Page 57 of Tripp

I stayed as close to Reece as I could, with the exception of when I had to piss or grab another drink. I knew she was still a bit nervous, although she’d relaxed some over the past couple hours. Adelaide and Sully had engaged her in conversation, doing their best to make her feel welcome. Kena and Braylen had even sat down next to her in an attempt to get to know her.

While Arianna made sure to stay away from Reece, I saw her staring at me from time to time. I never acknowledged her presence, which I knew irritated the fuck out of her, but I didn’t give a shit. Reece had caught one of Arianna’s glances and stiffened beside me. I relieved her tension with a soul-scorching kiss, almost forgetting we weren’t in private. It wasn’t until Hawke yelled for me to let her breathe that I pulled away from her delectable lips.

“Wanna join us?” Sully asked Reece, shuffling past us in a hurry.

“Where you goin’?” I asked before Reece could.

“Bathroom. If that’s okay with you,” Adelaide snickered, half sloshed herself, no doubt celebrating her engagement. Good thing Stone was driving them home.

“Want me to join you?” I asked my woman, laughing at her reaction.

“You can’t go in the bathroom with us.”

“Who says?”

“We say,” Adelaide and Sully replied in unison. They pulled Reece away from me, and I hated to admit that I already missed her.

Fuck! I have it bad.

I couldn’t draw my eyes away from her, staring after her like a lovesick puppy. Thoughts of her beneath me consumed me, and I counted the seconds until I could make the images in my head a reality.

I knew someone had sat down next to me, but I took a sip of my drink and ignored whoever it was, having a feeling I knew exactly who dared to approach me.

“You know she can’t satisfy you the way I can.”

Anger instantly boiled in my veins at the sound of her voice. I didn’t respond, not until she shifted closer and put her hand on my thigh, too close to my dick. I seized her wrist and tossed her hand away as if she’d burned me.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me, Arianna. I mean it. Do it again and I’ll have you thrown out of here.” I was doing my best not to cause a scene, but she tested my patience for sure. “Where’s Breck?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s passed out somewhere. Besides, he can’t keep up with me. He’s not like you, baby,” she slurred, daring to touch me again. I jumped up from the table and backed away, glaring at her before turning toward the clubhouse. No way was that bitch staying here without Breck present. I strolled inside and walked across the common room, finding the guy in question passed out cold on the couch.

“Goddammit!” I swore, punching the back of the couch. He didn’t even move. As luck would have it, one of the prospects came out of the kitchen carrying two trays of food. “Hey, prospect. Call a cab.”

“For who?” He was young and new. Too new to realize he didn’t ask the questions, only did what we told him to.

“Just. Do. It.” I turned on my heel but not before Arianna stumbled into the common room, no doubt having followed me inside. This was all I needed. Reece would be walking through there any second and I didn’t want her to have to deal with my past mistake yet again.

“There you are,” Arianna cooed, batting her heavily coated, fake lashes at me. “Wanna take me in one of the back rooms? Or we can do it right here if you want.” She didn’t bother waiting for my refusal before she hiked up her skirt and leaned against the bar. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

“Pull your skirt down,” I barked. “No one wants to see that shit.” I was pissed, even more so when Arianna pushed off the bar and stalked toward me, her skirt still hiked up to her waist and exposing herself.

“You still want me. You know you do. Stop wasting your time with that skank.” I found it funny that she referred to Reece as a skank when it was she who fucked anyone willing, often for money. Thank God the few times I’d been with her I’d been smart enough to use a condom.

I’d been so enraged that she’d put me into this position, I hadn’t noticed Reece had walked into the room, halting her steps once she saw the scene in front of her.

Arianna hanging on my arm with her skirt around her waist.

Reece

To say I was livid would have been an understatement. The sight of that bitch hanging all over Tripp, and with her skirt bunched up showing everyone her goodies, made my blood boil. Heat shot through me and my skin flushed red. My fists clenched at my sides and while tears formed, they were from anger. Not sadness or hurt. Okay, part of me was hurt, but mostly it was from anger.

Although rage best described what I felt right then.

I didn’t misconstrue the scene in front of me. I knew damn well Tripp didn’t want to have anything to do with Arianna. I saw it in his rigid posture, in the way his eyes flared with his own fury that she dared to come near him after he’d warned her earlier. It was then I saw Breck passed out on the couch, explaining why that bitch made her bold move on my man.

I’d finally found my sliver of happiness and there was no way in hell I was gonna let some low-class whore snatch that away from me. I was done brushing off her attacks, done second-guessing my relationship, done giving in to the small bouts of paranoia that maybe what Arianna spewed was true. That Tripp would eventually tire of me and go back to her.

It was time I stepped up and claimed what was mine. Oh yeah, my possessive side came bursting out, and I embraced the hell out of it.

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