Sinner's Steel (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #3)(78)
“Thank f*ck. Last time you didn’t talk to me for two months.”
Zane walked into a center of the circle, and held his hands behind his back, wrists crossed. “Tie my hands.” He’d learned the hard way that it was impossible not to raise his hands to defend himself, and all that would lead to was a bunch of broken fingers, maybe a broken arm. He wanted his hands working and unbruised so that he could hold Evie again, touch her soft skin and stroke her curves, soothe away the pain.
Gunner tied a rope around his wrists binding them together. “Is she really worth it?”
Zane braced himself when Jagger hauled back, ready for the first punch. “Yeah, brother. She is.”
*
Zane fired a second shot at the target at the end of the grassy lawn behind the clubhouse, missing the center by a good few centimeters. Four days after the beating and he still wasn’t back on his game. Beside him, Arianne laughed. Then she pumped three bullets into the bull’s-eye with a casual flick of her wrist. Damn, Jagger’s old lady was always showing off. Just because Viper had given her a gun at the age of three, didn’t mean she had to rub a guy’s nose in it.
“I still have a few rounds left,” Arianne said. “You want to go again?”
“Better not. Evie’s coming over with Ty and Connie. Ty’s gonna humiliate Hacker again in that game with tanks and Evie and Connie want to shoot some stick downstairs.” He also wasn’t up for another round of humiliation. Yeah, she was Viper’s daughter, but she was a girl. He was a guy. Guys were supposed to shoot better so they could protect their women. Not that Arianne needed protecting, but she usually kept her skills under the radar when Jagger was around. Showing up the VP was one thing, but no one showed up the president.
He lowered his weapon, wincing as his arm brushed over his bruised ribs.
Arianne lifted an eyebrow. “Does Evie know?”
“No. And I’m not gonna tell her.”
She holstered her gun and laughed. “I think I’d better hang around Jagger just in case. She might be a small-town girl but she’s got old lady steel. You should have heard her bossing everyone around in Sparky’s shop. Just over a week and she has her business up and running again. And if she finds out Jagger’s the one who turned you black and blue, I have no doubt she’ll go after him. Even if he was her friend. Even if you’ve been back for four days and didn’t get in touch with her. And even if you deserve what you got.”
Christ. Most of the women in the club had been sympathetic and caring over the last couple of days he’d stayed upstairs in his room to recover. They’d tended his wounds, fed him, and found brothers to help him up when he wanted to shower. Jagger had been up to see him every day, helped change his bandages, brought him pizza. But not Arianne. He had no doubt she’d have thrown the first punch if Jagger let her, and she would have used brass knuckles, too.
“I’d like to see you try to protect Jagger. You know if there’s even a hint of danger, he’ll be shoving you away.”
“We’ll shove each other.” Arianne laughed and her face softened. “That’s what we do best.”
“Zane!” Evie came around the corner and waved.
His breath left him in a rush. How long had it been since he’d seen her? Seven days? Eight? Fuck she was even more beautiful than he remembered. The sun caught her hair as she ran toward him, catching those gold highlights and making them sparkle. Good thing. Otherwise those barely there shorts and tiny tank top stretched tight over her luscious breasts might just have distracted him entirely, instead of leaving him just enough sense to hold out a gun when she approached, blocking his body. He couldn’t let her touch him without giving himself away. Even after four days he couldn’t bear anything more than the clothes touching his skin.
“You wanna learn to shoot today?”
Evie pulled up short, her brow creased in a frown. “I know how to shoot. Bill taught me. And I beat you every time we played Undercover Ops.”
“Shooting a TV screen isn’t the same as shooting in real life, sweetheart. And you never beat me. I let you win.” He handed her the gun, and her arms dropped to her sides.
“Where have you been for the last week? Is something wrong?”
“Biker business so I can’t talk about it.” He spun her around to face the target and put his arms around her to help her steady the gun, trying to keep a space between their bodies.
“Why do you want me to shoot so bad?” She looked up over her shoulder, her cheek soft against his jaw. “Is it not safe here? Should I take Ty away?”
“You’re safe here, sweetheart.” He buried his lips in the softness of her hair. She smelled of honey and jasmine, thick and sweet, and he longed for a little taste. “Pull the trigger. Let’s see what you got.”
She aimed the weapon, pulled the trigger and the bullet glanced off the top of the target and hit a tree.
“Like this.” He repositioned her hands and bent her elbows, then gently tilted the gun barrel down an inch. Evie stepped back, pressed herself into his body. Zane hissed and jerked away at the potent mix of pleasure and pain.
“What’s wrong?” Evie spun around. “Why don’t you want to touch me?”
“I do.” He cupped her face between his hands and bent down to kiss her, his lips moving over hers, drinking her down like he was dying of thirst. She opened for him, ran her tongue over the seam of his lips, and he stroked inside her, tangling his tongue with her own. She tasted of coffee and cream—regular, not whipped.