Rogue (Sons of Sangue Book 4) (28 page)

Tamera smiled. “Let’s get your sexy ass out of here then.”

Anton stood, extended his hand to Tamera, and helped her alight from the booth before heading for the exit. What he planned on doing was finding Kane and sending her cute little ass back to Grayson. Bottom line, he had to return to Oregon before Tank came looking for him, and Tamera wasn’t safe here without him. She may be stronger than any one man here, but they also carried weapons and wouldn’t hesitate using them. They wouldn’t think twice about fighting dirty, woman or not.

Spider groaned from his bench as they passed him. Anton paused and kicked his booted foot. “You tell Tank I’m heading back to Oregon. If he wants to know why I left, tell him it was your dumb ass moves on my old lady that had me making the impromptu visit home. She’s coming back with me, so don’t get any wise ideas I might have to slit your dumb ass throat for.”

Spider wisely said nothing, but his glare told Anton he wasn’t too happy with Anton’s blatant show of disrespect. Hitting the door, Anton pushed it open, his arm still tightly wrapped around Tamera. Once they got outside, Anton meant to drop his hold when Spider and a couple of the crew followed them through the exit.

Anton turned by his Road King, pulled Tamera in and kissed her, staking his claim so Spider wouldn’t second-guess Anton’s actions inside. Funny, even though he had kissed Tamera soundly, had even wished for as much a year ago, it didn’t even register as a blip on his sexual radar. Not even close to the fire set in his loins when kissing Kimber. Maybe Tamera had never been the right woman for him to begin with. Even if at the time he had hoped she would’ve chosen him over Grayson. Releasing her, his chin tipped, indicating she should crawl onto the back of his bike. Thankfully, she complied without question.

He faced off with Spider and his lackeys. “You got something you want to say, asshole?”

“Don’t think Tank won’t hear about this.”

Anton winked at him. “I’m counting on it. You tell Tank to give me a call.”

Dismissing the idiots, he climbed onto his bike, kicked up the stand, and handed Tamera his helmet. She quickly strapped it on. He only needed to take her as far as her Range Rover. Then if he didn’t get a hold of Kane, he’d follow her all the way to Pleasant to make sure she went home. Pulling out of the lot, they turned left. Tamera leaned forward, telling him to take a quick right. They came to the lot where she had parked her SUV.

To his misfortune, standing beside it was Kaleb and Grayson.
Great!
Grayson looked poised for murder. Anton took a quick look behind him, noting Hade’s Nest’s parking lot was probably visible from the corner of the lot. No doubt, Grayson had witnessed their kiss.

Anton cut the engine and stepped over his bike.

Christ!
Anton held his hands out to his sides. “Let’s get this over with.”

Grayson stepped forward, drew his fist back, and punched Anton square in the mouth. Before Anton could throw one of his own, Tamera quickly jumped between them.

Bright green neon lights illuminated the room, bathing the crowd in color. White LED stage lighting flashed about the room, reminding Kimber of glowing lightsabers straight out of
Star Wars
, creating a strobe like effect. She couldn’t help but think maybe the Blood ‘n’ Rave should come with a warning for people who were prone to seizures.

The crowd jumped in time with the song, singing along with the well-liked tune,
Beautiful Now
, by a musician named Zedd. Kimber hadn’t known much about electronic music, only knew the name of the song and artist because apparently Chad was a pretty big fan of the artist.

Upon arrival, they hadn’t even secured a table before Chad grabbed a couple of glow sticks from a box by the door, snapped them to mix the two liquids to ignite the flare, and headed for the dance floor. Kimber smiled at his contagious enthusiasm. She found it hard to stand still herself, swaying in time to the tune.

Tena and Bobby made their way through the crowd, finding a table along the back wall and away from the masses. Probably safer to stay off the Sons’ radar in case any of them recognized Bobby. Kimber had one of two choices, follow the two to the back of the room, or head for the dance floor with Chad. Surprising even herself, she opted for the latter. After all, Kimber didn’t come here to hide. She could’ve done as much at home.

Tonight was about cutting loose.

Stepping outside her comfort zone.

