Heartless (Steel Demons MC #6) - Crystal Ash Page 0,47
pivoted, turning his body in the same direction as Larkan’s jab. The prospect’s momentum sent him stumbling forward into nothing, giving ample room for Shadow to grab the back of his cut and wrap the other arm around his throat.
“Do a short jab if you’re gonna hit me there.” Shadow patted his back and released him. “Keep your arm bent and close to your body, so if I hear you coming, you can still get me in the gut or between the ribs.” He turned his back to Larkan a second time. “Try again.”
“Shank him like an inmate,” I hollered. “Short, fast jabs.”
The two of them danced around in mock combat for another half hour, leaving me to work alone while I watched and heckled. Not that I minded. Seeing Shadow step up to mentor the prospect blasted beyond my expectations, even after seeing all the strides he’d made in the past weeks.
When the day came to a close and we rode out to the bar, I wondered how many drinks he’d need to loosen his tongue about Mari, or if he’d come right out and spill his guts to me.
“So how are things going?” I asked when we got settled in, me with a beer and him with whiskey.
His brow creased, already suspicious at my digging. “Fine, I guess. Why?”
“Sure, dude,” I laughed after taking a long swallow. “You spend the whole afternoon on a romantic getaway and things are just fine, you guess?”
Shadow’s face relaxed, that smile starting to appear that looked odd on his face at first, but actually suited him. “In that regard, things are good. I think.” He pulled down a hefty mouthful of his drink. “They’d probably be even better if I could stop overthinking shit and just relax.”
“Believe it or not, that’s normal,” I said. “I guarantee you, every time a person has started seeing someone they’re crazy about, they go nuts with the overthinking.”
“You too?” he asked.
“Me, Reaper, and Gunner. Fuck, I bet even the Sons felt like that way back in the beginning. They weren’t always the cuddly shits they are now. Trust me, dude. It gets easier.”
Shadow huffed out a soft laugh. “When I’m not stressing about what to say, or whether or not I should touch her, it is easy.” He shifted in his barstool, like he was seeking out a touch that wasn’t there. “I can be myself and she…likes that.”
“That’s when you know you’ve got a good thing.” I drained the rest of my beer, swatting him on the arm with a grin. “I’m happy for you, man. I had my concerns at first, seeing as she’s mine too and all. But I should’ve known you’d be just fine. You got nothin’ to worry about.”
I signaled for another drink, sitting back while the bartender poured it for me. My suspicions were confirmed that I’d have nothing to report to Mari. Shadow was just as crazy-nervous-excited about her as she was about him. And that was up to them to navigate. The other guys and I would be here to support them, but it wasn’t our job to meddle. Mari and Shadow had to establish their own relationship first, and then we could work him into the bigger group dynamic when he was ready.
At my side, the big guy was clearly deep in his head again, folding and spreading his hands on the bar in front of his drink.
“What now?” I asked him after a few moments of watching.
He sighed, shoving his empty glass away and shaking his head no when the bartender offered him another.
“I don’t want to fuck this up, Jandro.”
“Well, you can’t possibly fuck it up worse than Reaper or Gunner already have,” I chuckled. “And she’s still with them, ‘cause she’s a damn angel.”
“I should have listened to you before,” he went on, rubbing at a spot on his chest.
“Care to be more specific?”
“You know, when…” His face darkened with the flush creeping up his neck. “Back when you were trying to tell me about how to please a woman.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, that’s up there in the top five, no top three, things you should’ve paid more attention to in Jandro’s Life University.”
He laughed, an increasingly common sound from him. “One of those life lessons I never thought I’d actually use. But when we were together yesterday—” He stopped abruptly until I nodded at him to continue. “I think she wanted to go further, and I do too, I just…my mind went blank on