Page 26 of Wolf

Two more Saints push through the crowd, but I’m disappointed to find that neither are Wolf. One of them, raises a meaty finger and shouts, “Fuck him up, Bran.”

I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t cheering the two brawlers on as they stumble through the grass, still trading punches.

The smaller guy, Bran I assume, slams his fist into his opponent, who spins and drops to his knees. Wincing, I touch my chest, where my heart thumps rapidly as I watch rigidly from my perch on the log.

“Fuck yeah,” his cheerleader from the sidelines says.

Thankfully after a few more blows, Bran emerges the winner and the crowd dissolves back into the smaller groups as though nothing happened.

The man who lost, lays on the ground staring at the stars until his friend offers him a hand before pulling him to his feet.

“Shit. I’ll be right back,” Darcy says, breaking me from my observation. She’s gone before I can comment, and I look around warily. Should I wait here or at the car?

I’m seriously out of my element and strangely, the thought burns my lungs. I mean, I don’t want to beinmy element in a situation like this, but it speaks to my world that I’m caught out and unaware of just what I’m supposed to do.

Turning, I watch Darcy as she approaches a guy across the way. When he pulls her behind a truck, I silently sigh. I don’t know what she plans to do behind that vehicle, but I hope it's quick.

After finishing my drink, I set it on the ground and look up when a shadow forms at my feet and a husky voice says, “Hey there, sweetness. What’s your name?”

“Um, Lilli,” I say, mustering an uneasy smile as he rounds the fire and sits next to me.

His blue eyes twinkle and dip to my top. Resisting the urge to cover my chest, I ease back a bit as he says, “I’m Tom. Ain’t seen you around before. Man, those fuckers are lucky. Sweet butt, like you…”

Sweet…what? If I thought I was uncomfortable before this supersedes that by a mile. Still, I’m here to step out of my comfort zone, to experience something I can remember when I’m back in my proverbial cage.

“Are you—“ I start to say only to flinch when Tom flies backward and Wolf appears before me, his fist still in the air.

While Tom scrambles to his feet and backs away, Wolf crosses his arms and pins his angry eyes on me, growling, “I thought I told you to stay the fuck away?”

My tummy swirls with a thousand butterflies which drop to stones at his words and I mumble, “This isn’t the track.”

That was the wrong response because his brows drop over his eyes before he grabs my arm and pulls me up. Stumbling in the heels, I fall into his chest with a gasp and his gaze drops to my tube top or whatever, his nostrils flaring.

“What the fuck are you wearing?” he roars before picking me up by the waist and stalking toward the cars.

Despite his displeasure, my skin tingles at the contact and I lean back, my eyes going wide when my butt brushes against him.

Is that? Oh my…!

With a grunt, Wolf drops me to the ground, and I stumble before swinging around.

As soon as I do, he leans in until our mouths are almost touching and says, “Didn’t you learn from your sister?”

Miriam…? Oh!

The reminder sends me back a step, but I shake my head because that’s exactly why I’m here. I don’t want to be the little, spineless Abernathy girl who’s afraid to live. I’m more than that and if it means a whipping, I’m willing to take it to feel something other than the icy chill that presses at my soul on any given day.

Thoughts I’ve never had before but feel right.

Of course, Wolf doesn’t understand, which is why he runs his hands through his hair, eyeing me like a problem to be solved before he takes another step away.

“Look, you…this ain’t my problem but it will be if Reverend Abernathy gets a wild hair and sends his buddy in to make trouble.”

When I only stare at him blankly, he snorts and says, “The sheriff, Lilli. We don’t need him all up in our business.”

Right. Sheriff Montrose. Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe because I’ve been ignoring the fact that Wolf isn’t some normal guy. He’s part of a motorcycle club. He dabbles in stuff outside the law.

When he pinches the bridge of his nose, I bow my head.

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