Hooked (Viking Bastards MC #1)(33)

I don’t like it.

“You seeing anyone else?” My voice is rough. Where the hell am I going with this? I don’t date, so my question doesn’t even make any sense.

“Uh, no.” She sounds taken aback. “Are you?”

No, I’m not. The words thunder through my head. I’ve never said them before, never even thought them, but with Grace it just feels right. I want her to know she’s more than a casual lay. Hell, even thinking that makes me crazy. She’s my girl. I suck in a deep breath. Just tell her.

Before I manage to get my shit together, Charity’s voice interrupts the silence that’s sprung up between Grace and me.

“Are we going out, or do you want me to leave you two alone?”

I grin at my girl. There’s no need to say anything. She knows what she means to me.

…

The bar’s within walking distance of the apartment, and I sling my arm around Grace’s shoulders. It feels real good, knowing for sure she’s not sleeping with anyone but me.

“At least we don’t need to worry about getting mugged.” Charity nudges my girl before throwing me a smile. “Zach’d scare the crap out of anyone idiotic enough to try.”

Grace agrees, and a weird feeling snakes through my chest. “Usually, I’m the one in a line-up, not the hero.” Okay, so I’ve only been in a line-up once, but I doubt her ex ever has.

Why do I keep thinking about that *?

“Aww.” Grace snuggles into me. “You’ll always be my hero.”

I’m relieved no one I know is around to hear her say that, even though I like it. “Never been accused of that before.”

The bar is everything I expected, which means it’s so far removed from Odin’s they might as well be on different planets. I pull open the door for the girls to go in first, and Charity shoots me a shocked look as though she thought I’d let it slam in her face. Just because I’m not from the right side of town doesn’t mean I’m a total Neanderthal, and I smother my grin as I remember how Grace once called me that.

I get plenty of sideways glances from the trust-fund kids who make up the majority of customers, and as we make our way across the floor people step back as though they think I’m going to start ripping heads off.

We find a table out on the terrace, with uninterrupted views of the ocean. Everything is scrubbed clean, and there’s no smoke or lingering smell of weed in the air, just the faint scent of the sea on the breeze.

I sit back with a beer while the girls sip their cocktails. Unsurprisingly, Grace tried to insist on paying for the drinks, but I’m not having that, even if everything is majorly overpriced.

“Always knew you were a cocktail girl.”

She pulls the straw from her mouth in a slow, sexy slide. “Only on special occasions. I prefer whiskey.”

“You told me vodka.”

“Of course I did. I couldn’t let you have everything your own way, could I?”

If her sister wasn’t sitting right next to her, I’d give a smart retort to that, but much as I like the way Grace blushes when she gets embarrassed, I’ve discovered she hates it.

I glance around. The bar and terrace is all white and glass and secluded lighting. “This your local?”

“One of them,” Charity says. “We mix it up. But this is one of our favorites.”

“Don’t you like it?” Grace leans into me and takes my hand. “We don’t have to stay.”

I squeeze her fingers. It’s cute she thinks she needs to tell me that. “If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have agreed to come tonight.”

“That’s so adorable.” Her sister gives a loud sigh, and we both turn to frown at her. Is she taking the piss? “You make a lovely couple.”

“I know we do.” Grace glances at me with an apologetic smile. “You’ll have to excuse my sister. You’re not what she was expecting.”

“Is that right?” I can guess what she thought, but I’m not calling her out on it for the single reason she’s Grace’s sister.

“Viking Bastards.” Her sister looks enthralled, and combined with the fact she isn’t trying to change the subject, it makes me laugh. “I was expecting an ax-wielding berserker at the very least.”

“You would,” Grace retorts, but she’s trying not to laugh.

“I only berserk on Sundays.”

Charity chokes on her cocktail, and Grace leans over and pats her back.

“You don’t berserk at all.” She gives me one of her smiles that make me forget everything, and I dig my fingers through her hair and roughly pull her close for a lingering kiss.

“And that’s my cue to leave.”

Grace pulls back, her hair messed up and face flushed. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. A group of our friends have just walked in, and if I stay here you’ll never get them to leave you alone.”

Grace glances over her shoulder, and gives a strangled groan. “Did you tell them we were coming here tonight?”

“I might’ve mentioned it.” Her sister doesn’t look at all sorry when Grace throws her cocktail umbrella at her. “I didn’t know if we’d need backup or not.”