“Well, why don’t you spell it out, big brother?” I lifted the menu again. It was pulled away and I sighed. “Really?”
“What’s going on?”
“If anything was going on, it would be none of your business.”
“Club brother sniffin’ around my only sister. It’s all kinds of my business.”
“Oh my god, don’t be disgusting,” I hissed.
“I should have cut this off a long time ago.”
“Cut what off?”
“This obsession he has with you.”
I gasped. “What?”
My brother frowned. “Don’t play the innocent game.”
“What innocent game?” I ground out.
“Catalina Sylvie Grant, Shutter’s been in love with you since the first minute he saw you.”
I scoffed. “I was fifteen.”
“Yeah, and he was a horny nineteen-year-old who clocked you the second you walked into the clubhouse.”
I rolled my eyes. “Liar.”
“I wish,” he breathed out. “Why do you think he was always wherever you were?”
“He was being nice.”
“Shutter’s not nice, Catalina. He was guarding his territory.”
“Oh my god, NoNo, he was not,” I argued. “He never said or did anything to make me think he had any interest in me. Not then, anyway.”
“Have you decided?” our server interrupted with her question and I almost kissed her.
“Yes,” I said, and rattled off my order.
My brother followed suit, including ordering a beer, and we handed her our menus before she walked away.
“So, how’s Posey?” I asked, taking a sip of my water.
“Nope. We’re not doing that,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You need to spill the tea, darling sister.”
“It’s seriously none of your business.”
“How long’s it been going on?”
“How long has what been going on?” I ground out.
He leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been sleeping with him?”
“Oh my god, I have never in my life wanted to murder someone more than I want to murder you right now,” I hissed. “It’s none of your business.”
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“You’re not going to say a damn thing,” I snapped. “I don’t even know if any of this will last.”
“Why wouldn’t it last? What’s he done?”
“Nothing,” I cried. “God, you’re a pain in the butt.”
“If he breaks it off and hurts you—”
“If anyone breaks anything off, it’ll more than likely be me,” I admitted.
Nolan frowned. “Why?”
“It’s complicated.”
The server arrived with Nolan’s beer, refilling my water before walking away again. She had gotten over her giggles, but she couldn’t hide her interest in my brother.
“Break it down for me,” my brother insisted.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Mom really did a number on you,” he breathed out.
“Don’t speak ill of the dead.”
“I loved Mom. You know I did.”
“So did I.”
“I know, sissy.” He smiled gently. “But she wasn’t always the kindest to you.”
“It’s water under the bridge.” I shrugged. “She was very sweet for the last few years of her life. We were really close. Or getting there.”
“That’s probably because he talked to her.”
I frowned. “He, who?”
“Shutter.”
“What?” I whispered.
“It was a year or so before her diagnosis.”
I squirmed in my seat. “Shutter and Mom were friends. Of course they’d talk.”
“He told her she needed to lay off you and be nicer or she would lose you.”
“He did not.”
“Oh, he did. I heard about it for close to a month.”
“I don’t understand.”
“According to Mom, he pulled her aside at your birthday party and told her that if she didn’t lay off your weight, or anything to do with your looks, she would lose you and he’d help walk you out of her life.”
“Shut up,” I whispered. “Why would he do that?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
“Oh, I plan to,” I said.
Before I could grill my brother any further, our food arrived, and the pressure was off both of us, at least for the moment. He obviously wanted to talk about Mom about as much as I did, so we were able to move onto different, less sensitive topics.
“How are the reno plans going?” I asked, once our dishes had been removed.
Nolan and Posey were renovating one of their spare bedrooms into the nursery, getting ready for the arrival of their new baby.
“Good, I think. I’m leaving most of it to Posey.”
I chuckled. “Smart man.”
“She promised she’ll rope me in the second she needs me.” He smiled. “She doesn’t want to paint until we know the sex, so I’m in hurry up and wait mode.”
“I’m really glad you’ve found your forever love, NoNo.”
He smiled. “I want that for you, too, sissy. Just not sure it’s Shutter.”
“But you’re going to let me figure that out, right?”
Nolan grunted.
“Nolan, I’m serious. You have a lot of opinions on a lot of things, and I’m begging you to keep your trap shut, just on this subject.”
He sighed. “For the record, Posey agrees with you.”
“Because she’s logical and knows you’re worse than some old lady sitting on a porch.”
“What exactly does that mean?” he asked.
“You trade in gossip.”
“I trade in gossip?”
I nodded. “Yep. It’s your currency.”
“Jesus Christ,” he hissed, before bursting out in laughter.
“You’re laughing because it’s true.”
He shook his head. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, seeeester, I’ll give you a month to figure shit out with Shutter before I get involved.”
“No, that’s not the deal. You’ll never get involved, but in six months, if you have an opinion, you may voice it… provided it matches mine.”
