She scanned the faces, searching for just one. Teddy was talking to Carter, Taff, and Jayden beside the pool table. No doubt sharing his pearls of wisdom for the upcoming trip to Mexico. A group was playing poker, an audience gathering as the stakes got higher. Nina walked between tables balancing a huge tray loaded with nachos.
And propping up the bar was Wyatt … with Rigor.
“Ah fuck,” she muttered. What the hell were they talking about?
She tilted her chin and wandered over, rolling her hips and trying to look casual. Trying to look as though she hadn’t just been bound and fucked by the Duke of Buckingham.
A grin spread on her face. She couldn’t help it. What a turn her day had taken.
Rigor was counting things off on his fingers, as if explaining something to Wyatt. His expression was relaxed. She sensed she wasn’t the topic.
Wyatt was nodding and supping a beer. Listening intently.
Then he saw her, did a double take, and swiped his tongue over his bottom lip.
Her heart did a little flip and then a strange squeeze. Damn, the guy was too cute for his own good. Sex on a stick, that was what Marie always said about men she had the hots for. Wyatt was definitely sex on a stick in Belle’s book. And now that he’d shown her exactly what he had to offer, wow, she wanted more.
He set his attention back on Rigor, but Belle knew he’d lost the train of conversation.
Which was good, because it was time for Rigor to know she was back on the market where her love life was concerned, and what was more, he didn’t get a say in who she went shopping for—even if he thought he did.
She squeezed between two chairs, both occupied by big, loud members of the Phoenix chapter. They took no notice of her. She was like a sister to most of them. Part of the furniture.
Wyatt shot her a look, as though curious as to what she was doing.
Yep, he should be curious.
She smiled, sashayed her hips a little more, and congratulated herself on packing the tiny denim skirt and matching denim jacket that cinched in her waist before flaring over the rise of her cleavage. The sleeves were long, her red wrists covered.
It was obvious Wyatt liked the look.
“Hey.” She drew up at his side, close, a familiar aligning of her body to his. She set her eyes on Rigor as she reached for Wyatt’s bottle of beer.
He let her take it, and she took a few big gulps, still with her attention on Rigor.
Rigor stared at her. A tendon flexed in his cheek, and a line furrowed between his eyebrows. She could almost see the cogs of his mind turning.
She swallowed, licked her lips, and passed it back to Wyatt. “Thanks, I was real thirsty.”
“What the hell?” Rigor suddenly stood, the bar stool legs scraping on the floor. He jabbed a finger at Wyatt. “Did you fuck my sister?”
Wyatt breathed deep, his chest expanding. He set the beer on the bar in a slow, controlled way.
“Answer me, asshole,” Rigor shouted.
Suddenly, the place fell silent. Nina froze mid-pour, and like everyone else, she studied Rigor, who was rounding on Wyatt. He was a coiled spring. His quickly stoked temper already flushing his cheeks. He stabbed his finger against Wyatt’s chest.
“Your sister is a grown woman,” Wyatt said, his voice low and steady and not reacting to the way he was being poked.
“My sister doesn’t need dirty dogs like you sniffing around her. She’s had a shit time.”
“Rigor!” Belle said, shuffling from one foot to the other. The attention of the room was making her squirm. “Please, I just—”
“Shut your mouth,” Rigor directed at her. “I mean it. Zip.”
“Hey,” Wyatt said. “She can do what she wants and see who she wants.” He slipped his arm around Belle’s waist.
“She’s my sister.”