Epilogue
Six months later
A rms crossed, legs wide, Gunner shakes his head. “I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“So help me God, Gunner, you’re going to plant your ass on your bike and go on this run.”
He throws his hands up in the air. “Why are you so adamant about me going?”
“Because I love you, you fool! You haven’t left my side since shit went down with my sperm donor, and it’s time to get back to normal.”
His jaw clenches.
Stepping forward, I wrap my arms around his waist. “He’s dead, Gunner, and shit has been pretty chill since that night. You need to stop hovering before we kill each other.”
“I almost lost you, and the thought of being away from you kills me,” he mutters as he squeezes me tight.
“I know, daddy. I know, but we can’t stop living. Go on this run. You’ll be home by dinnertime.”
“And you won’t leave?”
“I’ll leave the clubhouse, but I won’t leave the grounds. I have a car I want to work on over at the shop.”
Gunner rolls his eyes. “Smart-ass.”
“Better than being a dumbass.”
He rolls his eyes at me. It’s become our thing. Anytime he calls me a smart-ass, I always reply with the same words.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he grumbles.
“Perfect!” I step back and grab his cut from the door, handing it to him. “Chop chop. The boys are waiting for you.”
“They aren’t boys, they’re men.”
I shrug. “Po-ta-to, po-ta-toe.”
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me deeply before resting his forehead on mine. “You owe me.”
“I’ll be sure to be a brat when you come home tonight as a reward for going,” I deadpan.
A small smile plays across his lips.
Score.
“I love you.”
“I love you more. Now go have fun with the guys.” I step back and slap his ass.
I follow him out of his room at the clubhouse, and we make our way into the main living area.
Smoke looks up, surprise covering his face. “You’re going?”
“Yeah, someone’s forcing my hand,” he grumbles as he stomps outside.
“Someone’s a little grumpy, I see,” Smoke mutters.
“I don’t know why. I gave him a blow job this morning. He should be in a better mood.”
Smoke cringes. “Kid, you’re like my sister. I really don’t want to hear about you choking on his dick.”
“Come on, I thought I was one of the guys. You guys talk about that kind of shit, right?”
“Go get some work done or something,” he calls over his shoulder, walking away.
Laughing, I head outside. Gunner’s bike is gone, and my heart pangs.
Shit, I miss him already, and he’s not even off the property yet. How sad is that?
Shaking my head, I walk toward the shop. It’s weird but nice walking by myself. Ever since that shit went down with our sperm donor, the guys have hovered over Lee and me. While Lee has basked in the attention, I’ve learned I hate it. I hate having everyone watching me, with the exception of Gunner. That man can look at me anytime he wants, and I won’t mind.
As much as I love spending time with him, I know it’s not healthy never being apart. We need to be able to function without the other one holding our hand. Step one in regaining our independence from each other is me going to work and him going on a run. Something we’ve both done a thousand times.
The real change is my mom. She quit one of her jobs and only works during the day now. We have been spending most nights at the house with her having dinner. Turns out not having to pay rent or utilities leaves her with plenty of money for food. She’s learning how to cook. It’s not always great, but she tries. I give Gunner credit. He eats everything she makes with gusto, even when it’s hard for me to choke down.
I walk into the shop, and the sound of an air compressor kicking on makes me smile as an impact gun buzzes.
I fucking love this place.
I walk over to my bench and see that there’s already a work order waiting for me.
An oil change.
I roll my eyes and raise my voice. “Who put this on my bench?”
Jagger chuckles. “I did.”
“Seriously, I thought I moved on from bitch work.”
He shakes his head as he wipes his hands on a rag. “You know you have, but I shit you not, that’s the next one in the lineup for the day. We don’t have anything more complicated right now.”
“Why is business so slow today?” I mumble as I gather my tools.
“I don’t know, maybe because there’s a storm brewing and people are starting to leave town,” Fox quips.
“Wait, really?”
Jagger squints at me. “Where have you been? It’s been on the news all week.”
“I’ve been distracted.”
