Brax
I’d been insatiable after last weekend and Cerys finally ending my misery. I detested it when we went to work, and I was without her. I dropped into the hospital as often as I could. I knew people were wondering what was going on. They watched us. I’d find ways to drag her into a storage closet and steal kisses. When we were off, she was at my place. We did more than have sex, but we had plenty of that.
I was more satisfied than I’d ever been. I only hated that I hadn’t told her about my wolf and that she wasn’t one. The yearning to breed her grew each time we had sex. My wolf acted like she was our mate. I didn’t know when to bring it up, but I knew it would have to be done. I was waiting for the perfect time.
We were doing something this weekend that we hadn’t done together. My friends and I, who rode as well, were all going to a bike rally in Las Vegas. They were holding a big one, and we wanted to go. It was a chance to have fun and check out amazing bikes and vendors. We weren’t in a motorcycle club, but you weren’t required to be, so we were going. I asked Cerys to join us, and she said yes.
She’d met all the guys and knew Nico, so she wasn’t headed there with a bunch of strangers. She didn’t know them well, but that would change this weekend. I warned them to be on their best behavior and not scare her off. I didn’t want anything to mess up our relationship.
We headed out early Saturday morning before it got too hot. It was only about a hundred miles from Needles to Vegas, so it would be about an hour-and-a-half ride if you stuck to the speed limit, which we didn’t. When I picked her up, Twyla was there to say hello and tell us to be careful. She hugged and kissed Cerys as I packed her bag into my saddle bags. She’d packed perfectly.
There was an exchange of teasing and jokes between Twyla and my buddies. She knew all of them. After getting Cerys settled on my bike, we waved and took off. The ride went smoothly. There was a lot of desert to see between our home and Vegas. It had been a while since I’d been there. For Cerys, it was her old territory. I’d told her if there was anywhere she wanted to go while we were there to tell me. She said no, but we’d see.
The rally was spread across several blocks just off the Strip. The roads into those blocks were closed to traffic other than bikes. Food and other vendors were set up all over, as were bikes. It was like a vast festival slash party. Drinking was allowed on the street, so many people were walking around with alcohol.
By some miracle, we found a spot to park our bikes. Before diving into it, we checked into a nearby hotel. It allowed us to change into cooler clothes if we wanted. I stayed as I was, but Banner and Keir changed into shorts.
When Cerys came out, I almost died. She was in shorts that weren’t Daisy Dukes, but they showed off her legs and ass beautifully. On her feet was a pretty pair of sandals. Her top was dark red. It left her arms bare, and it dipped into a deep V in the front, showing more of her cleavage than ever. It was cropped short but had a cloth belt piece that buckled around her stomach. It was sexy and unique. She’d added jewelry, and her hair was in a long ponytail. She’d applied some makeup, although she didn’t need it. Nico’s loud whistle jarred me out of my daze.
“Hot damn, you’d better keep a hold of her, or some biker will steal her ass. I see why you brought us. We’re her bodyguards,” he said with a wink.
She smiled. “Thank you, but I don’t need guards. Is this alright? The girls said it would be.” I heard anxiety in her voice. I quickly eased it.
“You look stunning. Nico is right. Stick to me. Come on, I’m ready to show you off.”
Her smile was blinding. We left the hotel and went back to the rally. It was hot, and we’d duck into the casinos and shops to cool off in their air conditioning, but the rally kept us coming back. There was so much to see. The people overall were nice and friendly. They’d greet you and talk. The majority were in MCs based on the cuts they were wearing. People thought all bikers were criminals, but my experience was that not all were. They just liked to live by different rules. As long as they weren’t outright breaking the law or harming anyone, I had no problem with them.
As we wandered, I saw cuts from all over the country. Some stuck out more than others due to their names or club colors, which were their emblems. One from Texas caught my attention. They were the Ares Infidels. Another with them was from Nebraska, called the Devil’s Regulators. They were all laughing and chatting—definitely friends.
