Chapter Sixteen

Daisy carried a box of donuts into the clubhouse and set it on the table before kissing Bane and leaving. Dio sipped from his cup of coffee, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Wire opened the lid, took a donut, and pushed the box toward Dio. He slid the box to Ruger and leaned back in the chair.

"You're not eating?" Bane bit into the treat.

"Not hungry."

Bane chuckled. "I've never known you to turn down food."

"You don't know everything about me."

"What's crawled up your ass?"

"Nothing."

Bane tilted his head. "I've never known you to be in a bad mood."

Jagger banged the gavel on the table, stopping any further probing, and called the meeting to order. For the first ten minutes, the president of Havlin went over the next week's work schedule before Wire spoke about the money coming into Havlin and the extra expense of updating the sign for the parts shop.

Bane wiped his hands on his jeans. "On Thursday, we'll have to park in front of the building. We're having the back lot asphalted."

"Sweet." Brett crossed his arms. "No more potholes. "

"If we run out of room out front, Whale's Tale Coffee Shop has mentioned we can park behind their building in the gravel lot. If that happens, be considerate of their business." Jagger shuffled the papers around. "In old news, we're still working on getting the correct number of how many Los Li members are estimated to be in the United States."

Dio crossed his arms over his chest. Since the Feds were able to arrest eighty percent of the members in the states on the Rico charges, the others had gone back to Mexico. But it was essential to keep an eye on the growing number trying to make their way back stateside.

"There's a new product for..." Bane looked down at the paper. "For Rolling Cannabis on Stewart Street. They'd like a security escort from the farm to shop every Tuesday. I'll be setting up a new crew to cover that day."

Jagger said, "Remember, we have prospects coming up for a vote at the end of the month. Talk to each sponsor before then, and make sure you know how you're voting."

"Bobby, Sauce, Frankie, Night, Moto, and Runner." Wire slid a piece of paper into the middle of the table. "If you need their sponsor's name, check the list."

The gavel hit the table. Chairs screeched against the concrete floor as the senior members and officers left the table. The others who attended the meeting and stood the whole time headed toward the door.

Dio stretched his back.

"Are you coming over?" asked Maverick .

He clasped Maverick's hand. "Yeah."

Dio stayed a few steps behind Maverick, leaving the clubhouse, but ended up beside him as he mounted his motorcycle. Brooke texted him yesterday, asking him to comefor a barbecue. It'd been a coupleof months since they'd all gotten together.

Maverick coughed, put on his helmet, and rode away from the clubhouse. Dio followed. A route he'd taken more times than he could count. Maverick and Brooke had welcomed him into the family from the beginning. He'd shared many Sunday dinners sitting at their table or in a chair outside around a grill.

He appreciated the quiet side of Maverick. The man was smart and loyal. Dio had seen how much his MC brother had suffered before his surgery, where he could barely talk without a fit of coughing stealing the wind out of him. So, to sit and enjoy a meal, no matter how quiet—he respected that.

Brooke and Skye were always thereto keep the conversation going.

His gut tightened at the prospect of seeing Skye today.

Neither Brooke nor Maverick mentioned if Skye would join them for dinner. Regardless, he'd go because they were the closest thing he had to a family anymore.

It'd been a week since he apologized to Skye and later saw her at the Havlin party. She hadn't checked in on him or swung by the clubhouse during the week to see him. Things weren't back to normal.

He rode the long driveway onto the bluff where the house sat, protected by a rock wall in the back and a cliff off the front yard. Stopping in front of the garage, he backed up his Harley and toed the kickstand, parking beside Maverick's motorcycle.

He killed the engine and removed his helmet. It was a warm day, and the breeze on the bluff felt good.

His stomach growled. Ever since he woke up and found Skye in his bed, he'd lived off junk food. If he had to sit too long, he'd start thinking so he kept himself moving.

He looked around, not seeing Skye's car or any sign of her. Hiding his disappointment, he walked into the house with Maverick.

Brooke looked up from the stove. "Oh, good. You guys made it in time. I was afraid the meeting would last longer."

She leaned over and puckered her lips, kissing Maverick as he stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"I hope you're hungry, " she said, pointing to the counter. "The steaks are all ready to go on the grill."

