Page 165 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Mom?”

“Yeah.”

“She died some years ago,” Devon replied. “Heart attack.”

“No,” I gasped. “I didn’t even know. You never told me.”

Devon shrugged. I realized just how disconnected we had been. But the moment I needed help desperately, I had called Devon, and he had shown up for me.

“Is that when you joined up here?” I asked.

“Yeah, I suppose that was the catalyst,” Devon nodded. “I think I just wanted some security. We may have our issues in this club, but at the end of the day, we’re a brotherhood. We have each other’s backs.”

I nodded. “And you like it… this lifestyle?”

Devon smiled. “It grows on you… trust me. You might find yourself liking it, too, before long.”

I smirked. “I don’t know about that. In any case, will I even have the option?”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t seen any women around here… and I’ve been here a week,” I pointed out.

“Oh,” Devon nodded. “Ryder doesn’t really encourage us to bring our women to the clubhouse. This is mostly an estrogen-free space.”

“Apart from me.”

“Yes,” Devon smiled. “But that’s temporary.”

“You guys hope.”

Devon chuckled. “The only women that come through here are Ryder’s… and they’re just passing ships. No woman ever spends more than one night with him in any case.”

I felt my hands clench a little at the subject. I didn’t want to have such a visceral reaction, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. And I couldn’t seem to keep my curiosity in check either.

“He brings home a lot of women, huh?” I asked, hoping that my tone was indifferently curious. I wondered if it was even possible to be indifferently curious. I was pretty sure that was an oxymoron.

“Usually,” Devon nodded, and then he frowned. “Actually now that I think about it, he hasn’t brought anyone over this whole week… has he?”

“I haven’t seen anyone,” I admitted.

“That’s odd,” Devon said. “He usually has a couple of girls over in any given week.”

“Geez,” I said, unable to contain my disgust. “He sounds like a pig.”

“Why?” Devon asked. “Because he’s living his life?”

“He treats women like shit,” I pointed out.

“He doesn’t,” Devon said, defending Ryder. “Or at least… he doesn’t treat women any differently than he treats men.”

“So what you’re saying is he treats everyone like shit?”

Devon smiled. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“What’s his deal though?” I asked. “I mean… he’s really young compared to some of the other members I’ve met. How come he became president over older members of the club? Was it just a case of nepotism?”

“Of course not,” Devon said. “We vote in our president.”

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