Page 48 of Nicolette

A shuddering breath could be heard on the other end of the line. “Understood, my Benevolent Queen. As for the other matter, the items I have now will be on time, along with those I’ve gifted to make up for this situation. I’ll reach out again when I have the exact timing on the fifty crates.”

“Thank you, Treazor,” Nine said, inserting himself back into the conversation.

“Prick,” the ogre spat before hanging up.

Biting my lip, I tried not to laugh at the scowl on Nine’s face as he took a moment to process what had just happened. Then he turned those intense amber eyes on me and seemed to have a whole new appreciation for my skills as a woman.

“How did you know that would work?” he questioned.

I shrugged. “I didn’t, but I knew what you were doing wasn’t going to get us anywhere, so what did it hurt to try? Treazor and I literally ran into each other at the Lucky Shot, which is where I discovered his appreciation for degradation and dominant women.”

“So you thought you’d just give it a try,” Nine mumbled as he rubbed a hand across his brow. “Woman, I don’t even know what to say about that other than you have some serious balls to pull a stunt like that. Part of me doesn’t know if I should spank your ass for undermining me or kiss the fuck out of you for getting that bastard to agree to those terms.”

“I’d be down for both…” I pointed out, leaving the comment open-ended to see what he would do.

“Not if I was really pissed at you,” Nine warned, then opened his mouth to say more, but I cut him off.

“Okay, look, when you say shit like that, I can’t just let it slide,” I said, pushing him back as I stood. “I realize I’ve been a fighter, and I can take a beating, but I agreed to it when I stepped into the ring. What you’re talking about is fucking abuse, and I’m never going to submit to that. I don’t give a fuck who you’re or what role you play in this crew or pride. You lay a hand on me out of anger, and I will hit you right back so fucking hard it will rattle your brain cells together. Maybe then you’ll realize there are many other ways to handle a situation besides that.”

Nine blinked at me for a moment as if stunned that I would speak to him in such a manner. Welp, this asshole might be my asshole, but there were rules, ones that I was never going to back down from.

“Nicolette, if anyone, including myself, ever lays a finger on you out of anger, then you’d better beat their sorry asses. Did you seriously think I would do that to you?” Nine bit out through clenched teeth.

Now it was my turn to be caught off guard. “You just said—”

“What I said was only half the statement,” Nine finished. “You said you’d be up for both, but I was trying to tell you that if I’m that mad at you or any other woman, then I would need to take a minute. I have a temper, a bad one. It takes a lot for me to lose my shit on a pride member or crew, but when it happens, I need to walk away. The only reason I brought it up was so you knew if we got in a fight about something and I walked away, don’t follow me. Removing myself from the situation is my best option for us both. I can’t protect you from me if you chase after me, demanding to fix things right then and there. Yeah, we’re a biker gang, and we follow many of the traditional rules, but we felines cherish our women.”

“I apologize for jumping to conclusions,” I expressed, resting a hand on his chest. “As you can see, I have a bit of a temper myself, and I have a bad habit of attacking first.”

Nine cupped my face in his hands and smirked. “Hey, it’s not like we’ve only known each other for like a week or anything. It’s gonna take us time to figure shit out.”

“So does this mean I can stay in the office and help? Who knows, I might have more invaluable knowledge about your associates,” I asked, crossing my fingers he’d let go of this stupid rule.

“That was actually the last of what we needed to accomplish,” Nine admitted. “I thought we were gonna need to go ten rounds with the bastard, but you took care of that. We managed to get everything else in order that was dire, but the rest can wait until tomorrow.”

I narrowed my gaze at him. “You’re not just saying that to get me out of here, are you?”

“No, Neko, we’re hungry and want dinner,” Circus cut in. “You two just settled a fight. Can we save round two for later?”

“If you say so,” I commented as I let Rambler pull me away from Nine and lead the way downstairs.

Over the past few hours, I heard it getting busier, and the music got louder, but I wasn’t expecting to see the dance floor packed with people. I thought the majority of them might actually be having sex and calling it dancing, but others were really busting a move.

Rambler tugged me close so I was tucked against his side, keeping anyone from even thinking they could mess with me. Once past the dancers, we still had to contend with the people packed in the bar area, three people deep, trying to get drinks and waving money at the bartenders.

I noticed there were two women working behind the bar along with Zealot now that it was busier. “How come they get to work here and be part of the crew?” I asked Rambler as the sea of people parted before us, leaving a path for him to get to the front of the line.

He glanced down at me as he leaned against the bar. “I don’t get what you mean. Trixi and Merideth are part of the pride and work here in the evenings when it gets crazy. They aren’t part of the crew Savage Pride.”

“Doesn’t the MC own the bar? It’s your clubhouse and hangout, right?” I pressed.

“Yeah, but the bar is a business we run legit and hire people from the pride to work. They get paychecks twice a month, pay taxes, and get sick time. The Savage Pride uses this as our hangout, but it’s not tied to the MC, or at least that’s what the government thinks. We also have a diner a few blocks away that we own as well, run by our people. We can go there tomorrow if you want to check it out. Grab breakfast, maybe?”

I grinned at him. “Rambler, are you asking me out on a date?”

“I suppose I am,” he answered with a chuckle. “Let me try that again since you didn’t seem to realize what I was doing.” Taking a moment, he cleared his throat and took my hand in both of his. “Nicolette, will you go out to breakfast with me as a date?”

It shouldn’t have been as adorable as it was for this man that I’d fucked five ways to Sunday to be nervous to ask me out—but it was.