Page 53 of I Was Born Ruined (Death by Daybreak MC 1)
“Duh,” I say, thinking I'm seriously fucking killing this. I probably look like an idiot. Sin gestures with his head for me to climb on his bike.
“If you want to party for real, get on.” He waits for me to take up the spot behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and breathing in his scent. Sin smells like hot leather and cinnamon gum, laced with tobacco, cloves, and fresh male sweat. I fucking love it. He smells like trouble, and I’m all about trouble right now.
“I could bottle your smell and sell it,” I murmur, sitting up a bit and leaning forward to press a kiss to his ear. Sin stiffens up and his tattooed fingers curl around the handlebars of the bike.
“You think so?” he asks, his voice pitched in a deep purr, like he’s getting ready to break into an angsty metalcore song, something written for his dead sister. My skin prickles, and I feel this almost tangible connection between our broken souls. He has a dead sister; I have dead sisters. We’re birds of a feather, me and him.
I don’t answer, and after a moment, Sin kickstarts the engine, and we take off, turning around in the middle of the street and heading back in the direction of the Death by Daybreak Clubhouse.
The clubhouse.
Oh. Am I old enough to be invited to the clubhouse now? I feel a sharp thrill in my blood as we weave through side streets and then crawl through roads flanked by forests, sun-dappled and cool with shadows. It’s a decent drive, far enough from the city that the suburbs can’t hear the parties.
Or the screams.
Half an hour later, we pull through the gates and head across the compound, towards the bar. Men and women mingle outside, under strings of white lights. There are kegs and empty hard liquor bottles, raucous laughter and fucking, all under a cloud of screaming metal music. The California chapter of Death by Daybreak is in town, and they're having a bit of a celebration. It's only been six months since my sisters died, and the party feels like a betrayal. I turn that sadness into anger real quick, let it burn my blood to ash.
Sin pulls up in a space near the front, and I climb off, noticing several of the club-whores giving me wicked once-overs. Better not start shit with me though. They know who my father is.
I feel like a princess when I strut up those stairs and grab a beer. Cat is nowhere to be seen, but Beast is staring at me from across the room. He doesn't hesitate to make his way over. My heart thumps wildly, but I don’t pay it much attention. Beast is hot, so what? There are, like, a dozen guys in here that fit that description. Maybe you’re just scared of him? my unconscious mind whispers, but I brush her assessment off. Most of the men in Cat’s club are afraid of their Enforcer; I never have been. Can’t say why. He’d kill me if my father asked him to, that much I know for sure. And yet … I can’t seem to summon up an ounce of fear for the big man with the ice-blue eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice like spring runoff, freshly melted and wicked cold. Doesn't bother me. I'm wicked hot, so all it does is cool my overheated skin. I pop the top on my beer and drink some while he stares at me. His hair is sandy, like it was once light brown but all that sun has bleached it. It matches his short beard, well-groomed compared to other members of the club. I usually hate beards, but it looks good on Beast.
“Partying,” I quip, and later, when I remember this moment, I’ll wonder if he thought I was beautiful or stupid. If he looked at me like a woman or a nuisance. “Word is this is the best place in town.”
“It is the best place in town for that,” Beast replies smoothly, letting me drink the beer even though he doesn't look particularly happy about it. “But it's no place for you. Does Cat know you're here?”
I shrug, but I honestly don't care. My father's barely talked to me since the murders. Besides, this is how he brought me up, bathed in cigarette smoke and fucking and the stale smell of beer. This is what I know. It's what I'm destined for, so why not embrace it?
I finish my beer and grab another, and still, Beast doesn't stop me. He watches as I walk away, looking for Sin. I find him in the main room, up close and personal with a young blonde that I don't recognize. Seeing him leaning over her like that infuriates me, and I find myself marching across the room and grabbing him by the arm.
