“What?” Londyn asked as the now empty spoon exited her mouth.
“What you’ve apparently hadn’t fucking notice, Londyn, is there are no fucking women sitting at this table.”
She raised her brows. “Well, I am.” As Mercy’s mouth opened and the rest of them sat on the edge of the chair to watch this all unfold, Londyn cut off whatever he was going to say. “Where’s my sister, anyhow?”
“With the rest of the women, where she belongs.”
Londyn’s raised brows drew low and she dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clatter. “Where she belongs?”
Brick crossed his arms over his chest and sat back. This was better than porn. More entertaining than Heaven’s Angels Gentlemen’s Club.
It was...
“Why are the fuck you here, Londyn? Did your man kick your ass out finally?”
“You know my man didn’t kick me out. You know I kicked his ass out.” She dropped the bowl onto the table and a little bit of ice cream landed on Brick’s arm.
She noticed it, too. “Sorry.” She glanced around the table. “I don’t have a napkin.” Then she leaned over, giving him a perfect view of her tits, and licked the melting ice cream off his arm.
Rewind.
She licked the melting ice cream off his arm.
Who did that?
But that warm, wet tongue on his skin...
Shit.
“Why?”
What? Was Mercy asking her why she licked his arm?
“Didn’t Parris tell you? He hit me.”
The room went electric, snapping and popping around the table and the woman, whose mouth was again full of ice cream, seemed clueless to what she just set off.
“What’d you do?”
Londyn was now licking the back of the spoon like a cat licking its paw.
Brick’s fingers twitched near his dick.
“Why do you assume that I did anything?” she huffed, then shrugged and grimaced. “I shot him.”
Spines snapped. Jaws tightened. Eyes slid around the table. That little tongue on his skin and on the back of the spoon quickly forgotten.
Did she just say...?
“You shot him,” Mercy repeated in a scarier than normal tone.
“Well, yes.” She sucked in a breath and launched into, “I first kicked him in the balls, then I shot him.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Steel grumbled low. Brick wasn’t sure if the man was impressed or surprised.
“He struck you once and you shot him.”
“Once was all that was needed.”
On the other side of Brick, Hunter released a long “fuuuuuck.”
Mercy’s face turned thunderous. And for him, it took a lot to make it so. He was seriously pissed. The man normally went subzero cold when he was angry, not the other direction.
She leaned forward, jabbing her spoon toward the center of the table. “Okay, here’s what happened...”
Everyone—except for Mercy, who rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and kept them there—leaned forward, totally entranced.
“Poker night’s over,” Mercy muttered.
“Oh no. Fuck no. This is just getting good,” Brick announced. He wasn’t going anywhere until he heard what happened.
“Okay, so...” Londyn started, ignoring the scary look Mercy was shooting in her direction. “I thought he was my soulmate—”
“Brick meets a new soulmate every time he swipes right,” Hunter said.
Brick ignored him and kept his eyes on Londyn’s lips as she took a breath to continue her story.
“It turns out he was anything but. Because you can’t have two soulmates.”
“Says who?” Steel asked, playing along.
“Says me,” she spouted.
Brick heard a long sigh at the other end of the table. He ignored that, too.
“You can’t have a second soulmate when you’ve married your first one.”
Brick shook his head confused.
Londyn turned her head to look directly at him and began to talk, like he was the only one interested in her story. He wasn’t pulling his eyes from her to look around to see if that was true.
Because fuck the rest of them, he wanted to hear it and she also now she had a spot of ice cream on her bottom lip. And, for fuck’s sake, he wanted to lick it off, just like she licked his arm.
But just as hot, that little tongue of hers darted out and swept it away.
“Which one are you?” she asked him.
“Brick.”
“I never met you before, have I?”
“No.”
“I would’ve remembered you,” she stated.
Before he could ask why, Steel prompted her, “Soooo, you found out your soulmate was married.”
“Not just married but had a family. It turns out I was his side-bitch! For years! And I never knew.”
“So then, he used that as an escape tactic when he finally figured out you were a crazy bitch and decided he’d rather deal with his wife?”
Londyn gave Mercy a look. “No, he didn’t use it as anything, I found out by accident.”
“Then he slapped you?”
“Actually, he back-handed me.”
“Why?” Mercy asked with another sigh.
