That earns a smirk. “Only on request.”
Her breath catches—barely, but I feel it like a spark down my spine.
Before I can say something stupid, we hit the main room.
A few heads turn.
Then a few more.
Conversations pause mid-sentence.
The brothers all know me. They know my patterns. They know the women who come through sometimes—casual, uncomplicated, in and out like weather fronts. But this? Me walking in with Holley pressed close to my side, guiding her through the clubhouse like she belongs there?
That’s new.
Really new.
“Stud,” a voice calls from the pool table. “You got a shadow today?”
I shoot a look toward the speaker—Grinder, la man with quick hands and quicker opinions. He lifts his beer in greeting, smirking. Holley’s cheeks flush.
“Ignore him,” I mutter. “He was born running his mouth.”
“Everyone’s staring,” she says under her breath.
“That’s ‘cause you walked in with me.”
“Is that bad?”
“No,” I say. “It’s just unusual.”
Because I don’t bring women here. Not really. Not like this. Not for more than an hour or two, definitely not for a full damn day or however long she’s going to stay. And never in a way that lets them see me past the surface.
But Holley’s already seen too much of me for that to matter.
I draw her further into the room, and the guys start approaching—slow, respectful, the way you walk up to something you’re not sure is fragile or dangerous.
Country Boy is the first to reach us. Broad shoulders, easy grin, hair pulled back in a low tie.
“Stud,” he says, nodding. “You bring a guest?”
“Holley,” I say, keeping a steady hand on her back. “Meet Country Boy. One of the best idiots I know.”
“Bold talk from the retired Prez,” Country Boy shoots back. But his smile softens when he turns to her. “Good to meet you, Holley.”
“Hi,” she says, offering a small wave.
He warms instantly. “You need anything while you’re here, you ask. This place can be rough around the edges, but we look out for our own.”
Holley glances up at me quickly.
Our own.
Her pulse jumps. I feel it through the air.
Before she can overthink it, Raff and Miles come over.
Miles points at her with his beer bottle. “You stole Stud’s hoodie?”
