“But… why? I can make you come.” Her suggestive voice lowered as her mouth bent toward his neck.
“No, you can’t.” Dean took Cheryl’s hands in his, moving them away from his body. “I’m not attracted to you, Cheryl. You’re not here for the men or sex. Payback against Jared isn’t going to be a good enough reason for me to believe you want to belong to The Last Riders.”
“I do, and I can prove it.” Cheryl slid off the arm of the chair, kneeling before Dean.
His casual air disappeared in a flash at her refusal to listen to him.
“I’m trying to be nice without having your ass thrown out of this club. I told you no.”#p#分页标题#e#
Rachel had never seen the expression on Dean’s face that she saw on his profile now. Goose bumps rose on her arms and even Cheryl’s blatant behavior died and fear replaced it when she saw his face.
She hastily rose to her feet, but she wasn’t fast enough to escape Dean’s hand that reached out. He grabbed her by the back of her neck, forcing her back to her knees in front of him.
“I’m not your pastor anymore, but I’m going to give you some guidance. When I say no, I mean No! Now, you can fuck any brother you want here—I don’t give a shit—but stay away from me. You got me?”
Frantically, Cheryl nodded her head. Dean released her and she shakily got to her feet before running to the front door where Rachel was frozen in place.
Rachel barely managed to open it before Cheryl flew through it. Rachel’s eyes met Dean’s before she went out the door behind her. Rachel followed Cheryl through the front door and down the dark steps, hoping that neither of them fell. Cheryl made it to her car and was opening the door when she saw Rachel.
“You saw?” she asked tearfully.
Rachel had been about to pass her without a word but stopped. “It was kinda hard to miss.”
“Did it make you happy?” Cheryl’s caustic question had Rachel wanting to smack her.
“I would have been a hell of a lot happier if that had been Cash’s answer, but it wasn’t, was it?”
Cheryl’s bravado disappeared.
“No, it wasn’t. I’m sorry, Rachel.” Cheryl ran her hand through her tumbled hair.
Rachel unwillingly felt the turmoil she was going through. Sometimes, her gift wasn’t a gift. She didn’t want to feel sorry for her.
“Cheryl, it was only last year that you were asking Dean’s spiritual guidance on why you weren’t getting pregnant. He probably felt wrong in taking advantage of your breakup.”
“Why are you trying to make me feel better? If Cash offered me another turn at him, I wouldn’t turn him down.”
At least she’s honest, Rachel thought.
“Not many would turn him down,” Rachel acknowledged. “Is that what you want for yourself, Cheryl? To be just another woman to those men?”
“Why not? That’s all I was to Jared.” Cheryl leaned against the side of her car, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I don’t think so, Cheryl. He married you. He had affairs, but he always came home to you. He may have been an idiot, but to him, you were special.”
She wiped the tears away from her cheeks, staring at her hopefully. “You think so?”
“Yes, I do.”
“He’s pretty mad at me. He’s fighting the divorce,” Cheryl admitted.
“Make him pay for cheating on you, just don’t lose yourself in the process.”
Cheryl nodded her head before getting into her car.
“Need a ride?”
“Thanks.” Her and Cheryl would never be friends, but Rachel might as well get used to tolerating her presence just like the rest of the women at the club. Heaven help her, she knew it wasn’t going to be her last visit to the clubhouse.
Chapter 32
“What’s taking so long?” Mag’s impatience had Rachel hurrying to her side.
“I had to park the car,” she explained.
The whole town must be at the festival; she’d had to park at the end of the parking lot.
She took the handles of Mag’s wheelchair, pushing it along the busy street filled with townspeople and tourists. Rachel didn’t know why anyone would waste the time to come to the annual Arts and Crafts Festival, but it drew a huge crowd every year. She was finally able to make it to the church parking lot, which had been set up with different booths showing the artisans of the area and various foods. She pushed Mag to one of the tables.#p#分页标题#e#
“I’ll grab us something to eat.”
“Hurry up; I’m starving,” Mag demanded.
Rachel looked down into her tired eyes, realizing her blustering behavior was because she wasn’t feeling well.