Marked By The Ruthless President

CHAPTER 6 — DON’T TEST ME

(Reaper’s POV)

The moment Havoc walked away, the tension in the clubhouse didn’t disappear.

It shifted.

Settled directly into the space between Gina and me.

She stood at the bar with her chin lifted, stubborn fire in her eyes, pretending my warning hadn’t rattled her.

It had.

I saw it in the way her fingers tightened around the glass. The way her breathing changed when I leaned closer.

Good.

She needed to understand something about my world.

Men here didn’t flirt casually.

A patched brother touching a woman connected to the president—even unofficially—could start bloodshed if boundaries got crossed.

And Gina, stubborn as hell, had no idea how dangerous being noticed really was.

“You embarrassed me,” she said quietly, finally turning to face me.

The accusation in her voice almost made me laugh...

I lowered my head slightly, keeping my tone for her alone.

“Havoc embarrassed himself.”

Her eyes flashed.

“No. You did.”

That honesty hit harder than it should have.

I studied her face.

The anger. The hurt. The pride trying to keep both hidden.

Most women in this clubhouse wanted my attention.

She looked like she hated that I had any effect on her at all.

Interesting.

“You shouldn’t let random bikers get too comfortable,” I said.

Her lips parted in disbelief.

“Random bikers? He was talking.”

“He was circling.”

The words came sharper than intended.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“And what exactly are you doing?”

That question hung between us like a loaded weapon.

Because I didn’t have an answer that made sense.

Not one I was willing to say.

I didn’t do jealousy. Didn’t do attachment. Didn’t do emotional explanations.

Especially not over a woman I had already told myself was one reckless night.

Yet here I was, standing too close, irritated because another brother had looked at her too long.

I hated what that said about me.

I straightened.

“You’re with Chains’ old lady’s family. That makes people watch.”

A partial truth.

Not the real one.

Her eyes narrowed like she knew I was holding something back.

Before she could push, a clubwhore in silver shorts slid up beside me.

Lacey.

One of the regulars.

No patched loyalty. No expectations. No emotional mess.

Exactly the kind of woman I usually preferred.

Her fingers trailed lightly over the front of my cut.

“You disappeared upstairs after church,” she purred. “Thought maybe you needed company.”

I saw Gina’s posture change instantly.

Rigid. Guarded.

That tiny reaction lit something darkly satisfying in my chest.

So I let Lacey touch me.

That was my second mistake tonight.

Gina laughed once. Sharp. Humorless.

“Right. Of course.”

She turned like she was going to walk away.

Instinct moved faster than thought.

My hand wrapped around her wrist.

The moment my fingers closed over her skin, the room around us blurred.

Her pulse jumped beneath my grip.

Mine did too.

“You don’t walk away from me in my clubhouse.”

The words came low enough that only she heard them.

Her eyes lifted to mine.

Anger. Heat. Something dangerously close to hurt.

“Then don’t humiliate me in front of your girls.”

The accusation landed clean.

Because that’s exactly what I had done.

I released her wrist slowly.

Lacey, suddenly aware she had stepped into something she didn’t understand, slipped away without another word.

Smart girl.

Gina looked down at where I had touched her, then back at me.

“I’m not one of them.”

The quiet certainty in her voice did something unsettling to my control.

Because she was right.

She wasn’t.

Clubwhores knew the rules. Knew the limits. Knew what not to expect.

Gina didn’t belong in any of those categories.

And that was the problem.

Before I could answer, Chains’ voice cut across the clubhouse.

“Boss. Church in ten.”

The reminder snapped everything back into place.

Club first. Always.

I stepped back, putting the distance where it belonged.

My voice went colder.

“Stay with Tessa.”

Her expression hardened at the dismissal.

“There you go again.”

“Gina.”

The warning in her name should have been enough.

Instead, she lifted her chin.

“I’m done letting you act like last night meant something one second and nothing the next.”

The words landed harder than any threat.

Because she was saying exactly what I refused to admit to myself.

This wasn’t clean anymore.

Wasn’t simple.

And I didn’t like what that meant.

I leaned closer one last time, my voice low enough to stay between us.

“You’re in my world now. Stop expecting it to make sense.”

For a second, the fire in her eyes flickered into something more vulnerable.

Then Tessa called her name from across the room.

Gina looked at me one final time.

And walked away.

This time I let her.

Because church came first.

Because the chapel was already filling with patched brothers. Because club business decided everything.

Still, as I watched her disappear into the crowd, one truth settled in hard:

I had already let her get too close.

As I turned toward the chapel, Chains stepped into my path, expression grim.

“We got a problem, Prez. Someone’s asking questions about the girl you brought upstairs.”

The cold in my chest sharpened instantly.

Because in this town, questions usually came before blood.