Page 7 of Steamy Ever After

Pinch strolls in just as Jace is leaving. “Got off the phone with Roger.” He plops down in a seat by the window and looks out at the main room before looking back at us to ask, “What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what?’” I can’t hide my irritation. They’re so fucking relaxed about this. I’m gonna end up punching one of these fuckheads in the damn jaw.

“Why are you all staring at me?” He’s genuinely confused. Like we’re not all waiting to hear what Blake’s supervisor had to say.

“Well, what the fuck did Roger say?” I practically snarl at him, but Pinch being the psycho that he is, he just smiles at me like a fool.

“Ooh,” he says and lets out his signature crazy ass laugh. I swear to God his mom dropped him on his head too many times. “I told you she’s not a cop.” He’s all confident with a huge grin on his face. “He’s never seen her or heard of her.”

“Why the hell would she lie?” She said they’d been together for weeks. For some reason the thought of her lying to me hurts almost as much as Blake lying.

“The more important question is, why would he lie to us?” Pinch makes a good point. “He’s never lied to us before.” I tilt my head at him, giving him a pointed look. “Well, not outright to our faces.”

MARIE

“You keep staring at me, and it’s starting to freak me out.” I can’t help but to call Blake out. We’ve been at the bar watching ESPN for the last half an hour or so, but I keep feeling his eyes on me. Well, we’re not really watching TV. We’ve been chatting about the MC and the fight coming up tomorrow, but I’ve been keeping my eyes on the TV. I can’t look at him without getting wet and imagining what we must’ve looked like while he fucked me against the wall. A blush creeps up my cheeks and Blake knows exactly what I’m thinking if his rough chuckle is any indication. I sink into the seat a little more, getting comfortable. Whatever, he knows I fucking loved it.

“I like looking at you.” His easy reply makes me smile. “I’m just wondering what the hell you were doing tonight.” I give Blake a questioning look. “Were you looking for trouble?”

I scrunch up my nose and say, “No, I don’t need trouble in my life.” Fuck that, I finally got trouble out of my life.

“Then why the hell did you say you wanted to come here?”

“Well, they asked and I was following your lead.” I raise my voice a bit and he chuckles again before leaning into me, putting his hand on my upper thigh and squeezing. His thumb runs soothing circles against my bare skin. He gives me a small kiss on the cheek and whispers, “Calm down, hellcat. We aren’t out of the fire yet.” I fucking love the feel of his lips on me. His hands.

“I don’t understand. If you’re a part of their club, then why did you lie?”

“It’s complicated.” I laugh at his short response. I bet it is. If you’re lying to the people you’re supposed to trust most … well, then something is truly fucked.

“But I don’t get it. Is there something between you and Maddox?”

“Naw. He’s basically my brother.” He shakes his head and leans back a bit to take another swig of his beer. I want to know more about the two of them, but he changes the subject.

“You were freaked out, yeah?” I nod, of course I was. “Well, the club would not be okay with what it looked like. I would not be okay and neither would you if they thought the police would be called. I had to think fast to keep both of us from getting into deep shit with Maddox.”

I shake my head and say, “You could’ve just told me.” I wish he’d come up to me earlier while I was waiting on Lexi. This whole night would’ve gone so much better. Well, maybe not. I purse my lips. I probably would’ve just pushed him away. I clench my thighs together and close my eyes at the tantalizing ache. And then none of this would’ve happened. That would’ve been a damn shame.

“I tried and you almost took out my spleen,” he jokes. I can’t help but smile. I didn’t hold back either; I know that shit hurt.

“You didn’t have to grab me.” I eye him playfully and give him a sexy smirk before picking up my own beer. It’s a Belgian white. It’s alright. I prefer vodka to beer though. The clubhouse isn’t really stacked on girl drinks, even though there are a few other girls in here.

“What the hell was I supposed to do when you were running for your life a block away from the club? You’re lucky it was me who followed you out of that bar.” I bite the inside of my cheek. He’s right. I still need to try to get hold of Lexi. Tonight could’ve gone horribly wrong if it hadn’t been Blake behind me.

“Whatever, I wouldn’t have called the cops anyway.” His forehead creases at my flippant response. Like he doesn’t believe me. Or maybe it pisses him off. It’s hard to tell with the way his eyes are narrowing.

“So if Maddox hadn’t caught you and you’d gotten away from me, you wouldn’t have called the cops?”

“Nope,” I answer easily. He looks at me like I’m fucking crazy. I put my bottle down and stare him straight in the eyes. “The police don’t do shit. They wouldn’t help me anyway.” I should know.

“What’s that about the police?” That big, sexy fucker Maddox and their friend Pinch sneak up behind us. Maddox’s rough voice scares the shit out of me, making me jump. I think about his muscular arms holding me against his hard chest and I have to look away to hide my blush when I remember Blake saying something about how they share.

Shit. It can’t be good that I’m talking about the police in an MC clubhouse. I look to Blake but he seems just fine, grinning as he takes another swig. He’s obviously amused at the fact that Maddox scares me. I hope he can’t tell that I’m hot for him too. The thought makes me feel a little guilty. I’m not that kind of girl. Then again, I’m also not the kind that gets fucked outside against a building. Blake turns on his barstool and positions his leg between Maddox and me.

“She was just saying that police don’t do shit,” he states matter-of-factly, not the least bit fazed.

“Why’s that?” Maddox looks at me like he really wants to know the answer. The sincerity in his deep blue eyes makes me feel like I can trust him. I take another sip and decide I can give him an honest answer.

“My ex was a cop. He did some shit to me and when I went to the police, none of them did a damn thing.” I know my voice has dropped a bit and I must have sounded weak. I instantly regret saying the words. I swallow and stare at my beer before taking a sip. It’s the first time I’m actually talking about what happened and it’s harder than I thought it’d be.

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