She glared at him. “There’s nothing wrong with showing your happiness, Jamison.”
I stepped in before these two started a fight. Passing my present to her, I said, “Happy birthday, babe. You’re gonna fuckin’ love this present.”
Her excitement levels skyrocketed. “Really?” she asked, as she started ripping into the wrapping paper.
A second later, her entire face lit up, and the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face took over. “Oh my God! I love it!” she squealed.
I curled an arm around Velvet’s shoulders and pulled her close, murmuring in her ear, “Remind me to show you my appreciation later on, yeah?”
She blasted her sexy smile at me, and breathed into my ear, “Don’t you worry, baby, I’ll be reminding you for a long time.”
“What did he get you?” Erika asked.
Carla, still beaming, held it up. “It’s a GHD Air hairdryer.”
Jamison frowned. “A G-what?”
I nodded at him. “Exactly, brother. All you need to know is that it’s a fuckin’ expensive hairdryer that’s guaranteed to make all the women in your life love you if you give them one.”
Carla grinned and pointed at me. “What he said.”
Jamison groaned. “Fuck, your present should have gone last, Nash. I’ve got no hope now.”
Eyeing Velvet, I murmured, “There’s some serious Nash loving in this for you, sweet thing.”
Her hand moved to my leg. “I’m counting on it, baby.”
***
The next morning, Velvet was running around like a mad woman. She had her final exam for her beauty course today, and was worried about passing.
I walked into the kitchen where she was studying her notes. Moving behind her, I snaked my arm around her waist and leant my chin on her shoulder. I tried not to let her tits distract me, but a man can only achieve so much, and a second later my eyes were glued to her chest.
She reached a hand back and ran it through my hair. “Nash, stop looking at my boobs, and finish getting ready. You’re dropping me off this morning and I don’t want to be late.”
“How do you know I was looking at your boobs, sweet thing?” I asked, without taking my eyes off them. My addiction to her tits was getting out of hand, but I was helpless to control it.
She sighed, and the rise and fall of her chest only turned me on more. “I know what you’re looking at because you’re always looking at the same thing.”
“Any man in their right mind would be doing the exact same thing as I am right now.” I straightened, and turned her in my arms so I could see her face. “Talking of men looking at you, did you talk to Scott about finishing up at Indigo?”
“Yeah, my last shift is next week.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Christ for that, babe. I can’t take much more of those assholes leering at you.”
She reached up and cupped my cheek. “I know, baby, but it’s not much longer now.”
“And then you’re starting at Roxie’s?”
Her eyes lit up; I knew she was looking forward to this. “Yes, on the Monday after I finish at Indigo, so it’s all worked out really well. She’s set a room up for me to rent off her, and she’s got ladies booked in already.”
I loved seeing her happy. I brushed a kiss over her lips, and murmured, “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
Nodding, she asked me, “Have you thought anymore about going to see Gabriella?”
Velvet and my family all thought I needed to go and talk to Gabriella, for closure or some fucking thing. I wasn’t so sure, and was stalling on it. “Babe, it’s only been two weeks since I last saw her. I’m still fuckin’ angry at her, and that’s not gonna go away anytime soon. Let me get through this shit in my head, deal with that first, and then I’ll think about going to see her.”
“Okay. You’re probably right. At least you’ll consider it; that’s all I really wanted you to do at this point.”
I pulled her to me. “How the hell did I get so lucky?”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t fuckin’ nag me, you don’t bitch about shit to me, you haven’t tried to change me, and you cope with my addiction to your tits and pussy. How did I get that lucky, woman?”
She grinned. “Oh, there’s still time, baby. I can do all that stuff if you want.”
I grinned back at her. Two could play this game. “Okay, how about we work on curbing my addiction first? Get that one out of the way before you start in on the nagging and bitching.”
She pulled my face down to hers. “I’ll make you a deal, Nash Walker. You keep that addiction for the rest of your life, and I promise not to start with the nagging and bitching.”
“Done,” I agreed, and smacked her on the ass. “Now, get your shit together, and let’s get you to your exam.”
***
After I dropped Velvet off at her exam, I headed to the clubhouse. The last two weeks since Kick left had been tense. Marcus was rounding his troops up so to speak, making all sorts of promises to the boys who agreed to Storm moving back into drugs. There were only a handful of us left who were against it, and if he called for a vote, we’d be outnumbered.
From the moment I entered the clubhouse, I knew something was off. And when I found Scott in the bar area, he confirmed it. “Dad’s gonna make his move in the next couple of days, brother.”