Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Mike waved the idiot off, glancing at Zolt and Theo while Arden’s cute, jasmine-scented arms settled around him more comfortably. Ah, he could feel the bralette under the thin black fabric rubbing his ear.
He pointed between Zolt and Theo. “You’re gay. What would you call a man who likes girls and one feminine guy?” he asked and swatted Arden’s ass to show how serious he was about his attraction. The gesture was for show. But he wanted to feel the flesh bounce all the same.
Kane shook his head. “Horny?”
The table erupted with laughter, and even Leo chuckled. Maybe he did notice Mike made a point of not calling him gay this one time.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s just too cute to resist,” Mike said and looked up at Arden, gently tugging on his ponytail.
Arden grinned and leaned down for a kiss. All of this affection was for show, yet it felt as real as the meat sizzling on the huge barbeque manned by Axel. As real as the barely-there cellulite on the stripper he could see through the open window of the bar.
“Mike! A word!” Dad yelled from the open door of the clubhouse, and urged him to hurry with a quick gesture.
Mike groaned, rolling his eyes at Leo and the others, but held Arden’s chin for a bit longer and licked his sweet lips before gently pushing him off. “You heard your daddy-in-law. Gotta go.”
Arden stood and adjusted his skirt. “I’ll be with Mona.” He pointed to a group of tipsy women dancing in the dying sun. “Sorry, I’m not really a cards kind of guy.”
His skirt moved up as he spun, revealing sheer black fabric and Mike couldn’t help himself. He slid his hand under the hem and touched Arden’s ass, rubbing his fingers over warm flesh. “I bet you’re all jealous,” he told the other men and pinched Arden, who yelped with a bright smile on his face.
He was so damn cute.
If Mike could do it without emotional fallout, he’d bend Arden over a bar stool and fuck him then and there. Skirt lifted, and panties pulled down. No frills.
But Dad wasn’t a patient man, so Mike said goodbye to those fantasies and jogged over to the clubhouse.
The smell of coffee and spicy meat marinade hit him the moment he entered the door across from the bar. The big kitchen was located in the very back, and he could hear his mom there, chatting to Trixie about some baby-related stuff, but instead of continuing down the red-painted corridor, he took a turn left and walked into Dad’s shabby office.
It was simple, just tidy enough work in, with an ancient computer on a side desk, and a single filing cabinet next to it. But Dad sat across from the door, behind a desk littered with folders and family pictures, a new motorcycle model attached to the wall behind him as the only real decoration. Unless the little exercise bike in the corner counted.
Mike kicked the door shut behind him. “What’s up?” he asked Dad, who looked through the drawer in front of him, longish gray hair falling into his face no matter how often he pushed it back.
“We need to talk. I know it’s been fun and all, but this Arden thing is getting out of hand,” Dad said with a deep frown on his wrinkly forehead.
Mike’s brows lowered. He did not expect that.
“Says who?”
“Says me. Is this some misguided scream for attention? Doesn’t matter.” Dad sat back in the chair and watched Mike like a hawk. “That guy, Luke? He’s got a lucrative offer for us, and it would solve this problem. We just need to look the other way next time he takes the boy.”
Mike laughed, but then stilled, weirded out when Dad didn’t join him and remained serious, leaning back in his chair like a king expecting Mike to nod and leave like a good boy. Mike was not a good boy.
“The fuck did you just say? We agreed to protect Arden. Rain made it happen. Does she know what you’re planning?” Mike asked, squeezing the bottle hard while his brain pulsed, struggling to cope with what he’d just heard. This couldn’t be happening. His dad wouldn’t have dealt with someone like Luke. The club had once considered something similar, when Mona hid in their clubhouse to escape an unwanted marriage, but at the end of the day, at that time Dad had been negotiating with her family, not with someone who wanted her hurt.
Dad spread his arms. “We did, but his money’s running out. Do you know if he’s making anything on the side?”
Mike’s lungs tightened, keeping him lightheaded. “You’re taking money for his protection? The fuck?”
Dad cocked his head. “Since when do we take in strays for free?”
Mike tossed the bottle Arden had given him at the wall. Beer and glass exploded over Dad’s exercise bike. “What did you call him? How much has he paid already?” Mike asked, burning inside.