“By Gunner’s dick,” Fox jokes.
I ignore him. “Wait, was it safe for them to go on a run if the weather is going to turn to shit?”
Jagger’s eyes soften. “They’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about. They know what they are doing.”
“Ugh, you’re right.”
“I usually am. Now get to work. Maybe we can lock up early and go get ready for the hurricane party Kelly is throwing at the clubhouse.”
I smile, shaking my head. “All right, let’s get moving.”
Keys in hand, I head out to the parking lot and grab the car. After parking it in my bay, I get to work. The oil change doesn’t take me long, and I have the owner paid and out the door in under an hour.
“Anyone else?” I ask Smoke.
“No, as far as I’m concerned, you’re done for the day,” he says without looking up from his mess of a desk.
“You really should hire someone to handle all this for you.”
“I’ll have you know, I have an interview next week.” The words come out exasperated.
He has had interviews every week since I started nearly a year ago. It can’t be easy.
“Cool, I hope it works out.”
“You and me both. Now go get out of here. Don’t cause too much trouble, or Gunner will have my head.”
“I’m going to go help your wife.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he calls out.
“Sick, that means my options are endless,” I yell over my shoulder, laughing.
I make the quick walk back to the clubhouse and head inside.
“Kelly?” I holler.
“Out here!” she yells from out back.
I head out the back door and see that she’s stacking chairs.
“Don’t we have guys to move this shit into the shed for us?” I ask as I grab one.
She smiles. “We do, and Acid is helping. I’m just stacking them so he doesn’t have to.”
I smile hearing his name. After nearly dying protecting me, he earned his patch and road name. Now we have six new prospects hanging around.
“Makes sense,” I say as I jump in and start helping.
After we have the outdoor furniture put away for safekeeping, we head inside.
“I’m back,” Doc says.
“Where did you go?” I ask.
“I went and filled up a dozen coolers with ice.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I didn’t know we had that many coolers.”
“Neither did I.” He smirks.
“Thank you for doing that for me.” Kelly smiles at him sweetly. “Now tell me…how do you feel about making a hurricane punch? Do you think the guys will like it?”
“Will it have liquor in it?”
She frowns. “Of course.”
“Then I think you won’t have anything to worry about. What time is the storm supposed to roll in?”
“Rain starts at eight, and the guys should be back from the run by six.”
I look at the clock on the wall. “Well then, we better get busy. We only have five hours before they get back, and we have a lot of shit to do.”
Kelly loops her arm through mine and sighs. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.”
My body sags as I shut off my bike.
Finally.
I was ready to be home hours ago, but the wind kicked up faster than we thought it would with the impending storm and made the ride a bitch.
“Thank fuck,” Tank grunts as he gets off his bike.
I roll my shoulders back and get off the bike, my body tense from trying to hold the bike steady for so long. Despite the ride being questionable, it was still good to get out. I hate to admit it, but Sloane was right. I needed to go on the run. It felt good. Almost as if I reclaimed a part of myself.
I shut the garage door, protecting our bikes from the approaching storm, and lock up the shop. The guys and I make our way across the yard and over to the clubhouse. You can faintly hear laughter and music as we approach.
It’s good to be home.
As soon as we step inside, I hear her laughter and find her across the room instantly. She’s sitting at one of the tabletops with Kelly and trying to fuck with Lee as he tries to hit the cueball.
“Gunner needs to come home and wrangle your ass,” he grumbles.
“I’d like to see him try,” she quips.
“Trouble, we both know I’ll succeed,” I call out.
Her head whips up, and her eyes widen when she sees me.
Goddamn, does my girl look good.
She’s got on cutoff shorts and a long-sleeve white T-shirt underneath her cut.
“You’re home!” She jumps off the stool and runs toward me.
I take a couple of steps forward, meeting her in the middle as she jumps onto me like a spider monkey. She wraps her legs around my waist, crossing her ankles against my ass as she attacks my face with kisses, avoiding my lips.
“Trouble, give me those lips,” I grumble as she pulls away.
