“Who is she?” Gauge asks this time.
“Her name’s Krista. I’m doin’ some tattoo work on her down at the shop. She was sittin’ out there earlier too.” It’s a little weird that she’d still be there but it also piques my interest. I stroll away from the guys and over to the swing she’s been on for hours only to find her sleeping. How in the hell is she staying upright?
“Hey,” I say softly so I don’t startle her. She slowly opens her eyes and blinks a few times before looking up at me.
“What?”
“Why are you sleepin’ on a swing?” I ask amused with the whole situation.
“I was taking a nap.”
“On a swing.”
“So?” Damn she’s mouthy. She glances around when it must finally dawn on her what time it is. The suns long since gone down and the moon hangs high in the sky. “Fuck!” She leaps from the swing and runs toward the back of the park and out of stupid curiosity I follow along. I see her standing at the edge of the buses gazing down at one of the houses in the neighborhood next to the park.
“What the hell was that about?” She looks over her shoulder before looking back to the house once more.
“It was nothing. Thanks for waking me up,” she says as she turns and tries to walk past me. I reach out and grab her wrist, pulling her back a step. Her big blue eyes come to rest on mine and something hits me in the chest. I don’t know what this feeling is, I don’t want to know either.
“You okay?” Her mouth opens and closes a few times, but no words come out. I want to push her and ask more but it’s not my business.
“I’m fine.”
“We got beer,” I tell her nodding toward the party that will soon be moving to the clubhouse.
“I don’t know,” she says shaking her head.
“They can get rowdy but they’re harmless,” I add with a smirk. She smiles back this time and fuck, I didn’t realize just how beautiful she was until right now. The moon behind her illuminates her in a glow.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” With the shrug of her shoulders, she walks along next to me as we head back toward the guys.
“The cut, that’s your club?” She asks.
“It is. Soulless Bastards,” I tell her proudly.
“I’ve heard about them. You. Well not you specifically.”
“Good things?” She narrows her eyes at me, and I laugh. “Okay so bad things. We do what we do. We don’t apologize for it, but we also have reasons behind it.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me. I know how the world works, Wolf.” That answer intrigues me more than the girl herself. The girl that walks around in oversized clothes to hide from something I’m not sure of. Right before we make it back to the guys, I step in front of her, turning to face her.
“How does the world work, darlin’?” She looks up at me and I can see the pain and hurt behind her eyes. I can see the pent-up frustrations that she holds onto.
“The world’s sick. The people in it are worse. They take what they want and give you nothing in return. They hurt you, rip you apart until the only choice you have left is to fight. You fight for yourself; you fight for your family. You never let them hurt you again.” Jesus Christ, someone has done a number on her mind. I nod my head.
“Sounds like you’d fit right in with us. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She follows behind me as I walk up to the table the guys are all sitting at.
“Hey, this is Krista. Runnin’ some tatts on her. Krista, this is Sly, Gauge, Shaft, Dezzy, Temple,” I say each one’s name as I point them out to her before moving to a few of the others.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she says politely. I motion for the prospect to grab a few more beers before ushering her onto the picnic table.
“You lettin’ this fuckhole put his ink on you, huh?” Shaft asks her. I flip him off.
“Yeah. Freehand.” They all look at me like she’s mentally insane.
“If anybody can freehand you somethin’ special, it’s Wolf. He does all our club ink,” Sly tells her.
“I think he can do it too. What he’s already started looks amazing,” she says with a huge smile boosting my ego a little higher.
“He did mine. Look,” Dez leaps out of Gauge’s lap and rushes around the table showing the sprawling cherry blossoms I did on her arm to cover her old scars. It was an honor to do that for her. Especially after how far she’s come with her addiction.
“That is beautiful! I love that,” Krista gushes as she runs her fingers over Dez’s tattoo.
“He’s good at what he does.” Dez’s words cause me to smirk. I take down the rest of my beer before tossing the bottle in the trash.
“Ain’t it about time to we head back to the clubhouse? Don’t wanna wake up the normal people of this town,” I say. Sly stands first coming around and offering Krista his hand. She takes it and stands.
“Thanks for letting me hang out.”
“Night’s not over yet, sweetheart. We’re headin’ back to the clubhouse. Come with us,” Sly tells her. I grab her half empty beer and bring it to my lips as she watches me. Tipping it up, I swallow down what’s left before tossing that bottle too. Krista licks her lips and my cock strains in my jeans.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t really have a ride home,” she says.
“You can stay. We have extra rooms,” Temple says before leaping into Shaft’s arms.
“I don’t know…”
“It’s fine. I’ll take you home if you wanna go later.” All eyes come to meet mine as I shrug. What? I just offered the girl a ride home, not my cock on a stick.
“Okay. I guess I can
