28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Athena
“ T hey smell delicious!” Bringing the tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to my nose, I close my eyes and breathe them in.
“Yeah they do.” Mac nods, confident in her abilities. “Now that you have the recipe and you know how to make them, I expect some experimentation samples.”
“I’m down for samples.” Kincaid is sitting on the center kitchen island and grabs one of the cookies.
“They’ve only just come out of the oven. Isn’t that too hot?” I furrow my brow, concerned that she’s going to hurt herself.
“Nah. When you grow up the way I did, food is food. Hot, cold, out of date… well, within reason. Sometimes I’d rather starve but, ya know.” She shrugs, as if the idea of starving is nothing.
“Shiz, Kincaid, I think that’s the most you’ve opened up since you joined the club.” Mac pauses from swaying side to side with baby Gryffin in her arms, her eyes wide as she stares at the blue-haired beauty.
“Whatever, it’s no big deal.”
“How did you grow up?” I don’t know if it’s okay to ask this kind of question, but I’m curious and I like Kincaid. She is a strong and powerful looking woman, and even though she is a few years my junior, I want to be her when I grow up. Everyone around her seems to hold this level of respect that I’ve only ever seen given to men. Well, truth be told, all of the women in the club are held with some kind of reverence, but Kincaid seems to be the only one they don’t try to protect with kid gloves.
Case in point: she’s our security today while the others are dealing with some club business.
“I didn’t grow, I was dragged, far from here, but that’s a story for another day. When we got a mountain of alcohol running through our system.” She winks and takes a large bite of the cookie, devouring half of it with ease and ultimately ending that line of conversation.
“Can we do that when I’m not still breastfeeding? I totally want in on that drinking sesh.” As if driving his mom’s point home, Gryffin burps to let us know how much he enjoyed his milk.
“Sure. Looking forward to it already.” Rolling her eyes, Kincaid finishes the cookie, and I’m beginning to recognize her sarcasm more with every interaction. Again, it’s not with any malice, it seems to just be the way she is and I love that everyone accepts it the way they do.
“I think your phone just went off, Athena.” Mac nods toward the cell Bear bought for me, sitting on the countertop beside the coffee machine.
She chuckles at me as I move so fast I almost knock the tray of cookies to the floor, but Kincaid manages to save them before there’s a disaster.
Bear: On our way back, Baby Girl. I miss you.
The smile that spreads across my face is unmistakable as I type out a reply. It takes me a lot longer than I’ve seen Mac’s fingers flying across her phone, but I’m still getting used to it.
Me: I miss you too. We made you something. :)
His response is almost instant.
Bear: I have a surprise for you too ;)
My heart feels like it literally skips a beat.
“I think the love spell you hit Psycho with has reared its head. It better stay the fuck away from me because no, thank you.” Kincaid huffs a laugh and reaches for another cookie, but I bat her hand away because I want Bear to at least see them before she eats them all.
Then I immediately step away in horror, my eyes wide, when I realize what I just did.
Kincaid stares at me, open mouthed, shock written all over her face before it creases with laughter, echoed by Mac.
“I’m so sorry!” I’m ashamed of myself for the action but their laughter is confusing me.
This goes on forever, heads thrown back with a hand on their bellies like they’re in pain, and I swear it’s the longest minute of my life. Once Kincaid calms herself, she looks straight at me with a smile still on her face.
“Girl, don’t even! It’s cool, I get it. You want the cookies for your man and I respect the shit out of you for standing your ground.”
“Funniest thing I’ve seen since Grinder fucked up his riding handstand last time they were filming for their YouTube channel. That shit went straight to the bloopers reel.” Mac has actual tears running down her face and Gryffin is looking up at her like she rules the world.
The roar of motorcycles from outside lets us all know Bear and Psycho are back, quickly followed by the front door practically slamming open.
