Grin and Bear It (12 page)

Chapter
Seventeen

“Baby,
I don’t know about this.” Mason looked up at the two-story house in front of
them. His Harley rumbled beneath him, and
Ryeissa
tightened her hold around his waist.

She
leaned forward and said by his ear, “You’ll be fine. I want you to meet them.
But I want to warn you about my brother.”

“That
doesn’t sound good.”

She
gave him a squeeze. “It’ll be fine, but he can be a little … intense and
protective. I’ve never brought a guy home to meet them, so this is a big deal.”

“Really?”
He looked over his shoulder at her.

She
smiled. “Yeah, you’re pretty special.”

Well,
damn, if that didn’t make him feel all good inside.

He
cut the engine, sat there a second, and then dismounted from the bike. He
grabbed her waist and helped her off the Harley. She could have easily done it
herself, he knew this, but the truth was Mason liked having his hands on her.

In
the driveway was an older looking Honda CRV, a beat-up pickup truck, and a
sweet fucking Harley.

“I
see you’ve spotted Yuri’s motorcycle.”

Mason
held
Ryeissa’s
hand and moved toward the bike. “I
didn’t know you had a Harley in your family.”

She
chuckled. “Is that something that should have been disclosed?”

He
could hear she was teasing.

Before
he could say anything the sound of the front door opening had him looking
toward the porch. A guy was standing in the doorway, the light from inside
illuminating him, making it clear he was a fucking beast of a human.

“That’s
my brother,”
Ryeissa
said with a little exasperation
in her voice. “Don’t let him intimidate you.”

That
would have had him laughing. The guy was big, no doubt about it, but Mason was
a fucking Grizzly MC Patch. He wasn’t afraid or intimidated by shit.

Wait until you meet her folks
before you say that.

“Mom
is asking for you,” Yuri said in a voice that was deep enough it rivaled a
Grizzly’s. Yuri placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit the end. Even though
the shadows concealed him, Mason could see him clearly, could see the lethal
stare he was throwing off. This guy knew what and who Mason was, and he didn’t
give a shit.

Mason
had to give him props for that.

“Come
on and let’s get this over with,”
Ryeissa
said on a
breath, and she led the way toward the front door.

Yuri
stepped away from the entrance, moved to the side of the porch, and exhaled the
smoke.

“I
thought you quit,”
Ryeissa
said to her brother,
stopping a few feet from the door.

“I
did,” Yuri said with no emotion, his focus still on Mason.

“Right,”
Ryeissa
said and moved into the house, but before
Mason could follow Yuri cleared his throat.

“So
you’re Mason,” Yuri said it without phrasing it like a question.

Mason
turned and faced the male, his bear rising up at the challenge, but Mason
pushed the beast down. This was not a fight, and although Mason knew Yuri was
just checking him out to make sure
Ryeissa
was good,
instinct always had Mason on alert.

“I
am.”
Clearly
.

Yuri
nodded, snubbed out the cigarette, and crossed his arms over his chest. “We
need to have a talk.”

Better
to get this shit out of the way now. Mason didn’t respond, just stood there,
respectfully, waiting for
Ryeissa’s
brother to give
him the drill about taking care of his sister, which Mason knew this was about.

“Yuri,
what are you doing?”
Ryeissa
sounded shocked, and the
scent of her embarrassment was thick.

“It’s
okay, sweetheart.” Mason kept his focus on Yuri.

“You
care ‘bout my sister?”

Mason
nodded. “I do, a hell of a lot.”

Yuri
grunted once. “I want to make something clear.”

Oh,
Mason was all ears on this.

“That’s
my little sister right there, and you’re the first guy she’s brought over.” He
took a step toward Mason. There was no fear coming from this human, only
strength and control.

Mason
had to give him respect and credit for not being afraid in the face of a
shifter or a Grizzly Patch.

“I
love her like crazy, and want her to be happy,” Yuri said. “I can see she cares
about you, because if she didn’t you wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I
care about her, too.”

“Yeah?
How much?” Yuri challenged Mason.

Mason
took a step closer to Yuri. “I care enough about her that I’d kill for her, die
for her, and am sitting here like a little bitch while her brother gives me the
third degree.” Mason grinned, but it wasn’t all amusement.

Yuri
looked down at Mason’s cut. “Yeah, I know who and what you are, but let me let
you in on something.” Yuri took another step closer.

“Yuri,
can we just go eat now? This pissing contest is a little much.”

Neither
moved after
Ryeissa
spoke.

“I’m
not afraid of anything, least of all grizzly bear shifting bikers.” Yuri cocked
an eyebrow. “And I can see you’re not afraid of me, but I want us to be on the
same page where
Ryeissa
is concerned.”

“Believe
me, man, we’re on the same page.”

“Good,
because if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you, shifter or not.”

Mason
didn’t back down, but he showed
Ryeissa’s
brother
that he respected the situation and his words. “Believe me, we’re on the same
page. I’d never hurt
Ryeissa
. I’d rather rip out my
own throat than do anything that would ruin what we have together.”

Yuri
looked at Mason in the eyes for several seconds, and then nodded. “Good.” He
walked toward
Ryeissa
and gave her a hug. “It’s good
to have you home, even for just dinner.”

“I
know,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you again, but I wish you would have
put away the whole scary ass big brother routine.”

Yuri
broke away from
Ryeissa
and chuckled softly. “You
know me. I have to make an entrance, especially with a guy you bring home.”

