And, big surprise, he was hard again. Touching her in the tub, watching her yield to him, feeling her hungry pussy squeeze the life out of his fingers had been unreal, but he’d been left with a monster of a hard-on that only faded after he remembered Copper’s demand to speak with Chloe and the other ol’ ladies.
The ol’ ladies. Period. Not other ol’ ladies. Chloe wasn’t an ol’ lady. Wouldn’t ever be an ol’ lady.
All eyes in the room shot to her as she slunk in the room, lower lip tucked between her teeth and hands wringing the T-shirt at her waist.
“Uh, hey,” she said, lifting one hand in a stationary wave. Her red hair, still damp from her bath, was secured high on her head in a long ponytail that fell halfway down her back. She had the best hair. Long, thick, auburn silk. Mark his word, one day he’d wrap that tail around his hand as he plunged into her until she screamed, but not for mercy, never for mercy. Chloe’s screams would only be for more.
“Hi, Chloe! Come on in. We saved you a seat,” Toni said, indicating a vacant chair at the table where she sat with Zach, Maverick, and Stephanie. Steph was perched on Mav’s lap while Toni had arranged her chair next to her ol’ man. Jig and Izzy occupied the next table with Viper and his ol’ lady. Her name was Cassie, but everyone had called her Mamma V for as long as Rocket had known her. A few additional members were scattered throughout the room, waiting on Copper. Church had been held only hours after Esposito dropped in on Rocket, but they’d waited to fill the ol’ ladies in until Chloe felt up to joining.
“Oh, thanks.” Chloe’s gaze shifted to him, uncertainty as to how to act reflected clear as day. Any benefit she’d gotten from the orgasm he’d given her ten minutes ago seemed to have left her, if the tension in her shoulders and stiff walk was any indication. On top of being sore from her balls-to-the-wall workout, she had to be nervous as fuck about this meeting.
Shit, he should have done a better job explaining what they were gathering for. Not a damn thing she had to worry about. Now, because he was a dipshit, she probably assumed she was in for an ass chewing or worse.
Without caring he was laying his cards on the table, he shoved away from the bar, and lumbered toward the empty chair Toni had marked for Chloe. He dropped onto it, ignored Toni’s huff and frown, then pulled Chloe onto his lap the moment she was within reach.
“Oh,” Toni said, blinking like an owl. “Ohhh.” Her face lit, mouth curling into a wicked grin as she winked. “Guess you guys worked things out.” From the other side of the table Stephanie gave Chloe two thumbs up while Maverick made a blow job motion with one hand and his tongue in his cheek.
Rocket froze. Had Chloe not been on his lap, he’d have reached across the table and yanked Maverick up by his scrawny neck. The fucking bastard, cracking crude jokes around a woman who’d been raped. The asshole needed to grow a fucking filter.
But of course, Chloe snickered. Why did everyone find Maverick so fucking funny, females especially? Any other man would get a slap to the face or slammed with a sexual harassment suit. Mav got giggles and dropped panties. Damn tatted asshole.
Worst part of it was he wasn’t so much as a bit remorseful. He sent Rocket a smug grin and threw in an eyebrow waggle for good measure.
“Watch your back,” Rocket said in warning.
Stephanie’s eyes widened, but Mav just mock shivered. “Ooh, I’m so scared.”
Rocket didn’t get the chance to reach across the table and knock his brother upside the head because Copper chose that moment to limp into the room—minus his crutches—holding Shell’s hand. He lifted her—against doctor’s orders—setting her on the bar, then stood next to her, one arm around her back. It had taken Copper years to finally admit his feelings for the much younger Shell, but now that he had, the two practically needed a surgeon to separate them. “All right, we waiting on anyone else?” Copper asked in his customary Irish brogue.
“Nope,” Mav said. “All present and accounted for, prez.”
Copper nodded. “Thanks for coming. Know all you ladies have been real patient the last few days. Think I’ve only been hounded for answers maybe a hundred or so times. And that doesn’t count Izzy’s constant threatening text messages demanding to know why the hell she couldn’t open her shop.”
A handful of the men snickered. At least Stephanie, Toni, and even Shell had the good sense to look sheepish. Izzy couldn’t have given less of a shit. She just shrugged and said, “If you’d just told me what the fuck was going on, I wouldn’t have texted so much.”