Page 37 of Property of Zombie

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it,” I snap. “I don’t know what you expect from me, Zombie. I get that you need my help for whatever the hell it is that your club does, but you also want to screw me and sleep over. Am I a business associate, a girlfriend, a fuck buddy? Are you banging other girls while you’re with me? Do you want me because you need me or do you need me because you want me? You say you’ll call, but you don’t. You kiss me like you have every right to, but you don’t. You admit that you’d destroy my life if I don’t cooperate with what the club needs, but what about my needs? I’m not a chess piece sitting on a board that you can just move around on a whim whenever you feel like it. I don’t work like that. I’m⁠—”

“Are you gonna let me talk?” he interrupts. “Or am I supposed to just sit here and take your verbal lashing? Cause I gotta say, babydoll, I’m not a fan.”

Pulling a throw pillow from behind me, I bring it to my front like a piece of armor. “Go ahead, talk.”

“First, let’s get the title out of the way,” he says, and he scoots closer to me to grab the pillow and toss it to the floor before lacing his fingers with mine. “Mine. That’s your title. You’re mine, and I’m yours. And as long as we’re together, there is no one else.”

Frantically, I shake my head. “We don’t even know each other. And I’m not some toy you can pull out of a box and claim. I’m a person, not a possession.”

Zombie shrugs nonchalantly. “Fine. You’re not a toy. And yes, you’re a person. But you’re still mine. As for us not knowing each other… We can fix that, although I’m sure that it won’t change anything for me.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because, babydoll, I know everything I need to know.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“You’re beautiful and smart. No way you’d have been able to land Dr. Binks’ job otherwise.” He smiles, and dammit, my panties start to melt. “You’re dedicated to your job and the animals you treat. Hell, they’re not just animals to you. You love them, have bonded with them. No way you’d be able to do what you do in such close proximity if that weren’t the case.” He punctuates that statement with a smirk, and then he glances around my condo. “You’ve got family, but you’re not close with them. The limited number of photos tells me that. You love them, though, otherwise you wouldn’t have any family pictures. You’ve never once bragged about your educational accomplishments, but you’re proud of them and display evidence of them on the walls in your office. You don’t let people get close to you, at least not often. If you did, I wouldn’t have been the first man in your bed. You’re too passionate and self-aware to deny yourself sex, so it’s not because you’re celibate that guys haven’t been here. Shall I continue?”

Shocked by his words, by his observations and assessment of me, I nibble on my bottom lip for a moment so I can gather my thoughts. “No,” I finally reply.

He nods. “Okay, good. Now, second… There isn’t anyone else. I’m not gonna lie and say that I haven’t tried because God knows I did. Try, that is. But from the moment I laid eyes on you, I was ruined for any other woman. Don’t ask me to explain it because I can’t. I saw you and had to have you. The second I climbed over the fence and stepped in between you and Michael, I was a goner.” Zombie reaches out and rubs a thumb over the apple of my cheek. “Your face was flushed, and you had your hand between your legs. Fuckin’ hell, you were gorgeous and so damn vulnerable.”

“I was horny,” I protest. “Horny and desperate to feel something other than nerves about the speech I had to give that night.”

“Hates public speaking,” he says. “I’ll add it to the list of things I’m learning about you.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “Fine, you’ve claimed me. I’m not saying I’m okay with it or that I’m even going to see you again after today. I need some answers about the other stuff first.”

Releasing me, Zombie stands and begins to pace. “You’re right, I left you on ‘read’ earlier. I can’t give you details, so please don’t ask for them. Just know that I was knee deep in club shit that required my full attention.”

“Club business?” I ask.

“I can’t talk about it, Lucy,” he says, and his tone bleeds with pain. “I want to, believe me. I want to share everything with you, but I can’t. It’s one of the most basic rules of an MC. Sometimes it sucks, but it’s a rule for a reason.”

Genuinely curious, I ask, “What’s the reason?”

“There are a few, actually, but two that are the most important. I can’t discuss club business with you because what you don’t know can’t hurt you or be used against us.”

“And the second most important reason?” I prod.

“Keeping you safe. The less you know, the less of a target you are for our enemies.”

I contemplate what he’s saying. Sure, it’s kinda chauvinistic, and I’m not crazy about being kept in the dark, but I can understand why they enforce the rule. And in some weird way, it’s… sweet.

“Okay.”

He halts and locks eyes with me. “Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I get it, I guess. Enough that I won’t push the issue, anyway.”

He releases a breath, and I realize that he was worried about how I’d react to his explanation.

“As for what you asked me earlier when we were texting,” he begins. “Dr. Binks did do more than supply us with medication. Not often, though. At least since I’ve been a member of KOAMC.”

“What did he do?”

Zombie returns to the couch, his expression dark and unreadable. “I don’t want you to think less of me if I tell you.”