“He’s only saying that because his boss is listening,” Clint said from behind us.
I jumped at the sound of his voice and nearly spilled my beer. I turned around and there was Clint with a blonde plastered against him. She wasn’t just hanging on his arm—oh no. She pressed the entire length of her body against him and was stroking his chest, under his black T-shirt. My heart sank. This was why he hadn’t invited me.
“I didn’t realize that was you, Jo.” He grabbed the blonde’s elbow and tried to remove her arm from underneath his shirt. “I never see you with your hair down.”
“Let’s go back inside and play some darts,” the blonde said. She was a little drunk and her words were a little sloppy. She looked at me. “You wanna come? I’m Sapphire. We can play chicken darts. It’ll be fun.” She grinned. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Jo.” I smiled at her. She may be drunk and hanging all over Clint, but she was genuine, at least. It looked like if I wanted to start something with him, I’d have to work for it. I was up to the challenge. “Let’s play some darts.”
“Baby?” Sapphire batted her eyelashes at Clint. “This asphalt is too hard on my shoes—will you carry me inside?”
“Uh...” Clint shot me a look.
I laughed. Good. I wanted him to be torn. I took a sip of my beer and waited to see what he would do.
“I got you, my lady.” Roach bowed in front of Sapphire. He reached out and grabbed her in a fireman’s hold. Based on Sapphire’s string of expletives, that wasn’t what she’d envisioned. Roach turned his head and gave her a playful nip on the thigh. “Be careful, Princess, or I might think you preferred someone else.” He winked at me and then headed toward the building.
“Come on.” Clint motioned for me to follow him. “We’ve got better drinks than that inside.”
We walked through the parking lot, avoiding potholes, until we got to the front of the building.
“Hey, I just wanted to say I’m glad you came.” Clint stopped in front of a big metal door. “I’m sorry about Sapphire.”
“Really, it’s no problem.” I shrugged. “If you want to hook up, it’s your business. It’s not like we have an arrangement or anything. We’re just friends.” I brushed past him and into the building. Seeing Sapphire all over him had definitely made me a little jealous. But I had nothing to be jealous for. I just needed to keep reminding myself of that.
The inside of the clubhouse was dark and smoky compared to Family Night. There was a spotlight in the back, and this time there was a woman dancing on the stripper pole in the corner. I rolled my eyes—definitely a big boy’s playground.
After downing a supersize shot of whiskey, I turned to Clint. “So, you guys party like this often?”
“Whenever we have a reason to.” He grinned. “We got a new guy up from Cali and thought we should entertain him. Brought in some girls from the local strip club.”
“Oh.” I nodded and tried to think of something else to say. I wondered if that was where Sapphire worked. We’d lost her and Roach on the way in, and I didn’t see them in the crowd.
“Hey, Jo!” Sapphire’s squeal cut straight through to my bones. I turned to see her and Roach standing next to us at the bar. “You promised me a game of chicken darts.” She threaded her arm through mine and I had the feeling we would be best friends—at least for the night. “Clint’s my partner, who is your partner?”
“Partner?” I asked, looking at Clint. “Why do I need a partner?”
“For the game.” Sapphire rolled her eyes. “Who’s gonna be Jo’s partner?” she yelled to no one in particular. A couple of guys looked our way but didn’t volunteer.
“I’m going to be Jo’s partner. Roach is going to be your partner.” Clint gave Sapphire a serious look.
“I’ll be your partner.” Roach winked at her and gave Clint a good-natured shove. “I’m not like Hercules over here, but I can hold ya up.”
“But you promised!” she pouted, running her fingers down Clint’s arm. “And it’s my birthday.”
“You should be Sapphire’s partner, since you’ve already promised her,” I told Clint. He gave me a little smile, like he knew what I was up to. I patted Roach on the back. “I’ve got a partner.”
“May the best girl win!” Sapphire clapped her hands and grinned.
