I grinned at him. Despite not exactly wanting to play daddy at just twenty-fucking-nine, I couldn’t help but like the kid and get that sense of pride when he did or said something that amused me. “Sounds like you got out of jail for free.”
“We’ll keep it out of sight, Drew.”
“Ain’t nothing to do with me. Just don’t piss your sisteroff any more than you need to. I have to sleep with her at night and let me tell you, Ineedto keepmyballs in place.”
“I can handle that.” Tate raised his free hand to scratch the side of his head while Libby kept her eyes to the floor and tried to hide her blush. I’d never noticed her much before, or how young she looked. There was an innocence to her. Seeing those pale green doe eyes that hid behind the curtains of her long brown hair had me wondering how I’d never noticed her before, or at least asked who the fuck had allowed such a girl to hang around in such a fucked up place.
“So, Ayda said you were looking for me.”
I gave him a quick nod, cocking my head in the direction of the bar for him to come and take a seat. “I need to have a chat with you about something.”
“Okay,” he said, seeming a little unsure as he pulled Libby closer to him, forcing them both to take a step forward.
My hand flew up immediately, pressing into his chest as I began to shake my head and say just two words to test him, “Club business.”
Tate didn’t move for a moment, but his eyes scanned my face with such concentration I felt like I was some kind of fucking lab rat. It was only when he saw I was serious that the same determined eyes from that night at the safe house flashed again. His shoulders straightened, and his chest expanded slowly. The boy who wanted to be a man. The kid who wanted to grow up a little too soon. He was back.
“Club business. Right.”
He spun around, grabbing Libby by both shoulders before whispering something in her ear. I had no idea what he was charming her with, but by the look on Libby’s face, it was obvious she wasn’t too happy with it.
“Be careful,” she mouthed at him.
That was my cue to leave. Walking over to the bar, I pulled out a stool and landed my ass on it. I could practically see the adrenaline pumping through his veins and shining out of his wild and determined eyes when he approached.
Tate had more hunger than I’d seen in all the men that passed through these doors. The last fifteen-year-old to want a challenge as much as he did was me, and there was no way I was going to let Ayda suffer the same fate that my family had.
Exhaling slowly, I leaned one arm on the counter, kicked out the stool next to me and told him to take a seat.
“You love this club, Tate?”
“I do, Drew. I really do.”
“Then I have a favor to ask of you. A big favor. One that might get you hurt.”
There should have been some fear in his eyes. There should have been a shift in the color to his cheeks. There should have at least been a little bit of surprise, but all that shone back was a great big, goofy grin, and I saw a fifteen-year-old version of myself staring back at me. Tate was desperate to be an animal, with no care in the world for the consequences.
Christ. Ayda was fucked.
She stumbled when she saw us both sitting at the bar, my hand on her brother’s shoulder as I was giving him my ‘I’m trusting you not to fuck this up’ look. When I turned to face her fully, there was so much said in our silence, neither one of us having to speak the words as the reality of Tate acceptingmy proposal sank into her soul.
It was only when Tate twisted his head and saw her standing there that she sprung into action. “Hey, guys, what did I miss?”
Hopping off my stool and running my thumbs around the waistband of my jeans, I fixed on a grin and sighed. “Tate and I were just catching up. Ain’t that right, bro?” My hand landed on his shoulder again before I gave it a squeeze and let him go.
She gave me a small smile and closed the distance between us, leaning in to give me a lingering kiss. Tate’s snort was hard to miss, and as Ayda pulled away, she nailed him with her smirk. “Careful, kid. Payback’s a bitch. Just think about that when you’re making out with Libby in front of the club and everyone in it. You don’t get to complain anymore.”
She slung both of her arms around my neck and pushed her chest against mine with a more genuine smile. It was my second favorite smile of hers.
Curling one arm around her waist, I pulled her as close as I could, forcing my eyes back to her brother as my own smirk grew bigger. “I think this is your cue to get out of here before you see something you won’t be able to erase from your mind, T.” My wink was lazy, all my attention soon falling to Ayda as my hands moved to grip her hips while my ass perched on the edge of the stool again. “Wanna make him squirm?”
“Always,” she whispered with a grin, her teeth worrying her lip mischievously.
“How high can you get your leg?”
“I’m not sure. It's not a theory I’ve tested before. You want to try now?”
“Over the pool table?” Tilting my head to one side to stare up at her, I waited it out, and I think it took roughly fourseconds before I heard Tate cussing behind her.