“Did we decide on dessert?” our server asked, stepping up to the table again.
“I’m going to pass,” I said.
“Me too,” my brother said, and the server set the folder on the table.
My brother handed her his credit card before I could object, and she walked away.
“You paid last time,” I said. “It was my turn.”
“Sue me,” he retorted.
I wrinkled my nose, but he just grinned. “Well, thank you, big brother.”
“You’re welcome, little sister.”
The server returned with the check, Nolan signed his life away, then he walked me to my car, setting the panda head on my hood and hugging me tightly before turning his back. “I’m gonna need you to unzip this thing.”
I laughed, unzipping him and helping him out of the costume, relieved to find him in sweats and a T-shirt underneath.
“Did you ride in that?” I asked.
He laughed. “No. I’ve got Posey’s car.”
“Oh, smart.”
“I thought so.” He squeezed my arm. “Okay, I’m just gonna say one thing.”
“Nolan,” I warned.
“Let me be the big brother for five seconds.”
“Five seconds,” I said.
“Shutter’s the best of us, Cat. But he’s also bullheaded to a fault and once he decides on something… or someone… he doesn’t let go. If you’re lettin’ him in, remember he’s like a vampire.”
“What?” I stuttered out on a snort.
“The second you invite him in, you’re his.”
I couldn’t stop the
bubble of laughter as I shook my head. “Well, I’ll be sure to sprinkle holy water on him if he threatens to bite me… or maybe I won’t.”
“Fuck,” he ground out. “I don’t want to know.”
I patted his shoulder. “Good. I’ll see you on Wednesday.”
The club was having an all-hands church meeting, so the women generally brought the kids and we all cooked and waited for the bikers to do their super-secret biker thing, then we’d all hang out and eat for a few hours before the kids had to go to bed.
“Okay,” he said, hugging me.
He waited for me to start my car and pull away, waving as I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
CHAPTER NINE
Catalina
AFTER PULLING UP to my townhouse, I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel as I sat in my car for a few minutes, trying to figure out how much, if anything, I was going to share with Silas.
I couldn’t believe he’d bossed my mother into being nicer to me.
More importantly, I couldn’t believe he’d bossed my mother into being nicer to me and it had fucking worked. She was positively sweet to me the last few years of her life. I just thought it had to do with the fact she was facing her own mortality.
A knock on my window elicited a squeak from me and I looked up to find Silas leaning down with a perplexed look on his face. “What are you doin’?” he asked.
I sighed, unlocking my door, and pushing it open. “Sorry. I was processing.”
“Heavy conversation?”
I shrugged.
“Come inside and process where it’s warm,” he suggested.
I nodded, grabbing my bag, and following him inside. “Is Nova in bed?”
“Just. She wants you to come say goodnight.”
“Okay,” I said, dropping my purse on the sofa and heading into Nova’s room.
She craned her head and smiled. “I waited up for you.”
“I see that.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Did you have fun with Uncle Shutter?”
“We got ice cream. It didn’t have any lactose.”
“You did? You lucky girl.”
“I brushed my teeth extra-long,” she said.
“Good girl.” I smoothed her hair away from her face. “You sleep well, okay? I have to work tomorrow, but on Monday, we have the whole day together, all three of us, so we can maybe go to the park if it’s not too cold. Or we can maybe watch a movie.”
She smiled wide and nodded.
“The sooner you go to sleep, the better rested you’ll be.”
She closed her eyes and nodded again. “I love you, Auntie Cat.”
“I love you, too, baby girl.” I kissed her cheek again. “Good night.”
I left her room, closing the door completely this time, then walked out to the kitchen where Silas had opened a bottle of wine.
“Bless you,” I rasped.
He grinned, pouring the red nectar into a glass. “What did you need to process?”
“Let me finish this glass, then I’ll fill you in.”
He frowned. “Wow, that bad, huh?”
I sighed. “Did you bully my mother into being nice to me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “How did you know about that?”
“Oh my god, you did bully my mother into being nice to me?”
“There was no bullying.”
“Bossing?”
“No bossing either,” he stressed. He took my wine glass and set it on the island so he could wrap his arms around me.
“Did you need to take the wine away?” I moaned.
“Want you to hear this clear-headed.”
I slid my arms around his neck. “I’m listening.”
“I loved your mom. She loved me. She was very vocal about that.”
“Oh, I know. She may have loved you more than Nolan.”
“I highly doubt that.” He chuckled. “Remember your prom dress?”
I nodded. It was red, it was sparkly, and it was gorgeous.
“You looked beautiful,” he said. “But that was the first time I’d ever heard your mom say anything negative to you. You came down in the dress, so excited to show everyone and if we’d been alone, I’m pretty sure I would have knelt before you and offered my soul to you.”
“You would not.”
