I knew I was being a little harsh but for some reason, I couldn’t stop the judgmental thoughts from zipping through my mind. Maybe it was the fact that she nearly ran me over. Or that she didn’t even seem to give two shits that she had.
“You looking for me?” Brand asked and I could hear the slight confusion in his voice.
“Brand? Wow, I can see why…” Her voice trailed off as she gracefully removed her sunglasses and slipped them on top of her head. That stupid rock seemed to catch every single beam of light and all but blinded me with every movement.
There was something there as she stared him down. It was almost like she was taking him in with some kind of awe. Sure, Brand wasn’t a bad looking guy, but I couldn’t understand why she didn’t hold the same disgusted sneer for him as she did for me. Brand and I weren’t all that much different from the outside. Ya know, if you took away his boyishly charming dimples and in need of a trim hair.
My hand automatically ran over my buzzed head. I had enough hair there that it tickled the skin of my palm. And for a split second, I thought about growing it out.
Fuck that.
How come this chick made me feel a little insecure and question myself?
That was some dumb shit, right there.
I was quite happy with the man I was and I had never had a problem with that before. A scowl overtook my face as I snapped back to their conversation.
But the words faded to the background as I looked into her eyes. They were focused on Brand but I had a feeling she was trying her hardest not to notice me. That thought alone made me smirk. But it wasn’t that. It was the light silver color that almost sparkled with a hint of sky blue.
So this was Cami’s sister. Now that she’d said that, I could see the resemblance. Though, Cami didn’t hold herself like some rich, the-world-owes-me girl like Laurel did. Cami was more down to earth and I liked that about her.
Those girls were Bensons. You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing that name on something. Anything from commercial property lease signs to hospital wings named in their honor. They were old money around here and it showed. The kind of people that I generally tried to stay away from. Not because I had a hate for people that had pockets so deep they never ended, but because people like that generally looked down on me and my brothers. We weren’t in the same class. Matter of fact, to them we had no class. So, I’d learned a long time ago it was best to just not even look their way.
“Okay, first,” she said after Brand had barked at her about where Cami was. Her spine lengthened like she wasn’t going to take shit from him and I had to hold back a chuckle. It honestly didn’t surprise me that she wasn’t going to let adirty bikertalk to her that way. “Lose the macho man stuff. I came here on her behalf, even if she is not aware of it. Take it down a notch and let me talk.”
Then she painted a picture of what Cami was going through. I felt a little bad for Cami and once again it seemed like she was trying to protect the club.
Cami had been at Branded In Ink the night that some fuckers decided to shoot up the place. Luckily, the shop was closed for the night, but it still sucked that Brand and Cami were there. Cami came out unharmed, just a little shaky. And in my opinion, she’d gone above and beyond to protect Brand when the cops showed up and hauled his ass to jail after planting cocaine in the shop. Cami went as far as to grab Brand’s gun from where he’d tucked it away and hid it on herself even though she hadn’t been so comfortable doing that.
It sounded like Cami’s parents had cut her off. And she had avoided Brand because she was afraid that her parents would follow through with some threats they’d made to come after the club. I had no doubt that they threw all of their connections out there just to prove that point. Cami had stayed away from Brand because she didn’t want to bring that on the club. But I say, fuck that. We could handle ourselves. And fuck her rich parents for doing that to her. Their own damn child. I just couldn’t believe how people could be sometimes.
“If you are the man that she’s talked to me about, then you must care about her deeply. And I have to be honest, I’m a little surprised that it wasmethat had to comehereand tellyouall of this.” She made sure to punctuate the important parts of what she was saying with a sharp tone.
“How did you even findhere, princess?” The question came out of my mouth with sheer amusement. Also, I hadn’t meant to say the princess part. It seemed that my filter was starting to slip.
But by the way her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed as she looked at me, it was clear that I was getting to her. And for some reason, I found myself liking that fact.
I readied myself because I knew she wasn’t going to let it go. In fact, I was so ready for her to put me in my place that I was almost holding my breath. Fuck if I could tell you why though.
“Well, Mr. Chip-On-His-Shoulder-Too-Good-For-Me-Biker-Guy, I went to the tattoo shop because she told me everything and the scary guy in the vest told me to comehere. And because I love my sister and hate to see her falling into the dark hole she’s been in the last few days, I put aside the fact that I might get my heels dirty and drove here.”
Damn, something about the way she said that had me itching to get closer to her. To pin her to the wall and show her just how much her bold attitude affected me.
But that was all wrong. She was a taken woman and I didn’t fuck with that shit.
Brand caught her attention again and as she looked back at him, I saw her features soften. There was no hiding how much she loved her sister. She’d do anything for Cami, even if it went against her parents. Something about that shot straight to my heart and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d seen a side of her that maybe she kept hidden.
“Cami is scared that our parents will cause problems for you and… this,” Laurel said after explaining that Cami hadn’t come to Brand because their parents had made threats against the club.
“Motorcycle Club. Say it with me, princess, Mo-tor-cyc-le Club.” I broke it down for her real slow like.
“B-ry, shut the fuck up,” Chris said and I bit back my chuckle when he looked at me half-amused and half-pissed on Brand’s behalf.
Brand and Laurel went back and forth a few more times trying to work out what the hell was going on. While I cared because Brand was a brother, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Laurel as she spoke.
Then Brand was off without so much as a look back. I silently cheered him on because I knew he was going to go get his girl. Chris walked back into the clubhouse and I stood there for a long moment studying Laurel. Her eyes watched as Brand peeled out of the lot. Then she looked back at me for a moment. There wasn’t even six feet between us but for some reason, it felt like too much space.
She blinked as if she was clearing her mind from whatever thoughts were going on in there. I kind of wanted to know what they were but wouldn’t dare ever ask.
