Split - Coffin Nails MC (Contemporary New Adult Erotic Dark Romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 7) (14 page)

“Dirty girl.” Hunter grinned. “I love that.
Can’t wait for more.” He kissed her neck and pulled out his fingers. He
surprised her with a slap on the ass. “Let’s sort ourselves out before we go
back out there.”

Asty mockingly scowled at him, but she also
knew someone would eventually notice their absence and start investigating. It
was time to join the others, but when she pulled away from Hunter, the memory
of his touch was still almost like a physical presence on her body.

*

Asty was glad she carried some powder and
black kohl in her backpack, as her makeup would turn heads for all the wrong
reasons if she hadn’t mended the damage made by tears and friction. Hunter was
long gone and back at the party by the point she could safely leave the small
guest room, and she already couldn’t wait to see him again. There was a
giddiness inside her that she had never experienced before. It was nothing like
the anxiety before a meeting with your crush, who didn’t reciprocate your
feelings anyway. Hunter actually wanted her the same way she wanted him. She’d
squeeze as much out of this relationship as she could.

Priest noticed her the moment she came in
and waved at her to come closer. “Where have you been? I almost thought you
sneaked out and went home,” he said, sipping a beer.

Asty shrugged. “Just some girl talk, Dad.
You don’t wanna know.”

“I’m loving this party,” Priest said with a
grin and made a sweeping gesture around a room full of club members,
acquaintances, hangarounds, and other friends. “I should get injured more
often.”

Asty poked him with her elbow. “Don’t you
dare. You’re risking too much already.”

“I just wanted to get a head start on the
club extension. We will have guests here for the New Year’s Eve party. You will
be there, right?”

Asty nodded, briefly swiping her gaze over
Hunter, who was engaged in an arm-wrestling match with Prince. His uncovered
bicep was bulging with tension as the two fists moved back and forth over the
table. She stopped listening to Dad’s voice and smiled when Prince’s forearm
landed on the table, and Hunter grabbed a bottle of liquor from the side of the
table, seemingly taking his prize.

“Never thought we’d have a British
prospect,” Dad said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “It’s not your thing, is
it?”

Asty gave a nervous laugh. “Were you
planning to set me up with him?”

Priest groaned and drank more beer. “You
still have time, he will be a prospect for a while …”

“Dad, I can manage by myself. It’s not
rocket science,” she said with a small smile.

“Just sayin’ ... You’re my baby, but I know
you’re a grown woman now. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I know,” she said and patted his hand. She
too would do anything to see her dad happy. “Don’t worry, I won’t date a
douchebag. Just don’t threaten them, and it’ll be fine.”

“So will you come to the party?”

“I will.”

Asty wanted to talk some more when Tooth’s
tubal voice cut through the conversations, just after the music died
unexpectedly. He stood by the bar, alongside Lucky, all groomed and even more
handsome than usual in a well-fitting sleeveless shirt. “Don’t panic, this
isn’t to raise alarm, or anything like that,” he said with a small smile.

“You gonna do a speech for the prez?” Blitz
laughed and raised his cup toward Priest.

But behind him, Asty couldn’t help but
notice Ray approaching Hunter.

Tooth shrugged and put his arm over Lucky’s
shoulders. “In a way, I suppose,” he said and saluted to Priest as he turned a
very confused Lucky around, showing off his property vest to all their friends.
He stepped back and put his hands on Lucky’s shoulders, looking at him with a
softness Asty never saw in Tooth before Lucky appeared in their lives. She
swallowed, too captivated by the scene to think about Ray.

Tooth cleared his throat. “So I was
thinking of ways to do this, but I’m not an actor, so I’ll just be my old
self.” He laughed quietly and pulled something out of his pocket, but Asty
couldn’t see it behind Lucky’s back, which twitched slightly as the room went
quiet.

Tooth continued, very calm and quiet in
comparison to how he usually talked, “Lucifer, I didn’t expect to ever meet
someone who I would like to share my life with the way I share it with you, but
then you fell into my hands, and I didn’t want to let you go since.”

Asty covered her mouth, and her heart
started pulsing quicker as she got an idea about what was happening.

Tooth swallowed and moved his fingers over
the edge of Lucky’s jaw. “I want you to be always safe, and I want you to
always stay with me. So ...” He cleared his throat again, looking into Lucky’s
face. “Will you marry me?”

Lucky only had eyes for Tooth as he nodded
and threw his arms around his man’s neck. When he whispered, “I will,” it was
barely audible.

But before any cheers or applause could
erupt, Ray’s voice was like the screeching of tires on hot asphalt. “Seriously?
This is some fucking bullshit! Can’t this at least happen behind closed doors?
No one wants to see this.”