“Which ones?” she quips, the faint smell of liquor on her breath.
I slap her ass, making her tilt her head back and laugh.
“Come on, I’m right here!” Lee cries, making everyone laugh.
I smile at my girl as she laughs. Goddamn, she’s gorgeous and mine.
“Hi baby,” she says quietly once she’s got herself under control.
“Hey, Trouble. Were you a good girl?” I ask as I move us across the room to the bar.
She shrugs. “Depends on what your definition of good is.”
“Sloane…” I warn as I set her ass on the bar.
“I was good. I never left the property. After I worked on the one car we had waiting, I came back here and helped Kelly and the boys prep for the storm. Although I’m not sure why we did as much as we did. It’s only a Category 2 storm.”
“It’s a hurricane,” I say slowly.
“Yeah, but on the hurricane scale, it’s like the equivalent of a summer shower.”
“You’re insane.”
“You’ve known this.”
“What can I get you, VP?” the new Prospect One asks from behind the bar.
“Can I get a beer and whatever she’s drinking?” I ask him.
“Comin’ right up.” He nods and walks off.
“How did the run go?” she asks as she starts to play with the hair on the back of my neck.
I shut my eyes and lean into her touch. “Good. Talked to Fang for a minute, then we turned around and came back. Ride was a bitch on the way home, but we made it.”
“So I was right,” she says smugly.
I keep my mouth shut. No way in hell am I giving her the satisfaction of hearing that sentence leave my mouth. I’ve learned my lesson. Anytime someone tells her she’s right, it goes straight to her head.
She pokes me in the side. “You won’t say it, will you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I tell her. I pick up my drink and nod at the prospect. “Thanks, man.”
“You’re welcome,” he says as he wanders off to help someone else.
“Now, are we hanging out with everyone or sneaking away for a little fun?” I ask my girl.
She taps her lip as she thinks about it for a moment. “How about we hang out with everyone for an hour, and then you take me to our room, and we try one of those challenges?”
My cock twitches at the word challenge. A week ago, when she was out with Kelly, they stopped by a lingerie and sex toy shop to grab a bachelorette party gift for someone Kelly knows. While my girl was browsing, she found these little sticks with different positions and kinks on them. You’re supposed to put all the sticks in one cup, and whatever you draw is what you’re supposed to do.
At first, I thought she was trying to tell me our sex life was lacking and got pissed. Then, when she explained that she just wanted to try new things because she hasn’t done much, I got on board.
Fucking did I.
Since then, I’ve had her tied to the bed while pouring hot wax across her body and fucked her in the ass with a vibrator shoved in her pussy set on the highest setting, but my personal favorite was the simplest of all. Us going to bed without cleaning up and my cock still in her.
“I could get on board with that,” I say gruffly.
Sloane leans forward and asks quietly, “Which one are you hoping I pull tonight?”
“I don’t know yet. What one do you want?”
She hums and shifts her hips against mine. “I think I’m hoping for the one that tells you to fuck my face until I black out.”
“And then start fucking you while you’re out,” I finish, heart racing with desire. “How about we fuck this party and go start one of our own?”
Sloane laughs.
“Hey, either put our boy out of his misery and go lock yourselves away or come hang out with us,” Mac yells from across the room.
“What’s it going to be, Trouble? You going to let me fuck you now or later?”
She pushes on my shoulder and jumps down from the bar, winking. “Later. It’s all about the buildup, right?”
She reaches for her drink, but I stop her, making her raise her eyes. “Hey, you know the rules. No drinking and playing.”
She pouts. “You’re no fun.”
“That’s not what you were saying this morning.”
Reaching forward, I grab her hand and start pulling her toward our family. She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs.
“Have I told you how much I love you yet today?”
“Nope,” she says, popping the p. “But I love you more.”
“Forever?”
“Until you’re six feet in the ground.”
“That’s fucking morbid,” I mumble as we join everyone.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re old,” she says, making everyone laugh.
This girl…she’s going to keep me on my toes, and I fucking look forward to it.
The End.