“Because I threw a lamp at him and hit him in the face, busting open his eye.”
“Hold up,” Brick said, more humor in his tone than should be. “You find out he’s a cheating dog, you crack open his melon with a lamp. He back-hands you. You rearrange his nuts, then shoot him. Do I have that all correct?”
“Close enough,” she said around another mouthful of ice cream.
“Are the cops looking for you?” Because the last thing any of them wanted was the cops anywhere near In the Shadow Security or the compound owned by the Dirty Angels MC. That could bring trouble.
“Why would they be?”
Jesus. This woman. Was she for real? “Because you shot a man?”
Londyn waved a hand around in the air. “It was just a scratch. A warning shot.”
“What was the warning for?” he asked, still unable to keep the amusement from his voice.
“To never hit me again. And to fucking pack up his shit, get the fuck out of our house and go back to his damn wife.”
“Goddamn,” Walker mumbled under his breath. He wasn’t the only one mumbling shit.
“Do you even know how to shoot a gun?” Brick asked, finding all of this so much more entertaining than a poker game.
Londyn lifted a shoulder as the spoon scraped against the bottom of the almost empty bowl. “You point and pull the trigger.”
“That you do,” Brick said around a chuckle.
“Tell me, if you kicked his cheating, woman-hitting ass out, why the fuck are you here?” Mercy growled.
“Because I don’t want to live in New York alone anymore. I only moved there for him. I’d go home to Vegas, but Parris lives here now because of you. So... here I am.”
“Here she is,” Ryder announced loudly with an accompanying snort-laugh.
“For a visit,” Mercy said. “Like a quick layover before you fly somewhere else.”
Londyn dropped the spoon into the bowl and pushed it away. “Until I figure out what I’m going to do.”
Mercy’s lips flattened out. “While in a motel.”
Those blue eyes narrowed on the big man at the end of the table. “I doubt my sister will want me staying in a motel when you have a big, beautiful home here.”
“Along with that big, beautiful ring she has on her fucking finger, which you apparently forgot earlier.”
“Oh, is that an actual engagement ring? Or a just-something-to-appease-her ring?”
“She isn’t fucking needy like you,” Mercy said tightly.
“Fine,” she surged up, grabbed an empty plastic cup, moved around the table and snagged the bottle from next to Mercy. “Sorry if I’m going through some tough times and I’m needy. I’ll wait for Parris elsewhere.”
&
nbsp; “Like at a motel,” Mercy yelled over his shoulder as Londyn rushed out of the room. When Brick didn’t hear the click of heels, he realized she was now barefoot.
He dropped his head and saw her heels under the table. They were fucking hot as hell. He had no idea how women walked in shoes like that, but he did not care.
Then he pictured Londyn sprawled on his bed, her dark blonde hair spread over his pillow, her blue eyes on him, while wearing a black lace negligee that hugged all her curves and those red fucking heels.
Fuck yes.
He lifted his gaze from the shoes to Mercy, just to jerk his chain. “You should be a little more supportive of your future sister-in-law.”
“You’re welcome to go console her.”
Brick pushed to his feet.
Mercy pointed a finger at him. “Sit the fuck down. You’re not getting a piece of that. She’s buzzed and in a position to being susceptible to your man-ho charms.”
Apparently, Mercy hadn’t been serious about his suggestion of consoling her.
“His perfect type!” Steel said laughing and smacking Brick on the back.
“Rissa would kill me. After she killed you. So, sit the fuck down.”
“But—”
“Sit the fuck down!” Mercy shouted. “Don’t even think of going there.”
“I thought you said poker night was over,” Brick said.
“It is. It was. God-fucking-damnit,” he shouted, then scrubbed a hand over his hair. “I need a fucking drink and she took the whiskey.”
Brick leaned over, plucked a can from his six-pack of Iron City. “Beer?”
“I’m not drinking that swill,” Mercy grumbled.
“Suit yourself,” he said and popped open the can, the beer sliding down his throat. His eyes slid to the doorway where Londyn disappeared. “We playing poker or are we done?”
“Poker,” Steel, Hunter and Walker said at the same time. “We’re women-free tonight, so we need to take advantage of it.”
