Page 11 of Wild Night

Viking clears his throat but thankfully walks away. He was just fucking with me. I know that he and everyone else watched me take her back to a bedroom and not leave last night. I claimed her without saying a single fucking word, and they all know it.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

“I told you I’d be seeing you around.”

I’m trying hard as hell to play it cool, not just to save face but to protect myself, too. The last thing I need is to catch feelings for this woman, which is why I wanted to stay away because I know it’s going to be really fucking easy to do. But the club is more important than that, which I need to continue to remind myself of over and over.

“Okay,” she says, her eyes widening.

“Want dinner?” I ask.

At that moment, a collective cheer erupts in the room, and I shift my attention away from Posey and watch as both Bullet and Dakota walk through the door. My conversation with Posey is on pause because the king and queen have arrived.

I expect Posey to step away from me and walk toward them, but she doesn’t. She stays frozen in her spot, and her muscles tense again. That is not the reaction I expected her to have at seeing her niece. Especially since she said that Dakota is the whole reason she’s here.

I’ve had the feeling there is more, especially after finding out about this husband, but now it’s confirmed. Posey is hiding something, and she’s not just here for a friendly visit. I’m going to get to the bottom of this shit before it blows the whole club into a million fucking pieces.

And my reward for all my hard work—fucking Posey… often.

POSEY

The people have been quietly chatting, drinking beer, and listening to the music on a low hum. But as the door opens, and Bishop and Dakota burst into the bar’s hangout area, the entire room erupts into applause and shouts as if someone famous has walked through the door.

But maybe they are famous. Maybe that’s what being the president of a club is all about. The notoriety and everything that goes along with being in charge. It’s probably really good to be the king.

Dakota’s eyes find mine, and she gives me a huge smile before breaking away from her new husband. Ivy stands beside me, unmoving, like a solid statue. At least until Dakota arrives. Only then does he take a step to the side.

For a moment, I think he’s going to stay right where he is next to me, but instead, he moves toward Bishop, and the two of them vanish down a hallway that I didn’t even realize was there.

“Posey?” Dakota’s voice calls out, breaking me from my intense staring.

Jerking back slightly, I shift my attention to her, plastering on another fake smile. “Your reception was amazing. I feel bad for being so late. I was trying to make it in time for the ceremony,” I say.

My words are sincere. I don’t have to fake them even a little. I should have made it to the ceremony. It should have been a priority, and I should have come here for the purpose of seeing her wedding and not out of selfishness.

But I’m a Bennet through and through because my whole reason for being here is because I’m a selfish asshole.

“I don’t care about that, but Posey, why are you here?”

God, she can see right through me. It shouldn’t surprise me. It’s not like I’m good at hiding anything or lying. I’m really not. I never have been. Sinking my teeth into the corner of my bottom lip, I worry the flesh there while trying to think of something to say that doesn’t make me sound like a bitch.

Exhaling a breath, I give her what I hope is a sincere smile before I begin speaking. I don’t think there is anything I can say to make me sound less like a jerk here. I’ve pretty much shown my ass completely—bare and everything.

“My trip here started out selfishly, but by the time I saw you, I realized this is where I need to be. We’re all each other has as far as family, and while family hasn’t always meant what it should have to me, I want to make an effort and get to know you. I would love to get to know this woman who is my niece, who I didn’t even know existed.”

“Selfishly? Like how?” she asks.

I’m not going to get around this. No matter how I talk and the circles I try to spin around in. Opening my mouth, I start to tell her about Lucian when I hear her name being called. Her head whips around, and she looks over her shoulder in the direction of the hallway where Bishop walks out, Ivy close behind him.

Dakota shifts her attention back to meet mine, her smile all-consuming. It reaches her eyes, her lips, everything. I swear, even her hair is happy right now.

“Okay, I’m going on my honeymoon. Promise me you’ll be here when I get back?”

Honeymoon.

I hadn’t thought about that. Perhaps because Lucian and I never went anywhere. That should have been a red flag, but my rose-colored glasses were firmly in place. Nothing would have seemed off to me at that time. My world was Lucian, and all I wanted was to be his wife. Being Mrs. Whitmore was the only thing that mattered to me in the whole world.

Look where that stupidity got me…

---