Burn: Men of Inked Heatwave #2

by Chelle Bliss

  “Well, shit,” Austin drawls, running his hand through his hair, spinning in a circle like he knows what’s about to happen. “Want help?”

  I shake my head, leaning forward and placing my fingers under Gigi’s chin, bringing her large, scared eyes to me. “I won’t start a war and I’d never hurt Tamara, but whatever asshole she’s with is fair game.”

  “Shit,” Lily mutters, inching toward the car and away from our small group. “Maybe we should wait by the car in case we need a quick escape.”

  Something about her words breaks through my anger, and I laugh, shaking my head. “We’re not going anywhere, Lily. Relax. I’m just going to go in there and bring Tamara out. She shouldn’t be inside with anyone, especially not someone from the club.”

  “He looked really nice,” Lily adds, giving me a big, fake smile. “Like, really sweet and a great guy.”

  Somehow, I don’t roll my eyes at the naïveté in her statement. Ted Bundy looked nice too, and that didn’t turn out well at all for any of his victims.

  Gigi glares at her cousin. “Shut up, Lily. You’re not helping anything,” she tells her before tipping her head back to glance up at me. “Go. We’ll wait here, but keep calm, baby. Calm.”

  I kiss her quickly and leave, knowing the three of them are staring at my back as I walk toward the clubhouse. I remind myself of Gigi’s words in her sweet voice.

  Keep calm.

  “Where ya headed, brother?” Morris asks when I’m within a few feet of the door and am reaching for the handle.

  I swing my head around, not moving the rest of my body. “I’m lookin’ for someone.”

  Morris raises an eyebrow, waiting for me to explain.

  “Gigi’s cousin is in there with one of the brothers.”

  Morris nods and laughs. “Just don’t start something unless your ass is ready to finish it.”

  I stare at him with a straight face. “I never start anything I can’t finish. You know this.”

  He studies me for a second, the laughter still on his lips. “I know, Pike. But remember, she ain’t your kid either.” He opens the door and steps inside, holding it open for me and ticking his head to the side.

  My eyes follow his movement, and my body stiffens. Tamara’s at the bar, sitting in the lap of some guy I don’t know, his hands a little too close to her ass for my liking.

  She tips her head back and laughs loudly. “You are just too much, Crow.”

  “Yeah, doll?” he asks her, eyes sweeping down her neck and straight to her tits.

  The clubhouse is virtually empty. Everyone’s outside waiting for fireworks except for a few stragglers milling around the public space near the bar. Crow and Tamara are the only two sitting down, looking like they’re having a great time.

  I let out a shaky breath, happy as fuck I didn’t catch him balls deep inside her. I would’ve had to pound his face in and probably get my ass kicked in return by a few brothers too.

  “Pike!” Tamara screeches as soon as she sees me, waving her hands high in the air like she’s excited to see me. “Come meet my new friend.”

  Fucking women.

  Crow cranes his neck, glancing at me over his shoulder, hands tightening around Tamara. “Ah. The man. The myth. The legend,” he mutters, his eyes raking over my body like he’s sizing me up, waiting for me to strike.

  There’re two ways I can handle this—I could march over, drag Tamara off his lap, and yank her ass outside, dealing with Crow afterward, or I could try to be civil and coax her outside without making a huge scene and getting Gigi mad at me.

  I stalk forward, hands clenched, shoulders tight. “It’s just Pike.”

  Tamara lifts her leg, kicking out the stool next to her and Crow. “Come talk with us,” she says, and she’s in such a cute and playful mood, I hate that I’m going to rain all over her happy parade.

  I slide onto the stool, resting my elbow on the bar, eyeing the guy who’s now her ass cushion. “You look familiar, Crow.”

  He gives me a toothy grin, the white of his teeth a stark contrast to the black in his beard. “We’ve met a time or two,” he mutters casually before glancing back at the girl in his lap.

  I narrow my gaze, locking in on his hands and the ink covering them. The solid black wings with the tips grazing the top of each finger. “Weren’t you out of New York?”

