“Wesley? Wesley Moore?”
“Go by Dozer now.”
“You two know each other?” Cage asks.
“Went to school together.” Dozer narrows his eyes in further on Meg. “But this one didn’t know me. She would never dream of hanging with our kind. Isn’t that right, doll? You and thoselittle friends of yours wouldn’t dare being seen with the likes of us roughnecks.”
“That’s not true,” my sister hisses. But it is true. I love my sister dearly, but she has always been one to turn her nose up at anything that doesn’t fit in her good-girl bubble. She’s my father’s daughter. Perfect grades. Perfect etiquette. Afraid of everything that doesn’t fit within their perfect world.
“Really? So, why didn’t you let me take you out?”
Meg swallows hard, stepping back to put more distance between them. What I’m shocked over is the fact that he asked her out. I can’t imagine my priss of a sister going out with a guy like that. He’s tatted from head to toe and has an eyebrow piercing. My dad would lose his shit if she had dated a guy like that. Though personally, I think he’s way sexier than any of her boyfriends. And the guy she’s into now, Clark, doesn’t even hold a candle in the looks department. Plus, he’s an ass, which scores him double points on my disapproval scale.
“No offense, but you’re not my type.”
He steps in closer to her, crowding her space, and then he whispers something in her ear that has my sister’s eyes growing round and her cheeks turning an even brighter shade of embarrassed.
“Are you ready to go, Payton?”
Dozer smirks, chuckling under his breath, and Cage locks me in tighter to his side.
“You all can head out if you want, but she’s staying with me.”
“I don’t want to go,” Chassie chimes in. “We just got here. And Cage offered us a drink.”
Meg huffs looking to Kota to back her up, but my youngest sister isn’t even paying attention to us. Her eyes are locked on something out in the distance. I follow her stare and see a huge man lurking in the shadows of the night, barely visible under the light of the moon. From this distance, it almost looks like hehas a huge scar running down his face. I’m not sure, but I am positive that he is staring intensely at my baby sis.
“Dakota!” Meg snaps. “Tell them you want to leave.”
Kota finally turns, and she shakes her head slowly. She wants to stay.
“There you have it,” Chassie states. “Three against one. Now, come on.” She wraps her arm around my frustrated sister’s shoulders. “Let’s go get you that drink, and loosen that stick you have up your ass.”
Meg’s reaction is almost comical, but she has to admit it’s true. She’s wound too tight. Always trying to be so perfect. Always trying to live up to everyone’s expectations. She reminds me of me. The old me. Now, I know that happiness doesn’t come from shiny crowns, good grades, or fancy clothes. Happiness comes from doing the things you love, and spending time with people that make you feel good. People who don’t judge.
I turn toward Cage and lean up onto my toes, placing a soft kiss against his lips. “You have some making up to do, mister.”
He licks his lips, tipping his head. “Doze, need you to see these ladies into the clubhouse and get them drinks. And do me a favor and keep an eye on them for me.”
Next thing I know, I’m over his shoulder and being hauled off like a sack of potatoes.
13
Cage
Idrop her onto my bed then crawl over her, leaning in for a taste of that sweet mouth, but she turns her head to the side, not letting me kiss her.
“I think you should explain first what the heck that was about, because I don’t put up with men treating me that way.”
Fuck. I was a damn bastard to her. But all day I’ve been sunk in the past. Unable to get that shit out of my head. My dad and Kimberly. The two of them starting a family. She was supposed to be my wife. We were going to get married and have kids, and now, she’s my damn stepmom and about to give birth to my brother or sister. It’s fucked up.
I lay down next to her, and pull her in close, brushing her long locks away from her pretty face and tucking them behind her ear. She’s fucking gorgeous. And I didn’t treat her nice, which makes me a lousy sack of shit.
“I’m sorry about the way I acted. I was in a pretty bad way, babe. Ran into my dad and his wife this morning, and it fucked me up.”
She scoots in closer. “Can you tell me why? Do you not get along with them?”
It’s a sordid tale. One I don’t like talking about, but I owe her an explanation after the way I behaved.
