* * *
While Ice stood at the pool table, setting up a shot he knew he was going to make, Jackal leaned against the table, waiting to take his turn. The room was filled with the brothers, all drinking, and having a good time.
Ice heard the door open as he was taking his shot. As the ball went into the left corner pocket, Ice gave Jackal a smug smile, yelling out, “Crush, bring me a beer!”
“Heads up, brother,” Jackal warned just as Ice felt a fist hit him in the back. He spun around to see a furious Grace standing with her hand on her hips.
“You bastard, I don’t want anything from you! Take that car and give it to Brandy.” She threw the set of keys at Ice’s face. “And get your own fucking beer.” The hellion turned on her heel and stormed back across the clubhouse, calling him names along the way.
He caught her before she had made it to the door, taking her arm and tugging her toward his bedroom.
“Let me go, you cheating ass-wipe.” Ice ignored her, having no choice other than to go inside his room. She managed to jerk free as he was closing the door. She tried to push him out of the way, but Ice stood in front of the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Get out of my way.” She kept trying to push at him while Ice just let her wear herself out.
“Where have you been?” She was supposed to be home days ago, according to what she had told Vida. When he had pestered Colton to get Vida to call again, she hadn’t answered her call.
“None of your damn business.”
“I came by to see you, and you were gone. What did you do while you were away?”
She didn’t answer him.
Ice’s eyes went over her body. “That’s a sexy dress you’re wearing. And heels, too. I haven’t seen you wear heels before. You’re all tan, and your hair is lighter.”
“You want to know where I’ve been, Ice? Are you sure you want to know?” she taunted.
“Yes.” His expression was impassive, but his eyes were flashing blue fire.
“I went to Miami to spend some time with my parents. They left after the weekend while I stayed on at their villa and went nightclubbing. The first night, I picked up Juan, and we fucked all night. The second night, I let Terrance pick me up, and I fucked him a couple of times, but he wasn’t as good as Juan, so I left him in the middle of the night. The third night, I picked up Cord. Now, he really knew how to fuck, so I stayed with him for two nights. After that, I don’t remember their names, but I can tell you how good they fucked. Then I got bored again, so I decided to go on a mini-cruise. I always fantasized about having a Latin lover.”
“Stop, Grace,” Ice warned her.
“What, you don’t want to hear about them? You don’t want to know how I fucked Juan on the table in my cabin? I can describe it if—” Ice grabbed Grace and pinned her to the door with his weight. His fist hit the wall beside her head. “Does it hurt? The thought of me with another man? Can you picture it in your head? My mouth on his dick, him fucking me!” Grace taunted. “Does it shrivel your fucking soul the way it did mine when Rita threw that woman at me?” Grace pounded his chest with her fists.
“I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.” Ice buried his face in her neck, his mouth near the spot where his brand had faded a week ago. “I had to prove to my men I wasn’t weak, that no one from that prison had fucked me up so I couldn’t be a man again. They had to see I wasn’t weak. Only the strong survive in this club. They can sense the weak, smell it and come for blood.
“I begged my mom not to leave, but she did. I begged my dad not to leave me alone when he would go out drinking for days, but he left anyway. When I got older and he thought I would beg not to be beaten, I turned on him. He was the one begging me not to kill him. People beg me now. They fear me. Not even those asshole guards in prison could make me beg them to stop.”
“Ice, what happened in the prison?”
Ice didn’t answer her. “I’ve earned my right to be their president. My men expect me to be tougher and meaner than any of them, of any president before me, and I am. My woman has to understand that. You have to understand that.”
“I won’t have a man cheating on me.”