Page 39 of Ruined (The Knights of Ruin)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cat

I DIDN’TMUCH like being shunted off with Leanne. It felt too much like being dismissed, leaving the men to talk about the important stuff while the women weren’t to worry their pretty little heads, et cetera.

But Leanne was very up-front about that kind of behaviour.

‘It’s all bullshit,’ she said as she handed me a beer from the cooler that sat under a nearby table. ‘The brothers wave their dicks around like that all the time.’ She smirked. ‘Sometimes literally. Just ignore it. I do.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

I sipped my beer, my attention on the two men by the bonfire.

Keep, the Knights’ president, was about as tall as Smoke, but built on an even more massive frame. He had shoulders like a pro wrestler’s and biceps that would have put Superman to shame. There was an air of contained violence about him, a menace that had me shivering inside. He was a good-looking guy, though. Black hair and blue eyes and a charisma that was almost palpable. I knew he was Smoke’s uncle and I could kind of see the resemblance.

I didn’t like that air of violence, though. It reminded me too much of people like Smoke’s asshole of a father. Of Justin. Men who couldn’t handle themselves and took to beating people up instead.

Smoke was standing right in front of him, looking him right in the eye, and I felt a sharp spike of trepidation. God, was he putting himself and his membership of the Knights on the line for me and Annie? It made me feel uncomfortable, made me want to protest. I knew what the Knights meant to him, and even though I didn’t like them I respected the fact that they were important to him. I wouldn’t want him leaving because of me.

Leanne had opened her mouth to say something when the VP, Big Red—black bearded and green eyed—came up behind her, putting his arms around her and bending to whisper something in her ear. She laughed and then shrieked as he started dragging her off towards the entrance of the clubhouse.

They disappeared inside and I was conscious of standing beside the table on my own, in a crowd full of leather-clad, tattooed bikers. There seemed to be a lot more than there was before, and the women around were of the short-skirt, tight-top kind.

By the fire, Smoke turned on his heel and strode off towards the clubhouse. Keep’s gaze followed him.

God, I hoped nothing bad had gone down.

There was a high-pitched giggle not far from me as one of the girls was pulled into the arms of a biker, his hand pushing down under her top.

Great. So the sex games were already starting.

‘Hey, pretty.’

There were hands on my hips, pulling me back against a wall of leather before I had a chance to protest.

‘Looks like things are heating up. You need cooling down?’

The voice was unfamiliar. A hand slid up and cupped my breast.

‘No. Fuck off.’ I jerked myself away and turned around.

A massive guy with a greasy black beard stood behind me, glowering at me. He wasn’t a Knight from the look of his cut. He was from The Demon’s Share.

‘That’s no way to treat a brother, bitch,’ he said belligerently. ‘You ain’t got no patch on your back, so how about you fucking show me some respect?’

This was bad. I took a shaky breath, trying not to panic. ‘I’m Smoke’s,’ I said, with as much calm as I could. ‘And he’ll be fucking pissed you laid a hand on me.’

‘Uh-huh. But, like I said, I don’t see a patch on your back, which means—’

‘Which means she’s fucking Smoke’s.’

Tiger’s tall, muscled figure was suddenly between me and the bearded shithead.

‘So how about you go find someone else to play with?

The other man grunted and with one last evil look at me turned and pushed his way into the crowd.

Relief left me feeling unsteady, so I leaned surreptitiously against the table, trying not to show it. ‘Thanks, Tiger,’ I muttered.

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