Asty couldn’t breathe, shocked that Ray
dared to spoil such a moment for her brother and his man. Tooth’s face was a
mixture of bewilderment and barely held-back rage. Lucky’s hand tightened on
his bicep.

Ray was about to open his mouth, and Asty
was dreading more hateful garbage pouring out, but out of nowhere, Hunter’s
fist came up, and he punched Ray straight in the face, eliciting a nasty
crackle and sending him to the floor. That didn’t seem enough though, as Hunter
jumped him, grabbed Ray’s vest to pull him up, and sent him to the floor with
another punch. Deep down inside, Asty realized that it couldn’t have been just
the hateful comments that brought on such rage. Hunter was taking the chance to
channel his jealousy over how Ray coerced Asty into a blowjob and fucked them
both over. Hunter didn’t need to say it for Asty to know, and despite not being
a fan of violence, seeing Ray get a taste of his own medicine gave her a sense
of righteousness.

Tooth hugged Lucky to his chest and watched
the fight—or a beating—with a stiff expression. He kissed the top of Lucky’s
head and made no movement to stop the violence, just like everyone else
gathered. Milk left the side of his wife and slowly pushed to the crowd,
watching Ray’s head bounce off the wooden floor. The guy got too hazy from the
first punch to properly defend himself against Hunter, but no one was feeling
sorry for him.

Tooth gave Milk a short nod, and after what
felt like forever, Milk went over to break up the fight and pulled a heaving
Hunter away from Ray. Prince approached from the other side, and they both
dragged Ray away.

Lucky gave Tooth a quick kiss on his hairy
cheek and pulled away just enough to look at the mostly silent crowd. “Didn’t
you hear me? I said, ‘
I will
.’” His lips stretched in a smile, and the
cheers finally erupted.

Hunter

Hunter parked his bike by the two other
Harleys and pulled off his helmet. A deep breath of cold air didn’t help him
cool down. He was about to spend Christmas Day with people he was sort of close
to, but sort of wasn’t, except Asty, of course. He was close to her as often as
he could be, and every night when he fell asleep in his single bed, the fact he
hadn’t spent even one night with her was making him restless.

When he approached the house, walking down
a tidy path cleared of snow, he believed he could see her shadow through the
curtains, but maybe it was just an illusion brought on by the twinkling
Christmas lights on the roof and a large light sculpture of Santa’s sled,
complete with two reindeer. Tooth had a nice house with two floors and a double
garage.

After what Ray had done at Tooth and
Lucky’s engagement, he was most definitely not invited, but Hunter didn’t know
how his cousin felt about that, because they hadn’t spoken much since, settling
on cold war tactics. It was not without satisfaction though that Hunter noticed
Ray had lost his gold fang. Hunter was sure it now lay somewhere in Tooth’s cabinet.

He walked up to the door, which was
decorated by a tasteful wreath, and rang the bell. His skin stung from the
cold, but the door opened very quickly, and he was greeted by the one face he
really wanted to see. Astaroth looked back, as if checking if she was watched,
and slipped outside, planting a surprise kiss on Hunter’s lips.

He smiled and gave her ass a quick pat.
“Now that’s what I call Christmas spirit,” he whispered.

Asty pulled her fingers through his hair as
she pressed their cheeks together. “There’s mistletoe inside.”

“I don’t think your dad would be happy to
see us like this, even if we blamed it on the mistletoe.” Hunter laughed and
gave her another kiss. She looked exceptionally hot today with many different
pendants adorning the low neckline of her velvet dress. The fabric stressed
every curve of her body, and Hunter wasn’t complaining at that sight. He’d
rather have the whole world know they were dating, but since they had agreed to
keep it a secret, he settled on the pleasure of knowing that the gorgeous
creature that was Astaroth was his only. From her leather high heels to the
short black bangs and every piercing in her body, she was his.

Today, she made an exception to her usual color
scheme of black, grey, and dark purples and wore a bright red Christmas hat,
crooked to the left side of her head. She exhaled some steam and opened the
door, letting him in. It was time.

The entrance hall was a simple room with a
big mirror and imitation stone tiles on the floor. A garland of fairy lights adorned
the wooden frame of the mirror and mistletoe was hanging off the lamp. The
house was filled with the sounds of old school Christmas songs, scents of food,
and chatting that came from the room adjoining the hall.

“Is that Hunter?” asked Priest, and she
confirmed, leaning against the wall as Hunter put his feet into guest slippers
that had been prepared for him.

