Reaper: Devil's Rose MC #1

Chapter 17: Fiona Grace

A slight tug on my hand snaps me out of my own head, and I see gray eyes peering at me intensely. I shake my head in dismissal, not wanting to discuss what I'm thinking about. Soon enough, we reach the main center of the community. I see mothers and fathers hold their children close to their legs as we walk by, staring at the man to my right. 

I'm unsure of what to do while we gradually move faster through the generous crowd of people. His shoulders are tense, his whole body on edge. Sometimes I forget that his reputation is darker than the rest of his peers in the MC, but this sharply reminds me. 

He's much more brutal, possessive, and dominating than anyone else here - as far as I know. Like anything, there is a reason for it, and I'm curious to find out what it is, but it's also quite sad. I don't really like knowing and seeing that this man is somewhat of an outcast in a place that should be embracing him fully.

We make our way into the bar, eyeing the group of five men that sit at the table. Bear, Poison, and Vegas are the ones I recognize. There are two who I don't know but quickly introduce myself to, Tank and Carbon. Tank's name I can understand easily. He's even bigger than Reaper who has a leaner body type but still has muscles. Tank is bodybuilder-type shit. He's a freaking machine, hence the name. 

Carbon, my first thought was C-4 which is an explosive or carbon dioxide, but that one's beyond me. There isn't enough room at the table, so Reaper has me sit on his lap. Don't think I don't catch all the other guys trying to give him subtle looks like he's pussy-whipped - though I'm going to admit that I'm not a fan of that phrase. 

Ignoring the looks directed at him, he leans me against his chest, pressing a light kiss to my shoulder.

"Hello, my name is Scarlett, and I'll be your waiter. Are there any drinks I could get for the two newcomers?"

I flick my eyes up to see a girl with emerald green eyes peeking down at me. Her natural red hair falls over her shoulders. She's gorgeous. No wonder Poison can't stop staring at her.

"I'll have a Coke please."

"Same as her."

"I'll be right back with those."

"Thank you."

Thirty minutes later, all seven of us have massive plates of food sitting in front of us, and I cannot finish the whole platter. I love food, but I'm going to hurt myself trying to eat all the food that was set down by my body. I sneakily watch Poison from the corner of my eye, who can't seem to quite get his eyes off Scarlett. 

After we pay our bill, I make a quick conversation with her. She says she moved here about three days ago with her two other friends named Teagan and Reece. They had been living in the city for most of their lives and wanted to move somewhere to get away from the busyness of the place. As the boys debate about who is going to pay the bill, I slide my credit card over to Scarlett who almost can't hide her smile. 

When I sign the check, I can feel the pressure of the eyes on me, and I know that Reaper is pissed off. He never wants me to pay for anything, and I just paid about an eighty-dollar bill. It doesn't seem like a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, however, I know I'm in trouble.

I'm saved by the berating that Slasher (of all people) seems like he's going to give to me first when two girls come barrelling through the bar door. Their loud laughs make Reaper clench my waist harder, making me squirm under the grip. 

While Scarlett gets them drinks, they come up to our table, greeting me with a wave and their names. Teagan, who I will remember by her electric blue eyes, tightly braided hair, and rich brown skin, shakes my hand while Reece, blonde hair, brown eyes, with more golden undertones to her pale skin, waves at me. 

The four of us talk about our old lives for a few minutes before we get to talking about what they are expecting for their new lives here. The general consensus is that they are excited for the new, sexy, and hot Devil's Rose MC men that are single and available. 

After lunch is over, they ask if I could show them a brief tour of the town, so with Reaper trailing closely behind me, the four of us walk around the main part of the community as I show them around.

Abruptly, Scarlett stops. I turn my head to glance at her. Her upper teeth bite her lower lip as she stares into the edge of the woods.

"Who is he? I saw him at lunch but..."

I let my eyes glide over to where Scarlett subtly points her finger to find her staring at Poison. I smirk, knowing that they could be a cute match.

"That's Poison."

"He's single?"

"As far as I know. Might want to ask though."

"You have any interest?"

From the corner of my eye, I can feel the pressure of Reaper's gaze on me, but I don't let it deter me from answering the question. I don't need to not answer it since he's going to like the answer. 

"No, no interest."

I see him visibly relax.

"Good, he's mine then."

Two muscular, perfectly veiny, tattooed hands wrap around my waist as she makes her way to Poison. My body is pressed against Reaper's, his head resting on my shoulder. I giggle happily, his hands sliding around to my hips, and gripping me with controlling pressure. Teagan and Reece eye the both of us curiously, but I brush them off. 

I know they think something is happening between us, however, nothing is. He's just being nice and learning how to put up with me. It's not like he sees anything in me. Okay...maybe at the lake he did things that were less than friendly, but it's not like it's going anywhere. 

Once he figures how weak I actually am, he will be done even being around me. He should have someone stronger than me, someone who can challenge him in ways that I couldn't possibly. He should have someone who can fight beside him, and that's not who I can be, not who I'm built to be. And he clearly wasn't interested before. He said it to my face.

I glance back over to Scarlett and Poison who are easily acquainting themselves with one another, and I can see that they are both happy being together through their separate tour. The rest of us continue the brief tour, since I don't even know everything and Reaper refuses to have any input on any subject I throw into the wind (into the abyss is more accurate). 

Reece sighs as we finally sit down in what I describe as a plaza. It's a wide, grassy space for everyone in the small community to come together - besides the lake. I can tell that the man next to me feels uncomfortable with the eyes wandering and staring directly at him. 

Now I understand that he's chosen to live inside an apartment and pretend to be the mean man everyone thinks he is. My theory is that because he's been judged and put into a box for so long, he's given up fighting the stereotype ascribed to him.

Pain fills my chest for a second, my heart clenching unpleasantly. As if he senses my distress, a tattooed hand rests dutifully on my shoulder to tug me closer to his body. Instantly, I scoot closer to him, pressing my body against his, soaking in his warmth and safety only he can provide. 

He has to release me to continue walking, but when we are done and Reaper and I go the opposite direction of them, wanting to be back in his apartment, his rough hand lands on the place where my neck and shoulder meet. I tilt my head back, leaning against Reaper with full trust that he is going to support me. He kisses my head and props me back onto my feet.