Astrid Chapter 6
I was still somewhat in a haze after my emotional and shocking day at the Punishers’ compound.
I was shocked that I’d gone as far as I did with Mayhem after taking the plunge to have a relationship with him.
As if that weren’t enough, I’d told him about my capture and what happened to me.
The only ones I spoke to about it were my doctor and the psychiatrist the Navy made me see.
Mayhem hadn’t reacted in disgust or backed away from me.
He did express his anger with a deafening roar.
We kissed, and he comforted me with his touch for a while afterward.
We didn’t have another make-out session.
The two we had previously, along with my sharing, drained us.
I fell asleep on his lap and didn’t wake up until he gently shook me awake two hours later.
Mayhem informed me that the club was eating in twenty minutes.
He woke me, so I had time to get myself ready.
Before leaving his house, Mayhem paused at the open front door. “Astrid, I’m bringing you back later so you can see the house. I want you to see what it’s like.”
I was curious about it, so I didn’t object—the little I’d seen I liked. “I’d love that. I love what I’ve seen so far.”
“Good. Let’s get going, or there won’t be any food left. I’d hate to have to kick my brothers’ asses in front of you,” Mayhem said, grinning as he led me off the porch. As we walked over to the clubhouse, I laughed.
“If they eat everything, I’ll help you beat them. I have a mean right hook, and my kickboxing is excellent,” I informed him. I wasn’t bragging. It was true.
“Nice. A woman who’s not only all those things I mentioned earlier, but a fighter on top of it. You’re a formidable opponent. I’ll remember that.”
“You’d better,” I warned.
Mayhem chuckled. When we got to the clubhouse, instead of going inside, he took me around to the back side of the building.
I heard numerous voices coming from that spot.
Rounding the corner of the building, I saw they had set up a long line of tables.
The food was laid out on them. There was room for a line on each side.
With this many people, you needed to have an assembly line.
Seeing all the work that had been done, I felt awful that I hadn’t helped set this up.
When Mayhem tugged on my hand and headed for the food, I halted him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Let the others go first.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone has worked on this. Those tables didn’t fill themselves with food. And all the other work that went into this is evident. I didn’t help. I’m not pushing to be at the head of the line.”
Mayhem’s arm came up around me, bringing me against his side. “You cooked and brought three dishes with you. I had already set some of this up before you arrived. We helped. And the prospects did a lot of this as part of their job. Look at who’s in line.”
I scanned it, noting it was mainly the old ladies and their men, and if they were big enough, their kids. Mayhem added onto his remarks.
“Those plates being filled are for the women and kids. The guys will go through and get theirs after they have taken care of their families. I’m simply doing the same for my woman.
You agreed to be mine, Astrid. This cookout is one of your first lessons on being with a biker in this club.
We ensure that our women and children are well cared for.
They come before us. I know that probably sounds backward from what you might’ve heard about club life, but it’s the way we do things here.
Our club friends are the same. Let me take care of you,” he whispered.
Warmth filled me. I wasn’t used to having someone care for me. The men I’d been around expected women to serve them. It was a big reason none of my past boyfriends had ever made the grade to someone serious for me. I’d hoped, but their true natures always eventually turned me off.
When Mayhem walked toward the table again, I went with him.
He picked up a plate and began asking what I wanted to eat.
There was so much to choose from, and it all looked and smelled delicious.
It was hard to pick, but I selected items. I had to watch him so he didn’t pile on a ton.
I learned that after he placed the first thing on my plate.
Those ahead of us smiled and asked how we were enjoying the day.
I was glad we were outside in the sun. Maybe they’d think the redness on my cheeks was due to that.
When they asked about us enjoying the day, my mind went straight to the make-out sessions with Mayhem.
The sexy smirk he gave me told me he was thinking about them, too.
I gave him a quelling look, but he only chuckled and winked.
After my plate was filled to the brim, Mayhem found us chairs at a semi-full table. He seated me, but he didn’t sit next to me.