What happened next was right out of my nightmares. Clint knelt down and Sapphire climbed on top of his shoulders, with her crotch facing toward his face. I gasped—that’s exactly what it would look like if he were eating her out. I turned away.
“Nope, I don’t think so,” I told Roach, and started to walk to the door.
“Wait,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. “Sapphire is just trying to make something out of nothing. It’s not that bad, look.”
Sapphire was no longer on front of Clint. Instead, she was climbing up his back. She settled herself back across his shoulders, but this time behind his head. She grabbed on to his sandy brown hair as he stood up.
I stared at Clint, and he stared at me. I’m sorry, he mouthed.
“So, um, you get four darts,” Roach explained as he knelt down. “Basically, best score after three darts wins. The trick is that you have to sit on my shoulders. Got it? Mount up.”
I could feel Clint’s eyes on me as I threw one leg around Roach’s neck. With his help, I finally got myself situated, and then Roach stood up. It was more like he staggered to his feet. At five feet ten inches, I was a hell of a lot taller than Sapphire. Clint had at least a hundred pounds of muscle on Roach.
“You okay?” I asked him. “We don’t have to do this.”
“I’m fine,” he managed between clenched teeth. “I got something to prove too. Just be fast, okay?”
“All right!” I called over to Sapphire. “Let’s go!”
Roach struggled over to the throw line. I aimed and chucked my dart. Throwing darts from someone’s shoulders is odd because you can’t control your body as well and you just don’t get as much force behind the throw. It wobbled, and I held my breath to see if it was gonna stick. After a second, the dart stilled. It landed on the sixteen section. Not bad.
“My turn!” Sapphire held up her hands and screeched. Most of the crowd moved our way. They all knew when a good spectacle was about to happen.
Clint walked over to the throw line and Sapphire threw her dart. It bounced off the drywall next to the dartboard, and the crowd cheered. I looked around. Why were they cheering if she missed? Then I saw why. Sapphire was doing a little strip tease with the top of her dress. She pushed one strap down, then the other. The guys hollered as she finally pushed the top of her dress down to her waist.
What had I gotten myself into? This was strip darts while sitting on a guy’s shoulders with an audience. I could barely land a shot in a bar while sober. But if I got down now, I would be a coward. Shit. I just couldn’t miss.
I threw my next dart. It landed a little south of the first one and I only got three points. Then it dropped out of the board. Damn. There were a few laughs in the crowd. There was always a possibility that she could throw another complete miss.
Sapphire threw a dart; she got a ten. She won that round. All sound in the clubhouse stopped. I couldn’t even hear the blaring heavy metal anymore. It was just me in front of a group of bikers and we all knew I had to take something off.
“Hurry up,” Roach pleaded.
Fuck. I unzipped my hoodie and threw it onto the bar. That still left me completely covered in a tank top. A couple of guys clapped, but it was mostly just embarrassing.
“I’ll start this round!” Sapphire shouted out to her adoring fans. I was thankful that she took the spotlight off me. They were definitely not interested in watching me take off my clothes.
Sapphire took her next shot. This time it hit the thirty-nine spot. Damn. That was gonna be a tough one to beat. Roach took his
position, and I threw that dart as hard as I could. It was about to stick the fifty-one, but then it dropped out of the hole again. I groaned. I didn’t have enough force behind the throw; being on Roach’s shoulders hurt my game. The audience held their breath. Fuck.
I drew off my tank top with a quick movement. I wasn’t here to titillate. It had been a long time since I bothered to buy pretty underwear. Maybe next time I went to the store, I’d buy something with lace. I was wearing a gray sports bra that was completely unsexy. There was more polite clapping from the guys.
Sapphire waved like Miss America as Clint walked up to the line. She threw a thirty-six. I scowled. Her first throw was a ringer for sure. Shit. I had to beat thirty-six, or take off my bra, or look like a spoilsport. None of these were great options.
“Hey, Roach, gimme your knife,” I whispered in his ear as he staggered up to the throw line for our last throw.