She
smiled at him. “Yeah, I know.”

Yuri
looked at Mason once more, held his hand out, and when they shook, sealing that
things were cool between them, Yuri turned and headed inside.

Ryeissa
faced Mason, gave him this
sympathetic smile, and all Mason could do was laugh.

“I
thought my family was hardcore, but your brother is right up there with them.”
He pulled her in for a hug, and kissed the top of her head.

“He’s
always been like that, but after he left the SEALs after his injury he got even
worse with the whole,” she paused, “the whole ‘I’ll kill you if you hurt her’
brother attitude?” She phrased it like a question, and started chuckling
softly.

“He’s
just looking out for you, and I can’t blame him. I’d be the same way if I had a
sister. Hell, I’ll be that way with you.”

She
smiled up and him and rose on her toes to kiss him. “So, after all that, you
ready to meet the rest of my family?”

He
grinned. “You know it, baby.”

Now
that he’d had the proper threat from her brother, Mason knew this could move
forward. He’d face hell to be with her. For him, there was no going back
without
Ryeissa
.

****

Jakob
grabbed the bottle of scotch, a
shot glass, and moved over to one of the tables in the corner of the clubhouse.
All of the guys were around, but the Originals were gone and with their old
ladies and families. It was party time, as it normally was with the younger
crew, and
Jakob
was more than ready to get drunk and
pass out because of it.

Mason
had brought
Ryeissa
, his old lady, to the clubhouse.
After everyone had been introduced, the prospects getting a low growl from the
newly tied down Patch, and the unspoken warning to back the fuck off where
Ryeissa
was concerned was issued, everyone got down to
drinking and partying.

Jakob
watched Mason and his old lady and
felt this twinge in his chest at the fact Mason was happy, was right where he
needed to be. He didn’t know if it was something he’d ever be able to have in
his life, or if he even wanted that kind of thing. An old lady was a
responsibility, would be his life.

Jakob
was good with just worrying about
himself and the club. Having a woman, a female that was just his to protect,
fuck, watch over, seemed like it would be too consuming. Although a part of him
couldn’t deny that having an old lady, a female that he was consumed with,
possessive over, and would kill for, had this tugging going on inside of him.

He
thought he’d wanted something more than a piece of ass with that dumb bitch
that had gotten between him and Mason, but he realized it had been nothing more
than infatuation. Hell, she hadn’t even been a female he should have wanted
that badly. Maybe he’d just been so damn lonely that the attention she gave
him, the conversations they’d had, made
Jakob
feel
like he wasn’t alone in the world.

He
threw back another shot. Yeah, the alcohol took care of that bullshit tugging,
of that curiosity on what it would be like to have a woman. He was good with
fucking and leaving after he was done.

There
were some sweet-butts making out over by the bar while Odin was drinking a beer
and watching them. Odin grabbed the chin of one of the sweet-butts, turned her
head toward him, and kissed her long and hard. He did the same to the other
sweet-butt, and when he was finished with them he still stood there and watched
them kiss. He was a dirty fucker, for sure.

Over
on the other side of the club stood a prospect, a club whore, and a guy that
had been hanging around the club for the last year. He had become close with
the prospect over the last few months, but he was human, and therefore there
would be no way he’d ever have a chance at getting in with the Grizzlies.

The
club might keep close to their own, but that didn’t mean they didn’t party with
townies every once in a while.

The
human started waving his arms around, clearly telling some kind of story that
made him animated.
Jakob
turned his focus away from
them, thought about just drinking straight from the bottle, but said fuck it.
He could be classy and use a glass while he got drunk.

The
front doors burst open and the loud voices of the Brothers walking in didn’t
faze anyone.
Jakob
turned and watched as Link,
Gabriel, Maverick, and the rest of the next generation of the Brothers of
Menace MC walked in like they owned the place. This wasn’t their club, but
they’d all grown up together, and they all considered each other family.

But
what surprised the hell out of
Jakob
was the fact
Ava, Gabriel and Maverick’s younger sister, and Lucien’s daughter, came walking
in behind them.
Livvy
, Link and Marcus’s sister, was
right behind her. He knew the girls weren’t much older than eighteen. Hell, he
even thought Ava had just turned legal.

What
the fuck were they doing here, and why would the Brothers bring them to the
club to begin with when partying was going down?

Jakob
watched them move to the bar. He
grabbed his shot glass, poured more scotch into it, and threw it back. His
throat was numb, his body warm from the liquor, and he was feeling really
fucking good.

Link
pounded his hand on the bar counter, getting the attention of the prospect
working the drinks. Gabriel turned around, stared at the club, and then his
gaze landed on
Jakob
.
Jakob
didn’t want to socialize right now. He just wanted to get drunk, but clearly
that wasn’t how this would play out.

Someone
starting shouting for everyone to shut the fuck up, and when
Jakob
turned his attention to Nico and Dakota, he could see
and sense that the Grizzly and Brother of Menace Patches were feeling pretty
damn good. They’d brought their old ladies, Alexis and Tawny, both females
having wide grins, and their cheeks flushed.

Everyone
quieted down, and the twins looked at their old ladies before turning their
focus back at the members standing around.

“What’s
up, motherfuckers?” Bodhi shouted, his grin wide as he teased the brothers.

“We
got some big news, and we wanted to share it with everyone.” Nico was the one
to speak.

Jakob
had a feeling he knew what Nico
was going to say, or at least he could assume.