Chapter 73 Okay, it is a deal
LIA
The minute Beast walked off with that Raven girl, Hex and Owen closed in around me.
"I cannot believe how you just went off on that woman," Owen said, his voice full of excitement. "I have not seen you get that fired up in forever. I am so proud of you for not backing down."
"Thanks, I guess. She came from nowhere and just attacked me."
"She was Doc’s Old Lady before," Hex explained. "But she was not faithful. Doc likes to share, but only when he is involved. Raven slept with a prospect while Doc was away on club business. When he found out, he took her property vest back and they threw her out of the club. That was about a year ago. Looks like she talked her way back in, but only as a club girl."
"What is an Old Lady? And what is a prospect? Also, what the hell is a property vest?" Owen asked. I was wondering the same things.
"An Old Lady is like a wife. Nobody else is allowed to touch her. She belongs to the club member who claims her. She gets a vest that tells guys from other motorcycle clubs that she is taken and off limits. A prospect is someone trying to join the club. A member has to sponsor them."
"Wow. That is a lot to take in."
"When you come to a real party, you will see the Old Ladies wearing their vests. They do not usually wear them at family things or weeknight dinners, because everyone here already knows who is with who."
"So why did the prospect sleep with Raven?" I asked. If everyone knew the rules.
"Well, that prospect was very new at the time. Doc was gone and he had never seen her in her property vest, not until Doc came back and saw her at a party. He told Butcher right away, Butcher told Doc, and you know how it ended."
"What happened to the prospect?" I asked.
Hex pointed toward the bar. A guy with dark hair was working there. He was built solid, with tattoos covering both arms. He had on a leather vest with a prospect patch. Even from here I could make out his bright green eyes. He looked familiar, but I could not figure out from where. He seemed around my age, and he had piercings right where dimples would be.
"That is Jake. He will become a full member at the end of the summer. After he got his ass handed to him for being with Raven, Doc forgave him. Only because he did not know she belonged to someone."
"Wow. Well, let us go back outside and eat," Owen said.
I looked at Owen, and he was watching Hex, who was still looking at the guy behind the bar. Was he jealous?
As I turned to follow them, three big guys stepped around me, blocking my way. They were all very good looking. One had long blonde hair that touched his shoulders. He wore black boots, jeans, and a leather vest covered in patches. His eyes were a light brown, and he was smiling at me with a charming dimpled grin. He did not have a shirt on, and his muscled chest was right in front of my face. It was a very nice view. Another guy had spiky black hair and intense blue eyes. He had a neat black beard framing a full mouth. He was dressed the same as the blonde, but with fewer patches. The third guy was the tallest, about the same height as Owen. His hair was a deep brown. He looked to be the youngest, maybe nineteen. His brown eyes were bright. He wore jeans and a black shirt under his vest, which had the fewest patches of the three.
"Hi there. I am Rockstar, darling. Who might you be?" the blonde one said.
"I am Lia," I said, my voice coming out small. They were standing very close and it was a little overwhelming, but they seemed friendly enough.
"Lia. That is a very pretty name. I am Bane," said the guy with spiky hair.
"What language is that?" I asked. It sounded lovely.
"It is Scots Gaelic. It means beautiful girl."
I felt my face get hot at the meaning.
"So beautiful," the tall one said. "How far down does that blush go, sweet thing? I am River. Are you a new club girl?"
"Um, club girl? Are those the girls who help take care of the guys? Like cooking and laundry?"
All three of them laughed. I did not know why, and I got the feeling they were laughing at me.
"No, sugar," Rockstar said. "A club girl is here for us to fuck, anytime and any way we want. Feel like being my girl tonight?"
"Oh, I am not a club girl. I am just here with—"
"It does not matter if you are a club girl or not," he said, cutting me off. "You can still play with me tonight."
"Or you could play with all of us," River added. "We would take real good care of you, I promise."
My cheeks were on fire. I knew it. All three of them had the same huge, knowing grins.
"Get the fuck away from her!"
I looked past Bane’s shoulder and saw Beast marching toward us.
"You all are like a pack of wolves jumping on fresh meat. Back the fuck off right now."
"Oh, come on, Beast. She is new here. Just look at her, all that pretty skin just begging to get some attention," Rockstar said.
Good lord, why did that make my stomach do a flip? Calm down.
"I do not fucking think so. Brothers, I swear if you do not step back now, I will put every single one of you on the ground."
I was shocked by how angry Beast sounded.
"Um, they were just talking to me. They were being nice. Even if some of the things they said were a little…"
"A little what?"
I did not know if I should tease him or not. He seemed really worked up. Plus, I did not know his personality that well yet. He seems okay, but how can I be sure? What if he got truly angry and turned mean?
"Just a little forward," I said, giving him a wide smile. He looked at my face and he seemed to relax a little.
"You are so beautiful," he said, his voice low.
My eyes got big and I had to look down, suddenly feeling shy.
"She is the girl who saved Catalina. She is not someone to mess with," Beast told them.
"Oh, for real?" Rockstar asked.
Then, before I could move, he bent down and lifted me right off my feet. The plates in my hands fell and crashed on the floor. He took a step back and spun me around. I laughed, holding onto his neck for balance. Then he leaned in and planted a firm kiss right on my mouth. It stopped my laughter completely and my eyes flew wide open.
"Rockstar!" Beast shouted. He pulled me right out of his arms.
"What? I had to thank the girl who saved our club sister."
"You say thank you with words, you asshole, not with your mouth on her!"
Rockstar gave Beast a long look. Then his own eyes got huge and his mouth fell open.
"No fucking way!" he yelled.
"Shut the fuck up!" Beast yelled back.
Bane and River looked from Beast to me and back again. Then their mouths dropped open too. I was completely lost.
Rockstar broke into a grin that went from ear to ear. He grabbed Beast and pulled him into one of those rough hugs guys do. The heavy slaps he gave Beast on the back made me cringe.
"Congratulations, brother," Rockstar said. Then he leaned down and kissed my cheek, which made Beast make a low, angry sound in his throat. Bane and River also congratulated Beast. They each gave me a gentle fist bump.
"Why are they congratulating you?" I asked.
"I do not know. They have lost their minds. Come on, let us get you more food."
An hour later, I was feeling a little light-headed. Jenna had made us margaritas. I met some of the Old Ladies. The other club members I met were polite and kind. This place was nothing like I had imagined it would be.
Owen and I walked around the common area after he walked me back from the bathroom. He could not stop talking about Hex.
"I can see you really like him."
"Girl, that man is sexy as hell. He also kissed me, and let me tell you, it was enough to melt my underwear right off."
I threw my head back and laughed.
"Have you told him about Willis?"
"Do you think I should?"
"From what I hear, these men are the jealous type. Owen, you need to be honest with him."
"You are right. I will go talk to him."
He walked away. I went over to the pool table. Bear and Doc were there playing a game.
"Hey there, little Sunshine," Doc said as I walked up.
"Do you play, Angelface?" Bear asked me. I giggled.
"Not for a long time. I might be out of practice."
"Well, how about I set up the balls," Doc said. "You can break, but we do not play for free. We always bet on something."
"Okay. What are we playing for?"
Doc looked at Bear, and Bear gave him a small nod.
"If you win, we owe you a favor. If I win, you have to do whatever I ask of you."
I stared at him. What would he ask for?
"I will not have sex with you," I said.
"No, no, girly, nothing like that. You are a little too young for me," Doc said.
"I am twenty-one."
"Are you? You look younger."
"Thank you. Okay, it is a deal. Set them up."