I paused when it became clear we were headed for a set of doors instead of an outdoor area. “I thought you said this was a cookout.”
He laughed. “It is. But for various reasons, many I can’t recall, we set everything out and eat in the common room. One of the guys usually grills right beside the back door.”
“You won’t have any complaints from me. I’d much rather eat inside with air conditioning and without bugs.”
“You don’t like bugs,” he repeated. “I’m guessing that means you don’t like spiders either?”
“Nope, no, and nuh-uh.”
“What about snakes?” he asked slowly.
I shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with snakes as long as they stay in their approved zones.”
“And what are those?” he chuckled.
“Anywhere that isn’t in my house, my car, my swimming pool, or any of the patios, decks, or balconies.”
He nodded. “Good. Then you shouldn’t have a problem with the two snakes that live here.”
“What?” I shrieked and protectively held his daughter against my chest as I scanned the area.
With his hand resting on the knob, he nodded to the door. “Inside. Copper and I each have a ball python. They share a habitat in another brother’s room. You won’t see them unless you open the door to his room and go inside. But, I thought you should know they were there,” he explained, a little too much.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.
“I knew I heard voices!” a woman shouted as the door suddenly opened. “What’re y’all doing out here?”
Blue started wiggling two seconds before she started crying. Bronze scooped her from my arms and tried to soothe her. “It’s okay, Blue Bean. Aunt Leigh didn’t mean to scare you. She was just being impatient. We’ll forgive her for some cookies, won’t we?”
“Bronze Black, hush your mouth and get in here so you can introduce us to your friend,” the woman presumed to be Leigh said.
“And be quick about it. She won’t let us eat until ‘everyone has arrived and been properly introduced,’” a large man with strawberry blonde hair and light eyes that danced with a mischievous gleam said.
“Trey, if I learned one thing over my many years, it’s don’t piss off the woman that feeds you,” an older version of Trey said. He stepped forward and smiled kindly. “I’m going to get this ball rolling. My name’s Bear. That knucklehead behind me is my son. He goes by Batta around here. His Old Lady, Tatum, and her sister, Josie, should be here soon.”
I reached out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you and your son,” I returned. Rinse and repeat as I met every member of the club, the Old Ladies, their children, several parents, and a few other various friends or family members. But I drew the line when they started trying to explain who was related to whom among the various chapters. “I’m doing good to keep up with the names of the people here. If you want me to know everyone else and all the caveats that go with them, I’m going to need a diagram of some kind.”
Bear chuckled. “Nah, we can save that for when you meet them. Besides, you just need to learn the women’s names,” he shared and pointed to a patch displaying his name on the front of his cut. “All the men in the club have their road name patch right here.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. Remembering half of the names for the current crowd was doable for me. My stomach fluttered at the thought of meeting even more of his family. Was I ready for that? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care because I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t give things with Bronze a chance.
With Blue in one arm, Bronze took my hand and led me down a hallway. “There’s one more person for you to meet.”
“Oh, yippee,” I said flatly. “I bet it’s the asshole brother.”
“See,” Bronze said as he entered an office. “I’m not the only one who calls you that. Sloane, this is Copper, my asshole brother.”
I moved to step forward and introduce myself, but Bronze’s firm grip stopped me. “He doesn’t get to shake your hand.”
I stepped back beside Bronze and waited for his lead. “Go ahead, asshole brother.”
Copper glared at his brother before he cleared his throat and softened his expression. “You’re welcome here until Bronze, and only Bronze, says otherwise.”
Without thinking, I pulled out my phone and started a voice recording. “Make a note in the character profiles that alphas don’t apologize.”
“Neither do assholes,” Bronze muttered as we left the room. “He’ll keep his distance, but let me know if you’re uncomfortable at any time.”
“The Irish princess isn’t scared of the biker president,” I teased. And I wasn’t—well, not anymore. While I didn’t see myself having warm and fuzzy feelings for Copper any time in the near future, I wasn’t going to draw a line in the sand and make things awkward between us for the foreseeable future. Instead, I smiled and promised to kill him in a book the first chance I got. “So, who’s hungry?”
To my surprise, Blue reached for me when we sat down to eat, our plates loaded with food. “No, no, baby girl. Let Sloane eat,” Bronze said and shuffled Blue to his other side.
She grunted and stretched herself across his forearm with her little hands opening and closing. “I really don’t mind,” I said with a genuine smile on my face. “I love babies,” I cooed and clapped my hands once before holding them out to her in invitation.
Bronze relented and handed her over. “Just say the word if you want me to take her back.”
“Got it,” I said with an exaggerated nod. “It’ll be when she cries, poops, or vomits. Or does anything else involving body fluids. Never mind. I’m going to stop talking,” I blabbered and took a huge bite of my hamburger, groaning when the juicy goodness filled my mouth. “Thh a ooo ooddd.”
“What was that?” Batta asked.
“She said, ‘This is so good,’” Bronze clarified.
“How the fuck did you understand her?” he asked.
Bronze stared at Batta pointedly, while my eyes stayed fixed on him. Did the man not realize what he was asking? I didn’t know what to say or do, and I couldn’t get Bronze to look at me.