Hunter smiled and took off his scarf and
jacket. He couldn’t help being nervous around Priest, despite knowing the president
couldn’t actually see through him and know that Hunter was fucking his
daughter.

They eventually made it into the large
living room with an open plan kitchen. The house was very modern and stylish. It
wasn’t polished luxury that made it cozy but the attention to detail that
someone—presumably Lucky, as Hunter doubted Tooth had any proclivities for
interior decoration—had put into the place. Many potted plants stood around on
the windowsills, and the walls were spotted by framed band posters and mirrors
of various shapes and sizes. Additionally, Lucky and Tooth had added some
Christmas flare that made the room even cozier. The guests sat around a table
covered by a dark red cloth with a green and golden centerpiece. Considering
that everyone—including Priest and Tooth—sported Christmas hats, Hunter
expected to get one as well.

“Hey, Hunter!” Lucky rushed over to him
with his cheeks red and hair in a knot at the back of his head. “You have to
wear a Christmas hat. Asty, get him one, okay?”

A big black cat slipped between Hunter’s
feet and he picked it up with a smile. Even if he was something of a club
hostage, he liked feeling as if these people wanted him around. “Get one for
the cat as well,” Hunter said to her and petted the fur behind the cat’s ears.

Lucky smiled widely. “He’s Manson. And there’s
Slayer and Megadeth around somewhere here. Though we just call him Mega.”

“And my cat, Behemoth, but you’ve seen him
around the club,” added Asty, who petted Manson’s back while the cat rested
comfortably in Hunter’s arms.

“Good to see you,” said Tooth, who looked
especially silly in an elf hat, but he didn’t seem to even remember he was
wearing it.

Hunter held the cat with his arm and shook
Tooth’s hand. “Thank you for inviting me. I’d be stuck with a turkey sandwich
at the club otherwise.”

Tooth looked back at Lucky, who rushed back
to the kitchen, and lowered his voice. “Well, you deserve it for saving my
proposal.”

Hunter shrugged and leaned down for Asty to
put a hat on him. “Fucker had it coming.”

Tooth sneered. “He should have known to
keep his mug shut. Anyway, I need to help Lucky a bit. Asty, take care of him?”
he asked, blissfully unaware of just how well Asty had been taking care of
Hunter recently.

“You can show him the cat room!” Lucky
yelled from the kitchen where he was taking something out of the oven in a pair
of kitchen gloves adorned with skull patches.

Hunter smiled, realizing he hadn’t been in
a home this cozy in years. His uncle always made Christmas an opportunity to
drink to excess with his buddies.

“The cats it is then,” said Asty when
Priest migrated toward the kitchen as well. She kissed Manson between the ears
and approached the stairs. She walked very slowly, and Hunter half-expected it
to be intentional. Her ass swayed, as if drawing the infinity sign, and her
long legs made him want to slide his hand up her dress and touch the heat
between her thighs. But it was too risky, so he waited for her to walk up a few
stairs, watching her thighs in the silky stockings.

A ginger cat with white spots meowed loudly
as they passed by and followed them.

“That’s Slayer,” Asty said, looking at
Hunter over her shoulder.

“Are they unofficially Tooth and Lucky’s
bastards?”

Asty snorted. “More like Lucky’s secret
babies. He got Slayer and Mega while Tooth was doing time.”

Hunter laughed when he followed Asty into
the ‘cat room.’ Manson started getting restless, so he put him on a bridge
under the ceiling leading from one cat tower to another. “He’s a crazy cat boy …”
He looked around at the many ladders, scratchers, toys, and shelves in
amazement. A winding tunnel led toward the window from the floor, and a few
jangling fake birds hung from the ceiling.

“He is.” Asty walked up to Manson, who hung
out of a pipe-like element of the tower, and she tickled him behind the ear.
“Dad got him Manson so that he’d have something to take care of when he was all
over the place, and it worked. He didn’t try to run anymore.”

“He really is
lucky
. Being gay
wouldn't fly in my old club.” Hunter sighed thinking of all the things that
‘didn’t fly’ with Head. He sat on the floor when he noticed Behemoth’s white,
fluffy tail peeking out of the tunnel on the floor.

“Yeah.” Asty sank to the floor next to him
and pulled the fourth cat, Mega, into the cradle of her legs as she crossed
them to sit. “Dad wasn’t all that open-minded in the beginning, but I think
that he’s now happy that Lucky’s back.” She pulled her hair behind her ears and
looked at Hunter.

“My mom sends me a Christmas invitation
every year. She says that all I need to do is accept Jesus into my heart. They
don’t really want to see me otherwise. There’s a big family reunion next year,
but they only want me there on their terms. Fuck that, you know? It’s like they
don’t want to know the real me.” Hunter lay on the floor and started teasing
Behemoth’s tail until he turned around to show his flat face. A white Persian
was a strange choice for a goth girl, but maybe, just as Beast, Behemoth was a
rescue animal?