Dio inhaled deeply. Brooke was stirring what looked like a bowl of potato salad, but something else was in the air.

"I have apple pie coming out of the oven in a few minutes." She smiled at Dio. "And vanilla ice cream. It's one of Skye's favorites. She always preferred to eat the pie warm with ice cream melting all over the plate."

That's what the aroma was. "Smells good."

Maverick handed him a beer bottle and took a water bottle for himself. "I'm going to fire up the grill. Can you grab the meat?"

"Yeah." Dio took a drink off the bottle and put the cap in the trash bin under the sink. Then, he picked up the plate of meat. He wanted to ask if Skye was coming but it was better if he sat back and waited to find out on his own.

His wait ended when he walked outside. Skye pulled up in her car and honked the horn. He set the meat on the side of the grill and noticed Maverick grinning—happy his daughter was here. Dio felt the same—but different.

Skye left him unsure of how he was supposed to feel. The comfortable companionship they'd always had was gone. In its place, tension filled the air—at least for him.

He wanted the ease of being around her back.

He missed her.

She got out of the car and waved over her head. "I'm starving."

Mariah, popped out of the passenger side. Dio hadn't even noticed Skye's best friend was with her.

Skye pulled out a sack from the back seat. "There's a crowd downtown. It took us ten minutes to leave the store's parking lot because the cars were backed up on the highway. Do you know what's going on?"

"Tourists." Maverick put the steaks on the hot grill. "Hopefully, they're all leaving from their weekend getaway."

Dio held his beer, taking in Skye. She had on a sundress that showed off her bare shoulders and the tops of her breasts. The flat flip-flops she had on slapped the bottom of her feet with each step.

Skye went straight to her dad and kissed his cheek. "Missed you."

"Missed you, too." Her dad kissed her forehead. "Proud of you."

Skye turned to Dio. "How's the back?"

"Better."

"Good." She hefted the sack in her arm. "I'm going to run this inside and put it in the freezer before it melts."

Skye and Mariah left the yard. In their absence, only the spit and crackle from the grill filled the void.

Dio sat down, feeling like he should do more.

Maverick closed the cover on the grill and sat in an empty lawn chair beside him, stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles.

"Have you heard the talk?" asked Maverick.

"About what?"

Maverick shrugged. "This might be the last vote-in. Jagger's thinking about topping off the chapter."

"What do we have, two hundred and twenty members in Seaglass Cove?" He hooked his hands behind his head. "I can see why he'd want to do that. I've heard talk around town that people are questioning what's going on at the clubhouse because of all the riders. It's also what the Mother Chapter did back in Beaverton."

"It's better if we keep our numbers down." Maverick met his gaze. "Of course, the club could split and go somewhere else, too. They'd follow Jagger's footsteps on what he did to get the chapter up and going."

"Who's thinking about doing that?" Dio frowned. "You?"

"Hell, no. I'm too old to start over." Maverick got up and checked the meat on the grill. "Besides, if a new chapter opened, they'd want someone who was always around. I spent too many years in prison. I missed a lot."

He hadn't even considered the club concentrating on moving forward and not growing. The thought of losing men who'd want to move on to a new area worried him. Any change always weakened a club and made them vulnerable.

"If someone left to start somewhere else, would you go?" asked Maverick.

When Jagger brought up the offer to leave Beaverton and start over in Seaglass Cove, he hadn't hesitated to follow. At the time, the club had grown too big. He'd questioned the loyalty of his brothers, and that doubt could get a man killed.

But he hadn't felt that way here. He respected Jagger, as he had Jagger's father, Baller, before he was murdered. Seaglass Cove was the first place he'd bought a house. Before that, he was fine with renting.

He'd put down roots. The club was his family.

"No." He finished his beer. "I'd stay."

"Yeah." Maverick coughed. "I stand with Jagger."

He nodded. Loyalty. The Seaglass Cove Chapter had that in spades, regardless of if they lost a few members by tapping the membership.

The screen door slammed shut, and feminine laughter joined them in the yard. Brooke led Skye and Mariah outside, each carrying something.

