Page 9 of Spider
“Can none of you be serious for two seconds?”Casper asked.“How are the girls?Spider, don’t toy with Luciana.You have enough club pussy around there to occupy you.Leave the girl alone unless you’re serious.”
I stared at the table a moment, tracing the wood grain with my finger.I needed to reel Casper in, remind him who he was fucking talking to, but he’d given me the perfect opportunity.Luciana’s words still played in my mind.I wanted her to feel safe, to be secure in the knowledge she didn’t have to return to Colombia.
“Luciana asked me to claim her.”I looked at my men, watching for their reaction.“I told her she should think it over and not make a rash decision.She doesn’t have just herself to consider.She’s pregnant.”
“You’re considering it?”Fox asked, his brow furrowed.“You always said you’d never settle down.After the shit with Ryker’s mom, you said bitches were only good for fucking, not keeping.”
“I’m considering it,” I admitted.“I just think she’s making a mistake that she’ll come to regret, and once I ink her, that’s it until I draw my last breath.Even after I’m gone, I’d expect you fuckers to take care of her and treat her like a damn queen.”
No one said a word about my demise, but they knew better than most that I walked a fine line when it came to staying alive.Some of the shit I handled could easily end with my body being tossed into a shallow grave.It was a risk I was willing to take, and I knew every man at this table felt the same.Torch’s club might be a bit more law-abiding these days, not getting their hands quite as dirty, but then most seemed to be settling down and starting families.The majority of my club were still bachelors, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon.
“And the kid she’s carrying?”Bear asked.“You didn’t want kids after Ryker.That’s why you got snipped.”
“That ball’s in her court.If she wants to keep it, then I’ll do what I need to.If she decides to give it up, I’ll help her with that too.Even if we aren’t together, I’m not going to leave her defenseless.I’m an asshole but not a total bastard.”
“If Luciana trusted you enough toaskfor sex, then maybe you really should claim her,” Casper said.“She acts braver than her sisters but deep down she’s terrified of men.Showing you a different side?That’s a huge step for her.If she’s letting you in and giving you a glimpse of how vulnerable she is, then she’s dead serious about being yours.”
I was afraid he’d say something like that.I didn’t like it.Luciana seemed sweet, and I was furious over what she’d been through, but I wasn’t the settling-down type.Ryker’s mom had lived with me, so that my boy could be under my roof without a fight, but I’d never really made her mine.I hadn’t patched her or inked her, hadn’t married her, and I damn sure hadn’t let her put any sort of claim on me other than being the father of her son.Ryker had been a mistake when I was seventeen, but he was the best damn one I’d ever made.His mom had resented me for all I’d withheld from her and the club pussy I’d screwed even while she lived with me.She’d cursed me when she’d died.Women were too much damn trouble.
But there was something about Luciana that gave me pause.She wasn’t like the other women I’d been with, and I’d seen the pain in her eyes when she’d thought about me claiming her but fucking other women.When Ryker’s mom had pulled that shit, it hadn’t bothered me.But the idea of making Luciana cry or doubt herself?That shit fucking hurt.Only under my roof for two hours and already she had me by the balls.Maybe I was getting too old for this shit.
The doors to Church cracked open and Luciana peered inside, her wide gaze skirting around the room before landing on me.I should reprimand her, but there was something in the way she gripped the door that made me pause.Her knuckles were white, and there was tension bracketing her mouth.
“What’s wrong, Luciana?”I asked.
“I… Violeta and I were wondering if you’d be finished soon?”
“Do you interrupt your father’s meetings?”Fox asked her, his tone sounding almost bored.
Luciana paled and slowly shook her head before lowering her gaze, no doubt remembering exactly what happened when she disobeyed Mateo Gomez.
I growled at Fox, but he winked at me.What the fuck was he up to now?
“Think you should come apologize to your man for breaking the rules?”Fox asked.“Beg his forgiveness and hope he lets you stay?”
“My…” Her head jerked up.“My man?”
“You wanted him to claim you, right?”Fox asked.
She slowly nodded, then looked at me again.I crooked a finger, beckoning her closer.Luciana took a step into the room, the door closing behind her.As it clicked shut, she flinched but kept moving toward me.She stopped within arm’s reach and glanced at the men around the table again.Her gaze locked on mine and she licked her lips, making me notice the lower one trembled.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Sorry for what?”I asked.
“I interrupted your meeting.I understand that I need to be punished.”She reached for the hem of her shirt and I quickly closed my fingers around her wrist and pulled her toward me.Her startled gaze flew up and the pulse pounded in her neck.
“Do you remember the talk we had before coming here?”I asked.
She hesitated a moment, then nodded.
“And did I not tell you that you were no longer a whore?That you wouldn’t be tortured?”I asked.
“Yes,” she said, her accent getting thicker with her fear.
“So why were you about to undress in front of my men?”I asked.
I felt a tremor run through her and I tugged on her again, not stopping until she landed in my lap.She cast a furtive look at my men before turning to me again.
