Chapter 6—Harlow
Shit. Shit. Shit. What the fuck was I thinking going out to the main room. Not only was that bitch Mindy there, but fucking Cruz. Why in the hell does he have this magnetic force about him that just pulls me to him, making him hard to resist.
I couldn’t have him. It’d just turn into the same shit I’ve seen a thousand times over and over again in here. A brother starts seeing a woman, fucks her a thousand ways to Sunday, gets tired of her, and then passes her on to the brothers. I won’t be that girl. I may spread my legs, but not to these guys… at least until Cruz. What the fuck was I thinking?
I knew… I was horny. Plain and fucking simple. Why does he have to be… well, Cruz? Power just emanates off of him, beckoning me, engulfing me. I swear that man short circuits every brain cell in my head just by his smell. Then, being in the same fucking room with him, my body throbbed craving his. This didn’t happen with the brothers, never. It had to be just because of my two year dry spell.
If it weren’t for this fucking lockdown, I’d get the hell out of here and wipe my memories of Cruz… or at least I would try to.
Fuck. Throwing open the door to Pops’ room; I found Casey sitting on the bed. “Where the fuck have you been?” I barked. She didn’t look at me but fidgeted with her hands.
“I slept in the spare room downstairs.” Casey turned towards me. “So one night and you’re someone’s ol’ lady. What the hell happened?”
Sitting on the bed, I explained, “I’m not…” Running my fingers through my long dark hair, I shook my head. The last day had been a rollercoaster ride. I knew coming back to this life would make things interesting; I just didn’t realize how much.
“Thought we didn’t fuck brothers,” she said twirling her hands in her lap.
“I know. He’s just so damn overwhelming, and I couldn’t say no, I didn’t want to say no.”
“Is this an ‘I needed a dick thing,’ or is it real?” she asked, puzzled.
“For me… a dick thing. He says it’s the real thing, but he’s a brother. I’m not stupid. Anyway, even if I thought it was real, and it didn’t work out; I’d be fucked.” Knowing if I left him, I’d be out, out of the club, out of the life, yet another reason to be scared shitless about him. It didn’t matter that I was the VPs daughter or a sister to a member. Once I was an ol’ lady, my status with the club would change forever, and there’d be nothing I could do about it. Club rules. This has been my family, my entire life. I was not ready to give it up.
“I think Cruz is a good fit for you.” Her voice was low but serious.
I stared at her as if she grew three heads, not recognizing the woman sitting next to me. Of all the people, I would have never thought those words would come from her. We’ve always talked about the women of the club and how each had their places. And one of those places was the club momma. These women get passed around from brother to brother as free pussy, and for some reason they loved it. It’s the one role that we vowed always to steer clear of.
And more recently, there were reasons that Casey, nor anyone, for that matter, knew. They were reasons that I locked down deep, and they would fucking stay there.
“What?”
“Cruz is a good guy for the most part,” she said, smiling. We all knew that none of these men were angels, far from it. “He’s great with his kid. That bitch of a baby momma is a pain in the ass, from what I hear, but other than that, he doesn’t have a lot of drama.” She turned facing me. “And he can hold his own against you.” She smiled, and I returned it, shaking my head.
“I can’t. I won’t be a whore around here, who the brothers think they can pass around. I can’t. I won’t.” Casey flinched.
“No one’s saying that.”
“Why the hell are you all the sudden okay with me fucking a brother? Wasn’t it you that sat there and made a pact that we never would. Even doing that stupid cut your finger open blood shit.” She laughed her beautiful laugh.
“Yeah. I was there. We were also thirteen. Things change,” she said blowing out a huff of air.
Breathing in deep, I stared at Casey. She’s been my best friend for so long. If I could talk to anyone about this, it’d be her. “There’s something there. I’ve seen more guys in and out of this damn place than I can count. Not one has done what Cruz has. He sparks something inside of me, something I haven’t felt before. But it was one night, and it will be the last.”
“You don’t have to rush into shit.”
A knock on the door stopped her thoughts. Opening the door, I was surprised to see Diamond standing there. “Yes?”
“Need a minute.” His arms crossed over his chest as if power didn’t already radiate off of him.
“I’ll go,” Casey, knowing protocol, called as I stepped aside letting her out. Whenever the President wanted to talk, we knew the others needed to leave immediately.
“What’s going on?” I asked trying to be calm, but inside my nerves were a bit on edge from this impromptu visit.
Diamond eyed me intently. “We’re going on soft lockdown, except for you and Ma. You two are not to leave this clubhouse. If there’s somewhere you have to be, you take a brother. No discussions…” My anger began boiling over. This was all because of Babs and fuck if I didn’t want to kill the bitch. But I locked my lips as he kept going. “I know you’re pissed Princess, but this is a club decision. It’s what’s best for the club. You want what’s best for us, right?”
Hanging my head, “Of course.” In all my years, in this club, I’d always wanted to make the brothers proud, now would be no exception, even if I hated it.
“Look, Princess, we have dealings with Rabbit and his crew. We need to keep those in mind while we deal with this situation.”
Swallowing my pride, “I understand.”
“Good.”
“I need to go to Studio X and check on shit.”
“Then you take a brother with you… and your gun,” he said as he walked out of the room not looking back.
Cruz followed right beside me the entire way to X. After arguing about who was riding with me, Cruz won the pissing contest when Diamond stepped in, again, ordering him to go. I wasn’t happy, but it was what it was. Ma said she’d watch Cooper, so I’m sure he’s getting spoiled rotten.
Pulling up to X, I was happy to see that the building looked exactly the same as I left it two years ago. The blackened bulletproof windows had the sun’s light reflecting off them. The large X hung above the door, but with it being closed, the bright red light wasn’t shining. Parking my bike near the back entrance, Cruz followed closely. I kept my eyes out but didn’t see a damn thing.
Walking in, the place was eerily quiet. The black walls had red drapery that hung all around the room. There was a large bar on one end and the stage with poles on the other. The black tables and chairs were placed exactly where they should be, filling me with pride. I began this place to help the club bring in clean money, and it has profited greatly.
“Harlow?” Liv called from the office as she ran towards me smiling. “Oh, my God!” She squealed. Liv had been running the place for me this entire time, and from the looks of things, she was doing a kick ass job.
Her arms wrapped around me. “Hey, girl. How’s it going?”
She pulled away, “Great. We’ve tripled our profits, and I brought in five new girls. You’ll love them; they’re hot.” She eyed Cruz up and down, and her sharp intake of breath told me she liked the assessment. “Hey, Cruz.” She gave him a very seductive smile, and damn if it didn’t piss me off, not that I had any right to that feeling.
“You two know each other?” I didn’t want to know the answer, but I loved punishing myself, and if I couldn’t be with him, may as well put salt in the wound.