Craving Lily (The Aces' Sons 4)

“Oh, now I’m disgusting?” I teased, stepping in her way before she could move out into the main room. “Thought you dug me?”

Her face turned red as she seethed, but I was having too much fun giving her shit to worry about it.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I dig it so much when you tell me that you were just banging some nasty chick that’s probably been with most of the club. That really does it for me.”

I jerked my head back in surprise at the raw sound of her voice. I’d been joking. Teasing. But Lily wasn’t. She was serious. And by the look on her face, I’d just seriously fucked up.

“Come on, Dandelion—”

My words were cut off when Cam’s massive hand fell hard on my shoulder from behind, making me stiffen.

“What’re you doin’ back here, Lilybug?” he asked, shoving past me. “Ma’s lookin’ for you.”

I stepped aside as they moved past me, but I didn’t say another word and neither did Lily. I shook my head and leaned against the wall as I tried to figure out where I’d crossed the line with her. I’d always teased her. Usually not about the crush she’d been harboring for years, sure, but she was almost seventeen. Wasn’t that a little bit old to be getting all wound up about shit like that? It’s not like I was mean about it.

Whatever. She was probably still pissed that I’d called her sister a skank a couple of weeks before.

I strolled back into the main room and grabbed a beer off the bar top as I made my way over to where Tommy and Hawk were sitting with a couple of the other boys. The guys who’d come up from Cali seemed like good people and we’d been bullshitting with them most of the night. They were thinking about transferring north to join our chapter and my pop had asked if we’d get a feel for them and see if they’d be a good fit. So far, they seemed alright.

“What were you talking to Lily about?” Hawk asked as I flipped a chair backward and planted my ass. “She looked pissed.”

“She’s fuckin’ moody tonight,” I replied with a shrug. “Must be that time of the month.”

Her hand came out and slapped the back of my head so fast that I didn’t even see it coming. “The fuck?” I yelped.

“Don’t be a dick,” she spat.

“Tommy, control your woman,” I ordered, glaring.

“Oh, fuck off,” Hawk said, flipping me off. “I’ve cleaned your vomit off the floor of my spare room. I can smack you if I want to.”

“Bullshit,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “Christ.”

“Were you being a dick to her?” Hawk asked, not letting it go. “She never looks that angry.”

“Who knows?” I mumbled back, dodging another slap. “I startled her in the hallway, she was probably pissed about that.”

“Why?” she asked, staring me down even though I refused to answer. Finally, she scoffed and turned away from me in irritation.

I had no idea why I’d scared Lily in the hallway. It hadn’t been my fucking plan, obviously. I’d just been happy to see her and I’d done what I would have done with any chick I was happy to see. I hadn’t thought about the fact that she wouldn’t know it was me. Hell, I could be walking across the floor any other time and she’d know me by the sound of my footsteps.

“You guys like it up here?” Copper asked as I started paying attention to the conversation going on around me.

“Don’t know any different,” Tommy replied, chuckling. “Grew up here, man.”

“Wait, all of you?”

“Me and Tommy, yeah,” I said. I pointed my beer bottle at Rocky, another member of our chapter. “Rock didn’t, though. He came from Idaho, right Rock?”

“Yep.” He nodded but didn’t add anything else. Rocky’s background wasn’t really something we talked about.

“When’d you join up?” Copper’s friend asked. I couldn’t remember the dude’s name. It was something forgettable like Bob.

“Grew up in the club,” Tommy said, tilting his head a bit as he watched them. “Prospected at what? Seventeen?” he asked me.

“Something like that.”

Copper looked between us, then started laughing. “Jesus Christ. Dragon’s kid, yeah? And Grease’s?”

“How’d you know?” I asked sarcastically.

Tommy and I both looked a shit ton like our dads. Tommy was way fucking leaner than his dad or brothers, but he still had the Hawthorne look about him in a big way, and if I didn’t have the scar on my face, I would have looked exactly like my pop when he was my age. Our mothers must have been irritated as fuck when their kids came out looking everything like their men and nothing like them.

“Well, shit,” Copper joked good-naturedly. “Why didn’t I realize I was drinkin’ with royalty?”

“Oh, God!” Hawk gasped, her eyes going wide. “I always knew I’d find my prince!” She looked at Tommy and batted her eyes. “Marry me and take me to your castle? Does it have a moat? It better have a moat!”