by Lilly Atlas
Dry.
Phew.
“What are you talking about?”
Toni snorted. “Don’t even try to play me, girl. I’m talking about what I was talking about before that poor businessman signed his own death warrant. You have been sneaking these slobbering puppy dog glances at Copper all morning.”
If someone touched Shell’s face at that moment, they’d come away with a third-degree burn. “What?” she said in the most unconvincing expression of shock ever. “You’re crazy. They’re in my section. Of course, I’m looking at their table. It’s part of my job.”
“Ha!” Toni shook her head and grabbed Shell’s arm, towing her to a quieter spot behind the counter. “Nice try, sister. Now, usually, you look at Copper about three thousand times when he’s in here—”
Shell rolled her eyes as her face grew even hotter. “I do not!”
“But today it’s been about four hundred and thirty-seven thousand. And, he’s stared at you just as much.”
“I—” Huh. Really?
Toni nodded. “But his expression is different. More like a shark. All sharp teeth and hungry eyes. So…there something you wanna tell me?”
Yes. Yes, there was. She longed to tell someone she’d slept with the man she was head over heels in love with and had no clue how she was going to walk away from him. Especially since he seemed to want more from her than sex. Figures, when she was actually in a position to engage in a strictly physical relationship, the man wanted more.
“Nope. Nothing to tell.”
“Bullsh—”
“I’m serious, Toni,” Shell said, hardening her tone. “Just let it go, there’s nothing to tell.”
“Hmm,” Toni said, but she relaxed her stance and released Shell’s arm. “All right. You win, for now.” She pointed a finger in Shell’s face.
“I gotta check on my tables.” Shell grabbed the coffee pot and spun around only to encounter the playful grin of the businessman. He wiggled his empty cup. Jesus, the guy sure liked his caffeine. After pouring him his third cup in twenty minutes, she dodged a few flirty comments and made the rounds of her tables.
When she reached the Handlers table, Mav said, “’Bout time, coffee wench. My blood is only one-tenth caffeine at the moment. You know I can’t function unless I’m at the thirty-three percent mark. Unless we’re talking about making my woman scream my name. That I can pretty much do in my sleep.”
Shell rolled her eyes and poured Mav’s coffee. Having known him for years, his constant barrage of inappropriate yet hilarious comments was expected. It’d only gotten worse since he’d started seriously seeing Stephanie. Now, instead of bragging about his many conquests, he boasted about having the most satisfied woman in Tennessee. Judging by the permanent smile on Steph’s face, he may be right. Not that she’d ever admit it out loud. There was only so much ego she could tolerate.
“Really, Mav? Because yesterday Steph was telling me about this new vibrator she got. Said it was better than any man she’d ever been with.” Shell shrugged innocently and gave the rest of her family seconds on the java.
“What?” Mav’s jaw dropped to the ground. Maybe most groups of mix-company friends didn’t joke about vibrators and sex all the time, but with the MC, pretty much nothing was off limits. The guys were raw, dirty, and very rough around the edges.
Just how she loved them.
“Bullshit. You’re making that up.” Mav dug his phone from his pocket as Copper, Jigsaw, and one of the prospects LJ cracked up. “She’s not answering. Why isn’t she answering?”
“Didn’t she have a hair appointment this morning?” Shell asked. “At least that’s what she told you. Probably spending time with her new toy.”
“Fuck.” Maverick scowled at her. “Sleep with one eye open, Shell.”
LJ dropped his oven mitt-sized hand on Shell’s shoulder and gave it a bone-crushing squeeze. Sometimes these huge men didn’t recognize their immense power. “Damn, girl. That was good. He’ll be tied up in knots all fucking day.”
A growl came from directly across the table. All three men and Shell gaped at Copper. His gaze was glued to LJ’s hand on her, and if Shell wasn’t mistaken, LJ wouldn’t need to bother saving for retirement. He’d be lucky to make it to the parking lot. Immediately, as though her shoulder was made of corrosive acid, his hand fell to the table.
Shell cleared her throat. “Um, anyone need anything else?” she asked, extra chipper.
