Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton

She’s Learning

Bowie

I rub the back of my neck, trying to work out the tension.  Bringing her here is killing me, but I know it has to be done.  “Just stay beside me.”

“I will,” she says with a nod as she follows me to the clubhouse.  She doesn’t seem frightened of being here, but she sure in the hell isn’t happy.

I stop just before walking inside.  “You’ll be okay.  You’ve got to get used to the clubhouse, so now’s as good of a time as any.”

“I thought you said I wouldn’t have to come here very much?”

I shake my head.  “You won’t usually.  Right now, though, I have to stake my claim.  I need to make sure every one of the boys knows you’re mine.”

My words aren’t exactly true, but they’re all she’s getting from me. When Rollo called to say there was a party tonight, and my appearance was needed, I almost left Shay at home.  I didn’t want to expose her to the shit that goes on at the clubhouse during a party, but then I got a call from Lock.  Marcus left town for the weekend.  Supposedly, he’s heading to New York for business, but Lock couldn’t be sure of where he went once he got on the plane.  No damn way I’m gonna tell her that I’m worried about that bastard showing up at our doorstep. 

Her eyes shoot daggers at me as she says, “I think you did that the last time I was here.”

“That wasn’t near enough, baby.” Pulling her into my arms, I raise one hand to her breast and give it a gentle squeeze.  “I need to show everyone that you’re mine.”

I feel a shutter run through her body when I lean down and place an open mouthed kiss on her neck.  Pulling the delicate skin into my mouth, I sink my teeth into her.  I bite down, just enough to leave a mark, then step away from her.  “By the time we leave today, everyone will know you belong to me.”

She runs a hand gently over the bandage on her arm, reminding me that my name is now where it belongs.  “I thought that was why I got this.”

“It is, but sometimes these boys need a bit more of a reminder,” I say with a nod as I open the door and lead her inside.

I feel her body tense when we are only a few feet from the door.  Looking down at her, I ask, “What’s wrong?” 

She nods her head toward the bar.  “What is Tin-Man doing?”

One of the club whores is lying across the bar with a line of coke spread across her bare stomach, and my brother is leaning over her getting ready to take a hit.  Before he does, his hand disappears between her naked legs.  Just as she lets out a moan and starts to lift her hips, he leans down and inhales the powder into his nose. 

I look back to Shay and shrug.  “He’s having fun.” It’s not really an answer, but that’s all she’s getting from me.  She has to learn that anything goes at the clubhouse, and that she has no say one way or another. 

Her eyes peel away from him and make contact with mine.  I can see the uncertainly in them when she asks, “Is he doing drugs?”

“Yeah, he is.  You’ve seen him smoke weed, so I don’t know why you’re surprised.”

“That’s not weed,” she says with a shake of her head.  “That a lot worse than marijuana.”

“It’s none of your fuckin’ business.”

Her body goes stiff, and she takes a step back.  “What?”

Moving toward her, I put my hands on her arms and give them a tight squeeze.  “Nothing that goes on here has shit to do with you.  I just need you to stay by my side and keep your mouth shut.  When you’re here, you’re nothing more than arm dressing.”

It’s a shit thing to say, but it’s the truth.  She has to learn her place inside the clubhouse- the sooner the better.  If she doesn’t, there will be trouble.  Right now, I got enough shit to worry about without adding Shay’s mouth to the list.

“I can’t believe you said that to me.”

I lean forward, placing my nose inches from her.  “When you’re in this clubhouse, you do what I say.  I’ve already told you this shit. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Before she can reply, a hand comes down hard on my back.  I turn to see Toke standing close to me, too fuckin’ close for me.  “What do you want?”

“Having trouble with your woman?” he asks with a smirk on his face.

I shake my head as my arms snake around her shoulders.  “Not a bit.”

He nods and starts to walk past us and out the door.  Just before he steps outside, he looks back to me.  In a voice that is low enough to only reach my ears, he says, “Make sure she stays by your side and keeps her mouth shut. If Cash finds out she has an ounce of fire in her, he’ll be after her even more than he already is.”

With that, he’s out the door, leaving me pissed as fuck.  For some reason, his words didn’t sound like a threat. They were more of a warning.  I look down to Shay, making sure she can see my anger. “Like I said, keep your fuckin’ mouth shut.”

She has nothing to say to that, just hangs her head and walks with me to a table.  I pull her into my lap and motion for Rollo to join us.  As soon as he sits down, one of the club whores straddles his lap.  She is moving against him in a way that I’m sure is making his dick hard, while he rubs up and down her bare legs. 

I can feel the tension in Shay’s body grow when he pulls on her shirt and bends his head down to suck a nipple into his mouth.  Still, Shay keeps her mouth shut.  Good, she’s learning. 

I give Rollo a minute to have his fun, then get down to business.  Looking at the woman, I point toward the boys on the other side of the room.  “Get lost.” She doesn’t even hesitate.  Within seconds she’s across the room straddling another one of the brothers.

“Fuck, man.  I planned on keeping her tonight,” he says with a lazy smile.

“You can get her back later. Right now, we need to talk.”

His eyes move to Shay then back to me.  “Looks like you’re too busy to be doing much talking right now.”

Normally, I would never talk shit in front of a woman, but Shay is different.  She’s mine, not just some bitch I plan to fuck.  “Just tell me why it was so important that I showed up tonight.”

“Cash is out of town.  Thought this would be the perfect time for you to talk to some of the boys.”

“Where the hell is he?” Cash is always on the road, but I usually know he’s gone before he walks out the door.

“I’m not sure.  He rode out this morning, said he had some business to take care of and wouldn’t be back for a few days.”

I’m not liking the sound of this, but his absence opens the door for me to talk to my brothers. There are a lot of changes coming to the club. I need to feel them out, see who is going to back my play, and figure out which ones need to hit the curb.