“Once she is, she’ll be under the club protection,” Devil said. “I’m going home to my woman and kids. See you guys later.”
Heading back to the clubhouse, Curse parked his car up and made a note to go sort out Mia’s mother. He needed a wash and a change of clothes.
Going to his room, he paused when he found Ashley sat outside of his door on the floor. Her feet were up to her chest as she stared into space. Clearing his throat, he got her attention. Her eyes were red from crying.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing, I thought it would be nice for us to catch up. It has been a long time since we got to know each other.”
Entering his room, he let Ashley enter. The sound of the lock flicking into place had him turning toward her. She was swigging from a bottle of scotch.
“What are you doing? We’re not going to be f**king. Pussy is downstairs. Give him some attention. I don’t want it.”
She moved to his side, running a hand down his chest, similar to the way Mia had done hours ago.
Catching her wrist, he stopped her from going down any further. “I said no.”
“Come on, Curse, you know how much you love to f**k me?”
He frowned, staring at her. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and he grew suspicious. Ashley was a sweet woman even with her preference for sex.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just miss your cock. You know how big you are.”
“I also know Pussy is bigger, and you like him a little more.” Folding his arms, he took a step back. This was a puzzle, and he liked figuring out puzzles. Her hand shook as she raised the bottle to her lips. “Why are you drinking this early?”
“It’s good to start drinking early. The party is going to start soon enough.” She turned away from him, and he watched her wipe something from under her eye.
“Are you crying?”
“No, I’m not crying. Why won’t you f**k me?” she asked, snapping at him.
“Watch how you f**king speak to me.”
He stared at her and wondered what the f**k was going on. Why she was here didn’t make any sense to him.
“I’m with Mia now. There will be no f**king around.”
“Mia won’t mind.”
She stared somewhere past his shoulder.
Grabbing her arms, he glared at her. “You better tell me what the f**k is going on right now, or I swear I will make your life a f**king misery.”
Ashley sobbed seconds before collapsing against him. When she told him the truth, his anger spiked. Mia was going to know not to f**king mess with him.
****
Tired, fed up, and angry at herself, Mia entered the staff room to grab her bag. Resting her head against the wall, she cursed herself for her actions earlier. Since hanging up the phone, she’d regretted her words to Ashley. She didn’t want Ashley to sleep with Curse or to have anything to do with him. Rubbing at her chest, she took several deep breaths to try to calm her nerves.
Will he sleep with her?
The thought of his hard body moving over Ashley filled her with jealousy. She heard several women giggling as they looked over a magazine. Ignoring them, she grabbed her bag and headed out the front door. Curse waited for her with his arms folded. He was staring at the ground rather than at her. Walking across the road, she stopped in front of him.
“Hey,” she said.
He looked up, and she saw the anger lurking in his eyes. Pausing a step away from him, she fisted her palms.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked at the ground without meeting his gaze.
Curse reached out, grasping her chin in his hand. “Don’t f**king lie to me. Get on the bike.”
“We’re going home to my mom, right?”
“She’s being well taken care of. I put Pussy and Ashley onto her care.”
“What? She can’t be around a total stranger.”
“Which is why I sent Ashley with him. Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to your mom. Now, get on the back of the f**king bike before I lose it here for all of them to see.”
Teeth gritted, she looped her arm through her backpack and moved toward his bike. She didn’t see any reason to argue.
He gunned the engine and took off out of town. She wasn’t too concerned with the direction of where they were going. Curse wouldn’t hurt her regardless of what others thought.
Keeping her arms banded around his waist, she held onto him as the wind blew through her hair. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of the reason as to why he was so angry with her. Nothing made any sense, not his anger, unless he knew about Ashley. Crap. What if her friend had spilled the beans on her? Several minutes later, Curse pulled up outside of the house they’d stayed in the night before. He waited for her to climb off, then took hold of her hand, leading her into the house. The moment the door was shut her back was pressed to the wall.
“Who the f**k do you think you are?” Curse asked. His face was red with rage.
“What?”
“Do you really think I’d sleep with Ashley if she came onto me like a cheap f**king whore?”
Shame consumed her at what she’d done. “Listen—”
“No, you f**king listen.” His palm smacked against the wall the other side of her head. She jerked from the harshness of the movement. Curse’s anger took her completely by surprise. It changed him, made him scarier than she ever imagined.
“You really thought I wouldn’t find out about what you’d done?” he asked.
“I didn’t think about you when I asked her to do what I wanted. I only thought about getting you off my back.”
He shook his head. “You’re a real piece of work, do you know that?”
His words hurt, but Mia knew she deserved him lashing out.
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
“God, I can’t believe this. You know, there are thousands of women out there who’d be begging for my attention. Instead, I’ve got to try to convince you that I want to be here,” he said.
Running shaky fingers through her hair, she stared up at him. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s not good enough. Not from you. I deserve something far better from you.”
“Look, I made a mistake. I realize that.”
Curse held his hands up stopping her from talking. “No. You told Ashley to f**k me so you’d have a reason to leave me. It’s not going to happen.”