Page 10 of Ink

As I suspected, the ride was too fucking short. Annika felt amazing wrapped around me and since we’d just met, it was the only way I’d be between those thighs right now.

King was waiting for me when I drove into the compound and parked in front of the clubhouse.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Everything involving the club had to be run by the president first. His authority on club matters was absolute, and he kept a tight rein on it all. To some, it might have been seen as micromanaging, but we knew that even though King controlled every aspect of club business, he did it to make sure shit got done and that it happened in a way that screwups wouldn’t damage the club.

Besides, he rewarded our loyalty with his trust in the right circumstances. He knew when someone needed autonomy and gave them the freedom to accomplish their goal without interference.

And no matter who was at fault for anything that happened, he took responsibility for our failures while attributing any successes to the whole club.

After helping Annika off the bike and dismounting, I grabbed her hand and met him at the door.

“Ash or Onyx?” I questioned wryly. Sometimes my brothers gossiped like teenage girls.

King’s scowl—his permanent expression, for the most part—stayed firmly in place, but amusement glinted in his eyes. “Both,” he answered before his gaze shifted to Annika, briefly lingering on my cut. “This her?”

“Yeah.”

He observed her thoughtfully for a second, then lifted his chin in greeting. “I’m King, president of the Hounds of Hellfire. You’re welcome here, and no one will hurt you. Suggest you keep that cut on, though. Don’t need Ink killin’ anybody.”

Annika giggled, but it trailed off when King’s face remained serious. Obviously confused, she glanced up at me. Doubting that she was ready for that much truth, I didn’t comment, just tugged her hand and headed inside.

Upon entering, I turned her in the opposite direction of a hallway that led to offices and took her into the lounge instead.

The room definitely had a typical biker vibe.

The giant recreation area had black leather couches along the walls, a pool table in the middle, and several big-screen televisions. Across from it was a bar lined with stools that had black leather saddle seats and chrome legs. The wall behind it was stocked with liquor nearly from the floor to the ceiling. And a few other drinks, mostly for the old ladies. Especially nonalcoholic options because my brothers knocked their women up as fast as possible.

Couldn’t say I didn’t understand anymore. I wanted Annika bound to me in every way—property patch, ring, and a swollen belly.

King’s wife, Stella, sat at the bar with an e-reader in one hand while she used the other to rock a baby carrier holding their four-month-old son, Cadell. Their dog, Cerberus, was perched on the floor beside her, his eyes glued to the baby. The muscular giant, a Cane Corso who looked as deadly as he was trained to be, had shocked the fuck out of all of us when he turned into some kind of doggy “manny,” rarely leaving Cadell’s side since he’d been born.

Although he’d loosened up lately and gone back to putting the fear of hell—hence being named after the three-headed dog guarding the underworld—into strangers. Unless he didn’t consider them a threat, then he just ignored their existence altogether.

Most people shied away from him, put off by his fearsome presence and cold attitude. What they didn’t know—and neither had I before I met him—was that, like most of his breed, he was extremely affectionate with anyone he grew attached to. I’d been shocked as fuck the first time I saw him cuddling with one of my brothers. After I scooped my jaw up off the ground, King told me that was how Cerberus showed approval and love. He recognized that we shared his loyalty to the prez.

He’d also quickly figured out which of us were the biggest suckers and shamelessly begged for attention when we were near. Including me. Scariest fucking dog I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t resist when he flopped on his back in front of me, demanding I rub his belly.

His head lifted when King stalked across the room, but he didn’t pay them any more attention when King turned Stella’s stool around to face him, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in a year.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted her softly when they parted.

I glanced down at Annika and nearly laughed at the stunned expression on her face as she watched the couple.

When I shifted my gaze back toward King and Stella, I frowned, noticing Cerberus was no longer sitting near them. My gaze darted around, worried that he would scare the shit out of Annika, but I didn’t see him.

“Hello. Aren’t you just adorable?”

Annika’s sweet tone drew my attention as she bent forward and giggled.

I rolled my eyes when I saw the shameless pet rubbing his head against her legs, wagging his tail, and staring up at her with big, puppy dog eyes that a badass dog like him should not have been able to pull off.

She scratched him under the chin and giggled when his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth.

“Now who’s the sucker?” I muttered at Cerberus. Not that I didn’t understand his desire for Annika’s affection. In fact, I was fucking horrified to realize that I was a little jealous. Of a damn dog.

“Who is this?” she asked affectionately.

I kind of hated him right at that moment.

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