He leans in closer and reaches around to squeeze one of my ass cheeks. “Only man you have to worry about pleasing is me. Got it?”
Damn, he makes it difficult to be mad at him when he uses that low, sexy voice that turns my insides to liquid.
When we arrive at his clubhouse, so many memories wash over me. I always hated coming here. Now it feels familiar.
“Kady!” Bolt’s voice booms across the parking lot as he strides over. “How are you, sweet girl?”
“I’m fine. Thank you again, Bolt, for—”
“Hush. Just happy you’re okay.” He lowers his voice. “And that you’re working things out with my boy. He was miserable as fuck while you were gone.”
I have to avert my eyes. Every one of my shitty actions has hurt someone I care about.
“I—”
“Back off, Dad,” Blaise says, slipping his arm around my shoulders.
Naturally, Bolt ignores his son. “Blaise explain to you how important tonight is, Kadence?” he asks in his dad voice.
I realize how much I missed that voice. Lord knows my own father never showed me an ounce of fatherly concern. Bolt always treated me like his own. When my father forgot my sixteenth birthday, Bolt was the one who took me out and taught me how to drive. When my mother claimed to be broke, Bolt was the one who stepped up and paid my college tuition without me even asking. I repaid him by sneaking around with his son, then disappearing without a word to anyone.
Instead of bitching about being expected to stay quiet and look pretty tonight—I don’t need to be a genius to understand that’s what he’s asking—I answer him with the respect I should’ve shown him a long time ago. “Yes, Bolt. I understand. I’ll behave.” A couple months ago, those wordsneverwould have come out of my mouth.
Maybe Blaise is right, and we needed the time apart.
While there are a lot of things about the club I don’t understand—why the heck can’t girls be members for one—at home, Bolt treated Blaise and me the same.
Well, maybe not the same. Blaise was expected to follow his father’s path into the club, and I was expected to continue my education.
Bolt’s expression softens. “I know you will, Kadence.”
Blaise’s hold around me tightens.
I can do this.
As long as Blaise lets me be myself at home with him, I can behave any way he needs me to around his club. I always thought that made me weak. Hell, my mother swore that sort of arrangement stole all a woman’s power. She took pride in acting the opposite of however Bolt asked her to at the club, until he stopped bringing her. At the time, my teenaged self cheered her on and thought it made perfect sense.
Now, my mother’s alone and so miserable I can’t stand speaking to her for more than a few minutes, so I wonder who was really right?
The rest of Blaise’s brothers fill the lot, circling around us. Almost everyone asks me if I’m okay and tells me they’re going to take care of Red Storm.
“No one touches our girl,” Hammer assures me.
None of the guys mention my couple-month disappearing act. Or the way Blaise has his arm possessively draped over my shoulder.
Everyone welcomes me back as if I’d never left.
It hits me hard that this twisted pack of filthy bikers is the closest I have to a family.
Well, now I have my sister, but she comes with her own pack of filthy bikers.
The thought makes me chuckle.
Blaise glances at me. “You all right?”
I curl my body into him, and he wraps his other arm around me. “I’m better now.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
