Page 38 of Wolf

Thiswoman.

I shook my head and felt her shift on my lap. I was about to snap at her for moving, but when I realized she was taking the weight off one of her cheeks, specifically the one I’d bitten and spanked, my mouth clamped closed in a deep, satisfiedsmirk.

I knew Anna was aware, but she pointedly continued to ignore me, her gaze avidly watching the kids beat the adults, who were going easyonthem.

I didn’t think she realized it, but a small smile had taken over her lips, and despite Anna’s cold, bitchy exterior, I knew children were a soft spot for her. Hell, she had fallen head over heels for Mallory’s charming little boy the second he had come into our world; and I knew she often gave advice to Ripper’s little girls on how to deal with boys when she could—advice girls that age shouldnothave.

I had learned Anna had come from a big family, back when she lived in England, and had left them all behind three years ago when she had moved over to the US. I didn’t know why she didn’t go back and visit them, and she had never offered the information, and just like her tattoo, I neverasked.

“What?” Anna’s voice cut into my thoughts. She was looking down at me, frowning at the weird smile that had taken overmyface.

“Nothing.” I smirked, only seeming to irk her. She opened her mouth, ready to snap at me, but before she could, I lifted her ass up off my lap, forcing her to stand. “It’ll get dark soon. Go get the small flamethrower from my room, and we’ll get a bonfire started forlater.”

“You put the flamethrower in your freaking bedroom?” Anna flattened her gazeonme.

“I know you made a spare key to the armory, and I didn’t want you getting your handsonit.”

Anna’s expression told me that one, she didn’t give a shit about me finding out she made a sneak spare key, and two, that she had thought about using the weapon at least once. Maybe more than once. Definitely more than once. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a little black book in her purse with all the plans she had designed to pissmeoff.

She looked a little too pleased as she practically skipped off to get it before I could tell her whereitwas.

I watched her leave, my eyes not leaving her before she disappeared through the door. A moment later, Kay came out, long, strawberry-blonde hair silvered with age, sweeping in the faint breeze as her eyes scanned the yard and looking disappointed before coming over to the bench where most of us were sitting. “What’s up, Kay?” I asked, noting the traces of worry onherface.

“Any of youseenBell?”

“Bell?” I repeated, looking over the yard myself despite already knowing she wasn’t out here. I hadn’t seen the little princess since this morning after she’d said her good morning to me from behind the screen ofhercell.

“She probably got out of here the second lockdown was lifted,” Hunter said, taking up one of the empty spaces on the bench. “We all know she doesn’t like being hereanymore.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” Mallory interrupted, coming up behind Hunter’s back and wrapping her pale arms around his shoulders. “Girl probably just wants to go have fun without twenty overprotective uncles scaring away alltheboys.”

“Bell’s still practically a baby. Ain’t no boy touching her if he’s got his wits about him,” Jasper snapped from the other end, earning surprise glances from the rest of the table. The older man had curled blond hair that framed a face that had, by God’s luck, avoided gaining any scars or marks whatsoever. The fucker didn’t even look as old as he should, and his clear blue eyes, not as pale as Anna’s, that were usually relaxed, formed a hardened scowl. “Told Roscoe I’d protect his little girl. Ain’t going to stop doing that just because boys have started lookingherway.”

“Christ, Jasper.” Hunter laughed. “The girl will be a virgin until she’s forty if you haveanysay.”

I couldn’t disagree with Hunter. Jasper was pretty levelheaded and calm despite being one of the old timers who had run with Roscoe. When it came to butting heads and picking fights, Roscoe had been like an army on steroids. Which left Jasper to keep his cool, so aside from Lamb, who seemed to be universally capable of pissing everyone off, the only other thing that fired him up was his duty to protect Bell, Roscoe’s only daughter. It probably had to do with the massive amounts of honor he earned as Roscoe’s right-hand man. Even though Roscoe had passed, it didn’t change Jasper’sprinciples.

“Back in my day—” I heard all of a sudden from the end of the table, and everybody simultaneously groaned as Polo, Jasper’s polar opposite, stepped into theconversation.

Hunter’s eyes widened in panic, looking to everybody and anybody for some kind of escape before the old man could get any more words out. His eyes landed on Mint, pleading to Mint’s paler ones. “What do you think about it, Mint?” Hunter blurted, cutting Polo off before he could get anyfurther.

But despite Hunter’s imploring gaze, all Mint said was, “She’s a grown girl. She can do what shelikes.”

“Too right!” Polo chipped back in. Everybody spun to glare at Mint, our one opportunity to be saved from Polo’s speech gone to waste. “A grown girl needs to make sure she finds a good man to claim her. A proper woman back in my day...” I was about to drown him out until suddenly, he yelled. “You!” His long, pointed finger flew out in Mallory’s direction, making the young, curvy redhead flinch. “Where isyourcut?”

“My cut?” Mallory repeated, confusion taking over her face. The girl hadn’t been club for long, so she didn’t know all the intricacies of being an MC brother’soldlady.

“Your ‘Property of’ cut!” Polo snapped withexasperation.

“We haven’t done those kind of cuts for years, old man,” Hunterreturned.

“Bullshit!” Polo rose from the bench, his scowl bearing down on all the brothers sitting on the bench, looking at us all like dimple-faced brats. “A woman should wear her man’s patch on her back with honor! A true old lady brags who her man is. She shows it off like a symbol of pride! It’sclublaw.”

I could hear the chime of a bell before I even looked to Mallory, whose brown eyes were growing wide, enchanted by Polo’s speech. Her head whipped down to Hunter the second Polo finished, and seeing the expression on her face, he let out a slow groan. “I’ll order you one.” He sighed, looking annoyed, but he couldn’t fool us brothers. We could see the sly, possessive grin behind the reluctant eye roll. Luckybastard.

“I’ve still got mine if you want to look at it?” Kay said, and that was allittook.

Mallory lit up like a Christmas tree. “Really?”

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