Asty shifted closer and kissed Mega between
the ears. Her dark eyes moved over Hunter’s face, betraying real sympathy. “You
are so right. They don’t know what they are missing. Why does it matter to them
so much what you believe in? Don’t they want to see
you
?”

“I never got it. If they’re so confident in
their religion, they should have no reason to be so furious over me challenging
it. And we could just meet and not talk about that part of life.” Hunter
grabbed Behemoth once the cat got out of the tunnel, and cradled him in his
arms with a smile. “I like cats. They don’t care if I love Jesus.”

Asty nodded and brushed her shoulder
against his. “I know. Animals don’t judge anyone. They’re so honest, and they
give back much more than they get.” She was silent for a few seconds, watching
Slayer scratch the base of the cat tree.

“True. They don’t have all the concepts
that society has.” Hunter teased the cat in his arms with his fingers. “You
just care about who gives you food, right?”

Behemoth blinked and patted Hunter’s digits
with his paw. He was so ridiculously soft that it was pure pleasure to touch
him.

“He likes you.” Astaroth pulled out her
cell phone and raised it higher to take a picture.

Hunter snorted and posed for it, kissing
Behemoth, but the cat pushed at his lips with its paw. Asty laughed and
shuffled closer, resting against Hunter as she raised the phone again. Their
faces were pressed closely together in the screen, but Behemoth chose that
moment to meow and try to climb out of Hunter’s lap. Asty managed to catch him
in the picture in the last moment.

Hunter let Behemoth go, and the cat
skittered off into a box under a scratching post.

“Oh no, you looked so cute with it,” Lucky
moaned from the door, and Hunter pulled away from Asty, trying to look
inconspicuous.

Asty turned away, opening and closing her
mouth as she looked at her brother. “Hi, Lucky. Why are you creeping on us?”

“The remaining guests came, so I wanted to
call you downstairs.” He raised his eyebrows. “Do I have reason to
creep
on you?”

“No. Of course not,” said Asty quickly.
“You just scared me.” She put her hand on her chest, as if to show just how
anxious Lucky had made her.

Lucky sighed. “Anyway, you looked so cute
with Behemoth. Like you had a little furry baby. You planning any cats when you
settle in outside of the clubhouse?”

Hunter laughed and leaned over to pet Slayer.
“I’ll think about it next year, but I like cats. And kids. I’m from a big
family.”

Asty pulled Mega closer to her chest. “So
you had younger siblings?”

“Yes. Two brothers and three sisters.”
Hunter felt a weird pang of pain in his chest even mentioning his siblings. He
hadn’t seen them in such a long time, it was as if they lived in another
universe. “I’d like to have a big family someday.”

Asty kissed the cat on the head and petted
its chest, watching the carpet. “You must feel lonely in the clubhouse.”

“It’s not … ugh, optimal. It’s not like I
have Ray to chat to.”

Lucky smirked. “Thanks for standing up for
me. That was badass.”

“It really was,” mumbled Asty when she
finally released the cat and scrambled to her feet.

Hunter followed and patted Lucky’s back. “I
like that you guys don’t give a fuck what others think. No one should live
their lives by other people’s rules. Unless they’re, you know, serial killers.”

Asty nodded. “My parents were both very
much for personal freedom. At least in theory,” she finished somewhat flatly.
“I mean ... Dad can be a bit conservative when he forgets that he’s
progressive.”

Lucky grinned, and they all walked out of
the cat room covered in hair. “He’s getting there.”

Judging from the loud shouting downstairs,
Milk and Kat were there, and so were their kids. They were all tiny blonds with
pinkish skin, each dressed in a Christmas sweater, including the toddler. Once
the three of them walked into the living room, it turned out Don had also been
invited with his wife, which made the table seem much fuller than before.

“So, when do we get to eat, Mr. Host?”
asked Asty and poked Lucky in the ribs.

“Now.” Lucky smiled and ran over to the
kitchen. “Everybody sit down, please!”

*

The Christmas dinner was everything Hunter
could have wished for. The food was much better than at Head’s, and it actually
reminded him of the succulent holiday feasts at his family home. Lucky was a
great cook, and with the relaxed atmosphere, Hunter could just let go and enjoy
himself. The television was off—despite Priest and Don’s complaints that were
quickly silenced—the kids sang some carols and were hilariously cute at it, and
the conversation varied from sports to honest discussions on topics that were
important to everyone.