Reckless Temptations (The Tempted Series Book 4) (13 page)

I looked at the leather cut in disbelief, running my fingers over the stitching of the patches and lifted my eyes to my president’s.

“Are you fucking with me?”

Jack shook his head.

“Put it on,” he said. “You’ve earned your right to those colors, wear them proud,” he added, tipping his chin toward the vest I was clutching in my hand.

I glanced over my shoulder at Bones, taking in his shit-eating grin, and the pride reflected in his eyes.

“You’re an asshole,” I clipped.

“Stop! You’re giving me goosebumps,” he teased, taking a step closer to pull my hat off and tousle my hair. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Put your goddamn cut on! Wanted to tell you yesterday but your ass was nowhere to be found.”

Pipe and Wolf started pounding their fists against the table as they chanted for me to put it on.

It was a surreal moment, a profound one, finding your place in the world. It was the first time in my life I felt like part of a real family. I slid the vest on, a perfect fit, and my brothers took a chance a piece congratulating me. Jack wrapped his arms around me and patted my back.

“Proud to call you a brother,” he said sincerely.

“Thanks, Prez,” I replied with a grin.

“You know what happens now don’t you?” Pipe said, eyes full of mischief.

I turned my attention toward him as he threw something at me. I caught it just in time, starring at the box of condoms before grinning widely at him.

“Fuck, yeah,” I agreed.

Blackie lined up shot glasses along the table, filling them with Patron before raising his own toward me.

“To brotherhood,” he saluted.

“To Riggs,” Bones added.

“Ay!” Pipe shouted.

“To being a Knight!” I chimed in, clinking my glass to theirs and shooting back the tequila.

“There’s plenty more where that came from,” Blackie promised, as my phone rang.

I pulled myself away from the high and lifted the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Is it a bad time?” Lauren’s voice filled my ear, reminding me of the text message I received before.

The guys started getting rowdy, re-filling their shot glasses and shouting their well wishes. I downed the shot Bones put in front of me, handing him back the empty glass and stepped out of the Chapel.

“Hey,” I said hoarsely, the burn of the tequila working its effect on my voice. “Sorry, I got side-tracked,” I explained
, once I was in the common room. “I’ve got the best news.”

“Really? What happened?” She asked, and fuck me, her voice did things to me. She actually sounded sincere, like she wanted to know. What was even more bizarre was that I wanted to share it with her.

“I got patched in, Kitten. They voted and I’m officially one of the Satan’s Knights,” I said excitedly.

“That’s great, babe,” she boasted, falling silent after the endearment left her lips.

“Yeah, waited a long time for this. They’re having a party for me tonight at the clubhouse,” I said, glancing over my shoulder watching Bones and Blackie stepping into the common room.

“I’m happy for you, Riggs,” she whispered.

“Thanks,” I said, stepping away from my brothers. “Listen, the guys are busting my balls but…why don’t you come tonight?”

I’m an idiot.

I closed my eyes and slammed the palm of my hand against my forehead.

Really, there is no other way to describe me. I have no fucking idea why I asked her to come to my patch party.

“You want me to come to your party?”

Yes.

No.

Blackie handed me another shot. The man was on a fucking mission, I’ll give him that.

“I’ve got to go but yeah, sure, why not?” I said in a hurry. “So maybe I’ll see you later?”

“I don’t know, Riggs,” she said.

Good. Good. Maybe she won’t come.

But a part of me, a real small part, actually wanted her there. I just had no fucking idea why. Not a clue.

“Detour. You come tonight and this could be it, Kitten,” I said, realizing I got my patch and lost my fucking brains.

“I’ll see. If I don’t come, though, have a great night,” she responded. “Bye Riggs,” she said before ending the call.

“I just fucked up,” I said out loud, staring at my phone.

“What’d you do this time?” Bones asked, lighting up a freshly rolled joint.

I snatched it out of his mouth and took a heavy pull.

“I just invited Bianci’s sister to my pussy party.”

I left out that the fact that if I had to choose between the club whores that would swarm this place tonight or my Kitten, hands down I would choose the girl next door with the gorgeous eyes and sexy glasses.

Glasses.

I thought glasses were sexy.

Yeah, I really lost my fucking mind.

“What?” Mia asked, as I stared at my phone.

“He was patched into the club,” I said automatically.

“Yeah, I don’t know what that means,” she counted, shaking her head.

I turned to her.

“It means he’s a full fledge member. It means he gets a vote, it’s everything to a man like him,” I explained.

I remember when my brother became a
made
man. I remember the black suit he wore, the scent of his cologne, and how he wore entirely too much hair gel. But, what I remember the most, is the look in his eyes when he kissed my cheek before he left. They were full of pride, thinking he had made it in life, that he finally had everything he ever wanted. He didn’t know every word of his oath was another piece of his soul he handed the Devil. Anthony didn’t realize until he lost everything he ever wanted, until he lost Adrianna and their baby.

I didn’t know if being a member of a motorcycle club was anything like being a man of the mob but if it was, if there was any resemblance at all, I hope Riggs knew what he was doing.

“Mazel to Riggs,” Mia offered.

“He invited me to his patch party,” I added, as I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to figure why he did that. I was pretty sure there would be a shitload of women there so why invite me?

“Did you say a party?” She asked, dropping her magazine on the coffee table.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I want to go,” I blurted.

“Oh you have to go! You’ll break his heart if you’re not there on his big night,” she exaggerated.

“Mia,” I warned.

