“What does the skull, crown, and dagger mean?”
“It’s our club colors, like our insignia. It represents our club affiliation. It’s important to us, just like the cut is.”
I nod, listening to him speak as he continues to break off pieces of the muffin, feeding me casually. I swallow down a bite, still looking over each black and grey design.
“What about the butterfly? That one seems out of place compared to the rest.”
“That one’s for my mom. Butterflies represent transformation, rebirth, and freedom. It’s exactly what happened to her when she got away from my dad. I wear it as a reminder of what she’s been through and how she came out of such a dark time and grew into this glowing, incredible woman. She has always been incredible; he just broke her down so many times, she lost who she was. But she didn’t let the scars of her past define her, and her rebirth has been a privilege to watch.”
“I love how much you love her, Rhys. It must have been so hard all those years. I’m so sorry. You two are close?”
“Very. I’d love for you to meet her. She’d love you. You’re a lot alike—warm, open, loving.”
Rhys splits his Sunrise Brioche, the custard oozing out of the center. He breaks off a piece, dipping it in the cream before bringing it to my lips. The flavors explode on my tongue: a light citrus, balanced with vanilla cream and the orange glaze on the top of the bun. I suck it off of Rhys’ finger, his eyes going wide as he tracks the ministration. My eyes flick to the outline of his large dick hardening against the thin fabric of his boxer briefs. I wonder if I’ve always affected him this way, and he was just hiding it.
Rhys pulls his finger free, and before I can even start chewing, he’s kissing me.
Several loud knocks on the door startle me. Rhys’ shoulders pull back, his spine straight as he visibly tenses. “Just a minute, baby. Let me see what they need.”
It hits me like a bucket of ice water as I plummet back down to reality. We aren’t in a bedroom in a house,alone; we’re in the center of a clubhouse filled with its members. Members who didn’t seem happy that I’m here.
Rhys reluctantly stands, heading to the door of his room, opening it a crack, and standing off with whoever’s on the other side. Voices trickle into the room, despite their hushed tones. I sip my latte, the sweet taste the only thing currently keeping me tethered from having a complete and utter breakdown.
I know the rest of Rhys’ club is going to want to talk to him, but I was just hoping for more time to figure out a plan together before he needed to leave me. I can’t stay here forever; I just needed a place to go so I could figure everything out first.
I wish I knew if Blake was serious or if he was just using a scare tactic to get me to comply with his demands not to leave. Thetactic that worked for a while. Would the people he worked for really kill Rhys or any of the people here, or—oh god, his mom. Would he really burn the shelter down? I’m sure he’s figured out by now that I’ve left. I need to check on it. Call Kendra and make sure everything is good. My heart starts to rapidly pound in my chest, my breathing coming in shallow pants.
“Looks like I can’t keep you all to myself.” He frowns. “Jesus, are you okay, sweetheart? What’s going on? Take a deep breath for me.”
“I’m, I’m so scared, Rhys. What if he really comes to hurt you? Or your mom? Do you think the shelter is okay? He was just trying to scare me, right? There’s no way I was living with someone for so long who’s okay with these things. He was having me followed. What if they followed me here? What if he already knows where I am? I’m so sorry, Rhys. I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Hey, hey, listen to me, breathe, deep breath in, hold it, hold it, exhale. Good. Now do it one more time. That’s my girl. Just breathe.” I focus on his words, his huge hands as he holds my head and looks into my eyes with so much love and compassion. I can’t help but relax, melting into his touch. “Good. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to me, or you, or my mom, or anyone else we love, for that matter. I’ve already sent two men to the shelter to make sure the building, staff, and animals are safe. They report back every hour. I’m going to make sure nothing happens.” Rhys says the words with such sincere conviction that I can’t help but believe him, but the thought and possibilities still scare the hell out of me.
“Now, let’s get dressed. I’m going to introduce you to some people, and I have to have a meeting with the club’s rankedmembers. You are safe here. I’ll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it.”
The clubhouse looksdifferent in the daytime. It almost looks . . .normal? It reminds me of the common areas found in the dormitory buildings of my college in a way. There are club members lounging in chairs and sprawled across couches, most are drinking coffee, others are smoking cigarettes, all trying to wake up, all wearing a similar black leather vest with the skull on the back. They don’t really look like hardened criminals.
Rhys guides me through the large room, huge windows lining the front of the building, with tall, vaulted ceilings and exposed wood beams. A long bar fills one side of the room, the other side fitted with two pool tables, dart boards, and more couches. It’s kind of cozy.
Three women stand together next to three massive beasts of men, one of them just as big as Rhys. He’s gorgeous, with long dark brown hair hanging around his shoulders, a beard slightly shorter than Rhys’, and a petite woman tucked under his arm. She’s gorgeous, with dirty blonde hair pulled up high in a messy bun that I wish I could pull off, and a flowy boho-chic dress paired with boots and a leather jacket similar to the vests the guys wear, except hers says PROPERTY. I have no idea what that means, but it doesn’t sound good. Their size difference definitely has me raising my eyebrows.
I recognize one of the men from last night, the president, and the woman who stepped between him and Rhys. She’s another beauty, but so exceptionally different. With long black hair that almost looks blue in the light, blunt bangs that rest justabove her eyes, gorgeous almond-brown eyes, and a body that screams she works hard to stay fit. She’s wearing tight leather pants, combat boots that tie around her calves, and a leather jacket with no patches. She sees us coming, tapping the president on the arm with a light smack. Everyone turns to face us, and the nerves skyrocket.
Rhys releases me for a brief moment, the guy the size of him doing the same. I watch as they quickly step into each other’s space, throwing their arms around each other in a huge hug. The man smiles genuinely, and my heart stutters. It’s clear they love each other, and there’s something so beautiful about two men who aren’t afraid to be physically affectionate. Again, not something I expected to see here.
“When did you get in?”
“Few minutes ago. Chaos called me back for some shit that’s about to go down?”
Shit that’s about to go down? The breath is sucked from my lungs as my heart falls into my stomach.
“Ahh. And you brought your kitten!” Kitten?
“Oh fuck off, Rhys!” the woman who is clearly with the beast of a man says with a laugh, walking over to me as I stand here and lose my shit.
“Hey, it’s okay. Are you nervous?” she asks, grabbing my hands and holding them in hers. It’s warm and comforting and so very sweet.
“Out of my mind nervous. How’d you know?” She gives my hands a gentle squeeze.
