Page 8 of Maximus

“Listen, King, I appreciate you doing this favor for me. Maximus is a great guy, and you shouldn’t have any issues with him. Aries and I will escort him to your front door by the end of next week.”

It was official. I was headed back to Cali. I hated to leave the men I had bonded with, but Grimm assured me I would find the same type of brotherhood in Oakland. I had to say, I was looking forward to seeing the beach again. There was something about the ocean that calmed my soul.

Six

Gia

I was getting used to my position working at the clubhouse bar. King had placed a persona non grata on me to ensure none of the members tried to mess with me. There was only one person that I could stand to touch me, and that was Chili. She and I became fast friends.

The girl was a blessing in disguise. If you looked at her on surface level, you would think she was an airheaded girl who slept around with all the members of the club. She was that girl, but she was also the sweetest person I knew. She would do anything to help anyone in need. Her best asset was that she was a loyal friend. I could confide in her and know that it would not get around to the rest of the club.

“Girl, what are you over here doing?” Chili asked.

“Trying to get ready for this patch over party tonight. The brothers are so excited to make the prospects full members. I just put the finishing touches on the last cut. The guys are going to be wild tonight. You have your dances ready? You know they can’t wait to see what you have in store.”

“I’ve been working on something special for them. I think I’ve outdone myself with this one.”

She dipped her leg and shimmied her hips teasing me. I laughed at her antics and did a little two-step with her. Our playtime was interrupted by a commotion at the front door of the clubhouse. I heard the roaring pipes but thought nothing of it because it was normal. However, when I glanced up to see who was entering the clubhouse, my heart skipped a few beats then commenced to do the river dance.

“Who the hell is that?” Chili barked, pulling my thoughts from my brain, minus the curse word.

I shook my head, letting her know I had no idea. Unable to remove my eyes from the new arrival, I gawked while answering my friend. I wanted so badly to call dibs before she could make her way over to him. Well, there were three of them, but the wedding rings on the other two men told me only one of the three was available. Thankfully, it was the man of my dreams.

I was confused about my reaction to this stranger. He wore the same cut that everyone else did, but this man stood out. He had to be about 6’5” of sexiness. It was like a beacon of light shone behind him and a neon sign hung above his head with an arrow pointing down at him. God herself couldn’t have been any clearer. That was the man who would set my soul on fire if I let him.

My body certainly agreed. I felt dampness pooling in my undies, and my body became entrenched with heat. What in the world was happening to me? I had never reacted to a member of the male species in such a way. Usually, I wanted to throw up when I saw men, but this tall drink of Kool Aid™ was just what I needed to quench my thirst.

“Girl, you’d better pick your jaw up off the floor before I step on it,” Chili laughed.

“Do you see what I see? If you do, your jaw should be down there next to mine.”

“Oh, I see him, and it’s not my jaw that dropped, it’s my panties.”

That caused me to tear my eyes away from the gorgeous man and glare at my friend. I had the uncontrollable urge to smash her face into the bar top.What? Where did that come from? Shaking the cobwebs from my head, I turned my back to the crowd of men welcoming the visitors and went back to work stocking the bar.

“What’s wrong with you, Gia. You looked at me like you wanted to kill me. I know you’re not tripping over a man. Not little Miss Don’t Touch Me.”

“Shut up, Chili. That’s not funny. You know I can’t help my reaction to men.”

“Yeah, so explain why that newcomer has you acting weird.”

I shook my head. Unable to look her in the eyes, I kept moving the bottles of liquor around. My brain was running as fast as a hacker’s fingers trying to find a plausible excuse, but none came. I finally peeled my eyes off the floor and looked at my friend.

“I don’t know. There’s something different about him. I can’t explain it where it will make any sense to you. It’s just a feeling.”

Chili stared at me like I told her the sky was made up of zebra stripes. Before I could answer her, the men started chanting for her to come dance for them. I wanted so badly to ask her not to go for the new guy, but then I realized, if he was really sent here for me, he wouldn’t be interested in a fun time with my friend. I decided to keep my request to myself.

As the beat for Chili’s signature song, I Wanna Love You by Akon, dropped, I watched as the new men along with King started moving my way. A few other members followed behind them laughing and having a good time. The Roman god that I had my eyes on never even looked at Chili as she wound her hips and popped her apple bottom. A small smile ticked at the corners of my mouth.

He strolled over to the bar sandwiched between King and the men he rode in with. The grimace on his face told the tale of a man who had a lot on his mind. It stood out because everyone else in the place was smiling and laughing. The closer he got to me, the better he looked. That was saying something because he darn sure had me salivating from across the room.

“Hey darlin’, these are brothers from our mother chapter out in Vegas. Let’s get them some drinks and make sure to keep them coming all night. None of them should go thirsty. They get the VIP treatment.”

I smiled and nodded at King as he barked out his orders. After pouring a round of drinks, I served them up by placing them on the bar. My eyes devoured the new man like he was Sunday dinner, and I was starving. Normally, I paid the members dust, but this fresh meat was making me change my mind about continuing my celibacy. When I placed the shot glass in front of my guy, his hand brushed my fingers. Oddly enough, I didn’t yank my hand away. I allowed his touch to linger as we made eye contact. Instead of returning my smile, he frowned back at me, but was polite.

“Thank you,” he said in a deep voice that melted my panties.

Oh, I was in so much trouble. I smiled at him like a fool before nodding and going back to work. As I turned, I could have sworn I saw a small grin appear on his face. It gave me the ‘warm and fuzzies’ all over my body. Before I could move away, the sexy man said something that made me choke on my own spit.

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