“Property of what?” I let the tags go, and they fall back to my chest. Then I reach down and grab my bag, wiping at the gravel dust.
“Of the Ghost Riders.”
“Okay.” I’m not really sure what to say to that, and I’m kind of over this. First he tries to tell me Lucias is down the road possibly hooking up with a women, then he tells me that he’s inside with one. I feel my throat contract, the sting of tears burning my nose.
Is that what’s going on inside? Some party and he just didn’t want me to come? He didn’t invite you here, a little voice says in the back of my mind. He had stuff to handle, he said, then he’d be over late. I don’t want to believe it, but it still burns just thinking it.
I turn, heading back towards my car. I’m not going to fight to get into Lucias’ place.
“Hey, you can come in,” the man calls from behind me. Then I hear another mumbled “fuck!” from him.
I feel a tear slip free, and I wipe it from my face quickly. I can hear the man coming towards me, the gravel crunching under his heavy boots, and I only start walking faster, not wanting to face him. I just want out of here. Then I hear the roar of a motorcycle and see a light coming up the long drive.
Lucias pulls up behind my car, blocking me in. Taking off his helmet, he kicks down the stand on his motorcycle and swings himself off, coming right towards me with worry on his face. I feel a tug of relief that he wasn’t inside. That he’d been out handling something like he’d said.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I can hear the concern in his voice. His hand comes to my chin, making me look up at him. “Something happen? I thought I was meeting you at your house.” He looks around, his gaze going over my shoulder.
“What happened? Why was she leaving?” Lucias growls at the man I’m guessing is still standing behind me.
“Pres, I didn’t know she was yours until she was already trying to high-tail it out of here,” the man tries to explain.
“Why the fuck does she look like she’s been crying?” Lucias goes to step around me, but I grab his arm to stop him.
“Fuck, I just thought she was a random sweetbutt, and I might have implied some shit.”
“Inside!” he barks at the man. Then he looks back down at me “What did he say?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s just forget it. I wanna go back to my place.”
“I don’t like that shit.”
“It’s fine, really. I’m sure he didn’t mean what he implied or whatever he said. I didn’t even understand half of it.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t like you saying you got your own place, like our places aren’t together, but we’ll get back to that in a minute. Tell me what he said so I can straighten it out.”
I don’t know why I don’t want to tell him. Okay, maybe it’s because I don’t want to seem insecure. Lucias is like a freaking sex god. I don’t even want to think about the kind of women that come on to him.
“No secrets, Izzy. I told you that shit already.” He had. Just a few nights ago when he came home looking like his fists had been in a fight. Knuckles all red and torn. I knew. When I started cleaning him up, he told me if I asked he’d tell me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to do it. I just shook my head. I could tell he didn’t want to, that he didn’t want that touching me. When I’d shook my head, he kissed me and said if there was something I ever wanted to know, all I had to do was ask and he’d tell me. That he’d never keep secrets from me and he expected the same. And now he was asking.
“Just that you might be with someone already,” I shuffle on my feel a little before I finish, “you know, inside or whatever.”
Lucias lets out a breath. “No, baby, he said that shit to probably get you gone, not knowing who you were. Everyone knows I claimed someone.”
“You have women just showing up trying to see you or something?” I push, unable to help myself.
“No, I can’t say we have women banging on the doors to get in here. It’s a hard rule. I don’t let that shit fly. Only people allowed in this building are members and property.”
There goes that word again.
“Do you not want me here?” I ask. I know we just gave ourselves the clear to be out in public together, but he hasn’t asked me to come here, even tonight when he could have.
Now he starts to look like he doesn’t want to answer the question. I take a step back. I was worried about this. I don’t really fit in with a biker gang or whatever they are. Lucias doesn’t talk much about them and I hadn’t done a lot of asking.