“A-fuckin’-men,” Ryder said, sitting back in his chair and lighting a cigar. “And who knows when the next time we’ll get to do this again. Women and children make life complicated.”
“You don’t even have kids yet,” Hunter said. “I’m the only one sitting at this table with kids.”
“Kid,” Steel corrected him.
Hunter smiled.
Walker laughed. “I was starting to think you were shooting blanks, old man. Congrats.”
“It’s getting to the point where we only have poker games when they’re all at a baby shower,” Steel complained.
“As long as one of them in the sisterhood keeps getting knocked up, that should be pretty fucking often,” Mercy grumbled.
“I keep saying that the club needs to start a fucking daycare,” Ryder stated, watching the smoke roll toward the ceiling from the tip of his cigar.
“Soon they’re going to need their own school district,” Steel said.
“A-fucking-men to that, too,” Ryder answered.
“Z’s talking about the club running a daycare,” Mercy said, shaking his head. “A fucking strip club and a daycare. Not in the same building. Thank fuck.”
“Well, Moose’s strippers could probably use it too.”
“We all could,” Hunter said.
“Speak for yourself,” Mercy stated.
“Okay, Frankie and I could.”
“Jesus fuck, we’re turning into the fucking women here! Can we just play fucking poker, smoke cigars and scratch our damn balls like the men we are?”
A few grunts were heard in response to Mercy’s outburst, and Brick grabbed the deck of cards. “I’m dealing, fuckers. Ante up.”
Get Brick and Londyn’s story here:
mybook.to/Shadows-Brick
If You Enjoyed This Book
Thank you for reading Guts & Glory: Steel. If you enjoyed Steel and Kat’s story, please consider leaving a review at your favorite retailer and/or Goodreads to let other readers know. Reviews are always appreciated and just a few words can help an independent author like me tremendously!
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Also by Jeanne St. James
* Available in Audiobook
Made Maleen: A Modern Twist on a Fairy Tale *
Damaged *
Rip Cord: The Complete Trilogy *
Brothers in Blue Series:
(Can be read as standalones)
Brothers in Blue: Max *
Brothers in Blue: Marc *
Brothers in Blue: Matt *
Teddy: A Brothers in Blue Novelette *
The Dare Ménage Series:
(Can be read as standalones)
Double Dare *
Daring Proposal *
Dare to Be Three *
A Daring Desire *
Dare to Surrender *
A Daring Journey
The Obsessed Novellas:
(All the novellas in this series are standalones)
Forever Him *
Only Him *
Needing Him *
Loving Her *
Temping Him *
Down & Dirty: Dirty Angels MC Series™:
Down & Dirty: Zak *
Down & Dirty: Jag *
Down & Dirty: Hawk *
Down & Dirty: Diesel *
Down & Dirty: Axel *
Down & Dirty: Slade *
Down & Dirty: Dawg *
Down & Dirty: Dex *
Down & Dirty: Linc *
Down & Dirty: Crow *
Crossing the Line (A DAMC/Blue Avengers Crossover) *
Guts & Glory Series
(In the Shadows Security)
Guts & Glory: Mercy *
Guts & Glory: Ryder *
Guts & Glory: Hunter *
Guts & Glory: Walker
Guts & Glory: Steel
Guts & Glory: Brick
Blood & Bones: Blood Fury MC™
Blood & Bones: Trip
Blood & Bones: Sig
Blood & Bones: Judge
COMING SOON!
Blue Avengers MC™
Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover
Brothers in Blue: A Bryson Family Christmas
Everything About You (A Second Chance Gay Romance)
About the Author
JEANNE ST. JAMES is a USA Today bestselling romance author who loves an alpha male (or two). She was only thirteen when she started writing and her first paid published piece was an erotic story in Playgirl magazine. Her first erotic romance novel, Banged Up, was published in 2009. She is happily owned by farting French bulldogs. She writes M/F, M/M, and M/M/F ménages.
Want to read a sample of her work? Download a sampler book here: BookHip.com/MTQQKK
To keep up with her busy release schedule check her website at www.jeannestjames.com or sign up for her newsletter: http://www.jeannestjames.com/newslettersignup
www.jeannestjames.com
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This book contains the first chapter of a variety of my books. This will give you a taste of the type of books I write and if you enjoy the first chapter, I hope you’ll be interested in reading the rest of the book.
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