Page 8 of Bound by Family
I fill my bag as a knock comes to the door. Sterling stands there, proud and tall, wearing a smile on his handsome face. He is my oldest brother, Stone’s, best friend from school. He joined Sinisters with my brother and has had an eye on me for a long time. I’m not trying to be cocky; it’s a fact. One that no one here misses.
He’s hot, with that scruff of dark brown hair on his face and his short cut on top. His eyes are a deep brown that change just a bit in the light. Women here flock to him. A lot of them. All the time. Everywhere. This is not jealousy talking. It’s a fact. You have a large group of men around, there are bound to be women who will spread their legs. Sterling has plenty of them, and therefore, doesn’t need me. I sure as hell don’t need him.
Honestly, it’s just the thought of having me with him. He doesn’t want me for the long haul, just for a quick roll in bed. That doesn’t fly with me. I know the life, and for some women, that is an arrangement they want. Good for them, but it’s not for me. Bigger hopes await.
A woman can dream, right?
“Hey, Sterling. I’m just heading out. What can I do for ya?”
He swaggers in. “I’ll show ya what you can do for me.” His brows wiggle suggestively as his lips tip up in a sinful smirk.
I’m not one of those women who’s had a crush on their brother’s best friend for years and wants to fall madly in love with them and have their babies. He may think that, but he would be dead wrong. He’s never been on my radar as far as men go, even when he wasn’t giving it to everyone he could and then some.
“I’ve gotta get going.” I swing my oversized bag over my shoulder and look to make sure everything is turned off.
“Let me take you out.”
Here we go again.
“No.” The response is immediate, as it is every other time.
“Come on. What’s it take to get a man in there?” He almost groans at his words.
While rolling my eyes would be totally immature, it takes all my power not to. He’s not gettinginanywhere.
“Not interested, Sterling, you know this.”
He looks me dead in the eye with a smile on his face, but it’s the eyes that catch my attention. Something unrecognizable is behind them. “You know I’ll treat you right.”
“Back the fuck off before I stab you in the eye with a screwdriver.” My middle brother, Racer, comes into the room. Damn, today has been like a revolving door. I’m so ready to go home and put an end to it.
Sterling turns toward my brother with his arms out and that same twinkle in his eye. “A man can dream.”
“You fuckin’ touch a hair on her head, you answer to me.” Racer gets up in Sterling’s face.
Racer is a bit of a hot head. Oh, who am I kidding? He’s a full-out hot head. His temper can go from calm and cool to off the charts if someone fucks with him or someone he cares about. He normally has great control over it, but once it explodes … hell hath no fury.
I move to my brother and pat his chest. “I’m just leaving. Come walk me out?”
My brother doesn’t move as I walk past him. Then, when I’m out of earshot, I hear, “Don’t touch her unless she wants it.”
Well, that’s not going to happen. One thing I don’t want in my life is to be with a man who can’t make me his own. A man who will go off and screw other women while with me, then come back to me as if nothing happened. Sterling can’t give me that. There is no trust there whatsoever.
I make my way through the stone-blocked building, feeling a slight breeze from the ventilation system as I make my way outside.
The Florida sun penetrates as the humidity instantly puts a sheen on my skin. With it being late September, it’s nowhere near as bad as the summers can be. Living here, we get used to it.
I slip on my shades and see the president of the Sinister Sons, Wolf, talking to some of the brothers. He turns his head toward me, his glasses hiding whatever is on his face. Technically, he’s my boss, so I’m cordial to him, giving him a slight wave. I’ve known him for years, though he hasn’t always been president. That didn’t come about until a few years ago. I can’t really remember a time when I had a full-on conversation with him since my father is my go-to guy for the businesses. My father says he has an iron fist. Luckily for me, I deal with my father.
After my hand wave, I call it a day.
CHAPTER FOUR
COOPER
Music pumps through the speakers in the open room of the clubhouse. Dark paneling encases the entire room, giving it a darker feel. One wall is full of pictures, some from when I was a kid. On another wall is a bar with mirrors behind it and brightly lit signs. The bar is an L-shape and has more dents and scratches in it than a car at an impound. Each one of those marks is a memory of the life here in the Ravage MC. It will never be sanded or re-stained, not ever.
Women shake their asses on the makeshift dance floor while others mingle. It’s an average Saturday night in Sumner, Georgia at the Ravage MC clubhouse. Tonight’s pretty laid back, just the way I like it.
