Page 36 of Ruined (The Knights of Ruin)

CHAPTER TEN

Smoke

THEPARTYWAS already underway by the time Cat and I got to the clubhouse. We were hosting The Demon’s Share brothers—a smaller club from down south who were allies—and us Knights always liked to put on a good show.

The rides were parked outside—a massive line of them, chrome gleaming under the streetlights—and the prospects assigned to guard them were hanging out by the doorway, smoking and drinking and flirting with a bunch of girls who were trying to get in.

I helped Cat off my bike, unable to keep my eyes off her as she smoothed down the skirt that had got rucked up on the ride over.

She’d put on exactly what I told her to and she looked so fucking hot—exactly as I’d pictured her. The pencil skirt hugged her ass like a greedy pair of hands, and the soft green blouse was transparent enough to see the lacy black bra she wore underneath it. Plus, it was nearly the same colour as her eyes.

The effect was like a classy, sexy secretary. She’d even done her hair in a loose bun that I wanted to pull the pins out of and run my fingers through.

All she was missing was my property patch on her back.

Well, I’d fix that once we were inside. My plan was to take her in, claim her in front of all the brothers so no one could be in any doubt, and when she came out again, she’d be my old lady.

My property.

A deep satisfaction sat in my gut, along with a desire so strong it was like a kick to the head.

Tonight I’d make her mine.

Finished with smoothing herself, she flicked a nervous glance at the doorway. Nervous was okay, though. Nervous was better than the weariness I’d seen in her face earlier, when she was standing by her bed looking at her clothes. Better than the terrible doubt when she’d told me what that asshole Justin had said to her.

He was a bastard for hooking into her doubts and using them against her, and I wanted to kill the guy with my bare hands. Hell, when he came for Annie with that custody order, maybe I’d even get the chance.

‘It’ll be okay,’ I said to reassure her. ‘It’s not like your dad’s club, remember?’

The Knights looked after their own way better than her old man’s club had. And even if they didn’t, I sure as hell did.

‘Thanks, Dane,’ she said tartly, pissed off that I’d picked up on her nervousness. ‘I’ll take that under advisement.’

I almost grinned. ‘You want to be careful, Cat. I might call you kitten in there, and then you’ll be stuck with it for life. The brothers like a nickname.’

She rolled her eyes, but her mouth curved, and for a second, we were almost friends again. Then I remembered the way that mouth had tasted, and all the things I wanted to make it do, and I knew that it couldn’t happen.

Because I didn’t want friendship—not from her.

Friendship wasn’t enough any more.

Reaching out, I grabbed her hand, lacing her fingers through mine. ‘Ready?’

‘As I’ll ever be, I guess.’

We walked up to the entrance, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of the girls still trying to get in. The prospects gave me a chin jerk as we approached, stepping aside. As we went past them I could see them give Cat appreciative glances, no doubt noting the fact that she didn’t have a property patch on her back.

I gave the little fucks my enforcer stare and they quickly looked away.

Damn straight.

There were a lot of people milling around—Knights and more than a few Demons. Some of them called my name, but I didn’t stop, heading down the corridor that led out to the back of the building where the courtyard was.

That tended to be where the action was whenever there was a party, which meant Keep would be there. And it was him I wanted to see first of all. I needed him to know what I was going to do, because it was only polite to inform my president. Especially if he was going to give me shit about it.

Then I was planning to get the vest with the property patch on it and make Cat put it on in front of the whole club, so there would be no doubt about whose she was. So everyone would know she was fucking mine.

We went through the doors at the end of the hallway and outside into the courtyard, and sure enough a bonfire was blazing in the middle of the space.

---