“Kylie won’t be coming around here anymore,” Ace replied gruffly.
I wanted more details, but Kodiak shrugged as if to say the cookie typically crumbled that way around here. Ace’s phone rang, and when he fished it from his pocket, Lucian’s name flashed across the display. He excused himself to take the call, and I wondered if Lucian was checking in on me for Gypsy. And then I wondered what Ace would tell them.
Kodiak rapped his knuckles on the bar beside me as he invaded Ace’s seat. He removed a joint from his pocket and lit up, angling it toward me in question as smoke slipped between his lips. “You like the green shit?”
“I’m okay right now,” I answered, silently noting that the only person I ever wanted to share one with was Ace. “But thank you.”
He bobbed his head in time to the music. “Have you tried any of Ace’s strains yet?”
An image of the warehouse on the edge of the property came to mind as I nodded. “I think I’ve tried a couple. They were pretty intense.”
“Fuck, yeah.” Kodiak played a little drum beat with his hands as he spoke. “His shit is pure gold. Which one did you try?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “One made me crash hard, so I’m assuming that’s for sleep.”
“That would be Huckleberry Dream,” Kodiak informed me. “We named that one after him.”
“After who?”
“Ace.” Kodiak snorted. “AKA Huck. Shit, didn’t you know that?”
I didn’t know that, but I latched onto that little tidbit of information as I rolled the name over my tongue.
“Why does everyone call him Ace?” I asked.
“Everyone in the club has a moniker,” Kodiak informed me. “When he joined, he told us to call him Demon. It was the only thing he could think of. After a while, we realized it wasn’t a good connotation. So one day I said to him, you know, I don’t think you look like a demon. In fact, I think you’re pretty fucking Ace. And it just stuck after that.”
I tucked that little tidbit away for later, wondering exactly what that meant. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to dive too deep with someone I just met. “So Ace creates the strains here?”
“He’s the breeder.” Kodiak nodded. “Got a wicked green thumb. Who would have guessed, right?”
“I certainly wouldn’t have,” I admitted as my eyes moved in the direction of the hall where Ace was still talking. “What’s your favorite of his creations?”
“Oh, that’s hard to choose.” Kodiak stroked his beard. “But I think I’d have to say Mary-Kate’s Last Dance. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but that shit will cure anything that ails you.”
Curiosity got the best of me as I considered the label. “Did you name that one too?”
“No.” He took another sip of his beer, the levity disappearing from his voice. “That was all Ace.”
Before I could ask anything else, Ace returned, his eyes narrowed at Kodiak. He didn’t have to say a word. Kodiak moved out of his seat and drained the rest of his beer. “Right, I guess I have shit to do.”
Ace nodded, and I said goodbye. Sipping the amber liquid in my glass, I savored the sweet amaretto warming my throat all the way down to my belly. I tried not to study Ace too closely, but when I noticed the condensation from his glass dripping down onto his fingers, I thought about tasting him again. The sweet bourbon on his lips invading my mouth and soaking into my brain, warming me all over. I wanted that, and it was becoming a problem.
As if Ace could sense my thoughts, he stood and cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”
BIRDIE WAS QUIET WHEN WE got back to the house, but I could sense a storm brewing in her blue eyes. I could still smell her, still taste her on my lips, and I was itching for more. I couldn’t even understand how it happened, but when I walked in and saw her crying, the only thing I wanted to do was take the pain away. I’d never kissed a woman before. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing in that department, but as soon as my lips locked onto hers, it didn’t matter. One taste and I was fucking gone. I wanted to fall balls deep into her pussy until my dick gave out. But then I felt depraved for even considering it. Obvious vulnerability aside, she was too young for me, and the last thing she needed was an emotionally crippled robot like me.
Fuck.
I walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water to give my hands something to do. All I really wanted was to get back to my shop and keep myself busy before I did something stupid. Like touch her again. But after the events of the day, it wasn’t likely I’d convince Birdie to spend more time with Trouble anytime soon, and the way Kodiak was making eyes at her earlier ruled him out too.