Page 16 of Darkness

Spark clears his throat and rests his elbows on the bar. “It’s been too long, darlin’.”

“Christ,” I murmur under my breath as Hawk watches the interaction play out. “Trish, be a gem and get us some beers,” I say, snapping her puppy-dog eyes away from Spark. She bows her head and turns to grab the glasses, then starts filling.

I glare at Spark, and he turns his back to Trish so we can get down to business.

Trish slides a beer over to me, and I bring it to my lips, the nectar flowing down with comfort. After the long ride, it’s good to have something to ease the tension rolling through my body.

Speaking of easing tension, Doom and Stella walk through the clubroom, spotting me. Memories of the last time they saw me—and my cock—spring to my mind, and I can’t help but smile. Before Doom claimed Stella, the three of us had one hell of a threesome. Fuck, that was a wild night.

They make their way over, Stella shying away as I stand and grip Doom with a back slap. “Hey, brother. Things good?” I ask.

“Yeah, man, things are real good.”

My eyes drop to Stella. She’s as gorgeous as ever. “You’re looking great, Stells.”

A flush crosses her cheeks. I remember them being flushed while I was fucking her as she was sucking on Doom’s cock. That feels like a lifetime ago now.

“Good to see you again. It’s been a while.” Her voice is still as angelic as I remember.

“Glad you and Doom finally made it official,” I say, glancing down at the property patch Stella is wearing. Good on him. I’m glad he pinned her down. She’s a keeper.

Hawk tilts his head at Doom, basically giving him the order to fuck off. He was trying to be subtle, but I caught it anyway.

Doom lifts his chin. “It’s damn good to see you, brother. Don’t make it too long between visits, yeah?”

I raise my drink. “Got it.”

Doom and Stella walk off, leaving me with Hawk, Spark, and Bane. I exhale, then take a drink.

Hawk watches my every move. He’s always so calculating, watching everything, every signal. He might be my friend, but he’s also a president, and his first priority at all times is the safety of his club. If I’m here to bring trouble, he wants to know about it.

I’d better get this over with. No more stalling.

“Right. Chapel?”

Hawk nods. “You want a full Church or just me?”

“You and Bane.”

Hawk grimaces. “This sounds serious. Should I be worried?”

“Worried, no. Open-minded… definitely.”

Hawk grumbles. “If this is another one of your harebrained schemes, Nycto, I’m not sure how many times I can bail you out of that shit.”

I take another sip of my beer and gesture for us to head to the Chapel. “Let’s go have a chat, yeah?”

Bane rubs his beard. His eyes focus on Spark, who doesn’t react. Good man.

Miami’s Chapel isn’t huge, but it’s large enough to house an oval-shaped deep mahogany table etched with the Defiance logo. The inscription appears like it’s been burned into the wood grain. Every time I come in here, I always think how fucking cool this table is. The high-backed chairs are made of matching wood. They are old-school here, but it suits the place. Hawk and his brothers want the club to have a certain feel, and this room is no different. One wall is a deep burgundy color, giving the room warmth that you wouldn’t normally get from a Chapel, especially when you compare it to ours back in Tampa.

This place feels like home.

Like you’re family.

I have to say, it’s making me a little less on edge.

Hawk sits at the head of the table, Bane takes up his VP position, and Spark and I sit on either side of them. I bring my fists onto the table and let out a drawn-out breath.

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