Jig and Mav still stared at Copper, who hadn’t stopped murdering LJ with his bullet-firing glare.
“Another pancake?” she asked weakly.
LJ squirmed like a kid sitting before a prune-faced principal. “Hey, Copper, I’m sorry, man. Meant no disrespect.”
Seriously? He was apologizing for an innocent touch? The same kind of contact every single man in the MC gave her all the time. Friendly. Affectionate. Sisterly. Completely non-sexual.
Surely Copper wasn’t about to make the poor twenty-one-year-old prospect pay for something so innocent.
“No worries, LJ.”
“Thanks, Prez.”
Phew. Bullet dodged.
“Hey, LJ,” Copper went on. “Been a while since I washed my bike. Thinking when we get back to the clubhouse, you need to get on that.”
“Oh, uh, yeah, Prez. For sure.” LJ flicked a look at Shell then focused back on Copper.
“Thinking the guys on my exec board could use the same treatment.” Copper hadn’t so much as cracked a smile, but Jig and freakin’ Mav were grinning like a bunch of creepy circus clowns. The assholes were loving this.
“Copper,” Shell whispered. “It’s forty degrees today.” Usually, in their area, March was pleasantly in the sixties, but this past week had been chillier than the norm. Poor LJ’s hands would freeze off if he had to wash six bikes outside.
“Ain’t a thing, Shell,” LJ said. “Happy to do it.”
She frowned as guilt wormed its way in. Somehow, even though she hadn’t done anything, this felt like her fault.
Copper turned his gaze on her and his entire expression transformed. Soft lines, no more death rays shooting from his eyes. In fact, a grin even peeked out from his bearded face. Shell swallowed as lust warmed her belly. Over the past year, she’d gotten used to hard, almost impatient looks from Copper. As though everything she did pissed him off to some extent.
None of that look remained.
“Uhh, why you staring at her like that, Prez?” Mav asked. When Copper didn’t turn away but raised an eyebrow, Mav said, “You not get enough for breakfast, boss? Cuz I’m kinda getting the impression you’re gonna hop up and eat our girl.”
Copper just flipped him off, making Shell laugh.
“Stop it, Cop. It’s freaking me out.”
It was freaking her out too, but not in the way Mav meant. For the life of her, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Copper’s piercing green stare. The coffee pot hung limply from her hand, in grave danger of crashing to the floor.
Seconds ticked by. Aware that she had tables waiting on food, and that Copper’s men were watching them like they paid for the show, she tried to untangle herself from the web that was Copper.
Useless effort.
“Fuck it,” Copper said as he sprung out of the booth. He loomed over her, grabbing the coffee put and thrusting it at Mav. “Take this.”
“Uhh,” Mav said, for once without a snappy quip.
With the bulky form of Copper hovering over her, Shell felt like a small animal about to be devoured. “Wha—” she started only to be silenced by the delicious slide of Copper’s tongue into her mouth.
Customers? What?
Orders waiting in the kitchen? Huh?
Friends and family gawking at the display? Uhhh…
Her mind went berserk as he kissed her until her knees weakened and her body sparked like a live wire in a puddle of water. Hands at her lower back, he held her close and made it known to the general public, in no uncertain terms that something was
going on between them.
After who the hell knew how long, he pulled back. Shell grabbed his forearms to keep from swooning like some Victorian maiden. When she turned her dazed gaze up to Copper, he was focused on something over her head, a smug, satisfied smile on his face.
The businessman. Holy shit…this had been purposeful. A public claiming.
“Holy shit, I freaking knew it!” Toni shouted from somewhere across the diner, probably still behind the counter. Shell was too stunned and slightly embarrassed to check out the reaction of the Handlers still seated at the table next to her. Turned out, she didn’t have to see them to know what they thought. They started loudly cheering and yelling all sorts of Mav-style comments.
Finally, Copper turned his attention to her. Completely captivated by his gaze, she allowed herself to be caught up in him. This man had complete and utter control over her. Mind, body, and soul, he owned her in a way she’d always dreamed of. In a perfect world, she’d snatch up every ounce of what he was offering.
