His jaw went hard and he turned his outraged glare on me.
“You’re going to have to get over this.”
He snorted. “Hell, Iamover it—”
“No, you’re not.”
“—but I shouldn’t be seen going to King’s house.” He practically roared those last few words at me.
My stomach dipped, and I took a few steps away from him, squaring off. This had been brewing, and I wasn’t one to let a good fight go to waste without having my say. I jabbed a finger at him. “Then don’t be seen going there.” I jerked my thumb back toward myself so hard it hurt when I smacked my sternum. “I’m going there to fill him in. Fuck off home if you want to.”
Jayce grabbed me by the wrist when I went to shove past him, and I yanked free, stomping away. I spotted Charley Hughes sitting at the bar and went up to him.
“Hey.”
“Hey, River.” He grinned and threw an arm around my shoulders in a brief hug. I leaned into him for a second and then straightened up.
“Can I get a ride to King’s new place?”
He tilted his head as if he was thinking hard, pouting in that way he sometimes did when he wasn’t sure what he should be doing. “You been out there? I helped a couple of days ago. He’s almost finished building onto it. It’s coming along real—”
I noticed Jayce stalk out into the barroom. He scanned the crowd of mostly men as I quickly turned my focus back to Charley. “My bike’s not here. Would you please take me there?”
“Can’t. I’m waiting for Colton, but I think Travis is around here somewhere.” He pointed to the corner where his brother was curled up on a couch with his boyfriend, and they were so cute, kissing each other and ignoring everyone else, that I didn’t have it in me to go over there and break up their snugglefest.
Someone snagged my elbow, and I fought for a second but realized quickly it was Undertaker. He slid his arm around my waist. “I’ll take you.”
“Where were you? How did you even—”
He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Might have been listening at the door while you were fighting with Mr. Law and Order.”
“Why? I thought you were with Lee tonight?”
“Oh, I am. Exclusively these days,” he said to me and swung around to stare at something across the room. “My Pet needs to learn a lesson about denial at the moment.” He pointed to where Lee was on his knees in the corner with his nose to the wall. I sucked in a breath.
“Looks fun?”
Undertaker gave me a little smirk. “I also love the way your cop boyfriend seems like he wants to attempt a scuffle with me.That’sfun.”
“Will you please take me—”
“Oh, certainly.” He grabbed my ass as he ushered me toward the front door. I let out an “umph” and he only laughed. We had to dodge a dancing couple, and two women I thought might be Harlots kissing against the wall in the short front entrance hall, but as soon as we got outside I was happier. The music had been grating on my brain. I sucked in clean air. God, sometimes I hated how much smoke could build up inside. Undertaker let me go to stroll alongside me down the line of bikes in the parking lot.
“That was too much,” I said with a sigh to Undertaker, but he only laughed. “We don’t know each other well enough. Jayce’s going to actually be hurt with how you were treating me, or—”
“Don’t you dare get on a bike with that numpty.” The order was barked from the front door. I turned and had a long-distance stare-off with Jayce, all at once more enraged than I’d ever been in my life.
“Fuck you.”
Undertaker winked. “That’s the spirit. You’ll be sitting in your own corner in no time.”
I rolled my eyes and followed him to his red Veloce, moaning a little under my breath at all his sexy mods.
“Now, I didn’t realize it’d be like that,” he said, his tone low and husky.
“The bike.” I lightly touched the twisted metal artwork he’d made out of his lady’s gas tank.
“Oh yeah. I feel the same way.” He laughed and patted the seat. I climbed on, and he handed me a helmet. We were pulling away when I glanced back over my shoulder to see Jayce standing there in the drive with his huge arms crossed. I felt like a world-class fucker but also justified. So did that make me a medium-level ass? I didn’t know. It was dark, so I couldn’t tell Jayce’s particular expression, but his shoulders were stiff. He was mad at me, but damn it, I was mad too. My stomach still dipped and sank in a horrible way, though.