“‘Thena!” I know that voice. My theory is confirmed as soon as Paxton rounds the corner to the kitchen and runs straight for me, wrapping his skinny arms around my shoulders. I’m small enough for them to fit all the way around me with him being only about a foot shorter than me. “Where you been? Mom and Maribel have been worried. Will you be coming back to the house soon?” He doesn’t let go of me as he peppers me with questions.
I return his hug, squeezing him slightly because I missed him and the ladies at the home too. In fact, Paxton is part of the reason I feel like I’m not entirely broken. His pure strength and determination is wild for a kid, but his crappy life so far has shaped him rather than destroyed him.
Before I have a chance to reply, Bear appears in the doorway next, quickly followed by Psycho shooting past him toward Mac, but my attention is on my big, beautiful man almost filling the gap.
“Told ya I got a surprise for you.” He winks and leans against the door jamb, a look of pure, unfiltered desire in his eyes as he watches me.
Paxton steps away and moves to side-hug Bear. I swear the sight melts my insides. It’s the first time I’ve seen Paxton comfortable enough to touch one of the men in the club. He usually stands at least a few feet away from them with a wary stare.
“The big guy bought me a helmet and these cool leathers and I just rode on the back of his motorcycle and it was amazing.” Paxton sits on one of the two stools next to the breakfast bar.
“Hang on a second, son.” Bear strides confidently toward me and lifts me by the waist so my lips are level with his and kisses me. It’s soft, slow, passionate, and I wish we could do this forever. Pulling away, still holding me firm, he grins. “Hi, Baby Girl.”
“Hi.” My cheeks heat and I press my palms against his chest, kissing him lightly before he puts me down, sliding me down his hard body.
“Okay, now what were we saying? Oh yeah…” Bear casually leans back against the kitchen counter, pulling me in front of him so he can wrap his arms around me and hold me. “Paxton here showed up at the clubhouse about an hour ago demanding to know what the Sons had done with you because you hadn’t come back to the home for a while and he was worried.”
“Kid’s got a gigantic pair on him, I can tell ya that. Grinder tried to scare him with an eyebal—”
“Psycho! Dude…!” Bear cuts him off and Mac slaps his arm. He feigns innocence then shrugs, laughing and grabbing for Gryffin.
“Can’t hit me now, I have a baby in my arms.” He laughs again and Mac narrows her eyes at him.
“Stop using your son as an excuse to be a D-word.” She continues to scowl at him but it breaks as soon as he kisses her, quick and sharp.
“We made cookies.” I try to divert attention away from whatever it is they’re doing.
“Actually, I gave Athena a recipe and the ingredients and she made the cookies while Kincaid ate the batter and I supervised.” Mac pipes up, easily giving me more credit than is due for the baking.
“Mmm, my favorite.” Bear’s rumble vibrates through me from my back, soothing me like nothing else. He reaches forward, moving me with him, to grab one. “Help yourself, Pax.”
Leaning back again, I don’t look, but I can hear the moment Bear takes a bite and swallows.
“Fuck, these are delicious.”
“Bear, you may be bigger than all of us put together, but I swear to all eff words if you curse again in front of my baby, I’ll make sure the next cookies are my very own special ones, if you know what I mean.” Mac points her finger at Bear and I chuckle at her sincerity.
“Her special ones are poisonous, so you don’t want that, broth—ow! Holding the baby, remember?” Psycho looks at his wife, one eyebrow raised and a knowing smirk on his face.
“They really are good, ‘Thena. Anyway, where you been?” For such a young boy, Paxton isn’t deterred at all by all the adults in the room.
Bear rubs at my arms discreetly, and I know it’s his way of letting me take the lead on how to answer.
“The man I ran away from found me.” There’s no point in hiding it from him, he’s a smart kid and I don’t see why he shouldn’t know at least part of the truth. “He took me back, but these guys saved me and here I am!” I grin, holding out my arms to the sides, and Bear’s constant presence behind me never wavers.
“That sounds like a real watered down version to me, but I get it. I’m twelve.” He sighs, lowering his head a little.
