Page 38 of Wild Ride

My lips twitch at her words. I’m surprised she actually said them, so instead of making her ask me the questions she’s clearly confused about, I put her out of her misery.

“This club is my life. These people are my family. It’s the way it was for Shade, too.”

Sitting up slightly, I watch her dark hair splaying out on the pillow. She’s fucking stunning. And she’s mine. All goddamn mine. I gently drag my fingertips from her temple to her chin.

“What does that mean for me?” she asks softly.

“When I claimed you as my woman, that means you’re off-limits to any other man in the club. You’re mine, and soon, you’ll be my old lady.”

She wrinkles her nose. She is so fucking cute that I can’t take her disgust for the termold ladyseriously. “It basically means you’re my wife when we get to that point.”

She sits up, her eyes wide as she stares at me. “Your wife?” she asks.

“In my world, yeah.”

Her eyes search mine. Then she clears her throat. “And that woman?”

I knew it was coming. Honest to fuck, I thought she was going to let that go, but it seems as if I’m not going to get lucky when it comes to that. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I lift my hand to cup her cheek.

“She’s a whore.”

“A what?” Dakota hisses.

Cute. As. Fuck.

I extend my finger and touch the tip of her nose. “A clubwhore. That’s what she is. They get a free place to stay, free food, and an allowance. It’s a choice they make.”

“But they have to have sex with you?” she asks.

Shaking my head once, I attempt to explain it further. I’m not required to explain shit about the club to her. But she’s Shade’s daughter, and if she had been here, grown up here, these are things she would have already known.

“They have sex with who they’re told to have sex with. But if they aren’t feeling it, then they just stay in their rooms for the night.”

“They live here with you?”

“They have their own space,” I murmur.

A silence washes over us. Then I watch as she climbs out of bed and takes a few steps backward. She stumbles backward but doesn’t get far before she straightens and squares her shoulders.

“They have their own space,” she whispers.

“They have a common room with beds. You want a tour?”

Dakota’s eyes narrow, her nose scrunches up, and then she lets out a huff of air. “No,” she snaps. “I don’t want a tour. I’m more curious as to why you claim you want to be with me when you had your hand between that woman’s legs. Then I find out that she pays for a place to live with her body.”

I almost laugh, but I decide this isn’t the time for it. “Baby,” I murmur.

“No,” she snaps again.

Pressing my lips together, I rub them back and forth a few times before I speak. “Dakota,” I say, my tone a warning as I tilt my head to the side and watch her.

Her honey-colored eyes shift around. “This is club life. It’s the way it’s always been. It’s the way it will always be. What it isn’t is anything you need to worry about, and I’m sorry, but you aren’t involved in it.”

She presses her lips together and narrows her eyes on me. “Excuse me?” I can’t help but chuckle at her instant anger. It’s hot as fuck. She’s jealous, and I seriously fucking like that shit.

“Whatever happens at the clubhouse stays there. Think of it like Vegas.”

“That doesn’t work for me, although I don’t know why I care because it’s not like we can stay together. It’s not like we even know one another. Plus, I don’t evenliveon this coast.”

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