  He nods but doesn’t bother looking at me. “After all the shit went down, I took Tiny up on his offer to join the Disciples. So far—” he slides his hand up higher on Tamara’s waist, fingertips way too close to her breasts “—it’s been fucking perfection.”

  I’d met Crow a handful of times, and he seemed like an all right guy. Different from the others, even. Quiet like me. Reserved yet not, when the time was right. But he is still a biker. Still wrong for Tamara, no matter how nice he makes himself sound.

  She blinks at him like she’s drunk on his gaze. “It’s worked out great for me, handsome.” Tamara winks at him, sliding her arm around his neck like they’ve been friends forever.

  “Gigi’s looking for you,” I blurt out, and Tamara’s head snaps back.

  “Well, shit,” she mutters, never missing a beat. “Tell my girl to come in here.”

  I lift an eyebrow. “I think you should go see her,” I emphasize the word go, but she just blinks at me like I’m speaking another language.

  “Don’t be a party pooper, Pike. I’m having so much fun, and Crow’s legs are…” She trails off, blushing as he winks at her. “So comfortable.”

  “Doll,” Crow says softly, almost sweetly. “Give us men a few minutes to talk. Go grab that cousin of yours, and the four of us can have a drink and hang out, yeah?”

  Tamara’s eyes widen as the smile on her face grows. “Baby,” she croons, and I almost vomit. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

  I cough, barely holding my shit together. I will not kill him. I will not kill him. I repeat the words to myself in a slow, steady rhythm so I don’t lunge toward him, doing something Gigi will make me regret.

  Tamara climbs off his lap, running her fingers through his beard as her feet find the floor. “Promise me you won’t go anywhere.”

  He glances down at his lap. “I’m not moving a muscle, sweetheart. My thighs are going to miss your sweet ass. So, do me a favor and make it quick.”

  Tamara doesn’t even blink or seem to care that he just bossed her around because he twisted it up in a nice way. She nods, not even hesitating as she takes off toward the door.

  “What?” I growl with my jaw clenched so fucking tight, my teeth ache.

  Crow tilts his head to the side, a smirk playing behind his beard. “Calm your shit, brother. We’re just flirting. I know that girl,” he says, motioning toward the door with his chin, “is not a club whore. She’s sweet. A little naïve, but still sweet.”

  “First, I’m not your brother.” I glare at him because so help me God, I want to murder him. “Second, she’s very naïve. Third, she is sweet, but you’ll never know how sweet as long as I’m breathing.”

  He stands up, reaches over the bar, grabbing a few beer bottles that are sitting there. “Relax,” he tells me, offering me a beer. “I know where to dip my wick, and it isn’t in her.”

  I take the beer, eyeing him as I twist off the top, throwing it onto the bar. “She’s my family, Crow. I won’t let you or any of the other guys here near her without a fight.”

  He leans his head back, drinking half the bottle down his throat before he speaks again. “I’m still finding a place here with the Disciples. I’m the new meat, and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m not impressed by the buffet.”

  “Why Tamara?” I ask point-blank.

  “She’s sweet and pure. Ever have something so perfect, you want to do whatever you can to hold on to it?”

  “Every fucking day,” I admit.

  “I ain’t looking to cause problems. I found her in here an hour ago talking to Lefty, and I did whatever I had to do to get her away from him.”
/>
  My stomach drops at the mention of Lefty’s name. The scariest and fucking nuttiest bastard in the club. Lefty has more kills to his name than anyone else, and he doesn’t always think clearly, too fucked up on coke most of the time.

  “I did you a solid by talking to that girl. Didn’t know I was doing me a solid too.” He smiles, going back to his beer and turning his face away from me.

  “Fuck,” I groan, knowing I could’ve walked in on something so much worse than Tamara in Crow’s lap.

  “Yep,” he barks. “I think you owe me a thank-you.”

  “Never fuckin’ happenin’,” I snarl, even though I should say thank you to him for rescuing her from a madman.

  Crow laughs, fisting his hand before punching me in the shoulder like we’re long-lost friends. “Just let me flirt with the pretty thing. I’m harmless, and tomorrow, I’ll be nothing but a memory. I could use a little good in my life, even if it’s only for a few hours.”

