Page 11
“Oh, shit,” she whispers, staring at me with wide eyes before nodding. “You’re better off without that ass wipe, babe, but probably best not to mention that to your brother, yeah? He would hop on a plane, like, right now.”
“Who is getting on a plane?” Lincoln asks, walking up to us. Tate turns to him and flashes him a wide smile that looks fucking suspicious.
“No one.”
He eyes her warily as he grabs another box out of the trunk. “Mmhmm.”
“Come on, Rowan,” she says, turning toward the clubhouse and starting back toward the door. “I’ll introduce you to everyone. They’re all excited to meet you.”
“You don’t have to stay long if you’re really that tired,” Lincoln whispers when she gets far enough away that she can’t hear him and I nod before following her, my belly flipping. I’ve spent years taking my clothes off in front of a bunch of strangers but for some reason, walking into this clubhouse and meeting all of these people is damn near giving me palpitations. Tate waits by the door for me and when I reach her, she ushers me inside. It feels like every gaze in the room turns to look at us before Tate yells at all of them to mind their own damn business and leads me over to a group of women.
“Everyone, this is Lincoln’s sister, Rowan. Rowan, this is Ali, Storm’s wife,” she says, pointing to a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair next to me and I smile.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
She flashes me a grin. “You, too, sweetie.”
“And this is Carly, Chance’s wife, Kady, Henn’s wife, and Juliette, Moose’s wife,” she says, pointing to the next three women in line who all smile and nod in greeting. “And finally we have Quinn and Piper, Smith’s wife and Fuzz’s fiancée.”
“And ex-wife,” Carly quips and the other girls laugh as I look on, confused. Am I back in high school? Because it sure as hell feels like I’ve been transported back six years and I’m the one on the outside again. Tate pats my shoulder.
“I’ll explain that one later,” she whispers and I nod before turning back to the other women, forcing a smile to my face. As much as I would love to find my room and hide in there for the rest of the night, these people are important to my brother and I need to make an effort.
“Hi,” I say, waving to all of them as my belly flips again. It’s intimidating as hell to have everyone’s attention on me and I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a real friend to hang out with but maybe I could here. My mind drifts back to how nervous I was to make this move but the further away I get from Alaska, the more I’m reassured that I made the right choice.
“I know you don’t really know any of us yet,” Ali says. “But I promise, you’re going to fit right in.”
“We’re really just a big, rowdy family,” Kady adds and I smile through the ache in my chest as I think about the family I’ve already lost and how alone I’ve felt these past four weeks. Lincoln walks into the room and I glance over at him as he carries the urn of Mom’s ashes in his arms down a hallway in the back where I assume is my room as my chest aches. It would be so easy to lose myself in the pain of her loss but I can’t go down that rabbit hole right now. I push the thoughts away before scanning the rest of the room.
It’s fairly large with a bar at one end and several pool tables at the other. There are several round tables scattered in the middle of the room and a couple of couches against the back wall. It’s actually a pretty comfortable space which is the opposite of what I was expecting but after meeting the girls, it fits. As my gaze sweeps past the bar again, I notice one of the guys off by himself, drinking, and when he looks up and our eyes meet, my belly does a flip for a whole other reason. Even all the way across the room, I can see that he is easily the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on and a tingle races across my skin. He turns toward me, so subtly that if I hadn’t been staring at him, I would have missed it and he cocks his head to the side. I’m unable to pull my gaze away for a few heavy seconds but when I finally do, I swear I can still feel his gaze burning into me.
Jesus Christ.
“Tatum, are you going to introduce the rest of us?” an older man asks as he approaches us. He is a big guy and with his medium length gray hair and the beard covering half of his weathered face, I get the feeling that people might feel intimidated by him at first but there is something about his clear blue eyes, shining with kindness and humor, that instantly puts me at ease.
“I don’t know…” Tate muses, cocking her head to the side as she shoots him a look full of attitude. “Y’all are not exactly house trained and I don’t want to overwhelm the poor girl.”
He smirks, shaking his head as he turns his gaze to me. “Something tells me she can take care of herself.”
“Well, if she can’t now, I’ll get her set up in no time.”
“Dear God,” he whispers, shaking his head in mock horror. “Please don’t. The last thing I need is another taser wielding woman running around my club.”
I laugh, remembering the phone call with Lincoln where he informed me of Tate’s fondness for tasers. She shoots him a grin.
“You forgot about my gun.”
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, I specifically remember you promising to not pull it on anymore of my boys,” he says and she shrugs.
“I would say it was more of something I would take into consideration before I pulled a gun on any more members.”
“Tate,” he warns, arching a brow at her and she holds her hands up in front of her like she’s completely innocent.
“Hey, just tell your boys to stop being dumb assholes and then we can avoid this whole situation in the future.”
“Kodiak is a fucking saint,” he mutters before shaking his head and turning to me. “I’m Blaze, by the way, president of this club.”
I nod, shaking his hand. “Ah, yes. I’ve heard all about you.”
