Page 13 of Chains
“Because she told Hannah you did, and Hannah told me.”Knuckles smirked.“Also said you ran out right after like you were on fire.”
My jaw clenched.“I didn’t run.”
“Strategic retreat, then,” Knuckles suggested, his voice dripping with sarcasm.“Look, brother, just claim her already before someone else does.Half the single guys in the club are circling her like sharks.Not only is she a beautiful woman, she’s fucking sunshine and rainbows and that’s fuckin’ catnip to these fuckers.”
As if to prove his point, I watched Knight approach Ellie with two beers, offering her one with a grin.My grip tightened on my own bottle until I thought it might shatter.“She ain’t interested,” I said, more to convince myself than them.
“Really?”Knuckles pointed with his chin.“‘Cause she just took his beer.”
Ellie had indeed accepted Knight’s offering, though I noticed she placed it on a nearby table without drinking from it.Smart girl.Never take a drink you haven’t seen poured, especially in a place like this.
“Just being polite,” I argued.But something hot and uncomfortable twisted in my gut as Knight leaned closer to her, saying something that made her lips quirk upward.Not a full smile, but enough to encourage him.
“Polite, my ass,” Knuckles said.“She’s waiting for you to make a move, and you’re over here playing a fuckin’ wallflower.”
“I’m not playing anything,” I growled.“Just keeping an eye on her.Three black cats, remember?Bad fucking luck.”
“Yeah, and I’m the King of England.”Knuckles snorted.“You’re scared shitless of her.”
“I’m not scared of anything,” I retorted automatically, the lie bitter on my tongue.The truth was, Ellie terrified me.Not because of her cats or her witchy stuff, but because of how she made me feel.Like I wanted to deserve something good, even after all the shit I’d done.And maybe, if this woman believed in me, I could reach my goal.I could make myself worthy.
As I watched, Griffin joined Knight, trapping Ellie between them in what looked like a friendly conversation but still set my teeth on edge.She handled it with grace, her sharp wit evident in the way Griffin flinched backward, laughing but obviously stung by whatever she’d said as he put his hand over his heart.
“She can take care of herself,” Hawk observed.“Girl’s got a mouth on her.”
“Yeah, she does,” I agreed, remembering the taste of it, soft and warm under mine.I shifted my weight, suddenly uncomfortable.
One by one, the single members of the club made their way to Ellie, offering drinks, compliments, and probably propositions I couldn’t hear.She deflected them all with that humor of hers, her eyes occasionally flicking toward where I stood, though she never quite looked directly at me.
“Ten bucks says she goes home with Ranger tonight,” Gunnar said, nudging Knuckles.
“Fuck that, she’s got better taste.My money’s on Griffin,” Knuckles replied.
“Never happen.”
“Might want to keep an eye on Knight there.”Hawk nudged Gunnar’s shoulder.All of them ignored me now.“Creepy as that fucker is, he has this whole cinnamon roll thing goin’ on chicks dig.”
The casual way they bet on her, like she was some prize to be won, made something snap inside me.My vision narrowed, blood pounding in my ears.“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled, surprising even myself with the venom in my voice.
“Well, damn,” Knuckles said with a grin.“It’s like that, huh?”
Before I could answer, movement across the room caught my attention.Noose had sidled up to Ellie.Unlike the others, he didn’t bother with a drink offering.Instead, he went straight for contact, his hand sliding possessively over her arm as he leaned in close to her ear.
I saw her stiffen, then she smiled up at him like he was the only person in her world.Something primitive and violent surged through me.The bottle slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor as I pushed off from the wall.I was moving before I’d consciously decided to, shoving through bodies that suddenly felt like obstacles in my path.
The music seemed to warp and stretch, the laughter around me dying as I closed the distance.All I could see was Noose’s hand on Ellie’s arm and the way she gave him one of her beautiful smiles that should be all fucking mine.
I grabbed him by the collar, yanking him backward with enough force that he stumbled.Before he could regain his balance, I slammed him against the nearest table, my forearm across his throat.
“She’s mine,” I roared, the words tearing from somewhere deep and primal inside me.They echoed off the metal surfaces of the clubhouse, bouncing back at me in the sudden silence that had fallen.My chest heaved with each breath, adrenaline coursing through me like wildfire.Noose struggled briefly against my hold, then went still, looking up at me with an expression I couldn’t read.
Then, to my surprise, he smirked.His hand came up to clap me on the shoulder.
“‘Bout fuckin’ time,” he wheezed around the pressure on his throat.“Now the rest of these fuckers can pay up cause they each owe me a hundred bucks for winnin’ the fuckin’ bet.”
I blinked, the red haze of rage slowly receding.“What bet?”
Noose’s grin widened.“How long it’d take you to claim your woman.I said within the week.Everyone else thought you’d pussy out for at least a month.”