“Hey, Paxton, don’t feel bad. That’s the same version I plan on giving anyone who asks because I don’t really want to talk about it. I know you understand that. Okay?” My tone is soft, and I hope he realizes I’m telling the truth. It has nothing to do with him or his age.
“Okay.” He nods, reaching for another cookie.
“Did you guys bring anything for lunch? Cookie dough is not enough to last me through the rest of the day.” Kincaid jumps off the stool and begins loading up the coffee machine.
“Come on, gotta feed the prospect before she eats us alive.” Mac’s announcement has us all moving like a well choreographed dance around the kitchen. Even Paxton lends a hand.
And for the first time in my life, I understand the belonging feeling of family.
“You are ruthless, Athena! I have a baby to feed!” Psycho pouts, handing over one of his properties for mortgaging to Paxton, who is acting as the banker for our game of Monopoly.
“You should’ve rolled a different number then.” I giggle, because this is fun.
After lunch, when Paxton initially suggested we play a game of some kind, the others had rolled their eyes until I admitted that I’ve never actually played one. That had Bear disappearing upstairs for about ten minutes before coming back with a board game held above his head like a trophy.
We’ve been playing Monopoly for a couple of hours now, and I have hotels on all of my properties. Luck is definitely on my side because all the Chance or Community Chest cards that require a payment for taxes on properties have gone to the others rather than me.
“I had like, a one in six chance of not landing on one of your monsters.” Shaking his head, his pout morphs into a grin as he hands over his money.
“Thank you. Pleasure doing business.” I put the game money with the rest of my piles, all neatly laid out on the floor in front of me. We’re all sitting around the coffee table in the living room, the rug beneath us soft on my bare feet—which is the only part of me on the floor because I’m sitting in Bear’s lap.
He gave up half an hour ago, after gifting me multiple discounts every time I landed on his properties, much to the non-amusement of Kincaid, Psycho, and Paxton. Mac opted out an hour ago because Gryffin was being fussy and needed a diaper change and now she’s sitting on the couch nursing him.
Kincaid rolls the dice next, sighing deeply when she realizes that she has to go to jail… again.
“You know what? Eff this.” Standing, Kincaid flips the board, sending the pieces all over the living room. “Didn’t curse, you can’t cut my balls off.” She winks at Mac and plops herself beside her on the couch.
“Was that really necessary?” Mac questions her, but she’s smirking, and beneath me, Bear is chuckling.
“It ain’t a family game of Monopoly until someone flips the board. I was just giving the authentic experience.” She shrugs, a half-smile on her face, the piercing in her cheek making the dimple more prominent.
A warmth spreads through me at her words. Family game. These people have zero judgment or shame with everything they do, and they have accepted me with nothing but open arms and a respect I don’t feel like I’ve earned.
I didn’t think finding people to trust would be this easy, but they’ve made it the simplest thing in the world. Trusting them with my life isn’t even a question at this point.
Paxton has a smile on his face bigger than I’ve ever seen and I’m thrilled that he’s being brought into this crazy fold of bikers just as much as I am. It’s obvious to see how much he looks up to them all and he hasn’t stopped talking about the ride over.
I think they all needed this in some way. I know they’re still worried about the club members that are missing, Shade and Diablo, but this has given them the opportunity to relax and take a breather.
“We’re gonna head back. I’m almost out of diapers. This kid shi—craps like nothing I’ve ever known.” With a chuckle, Mac stands and hands Gryffin off to Psycho while she starts packing her baby bag.
“I have a garage full of motorcycles to clean with Jonesy so I’ll head back with ya.” Kincaid glares at Psycho. “Thanks for that by the way.”
He laughs in response. “Life of a prospect, amiright?”
“Yeah, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“You wanna ride in the truck with me, Paxton? I can drop you home first.” Mac continues packing her bag as she asks the question.
“Yes, please.” He looks a little disappointed, probably because he would have loved a ride on Psycho or Kincaid’s motorcycles, but I’ve seen them both ride and just no. They’re both amazing at stunts and riding like lunatics, but I wouldn’t want Paxton to get hurt by mistake.
