We do now.
Ridge found himself putting one foot in front of the other as he walked up to the clubhouse door and yanked it open.
“Whoa!” Salvation said, clapping him on the back. “Let’s leave the door in place there, buddy.” He squeezed his shoulder as he slid Ridge a sideways look of concern and moved passed him, into the clubhouse.
Ridge blinked.
He hadn’t even realized that he’d almost pulled the door from its hinges. As Salvation took the collection bag to the Chapel, Ridge’s eyes searched the room. His leopard perked up even more. Inside, the clubhouse had been completely remodeled. To the right, two pool tables and a jukebox took up most of the space. Several of his brothers were gathered around them as a few of the guys played a game of Cutthroat. On the left side, was the long, sleek black bar that extended almost the full length of the room. Most of the seats were occupied. But as Ridge looked around the room, nobody new stood out. The same club girls wandered around trying to get some attention, while others were hanging onto some of his brothers.
Disappointment turned in his stomach and mentally he saw his leopard’s head fall. He didn’t know why he felt saddened. He should have felt relieved, but…
Sighing, he walked through the room and up to the bar. Maybe his leopard had gotten it all wrong, after all.
I’m not wrong. She is here.
Obviously not.
His animal went silent, which was nothing new.
“Where’s Emily?” Ridge asked. He needed a drink.
After everything that had happened this week, and now the scare of a mate – Ridge saw a lot of alcohol in his near future.
“She’s gone,” one of his brothers replied without elaborating.
“Fucking hell.”
Ridge walked around the edge of the bar and grabbed himself a beer. Popping the top, he tossed it in the trash and lifted the bottle to his lips. The cold brew felt satisfying against his parched throat.
“Ridge!” Lowering the bottle, he turned to see his President standing in the hallway. “Chapel. Let’s go.”
As he turned to walk back around the bar, he bumped into a woman that most certainly was not Emily. This woman had a short spikey cut to her black hair and green eyes that shone like emeralds.
“Can you possibly watch where the hell you’re going?”
And apparently, a mouth that she couldn’t control.
The bar area went silent. All talking stopped as every eye turned toward them as they waited to see what Ridge would do. Nobody ever talked to him that way. Most people knew better. And as he opened his mouth to inform the raven-haired cutie just who she was talking to, his leopard decided to weigh in with his own two cents.
Mate.
What?
She is our mate.
Ridge blinked and then looked at the woman in front of him, again.
This was his mate? No way.
The woman was tall but slim. She had a slight curve to her waist and small, rounded breasts. She reminded Ridge of those ballet dancers his sister used to watch on TV.
Mate her. Claim her.
Whoa! Calm down there, Cat. We can’t just bend her over.
Why not?
It doesn’t work that way.
“Ridge!” Lux yelled. “Let’s go!”
Ridge snapped out of his head and looked the mysterious woman in the eyes. Lowering his voice, even though he knew all his brothers would hear him, he said, “Little girl, before you speak to me like that again, I would advise you to know who you’re talking to. Do not make me have to bend you over my knee. Got it?”
Her eyes flashed with annoyance and then snapped to his cut. He watched her face as she finally realized who she had spoken to with such disrespect. Ridge wasn’t just a club member, and he definitely wasn’t a simple prospect. He was the Dark Leopards MC’s VP.
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and Ridge almost smiled.
Don’t be mean to our mate.
Mate or not, she will understand and know her place.
As he pushed passed her, Ridge smacked her on the ass and winked. This time, he did smile as her face flushed a pretty shade of pink.
He made his way around his brothers knowing that her eyes were tracking him. He could feel them burning a hole in his back and his smile grew. He wanted to turn around to see if she were still blushing, but he didn’t. People were waiting on him, so he just kept walking.
The entire time, his cat was demanding that he go back and claim its mate. It didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone in a room filled with other males. His leopard’s anxiety intensified. Ridge felt like there was a war going on in his head.
“New girl getting to you already?” Lux asked, clapping him on the back.
“Something like that,” Ridge replied. “Who is she?”
“Andi, something.” He shrugged. “Emily took off with some dipshit she met down at the gas station. And to keep the peace, she sent this girl to us to take her place. Shit, half the time I don’t know what in the fuck is going on around here.”
She was beautiful, that much Ridge would admit. There was almost an innocence about her. But, that mouth of hers would get her into trouble around here. Andi wasn’t a club girl. Ridge knew that for sure. So why would she have agreed to come to stay with a rowdy bunch of bikers, basically in the middle of nowhere?
“Crazy,” Ridge said out loud, more to himself than to Lux.
“Yep.” Lux shook his head. “This place is madness on a good day, Brother. Anyway, let’s go see what we got. How did the ride go?”
Ridge glanced back toward the bar, his eyes landing on the woman behind it. Andi was leaning over the flat top, in deep conversation with one of his brothers. Ridge was too far away to hear what was being said, but that didn’t bother him. What caused him to hesitate was the overwhelming desire to put his fist
