“Yeah,” I bite my lip to hide the smile. He’s amused too, he can’t hide that.
“Well, the word President says it all, don’t you think. It’s the CEO of the company, in charge of everything, oversees employees, makes decisions and keeps everyone in line.”
“That’s an unexpected analogy.”
“Best you’re gonna get.”
“So everyone else is like your staff?”
“There are higher ups,” he muses, finishing his water and setting it down. “Board members you might say,” he shifts onto his side and puts his elbow on the pillow, so his head is level with my chest.
“And they all have roles.”
“You’ve looked it up, don’t pretend you haven’t. It’s easy enough to find how shit works on the internet.”
“Okay, fine. I did that. Where does Jesse come into it?” I ask cautiously.
Noah sighs and rubs his forehead. I’m about to say it doesn’t matter when he answers me. “Best friends since we were kids. He’s too good to be in the club and he didn’t want to be, anyway.”
“What makes him different?”
“He isn’t soft exactly,” he looks at my expression and frowns. “It’s got nothing to do with his sexuality. I don’t discriminate like that, not in my club. People are free to be what they want to be, so long as they’re loyal.”
“That’s weirdly admirable.”
“I’m an admirable kind of guy,” he smirks. “Jesse isn’t cut out for the life. And he has his medical issues.”
“So his sexuality doesn’t hold him back, but his disability does?”
“This life is hard sometimes. Jesse wouldn’t be able to cope if someone got hurt because of him. We don’t exactly have an HR department, Cherry.”
“You’re the one who used the office analogy.”
He snorts a laugh.
“What?”
“That is so far from what it’s like.”
I nod. We’re quiet for a moment, each lost in thought.
“At the root of it, we’re a family. Our bond is sometimes thicker than blood. A lot of members have no one, or come from bad backgrounds. They get what they need being a part of the club.”
“That’s sweet.”
He sits up again, his expression incredulous. “Did you call my MC sweet?”
“I called you sweet, actually.”
He bursts out laughing and nudges my leg. “I hope you always think that, Cherry.”
His laughter fades and we get lost staring at one another for a moment. He blinks out of it first and lowers his eyes. I’m still covered by the sheet. He slowly starts to peel it back. I really am tender down there but pulsing heat coils low in my belly from the way he watches as my body is revealed.
He presses a hand to my inner thigh, and it pushes my legs wider, looking at me down there. He blinks and looks up.
“Are you sore?”
I’m surprised he asked. “A little.”