“Not sorry,” he said, making her smile so wide her cheeks hurt. “Guess it’s official now.”
Toni had to be busting out of her skin behind the counter, waiting to assault Shell with a million questions.
“Damn!” Mav yelled. “’Knew I shoulda gone upstairs yesterday when you came by the clubhouse. Bet the soundtrack was pretty fucking great, huh?”
Just as she was about to bury her heated face in his wide chest the bell over the entrance jangled with the entry of a new customer.
Copper’s entire body stiffened, right before he let out a tremendous whoop. “Holy fucking shit. Rusty? Jesus, guys, it’s fucking Rusty!”
Starting at the tip of Shell’s head, an icy wave of terror rippled down her body. She was frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to think beyond the fear. Copper grabbed her shoulders, gave her a quick hard kiss then smiled the most genuinely elated smile she’d ever seen from him right before running over to his brother.
Of course, he did. His brother was out of prison even earlier than expected. Five weeks early to be exact. Five weeks Shell was supposed to have with Copper. Thirty-five days to come up with a plan and figure out her next life move.
And now that was all gone.
She managed to get her legs to turn her in a circle in time to see Copper and Rusty collide in a giant engulfing hug. Slapping each other’s backs, they spoke of how amazing it was to be in the same room.
Rusty almost had the height of Copper; he was about six-three to Copper’s six-five, but maybe half of the muscle mass. Prison had bulked him up some, but he still didn’t match his big brother in size. But the hair? Same red, though Rusty was close-cropped and naked-faced.
The guys vacated their booth, and all joined in the ecstatic reunion. Rooted in her spot next to the Handlers’ booth, Shell watched in fascinated horror as her nightmare came to life.
A few seconds into the men back-slapping and ribbing each other, Toni joined her. “You all right, girl? Looking a little pale.”
“I—” It came out as a strangled whisper. She cleared her throat. “I’m good.” Better. Stronger.
Faker.
“You know this Rusty character well? I’ve heard some mixed things about him. Izzy told me Jig isn’t a huge fan.”
Huh, that was news to Shell. Most of the guys loved him as far as she knew. “Yeah, I know him. Knew him, I guess.”
Copper and Rusty hugged again. With Copper’s back to her, she got a full-on view of Rusty’s face. His gaze, so cold and missing what she’d always thought of as the human factor locked with hers. Then he winked.
The bastard fucking winked at her.
If it wasn’t for the violent lurch in her stomach, her knees would have given out. But seeing as how she needed a basin, and fast, she was able to move. Shell slapped a palm over her mouth as the cereal she’d eaten came dangerously close to spewing all over the diner. Quick as she could, she sprinted toward the restroom. Once in front of the toilet, she sank to her knees and threw up anything she’d eaten over the past week. Thankfully, Toni was anal about the cleanliness of her diner’s restrooms, so that was one less thing Shell had to worry about. She had enough problems on her plate.
Her stomach heaved over and over until she expelled nothing but bile and stomach acid. Everything ached, her abdominal muscles, her head, her knees on the hard tile, but most of all her heart. It was going to break. There was no way around it. At some point in the upcoming days, her heart would shatter into pieces so small she might never be able to repair it. She only hoped the same didn’t happen to Copper.
“Honey?” Toni appeared at the open stall. “You all right?”
“Um…I think so,” Shell said in a trembling voice. “Just gross.”
“If it were anyone else, I’d assumed you were knocked up, but seeing as how you were fine until Rusty winked one of those creepy eyes at you, I’m guessing you’re not.”
Pregnant. Funny. She’d been one of the lucky ones who didn’t throw up once throughout her pregnancy. Now, four years later it turned out that same pregnancy was making her vomit. “Not pregnant.” She flopped on her ass and rested her back against the wall of the stall, looking up at Toni’s concerned face.
“He do something to you in the past?” Toni asked. She sank down onto the floor opposite Shell.
Suddenly, she had to say it. Had to get the words out. Never once had they crossed her lips, but if she didn’t say it, she was going to self-destruct. Rusty’s appearance was just too much.
