Page 9 of Bloody Jack's Treat
"No.Thanks."Her voice was soft, uncertain.Nothing like the women who usually found their way to my room.
I sank into sofa next her, groaning as my muscles protested after the long night.The silence stretched between us as I took a long pull from the bottle, letting the cold beer soothe my parched throat.
"So," she finally said, "am I a prisoner?"
I lowered the bottle, meeting her gaze directly."No."
"But I can't leave."
"Not if you want to stay alive."I set the beer down on the side table with a dull thunk."When I told Shank you were my old lady, two things happened.”I waited to see if she would ask or hurry me but the girl surprised me by holding my gaze with hers and waited for me to continue.“First, it made him let you go without me killing him and possibly hurting you.Second, it made him pull his men back from our compound until they could deal with the fact they’d just assaulted the president’s woman.While none of us are above hurting women if necessary, the only time families are attacked is if we don’t care if we go to war.In fact, targeting families would mean we were taking out a rival completely.The Copperheads aren’t ready to do that.At least, not yet.”I paused.“I claimed you in front of Shank and I did it intentionally.In their eyes, in my club’s eyes, you're my property now.That also puts a big target on your back for my enemies."
She flinched at the word 'property,' but didn't look away."And what am I in your eyes?"
Shit.How was I supposed to answer that?I didn’t know what she was to me yet.Only that she was mine."You're under my protection," I said finally."That's what matters right now."
"For how long?"
"Until this shit with the Copperheads blows over.Then you can go."The words tasted bitter in my mouth, though I couldn't say why.I'd only just met this girl.Had no reason to want her to stay.I decided to push her a little.I’d put my reputation on the line by claiming her.If she was more than I suspected she was, if she was a plant or a spy, then I’d not only lose the presidency of my club, I’d forfeit my life."We've got a leak somewhere in the club," I said finally, gaging her reaction for anything to give me a clue she wasn’t on the up and up."Someone’s feeding information to the Copperheads.That's why they hit us tonight.They knew we had business coming our way.We believe this was an attempt to hijack that business."I was careful how I phrased the information both to be deliberately vague and to throw her off guard.
Her eyes widened slightly."You think it's me?Because I swear, I don't know anything about—"
"No," I cut her off."I don't think it's you.If it was, Shank wouldn't have been asking what you knew."
She nodded, relief washing over her face.The girl visibly sagged and one tear escaped her eye before she batted it away with a snappish movement."So what happens now?"
"Now we find the leak.And we prepare for the Copperheads to hit us again."I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees."And you stay here, where I can keep you safe."
The small room suddenly felt charged with tension.I noticed details about her I'd missed before.Her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat and she gripped her knees tight enough to whiten her knuckles.The faint scent of leather and something sweeter beneath it seemed to radiate from her.Vanilla, maybe?It suited her.
"Why did you claim me?"she asked, her voice barely above a whisper."You could have just beaten him up and let me go."
"No, I couldn't have."I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated at how hard it was to explain."Once you were in that hallway with Shank, once he targeted you, there was no going back.If I'd just beaten him and let you go, they would have come for you later.Used you to get to us."
"But why say I'm yours?Why not just offer protection?"
I exhaled slowly.How could I explain something I didn't fully understand myself?How a single look from her had awakened something primal in me?How the thought of Shank's hands on her had filled me with a rage so pure it had nearly blinded me?
"In our world, protection isn't enough," I said instead."You have to belong to someone.Be claimed.Otherwise, you're fair game.Even the club whores have a cut with their designation.That way there are no mistakes.The women belong to the club so they’re under our protection.By claiming you myself, the rest of my brothers know you’re not to be touched, unlike the club whores."
She processed this, her eyes never leaving mine."And that's all it was?Protection?"
The question hung in the air between us, loaded with implications.I should have said yes.Should have kept it simple, professional.Just a decent man doing something kind for a woman too innocent for her own good.But those amber eyes pulled the truth from me like a magnet drawing iron filings.
"No," I admitted."That's not all it was."
She shivered, closing her eyes tightly for a brief moment."Then what was it?"Poor thing had to be terrified, but I saw a faint blush stain her cheeks.Interesting.The space between us seemed to crackle with electricity.I could see every detail of her face now.The faint freckles across her nose, the tiny scar at the corner of her mouth, the way her pupils dilated, all of it had me captivated in a way I’d never experienced.
"I don't know," I said, my voice rough with honesty."But from the moment you walked in, something in me wanted you.So when the opportunity came, I took it.”
Her breath caught, her lips parting slightly.How had I moved so near her without realizing?We were close enough now I could feel the warmth radiating from her skin.Close enough that if I leaned forward just a few more inches, I could capture those lips with mine.Not in the brutal, claiming kiss from earlier, but something real.Something that had nothing to do with protection or territory and everything to do with the way my heart hammered against my ribs when she looked at me.Or I caught her scent.And, God help me, I’d been in the woman’s presence for less than an hour and I knew I was so fucked as to not even be believed.
A sharp knock at the door shattered the moment.We both jerked back, the spell broken.
"Prez!"A prospect's voice called through the door."Ghost says you need to come now.It's urgent."
I closed my eyes briefly, swallowing a curse."Be right there," I called back.When I looked at Honey again, she had retreated to her corner of the couch, arms wrapped around herself like armor.The vulnerability still there even though she tried to lock it away behind careful walls."I have to go," I said, already rising to my feet.
She nodded, not meeting my eyes."Yep."