  I inhale, tightening my hands around my beer bottle, about to tell him to fuck off when Gigi, Tamara, Lily, and Austin walk through the door, sounding more like twenty people with all their chatter than four.

  “This is Crow,” Tamara tells Gigi, looking at him like he walks on water, fluttering her pretty black eyelashes his way. “He’s my guy.”

  I almost choke on my beer, pounding on my chest as Gigi gives me the side-eye.

  “Gigi,” Gigi says, holding out her hand to him, elbowing me because I can’t stop coughing on the goddamn beer.

  “I see pretty and sweet runs in the family,” Crow flirts, lifting Gigi’s hand up to his lips like I’m not fucking sitting there.

  “Watch it,” I bite out, finally clearing the beer from my throat.

  He drops Gigi’s hand, glancing over at Lily. “And who’s this beautiful creature?”

  Lily blushes immediately, lifting her shoulders with wide eyes like she’s a baby lamb headed to slaughter. “I’m Lily,” she chirps, all bashful and nothing like her cousins.

  Tamara climbs back into Crow’s lap, staking her territory before he can say anything more or reach out to touch Lily in any way. “I missed you,” she whispers, reaching up to touch his beard with her long, thin fingers.

  His eyes twinkle as he looks at her. “Missed you too, dollface.”

  “Oh, good lord,” Gigi whispers. My hand goes to her waist, pulling her against me as she gawks at them.

  “Hey,” Austin adds like the forgotten one of the group because he’s a dude and doesn’t have the right parts to get noticed around here. “I’m this one’s brother.” He tips his head in my direction.

  Crow’s eyebrows shoot up. “For-real brother?”

  “For real.” Austin smiles, looking genuinely proud of being related to me for the first time ever. “At least that’s what my birth certificate says.”

  I know one thing in this moment. I will never tell him we don’t share the same father. It’s nothing he needs to know. I’m all he has left in this world, and I don’t want to fill his head with any doubts or questions. I went most of my life thinking that cold bastard Colton Moore was my daddy, and telling the world the opposite wouldn’t change a goddamn thing after all the hell he put me through.

  “I can see it,” Crow says, turning his attention back to the girl in his lap.

  “This isn’t good,” Gigi whispers as she tucks her face into my neck, trying not to be heard by her cousin.

  “We talked. He knows how to behave.”

  “I’m more worried about how Tam’s going to behave.”

  I laugh, running my fingers up her arm. “We just won’t let her out of our sight, darlin’.”

  “Great,” Gigi grumbles with a frown as she looks up at me. “I’ve turned into my mother.”

  22

  Gigi

  We headed to the beach while the guys stayed behind, crashing in the beds as soon as our rooms were ready. This is just what I needed after a sleepless night at the compound, watching over Tamara and Crow like I was my parents.

  Ugh.

  “Who are you talking to?” I ask Tamara, glancing over as she feverishly pecks away at her phone screen.

  She hasn’t put the damn thing down since we left the compound. She’s taken her phone everywhere, even to the bathroom, and is giddy every time the damn thing vibrates.

  “Crow.” She smirks, giving me the side-eye. “He’s just too much fun.”

  I know the allure of a bad boy. Pike sucked me in from the moment I met him. Damn it. I always told myself I’d never fall in love with someone like my father.

  And what happened?

  Boom. Joe Junior fell right into my lap.

  Not really. I fell into his bed, planting my ass there for a solid week because he was just too good to walk away from.

  And now… Now, I can’t imagine life without him.

  “Fun’s one word for him,” Lily grumbles on my other side, stretching out her body on her towel. “I’m so fucking tired because of you two assholes.”

  “We didn’t need babysitters,” Tamara spits back, not bothering to look in Lily’s direction. “We’re both grown adults.”

  Instead of cuddling up in Pike’s old room like we did last time, he and I stayed on the couches in the common area with Tamara, Crow, Lily, and Austin. I tried my best not to think about all the shit that went down on those couches before I sat on them.

  “Ha,” Lily snaps. “I swear you’re just trying to do whatever you can to make everyone around you crazy-worried and stressed as shit.”

