Page 46 of Keg's Revelation

Chapter Thirteen

Keg

I’d held the door openand let Raven walk in ahead me, then stopped so I didn’t plow her over.

“You’re such a liar,” Raven said frozen in her spot.

“Huh?”

“I’m overdressed, and it has nothing to with style. I mean actual items of clothing.”

I followed where she was looking and saw Tandy and Ginger, a couple of the regular club girls, talking with the man of the hour, Taylor.

“My clothes are frumpy, and I’m old.”

I shook my head at her deadpan response and couldn’t help but chuckled.

“It’s not funny. If their clothes were any tighter, and I’m being generous referring to them as clothes, they’d need to carry portable oxygen machines to breathe.”

I placed my hand at the small of her back. “Your prudish side is kinda cute.” That statement earned me what amounted to a death glare.

“I’m not a prude. But hell, my washcloths cover more than that one’s top. Her breasts remind me I need to buy a couple cantaloupes when I go to the grocery store.”

“They always remind me of the fake fruit my grandmother used to have sitting out. Well, not that big of fruit, but fake nonetheless.”

I’d heard the outside door open behind us and given Raven a little nudge to move us out of the way for whoever was coming in. The reply belonged to Charlie, who’d came in and now stood beside Raven looking at Ginger. By the snort that followed Charlie’s dig, Hawk was behind me.

“Ripened fruit,” Hawk said, and I turned to look at him, shook my head and smirked. He knew saying that shit would set Charlie off. I swear the two of them used it as foreplay.

Raven and Charlie both turned.

“And if I catch you squeezing that fruit, I’m going to cook up some sausage and add a couple of walnuts to it,” Charlie said, and even knowing it was a joke, I caught myself adjusting my stance.

Raven’s eyes landed on me. I saw the question in them. I wouldn’t apologize for anything I’ve done; it wasn’t even up for discussion.

“I haven’t been a monk. I’m not going to discuss who I’ve been with, nothing. If you feel you need to know, I don’t know what to tell ‘cause my answer will be ‘no comment’ if you ask.”

“That pretty much means you have slept with her.” Raven looked over her shoulder. “Or them,” she said snidely and maybe coated with a little jealously.

Which was interesting, and I’ll admit a tad pleasing. I’d been pushing her this past week. Kissing her goodbye when I left. Touching her when she’d been close. I’d spent time getting to know my son, but I took advantage of Raven being there, too. I needed to know if what I was feeling for her was real or just because she and I shared Ry between us. I never took it past kissing and small touches, and I knew I was getting to her and testing my own restraints because I’d leave wanting nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and take her with me.

“No comment,” I answered. She’d have to be able to accept the club, the guys, even the club girls and hang-arounds. If she wasn’t going to try, then regardless of what I was feeling for her, there really wasn’t a reason to get involved. We’d both have to have trust in each other. “If you’ve changed your mind about being here, I’ll take you home and come back,” I said, placing the ball so to speak in her court.

“It—”

“Charlie,” Hawk cut Charlie off before she could put her two cents in. He understood what was happening.

Raven would stay, and we’d both move to the next level in a relationship. Or she’d ask to be taken home and we’d both move on and only deal with each other when it concerned Ry. I stared at her and waited.

“Wow, what is it with this place?” She looked over at Charlie as she asked.

I could physically feel the resolve settling in along with disappoint that Raven wasn’t going to be able to accept all parts of my life. I glanced at Hawk and received a silent ‘sorry, brother’ look in return.

“Is it just Reed, or all of them, that their arrogance magically switches on when they cross the entrance?”

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