords, I find myself liking him a whole lot more.

  She actually rolls her eyes. Nervy bitch. “You know I’m here with Barry.”

  “Good, that means you’re leaving soon,” Sway answers without looking at her. “Rock, anyone set you and your lovely ol’ lady up with a room yet?” he asks.

  “No.”

  “Sorry, that’s not cool. Give me a second.” Sway pushes away from the bar and storms over to a room off to the side of the front entrance.

  For some reason, Carla’s still standing with our little group. Man, she can’t take a hint. “So how’d you two meet? You don’t look like the usual club whore,” she says as if that’s an acceptable way to start a conversation.

  “It’s a long story,” I answer.

  “Oh, I can imagine. Has Rock ever told you how we met?”

  “Nope. I didn’t even know your name until a few minutes ago.”

  Z lets out a loud cough, and Rock turns toward the bar.

  Carla narrows her eyes at me but doesn’t give any other response.

  Thankfully, Sway returns, rescuing me from any more awkward conversation. He gives Carla a pointed look, and she finally walks away, but I’m sure it won’t be the last we see of her this weekend.

  After slapping a room key down on the bar, Sway points down the hall. “Down at the end, ‘round the corner. It should be somewhat quiet.”

  “You got another one down that way?” Z asks.

  Sway quirks an eyebrow. “Since when you want some quiet?”

  Z shrugs.

  “Yeah, I’ll hook you up.”

  Z and Sway take off together. Rock picks up the key, turning it over in his hand for a second. “You okay?” he finally asks.

  “Yes. Are you?”

  A small smile tugs at one corner of his mouth. “Yeah, doll. I’m good. You ready for bed?”

  “God, yes.”

  That tempts a bigger smile out of him. He pulls out his phone and taps out a message. A few minutes later, Hoot and Axel show up with our bags. Stepping away from Rock, I try to grab my stuff, but Axel pulls it away with a laugh.

  “Knock it off, first lady. I got it.” He grins at me.

  “Thank you, Axel.”

  Rock hands over the key to Hoot and points them in the direction of our room.