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“I should probably stay here,” I told Noor.
She was watching me.
“But that’s not really me, is it?” I asked her, then looked back to where he’d gone.
“Yeah, I’m going looking for him.” I decided and started in that direction. I was almost to the turn when Storm came walking out.
His eyes locked on me, and he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me with him as he continued toward the exit.
I waited until we reached his Jeep before asking, “Are you gonna tell me what that was about?”
He jerked open the passenger door. “Nothing,” he replied, picking me up and putting me inside like I was a child.
“Clearly, it was. You are pissed off.”
He looked at me.
“She wanted to ride,” he said.
“You or a horse?”
He raised an eyebrow. “A horse, Briar.”
I shrugged. “So, why was she there to see you?”
Yes, I was being nosy. Storm was mine, dammit, and I didn’t like this woman acting like she had some claim on him.
He grabbed the side of my head and leaned close to me. “Do you want fucked right here?”
“I’m sure Thatcher would enjoy it, but no.”
His hand fisted in my hair. “Then, stop with the jealousy, or I will.”
I sighed. “I was being curious. You seem angry.”
He visibly eased. “Lula Mae can be annoying.”
“She’s a bitch.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, and he pressed a kiss to my lips before closing the door. I watched him walk around the front of the Jeep, wishing I didn’t have this dread in my stomach. Every time she was mentioned, I just felt uneasy. I wanted to feel secure about things with Storm, but she was making that hard.
• Nineteen •
“You don’t look at another man.”
Briar
I had never seen so many vehicles at the stables. “Wow. Y’all really get into watching races, huh?” I asked as Storm parked the Jeep.
“We’ve got a couple in these, so those who don’t go get together here to watch them,” he explained.
“Who all went?” I asked him after we were out of the Jeep.
His hand rested on my lower back while we walked toward the entrance. “King and Sebastian. Then Dad and Monte.”
“Monte—is that Luella’s husband?” I asked.
“No. Luella is married to his brother, Roland. Monte is engaged to Bay.”
I was never going to get these people all straight. Dovie knew them all better than me, but she was around more of them because of Nailyah. Although I had spent the afternoon with Jupiter by her pool and met her daughter, Birdie, earlier in the week. Her husband, Ronan, had come out once, and I’d met him too. Hopefully, I’d meet more of them tonight.
“Will Jupiter be here?” I asked.
I’d enjoyed spending time with her. She wasn’t nosy and didn’t pry into my past. I appreciated it and had felt comfortable at her house.
Storm chuckled. “Uh, no. This is the younger generation. Not the parents.”
“Jupiter is young?”
“Yes, but she married an old man. So, she runs in their circle. Not in ours.”
I glanced up at him. “There are circles?”
“We don’t enjoy hanging out with our parents,” he replied as we stepped inside.
“Clearly, I didn’t either,” I quipped.
“I don’t even know how to respond to that,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess I just went a little dark,” I said, looking up at him.
He just smirked and shook his head.
“Storm!” a guy called out.
I turned my attention toward him. He was shirtless with a pair of jeans riding low on his hips, and his hair was in a ponytail. There was a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
“Lost your shirt already?” Storm replied, sounding amused.
The guy opened his arms wide. “I can’t deny the ladies this view, now can I?”
His chest was nice. Not as mouthwatering as Storm’s, but still, he was definitely cut.
“Briar, this is Acre,” Storm said to me.
The guy flashed me a flirty smile. “Hello, darlin’.”
“She’s mine.” Storm’s tone hardened.
The guy looked back at him and lifted his eyebrows. “What? You claimed one?” Then, he glanced back at me. “I can’t blame you though,” he added, then took a drink from his beer.
Voices got louder as we approached a closed door.
“Acre handles the bets,” Storm told me.
“What bets?” I asked.
“We don’t just watch. There is betting going on. Our own little ring. Nothing too intense.”
“Do you bet?”
He nodded. “Always.”
“Okay, so who are we cheering for?”
“I’ll show you.”
He opened the door and motioned for me to go in, then followed behind me. His hand slid around my waist as I took in the scene. I scanned the room, seeing very few faces I recognized. When I looked over at the sofas around the massive screen on the wall, I saw boobs. What the hell? There was a topless woman sitting on Thatcher’s lap. Looking over to the other side, I saw more boobs. One woman had on a pair of cutoff jeans that most of her ass hung out of and was also without a shirt or bra, standing in front of Wells, who was running his hand up the inside of her legs.
