Corrupting Cinderella (5 page)

Teller chuckles. “Boys compare notes too.”

Gross.

Wrath’s jaw and his hold on Trinity tightens.

“Anyway, I just wanted you to know. Me and Rock. Never.” She makes a slashing motion with her hand.

Wrath’s gaze shoots toward the ceiling.

She continues. “He’s more like a big brother or father figure—”

“Fuck, Trinny. I am
not
old enough to be your dad.” Rock’s back. A smile breaks over my face. I’m so happy to see him. The education I’ve been getting, while interesting, doesn’t have a lot to do with our relationship.

Trinity flushes eight shades of red. “Sorry. You know what I mean.”

The party seems to be winding down out here, but there’s still a lot of noise going on around us. The music has been lowered, and sex noises can pretty much be heard from every direction. Rock traces his finger over my cheek.

“You okay, doll?”

I nod, enjoying his touch.

Someone comes over, taps his shoulder, and they turn away to talk.

Wrath clears his throat. “Uh…Hope, I’m sorry about Inga coming here tonight. I gave the okay for it. I didn’t think Rock would actually bring you to a club party.”

Trinity must be as shocked as I am. She twists in his grasp and presses the back of her hand against his forehead. “You feeling okay, Wyatt?”

For a second, the hard lines of his face settle into something softer before he shakes off her hand.

“What? I’m not a total dickhead. I know it’s not cool to bring the piece around an ol’ lady. Or former piece, as the case may be.”

“I have the feeling if I try to decipher that, I’m going to be offended.” I’m only half joking.

Trinity lets out a huge laugh, and Wrath opens his mouth. “Well, you’re his ol’ lady apparently—”

“No. Just stop. Stop talking. Trinity giggles, while covering his mouth with her hand.

“Always good advice, brother.” Teller says, looking up from his phone finally. “So, Hope. Rock says you’re a lawyer and you do family court work?” Teller asks.

Oh no. I feel it coming. Please don’t.

“You heard what I told Rock earlier. I’m trying to get custody—”

“Uh, I was. I haven’t practiced law in a while.”

Wrath frowns. “Why?”

“Well, um—”

“Because of that thing with Rock?” Wrath prods.

I flush at the reminder of that awful day, remembering that Wrath had been there to witness my humiliation. “No. My husband died last year, and except for helping Winter out, I haven’t gone back to work since.” I can’t bear to tell these people I hardly know that it took me almost ten months to crawl out of bed after Clay’s death.

“Oh, shit, Hope. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” Trinity whispers.

Wrath’s chin is now resting on Trinity’s shoulder, but his eyes are focused on me. “I’m sorry, Hope. I forgot.”

“That’s okay.” I wonder how much of my story Wrath knows. How much do these guys share with each other? And did I just receive another apology from Wrath?

“Sorry, Hope,” Teller apologizes. “I just hate the guy that got assigned to me.”

Now my curiosity is piqued. “What county?”

“Johnson.”

“Oh yeah, they have a small pool of lawyers on the list out there. Who did you get?”

“Lenny Kozak.”

It’s unprofessional, I know, but my nose wrinkles before I can stop it.

Understanding lights up Teller’s eyes. “You’ve worked with him?”

“Yeah. He’s smart but lazy. I hear he used to be a great lawyer, but he does the bare minimum these days. Keep after him.”

“I’m back, baby doll,” Rock says in a voice that makes me melt. He hands me a glass of water. I take a deep sip, realizing I’m parched. We shift places, and I’m in his lap again. I never thought I’d enjoy sitting in someone’s lap, like a teenager. But here I am loving every second. Rock’s playing with my hair, and I find the movement soothing. Teller’s still watching me with bright eyes.

“Did you talk to her?” Rock asks.

“Yeah. She’s not working now.”

I turn to face Rock, and he arches a brow at me. “You took care of that thing for Winter.” One well-muscled shoulder lifts, momentarily distracting me. “Figured you were going back and I’d get you your first new client.”

I’m not comfortable discussing my career path in front of an audience. “I’m supposed to go meet with Adam this week about maybe taking over my office again.”

His jaw ticks at the mention of my friend’s name. Interesting, since he’s met Adam.

“Baby doll, that is not an office. It’s a closet,” he jokes.

I do a little teeth grinding of my own. I’m so pissed he just embarrassed me in front of his friends. As he takes in my reaction, his body tenses underneath me. What does he think I’m going to do—blow up here in front of everyone?

A big, burly red-headed guy walks over and drops next to Teller. “Fuuck, I’m tired.” He yawns like a bear.

“Hope, have you met Murphy?” Teller asks.

“Not really.”

Murphy sits up and leans over. Since there’s three people in our way, he waves at me. “Hi, first lady,” he says with a chuckle.

That makes Rock laugh too.

“First Lady—I like it.” And he’s swishing my hair off my shoulders, tracing my neck with his fingers, once again chasing my anger away. Dammit. I shiver from his touch.

Another girl I haven’t met but I’ve caught glimpses of all night joins us. She’s one of the girls who brought out the cake and gave me the stink eye the whole time she was doing it.

“Geez, why don’t you just piss on his leg, girl. Damn. You been in his lap all night. We get it.”

As far as greetings go, that’s pretty rude.

“Uh, hi. I’m Hope.” I don’t bother trying to shake her hand—she might stab me.

“Uh, hi. I’m Cookie. I’m you two years ago,” she says in a mocking tone.

It takes me a minute to decode that. So she’s telling me she’s another one of Rock’s fuck buddies? Awesome. Girls have been coming up to me all night with fake smiles and hellos while insinuating they’ve fucked Rock at one time or another. Cookie is the only who’s had the balls to be such a nasty bitch about it.