Ten minutes later, Mac, Gryffin, and Paxton are in a truck, while Kincaid and Psycho are on their bikes, all leathered up. The bikes don’t set off until Mac does, and they ride behind her as she pulls away, tooting the horn and waving out the window with me and Bear watching.
“Thank fuck for that. I’ve been waiting to get you all to myself this entire damn day.” Spinning me in his arms, Bear palms the sides of my face and leans down to kiss me on his porch.
I shiver, but only half from the cold, the rest is from the way he holds me.
“Let’s get you inside, Baby Girl.”
Bending, he slides one arm behind my knees, the other at my waist, and lifts me, taking me back into the warmth of the house. The move makes me squeal and laugh, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself up a little to kiss his cheek.
“You wanna watch a movie or something?” He sits on the couch with me across his lap, which seems to be his favorite position for us and I won’t complain. It’s my favorite too.
I want to be bold and answer with the latter, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for the something I really want yet. I think I might be, but my body aches, and while he might say he loves my scars, it might be different if we’re… well. Instead, I say, “A movie would be great.”
“You wanna choose?” He hands me the controller for the TV but I have no idea how it works. There are way more buttons than I know what to do with.
Shaking my head, I snuggle into him instead. He smells more delicious than the fresh cookies and this is better than any movie.
He chuckles and rubs my back with his large palm before kissing the top of my head. I don’t know what movie he puts on, but it begins playing and he continues to hold me close, drawing lazy patterns on my thigh.
I realize I must have fallen asleep as the warmth beneath me disappears and I sit up straight, breathing a sigh of relief when I see Bear pulling off his top before climbing into bed beside me. I’m still fully clothed, wearing one of his T-shirts that I put on this morning and my trusty black leggings.
“Hey, sleepy girl.” His smile makes me feel like I’m dreaming.
“Hi.” I grin back sleepily, shuffling closer to him.
As if it’s automatic, he lays out an arm, giving me access to my favorite pillow: his chest. It doesn’t take me long to get into position, nestled against him, his strong arm around me.
Now that we’re here again, the lust Bear fills me with by simply existing comes flooding back. The doubts are still there; will he be disgusted with my scarred body and even want to… oh gods… what if he doesn’t want to?
After a much needed mental berating, I remind myself that negative thoughts have no place in my life anymore. Bear has been nothing but kind and gentle with me, I don’t know why I expect anything different in this situation.
Actually, I do. It’s because the one person at Master’s house I thought I could trust was just playing games with me, like everyone else.
But that’s just another thought that isn’t going to help me right now…
I’m safe. I’m free. I’m in the arms of the most amazing man who ever existed. Sighing, I begin to lightly trail my fingers across Bear’s chest, gradually moving lower toward his stomach, where the light line of curls leads down into his underwear.
Tentatively, I slide my finger beneath the waistband, slowly moving from side to side. He’s already hard, it’s impossible to miss, but it doesn’t scare me as I continue to explore him. He doesn’t make a move, allowing me to take this at my own pace, but his breaths get heavier when my hand gets lower and grazes against his solid length.
As if he can’t control himself, his chest rumbles, vibrating against my head, and his palm on my back gets firmer, his gentle touch more of a soft massage now.
“Oh, fuck.” He groans as I wrap my hand around him and push down. I pause when he turns to face me, my head now against his bicep. The look in his eyes says a thousand things and I can almost decipher a few, but mainly that we’re on the same page. And that sends relief shooting through my body with a jolt of fear for what’s to come. In the best possible way.
The idea that this is the equivalent of my first time makes it all seem natural and right. I choose him. I choose this moment. Even though I’ve been with more men than I can mentally handle, this will be the first with my consent. I can’t even explain how liberating it feels.
Bear searches my eyes for I don’t know what before he asks, “You sure about this, Baby Girl?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m sure.” He grins when I remember to use my words, and it’s like he’s trying to memorize every inch of my face before he finally leans forward, kissing me like I’ve never been kissed, owning me heart, mind, body, and soul.