“Well?” she asked again, working through a few more bites.
“Yeah. I want you there to clean like usual. Trust me, you'll wanna do it too. Less work the next day. This bash'll undo some of your hard work after a buncha brothers and their girls crash through the clubhouse like a drunken fucking whirlwind.”
She shrugged. “Isn't that every day? I hear them through the walls...”
I shook my head. “You haven't seen shit. Tomorrow's gonna be worse because we're all on edge. Best way for most guys to blow off some steam is getting their dicks wet.”
“Nice. I'm glad us old ladies have such an important place in your world.” She looked disgusted.
I was starting to get pissed. No matter how many times I kept my cool and took her bites as they came, she always managed to get underneath my skin.
“It's the way things are. I don't make the rules in the Grizzlies MC. I just follow them, same as all our traditions.” I tried not to growl. “Look, you've got the wrong idea if you think old ladies are running around screwing every brother in sight. That's the sluts' job.”
“Whatever. I'm just glad you're not pimping me out. I doubt the rest of your buddies would be so kind.”
My eyes fixed on her harder, wondering if that was a compliment. One thing was certain: no matter what the fuck I did, she loathed every minute with me and the club. And that made me want to strangle my dick every time it pulsed for her, as if this was just another tease I could claim by throwing her on my bike and carrying her to my room.
If this was playing hard to get, then it was the most fucked up chase I'd ever seen in my life.
“It won't be bad. All you gotta do tomorrow is collect trash and serve drinks. Suzy'll mix the shit at the bar, so you don't have to worry about that end of it. I'll be there the whole time. Shit, you can have a few drinks yourself and drive us both home when it wears off. I'll take my truck instead of the Harley.”
“Joy!” The wicked smile beaming on her face almost had me fooled. Then it melted into the same lifeless frown dragging on her face since I'd pulled her into my life.
“You don't have to love this, babe,” I said. “But you do have to get through it. These little outings are the only way you're ever gonna convince Blackjack and the others to let you go. They gotta know you're one of us, trustworthy and absolutely –“
I stopped just short of saying it. Calling her mine when she damned well wasn't was the dumbest fucking thing I could've pushed through my lips.
Hell, it wasn't even a good act. It never was. Blackjack saw right through it. He proved as much when he gave me shit about it this morning, and I saw the warning written between the lines.
If I couldn't pull her further into my orbit, and at least make her act like a good old lady, then all bets were off. They threatened to collapse at any time with the Mexicans lighting fires in our backyard.
I was about to remind her what the fuck we were doing in this crazy arrangement before she held up her palm.
“Don't say it,” Missy snapped. “I've heard it all before, and I'm going to follow through. I promised you that much. Even if I hate it – and I will, Brass, every fucking second – I'll get through it. I'll do anything to make sure Jackie and I get out of this alive.”
I stood, looking her over, trying to hide the lust in my eyes with pure dark menace. Showing mercy hadn't done shit for that bad attitude. Maybe a little intimidation would.
Just standing over her wasn't gonna cut it. My hands reached out before I knew what I was doing. I reached down and pulled her up, grabbing her, slamming her to my chest.
Fuck, those full tits felt so good pressed against me. One inch closer and she would've felt the hard-on ballooning in my jeans, raging for her, making my heart beat me deaf, dumb, and blind. My dick hummed with enough fury for my heart and soul.
“Make sure you do,” I said in the most glacial killer tone I had. “We're all depending on you playing your part. Any fuck up, and we're dead.”
I didn't say another word. Neither did she. I let go and took off. Missy didn't yell after me as I stepped out and slammed the door behind me, heading for another long ride through Redding to clear my head.
Bitter satisfaction flowed through me when I realized I'd gotten the last word.
We went in later that day, after she'd made sure the tutor was lined up 'til midnight. The bash started about five, a couple dozen tanked up brothers and just as many women stuffed into the clubhouse.
Everybody was there from our crew, Sacramento, and even a few visitors from Nomads running up and down the west coast. The Prez was conspicuously absent, but it only seemed to liven things up. Having Fang there eyeballing us wasn't anybody's idea of fun.