“No, Lauren, you’re an idiot if you don’t go. It’s not like you have anything better to do anyway,” she pointed out.

Way to kick a friend when she’s down. My best friend was better than yours. Not.

“I like Riggs, Mia,” I said, feeling frustrated and honestly a bit naïve.

“More of a reason to go to his party,” she suggested.

“No, more of a reason not to go,” I argued. I knew enough about men to know the type of man Riggs was. He probably invited every girl he ever banged to his patch party. I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was the exception, and I wasn’t ready to face that truth head on. I didn’t want to give up on Kitten and Tiger just yet and still wanted to hold onto the dream of us.

Maybe I was naïve.

Maybe I was just plain stupid.

“You’re going to the party,” Mia insisted. “And you will make Riggsy’s head spin when he sees you,” she said with a grin. “I have the perfect outfit for you!”

“Fine, I’ll go but you’re coming with me to make sure I don’t do anything stupid,” I conceded, knowing very well that deciding to go was the first of many stupid things I would do. But hey, life was about taking detours right?

I leaned back against the back of the black leather couch, swigging tequila straight from the bottle as the blonde in front of me shook her tits in my face. She was one of many, a dime a dozen, just another piece of ass swapped by the brothers. She placed her hands on my thighs and fell to her knees, trying her hardest to smile seductively at me.

Her hands traveled up my legs, and I took another swig of tequila, feeling my dick jolt against the zipper of my jeans. I’ve been walking around with a hard on since the party began. It was a feast of nipples and ass galore, yet we were hours in and I still hadn’t fucked anyone. Blondie over here was trying her hardest to be the one.

“You ready for me, tiger?” She purred, as she drew down the zipper of my jeans.

Wrong thing to say.

Because my dick died a little knowing it was the wrong girl asking, calling me a name meant only for her.

But my Kitten wasn’t here. She never showed and all I had was blondie, a cheap imitation. Fuck, she wasn’t even an imitation. She was the opposite of Lauren. They all were, every single whore that rubbed up on me tonight. I had blondes, redheads, even chicks with bright pink hair, but I stayed away from the brunettes purposely and I had no fucking idea why.

I grabbed blondie’s face, leaned forward and crashed my mouth over hers.

It was all wrong. She was wrong.

My tongue darted in and out of her mouth as I reached around her waist and grabbed her ass cheeks.

“Thanks, babe,” I said, pulling back and shaking the empty bottle of tequila in her face. “But it’s time for a refill,” I claimed, giving her ass a light smack, signaling to take what she was selling to another brother.

She stumbled onto her feet and looked at me dejected. I ignored her, brushing past her as I made my way through the sea of people toward the bar where I found Bones picking up his pants.

“Am I the only one who hasn’t gotten laid yet?” I questioned disgustedly, as I reached over the bar and pulled another bottle from the shelf.

“What the fuck are you waiting for?” Bones asked, his breath ragged from pounding one of the usual bitches that hung around him like a hemorrhoid. I think her name was Sally, or maybe Suzy, fuck, I had no idea what her name was.

I glanced across the room at Brittany, the girl from the gym, getting tight with Pipe. Well, I didn’t see that shit coming. I wouldn’t have invited her if I thought she’d be on her knees sucking Pipe’s dick and not mine.

“I need a brunette,” I told Bones, taking the cigarette he just lit from his mouth and claiming it for myself.

“And what? You can’t find one?” He asked incredulously, pulling another cigarette from his pack. “What about her,” he suggested, tipping his beer across the room. “Pretty enough, if you bend her over and take her from behind. Her face is fucked but she’s got an ass that makes up for that shit.”

I squinted, trying to check her out but I couldn’t see shit. I was piss drunk and seeing double of everything. I covered one eye and focused on the brunette in question.

“You boys want in on the bet?” Pops asked, walking up in front of me completely obscuring my vision.

It was fucking useless. I couldn’t even fuck backward pussy.

I gave up, taking a seat on one of the stools and looked at Pops

“What’re you talking about old man?”

“We’re lining up some matches. Blackie is first up. He’s going to fight one of the guys from another charter,” he explained, holding out his palm. “Pay up.”

“No one asked me if I wanted to fight,” I said flatly.

“And chance messing up that pretty face of yours?” Bones quipped, handing over a fifty to Pops. “Fifty on Black,” he told the old geezer.

If I couldn’t fuck, I might as well fight. Get rid of some of this aggression somehow. I looked at my phone. Nope, no calls from Kitten.

“I want to fight,” I declared, staring at Pops. “Set it up,” I said, sliding off the stool. I grabbed my bottle and glanced at Bones. “And your money better be on me and not some other dick wad,” I warned.

I spotted Blackie walking into the room with a smoking hot blonde on his heels and my dick stirred. Maybe I didn’t need a brunette after all.

I took a shot of the tequila, placing the bottle down again, and left Bones and Pops to snatch Blackie’s girl. Fuck that, it was my patch party. I should get first dibs on all pussy.

I cleared my throat, ready to lay on the charm in typical Riggs fashion. Blackie didn’t stand a chance. Kiss your lay goodbye brother.

“This is the best fucking night of my life!” I shouted, moving to stand directly in front of the blonde bombshell who looked like a lost puppy. What the hell was wrong with me, and why was I comparing every woman I wanted to bang to a pet? Her eyes lifted to mine as I flipped my baseball cap backwards so she could check out my soulful eyes as I grinned at her. Go on baby, try to resist Riggs.