"Here's a platter for the steaks." Brooke set the dish down and took the dirty one that had carried the raw meat. "The girls have some veggies that can go on next. Once they're done, we can eat." Brooke smiled at Maverick. "Remember, your daughter likes her steak well done."

Dio watched Skye. She moved with such grace, no longer all gangly-legged. She had a woman's body and moved as if she knew what she was doing.

"Dio?" Brooke stood beside him, having snuck up to him without him noticing. "Can I get you another beer?"

"Nah, thanks. I'm good."

"Let me know if you change your mind." Brooke went back into the house.

He waited for Skye to sit beside him or talk about her work, but she kept a steady stream of conversation going on with Mariah as they waited for the steaks to finish cooking.

Before long, they were all inside, filling up their plates and sitting around the large wooden table. Dio sat at the end, where he normally sat when invited to dinner. Skye took the chair to his left. Because Mariah joined them, Skye sat close enough to himthather leg touched his outer thigh.

"Sorry," he mumbled, scooting his chair over an inch.

Skye patted his leg under the table as if touching her was okay, and then removed her hand.

The heat from her touch remained behind throughout the dinner. The girls led the conversation while Maverick sat back, content to have his family around him. Brooke smiled around every bite of food. And Dio sat there with his balls aching.

He found himself angry.

Angry at Skye for changing their relationship.

Angry at himself for how he felt toward her.

Her love was innocent, pure, and exciting, while he had tainted the most beautiful thing he'd earned in his life.

He hadn't sought out a friendship with someone young enough to be his child. Skye came with his friendship to Maverick. She'd slipped into his life and, for some reason, latched onto him.

He grew to care about her as if she belonged to him. He'd die for her.

Softness rubbed against his calf. He shifted, moving his leg. Taking a bite of his steak, he tried to overlook the sensation, but when the caress circled his calf, he couldn't ignore the pleasure any longer.

His cock pulsed. He looked at Skye to silently warn her to stop what she was doing, but she talked to Brooke about her swimming schedule, unaware of the hell she was putting him through.

Maverick, Brooke, Mariah, were all centered on Skye. Under the table, she caressed and rubbed her leg against him.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled. It was the softest touch. A touch that grabbed him by the balls and tormented him.

He swallowed hard, unable to move away.

Stabbing pain pierced the skin of his calf, shocking him. He dropped his fork and shoved away from the table .

Everyone's gaze whipped to him and the room went silent. His heart raced. What the fuck?

Meow.

"Flower." Skye scooped up the black cat and cradled it against her chest. "Did she scratch you?"

It wasn't Skye. She hadn't touched him. His heart pounded. It was the damn cat.

He grunted. "I need a smoke."

He left the table without finishing dinner and went outside. Once the screen door slapped shut, he lit a cigarette and walked to his bike. He wanted to ride off and forget about spending the time with Maverick's family.

Sitting next to Skye and pretending everything was okay was too hard.

He exhaled harshly, blowing the smoke in the air. It was the fucking cat that was touching him. He was ready to drill a hole in her, thinking she was teasing him.

Where was his fucking head?

He inhaled deeply, wishing he had a joint on him. God Damnit. Skye was making him lose all control over his life. He couldn't even sit at a table and have dinner with those closest to him.

"Dio?"

He whirled around at the sound of Skye's voice. He wasn't angry at her. She'd done nothing wrong.

His anger was toward himself.

"I'm sorry." She rubbed her arms. "Flower's getting old and cranky. She even scratches me if she wants to be left alone. Sometimes, I wonder if she holds it against me for leaving her with Dad and Aunt Brooke when I moved into a no-pet apartment."

"No worries." He sucked on the cigarette.

Skye smiled sweetly. "Do you remember when I got her?"

"About twelve years ago." He flicked the coal off his smoke and pocketed the butt. "You were determined to save the cat population in Seaglass Cove."

She laughed softly. "I was cat crazy."

The ease of their conversation calmed him. He stuck his hands in his pockets, knowing for both their sake, he needed to get out of there before something else happened.

Dio walked to Skye, kissed her forehead, and said, "Tell your folks thanks for dinner, but I need to take off."

She nodded, studying him. He walked away from her and got on his bike. Putting on his black helmet, he started the engine and rode away.

It was better that way.

Nobody got hurt.