Eventually, we stopped at a vendor who was set up to give people tattoos. He had a crowd surrounding him as he worked on someone. We made it to his tables and checked out some of his designs. I was always open to more ink. Cerys had confessed one night she loved my tats and had wanted a tattoo for a while but was scared the artist might fuck it up.
We inched over to watch the ink slinger work. We’d lost the others at various points. That was alright. We didn’t need to be stuck up each other’s asses. I was concentrating on the design coming to life on the guy’s skin when I heard her name called, and I felt her stiffen.
“Cerys!”
I turned to see who it was. Cerys was slower to do it. I found a young guy standing close. He was looking at Cerys in surprise and hesitation. He wasn’t sure of himself. He was dressed like almost everyone else, meaning he wore a cut. I couldn’t see the back of it. A woman was next to him, with her arm around his waist.
She was young and tall. Her long blond hair was hanging in two braids. Her eyes were a striking azure blue. She had tattoos visible on her arms. Her clothing gave off a rocker vibe. She was gorgeous, but to me, she didn’t compare to Cerys. When I glanced over at Cerys, she appeared stunned and uneasy. My wolf and I both went on alert. I wrapped an arm around her and brought her close. Then I looked back at the guy.
Now that I was focused, I felt it—the inner instinct that always told me when someone was “other.” What kind? I wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t human.
“Cerys, wow, imagine meeting you here. It’s been a long time. How are you?” the guy asked.
The blond was frowning, and Cerys was struggling to answer him. I interjected, “Hi, I’m Brax. May I ask who you are and how you know Cerys?”
He focused on me. I saw him stiffen. Ah, he sensed it as well. He eyed me closer as he answered me. “Hello. I’m Heron. Cerys and I have known each other since we were teenagers. I never thought I’d find her at a bike rally. I wouldn’t see this as your speed, Cer.”
I disliked him calling her Cer and the fact his tone insinuated they’d been more than friends. He felt tenderness and regret.
“Hi, H-Heron. Yes, it’s been a while. As for me being at a bike rally, there’s a lot about me you don’t know. I’ve changed. Introduce me to your friend,” she lifted her chin toward the blond, who answered for herself. Cerys was gripping my waist now. Her nails bit into my side.
“My name is Rebel. We’re, well, together. I didn’t know Heron had friends outside the club,” she glanced at him with a clear question on her face. She wanted to know who Cerys was to him. So did I.
He was opening his mouth when his name was called. There was another large biker coming toward us with a woman. As Heron waited for them to join us, I studied him. He was young. I’d say Cerys’ age. He was tall and had what appeared to be Samoan heritage. His hair was dark and cut in a short mohawk-like cut with barely any hair on the sides. A beard and thin mustache completed his look. What struck me as funny was the shirt he had on underneath his cut. It had a bold Hawaiian print with the sleeves rolled above his bulging biceps.
When he turned to face the guy who called his name, I saw the back of his cut. It read Devil’s Murder MC, Henderson, NV . The man coming toward us was striking and imposing. His face was pierced and tatted. When he reached us, he gave us a curious look.
“Hey man, we’ve been looking for you. Should’ve known you’d be here.”
“You know me, Hawk,” Heron said.
My vibes were humming. Hawk was “other” as well—the same thing as Heron. What was interesting was the women weren’t. Hawk’s eyes sharpened. I saw when it registered I wasn’t entirely human. His gaze switched to Cerys. He lifted his chin toward us.
“Who are your friends?”
“This is Cerys and her man Brax?” Heron made it a question.
I answered. “I’m her man.”
Heron continued, “Cerys and I knew each other a few years back when we got out of high school. I haven’t seen her in years. I thought you’d left Vegas.”
Discomfort was coming off Cerys in waves while he projected concern and remorse. It made me want to know why. What did he do? The way she was acting it made me wonder. Did she still have feelings for him? If so, I wasn’t sure I could handle that. I was already possessive of Cerys, and I didn’t want any part of her to belong to anyone other than her friendships and love for Twyla. There was no room in our lives if we were together for her past lovers. And I had no doubt he was her past lover. My tension began to build. Heron gave me an uneasy look, then focused back on Cerys.