  Tamara rolls her eyes, dropping her hand near her hips. “I’m just trying to have some fun. We’re only young once. I mean, look at our parents. It’s all bills, crying kids, and the same old bullshit every day. This is our one chance to live life and be free before adulthood sucks the life out of us.”

  “There’s a difference between living and having a death wish,” Lily tells her, scooting her ass down on the towel to block her face with the nearby umbrella.

  “Tam has a point.” I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Tamara about this, but I keep going and try not to put too much thought into it. “I’m done with college, and you two will be after next year. We’re going to be old before we know it.”

  Lily sighs. “I wish we could go back to high school and do it all over again.”

  “Fuck no,” I spit out, thinking about the heartaches and bullshit we all went through during those four years. “Maybe back to freshman year of college, but there’s no way I’d go back to high school.”

  “Ugh,” Tamara mutters, wiggling her toes as her silver glitter polish twinkles in the sun. “I hated those years.”

  Lily sits up, resting her upper body on her elbows. “They weren’t so bad.”

  Tamara and I both turn our heads, gawking at our cousin because she must have amnesia if she thinks those were golden years we’d ever want to relive.

  “It sucked ass, Lil. Are you ill right now?” Tamara laughs.

  Lily shakes her head. “Life was simple then. What was our biggest headache? Homework. I mean, come on. No job. No responsibilities.”

  “Curfew. Parents. Rules. What about that sounds like fun?” I ask.

  Lily lifts a shoulder, staring out across the rolling waves. “Time just moves so fast, and for the first time ever, we’re all going to be in different places.”

  My heart aches for a moment because she’s right. When Tamara and I were at FSU, Lily would come up on weekends and breaks, and we’d party our asses off. But now… Now, I’ll be home, and they’ll be far, far away from me.

  “In a year, you’ll both be home, though, right?” I ask, looking between my two sisters from other misters.

  I can’t imagine going very long without seeing them. They are as much a fixture in my life as my two little sisters. We grew up together. Got into trouble together. Started dating around the same time, totally not telling our parents about that either. We know one another’s secrets, and there aren’t two other girls on the planet I
am closer to than them.

  Lily sighs and Tamara shrugs.

  I sit up quickly, spinning around on my ass and clutching the towel between my hands. “What the hell? You two have to come back. You can’t leave me.”

  “You have Pike now,” Tamara admits like he’s a replacement.

  I blink. “Tam, be serious now. He can never replace you.”

  Lily brushes her hand against mine before linking our fingers together. “I’m trying to get into USF to work on my doctorate and I hope to do my residency at a hospital in Tampa, but you never know, Gigi.”

  I can feel my eyes starting to water as my nose tickles. “You have to come home.”

  “We’re trying, babe. We’re trying,” Tamara says, lifting her phone back up to her face as soon as it vibrates. “Jesus Christ,” she gasps, eyes going wide as saucers.

  “What?” I smack her legs, trying to look at her screen, but she turns her phone the other way.

  “When is it too early in a relationship for a dick pic?” she asks, keeping her eyes trained on the screen with a smirk.

  I wince, knowing there isn’t a cock in the world that looks good in a selfie. “It’s always too early,” I tell her, shaking my head and totally judging the super-dreamy—her words, not mine—Crow. “Pike’s never sent me one.”

  Lily lunges over me, ripping Tamara’s phone from her hands and stares at the screen. “You fuckin’ liar. It’s just words.” Lily tosses the phone back toward Tamara. “Boring.”

  “I just wanted to see what you’d do. You guys ever ask for a dick pic?” Tamara raises an eyebrow, staring at us.

  I shake my head. “Why the fuck would I want a dick pic?”

  “You’re such a weirdo,” Lily scoffs, scrunching up her nose at Tamara. “I don’t know how we’re related.”

  “If you weren’t dating Pike,” Tamara teases, looking right at me, “I’d say Mallory was right about you. But he gives you some points in the cool column.”

  What? Mallory was the biggest asshole, and if it weren’t for her sister Mary, we wouldn’t have been friends. Tamara knows this. She hated Mallory just as much as I did.