“Why do you want my knife?” he asked, handing it up to me.
“You’ll see.” I sucked at throwing darts, but I could throw knives, and I wasn’t about to take off my bra in front of this crowd. Switchblades weren’t the best for throwing, but his had a lock and was pretty well balanced. It would be better than a crappy dart at least. I cranked my arm back and let the knife fly. It hit the board with a thwack. Forty-five. I raised my hands in the air and everyone cheered. Roach let me off his shoulders and I lost track of Clint and Sapphire in the crowd.
“You showed him real good,” Roach whispered as he gave me a hug. “He’s gonna want you even more now.”
“Thanks.” I hugged him back. “I’m not sure this is really my scene. I think I’m gonna head out.”
“I get it.” He nodded. “At least let me walk you out to your car.”
I grabbed my clothes and threw on my hoodie, balling my tank up in my hand. As we headed toward the door, I heard a big cheer. Sapphire was up on stage, doing a full strip this time. I guessed that losing had been her goal all along.
Roach held the door open as we left the clubhouse. We walked through the parking lot in silence until he finally said something. “I wish things had gone better between you and Clint tonight.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Are you sure you don’t wanna stay?”
Oh god. I was trying very hard to pretend like the whole scene hadn’t bothered me at all and Roach saw right through me. If he recognized my act, so did Clint and everyone else. I groaned.
“Don’t worry about it.” I waved my hand. “I had a fun time. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything between us.”
Someone gave a shout, and I turned to see Clint jogging to meet up with me and Roach.
“Hey,” he said, catching up to us. “Can we talk before you leave?”
“I think I’m gonna head back for a drink.” Roach smiled tactfully. “See you guys later.”
“Sure.” I shrugged. My stupid stomach was doing butterflies. Clint had followed me. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I’m sorry about what happened inside—” he started.
“It’s okay,” I cut him off. “I just came to see what this whole biker thing was about, and I did. It’s not my scene and I’m just gonna head home.”
“I didn’t think you were coming tonight, and Sapphire’s kinda hard to get rid of. She’s got me in her sights and I can’t shake her. I was hoping to spend the evening with you at home. And I’m fucking sorry about chicken darts. I thought you would just ignore the stripping part and it would be a quick game. I shouldn’t have put you in that situation.” He paused and shook his head. “I’m not sure what else to apologize for, but I’m sure there’s a lot more I’m forgetting.”
“Thanks,” I said, reaching for the car door. His shoulders fell just a little bit. Was he really disappointed that I was leaving? I turned back to him. “What did you hope was going to happen tonight?”
“Not this.” He took my tank top from my hands. I hadn’t bothered to put it back on and just grabbed it on my way out. “Well, first off, I thought I’d introduce you to everyone. There’s a few people coming who didn’t attend Family Night. The club is a family, and since you’re kind of in our family, I wanted you to meet them.”
It was like a knife straight to my lonely heart. He was standing there, clutching my shirt as if it were a lifeline, telling me I was family. I couldn’t turn away and I had to know.
“You think of me like family?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “If I’m not there and you need help, any of the guys here would be happy to help. And not just for Nana’s sake. If you need anything, I want to help.”
“Thanks.” That’s all I could think of to say. I wanted to be part of what he was describing, this big extended support network. But it seemed too good to be true. Tears pricked my eyes, and I looked away. I wanted to be part of this big stupid biker family.
I crossed my arms across my chest. “That’s it?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “You just want to introduce me to your friends?”
“Look...” He paused. “I’m just gonna lay it out. I want you. I think you’re interested in me. I have a room upstairs with a lock and a bed. If you wanna join me up there, that’s great. If you don’t, that’s fine too. I just thought it would be nice to be together without Nana or my mother around.” He handed back the shirt. “Or if you just wanna hang out and party, that’s okay too.”
Right. He wanted to fuck me. I was interested in him too, there was no denying it. The idea of a room far away from Nana was definitely enticing.
