“No. Is there a process?”
“Yes, there is. Our club is different. There are eight original members of The Last Riders who formed the club and decided to let the women join. We use votes to make our decision if they will fit into the club, and there are three different ways to gain votes.” Lucky paused, his expression cautious as he waited for her reaction. “The women have sex with six out of the eight to become members. Each of the six counts as a vote. They don’t have to have sex. If the men come from watching them having sex, that counts as a vote. The third way is to earn markers from the original members. Each marker counts as a vote.”
Willa tried to comprehend what he was telling her. As she repeated his words in her mind, she began laughing. Leaning over, Willa buried her face in Ria’s dark fur.
“Willa?” Lucky’s hand touched her shoulder.
She raised her head, jerking away from his touch.
“Who are the eight original members?” She stifled her laughter, waiting for his answer.
“We don’t disclose that information to non-members, but Sissy found out, so I’m going to tell you. Razer, Viper, Knox, Shade, Rider, Train, Cash, and me. Viper’s brother was one, but he died. We recently voted for Crash to have voting rights.”
“Jenna told Sissy this?” Willa wanted to scream at Lucky. Thankfully, her emotions were becoming numb.
“Yes. Jenna knew because she had tried to become a member, but she couldn’t get enough votes.”
“She had your vote, didn’t she?”
Lucky didn’t look away from her. “Yes.”
Willa bit back the hysterical laughter that threatened to break loose again.
“There’s more.”
Willa held her hand up. “Please, don’t.”
Lucky ignored her, continuing. Willa wanted to cover her ears; instead, she listened to Lucky as he finished ripping the veil away from her eyes, exposing his and the club’s secrets.
“The club has parties on Friday nights. The best way to describe them is they are sex parties where everyone has sex and watches others. Moon and Rider had gone to Rosey’s, and Sissy overheard them talking about watching me have sex with Raci, Story, and Ember. They were also discussing how I use knives on the women.”
Willa paled. “You cut them?”
“I’m a master at knife play. I don’t cut. I use the knives to stimulate the women, not hurt them.”
Willa couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer, falling back against the couch. “Oh, my God. I was so jealous of Beth and Jenna when I wasn’t even competing against just one woman, but dozens.”
“You were jealous of Beth and Jenna? There was no reason for you to—”
“You’re exactly right. You have made it obvious you aren’t attracted to me. Our pretend engagement gave me no rights. You have been openly honest about your feelings for me. I was the one who fell in love with you, not the other way around.”
“Don’t.” Lucky tried to touch her again but she stood up, moving away from his touch.
Ria moved to stand next to her, and a warning growl had Willa glancing down at the dog. However, the sharp command that came from Lucky had the dog sitting again, relaxing against her.
“What did you do?”
“I told her to sit. Ria’s a protection dog. I bought her so you would be protected when we became engaged. Willa, I have enemies. I’m a—”
“How much did she cost? I’ll pay you back for her.” Willa skirted around him, going to the entry table to take out her checkbook.
“I don’t want your fucking money. I bought her so you would be protected—”
“I don’t need your protection; I can take care of myself. How much?” Willa practically screamed at him.
“Twenty thousand.”
A sob had her clutching her checkbook. “You paid twenty thousand dollars for a dog?”
“Ria is highly trained. Colt gave me a discount because we served together.”
“I’m surprised he’s not a member of The Last Riders. Maybe you should have let him in so he would give you a better discount.” Willa stared down blankly at her checkbook.
“I don’t want the money, and the dog is yours. I want to explain why—”
Willa set the checkbook down on the table. “Lucky, I’ve had more explanations than I can take in one day. I can’t give you the dog immediately; the children will want to say good-bye—”
“I’m not going to take the fucking dog.” He started toward her, but a knock sounded on the door, startling them both.
“That will be Knox and Mr. Russell. I would appreciate it if you left. I don’t need your help.”
“I’ll go. I know you’re upset, and I don’t want to make it worse by staying.”
Willa moved to answer the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when Lucky stopped her.