Finally, I finished chewing the overly large bite of food in my mouth and swallowed. After wiping the crumbs away with a napkin, I inhaled deeply and said, “He knows what I said because I say it a lot when my mouth’s full of his,” I paused and cupped my hands over Blue’s ears, “dick,” I finished with a stage whisper. The room erupted in laughter while I brought my burger to my mouth for another bite.
After our meal, Blue had a bottle before Bronze put her down for a nap. He left me in the common room with the others after I assured him I would be fine. They’d been nothing but friendly, and I honestly felt comfortable around them, even Copper. He would still be on my shit list if it weren’t for Layla.
She’d pulled me to the side and apologized for Copper’s behavior. “I won’t make excuses for what he did. I know as well as anybody how much of an asshole he can be. After he got it from Bronze, he came home to get it again from me. Like I said, I won’t excuse what he did, and I won’t tolerate it either, but I can promise you that his heart was in the right place. He just went about it all wrong.”
“Thank you for that,” I smiled. “Bronze basically said the same thing. I have three older brothers; I completely understand how irrational they can be, especially when they think someone has wronged their family.”
She laughed. “Oh, you have cavemen in your family too? Perfect. You’ll fit right in.”
She also told me that Copper had been warned to keep his distance from me. “I wanted to make sure you knew that and didn’t think it was because he doesn’t want you to be here. Just think of him as a naughty kid who’s spending the day in time-out.”
Two new women entering the room pulled me from my thoughts. One went to the kitchen while the other joined us at the table. “Sorry, I’m late,” she said, somewhat out of breath. “We had to stop by the
bookstore and meet Luke to give him some paperwork.”
“Why didn’t you invite him to join us?” Layla asked.
“I did, but he was on his way out of town,” she explained and dropped into an empty seat. Her eyes landed on me immediately. “Well, hello,” she smiled knowingly.
I sighed. I knew that smile. Just when I thought it was smooth sailing, an Old Lady who was obviously some kind of law enforcement officer walked in the door and recognized me.
The other woman returned with her plate of food and took her seat. “Is Bronze’s friend here yet?” she asked and bit into her burger before looking up to glance at the faces looking back at her.
“Hi,” I waved with a small smile.
Josie’s mouth fell open, causing the bite of hamburger inside to fall out and land on the table with a loud plop. She looked at the wad of meat in horror before she disappeared underneath the table. “Why didn’t anyone tell me S.C. Lorcan was here?” she shrieked.
Shit. She recognized me. I hoped it was in a good way since she called me by my pen name, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Her reaction was completely unexpected, and I didn’t know what to do. “Uh, I’m not sure if that was a good scream or a bad scream. Should I leave?” I asked no one in particular.
Josie’s forehead and eyes appeared over the edge of the table. “No! Don’t go! Just…oh, this is so embarrassing. Can we please forget the last five minutes and start again?”
“What in the world is going on?” Leigh asked, though it wasn’t a question. “This is Sloane O’Shea.”
Tatum, who’d been laughing since Josie dropped under the table, waved her hand to get everyone’s attention. “S.C. Lorcan is a best-selling erotic romance author. Josie’s just fangirling,” she explained and turned her attention to her sister. “Stop acting like a ding-dong and come talk to her. Maybe you could invite her to the bookstore,” she stage-whispered.
“Wait a minute! I think I know you!” I exclaimed as realization dawned. “Are you JC with Blogging from The Bookstore?”
Josie emerged from her hiding place and returned to her seat, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Yes! That’s me!” She squealed. “Tatum! Look, it’s S.C. Lorcan!”
“I know,” she said and gave me an appraising look that left me feeling uncomfortable.
Cocking my head to the side, I studied her closely for a few moments, trying to decipher the hidden meaning.
Tatum turned toward me and gave me a pointed look. “My sister and I know who you are for two very different reasons.”
I knew exactly what she was implying and wished Bronze had returned from putting Blue down because I was about to tell everyone in the room exactly who I was—and was not. “Let me guess. Your sister knows me because I’m a semi-popular erotic romance author. But, you smell like a fed, so I’m guessing you know me because of my father—Lorcan O’Shea.”
Tatum’s back went ramrod straight, and she made a show of sniffing her armpit. “I smell a fuck of a lot better than those sweaty assholes.”
“You’re wearing tactical pants and aviators indoors. Not to mention you’ve got a piece at your back and in your boot. The right one. If you were trying to hide it, you did a shitty job,” I told her honestly.
Tatum clapped her hands together. “I like her! Are we gonna keep her?” she asked while focusing on something over my head. I turned to see Bronze casually leaning against the doorframe with the baby monitor in his hand.
“Glad to see you can hold your own with this bunch. Not that I was worried. Because they promised to behave,” he said loud enough for the entire room to hear and made his way to my side. “You okay?” he murmured against my hair when he took his seat.
“I’m fine,” I replied quietly and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Tatum called out teasingly.
“Batta!” Bronze shouted. “A little help here?”
