“What kind of game are you playing?” I asked him, forcing my tone to stay steady and relaxed.

“Having fun, Brooks? I’m likin’ that Mel girl. She’s got a real nice pussy.” Taz cracked his knuckles thoughtfully. “Later—you know, when I’m fuckin’ her while you’re making sweet love to your hand? I’ll be sure to take a few notes, let you know how it goes.”

A year ago I would’ve taken him down, regardless of the fact that only a canvas wall separated us from six cops. Prison had taught me self-control, though. Puck and I had been almost completely alone down in Cali—we couldn’t afford luxuries like acting on our anger. Not if we wanted to live.

Now I used that hard-won self-control to hold my shit together.

“This ends now,” I told him flatly, refusing to play his game. Taz raised a brow.

“This?”

“Don’t be stupid, you know what I mean,” I replied, tired of all the bullshit. “She’s nothing to you, so when she comes back out, she’s with me.”

“How do you figure?”

I smiled slowly, reaching a hand down to touch the survival knife I always kept sheathed on my hip. “You touch her, I’ll gut you here and now, in front of witnesses. You’ll be dead and the peace between our clubs will end—all because you wouldn’t drop a girl you don’t give two shits about. That really how you want this to play out?”

His face sobered.

“You’re bluffing. I know you’re on probation—they’ll send you back to jail, and we’d get you on the inside,” he said slowly. I shrugged, almost hoping he’d call me on it. Not that I wanted to end my life rotting in a cell, but killing this fucker might be worth it.

“Maybe,” I replied, offering him a sweet smile. “Guess there’s really only one way for you to find out.”

“You’d really start a war over this girl?”

I paused, considering. “Yup.”

Taz shook his head slowly, holding up his hands in surrender. “Fuckin’ have her. I’m after her roommate anyway. Just messin’ with you, that’s all.”

I felt my shoulders relax, because I’d actually been ready to do it—I’d have killed him if he touched her again. Jesus.

“You should seek some professional help,” Taz said, sounding almost concerned.

“Like a shrink?” I asked, biting back a laugh. “Yeah, I met one of those on the inside. We didn’t get along all that well.”

“I was thinkin’ a good whore,” he replied, smiling reluctantly. “You do get that a pussy’s a pussy, right? Hot, wet, and tight’s all that matters.”

Fuck. Why’d he have to say that? Now I was thinking about her pussy, which I was 100 percent certain was primo in every way. My phone buzzed. I grabbed it, finding a text from Horse.

HORSE: All good? Everyones back by the food tables

ME: Be there in a sec

I looked at Taz again. “We good?”

He nodded.

“Sure, whatever,” he said. “But seriously—you might want to go ahead and claim that girl. This kind of crazy can get dangerous, you pull it on the wrong guy. Only fair to let the rest of us know exactly where things stand ahead of time.”

I frowned, because I wasn’t ready to do that. I still wanted better for her. Someone nice, who’d work a steady job, maybe take her to Hawaii every other year. Wash her car on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, every time I tried to picture that guy, he was dead at my feet.

Maybe I did have a complex.

•   •   •

By the time we reached the group, the rodeo was about to start. While I wasn’t a huge fan, I couldn’t deny there was something about seeing a guy go the full eight seconds on top of one of those big bulls. The rodeo queens weren’t half bad in their tight jeans, either. I walked over toward Melanie, offering her a grim smile.

“Taz is busy,” I told her, blatantly ignoring the fact that Taz was standing less than six feet from us, doing exactly jack shit. “You’re with me the rest of the night.”

She coughed, choking a little, and I gave her back a thump while the rest of the group watched, obviously enjoying our little drama.

“Don’t you have your own lives to entertain you?” I asked, annoyed.

“Nope,” Kit said, eyes wide. “Carry on.”

Fucking devil girl.

Mel glared at her, flipping her off. Damn, that was sexy. Speakers crackled to life on a pole raised high above the fairgrounds.

“Folks, we’ll be starting our rodeo in another fifteen minutes or so. That means now’s the time to grab a drink or a snack and make your way to your seats.”

Everyone turned toward the grandstands, thankfully losing interest in us. Taz was drifting toward Jessica, and I noted that Mel didn’t seem particularly surprised by this development. Interesting. And if Taz hooked up with Jess, that was one less thing to worry about—Taz might be a dick, but he wasn’t a fucking sociopath like Skid was.

We were too late to get really good seats, but there was still plenty of room toward the top of the covered bleachers. Ignoring her frowns, I deliberately herded Mel toward the end, then sat between her and the rest of the group, staring at her ass the entire time.

“I’m grabbing some beer,” Horse announced. “Anyone?”

I nodded, lifting my hips enough to pull out my wallet, which I wore attached to a chain. I pulled out a couple bills and handed them over. Then Horse and Marie started back down the stairs toward the bar, along with Kit, who approached bringing booze to the masses with near religious zeal. That left a sizable gap between us and the rest of the group, which worked just fine for me.

“You know Taz is a player, right?” I told Mel, eyes on the arena where the rodeo queens and princesses rode around in circles, warming up their horses. She blushed, refusing to look at me. Yup, definitely still embarrassed about last night.

“It’s really none of your business . . . but yes, I’m aware,” she whispered. “I’ll admit—I was drunk and stupid out at the Armory, but I’m sober now and normally I’m not a total idiot.”

“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” I said. “I just wanted to warn you.”

“I think I got enough warning last night. I’m only here because Kit dragged me. She’s evil.”

My cock jumped at the memory of that “warning,” and I took a deep breath, reminding myself that jumping a girl in public was probably a parole violation.

“Aren’t you girls supposed to all be in this together?” I asked, pushing through the wave of lust. “And for the record, I think she’s the devil incarnate. Been making my life a living hell for years, little witch.”

Melanie gave a cute giggle, shooting me a shy look from under her eyelashes. “If that’s the case, how did she get you out to the fair?”

I cleared my throat, not wanting to get into details. Damned if I’d admit anything.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, looking back toward the arena. Where the fuck was Horse with the beer, anyway?

“Hey, I’m really sorry about last night,” Mel said, so quietly I nearly missed it.

“What? No, don’t worry about it,” I told her, wishing I hadn’t come down on her so hard. Fuck, and now I was thinking about coming and going down on her. I’d just been so damned horny and she’d been right there, on her knees in the grass like a thousand fantasies I’d beaten off to in the darkness . . . I’d had to do something to make it end, even if it meant hurting her.

“I was really drunk. I didn’t mean to take advantage of you.”

Fucking hell, I was a douche.

“You didn’t take advantage of me,” I said. “Let’s just drop it. No harm, no foul.”

“Okay,” she whispered. Awkward silence fell between us again. I wanted to ask her about school, about how things were going with Jess and her living together . . . I also wanted to know if she’d kept dating that dickwad she’d written to me about—the one who wanted to get too serious too fast.

The same one I’d told her I thought she should give a shot, because I’m a fucking masochist.

“Beer,” Horse said, handing me two aluminum bottles of Bud. “Enjoy.”