“I must have done something right. Arin was on me like melted honey.”
“That doesn’t count. That was before you opened your mouth. You lose your appeal to women when that happens.”
“What’s wrong with the way I talk? DJ used to talk that way to women, and it always worked for him.”
“You’re using a dead brother as a guide on how to talk to women?” Exasperated, Core ran his hand over the back of his neck.
“Yes.”
“There’s a whole dictionary of words between baby girl and cute. I get laid plenty; you need to take notes from me.”
“Revenge sex doesn’t count.”
“Counts for me. The women get back at their exes, and I get a warm pussy. It’s a win-win situation, which is more than you can fucking say.”
“Sooner or later, one of those exes are going to shoot you dead.”
“Maybe so, but I’ll have a smile on my face when you bury me.”
“I’ll be lucky to have a body to bury with some of the bitches you’ve been fucking.”
Putting his greatest fear for his friend out there between them, Hennessy put out the cigarette then stepped into the kitchen with Core following behind.
The female members had taken over the kitchen. Jewell was placing cookies on the counter, while Arin and Joy were cooking something on the stove. Ember, Stori, and Sasha were pulling mugs out of a cabinet.
“Hennessy, Core, would you like a cup of cocoa?” Sasha asked when she saw them enter.
Hennessy didn’t spare Sasha a glance. “I’d love a cup of anything if my curvy cutie makes it for me,” he said, walking over to stand beside Arin at the stove.
The luscious woman ignored him, continuing to stir the milk in the pot.
Clearing his throat, he flipped the bird at Core as he left the kitchen, eyeballing him at how pathetic he sounded.
Reaching for the bag of marshmallows that were sitting on the counter, he popped a couple into his mouth as he studied Arin. Everything about her attracted him to her. The top of her head came to his chin, her breasts and hips were his favorite part about her, and while she wore more clothes than the other women in the room, she was sexier. Her hair came to her shoulders in a long bob that framed her delicate features. What had first drawn his attention to her was the button nose set over full lips that he wanted to taste.
“Save some of the marshmallows for us.”
Hennessy jerked his hand back from the bag, unaware he had been eating them as he had watched her. “Sugarplum, if you need more marshmallows, I can go out and get you some more.”
“Sweet Jesus, just call me by my name. Better yet, don’t talk to me at all.”
Hennessy held on to his temper. “I’m just trying to be friendly.” Every time he tried to talk to her, she cut him with the edge of her mouth.
Arin coldly gave him her shoulder, stating without words that she wasn’t interested.
Starting to reach for more marshmallows, he stopped himself. The only thing keeping him there was his man pride. As soon as his cup was filled, he would leave the kitchen.
He would explain to Viper that Core and he would be leaving at first light. The woman was just as cold as the temperature outside, while Florida had dozens of women who wouldn’t freeze his balls off …
Hennessy’s thoughts trailed off as he looked at Arin again, seeing what he had missed before. While her haircut was simple, it was a sophisticated style. Her clothes, while they looked comfortable enough to wear around the club, the material seemed expensive.
He wanted to smack his own forehead at his stupidity.
Arin didn’t belong to the club. She was a friend of Jewell’s, but that didn’t make her like Jewell. He had seriously fucked up by coming on so strong. She had tried to tell him, but he had plowed ahead, stupidly too caught up being blindsided by his attraction to her. He could kick his own ass for being so drunk and tired last night when he could have had her in the palm of his hand before she had formed an opinion of him, which he had to admit he deserved.
The life he led was as unstable as you could get. First, Jackal, DJ, and he had ditched the foster system as soon as they could run away. Then they’d been drawn into the Predators where he’d had his first sexual experience, to then having his own club where sex was just something to experience when he felt the need.
Women like Arin never gave him a second glance. Women like Arin wanted to be the one and only, not one of a crowd.
Too late, he realized that Arin was far from the easy woman who had gotten on her knees for him. She was smart, refined, and had a shell around her that only someone just as smart would be able to crack open to enjoy what Arin was holding back.