Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Please excuse my curiosity, but are you officially his wife?”
“No. Not legally.”
“So, you’re his girlfriend?”
“An ol’ lady is more than just a regular piece. It’s almost the same thing as being a wife.”
“A regular piece?”
“A regular piece of ass is like a girlfriend; however, they’re not officially claimed. But, either way, your man ends up in your bed every night. They’re not out sticking their dicks in every hole that’s available.”
“Claimed?” Emma squeaked. Another term she needed to be “schooled” on, but she wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that one.
“Yeah, your man can take it to the table and claim you, which means you become an official ol’ lady.”
None of that sounded appealing. At all.
Jewel lifted her hand with a laugh. “And before you ask, taking it to the table means they go in front of the Executive Committee and request a vote.”
That was the most bizarre thing she ever heard. Well, maybe not the most bizarre but pretty damn close. It sounded like the women were treated like property.
And that couldn’t be right. It was the twenty-first century; no man owned a woman. Right?
“Are the guys loyal to their ol’ ladies? Once they’re officially claimed, I mean.”
Jewel hesitated. “For the most part.” She shrugged. “Like a marriage, there’s no guarantee.”
Emma glanced over at the two men standing at the corner of the pavilion, talking. “How long have you known Diesel?”
“My whole life. We were both born into this club.”
“Oh wow!”
“Yeah.”
“I guess you like being a part of the club, then.”
“Wouldn’t want anything else.” She placed a hand on her slightly rounded belly. “Especially now.”
“Congratulations, by the way. Dawson... Oh damn! Sorry. Don’t tell him I called him that!”
Jewel’s eyes widened, and she barked out a laugh. “Dawson?”
“Well, that’s his name.”
“It is?”
Emma looked at Jewel in surprise. “You didn’t know that?”
“Hell no!”
Oh double damn. Emma’s heart began to race in panic. “Oh Lord. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“How did you find out what it was?”
“It’s listed like that on Heaven’s Angel’s business license. I did a search online for a contact name...”
“Holy shit.”
“Please, please... don’t say anything. He didn’t want me to call him that here.”
The corners of Jewel’s blue eyes crinkled. “Just here?”
“Well, everywhere. He gets annoyed when I do.”
Jewel nodded then made a twisting motion at her lips like she was locking them, then she tossed the invisible key away. “I won’t say a word. Promise.” Jewel leaned back and crossed her ankles, glancing over to where Dawg and her ol’ man were talking.
“Daw—Dawg told me that you’re pregnant. How far along are you?”
Jewel tilted her head and studied her for a moment. Finally, she said, “Four months.”
“How exciting! I was walking on air when I found out I was pregnant!”
“You have a kid?”
“Yes, a daughter. Lily. She’s seven.”
“You don’t look old enough to have a seven-year-old.”
“Oh, I am.”
Jewel’s eyes narrowed. “But didn’t the prospects just move you into Dawg’s place this morning?”
Emma wondered how she knew that, but then from what she could tell so far, it seemed to be a close-knit club. She imagined news traveled fast. “Yes, they did.”
“You want your daughter living over a strip club?”
“No... No, it’s just temporary...”
“Until what?”
Emma shook her head. The fact that she allowed her daughter to be stolen from her was embarrassing. It shouldn’t be, but it was. It made her feel like such a failure as a mother. How could she not protect her own daughter better? So, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it with people she didn’t know. People who might judge her.
“You don’t mind your daughter living over a strip club even temporarily?” Jewel asked again.
Damn, that made her sound like an even worse mother! “She’s... not with me.”
“Where is she?” Jewel asked then raised her palm. “Look, I don’t mean to pry. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s your business. But I have a feeling that whatever it is, it’s what your man’s talking about with mine.”
“He’s not my man.”
Jewel pursed her lips as she studied Emma for a moment. “No?”
“No. We just have a...”
“A?” the woman prodded.
“An arrangement.” Emma guessed it could be called that. Honestly, she didn’t know what it should be called.
Jewel’s brows pinned together. “Are you his new house mouse? Because if so, I didn’t know he was looking.”
Another term she didn’t know. It was like these people had their own language! “What’s a house mouse?”
“Usually someone who needs a place to live, but normally is a bit younger than you and is related to the club in some way. Instead of paying for rent, food and shit like that, she keeps the brother’s place clean, does chores like grocery shopping, beer runs, and does the cooking. It works out well since none of the females in the DAMC can live at church.”
“Huh. He did ask me to clean up around his place,” Emma murmured.