Page 69 of Red My Lips

Not trusting him to end it before we go further, I pull back. My teeth catch his bottom lip, giving it a sharp tug that pulls a shuttered breath from his chest. When I look up at him, I can feel every set of eyes in the bar on us. On me.

It’s thrilling.

“Go spend some quality time with your brother.” I tilt my head to the left at a table where Rio sits with Orion, Saint, and another Chained Saints member named Gunner.

“I’ll be watching you, little devil.”

“Aren’t you always?” With that, I’m slipping out of his grasp and strutting away. Approaching the trio of girls at the bar, Stevie waves over the bartender when she sees me coming.

“Hi!” She greets me with an excited hug. “Can I get you anything? A martini? A cold shower?” I can’t help but laugh, glancing over my shoulder to where Gage has taken a seat next to his brother against the wall, his eyes trained on me as he accepts a beer from Orion. I don’t let our eyes connect, knowing I’ll be sucked into our connection.

“He’s pretty intense,” I say, biting back a smile as I turn back to the girls. I address the bartender. “I’ll take a bloody mary.”

“You both are,” Stevie comments with a knowing smile. The bartender hands me my drink, and I can’t help but notice that he refuses to look me in the eye. But his glance over my shoulder tells me why. I refrain from the urge to roll my eyes, refusing to look back at the man I know is still craving my attention. He doesn’t get what he wants, not right now.

“So what are we talking about, ladies?” I ask, taking a sip of my drink.

“Ruby was telling us what she heard from one of her clients today,” Alexis says. Ruby is a hair stylist, a job that lets her hear all the hot gossip.

“Her sister’s husband was having an affair with their mom. She just had twins, and she found them in bed together after coming home from visiting the babies in the NICU.”

“That’s crazy,” I say, taking another sip.

“He’d be a dead man walking. I swear,” Alexis states.

“Both of them would be.” I think about the level of betrayal. If someone took advantage of me and broke my trust like that, I’d peel their skin off like an apple and feed it to them. “I don’t think they’d ever walk out of that room again.”

“Tell me about it,” Ruby agrees. “And get this—the husband and the mom moved in together after the wife left. They claim they’re in love, and now the mom insists on co-parenting with her and the ex-husband.”

“Grandma thinks she’s gonna be the step-mom to those babies?” Stevie asks, taken aback.

“Over my dead body,” I state. Ruby nods in agreement.

“Exactly what she said. She’s fighting for sole custody, and I’m ready to start a lawyers fund to help her with the legal fees.”

“Count me in. Where do I send my check?” Alexis comments.

“Why go through all that trouble? We know people who have ways of dealing with worms like that. Nice and quiet.” Stevie’s eyes look pointedly at the table in the back corner where Gage and his friends sit. They’re a ruthless group, each one of them dangerous in their own right.

“I hinted at that,” Ruby says with a shrug, taking a swig of her beer. “She says she’ll see how the court hearing goes first. But I gave her my personal cell number just in case.”

My body perks up, and I can sense Gage’s energy behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the group he was sitting with passing behind us. They move towards the back door that leads to the Saints’ clubhouse. As he passes, Gage leans in close to me, brushing up against my back—his hands skimming the sliver of exposed skin on my back above my jeans. My body comes alive with that simple touch, my heart skipping a beat as butterflies flutter in my stomach.

As fast as it happens, it’s over. He moves past me, following the group out the door. Leaning against the bar, I watch as he walks away. Before he disappears out the door, he turns to meet my eyes. The wink he flashes me has warmth spreading through me like wildfire.

True to his word, Gage keeps his distance while I chat with the girls and make my rounds with Stevie. He’s only out in the clubhouse for twenty minutes before he’s back inside to meet Anders when he comes striding in. After they greet each other and grab some drinks, the two of them settle themselves against the back wall to chat.

My shadow’s eyes follow me for the rest of the afternoon, watching my every move as I talk, smile, and laugh. His attention hums over my skin, fuelling my soul. Before too long, I’m being drawn back to him with our magnetic connection.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jill

Making eyes at Gage as I saunter past him, he follows me to the back of the bar room—like a moth to a flame. Walking through the doorway, we enter the empty pool room. The rowdiness from the group at the bar fades into the background now that it’s only the two of us back here.

“You wanna play a game?” I ask over my shoulder as I approach the table.

“Something tells me we already are.” Gage snags my hand to turn me around. I don’t bother to bite back my devious smile as I look up at him through my lashes.

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