Weaving through the throng of dancers, she found Chad smack-dab in the middle. It almost appeared as if he had a pogo stick, jumping as one with the crowd. Kimber laughed, absorbing the energy and rush. She took one of the offered glow sticks from Chad and began waving it in the air and moving to the beat of the sound.

The heavy bass beat thumped against her chest and pounded in her ears. Bodies knocked and bounced against her, throwing her occasionally off-kilter. Kimber couldn’t help but laugh, enjoying the electricity of those around her. She was so far outside her norm, usually avoiding crowds like the plague. Nothing like throwing herself into the multitude. Chad leaned down, spoke loudly against her ear, something she couldn’t begin to hear over the music. He laughed when Kimber shrugged, having no clue what he had tried to tell her. When the song came to its end, Kimber indicated to Chad she was going to head for the bar. He grinned and waved her on.

Dry pipes called for something wet.

She couldn’t help the smile on her face, feeling much more lighthearted.
Just what the doctor had ordered.
Skirting the chairs and tables surrounding the tiled dance floor, she headed for the back of the club. Tena caught her gaze and waved at her, before holding up a glass of wine. Kimber could forgo a trip to the bar. Next round would be on her.

Taking a left between the tables, she bumped into a very solid chest. She stepped back to apologize when she glanced into the face of the very Sons’ member Anton had warned her to stay away from. Out of jealousy? Possibly. Either way, she was a big girl and didn’t need him coloring her opinion. She was capable of coming to her own conclusions.

“Pardon me.” Kimber shouted to be heard over the music.

The man’s hand slipped to her waist as he leaned down to her ear. “My pleasure, I assure you. Where’s your bodyguard?”

“Bodyguard?” Her brow furrowed. “I’m not sure who you mean.”

“Sure you do, sweetheart. If Rogue is here, you’ll have to excuse me for kicking his sorry ass out.”

“He’s not, Wolf.”

“You’re alone?”

Kimber paused, unsure how she wanted to answer his question. She couldn’t be positive about him not knowing Bobby. Best not to take a chance. Bobby had left his motorcycle vest at home, not wanting to draw attention. The same reason for he and Tena picking a table at the back of the room.

Kimber pointed to the dance floor. “I came with a friend. He’s on the dance floor.”

Wolf leaned down again, his breath tickling the shell of her ear. “Your boyfriend?”

She thought about lying, but should Wolf spot Chad, he’d no doubt see the truth. “Just a good friend. Coworker.”

“Then he won’t mind if I buy you a drink.”

Crap!
She couldn’t very well refuse and draw attention to Bobby and Tena by heading back to their table. Wolf may not know him, but again, she didn’t want to take the chance.

Detecting her hesitation, he said. “I won’t bite … not yet anyway,” he added with a wink.

Kimber chuckled. Regardless of Anton’s cautioning, she found Wolf quite the charmer. He may not be as classically handsome as Anton, but there was definitely sexual appeal radiating from him.

“You by yourself?”

He glanced at Kimber sideways, before understanding settled into his gaze. “You mean Xander? Please tell me your more enamored by a man such as myself, than one who looks as if they stepped off the cover of
GQ
. That boy probably spends more time in front of the mirror than most women.”

Kimber smiled, patting his barrel chest. “No worries there, big guy. Xander’s good-looking, but I prefer my men a bit more rustic.”

Wolf’s deep laughter grew. Kimber found she liked the sound and couldn’t help but laugh with him.

“Come on, sweetheart.” He placed a palm in the center of her back and began leading her to the bar. “Let me buy you a drink. I promise to keep my hands to myself. Just a little company is all I want. I hate drinking alone.”

The bald bartender tossed aside his white towel and headed in their direction. The man Kimber knew to own the bar seemed to be absent, though she supposed he couldn’t be present every night. Kimber side-stepped a stool and placed her hands on the bar’s surface, hoping Tena understood her reasoning for not retrieving the wine she had already purchased.

“What’s your poison?”

Kimber leaned closer to the bartender as to be heard. “I’ll take a glass of zinfandel.”

