Dragon sits on a leather couch that’s pushed up against the wall. He’s pulling a dark T-shirt down over his front, but not fast enough that I miss the bruises that cover his stomach. He also has a black eye that’s already turning purple. Tequila kneels on the floor at his feet, pressing an ice pack to his eye.
Tequila might be a club girl, but she was a medic before she joined us, and she’s the only person he’d let near him when he’s hurt.
“What the fuck happened?” I shut the door behind me.
“Stop fussing, woman, I don’t need that.” He pushes the compress into her hand.
“That has to hurt,” she says softly, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes tenderly. “You need to get that swelling down, baby.”
“There are more fun ways to deal with pain.” He leans back on the couch and pats his knees. “Sit yourself right here, sweet thing.”
I snort, and when Dragon raises a brow at me, I clear my throat.
Tequila’s cheeks turn almost as red as my Wildcat’s do when I talk about fucking her. My cock stirs at the unwelcome reminder of the thief waiting in my room.
Shit, is this how it’s going to be? She eats my come once and now every little thing makes me think of her? I need to get that woman out of my system fast.
Offering me a shy smile, Tequila gets up and slips off her strip of a skirt and top, leaving behind only a thong and lacy bra.
With all those dark curls and toned body, she’s hot, but she isn’t my Wildcat.
Shit. What the fuck has she done to me?
Dragon doesn’t answer my question, all his attention on Tequila. He’s fucking with me.
I cross the room to his personal bar and pour myself a whiskey, content to play his game for a minute.
“Help yourself, asshole,” Dragon says, watching me while Tequila kisses his neck and grinds into him.
“Thanks, I will.” I down the shot and set the glass on the bar.
“All right, sweet thing, get gone.” He swats her ass. “Let the men talk.”
She lets out a tiny squeal at the swat. Tequila climbs off of him, her cheeks dark red again. She hands him the ice pack. “Use this. It’ll feel better.”
“No.” He strokes her pussy through her thong. “Give me a kiss and get out.”
“Is he always this stubborn?” she asks me, cocking her head.
I grin. “No. He’s usually worse.”
She shakes her head at him, but lays a hand on his cheek and then gives him a long kiss. Then she gathers up her clothes.
“Later, Spidy.” She leaves, shutting the door behind her.
I pour myself another shot and sit on the couch across from him. “She’s into you, you know.”
He gets up, snatches the shot from me and downs it. I notice the barest wince when he moves. When he’d lifted his arm to toss the drink back, I saw the dark bruising his cut and tee were hiding on his torso.
“Must be my winning charm.” His tone is thick with sarcasm.
“You don’t see it, man?”
He twirls the whiskey glass and looks at me.
“Come on. She jumps at the chance to get near you. And she doesn’t blush like that for anyone else. She’s had a thing for you from minute one.”
“Nah. Her pussy’s just wet for Prez meat. Every new club whore thinks riding my dick will get them the keys to the kingdom.”
It’s hilarious the way everyone sees how into him she is except for Dragon.
“So what happened with you and Diesel last night?” I ask him.
Dragon returns to the couch, pushing his hand through his thick hair. “Penny’s is mixed up with that jackwad again. He broke into her house and gave her a couple of shiners even worse than this.” He points to his swollen eye.
“Shit.” I run my palms down my face.
Penny is one of Dragon’s closest friends. They grew up next door to each other. She’s also Diesel’s ex-wife. They divorced a few years ago, and she remarried. I think his name is Gary or something. When he started beating on her, she ran, cutting ties with us when she went to ground. We’d all been hoping Diesel would find her again. Guess Gary found her first and paid her back for bailing on his ass.
Hell of a birthday present for Diesel. I clench my fists until my knuckles crack. I spent half my life watching my mother go in and out of the hospital because she couldn’t get away from my dad’s fists. Guys like Gary deserve to be strung up and shot.
Yeah, they tend to bring out the monster in me.
“She’ll be fine, but she’s in the hospital with a concussion,” Dragon says.
“Tell me this asshole is rotting six feet under.”
“Not yet, but he will be. We went to take care of him last night, but he’s in the wind. A bunch of his friends were at his house, so we handed his friends’ asses to them and sent good old Gary a nice little message.”
I smile. “What did you do?”
“I sent one of his buddy’s hands to him. Rat’s watching his house now, waiting for him to come home and find it.”
“Give me a call when he shows. I’ll break Gary’s hands and cut off his balls before Diesel blows his head off.”
Dragon’s mouth turns up. “I forgot how bloodthirsty you can be.” He sits back. “What did you want, anyway?”
He hasn’t asked about Stephanie, but he will.
“Got a text from Gunner,” I tell him. “Shipment’s in.”
“Perfect. Our buyer’s been waiting for those guns for weeks already.”
“I know. But might be a problem. Gunner doesn’t want to meet at our usual place.”
Dragon leans forward. “Where?”
“Ricky’s. In two hours. He was being a pushy little bitch about it, and he knows I’d be out of my element there.”
“You think the Bastards are setting us up for something?”
“Could be. If he was looking to shake me down, you’d think he would want to meet at night, but with those guys, you never know.”
“Right.” Dragon strokes his thick beard. “All right. Take Striker and Reaper with you, and a couple of the others. If Gunner’s looking to ambush you, you’ll be ready.”
“Done.” I start to get up.
“Hold it. One more thing.”
I ease back down into the seat, not liking the close way he’s watching me now.
“Tell me about the thief.”
And there it is.
I lean back on the couch, arms across the backrest. “Nothing to tell. She tried to steal from us, I took care of it, end of story.”
Dragon leans forward again with obvious interest. “Took care of it how? The guys said you took her to your room instead of killing her.”
This conversation isn’t going the way it should at all.
I shrug. “It’s more fun to take it out of her ass than to put a bullet in her brain.”
Dragon nods a little too slowly. “Are you sure that’s all it is?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, I heard she’s a looker. I hope you’re not going soft on us because of a pretty face and a tight pussy. You’re usually an iceman. Lot going on right now with the Bastards truce on shaky ground. Now would be a piss-poor time for you to thaw out and lose your dick.”