Best part of it all? Now that he was a patched member, he could tell Monty to take a hike no matter what kind of claim the guy staked, or thought he’d staked. This was gonna be fucking fun.
One of the girls who was still dancing with him—yeah, he’d forgotten about them, sue him—rose up on her toes, bringing her lips level with his. Before she could go in for the kill, he shot her his most winning smile. “Hold that thought, gorgeous. Gotta take care of something real quick.”
He wouldn’t be back, but she’d have moved on to her next victim anyway, so who gave a fuck?
Ahh, out came the infamous pout he despised with such a passion. This one on lips that were decorated with a near-purple lipstick. It would look like she bruised the fuck outta whatever cock she ended up swallowing that night.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” the chick said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
After a wink and a word of goodbye to the other two women, who seemed perfectly content to dance with each other once he was gone, he wormed his way toward the bar. Though only fifteen feet out, it took a few minutes since everyone he passed offered their congratulations.
He reached the bar just in time to see Monty kiss Mak on her smooth cheek. Her eyes narrowed, and if he hadn’t been so obsessed with staring at her, he’d have missed the subtle gesture of annoyance.
“Take a hike, Monty.”
The prospect clenched his teeth but didn’t release Thunder’s prize.
“Trouble with your ears tonight?”
Monty ran a hand over his smooth scalp as he sighed. “This seriously how it’s gonna be? Patched in for five minutes, and you’re a dick now?”
Wide eyes bouncing between the two of them, Mak opened her mouth, probably to try to defuse the situation, but Thunder beat her to it. “Nah, just want to be served a drink by a gorgeous woman, not a bald meathead.”
With a laugh, Monty held up his hands. “Fair enough, man. Congrats, by the way.” He meandered away, grabbing a bottle as someone called out an order.
“I’ll take a beer, pretty girl, so he doesn’t get on your case for slacking off.” He winked, and the most adorable blush flushed her cheeks.
“Yeah, okay, sure,” she said as she uncapped a bottle without asking what kind he wanted.
He didn’t give a shit what beer she served him. The woman was so damn cute, all flustered and unpracticed in her response to him.
She cleared her throat. “Thanks for the save, by the way.” Her smile was so sincere, Thunder wouldn’t have believed it real if it wasn’t directly in front of him. “Monty’s nice, but a little…”
“That octopus was all the fuck over you.”
With a tinkling laugh, she held out the dewy bottle. “Well, I wasn’t going to say that, but he is a little friendly for my liking.”
Instead of grabbing the bottle, he circled her wrist with his fingers. “You can tell him to back the fuck off if he’s making you uncomfortable. Seriously, any guy here will respect that. And if they don’t, I’ll make sure they do.”
Her gaze went to his hand on her as though to point out the fact he also was touching without being invited to do so. Instead of releasing her wrist, he just gave her his patented smile—the one he planned to work to its full potential to get her into his bed tonight.
She tilted her head, and a little puff of laughter left her lips.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head.
“Hey, can I get a shot of vodka?” someone called out a few feet away.
Mak extracted her hand. “Of course. Coming right up.”
He stayed and watched as she poured the shot with slow but sure movements. “Hey, how’d you end up here tonight? Thought you worked at the diner.”
“There you go.” She slid the shot to a dude Thunder had seen at a few parties there in the past.
Not a bad guy, but he wanted her attention on him, not some other fucker.
“Uh, Shell and Toni told me you guys needed extra help tonight because it was going to be nuts.” A nervous laugh escaped her, and she smoothed her hands down the front of her top. “They weren’t wrong. This is nuts.”
Just as he was about to respond with some snarky quip about nuts, her eyes popped wide and her mouth dropped into an O shape. “Oh! I can’t believe I didn’t congratulate you! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. Congratulations!” She threw her hands in the air as though scoring a touchdown. “Now that I know what a patch-in ceremony is, I appreciate what a big deal tonight is for you.”
Didn’t want to be rude? Christ, she couldn’t be rude if she was screaming obscenities at him. He hadn’t realized they made women this cute and sweet anymore. At least not ones that came within a mile of the club. “Thanks, babe,” he said, keeping the award-winning smile in place. Her authenticity unnerved him even as it made him want to rip off her clothes and see what kind of woman lay beneath the sweet veneer.