“I just needed to feel like someone cared for me, okay? Quit acting like I killed someone, for fuck’s sake.”
“You didn’t kill him, but you might as well have torn his heart out. No wonder Dom walked away. Did you think Thomas wouldn’t tell Dom that you kissed? Fuck, you didn’t do anything more than that did you?”
“I…”
“Oh my God, Gabby! You Ho!”
“No! I mean we didn’t do that. It didn’t go very far. It was like second base, maybe leaning into the third, but I was drinking, and the phone rang… so it stopped.”
“It stopped because the phone rang?”
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t have gone very much farther. I was already going to call a halt to it.”
“Jesus, Gabby. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew this was how you would react.”
“Because you knew it was wrong. I bet Dom lost his shit.”
“I wouldn’t know. He’s not talking to me.”
“No wonder. Christ, Gabby. They’re brothers.”
“I know that!” she cries. “Don’t you think I know that better than anyone?” I can see that Gabby is close to crying, so I reach out and pat her hand. I suck at giving comfort. It makes me feel uncomfortable.
“It will be okay.”
“I don’t see how. Dom won’t talk to me, and I’m pretty sure Thomas hates me now.”
“Maybe it would be good to distance yourself from them both, Gabby.”
“I know. I know what you’re saying. I’ve been trying. I just… I love Dom, Jazz,” she says sadly, her voice breaking. “I’ve always loved him.”
“Sometimes love ain’t enough, baby girl,” I tell her sadly, sounding like some fucking greeting card.
“It hurts.”
“I know, Gab, trust me.”
“Did you love Dewayne?”
“I thought so at the time, but it’s hard to love someone you didn’t truly know,” I confess.
“Do you think you can ever truly know a man?”
My mind goes to Luke and how he was with me and then going quiet for three days.
“No. I don’t,” I confess. “And I’m tired of even trying. I’m going to stick with the only boyfriend who never lets me down.”
“Who’s that?” Gabby laughs.
“My vibrator,” I joke, laughing with her. We clink our glasses together in toast and I push all thoughts of Luke from my head. I don’t need another man that plays games.
7
Grunt
“Why aren’t you going near her?” Jonesy asks in that annoying voice he has when he thinks he has something on you.
I snort under my breath, but don’t bother answering. My silence just makes the asshole laugh, but I don’t have much I can say.
Because I don’t know what in the fuck I’m doing.
When I got back to the club the other day, Ford was waiting on me. I should have known he’d be watching the girl too. He wasn’t happy that I wasn’t there. I tried to play it off that I was watching the girl’s friend, but Ford isn’t stupid. He knows this girl is under my skin. We weren’t fooling one another. He didn’t say much, but he did remind me of my oath.
Club first.
Motherfucker, I’m doing my best to put the DC’s first, but I miss Jasmine. How you can miss a woman you barely know this hard after three days is fucking unreal, but it’s true.
“Go down there and quit being a chump,” Jonesy dares me.
“Fuck off,” I mutter, the temptation to do that so strong I want to punch him.
“Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll shut up,” he says holding up his hands in surrender.”
“Good,” I rumble under my breath.
“You think Ford’s going to go through with kidnapping this girl?”
“If it’s the only way he can get to the guy who hurt Lyla, then yeah, I think he will.”
“It’s going to cause a club war.”
“We’ve weathered them before.” I shrug, feeling older than my years and worn-the-fuck-out.
“True enough. I just can’t see why we can’t go after the guy directly. Leave this Gabby chick out of it.”
“That might be easier if we knew who the guy was.”
“Do we know what he looks like?”
“Not a lot, no. Why?”
“Cause there’s a guy that just came to their table. It could be him…”
“Good, you let me know. I’m taking a fucking nap,” I mutter, leaning back in the truck seat.
We’re sitting across from the diner that Jasmine and the other chick are at. Jasmine’s body has teased me enough today. She’s wearing faded, cut-off jeans and a faded red t-shirt. Her long red hair is just a huge mass of curls that falls around her face and down her back, and I had to stop watching her before I blew my cover. Ford wanted us to follow them without them knowing it, see if we could figure out who the guy is that hurt Lyla. Because of that, we brought the truck to keep hidden from the girls. After three days of being in this cage, I’m ready to scream.
I want my bike and the open road.
I’m lying through my teeth.
I want Jasmine in my bed, my cock buried deep inside of her, and her nails biting into my back. I want her screaming out my name as I fuck her harder and harder, pushing her as far as she thinks she can go and then pushing her beyond that.
That girl is driving me fucking insane.
“Hmm… I don’t think that’s our boy.”
“Why do you say that?” I ask, stifling a yawn.
“Because he just came and picked the redhead up and sat down with her in his lap.”
My body goes stiff. I turn to look toward the diner and see this tall asshole with dark hair, with his arms around Jasmine and she’s laughing, cuddled up to him, while sitting in his damn lap.
Fuck no. That’s not happening.
“Where are you going?” Jonesy laughs, as I bail out of the truck stomping my way across the street.
Ford can just bitch. I’ll do this my way, and in the process I’m going to show Jasmine that I’m not about to share her.
8
Jasmine
“Hawk! Put me down!”
“There’s only two seats at the table,” he says, plopping down in the chair and keeping me in his lap.
“Then steal one!”
“I’m the good one in the family. I can’t do that. Now settle down, you’re causing a scene,” he laughs. Gabby laughs along with him and I’m glad to see some of the sadness gone from her face.
“You’re a jerk,” I mutter, trying to hide my grin. I do love my brother. We’re as different as night and day. I’m definitely the black sheep while he’s the golden child, but he’s always there for me. Always.
“What are you girls up to today?” Hawk asks, stealing a bite of my garlic bread.
“I wasn’t hungry at all,” I huff.