Blood & Bones: Judge (Blood Fury MC 3)

“You ghosted before I could show you the place. Remember that, too? I fuckin’ do. But if you want, will give you a fuckin’ tour now before you ghost this time.”

Before you ghost this time.

That still bothered him. Or it could be the alcohol talking.

Either way, she should be leaving. “Not sure I want a tour right now. Not with what I’ve seen so far tonight. We could come across more surprises I don’t need to witness. It’s bad enough I won’t be able to look Dodge in the eye ever again. Doesn’t seem like anyone’s shy.”

“Yeah, nobody’s shy here, Cass. The point of life is to fuckin’ live it. That’s what we’re doin’. There ain’t a right or a wrong way, long as no one’s gettin’ hurt.”

Long as no one’s gettin’ hurt.

Problem was, seeing that woman with her arm around Judge hurt.

“Do you do this type of stuff?” She waved her hand toward the bar and then the bench where the woman was sandwiched between two bikers, except Dodge had now switched places with Ozzy.

“Now?”

She looked up at him, her mouth gaped open. “Ever.”

He rubbed a hand over his mouth and stared at a spot above her head.

Well, that answered her question, so he no longer needed to. She lifted a palm when he tried. “Never mind. Why did you want me here, Judge?”

“Wanted you to see this part of my life. To know what it’s about.”

“For what reason?”

“Just in case.”

“In case of what?” she prodded.

“In case you decide to stay in Manning Grove. And this is the part you ain’t fuckin’ gettin’... In case you decide you wanna stay,” he grimaced as if what he was about to say was painful, “with me.”

Once again, she found herself gaping up at him. Stay with him? “Stay with you? In what way? I thought... I... I wasn’t expecting you’d want more than what we have.”

Especially after seeing the casual sex tonight. It had cemented the realization that might be all they had. Something fun but not serious.

The problem was, after getting jealous about that woman made her realize it had become more serious for her than it should have.

“You mean the fuckin’ sex?”

“Well... yes.” Should they even be talking about this here? Now? “I figured we were just enjoying what we had... have. I wasn’t expecting anything more.”

Oh yeah, he was getting a little angry. Just slightly. “Why the fuck you here, Cass?”

Her eyebrows pinned together. That was a dumb question when he already knew that answer. “You invited me.”

“No, Cassie, why the fuck are you here?” He jabbed his index finger toward the floor. “Right now. In this fuckin’ clubhouse at almost three in the fuckin’ mornin’ instead of home in bed under the same roof as your girl?”

She didn’t get why he was asking that. “Because you asked me.”

“Coulda said no.”

“I could’ve but I...” Oh shit, now she got it.

“’Cause you wanted to see me. Fuckin’ asked you ‘cause I wanted to see you. Got it?”

“Yes,” she breathed. He wanted to spend time with her, not just have sex with her. Which meant he wanted something more than just a casual relationship. “I’m not even divorced yet,” she whispered.

“And I’m workin’ on that. But you got shot of his ass a while ago, Cass. That wound ain’t fresh and you have no plans on takin’ his ass back.”

“Well, no. It was over with Dennis a while ago. But you never answered my question. I need to hear the answer, Judge.”

“You wanna discuss that here? Then we’ll discuss that here so there’s no fuckin’ mistake about it.” He dropped his head and kept his voice low. Enough so the angry grumble sent a shiver down her spine. It wasn’t just his rough, deep voice causing it, it was his words when he said, “’Cause when I’m inside you, it’s different. When I fuckin’ come deep inside you, I ain’t finished. Would normally push a woman away afterward. I draw you closer, hold you tighter. Just a fuck? Want ‘em out of my bed as soon as fuckin’ possible. With you? Don’t want you leavin’. That’s the damn difference between a fuck and you.”

She stared up at him.

“Get it now?”

Oh yes, she did. She got it.

She so got it.

However, it wasn’t only her. She had her daughter to think about. And this environment was not the best to raise her around.

Before she would even consider letting things get serious with Judge, she would need to think long and hard about what Daisy might be exposed to. She would need to talk to Judge about what it was like as a child growing up in a club like this. And she would need to have a serious conversation with Stella since she was a little girl when her father was a member of this very club. She, if anyone, could tell her the good and the bad. The absolute truth.