I chuckled as she went back to her painting. Lacey had a point. I was doing what was expected of me by marrying Hunter, so didn’t I deserve a chance to enjoy myself now, before we were officially tied together?
I wanted a relationship with Butch. We’d have to keep it on the down-low, but it would be worth it to have something on my own for once, even if I did have to give him up in the end.
Butch
She’s engaged.
That should’ve been the end of things. A big, fat STOP sign that told me in no uncertain terms that things between us could go no further. I didn’t mess around with another man’s woman. I might not have been the most noble of men, but that was one thing I didn’t do, partly because I didn’t like to share.
But this was different. She wasn’t seeing the man. I wasn’t competing for her attention.
The whole thing was strangely cold, an arrangement made between families like it was some kind of alliance. Like it didn’t matter that two people’s lives were being decided for them. I wasn’t exactly a romantic, but even I knew that marriage wasn’t supposed to work that way.
Maybe that was why I went after her when she got off my bike. She was hiding her face from me, but I could read her body language well enough to know that she was pretty upset. The slumped shoulders, the way her arms were wrapped around her middle as if she were hugging herself, the quick pace that felt like she was running from me.
I couldn’t let us part like that. I didn’t stop to allow myself to think before pursuing her. The kiss I had planted on her was possessive, even though I knew I was trying to claim something that wasn’t mine.
Now, two days later, I was sitting in my apartment, cross-legged on my bed as I plucked out a tune on my acoustic guitar. I’d fiddled with playing music since I was a teenager, and now it was something that I did in my free time to relax. I wasn’t playing anything specific, just letting my fingers move over the strings until I created a melody.
My mind was on Sabrina, which was probably why the song I was creating was so different from the usual hard-rock vibe I usually went for. This was light and flowy, and as I went along I could imagine lyrics to a song about a woman with a big heart and golden hair.
Fuck.I was writing a song for Sabrina without even meaning to.
If I wasn’t careful, she’d have me wrapped around her little finger before long. I would be an idiot if I allowed that to happen.
But there was something about Sabrina that drew me to her. I’d never felt anything like this for a woman, even my ex, Kylie. I felt like I was playing with fire, but I was helpless against her. I wouldn’t tell her that—or anyone else—but I couldn’t lie to myself.
I was whipped by a woman I wasn’t even officially dating.
“You’re so pathetic,” I muttered to myself, putting my guitar aside.
My phone rang, and I answered it without bothering to check the caller ID. I could use a good distraction right now, and I didn’t give a damn who provided it.
“Hello?”
“Club meeting,” Pin, the treasurer of Outlaw Souls, said over the line. When Ryder called a club meeting, the officers of the club—sergeant at arms, treasurer, and road captain—were responsible for contacting the rest of the club members. “Be at the Blue Dog in twenty minutes.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Sniffing my shirt, I decided it was clean enough. I slipped on my riding boots and left the apartment. It had been raining all night, so humidity was thick in the air, but the sun was shining, so I wasn’t worried about getting caught in a downpour.
I was one of the first club members to arrive at the bar, going inside and heading straight for the back room where we held our meetings. The room was plain, with just a couple of tables and chairs. The Outlaw Souls’ logo was on the wall, but that was the only physical connection to the motorcycle club in the place. We didn’t store shit here.
Ryder and Swole, our sergeant at arms, were the only other people in the room when I got there. Ryder had his phone pressed to his ear. Taking a seat at an empty table, I scooted the chair back far enough to prop my feet up on the wooden surface.
“How’s it goin’, Swole?” I asked. She was one of only two women in the club, and I’d always thought that she was one badass woman, tougher than a lot of the men I knew. In fact, her massive muscles were the reason she had the nickname Swole. Her real name, Susie, just didn’t fit.
“Living the dream. But I’m not sure why we’re here yet.”
The door opened and more members filed in. Pin took a seat beside me, and I nodded in greeting. Blade was at the table in front of us, with Hawk at his side. The four of us got into a conversation, which dissolved into a friendly argument about who we thought was going to win the hockey match tomorrow night. We’d already placed our bets, so it was just a bunch of talking shit to kill time.
Finally the room was full, and I thought that everyone was there. Ryder must have believed it too, because he stood up and walked to the front of the room. Everyone quieted, giving him the respect his position deserved.
“Okay, let’s get down to business. So, last night—”
The door opened one more time and all of our eyes landed on Trainer as he walked in. Built like a tank with a full beard, he was hard to miss. But it appeared that we all had.
“Sorry I’m late,” he mumbled, heading for an empty seat at the back of the room.
“Dude, what’s in your hair?” someone asked.