With the exception of Trinity, from now on I’m going to assume Rock has stuck his dick in anyone with a vagina who sets foot in this den of sin.

Wrath snorts. “Hardly.”

“Cookie,” Rock warns. “You’re being rude to my woman.”

She takes a step back, the whites of her eyes showing. Apparently the “my woman” thing hits home. But not for long.

“Well, she ain’t gotta be so uppity. Bragging about being a lawyer and shit. I saw her leave the champagne room before. Thinks she’s too good to hang with us?”

See, now that is hilarious to me, because I am pretty sure I have never once bragged about being a lawyer in my life. One, because the reality of being a lawyer sucks. Two, for this very reason here. People have unpredictable, asshole-y reactions to hearing that information.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Trinity snarls. “Rock
carried
his woman outta there. We all saw it. Bitch, go sit down,” she finishes with a flick of her wrist.

Why thank you, Trinity.

Wrath’s forehead is pressed against Trinity’s back, but his entire body vibrates with laughter.
Asshat.

“You ain’t got nothing to say?” she challenges me. When I don’t respond, she continues. “See? Uppity.”

“Maybe she’s freaked out that you’re acting like a psycho-bitch?” Teller offers helpfully.

True, but not helpful, Teller.

Rock is oddly still.

“Cookie, simmer the fuck down,” he grits out.

But maybe Cookie is stupid, because she ignores Rock and takes one more jab. “Fuck you too, Trinity. You wanna suck up to this uppity cunt, go ahead, but don’t forget you’re a whore like the rest of us.”

I’ve never been called a cunt before. At least not to my face. And I’m furious she just called Trinity a whore, when as far as I can tell she’s the only one here who
doesn’t
act like a whore.

Apparently that’s the last straw for Rock. He shifts me to the couch and towers over Cookie. “You’re done.”

Her face transforms from rage to disbelief as it sinks in that she may have made a mistake…or ten.

“Rock. I been with the club almost five years. You really gonna pick her over me?”

“Cookie, you were warned multiple times.” He reaches back and flicks his hand. “Wrath.”

“On it.” He pats Trinity’s ass, and she slides off his lap onto the couch, clearly unwilling to get too close to Cookie.

“Let’s go.” He wraps a meaty hand around her toothpick-sized arm. It finally sinks in that the guys mean business.

She starts sobbing. “I’m sorry, Rock.”

Now she’s sorry.

“You’re banned, Cookie. You can see if one of the other charters will take you in, but you ever show your face back here, I’ll end you.” Rock lays it all out to her with deadly calm as Wrath tugs her to the door.

“Well, that was…” I have no words.

Trinity snorts. “You know how I was telling you about other clubs?”

Teller leans over. “She pulled that shit in another MC, disrespecting an ol’ lady, she’d be getting a beatdown or digging her own grave. Not getting a ride home.”

CHAPTER THREE

It’s after midnight. So technically birthday sex is off the table. All I wanted tonight was to take Hope upstairs and bury myself inside her. That’s still my plan—it just won’t be my birthday when I finally get my wish.

Instead it’s been one ugly thing after another, just as I’d feared all along. No wonder it’s taken me so long to bring Hope back to the clubhouse.

As I walk back to my girl after sending Cookie home with one of the prospects, I notice Hope’s got an uncertain smile stretched across her lips. Trinity and Teller appear to be trying to cheer her up. I could kiss Trinity—in apparently a fatherly way—for sticking up for Hope tonight. Wrath says she stuck up for me too earlier.

When I get closer to Hope, I sense she’s angry. I mentally run over the list—and it is a long list—of things that could have pissed her off tonight. I’m impressed she hasn’t flipped out at any point this evening—another reason I’m so far gone over her. If I want to remain president, I need an ol’ lady who can keep her shit locked down and not throw a tantrum, even when she wants to choke my dumb ass.

The entire trip upstairs, she’s silent. I’m concerned when we get on the other side of my bedroom door, she’s going to tell me we’re through.

As soon as we’re alone, I dig into the conversation we need to have. “Let me have it, doll. How you doing?”

“How am I doing?” she answers softly, pronouncing every word very carefully.

Oh yeah, she’s pissed.

She lifts her hand and starts ticking off my offenses. “Let’s see, you offered my legal services to someone without asking me
, again
.”

Interesting. I didn’t expect her to lead with that.

She uncurls a second finger. “You embarrassed me by insulting my office in front of all your friends. That made me feel like a fraud.”

Fuck, I hadn’t meant to sound so dismissive. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“What was I going to say? I’m not going to pick a fight with you in front of your friends. It’s rude.”

Damn, she’s cute. And better ol’ lady material than I ever thought.

“Anything else?”

Finished counting, she props her hand on her hip. “What are you fishing for, Rochlan? You want me to comment on the fact that you’ve apparently stuck your dick in every vagina here? And as if that’s not hard enough to swallow, they are complete and utter bitches about it?”

I’ll admit, I’m a little turned on by the way she says my full name when she’s wound up. “I’m sorry.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. “You’re sorry? You brought me here to let everyone know I was not just a ‘piece.’ And, by the way, very subtle—making me sit in your lap all night and carrying me around like your favorite chew toy. Maybe next time you can just lift your leg on me instead. But you knew there was a possibility every club girl was going to try to scratch my eyes out, and you didn’t have the decency to warn me. Oh, and my personal favorite of the night, the porn star entertainment.”

“I did
not
know Inga was going to be here. She’s never been here before.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“And I have not stuck my dick in every vagina here.” Close.

“I heard that too.”

“I know how strange all of this must be for you.”

“Do you? You don’t even like me mentioning the names of my guy friends, but I’m supposed to hang back and act cool when some chick you used to nail gets in my face? I’m supposed to hang out with every woman who has ever sucked your dick like we’re all just one big, happy, incestuous little family?”