Page 64 of Priest

Nevada holds his palms up. “Now, now, no need to go gettin’ all upset over it. You fuck up my face, you’ll only have the sweet butts to answer to. Pissed off pussy ain’t good for anyone.” He winks at Bella.

I inwardly cringe at his words. All the guys speak like this, it’s the nature of the club and I’ve heard it all. But I rarely indulge in the crude way they speak about women sometimes, even when women aren’t present. Nevada does it because he thinks he’s tough. I can’t wait for the day some chick comes along and knocks him on his ass, literally. It’ll be a day that I howl with laughter. Payback’s a bitch, after all.

“Do you kiss your mother with a mouth like that?” Bella retorts.

I chuckle as Nevada moves to let us by. “No, but I know how to get a woman off just usin’ my tongue, if that helps?”

She frowns, her cheeks flushing slightly as my mind flicks back to my fingers buried inside her pussy this morning and how it felt. How her orgasm — rippling through her entire body — sent my cum flying out of me into my fucking pants. Pussy whipped, as Nevada would call it, and I haven’t even been inside her.

I’m hard.

I’m fucking hard.

I take a deep breath, settling at the end of the bar where I can discreetly hide Bella until I find Jas or Stella to stay with her, or one of the girls who I know won’t try to claw her eyes out.

I can feel the stares from the people around us, but I ignore them. It won’t be long before someone else approaches to find out who she is. It’s not unusual for one of the guys to bring someone new to the clubhouse, but they don’t expect it from me.

“He seems like a handful,” she whispers.

I chuckle. “That’s puttin’ it mildly.” I clear my throat. “Sorry about that. He’s just trying to shock you.”

She plants her ass on the stool. “He needn’t bother. It’d take more than a few foul words to shock me.”

I smirk. Her bravery makes me want to laugh. She’s such a sweet little thing, but I know there’s a powerful woman underneath that demure mask just begging to be let out. I get the feeling that Bella has had a hard time being accepted in her home life, that affection — or any kind of attention — was hard to come by, except from her Nonna who she talks about so warmly and openly.

I cock a brow. “You sure about that?”

“I’m not as fragile as I look,” she reminds me. I bite down on my bottom lip, afraid if I grin too much, she’ll see just exactly how much I’m enjoying her company. “What would you like to drink?”

“I suppose a champagne cocktail is out of the question?”

I grin. “Amber makes cocktails for the girls sometimes, but I doubt we have champagne.”

“I’m kidding.” She rolls her eyes. “Just a coke. I don’t drink.”

On cue, Amber walks toward us. “Hey Priest.” She gives me a chin lift. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hi, Amber. This is Bella. Bella, this is Amber.”

Amber is one of the bar staff who don’t sleep with the guys like the sweet butts do. Most of the staff who work here are not here for the same reason as the sweet butts, it just makes things complicated. Though, I’m not saying they don’t try, but Amber can hold her own.

She smiles at Bella. “Hey!” She holds her hand out and they shake.

“Uh, hi,” Bella replies, suddenly shy as she tucks a lock behind her ear. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. What can I get you?”

“A coke, and my usual,” I answer for her.

Amber nods, walking away.

“What’s your usual?” Bella inquires.

“I’ve been laying off the booze for a while,” I tell her. “I normally drink tequila, the good stuff. But I’ve never been a big drinker, not for a long time…” I trail off. Talking about bad things takes me back to my youth, when not every decision I made was good or ethical. I’ve come a long way since then, but still. “But it’s been a week. One shot is my limit, since I’m also drivin’ you home.” It’ll take the edge off, which is exactly what I shouldn’t be using alcohol for.

“Home,” she mutters.

I stare at her, aware there are eyes on us still.

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