“What?” she squeaks. “How did he convince you to do that?”
I exhale heavily through my mouth. “Viper’s blackmailing me. If I stay with him at the clubhouse for a month and I still don’t want to be with him, then he’ll sign the papers.”
“I’m just shocked…” She pauses. “And worried… with him you’re reckless. But I guess you could just be really into him.”
She’s not the only one who’s shocked. I’m surprised at my own actions. I smile at the thought of him. “He’s gorgeous, and I’m loving the bad-boy biker vibes. I thought I’d walk into a dirty old clubhouse, but it’s like a large two-story country house. The clubhouse is tidy, from what I’ve seen so far.” There’s a moment of silence. “Piper?”
“I’m here. A month is a long time… I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too. Can you do me a favor? I’ll send you a message with the clubhouse address, but can you courier out my laptop and charger? I thought I was only going to be here for a day or so. That’s no longer the case.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you. I’d better go. Viper wants me to meet everyone again. This should be interesting…”
She laughs. “Have fun!”
“I will. See ya.”
I leave the room and go downstairs, my boots tapping on the stairs as I go. I make my way through the kitchen and outside. The men and women are around a large table. I search for Viper and see him off to the side talking to another woman. She’s attractive, petite with blonde hair.
She reaches for Viper, but he pulls away, shaking his head at her.Hmm… past lover maybe. He sees me and smiles, then swaggers over, leaving the woman. I inch to the side to see her mouth pinch as she stares at me with narrowed eyes, so I smile back at her. I’m used to modeling—and plenty of bitchiness. She’s going to have to do a lot better than giving me the stink eye if she’s trying to be intimidating.
Viper’s arm comes around my shoulders and he pulls me to his side. “Ready to eat?”
A gigantic black dog strolls toward me. I leap up onto Viper’s back and scream. He laughs, but I hang on for dear life.
“Conan,” Ava calls.
The dog stops, then looks at Ava and trots back to her, which allows me to breathe again. When the dog is far enough away, I untangle my limbs from Viper’s hard body and slide down until my feet meet the ground.
We make our way to the table, everyone staring at us. I still warily eye the dog. A few of the women stand. “Have our seats,” a woman with black hair and tattoos on her arms says. “We’re going to clear everyone else’s plates.”
I give her a small smile in appreciation.
“I’m Trixie.”
A woman with glamorous makeup walks over to us. She nods in greeting. “I’m Mercedez.”
“I’m Dolly.” A woman with pink hair calls out from the other side of the table.
I shift, glancing back at the woman who looks like she wants to shiv me. “And you are?”
“Candy,” she replies in a rather passive-aggressive tone.
My eyes flit from one woman to the next as I say, “I’m Sophie. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”
Candy storms off. Viper sighs.
“You don’t owe her shit,” says one of the men. It’s Axle, Elena’s partner. With his larger-than-life personality, he’s someone I couldn’t forget. When my eyes land on Elena, she smiles at me across the table.
I make my way around the table to Zara and Knox. They both stand. I wrap my arms around Zara and squeeze. “Hello, gorgeous,” I say to her.
She giggles and inches back. “I’m happy you decided to stay. I’m looking forward to spending time with you.”
Lightness fills my chest. “I know, right? It’s long overdue. We haven’t spent much quality time together while I’ve been back here.” I peek at the back door, which Candy went into after she left. “It should be interesting.”
I move to Knox and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you.”
