Page 40 of I am Dressed in Sin (Death by Daybreak MC 2)
“And Grainger?” I ask dryly, still trying to puzzle out what this conversation is meant to convey. “How and why did Crown and Sin ever think to include him in the first place?”
“If you touch her,” Grainger said that fateful day, just after I gave my first time to him, “I will end you.”
He said those words like I belonged to him. Like he really and truly meant them. He’d bleed his brother just to keep me close. Is it horrible that I almost wish that he had? That he’d thrown Sin out and pinned me to the bed, fucked me until I admitted the terrible truth?
I wanted to be his. I still do. And I hate that I feel that way.
“He’s the sergeant-at-arms,” Beast says which isn’t exactly an answer to my question. “He’s supposed to keep club members in line, not lie to them. There are only four people besides yourself you can trust, suge.” Suge. Short for sugar. And just as addictive, the sound of this man’s voice. Beast looks past me again, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “When you choose me, I want you to choose me for a reason other than logic.” He scoffs that last word before returning those blue eyes to mine. “Fact is, I’d rather you were entirely illogical when you chose me.”
I cock a brow. He said ‘when’, not if.
“Overconfident much?” I query back, and Beast chuckles. It’s a rare sound, a diamond dug from the mud that glitters even when it’s covered in dirt.
“Four people you can trust; three people you can fuck.” He gives me a look as I crinkle my face in confusion. “I’m not touchin’ you until our wedding night.”
I stare at him.
“You’re kidding me, right?” The words pop out before I can gather together one of my usual quips. Something the old me would’ve said, something like, “you really think I want you, old man?” Only, that would be me lying again. And I can’t do that anymore. Not to these men at least. “Why?”
He flattens his mouth and reaches up a hand to touch his beard. I don’t usually like beards on men, but Beast wears it well. He keeps his clean and well-trimmed, unlike some of the other Daybreakers. Gaz, in particular, comes to mind.
“Did you wrong more than once,” Beast admits, shaking his head. “I won’t make that mistake again.” He gives me a long, hard look. “This is the last time I’mma say this: three people. Nobody else. After our wedding, I can’t promise I’ll be inclined to share.”
Beast turns and takes off before I can sputter a single response.
“Fuck,” I murmur finally, rubbing my hand over my face. I’m off my game. Too much time has passed since I’ve seen these men, and I’m losing my edge. Eventually, I turn and take Beast’s advice, heading into the shadows of the woods to find Grainger leaning against a tree. His back is to the trunk, eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest.
“What’d your old man want?” he growls, his words clipped with jealousy. He wanted, I think, more than anything for me to pick him. That’s what they all want, isn’t it? All four of them. I can almost believe it, too, with the exception of Crown. That’s … that’s a lot to take in. Then again, he’s the one that I Tased, the one whose bike I stole, the one who held my fate in his hands and made a choice I never even dared to allow myself to imagine.
“First off, he isn’t my old man yet. Second …” Words fail me yet again. But I can’t stand there and look at Cade Grainger and not appreciate how damn beautiful he is. The moonlight bathes his rust-colored hair, turning it red. His lashes are long and dark, his features classically handsome. His leather cut and the short-sleeved shirt beneath it reveal two arms corded with muscle and covered in ink made up of celestial wonders. Speaking of, I catch sight of that moon and sun tattoo near his hairline, the one that looks like night and day are fucking.
Grainger opens his eyes, probably wondering if I’m sick or still suffering from the effects of blood loss. Rarely can I keep my mouth shut for such an extended period of time.
“You wanted me to pick you.”
He listens to me, blinking through the words, and then shaking his head like I’m a crazy person.
“Not a chance in hell. I wouldn’t marry you if you got on your knees and begged me.” He flicks a glance my way. “If you weren’t engaged to my brother, I might tell you to get on your knees and try right now. Even if you sucked me nice and good though, the answer would still be the same: no.”