“I absolutely would have,” he said. “But we weren’t alone, so I had to suffer in silence. Your mom looked at you and said, ‘That dress doesn’t flatter that bottom of yours, Catalina, and I’m not sure your fellow seniors want to see so much cleavage. Do you want the school to think you’re easy?’”
“Wow, verbatim,” I whispered.
“Your face was serene as you smiled and nodded, but I could see in your eyes how deep that cut, and I didn’t like it. I don’t know if it’s one of those things where once you see or hear something, you see and hear it everywhere—”
“The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.”
“Show off,” he retorted, kissing my nose. “Anyway, after that, I heard your mother say more than I was comfortable with on far too many fucking occasions, so I decided she needed a gentle reminder of the gorgeous woman she raised.” He frowned. “I should have said something sooner, but I felt like it wasn’t my place.”
“What suddenly made you decide it was your place?”
He stroked my cheek. “I fell in love with you.”
I studied him. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, baby. I remember the exact second when I said it definitively in my head.”
“You do?”
“It was that family night when you beat Stump at pool.”
“I always beat Stump at pool.”
Silas chuckled. “Yeah, but it was the first one. Right after your graduation.”
“High school or college?”
“What do you think?”
“You cannot really mean to tell me you’ve been in love with me for almost six years.”
“I’ve been in love with you since you were fifteen, honey, I just didn’t realize it until that moment.”
“You had no problem enjoying the company of women,” I said ungraciously.
“All in an effort to get you out of my head, Catalina. It didn’t work, obviously.”
“I’m sorry I’ve given you such a hard time.”
“Oh, I expect you’ll be giving me more as the years go on, but I can’t wait.”
“Do you really think we can make this work?”
“Hell, yeah, I do.” He kissed me quickly. “We’re already best friends forever, right? Now I just gotta figure out if we’re compatible in bed.”
“Well, with the amount of orgasms my vibrator has given me as I envisioned you in my mind, it’s a crapshoot.”
“Are you worried I won’t be as good?” he teased.
“I’m willing to give you a go.”
His mouth covered mine and he cupped the back of my neck drawing me closer as I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I’m gonna make you mine tonight, baby,” he whispered. “You ready?”
I nodded.
“No going back now.”
I frowned. “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
He chuckled, linking his fingers with mine. “Come on.”
He led me back to my bedroom and locked us in, kissing me again as he switched on the light. I switched it off.
“Why’d you do that?” he asked.
“I can’t, Silas. I’m sorry.”
“Baby, you’re beautiful. I want to see every inch.”
“Let’s get through this first time and then talk about it.”
He flipped the light on again and cupped my face. “I want to see all of you, Catalina. There is nothing about you that will change how I feel.”
“I have lots of, um, squishy bits.”
“I happen to love your squishy bits,” he said, kissing me again. “Need you to trust me, baby.”
I closed my eyes and nodded.
He kissed me aga
in and I forced myself to relax but whatever I was doing seemed to elicit a chuckle from him which made me tense up again.
“We’ll turn the light off,” he said, reaching over to flip the switch.
“Sorry,” I rasped.
“Jesus, I love you, Cat, but if you’re not into this, we’re not doin’ it.”
“No, I’m in. I’m good. My brain’s just warring with my vagina.”
“Let me worry about your vagina,” he said. “You worry about telling your brain to shut down and just feel, okay?”
“Okay.” I sighed. “Um…”
“What?”
“There’s just one thing.”
“Yeah, baby?”
I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “You know I haven’t done this before, right?”
“Done, what?”
“This. Sex,” I stuttered out.
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m a virgin.”
“How the hell did you manage to stay a virgin until you were twenty-six? And how the hell didn’t I know that?”
“Nobody but Melonie knows that part, mostly because I was embarrassed.”
“You should never be embarrassed about anything, Cat. Especially waiting for the right time to have sex, honey. That’s pretty amazing.” He smiled gently. “But I’m still unclear as to why you waited.”
“Outside of the fact no other man measured up to you?”
“Ah, sure, yeah,” he said.
“I never met anyone I was willing to step outside my comfort zone enough to get naked,” I admitted.
“I don’t know why,” he said. “You’re fuckin’ gorgeous.”
“I’m not the ideal.”
“Bullshit.”
“Silas—”
“Quit. Swear to Christ, woman, you’re sexy as fuck.”
“You really think I am, don’t you?”
“Hell, yeah.” He flipped the light on again and grinned. “You seriously giving me this?”
I bit my lip. “You look happy. Are you happy?”
“Honey, I’m ecstatic. You’re all mine. I will honor that. Cherish it.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “And make you so fuckin’ satisfied you’ll never wonder if you’re missing anything.”
I took another deep, shaky breath. “Okay.”
“I’m gonna go slow, but talk to me, okay? If you don’t like something, tell me.”
“What if I like something?”
“Tell me that, too,” he said.
I smiled. “That won’t be hard.”
Revealing the Biker's Destiny (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 9) Page 8