Page 63 of Damascus & The Wildfire
“He was pissed?”
I shrugged. “He was blindsided. He accused me of leading him on.”
Merrick leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “You didn’t. Hatchet says things he doesn’t mean when he’s angry. He just needs a ride to clear his head. Let’s go inside. You need a drink.”
He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me tight to his side as we stepped back into the clubhouse. The room hummed with energy, loud voices, and gruff laughs.
As we approached the bar, Eva caught my eye. She raised a brow. Shit. My best friend was going to be pissed that this was how she found out about us. To be fair, there hadn’t been an “us” for more than a few hours, and I was still wrapping my mind around it.
Eva nudged Reaper, his glance following hers. Instinctively, he looked around the room—no doubt to see if Hatchet was present—before shifting back to Merrick with a question in his eyes.
“What do you want to drink?” Merrick asked, pointedly ignoring him.
“Whatever you’re having is fine,” I murmured.
Merrick placed our order with Leah as he gently stroked my back before moving his hands up to knead the muscles at the base of my neck. His thumbs worked in slow circles as I leaned into him.
He turned me to face him, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull my body against his. “Stop. Hatchetwill be fine. Trust me. We’ll give him the night, and by tomorrow, he’ll be as happy as ever, with a blonde with big tits and no brain on his lap.”
I grimaced and let out a forced laugh. “I’m not sure how that mental picture is supposed to make me feel better.”
He squeezed my waist, then brushed his lips across my forehead.
Before I could respond, Eva strolled over and grabbed my arm. “Sorry, Merrick. I need to steal my best friend away from you for a few. She’s apparently forgotten to tell me a few things.”
I shot Merrick an apologetic look as Thane and Fuse surrounded him, and Eva pulled me to the quiet hallway.
“I mean this with so much love, but what the fuck is going on?” Eva asked, her tone insistent and confused.
“Um, so, Merrick and I are a thing.”
“Yeah, I gathered that. When did this happen?”
“Today. It’s a long story,” I explained, launching into the strange events of my morning and afternoon.
Eva mimed her mind exploding. “I thought for sure you’d hook up with Hatchet. I thought you might even be the woman to settle him down. It always seemed like you both had fun together.”
“We did. We do. But kissing him made me realize we couldn’t be more than friends. It felt like how I imagine kissing you would feel.”
Behind me, I heard a throat clear. We turned to see Reaper’s imposing form before us.
“You planning to kiss my woman?” he asked me with a smirk.
“I think I’ve kissed enough of my friends today.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You finally went for it,” Fuse said, a statement rather than a question. He swirled the scotch in his glass. “Took you long enough.”
Thane glanced between us. “You knew about him and Kenna?”
“There wasn’t a ‘me and Kenna’ until this afternoon,” I explained evenly, meeting Thane’s stare without flinching. “We’re figuring it out.”
“I don’t really give a fuck what’s going on, as long as it doesn’t affect the club,” Thane growled, his stare sharp enough to cut. “Where’s Hatchet?”
I shrugged. “He left after Kenna spoke to him. He needed air. Nothing a night with a sweetbutt or two won’t fix for him.”
Thane grumbled under his breath, shaking his head as he walked away.