She seemed to be shaking off her shock. I saw her shrug. “I don’t live here anymore, but I didn’t leave until about nine months ago.”
“Oh yeah, where are you guys from? I take it you’re not in a club,” Hawk guessed.
“No, we’re not. We came with my friends. We’re all riders, just not an MC. We live in Needles,” I supplied.
“We’re in Henderson. Our entire club came. Where are your friends? We’d like to meet them. Any friend of Heron’s is a friend of ours. This is my woman, Callie,” Hawk said, indicating the woman with him.
She smiled and nodded to both of us. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hawk, I don’t think that—” Heron started to say when Rebel cut him off.
“You didn’t say exactly how you know Heron.” Rebel’s words had an edge.
Cerys hesitated a moment before answering. I felt her straighten her back. “Heron and I dated my first year of nursing school. He was my first boyfriend.”
Animosity filled me. Having confirmation he’d been her boyfriend made me want to growl and mark her so he’d know she was mine. My wolf was having a fit.
Rip out his throat. He’s touched our woman. He needs to die. You’ve got to mark her. Now!
My wolf, Nightstalker, pushed me for the past two weeks to give her a claiming bite. I couldn’t until she knew what I was and agreed to it. Plus, once given, it couldn’t be taken back. This tiny piece of me worried I’d do it and then find my mate. I was falling quickly for Cerys, but what if it happened? Would I be forced to give her up? Destined mates were a force of nature. I heard they were hard to resist. If I bit her and then we parted, I’d still be connected to her until we died. That wouldn’t be fair to my mate, Cerys, or the man Cerys would one day end up with.
The thought of her with anyone else made me growl. Hawk, Heron, and the women all stiffened and gave me a wary look. I pasted a fake smile on my face. Above us, I noted a group of crows circling us and making cawing noises. What were they doing in Vegas? Was the food and bright bikes attracting them? Weird.
“There you are. We’ve been looking for you,” another man’s voice said.
I recognized it. I should’ve known. Nico could sense the emotions in the air, especially those he was connected to. Gunnar, Fennick, Keir, Banner, and Royal were right behind him. Nico must’ve warned them something was up because they were all alert. They came to stand next to us. I heard the crows above caw again.
“So you and he were boyfriend and girlfriend. Wow, what a small world! You said you were in nursing school when you were together. Are you a nurse?” Callie asked sweetly. I think she was trying to cut the tension.
“I am. I work in the ER in Needles.”
“Mind if I ask what you do?” Hawk asked me.
“Not at all. I’m a San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff. I patrol and live in Needles,” I told him smugly.
“A cop. You know, I can see it,” Hawk said after a brief pause.
“You gonna introduce us to your new…friends?” Nico asked.
Somehow, I kept my cool and introduced them. As my friends were greeting them back, more men and women joined Heron and Hawk. This was becoming ridiculous. I wanted to get out of here. I needed to talk to Cerys privately. She kept glancing at Heron and then away. He was studying her with a deep frown on his face. After a couple more minutes of tension-filled talk, I ended it.
“I hate to break things up, but we’ve got plans. I hope you enjoy the rally. Maybe we’ll see you later.” Not if I could help it, I thought acidly. Cerys was studying me. She was biting her bottom lip.
“It was good seeing you, Cerys. I’m glad you’re settled,” Heron said softly.
“The same, Heron. Honey, I’m ready,” she told me.
It was the first time she’d used an endearment with me. I tugged her closer, kept my arm firmly around her waist, gave them all chin lifts, and walked away. I hated having so many unknowns behind me, especially when all the men were “other.”
I stopped when we got far enough away that they could no longer see or hear us. “Cerys and I are headed back to the hotel. We’ll catch up with you later.”
Based on the looks we got, the guys knew we needed privacy. They didn’t bother to try to stop us. After leaving them there, I made for our hotel. The sooner this was over, the better.