Batta held his hands up in surrender. “She knows too many ways to kill me slowly and get away with it.”
“Tatum,” Bear said and winked at me as he approached the table. “Did you bring that rifle you wanted me to look at?”
“I did!” she said excitedly and got to her feet. “It’s in Copper’s office,” she continued and walked away from the table. Pausing at the entrance to the hallway, she turned back to the room. “For the record, I’m with the Bureau, and that’s how I knew you. It’s my job to know those kinds of details. Having said that, your family isn’t on my radar. Even if they were, I judge people individually, not based on their family. As long as you’re good to him,” she said and nodded to Bronze, “and our Baby Blue, you’re welcome in my book.” With that, she turned and disappeared down the hall before I had a chance to thank her.
“Are you going to be at the signing in Fairview this weekend?” Josie asked excitedly.
I shifted uncomfortably but smiled and answered. “Yes, I am. I was just going over the details with my assistant on the way here.”
“When do you have to be there?” Bronze asked.
“My flight leaves on Thursday. For some reason, I thought it was next week not this one,” I shrugged and stopped myself from saying that at least I’d be in town for his fight—or after his fight.
“Did you know Avery’s a graphic designer? She’s really amazing and works with a lot of authors.” Josie interrupted and pointed to the woman approaching the table.
Avery laughed nervously and wiggled her fingers when she waved. “Oh, thank you for the recommendation, Josie, but I’m sure S.C. Lorcan has her graphic needs taken care of.”
“Hang on a sec,” I said and propped my elbows on the table. “What kind of graphic design are we talking about here?”
“I can do pretty much anything book-related—teasers, covers, banners, bookmarks, logos, website design, branding, etc. Is there something particular you need?”
“Yes! Book covers. I hate designing covers. Do you have a card or a site where I can check out your work?”
Avery reached into her purse and handed me a business card. “Here’s my website and contact info. If you like what you see, let me know. I’d love to work with you.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I replied and pocketed the card.
“There!” Josie pointed to the woman named River. “She designed that logo for Jackson Security. River, stick your boob out so she can see it.”
“That’s now how I usually greet people for the first time, Josie,” she laughed and walked around the table to show me the logo.
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “That’s impressive. We need to talk soon,” I said excitedly.
“Ladies, if you’ll excuse us,” Bronze said and gently placed his hand on my arm, helping me to my feet.
“No! You can’t steal her away just yet,” Josie whined.
“Sorry, Jose. I want to show her around the rest of the clubhouse before my little alarm clock goes off,” he said and wiggled the baby monitor.
“Fine,” she huffed. “Blame the baby.”
With that, he took my hand and led me down a hallway and back to his room. “I thought you were going to show me around.”
“I lied,” he said and stepped closer, hooking his fingers in my belt loops. “I didn’t think you’d like it if I told them I was taking you back to my room to fuck you against the wall while my daughter is asleep.”
“You can’t fuck me while she’s in here,” I hissed and swatted at his chest.
He rolled his eyes. “She’s not in here. She’s next door in her own room.” He pointed to a door I hadn’t noticed when I first entered. “We had the doors put in to connect the rooms after she was born. Now, get naked.”
21
Frankie was right. After staying in Devil Springs until the absolute last minute, I made it home with barely enough time to pack before Dickerson called to tell me my ride to the airport had arrived.
Running through the airport like my ass was on fire, I made it to my gate just as they called for
the first-class passengers to begin loading. I usually waited for everyone else to board before I did, but I was exhausted and hoped to sleep for as much of the hour-long flight as possible.
However, my hopes were crushed ten minutes into the flight when the pilot announced that we were being rerouted due to bad weather. That was how my one-hour flight turned into a day-long tour of various airports scattered throughout the mid-Atlantic area.
After we landed for the third time, I contemplated renting a car and driving to the event, but Bronze and Frankie both pointed out that I was in no shape to drive.
I stumbled off the plane and fumbled my way to the baggage claim area. Frankie was perched on top of one of the carousels scanning the area with a pair of rhinestone-covered binoculars.
“Demon! You made it!” she shouted at the top of her lungs and jumped down from her makeshift watch tower.
“Save me!” I cried and used the last of my energy to propel myself in her direction.
“Your chariot is right this way.”
“Hang on, I checked two bags I need to get.”
She snorted. “There’s no way in hell your luggage made it here. Let’s get you to the hotel for a nap—no a shower first because you stink—then I’ll work on locating your luggage while you get some sleep.”
It didn’t occur to me that there might be another reason Frankie was in a rush to get back to the hotel until I walked into the room to find a cloven-hooved animal snoring on what was not the bed I would be sleeping on.
“Frankie,” I grumbled.
“This way, Demon. You’re hallucinating. I’ll turn the shower on for you—” was the last thing I heard before I faceplanted into the pillows.
Frankie only let me sleep for two hours, claiming I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep that night if she’d let me sleep any longer. “Oh, see those boxes over there?” she asked and pointed to the boxes stacked along the wall. “Those need to be sorted and signed. So, whenever you’re ready.”
Bronze (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 5) Page 18