“How about if we just hang out and see where things lead?” I asked. I dumped the shirt in the back of my car.
“We’ll just see where the night takes us,” he said, grinning.
Chapter Sixteen
Clint
Jo had her hair down and was hanging on my arm as we walked across the parking lot. It was like a dream. I wanted to kiss her. She was an amazing woman who held her own in a biker bar, and I sure as shit didn’t deserve a whole night with her, but I was gonna try.
“Hey man,” I said, walking up to Rip, another member of the MC and one of my best friends. He was a little taller than me, but he didn’t spend quite as much time at the gym. “I wanted to introduce you to Jo.”
“Hey, Jo.” He shook her hand. “The guys are talking about your trick in there with the knife. That was some awesome shit.”
“Oh.” She blushed. “My sister and I used to practice throwing knives when we were kids, to pass the time.”
“Good to meet ya.” He laughed, and turned to me. “You, me, gloves later on. I heard Crash is setting up a ring out back by the loading dock.”
“You’re on.” I grinned. There was nothing better than going a few rounds with Rip. We’d done it so often that he knew all of my weaknesses and I knew all of his. Kept me on my toes. “I’m gonna introduce Jo to some of the guys, and then I’ll meet ya there.”
“So...boxing, huh?” Jo asked as we walked over to the next group of people.
“Yep.” I looked down to see her worried expression. “Do you not approve?”
“That depends.” She scrunched up her nose and elbowed me in the stomach. “Am I gonna have to stitch you up afterward?”
“Possibly. Rip is better than me, no lying about that.” I winked at her and she grinned.
Across the lot, Bettes was standing with Tate. Perfect.
“Jo! You came!” Bettes smiled as we joined their group. “Everyone is talking about your dart game.”
“Hi, Bettes.” Jo smiled. “I didn’t realize I’d become the talk of the town.”
“In a good way.” Bettes stepped aside and patted Tate’s arm. “You remember my husband, Tate?”
“We met only briefly at Family Night,” Tate said as he shook Jo’s hand and looked her up and down. It wasn’t sexual—he was assessing her, making sure she’d be a good old lady. I
hoped Tate approved. Of course, he’d hated Skeeter’s old lady for a while, but I guess he got over it.
I stopped my line of thinking. Jo wasn’t trying to be my old lady. We were just trying to figure things out between us. I needed to remember that.
“Hey, hey,” Roach called as he made his way through the crowd. “The ring is up, if you’re ready. Rip is already sparring with Skeet.”
“Uh...” I looked down at Jo. I wasn’t quite ready to leave her yet.
“Jo can hang out with me.” Bettes hooked her arm around Jo’s. “Come on, we should head over there now if we want a good seat.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jo
Bettes led me around back of the clubhouse building. Some exercise mats had been spread around the driveway—that had to be the boxing ring. She and I settled onto the concrete loading dock, with our feet dangling over the drop.
“Best seat in the house,” Bettes told me as we waited for the guys to get their gloves on and the rest of the crowd to migrate over. “You know, Tate and I live a few blocks away from you guys.”
“Really?” I asked, shocked. “I didn’t know that. Clint never said anything.”
“It takes a while before you can be introduced into the club,” she said.
“You make it sound so formal.” I laughed.
“It’s not formal.” Bettes waved her hand. “But it’s kind of a big thing when one of the guys invites a girl to a party. I’m sure you’ve noticed there are always available women hanging around.”
“I noticed.” I think I blushed because my cheeks got real hot. There was no way I could miss Sapphire stripping earlier. “It’s not like that between us. I’m just not sure what’s going on,” I admitted.
“So, that’s the way of things?” She leaned over and patted my leg. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Are all the men here in the club?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t want to analyze my relationship with Clint too closely.
“No.” Bettes shook her head. “Some guys are up visiting from the California chapters, some guys are just friends of the club. Look, they’re starting.”
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