The man nodded, grabbed a wineglass from the rack overhead and used a clean bar towel to wipe it spotless. He then held it to the light. Satisfied, he opened the wine bottle with a slight pop, then poured her a glass of the pale pink wine. He slid it across the polished bar. Wolf reached into his pocket, pulled out a twenty, and laid it on the bar. Without asking Wolf, the bartender grabbed a rocks glass from the shelf, added a few cubes of ice, and poured two fingers of Jack Daniels into it. He handed it to Wolf.

He took the glass to his nose and inhaled before holding the glass up to her. “Salute.”

Kimber clinked her wineglass to his. “Cheers.”

He took a sip from the glass, then set it on the bar, his large hand nearly encircling it. True to his word, he did keep his hands on the bar and to himself. His gaze easily roamed over her before returning to her face. He smiled, not in the least apologetic for ogling her.

“I can see why Rogue is all territorial when it comes to you.”

“He said that?” Kimber’s brow creased, shocked Anton had spoken of her as if she were his property. “It’s not as if we are dating.”

“Maybe not.” He arched one of his brows. “But he made it damn clear you were off-limits. Not that I give a flying fuck what he wants these days. I respected him at one time. Not anymore. The fucker’s a traitor. You do know that?”

Kimber drew the corner of her lip between her teeth, uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation. She looked to her glass, toying with the stem. Anton and she may have parted on bad terms, but she wasn’t ready to throw him under the bus either.

“Maybe there’s a reason he’s with the Devils.”

Wolf chuckled. “I’m sure there is. Fucker doesn’t take rejection well.”

Rejection?
“What do you mean?”

He smirked. “I take it the coward didn’t tell you why he left the Sons. Who he thought of as his girl? She chose the wrong Sons’ member according to him. He believes our supporting her decision was a betrayal to him.”

Something tickled the hairs at her nape. “Who?”

“Gypsy’s mate” — he cleared his throat — “woman.”

“The redhead?”

His gaze narrowed. “You know her?”

“Met her briefly last year. I first met her at Anton’s place. Later, she came by my home and told me to keep an eye on Anton. I was a bit shocked since her and I didn’t exactly hit it off.”

He smiled, splitting his beard. “Sounds like Tamera. The woman always had a soft spot for Rogue, but her true love was Gypsy.”

Tam
. Tamera. Of course. Why hadn’t she put two-and-two together? Kimber was an even bigger idiot. Anton had left her to go to Tamera. Her heart plummeted. At this point, she didn’t even know for sure Anton had gone to Santa Barbara. All she had was his word.

“Anton left the Sons because she chose to be with Gypsy?”

“Long story, but Anton thought she belonged with him. She lived with him a short time. When she went back to Gypsy, he was hurt. I get that.” He took a sip from his whiskey. “Anyone could see Tamera clearly loved Gypsy. Rogue couldn’t handle the rejection, took the betrayal pretty hard and turned his back on all of us.”

Something in Wolf’s gaze told her there was more behind the story. He was holding back. “You think he still loves Tamera?”

“A few weeks ago, I might have said yes. Not anymore.”

“What changed?”

“You, sweetheart.” He reached out and ran a knuckle down her cheek. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rogue go all territorial. Not even with Tamera. I think he knew, down deep, she belonged with Gypsy. He just didn’t want to admit it. Watch your heart, baby girl. I think Rogue’s out to steal it.”

Kimber thought about what Wolf said, having a hard time believing it. Not that she didn’t want to. But all it took from Tamera was one phone call to set Anton into motion. The very same woman she had caught in his house wearing nothing but a towel over a year ago. Whatever the truth, Anton had a lot to answer for when he returned. If she decided to give him the time of day.

Out of the corner of her gaze, she saw Bobby and Tena heading for the exit. Not that she could blame them. It wasn’t their idea to come the Blood ‘n’ Rave, and yet they were left to sit alone in the back of the club. Instead of spending time with them, she passed away the night, keeping Wolf’s attention off the fact a Devil was in their territory. Tena was probably dying to get Mr. Bear-alicious alone anyway. Time to make her own speedy exit. Wolf had certainly given her a lot to think about.