“He—” Memories she worked every single day of her life to forget bombarded her. Rusty’s hands, Rusty’s mouth, Rusty’s threats.
Rusty’s hatred of his brother.
“He’s Beth’s father.”
Toni’s face blanched as her eyes bugged. The shock was expected, and unfortunately, so was the doubt reflected in her eyes.
Doubt over who Shell was as a person. The thoughts running through Toni’s head were so loud, they were screaming in Shell’s own brain.
Did you do it to punish Copper?
Do you have feelings for Rusty?
Do either Copper or Rusty know?
How could you?
The foot of physical distance separating them might as well have been an ocean. Girlfriends were so important, especially since the majority of her tribe consisted of overbearing macho bikers. Girlfriends kept her sane, balanced.
Even though she’d been anticipating suspicion from Toni, actually witnessing it was a punch to the gut.
“Please,” she whispered. “I’m not ready to talk about it. I can’t talk about it. But please, please believe me. It’s not what you’re thinking.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“FEEL LIKE I’M fucking dreaming,” Copper said as he knocked back the last of his whiskey. Nowadays, he wasn’t much of a day drinker. In his early years with the MC, he’d drink most of his brothers under the table, but at forty, the accompanying hangover from twelve-plus hours of drinking sucked. But for Rusty’s homecoming, he’d make all the fucking exceptions in the world.
“Imagine how I fucking feel.” Rusty sipped his whiskey. His eyes closed and his throat worked before he let out a sigh. “Damn, first drink in five years. Thanks for breaking out the good shit for me.”
Copper snorted. “No better reason for it.” Had to be a total mind fuck, being behind bars one day and free to live life the next. “You holding up okay? You look good.”
After another sip, Rusty nodded. “Yeah, brother. Any day out of that hellhole is a good day. Got a lot of shit to sort out, but it’s all good.”
The rest of the guys had made themselves scarce, letting Copper and Rusty have some time to catch up. Seated at the bar in the clubhouse, they’d broken into the stash of Copper’s favorite whiskey he kept hidden in his bottom desk drawer.
“Well, no one has used your old room since you left. We kept it ready and waiting for you, so you don’t need to bother looking for a place to live.”
/> “Thanks, brother. I was hoping you’d say that.”
He hadn’t been lying. Rusty did look good. Better than Copper had expected. “You work out a lot in there? Looks like you put on a shit-ton of muscle.”
Rusty poured more whiskey into his glass. “Yeah. Hours every day. Not much else to do. Spending time in the yard beats hanging in the cell.”
Copper grunted.
“You should talk to Zach. Bet he’d love to have you on board. I know he’s looking to hire.”
“Shit, Cop, been out for ten fucking minutes. Give me a few days. Last five years I’ve been on my best fuckin’ behavior. Need to spend a few days making trouble. Work ain’t on my radar today. Pussy is. Where the fuck are the Honeys?”
Copper almost pushed it, but Rusty was right. He had nothing to compare the experience to, so he couldn’t pretend to understand what his brother was feeling. But if he had to guess, Rusty probably needed some time to get his head on straight. Having taken care of Rusty the majority of his life, Copper sometimes forgot his brother was an adult.
“Around. Had you told us you were coming early, we’d have planned a fuckin’ blowout for tonight.”
Rusty smirked. “Yeah, but your surprised face was fucking worth it.”
“Definitely was the surprise of a lifetime. Party’ll be Saturday night. Going all out for you, brother.”
“Fuck yes!” Rusty filled his glass again.
Two p.m. and Rusty drank seventy dollars’ worth of whiskey in fifteen minutes. And there Copper went acting like a father instead of a brother again. The man just spent five years behind bars. He was entitled to drink it all away.
“Ready for more?” Rusty held the bottle toward Copper.
“Nah, brother, I’m good. Gotta head over to Shell’s in a bit. She was acting weird before we left the diner. Want to make sure she’s not sick.”
A slow smile curled Rusty’s face. A predatory kind of leering grin. “You tapping that? That bitch always had one hell of a rack. She’s been creaming herself over you for years too, bro.”