The silence lingered in the air again until I made my final move.
Leaning over him, I gripped the material of his T-shirt and yanked him forward. When I was close enough that I could practically eat the fucker, I stared into his scrunched up eyes and spoke.
“I’m not going to end you.”
Kenny blinked slowly, his mouth falling open as he stared at me helplessly.
“I didn’t want to have to fight you.”
His face fell into confusion, the swellings on the side of his jaw already turning an angry shade of red.
“This was all on you,” I said a little quieter.
A trickle of blood fell into my mouth and my tongue ran up to clear it away, not missing the cut in my top lip that he’d gifted me with. Kenny’s attention fell to all the marks on my face and when his shoulders sagged in my grip, it was clear it was all over. He didn’t have to say another word.
Pulling him to his feet, I stood him up on shaky legs, keeping a hold of his T-shirt until I knew for damn certain that he wasn’t going to pass out on me. Collecting the blood in his mouth, he coughed and spat it on the floor beside us, the pain in his face obvious as he tried to roll out his jaw. When he eventually looked up through heavy eyes, I stepped away and went to the side of the circle to collect his cut. Travis handed it over without question, giving me a nod of respect as I turned back and walked over to my opponent.
Standing behind him, I slid it up both his arms while he just stood there looking dumbstruck, flinching when I slapped two hands on his shoulders before walking back to stand in front of him again. My eyes wandered to our patch on his leather and I let my thumb trace over it.
“Whether you hate me or not, don’tevergive me a reason to hit a brother or question his loyalty again.”
Then I walked out through a sea of bodies who all parted for me without anyone uttering a single fucking word.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ayda
Men! All of them were arrogant, ignorant, cocky bastards. What made it worse was the fact that the one I was in love with was currently treating me like a possession. I wasn’t sure what had pissed Drew off so much. It wasn’t the first time we’d all had some fun out on the field throwing the ball around. It had been a while for me, sure, but it wasn’t unusual. I could have understood his reaction had Kenny and I been alone, but the whole fucking club had been out there with us.
I was pacing the room I’d been given—my sanctuary away from the MC, Drew, and the politics of the club. It was the only place in the building I could call mine, and it was exactly what I needed. If I looked at a cut, I was going to lose my shit. I was drowning in testosterone, and it was making me crazy.
“Ayda?” Deeks’ gentle voice followed his soft knock. There was no judgment, no reprimand in his tone. Just concern. Everyone in the pack had followed Drew and Kenny, and here he was at my door, worrying about me and how I felt about it all. He was probably the only man in the world I was willing to talk to in that moment.
Diverting from my path, I circled around to the door andunlocked it before heading to the plush bed and the million throw pillows that were scattered around. I dropped onto them, my hands landing on my forehead as I refused to look at the cut Deeks was wearing.
“Come on, darlin’, ain’t you supposed to be flattered or something?” Deeks asked playfully, forcing me to drag my hands down my face so I could see him.
“I’m insulted, Deeks.” I pulled one of the cushions to my chest and wrapped my arms around it. The longer I thought about it, the more pissed off I became. All of Drew’s wrath had been aimed at Kenny, but he’d dismissed me like a child, like my opinions meant absolutely nothing to him.
Deeks wandered deeper into the room and pulled the chair from the vanity to the middle of the room before straddling it and folding his arms along the back. His eyes locked on mine. It was then I felt annoyed at him for being so calm and logical. I needed to go to the diner so I could bitch about men and their pathetic pissing contests, so I wouldn’t feel like the unreasonable one around there.
“You gotta realize, Ayda, a bunch of hard-headed assholes in one place and they’re gonna have a fight about things on occasion.”
“I’m not athing, Deeks.” I bounced to the edge of the bed and leaned forward, my hands pushing up my face and back into my hair. “You’re missing the point anyway.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you are. Whatever Drew thinks is happening, whatever reason he’s convinced himself to be jealous, he’s forgotten one, tiny little detail.”
“And that is?”
“Me.”
Deeks lifted a hand and gripped his chin, pulling it down to the point and tugging to the ends of his beard before releasing it and his breath. “I ain’t following, darlin’.”
“We’re supposed to be in a relationship. He’s out there accusing Kenny, but where is his trust in me? If he thinks for a second I could ever do that to him, what’s the point? He obviously doesn’t know me, and he sure as hell doesn’t trust me, so what do we have?”
“Kid, men sometimes have a need to prove a point to the men around them. Some choose to do it with displays of affection, hand holdin’ and crap, and others challenge someone who would dare to consider so much as looking at their woman. It’s not about possession, Ayda. It’s about holding onto the one thing that he needs, that he can’t live without. Drew challenging Kenny, he’s saying Kenny needs to get a grip on his crush because Drew thinks you’re worth fighting for.”
