“Molly? I’m good. I was good when she wanted to start dating Stinger.”
Tuck cocked a brow, inhaled from his joint, and continued to stare at Malice without saying anything.
“You were good when she started dating Stinger?” Rock repeated what Tuck had said, and then chuckled.
“Fuck you.”
“Hey, man, I thought I heard you and the Grizzly MC member went at it? Like went all primal in the woods behind the fight barn?” Pierce was outright howling with laughter now.
Malice was annoyed, but Pierce was right. “Listen, I thought I still loved her. I mean she’s the mother of my kid for fuck’s sake. But it wasn’t about that. I had my own issues, wanted things the way they had been for so long, because that was what was comfortable. She’s in good hands with Stinger, though, and the Grizzly takes care of Dakota when I’m not there.” Tuck handed over his joint, and Malice grabbed it and took a deep inhale. When he exhaled and handed it back to Tuck he glanced at Rock, who stood beside Pierce. “Besides, I want Adrianna.” There as a moment of silence, and he saw the way Rock and Tuck looked at each other.
Malice held his hand out, and Tuck grinned as he handed him the joint again. Once he had taken a couple of puffs and a nice buzz settled in, he realized that he had already known that Tuck and Rock had probably already caught on. They had been with him the entire time, and he knew it wasn’t like he had hidden his reaction to Adrianna. He handed the joint back to Tuck and leaned against the van.
“What is this with her, a sex thing?” Rock asked.
Malice looked over at the other man and narrowed his eyes, but Rock held a hand up in surrender.
“Okay, not a sex thing. Shit.” Rock looked ahead and finished smoking his joint. “’Cause I was going to say if it was a sex thing that is kind of fucked up, man.” Rock looked back over at him. “I mean, given what she has been through.”
“I said I wanted her at the meeting, didn’t I?”
Rock shrugged. “Man, you were desperate to make sure she was taken care of. I probably would have said anything, too.”
“She’s different from anything I’ve ever felt before, and I feel very protective and possessive of her.”
“No shit.” Tuck was squinting at him through the haze of marijuana smoke. “You went all territorial with Kink, and then it was clear you had a hard-on for her back at Marx’s.” Before Malice could lay into Tuck about taking about that shit Tuck started speaking again. “And then you fucking laid claim on her. I meant no disrespect when I say that, by the way.”
“Yeah, the whole fucking club knew that you wanted that woman for more than just a charity case, and that was before you said you wanted her as an old lady.” Rock said, and Malice looked over at him. Rock shrugged.
Malice ran his fingers through his hair and tugged at the short strands at the nape of his neck. But he didn’t say anything, and in fact had known that acting so barbaric and snapping at his Brothers wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“So you’re serious about her being your old lady?” Rock asked.
“Really fucking serious,” Malice said and looked at each of them.
Malice looked at Tuck and narrowed his eyes.
“You can scowl at me all you want, man. You don’t scare me.” Tuck dropped his roach to the ground, snubbed it out, and then picked up the butt. He glanced at Malice and grinned.
Malice ground his teeth and pushed off the van. Tuck smiled, but it was a cocky and self-righteous one.
“Fuck, man, be careful because her life hasn’t been a fairytale,” said Tuck.
“You don’t need to fucking tell me how her life has been. I was right fucking there.” His anger was totally misplaced, and snapping at Tuck like this wasn’t right, but the asshole was baiting him, and Malice knew why. They stood nearly toe-to-toe now, Malice breathing heavily as his anger was still very strong inside of him, and Tuck standing there with a stoic expression on his face.
“You’re right, I don’t need to tell you shit, but look at yourself, Malice.” Tuck took a step back and did a onceover. “You’re about a second away from kicking my fucking ass, and over what, because I said her life wasn’t a fairytale? Or because I’m busting your balls?” Malice closed his eyes, loosened his hands that were in tight fists, and breathed. He realized that he had been having this internal fight with himself. And he didn’t even know why.
“You want her, that’s pretty fucking clear, but don’t get fucking pissed when someone points out the obvious.”
Malice started pacing, trying to calm down with every step he took. “It isn’t just me wanting her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone before. It’s that I feel like she knows me, like she doesn’t judge me or my lifestyle. That’s why I placed my claim with her at the meeting, and want her as my old lady.” Yeah, she had mentioned he looked hard and scary, but she had still gone to him, still poured her heart out, and fuck, he was falling hard for this woman.