“I’m going to get my food. I’ll be right back. What would you like to drink? We have any kind of alcohol you want, as well as iced tea, lemonade, water, and a variety of sodas,” he rattled off.
“I can get them while you get your food. Tell me what you want,” I offered.
Mayhem shook his head. “No, you sit there and relax. I’ll grab them on my way back. What will it be?” His stubborn jaw told me he would argue this, which was unnecessary.
“I’d like lemonade or tea, please.”
He smiled, dropped a kiss on my lips, then said, “Your wish is my command. Be back in a few. Save my seat,” he told me before he strolled off.
I scanned the table I was at. Those sitting there were smiling at me.
There was Lash with Troian, Ink with Alisse.
The other two were Crusher and Shadow. At a nearby kiddie table sat the older kids.
Ink and Alisse’s daughter, Arya, was there.
Lash held their daughter, Esme, on his lap.
She was happily allowing her daddy to feed her. She was the cutest thing.
I couldn’t help but ask, “How old is she?”
“She’s two and a half. She’ll be three on the first of December,” Troian answered. She gave her daughter such a loving look.
“She’s so adorable. So is Arya. It’s so crazy to think of this as a bikers’ world, yet see kids and so many things geared toward them,” I remarked.
“It happened after Reaper met Cheyenne, and I got with Alisse. We have friends with compounds who started before us on the baby thing, and they made a lot of adjustments we liked. So we stole their ideas,” Ink admitted.
“It certainly makes this feel more like a neighborhood rather than a bikers’ playground.”
“Wait a minute, we still play, and there are some of us who’re still single. Although you should be ashamed of yourself,” Crusher interjected.
“Why is that?” I asked, trying to determine whether he was teasing me or for real.
Mayhem was back and set our drinks down, then his plate. As he pulled out his chair, Crusher answered me.
“Because the oldest should get the woman. And I’m older than that one. I’ll be forty-one in three weeks. Mayhem is only forty. He needs to wait for his turn.” Crusher winked at me.
I chuckled at his antics. Mayhem gave him a dirty look. “Listen, I’d hate to corrupt a child, but you keep that up, and Esme will see her Uncle Crusher get his butt kicked in the ring.”
“Hey, don’t corrupt my baby girl,” Lash protested.
“Ring?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, they have one in the basement of the clubhouse. It’s part of the gym down there. When they want to work off aggression or whatever, they go down and pound it out. It’s kinda fun and hot to watch,” Alisse explained.
“So you have sweaty, shirtless, buff men going at it in the ring,” I mused.
Mayhem leaned over and whispered loudly in my ear, “No picturing what anyone looks like but me, babe. I’m the only man you can fantasize about. Anytime you want to see me that way, we don’t need to go to the ring,” he purred before he nipped my earlobe.
It sent a shiver of need through me. There was something about kissing, licking, or biting on or near my ear and neck that made me crazy. I held back my moan, barely. The others at the table smirked or chuckled. It took me several moments to respond because I had to gather my scattered thoughts.
“No worries, I’ll hold you to that,” I told him.
To prevent him from getting the upper hand, I reached over and hooked Mayhem behind the neck, lowering his head so I could bite his bottom lip. Heat ignited in his gaze.
When I let go, Mayhem gave me a commanding look. “Eat. I don’t want you getting weak on me. Tell us what you think of it all. I want to know your favorites. I’ve got some serious eating to do.”
His gesture at his plate made me glance down at it. I gasped. He had filled a large portion of it with the beans and cornbread I had made. On another plate were two large pieces of the pudding cake I brought.
“Mayhem! Did you leave any for anyone else?” I asked.
“A little. They’re lucky they got what they did.”
This remark got the others talking. The meal passed in a flurry of eating, discussing what we liked the most, and light topics such as work, the kids’ antics, and so on.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I hadn’t felt this kind of camaraderie in ages.
After a leisurely meal, I insisted on helping to put away the items that needed to remain cold.
The ladies and prospects welcomed my help.
By the time it was done, it was early evening.
The day had gotten hotter, so the pool beckoned some people back to it.