“Is he...” I couldn’t say the rest.
“Alone. They all are.” Glory wrapped her arm around mine.
She didn’t say it, but I heard it. How long until he found someone?
Avery gasped. “I did this, I think.” She cringed. “I told Rock about where we were going, and how you were shaking off your man-blues tonight.” Her lips flattened. “I didn’t think he would tell everyone.”
Why did Rock or anyone care what I did?
And then it hit me. My status or soon-to-be status with Jericho.
“You look pissed.” Glory stepped back. “What are you going to do?”
Fuck it. Fuck them.
No one owns me.
Rage colored my vision. Why did they always take more? One more lick of the fist, one more point, one more...until no more existed.
Not this time, if you pushed me into a corner, I’d claw my way out. Shove me down and I’ll stand up. The air vibrated around me and I embraced my rage in a way I never had before. Tonight I’d go down swinging, because Red had returned for one last ride.
“Dance.” I ground out the word. “And fucking kill the first biker who speaks to me.”
“Hell yeah. Those boys need to find some damn manners,” Rachel yelled. “Give ’em hell, Lila.”
I stomped out of the bathroom with Glory and Avery trailing me, babbling about being safe and how I needed to calm down. But there was no stopping me.
I moved to the floor, and my two friends flanked me. I lost myself in the crowd and began dancing. A man could join my dance or not.
Before two songs passed, my new friends surrounded me on the floor. Jericho and his crew leaned against the bar. Tension coiled inside me faster than I danced it away. I’d landed in the middle of West Side Story—was I with the Sharks or the Jets?
I want to be me.
I spun out of the center of the group and into a group of guys who appeared single. One moved across from me and the others melted away. This guy danced with grace, and I liked the looks of him. He had dark hair, almost black, and Hispanic features. We danced through song after song. I lost myself in the music, and the man with the dark walnut eyes. Eventually the music slowed. He tilted his head, asking permission, I think. I nodded, and he moved closer. His slow dance was intimate and sexy, but didn’t resemble dry humping in the least.
Anticipation combined with the high of dancing, and flutters of attraction skittered through me.
Thank God, I still feel it.
I’d worried Dare would be the only man I was ever attracted to. One slow song morphed to two. My hands skimmed his chest and back while his fingers trailed the bare skin on my back. Whispers of heat remained everywhere he touched. He tightened his grip and brought me closer. I could’ve easily resisted. I chose not to. His lips fluttered over mine in a gentle first kiss before he pressed harder. He flicked his tongue with smooth expertise through my parted lips.
The song wound down, and we moved apart. The hot man in front of me had kissing skills to match his dance skills.
And nothing, no chemistry.
No quickening low inside me, no need to push for more, nothing other than knowing I’d been kissed by a world-class kisser.
Why the hell didn’t my body react?
From the heated glow in his eyes, I’d say the lack of feeling was only my problem.
He mimed a drink, and I nodded, following him from the floor with my gaze on him. I didn’t need to see the Brotherhood. The guy stopped before we’d made it to the bar, and I looked up and into Zero’s face.
I wanted to scream to the heavens, throw a tantrum or kick someone in the balls. But Zero was only the messenger. He wore his cut, and said something to the guy ahead of me. The guy melted away, not even glancing over his shoulder at me.
I reconsidered kicking Zero, but I decided to save it for Jericho. Zero bent his head to follow him with an expressionless face.
Did he think I betrayed Jericho?
My life was out of control. The last thing I wished for was the only option left to me. But I’d set the bastard on fire in my final act of destruction.
Zero led me to Jericho. He smiled wide and drew me close. “We had a deal.” He spoke into my ear.
Rigid with fury, I shot him the bird, but it was only the beginning of what I had in store. He studied me and motioned to the door. I went with him because I had some shit to say. Dare avoided my gaze as I walked by him. He knew the truth.
Why did he scowl at me?
I sucked in the fresh night air, but it didn’t cool the volcano in me. My guts burned and shot heat up into my throat.
“You can’t go off script without telling me,” Jericho growled when we were clear of the club entrance. “Rock came to me worried you’d do something reckless. What was I supposed to say? Don’t worry, it’s all a joke. And then he’d come to claim you.”