Page 33 of Witch Upon a Star
I couldn’t wait.
I wasa little surprised he took me toDemon on the Rocks, the bar the club owned. I didn’t think it was a bad thing, just not what I anticipated. And for me, that was saying something.
Two other bikes were parked in the lot. The entire row against the brick building was reserved for motorcycle parking. Being a small town, there was plenty of street parking if the rest of the lot was taken. People also tended to walk, even when the weather was bad.
“Looks like Ghost and Ranger are in tonight,” Quinten told me as he held his arm out to help me dismount. Other than the slight chill, Ilovedriding on his motorcycle. I didn’t need my powers to know that we would definitely be doing this a lot in our future.
“Who are they?”
Despite being a town staple, I’d never been inDemonsbefore. I wasn’t a drinker nor a partier, and I never wanted to take the chance of running into Quinten. As a rule of thumb, I’d always avoided most club businesses. The only one I frequented wasScotty’s Creations,the art studio on Main that supported the National Down Syndrome Society. Before Paige had become an ol’ lady, I’d also been a regular customer of her acupuncture studio. It hadn’t been a club business. I likely wouldn’t have stopped going either, but Paige had closed her doors permanently after a stalker had broken in and assaulted her earlier this year.
As a result of avoiding club businesses, I didn’t know the members like many locals did. Everyone knew Steel, the President. Despite being a transplant after retiring from the military, Steel was as much a staple of our small-town community as Main Street was. He just had that sort of commanding personality.
In pushing Pumpkin and Dosia back together, I’d been trying to figure out a way to avoid the club for the next two years. As her family, and practically her sister, it would have been expected of me to get involved, or at least to be introduced to them.
Guess that wasn’t a concern now.
Despite that I was wearing a warmer jacket, I still had a chill on me from the ride. Seeing this, Quinten put his arm around me and curled me into his side as he guided me to a backdoor. I doubted just anyone could use this door, but it was the fastest way to get me inside.
I welcomed the heat as soon as he put the code in that gained us entry. Quinten ushered me in.
“I’ll give you my coat on the ride back,” he told me as he closed the door behind us. “That jacket isn’t suited for riding during the colder weather. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the dealership and we’ll get you outfitted for everything you need. Also get you your own helmet.”
“Whose helmet was I using?”
We were standing in a long hallway. I could hear the echo of the music from the front of the bar. Everything was polished wood, giving the place a rustic, country feel. To our right was a closed door labeled Office. I saw Men’s and Women’s restroom doors on the left further up the hall.
“It’s Sissy’s old helmet. She’s Lucky’s daughter, but thenshe became Scissors’ ol’ lady. Anyway, she got a new one a couple years ago from her girlfriend, now-wife. It was still good and it felt like a waste to toss, so we kind of just kept it in the garage as a spare. Which brings me back to your first question.” He guided me down the hall towards the noise and the main part of the bar. “Ranger’s a member, like me. He co-manages this bar with Ghost, who is our Enforcer.”
I paused. Quinten kept walking for a second, felt I stopped, and then stopped too. I frowned at him, my eyebrows drawing down.
“What?” he asked.
“You just lied to me.”
Hiseyebrows shot up. “I did?”
I nodded, hurt.
He seemed to think for a second, and then winced. “Fuck.” He ran his hand down his face. Though we weren’t in public yet, he pushed me back against the wall and crowded me, putting his mouth right next to my ear. “I didn’t lie,” he insisted. “Not intentionally, anyway. But there’s some stuff happening with the club that makes my statement not as truthful as it would have been last week. But I can’t tell you what it is. At least, not until we decide to make it public. Do you understand?”
I didn’t like not knowing, but I also knew that the club took their privacy seriously. And I wasn’t one of them. Yet.
Scrunching my nose, I nodded.
He kissed my cheek and then lifted his head. He studied me for a moment. “Can you always tell when you’re being lied to or is that a just-me thing?”
“Always,” I informed him.
He nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Good toknow. And I promise never to intentionally lie to you. Though I just realized how hard it’s going to be to surprise you with big, romantic gestures.”
I smiled widely at him. “Surprises and me don’t really get along.”
He chuckled. “Challenge accepted.” Then he indicated toward the front of the bar. “Come on. There are others who want to meet you.”
“Others? You told them about me.”
“I told you, I’m claiming you. That means something to me, Winnie.” I loved how he said my nickname, making it an endearment like one would say ‘baby’ or ‘sweetie’. Only this one was just for me. “Someday soon, you’ll wear my cut. This is happening, regardless of what the cosmos says.”
