Prologue
Dom
Thea’s Seventeenth Birthday Party
“What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
Thea jerks up when she hears my voice. Something changes in her expression that I don’t quite catch. That’s nothing new. When it comes to Thea, I never know how to read her. She’s probably the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life. We’re talking drop-dead, fucking gorgeous. Her skin is a soft golden brown, almost light amber. Her eyes seem to be a mixture of silver and blue. I’ve never seen either before and probably never will. She’s lithe, with just enough curves that make you itch to run your hands over them. Her tits aren’t huge, but definitely more than a handful. I have big hands and they’d easily fill them every single fucking time I’d hold them.
Not that I would.
The reasons I can never touch Thea are too numerous to count. I used to remind myself of them when I’d get the itch to go there with her.I mean, it’s not like I’ve lusted after her constantly, but I’m a guy and any guy would have to be insane not to want Thea. She’s beautiful, but it’s more than that. She’s got a spirit inside of her that just makes everything around her more alive. Pure energy—that’s all you can describe her as.
Fuck, I’m in this push and pull thing with Gabby. I swear, I’m in it with that girl. I gave her my vow when she gave me her virginity, and I’m sticking by my word. Besides, for me, it has always been her. Yet, if there was ever going to be someone to make me think twice—maybe three or four times—it would be Thea. That’s why it is a good fucking thing she is who she is…un-fucking-touchable.
Thea is just another reason it’s complicated to be a prospect for the Savage Brothers Motorcycle Club my father is president of. Incidentally, Thea is the eldest daughter of our Club Enforcer, Bull. My mother isn’t happy about my brother and I beginning our journey in the club. She wants us to wait. That’s not happening. I’m old enough and being a part of this club is my destiny. It is all I’ve ever wanted.
I’m not sure my brother feels the same, but where one of us goes, the other follows. It has always been that way and it always will be. My brother Thomas—T for short—is a part of me. The club is who I am. I hope to one day step into my father’s shoes and lead the club. I sure as fuck won’t achieve that if I begin by fucking Bull’s daughter. Club members’ families are off limits. Besides, all Thea and I could have is sex. It’s not possible to ever be more. We’re too different, and like I said, I have a woman.
Maybe.
Jesus, Gabby is working my last nerve. I need to talk to T about her. I know my brother has feelings for her, but she’s promised she told him she could never go there with him and that she loves me. T doesn’t seem to get the message. Gabby and I had a big fight about it yesterday and we’re not really talking today. She made me promise to give her time to talk with T again to let him down gently. She’s worried she is coming between us, so she wants to proceed carefully. I don’t agree with the way she’s handling it, but Jesus, I don’t know shit about this kind of thing. It’s not like I do relationships. There’s only ever been Gabby for me, and we haven’t made that public, so I haven’t dealt with the usual bullshit all my brothers talk about with having a woman. If there’s one thing that I’m thankful about, it’d be that and only that. I hate keeping Gabby a secret and watching other men sniffing around what’s mine. I’ve handled that privately, too. Still, I hate that they even try that shit. I’m ready to claim her.
I just don’t want to hurt T to do it.
T hasn’t had an easy life. Kids constantly made fun of him when we were young because he had a stutter. I stopped it when I could, and T learned to stand up for himself, but I know the damage it has done to him. He’s left feeling less than, and I fucking hate that. He’s completely unsure of himself around women, and that’s just another reason this thing with Gabby between us is hard to navigate.
Still, he’s finally doing better, and I don’t want to hurt the progress he’s made. He barely stutters at all now. I know he loves Gabby, but she loves me. I want her, but I don’t want to hurt my brother. She says she has it handled, and fuck, I’m hoping she does, because I’m about done with this bullshit.
“Wishing I didn’t have to go in there,” Thea mutters, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Uh, Thea, it’s your party,” I point out.
“I never asked for it.I don’t even want to be here. Mom and Dad are just throwing it to keep from spending another evening listening to me list the reasons they’re being unreasonable by not letting me go to New York.”
“New York?” I ask, wondering why in the hell anyone would want to go there. I’ve been there a couple times with Mom and Dad when I was younger. T, Dad, and I hated it. Mom and Kay loved everything about it. That’s the first time I ever questioned my mom’s sanity.
“I got a modeling contract,” she responds, shocking the shit out of me.
“You’re going to be a model?” I ask, my eyes going wide in shock. I don’t even try to hide my surprise.
Thea looks at me, her eyes narrowing. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” I laugh, holding my hands up in surrender. “You just don’t seem the modeling type.”
“Just because you don’t think I’m attractive doesn’t mean other people feel the same, Dom,” she gripes.
I doubt there is a man with a heartbeat that wouldn’t find her gorgeous—even if they would want to gag her mouth so she wouldn’t bitch them to death. The woman was made to torture a man. As much as I don’t like the way she is constantly busting my balls, I can think of some fucking great uses for that mouth of hers.
But I refuse to think about that.
“You’re Breaker’s kid sister. I just don’t think of you that way,” I lie. I use that line on her often when times like this come up. These days I’m not sure which one of us I’m trying to convince.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re such a dick,” she mutters. “I must have been insane to think there was something to you.”
“What the fuck does that mean? Damn, I just came to wish you Happy Birthday.”
“Oh, please. You skip my birthdays since that one two years ago. You just came tonight to see if Gabby was going to be here. Hate to break it to you, Dom, but that bitch is not allowed here today. I didn’t want a party, but I told Dad if I was going to have one, then she couldn’t be here.”