I’m actually nervous.
“Lilly,” Z says in a grave way that snaps my head up. “Except for one or two of the old ladies, we haven’t had any girls over at the club since Sway’s incident. So, the guys are pretty randy. I don’t know for sure who’s been invited here tonight.” He glances away and my stomach clenches while I wait for him to finish.
“And?” I prompt.
“There’s a good chance a bunny or two I’ve…hooked up with might show up.”
I blink and stare at him.
He runs his hand over his cheek. “I’m not trying to be a dick. I don’t want you going in blind, that’s all. No one should say anything to you. But one of the girls we kicked out of our club for mouthing off to Hope ended up down here, so it happens.”
I think I actually remember Hope telling me about that incident.
“And you’re worried she might want to tell me she sucked your dick too?”
He chokes on a laugh. “Something like that.”
“Well, I’m sure she won’t be the first or last girl I meet who’s blown you.”
“Jesus, Lilly.”
Am I thrilled with the prospect of encountering a plethora of bunnies who’ve boned Z? No, but it’s not like I thought he was a virgin before we met. It’s bound to happen if I’m going to hang around his club.
“As long as it’s in the past…” I raise an eyebrow.
“Babe, I haven’t even looked at another woman since you came back.”
“Then I’ll be fine,” I assure him, because I appreciate his honesty and he doesn’t need any extra stress tonight.
“Thank you.”
He slings his arm over my shoulder, and I press up tight against him. “You’re better than fine. You’re my girl,” he says against my ear.
A shiver of pleasure runs down my spine.
Rock and Wrath approach and nod at us. “Ready?” Rock asks Z.
“Are you?” Z asks.
Rock cracks a hint of a smile. “This is your show, Prez.”
Z said the official announcement hasn’t been made yet. But obviously Z’s brothers know what Z’s been asked to do for the club.
Before leaving, Z confessed that Rock wasn’t pleased with this situation. He doesn’t like losing Z—even though this is supposed to be only temporary—and he hates these kinds of parties, so it means a lot that he’s here to support Z.
Teller, Charlotte, Murphy, and Heidi approach and I study the “Property of” patches both girls are wearing on the backs of their vests.
“Am I okay without one of those?” I ask Z.
He gives me the strangest look. “Would you wear one if I gave it to you?”
“If you wanted me to.”
He kisses my cheek again. “You won’t need it tonight. I’ll make it clear you’re with me.”
I can only imagine what that involves.
“Stick with Heidi and Charlotte.” He nods to the other guys. “We might need to talk business with some of the guys. I want you girls to stick together.”
“We will, Uncle Z, promise,” Heidi says. While she seems eager to be helpful, she also can’t stop fidgeting. As far as I know, she’s been around the club her whole life so I don’t understand the jitters. Maybe it’s because this club is so much different than the upstate one?
The party inside is loud enough to spill into the parking lot. Odd, since their leader is still in the hospital.
Two younger guys stand in front of the large wooden doors and hurry to open them for Z as we approach.
Both Hope and Trinity tried to prepare me for how different the downstate club is from upstate. It only takes one glance inside to understand what they meant. Not that Z’s club is squeaky clean, but I can’t remember ever seeing this amount of half-naked girls with their faces buried between men’s knees. A haze of smoke hangs in the air obscuring the far side of the room, so who knows what’s taking place over there.
Z said there hadn’t been any girls around the club for a while so I guess they decided to make up for lost time.
Happy voices eagerly greet us, and Z raises his hands in the air.
Charlotte comes up and wraps her arm around mine. “We’re going to the ladies’ room.”
“Thank God.”
Z tugs me back and kisses me breathless before releasing me. “Is that your way of showing the club who I belong to?” I whisper against his ear.
He grins down at me. “Yeah, Siren. So’s this.” He pulls me in for another, longer kiss, making sure to run his hands over my ass.
I’m disgusted with myself for liking the display and how little embarrassment plagues me.
Finally, he releases me and I stumble backwards, knocking into Charlotte. She laughs and tugs me along into the bathroom with her.
“No need for a property patch when your man gropes you in front of everyone,” she teases once we’re safely locked inside.
“Guess not.”
Heidi laughs, a high, strained sound.
“Are you all right, hon?” I ask.
She nods. “I’ve been to a few of these with Murphy now. Nothing new. It’s still just…weird.” She glances around the bathroom, checking the empty stalls before continuing. “Plus, I know one of the bunnies he used to bang…a lot. Still hangs out here and I really hope we don’t run into her.”
Charlotte gives her a quick hug. “I got your back, Heidi.”
“Me too,” I add.
She shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. She’s so nice, I can’t even hate the girl, you know?”
“But you kinda do anyway?”
She gives me a half smile. “Yeah.”
“She wouldn’t…approach Murphy tonight, would she?”
Heidi’s eyes narrow and she glares at the door. “Not if she wants to live.”
Charlotte chuckles and steers Heidi toward the mirror and pushes a small makeup bag in front of her. “Fix your lipstick, killer.”
Somehow, it’s even more crowded when we finally emerge from the bathroom. Louder too. The bottom rockers identify a lot of the bikers from as far away as Mississippi and others from Washington state. I had no idea their reach went so far. Most of them are what I’d expect, big, burly tattooed men. Few are as overtly sexy as Z. Or the rest of upstate for that matter.
A couple girls give us the stink-eye as we move through the crowd. None of them are wearing property patches.
“Busy night,” I shout to Charlotte.
She nods, her gaze searching the room.
I easily spot Wrath in the crowd first, then Rock. Both talking to two other bikers. I scan the room for Z again but can’t find him.
My gaze snaps to a girl who approaches Rock. Oh, Jesus. I don’t want to see anything that I’ll have to tell Hope and break her heart.
I feel bad for even thinking it five seconds later when he blows the girl off without even looking at her. Wrath snarls at her when she redirects her attention to him, and she finally scurries away.
Next to me, Charlotte chuckles. “Poor girl’s scratching at the wrong trees.”
Murphy and Teller are on the other side of the room, engaged in an intense conversation with another brother.
I glance at Charlotte and Heidi, unsure of what we should do next.
Charlotte shrugs. “Let’s hit up the bar. They’ll let us know if they need us.”
We take up three stools at the end of the bar where we can hopefully stay out of the way. The spot gives me a good vantage point to view the entire room so I can keep looking for Z.
“Hi!” The thin, beautiful blonde behind the bar slides down to our end and smiles brightly. “Hey, Charlotte.”
Behind me, Heidi groans.
“Hi, Serena, nice to see you again,” Charlotte answers blandly.
I recognize the girl. She was Murphy’s date to Hope’s wedding. Obviously, she’s the one Heidi didn’t want to run into.
Heidi handles it with more grace than I would’ve at her age.
“Uh, hi, Heidi.”
Serena’s almost painfully shy, which seems odd for a girl who hangs around a bunch of bikers. Or maybe Heidi just makes her nervous. Either way, it’s uncomfortable as hell to watch.