Page 66 of City of Salvation

“Your brothers are going to love them.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving me her middle finger in the process.

I’d let her get away with saying that shit back at the apartment because Ihadsprayed her with the faucet, but that shit wasn’t going to fly now that we’d entered compound grounds. Laughter and the roar of engines were reminders of how many men, both ones I knew and ones I didn’t, would be here tonight.

My finger hooked in the back belt loop of her shorts, hauling her backward until her back hit my chest. I loved theway her pulse quickened under the palm I wrapped around her throat.

“I don’t give two fucks if they look, Nikki. You deserve their attention. You’re gorgeous, but they arenotto fucking touch you,” I whispered in her ear, tightening ever so slightly on her throat because I couldn’t resist drawing out more of her little gasps. “This is my favorite handhold, spitfire. Maybe I’ll just walk around all night like this.”

She moaned, and I didn’t know if it was because I’d drawn her lobe in my mouth or because I’d suggested collaring her with my hand. Not even a sheet of paper could have been slipped between us at that moment, and when she shifted her weight from one foot to another, the damn shorts she’d worn rubbed against my cock. Making me moan. The snicker she let out told me she knewexactlywhat she was doing.

“This what you meant by only seducing you in public, Dex?” She squeezed my crotch, palming my growing hard-on. “Because everyone is about to know how good I am at that.” There was a bite to her tone, but I didn’t get a chance to explore what had caused it.

“Dex, get your ass over here,” Pres yelled out, looking the part of a pissed-off dad. My hold on her dropped, but I kept my finger hooked in her loop in case she thought she could run off. “We’ve got church, fuckhead,” he added before turning and storming into the clubhouse.

Fuck.

I ushered her forward, trying to come up with a plan of what to do with her. Stashing her in my room was always an option—if I knocked her out, of course, because there was no way in hell she’d willingly let me put her in there again.

I’d forgotten that tonight was going to start with church. So even though I’d bitched to Nikki about plastering herpussy to me, I was the one leaving her with the damn wolves. While the patched members were all in church, everyone left out here were the hang-arounds and club bunnies. Damn, now I wished I paid better attention to the prospects, because I couldn’t even assign one of them to her.

Not one I trusted.

“Go,” she said as we passed through the threshold, slipping her hand under my cut and patting my chest. “I’ll be fine. Believe me, this place is not as intimidating as other places I’ve been.” Her eyes bounced around the room, and I could tell she was clocking all the exits.

That was something about Nikki that I’d picked up on early on. For whatever reason, no one else seemed to notice the way she watched her surroundings. To their credit, she did a damn good job of coming across as if she was trusting and naive to the uglier parts of the world.

But I saw it.

Right there in those big blue eyes of hers.

She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There might not be a weapon in her hand, but I had no doubt she knew how to deliver a killing blow—even if it was by directing the hand of another.

Why did I want to be at her beck and call?

When her attention came back to me, she flashed me a smile that melted my cold fucking heart.

That was why.

Not even god himself could have kept me from slamming my lips onto hers in that moment. I wanted her damn panties soaked from this kiss. Our tongues fought for dominance as they intertwined. My hand found its way down to her ass, massaging the cheek in my hand before ending in a smack that caused her to yelp.

“Dammit, Dex. Get your horny ass in here,” Pres’s bitching cut through the mewling from Nikki.

Not horny, Pres. I might be enchanted, though.

Okay, I was horny too.

My lips landed on hers once more. This kiss was soft, sweet, and somehow made my blood stir even more than the others. “Anyone fucks with you, tell them I’ll remove a body part for every word they say,” I said, cupping her face.

Her giggle fell silent when she realized I wasn’t laughing along with her. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“As a fucking heart attack, spitfire.” I kissed the tip of her nose and then jogged over toward Pres, who was busy glowering at me.

“Fuck. First Gunner, and now you? Am I going to lose all my best men to pussy?” he muttered, closing the door behind him.

I neededan entire keg after that church.

We were going to war with the Reapers. It had been a long time coming really, but the attack on Nikki and I changed everything. Who knew if the Reapers were aware there was a member of the Skeletons in the car or not, but that detail didn’t matter to Pres.

The attack was a clear first aggression against us, purposeful or not. The whole club had voted to move forward with an attack of our own. All but one member, who was still voting to turn Nikki over. Votes were anonymous, but I didn’t have any doubt who the fucker was.

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