Page 80 of King's Barber
Epilogue
Barber
Three Months Later
King gaveme the evil eye from where he sat on my right. “Fucking do it, Barber.”
I grinned wickedly, staring him down. “Why? Whatcha got, King?”
He glowered, and I thought he would’ve yanked out his gun and shot me if Dallas hadn’t put it in the safe as soon as we arrived. “If you took your turn, you’d know.”
I snorted. Since Hunter had left, King’d been exceptionally more family oriented, but that didn’t help his moods. But that also had to do with him trying to cut back on the alcohol. “Language, please, my son is here.”
KC laughed and shook his head, holding up his hands in a way that didn’t show his cards. “Hey, don’t bring me into this. I swear all the time.”
Dallas sighed and rubbed his temple. The firelight flickered across his face, giving him an orange glow. Stars twinkled in the winter sky mostly covered by clouds that threatened to snow on top of us. It was crazy to sit out here in the cold, but King never did things in half measures.
Hound had the barbeque going, flipping sausages and steak while our club brothers were scattered across the lawn of King’s lakeside cabin he called home. Scar was across from me frowning at the cards in his hands, with Charley offering emotional support behind him.
“Just fucking go!” King shouted, earning looks from some of the other guys. Bishop snickered, rubbing his nose to hide his amusement.
I tutted the same way Quain did when he was especially annoyed at a mess. “Patience, pres. That’s the aim of this game.”
Dallas coughed out a laugh and glanced warily at King, like he was waiting for him to explode.
“Barber….” King’s voice went low, and KC shuffled away from me. “It’s fucking Uno. If you’re gonna slap me with a draw four, fucking do it.”
I shook my head. “You get so angry, pres. It’s just a game.”
Dallas heaved a sigh. “Barber, just put down your card.”
I laughed and picked my draw four out of the two cards I had clutched in my hands, slapping it on the stump that sat in the middle of our chairs. “Uno.”
King growled, baring his teeth in my direction, and I held my breath as I waited for him to tackle me to the ground. Instead he grumbled under his breath about cleaning duty and grabbed four cards from the pile on the wood. He called me all the names under the sun, and I pressed my lips together tightly to stop myself from laughing.
“I didn’t realize you took this game so seriously.” I shook my head. “Is this how you played with Hunter?”
Dallas nodded behind King’s back and then made a waving motion across his throat, telling me to cut it out, but I was just getting started.
“What color?” King snapped.
“Blue,” I answered, peeking at the other draw four in my hand. It was a lucky hand, and King was really going to kill me when I put the last card down.
“I bet he doesn’t have blue,” a familiar voice said behind me.
I spun on my seat, heart soaring at the sound of Quain. I jumped to my feet, dumped my last card on the piece of wood, and stalked in his direction, laughing as he quickly strode across the yard to meet me. Grabbing him around the waist, I heaved him up, and he curled his legs around my hips, our mouths slamming against each other’s in a fiery kiss that had my cock perking up, ready for action.
For three months I’d used my hand. For three long, long months I’d slept in a cold bed without his body to keep me warm. I didn’t give a damn that I was giving my brothers a show, I needed his lips on mine.
“Fuck,” I groaned into his mouth. “I didn’t know you were coming home.”
“Surprise?” He laughed, pressing his forehead against mine. He felt lighter in my arms and his waist was narrower.
Slowly putting him on his feet again, I stepped back and gave him a once-over. “You’re skinnier.”
“That’s not unusual,” KC called from where he sat. “He always loses weight when he’s away. He forgets to eat.”
Quain pursed his lips in KC’s direction. “I work a lot. I don’t get time to eat, and it’s expected I’d lose weight. I’ve gone from protecting someone for way longer than I’m used to being on an assignment, to… do other stuff.” He stared at my other brothers carefully. Except the board members, the rest only knew he was a contract killer.
