Red Hot(Sex & Mayhem #5)(114)

“Jack’s right this time, Lucy. That was cruel,” said Candy, stepping forward with her hands folded underneath her breasts.

Lucy opened her mouth when the sound of a door opening tore through the uncomfortable silence.

Sam walked in with a smile. “What’s for— what the hell?”

“Burgers,” said Candy, strolling past Loki in her pink apron. “Hi, baby. You got me the spices?” she asked, clearly trying to resolve the tension, but the high pitch of her voice didn’t help to hide the dent in the wall, or the fact that Jack was hugging a topless Loki.

Sam passed a little pink bag to Candy, and she disappeared in the kitchen as if there were a pack of wolves chasing her.

Jack let go of Loki with a deep sigh. “Shit got messed up.”

Monster looked over Sam’s head and pushed him to get in. “Lucy,” he said, with a slight nod, and she nodded back, as if there was some kind of telepathy going on between them.

Loki folded his arms across his chest and backed away until his ass hit the wall. He’d fucked up bad, but at least it seemed Jack was more angry at Lucy than at him.

“Are we set?” Jack asked, combing his beard with his fingers. “Are you gonna help out or not?” His gaze swiped over the floor and finally settled on Lucy.

She exhaled and looked between Jack and Monster. “I don’t really have a choice, do I? You might be an asshole, l but I don’t want you to die either.”

“Did you tell her what we want her to do?” asked Sam.

Lucy spread her arms. “Go to Paxton’s house, tell her I wanna rat on the Nails, and get her to eat a pastry?”

Sam nodded and approached the dent in the wall. He scowled, punching Jack’s chest. “You are repairing this.”

“I’m not your handyman.” Jack groaned and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “There. That should cover it,” he said with a tiny smirk.

Monster nodded toward Loki. “By the look of it, I’m guessing you know what’s on his back?”

Sam snarled at the money. “On Loki’s back?”

Loki groaned. “Can someone fucking lend me a T-shirt?”

“You laid your bed, now you sleep in it.” Jack grabbed Loki’s arm and turned him around for Sam to see.

It felt as if he were stripped naked and pushed out on stage. Loki curled his shoulders. “It’s private,” he muttered, spinning out of Jack’s grip.

“Fucking hell,” growled Sam. “Are you two insane? You need to have him cover it up!”

Jack took off his T-shirt and put it on Loki. “There. Covered.”

Only now, wrapped in Jack’s warm T-shirt, it hit Loki that maybe Jack actually wanted to show off that tattoo to Sam in yet another bid to out-do his best friend, not to humiliate Loki.

Loki pulled up the front of the shirt and put the collar over the bridge of his nose. He sometimes used the T-shirts Jack left for washing, and he definitely smelled them, but wearing it in the presence of other people felt different altogether.

Sam stepped closer, gesturing toward Loki. “That doesn’t change anything. What if some of the other guys see it? They’re gonna eat you two up and then spit you out in front of the clubhouse!”

“They’re not gonna see it, are they, Loki? You’re gonna wear a fucking vest under your T-shirts every day, aren’t you?” Jack grabbed Loki’s nape and squeezed. Loki gasped, breathless. As irritated as he was at the treatment he was getting with everyone else present, the pleasure of Jack’s touch, wearing his clothes, somehow made it all less disturbing.

Sam stepped closer. “Listen to me, just have him cover it with another tattoo. Of... I don’t know, a big fox if he needs to have you somewhere on him all the time, but this is too damn risky!”

“Don’t bother,” said Monster, picking up a cookie from the platter. “He’s not gonna do it.”

Instead of answering, Jack pointed at the cookie with a silly grin. “Those are sure as fuck not gluten-free.”

Monster stared at the cookie, turned it in his hand, and eventually put it back to the plate.

Loki slouched against the wall, watching the Coffin Nails logo on Jack’s back move, the demonic hand trembling with each of Jack’s breaths.

“Are we doing this, or not?” asked Lucy. “How can you be sure Paxton’s even at home?”

“She is. They’re broadcasting the Golden Bloodlines marathon tonight. That’s her favorite show, and she took the evening off,” said Monster, settling for a few nuts from a bowl on the coffee table.

Loki never understood how, but Monster was the guy who knew everything about everyone, from Loki’s obscure exes to local police detectives. It was freaky as hell and combined with the stories about Monster being into BDSM created an image Loki didn’t want to explore.