Page 7 of Their Property
“’Cause you’re always thinking with your dick.”
“I’m sorry, is there some other organ I’m supposed to use in decision-making?”
Before I could answer, Grudge came up beside me and wrapped both arms around my waist. He dragged his lips from my shoulder to my neck, using just the edge of his teeth to make me shiver and melt into him. His lips moved over my skin as if he were speaking, even though no words came out.
The man wasn’t mute by choice—he didn’t have a tongue. But when it came to bedroom fun, he’d learned to use his lips and teeth in the best of ways. I never thought I’d enjoy the feeling of teeth on my dick, but Grudge somehow made it work.
Communication was no issue, either. After so many years together, T-Bone and I could read his body language like an open book. Grudge also kept pen and paper with him at all times to communicate more complex thoughts.
“See? I’m not the only one with cock for brains.” T-Bone grinned at the sight of me leaning into Grudge’s embrace.
“Yeah, whatever. Come on,Pres.” I grabbed T-Bone’s ankle and dragged him a foot down the bed. “You’ve got to lead us and shit.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” T-Bone finally rolled up, running fingers through his dark blond hair.
He didn’t want the title of President, but after we lost everyone else in our original club, we needed a leader. T-Bone would have been next in line anyway, as the Sons of Odin Sergeant at Arms. But he and our former president, Bash, were lovers too. He never expected to lose someone he loved, and then take his place.
It took many years of grieving and fighting for him to grudgingly accept that he was now president of the Sons of Odin MC.
The three of us were all that were left, and that was an issue. We needed bigger numbers, and T-Bone insisted that neither Grudge nor I take the Vice President position.
“If something happens to me, neither of you should be burdened with having to fill my shoes,” he’d explained. “I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. The VP needs to be someone I can trust, but not someone I’m in love with or fucking. That’s my one rule.”
Grudge had snorted derisively at that. T-Bone was the flirt of our trio and often facilitated bringing new bed partners for us to play with. Usually men, but sometimes women. The point was, there weren’t many people we knew that T-Bonehadn’tfucked.
Fortunately for us, that still left Chris and Tiff.
The three of us got dressed and decent enough to stumble out of the bedroom and into the clubhouse dining room, where Chris, our VP, was already nursing a cup of coffee at the bar.
“Please tell me you made a whole pot,” T-Bone grumbled as he rounded the bar.
“Do I look like a prospect to you?” Chris shot back, smirking over the rim of his mug. “’Course I did, but we really should get a prospect or two.”
A black man with a shaved head and short beard, Chris rivaled T-Bone and Grudge in terms of height and musculature. Like the two of them, he radiated pure masculinity, but to me, his most arresting features were the soft dusting of freckles over his nose and cheekbones and his long eyelashes. It was almost a shame we hadn’t met him before his wife, Tiff, locked him down.
“You can look into prospects while we’re on this bodyguard job,” T-Bone said, helping himself to the coffee pot. “Bring me a list when we’re done, and we’ll make selections from there.” He took a deep swallow, sighing and smacking his lips. “Where’s Tiff?”
“On a supply run,” Chris said. “We’re gonna stock up for a while and lay low while you guys are doing the job.”
“You let her go by herself?” I asked.
Chris made a dismissive sound. “My wife, your treasurer, can handle herself. Worry about your own asses up in that creepy-ass building with a bunch of politicians lookin’ down their noses at you.” He paused for another sip of coffee. “Y’all really gotta, like,staythere?”
“The new ambassador needs ‘round the clock protection, apparently.” I shrugged and made my way behind the bar. “He’s from our old stomping ground, Four Corners. So if he was a decorated soldier who fought against Blakeworth or New Ireland, it makes sense. Other territories aren’t a big fan of Four Corners, and you never know who’s secretly allied with who.”
“Wait.” Chris held up a hand. “Am I hearing right that he’s from your old territory but you don’t knowwhoit is?”
“Mm-hm.” Grudge nodded an affirmative, his mouth drawn into a tight frown. He’d been the least enthused about taking the job, and for good reason. During a battle with Blakeworth a few years back, he’d been captured by the enemy and subjected to nonstop torture and abuse for nearly two full days.
T-Bone almost went on a homicidal rampage over that. In his eyes, the Four Corners’ governor didn’t try hard enough to get Grudge back before he was seriously injured. It was true, he wouldn’t have lasted much longer and spent weeks in the hospital. Grudge was no stranger to torture and he recovered, emotionally even, relatively quickly. T-Bone, however, was broken up about it for nearly a year. He always felt personally responsible when he couldn’t protect one of his own.
While I understood that hostage situations between warring territories needed to be handled delicately, that incident broke the camel’s back for us. After years of being jerked around by Governor Vance, we’d had enough. We always came when he called, even risking our lives to save his daughter, and he still treated us like we were disposable. So we left with no regrets.
Well, maybe a few.
“Care to explain why, after insisting you’ll never be Governor Vance’s bitch again, you take another job from him, and you don’t even knowwhoyou’re protecting?” Chris’ gaze swept across all three of us. “What if it’s one of those dudes in his cabinet you told me about? The ones that were all scared you’d make them gay?”
“Then at least it’ll be fun.” T-Bone chuckled into his mug. “But the real answer is, we need the money.”
