Page 38 of Bullet

Steele checked the hall, pulled me into his room, and closed the door. “You don’t know me, and you got no reason to trust me, but for the first time in weeks, my little girl was happy today. Because of you. That fucking means something to me. I want to be your friend, Stormy, nothing more.” He dipped his head so he could see my eyes.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“I can’t be in here with you. Not alone, and not with the door closed. People will make assumptions about us, and neither one of us needs that shit. I’ve got Heather looking for any reason to make my life hell. And you’ve got your issues with Bullet. You don’t need to say anything, just stay in here for as long as you need.”

“’Night, Lilibug.” He opened the door, and with a soft smile, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Lili had a book about a ballerina in her lap. “Will you read to me?”

I sat on the edge of the mattress. She scooted over to make room for me, then she snuggled down in the small bed, the same size as the one in my room. Shepillowed her hands beneath her cheek and yawned. “Do you think you could help me with my pirouette? Ms. Baird won’t let me do my solo if my toes aren’t pointed.” She ripped the blanket to the side and showed me her feet. “Look at those.”

I chuckled, tossed the blanket back over her feet, and opened the book. “Your toes need trained.”

A few pages into the story, she fell asleep. I switched off the lamp but couldn’t bring myself to leave the room. Bullet was either going to sleep in another bed with Scarlett, or he’d come back to our room and climb into bed with me. I couldn’t live with either of those options, so I curled in next to Lili and closed my eyes.

Bullet

Coffee and a cigarette might improve my mood. But I doubted it. If anything, this morning was worse than last night. My head ached from the whiskey on top of weed. I’d slept in Blade’s room to giveherspace, but that hadn’t been necessary.

She’d found another place to sleep. Our bed hadn’t been slept in. The knife in my gut felt like shit. One night in the MC, and she’d crawled into bed with a Heller. And it wasn’t me. I glanced at the closed door across the hall. They were still in bed together.

She wouldn’t have fucked him with his kid in the room. Unless the kid was asleep on the floor. He could’ve fucked her quietly. I wouldn’t. I’d pound the fuck out of that fit body. I’d rail into her until I’dfucked the breath from her. I’d have her ride my face as hard as I rode my bike.

But Steele was a relationship guy. He’d call it making love and whisper in her ear how good it felt to be inside her. He’d hold her hand, and I’d collar her throat, control her breath, keep her on the edge of orgasm, and then make her come again and again until she’d soaked the bed with her juices.

Christ, my dick stretched against my groin. I adjusted, suffering the steady throb because coming down Scarlett’s throat hadn’t slaked the tension coiling in my gut. Guilt and regret gnawed at my conscience.

I’d fucked up last night. Maybe it was because of the way Stormy had looked at me. Maybe because I’d been in that fucking room with Scarlett when I shouldn’t have been with anyone when Stormy was the one I wanted.

I growled and made my way into the chapel. We had a meeting this morning, and I needed to get my shit together. I rolled my shoulders. I’d never had guilt, not when it came to my girls because I’d never fucked one of them while thinking of someone else.

As the coffee brewed, I sat in a chair, lit a cigarette, and extended my legs.

The door swung open. Early morning sun followed the man inside. He jerked off his sunglasses, crossed the room, and slumped into the chair across from me.

Truth collided with the assumptions I’d had from last night. Where the fuck had Steele been if not in his room with Stormy?

“Want coffee?” He stood, went behind the bar, and filled two mugs.

“Where have you been?” I sounded a bit accusatory, but he’d done what I hadn’t. He’d had her smiling and laughing.

Steele returned to the seat and set the mug of coffee in front of me. “In the trailer at the jobsite. I thought I’d finally get to sleep in a bed again, but your girl made besties with my kid.” He yawned and stretched. This morning, he had his hair tied back in a ponytail.

“She’s not my girl.”

“You’re full of shit.” Steele sat back in the chair and took a sip of coffee. “You’re all about her. She’s just not one of your whores.”

I’d gone to war against Steele’s former club, but like the Hellers, the Crawlers had gotten in too deep with drugs. Good friends were dead, others were serving time. We wondered how we’d gone from a brotherhood to being bitches for the cartels.

I owed my life to Vega, Kodiak, and Steele. I made a promise. Made them my brothers. And I couldn’t sit here and lie to Steele. “Did she talk to you? About who she is…or how she knows me?”

“Bullet, I owe you big.” He leaned his forearms on the table. “I wouldn’t fuck you over by fucking her. She said you were a closed book, whatever the fuck that meant. Because I can read her like a neon fucking sign.”

“What did the sign say?”

“The same shit you’re denying. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you, but she didn’t say anything about her situation. Listen, this isn’t me gettinginvolved. Your situation with Stormy doesn’t have anything to do with me. I’m just trying to keep Heather off my back because I want more time with my daughter. I’m not saying Heather doesn’t have her reasons for being a bitch, but I let all that shit go when I walked away from the Crawlers.”

It had to be tough being separated from his kid. Another reason not to want one.

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