Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
LINDY
After I got out of the shower, Wes was gone.
I kept myself busy all morning, helping Shannon and Lucy with a bunch of housekeeping chores around the clubhouse. I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from him, but around midday, he texted that he’d come by to pick me up for the party at seven and to be ready.
A buzz filled my veins the rest of the afternoon like a wild electrical current over which I had no control. I remained mesmerized by the memories of this morning. The way he’d touched me. Kissed me. Reveled in me. His words, and the look in his eyes.
This morning I’d woken up with my body circled tight around Wes’s, and it felt good . Then the sight of him stroking himself in bed, his thick cock stiffening in his hand, his eyes melting, made me lose my mind. I’d touched his warm skin, and I was gone, consumed. The things he’d said…
Desire for him had overwhelmed me.
He’d wanted to me to ride his face, and I didn’t hesitate. I rode his face. I came. I came so hard. Then he’d held me and told me I was beautiful and my heart soared. But when he’d said “mission accomplished,” I’d slammed back down to earth.
His remark sounded glib, but he was pointing out the practical, which was what he thought I wanted. Because that’s what I’d told him I wanted
And when he’d jumped out of bed, looked me in the eye and stated his truth—a moment I will never forget in my entire life—I was blown away. Brutal truth , like he’d told Finger. Truth I’d always wanted.
Truth I needed to own up to one hundred percent.
Instead, I’d freaked out. Those years-old knee jerk defensive responses of mine still had me in their claws, and I’d ran into the bathroom.
After a late lunch with the girls, I went next door to see if Grace needed help in the Eagle Wings office. There was no hope of seeing Wes because I’d heard his bike take off over an hour ago.
I helped Grace answer phones and file paperwork and handle requests from the men in the shop and all kinds of deliveries. On the wall over the cabinet, I took in the photos of finished cars and bikes and their pleased owners, and lots of old photos of One-Eyed Jacks from years ago repairing their choppers in a simple shed with the sign “Wreck’s Repair” hanging overhead. The humble beginnings of Eagle Wings.
Grace clicked off her phone. “Lindy, I’m so glad you showed up when you did. Thank you for pitching in. I’d just gotten on my phone for a meeting, and suddenly, the house phone blew up.”
“I’m glad I could help.” I closed a file folder and put it on top of the others on the cabinet.
She pushed her chair back from her desk and stretched her legs. “You hanging in there? I promise you both the Jacks and the Flames are doing their best to find your dad and bring him home.”
“I know they are.”
“It must be difficult for you to be here at another club.”
“It is, a little.”
“I saw that Wes brought you over yesterday. I’m glad you have him on your side at a time like this.”
I shifted my weight, my skin heating.
Sitting up, Grace touched my arm. “Honey, I don’t mean to put you on the spot.”
“You’re not. It’s…uh…it’s just…”
She grinned at me. “Complicated?”
I only let out a nervous laugh.
“When I was your age, I was going through a rough time with my family—actually, with my sister. My parents weren’t around. I was alone and had to stay at the club for a bit too. I felt like the world was slipping out from under me.”
“Exactly that.” I sat on the chair by her desk.
“If it wasn’t for one special guy, a Jack, who stood up for me, made sure I was safe, I don’t know what would have happened to me. Made all the difference in the world knowing he was on my side. That I belonged.” She let out a small laugh. “Then he changed my life forever.”
“Was that your first husband? Wes showed me an old photo of the two of you.”
“Mmm. It was only years later, when I came back to Meager, that I realized that we’re the ones throwing roadblocks into the mix.” I followed her gaze outside to where Lock was showing a newly refurbished motorcycle to the owner who’d come to pick it up. A smile lit up her features. “How we feel isn’t a complication. It’s the clear and true path.”
My heart thudded in my chest as last night came roaring back to me. When Wes had declared that he couldn’t fake it with me, I’d brushed him off because of my great plan, but he didn’t let it go. “Maybe you’re scared of what’s happening between us. It’s easy to put on a show. You feel safe faking it, don’t you?” He was right. I did feel safe faking it. He’d battered at that castle wall I’d carefully built around my heart all these years.
I was scared of all this between us finally being real, being so good, because for so long it had been the impossible dream that I loved and loathed with equal fervor. In my mind, Wes had become my greatest mistake and my greatest failure.
After Wes, after my mom passing, I’d forced myself to control my emotions. Where men were concerned, I gave up on dreams and hopes and only expected games and lies.
Faking with men had become my new normal. Bold on the outside, faking it on the inside, and always getting myself out real quick. I’d been pleased with myself; I was in control and taking care of me.
But after Mom died I’d even faked with Dad, hadn’t I? Never being honest about how truly upset I was, how frustrated, how much I needed him, because I didn’t want to burden him. Instead, I soldiered on, like he did. But that didn’t work for me, did it? It only frustrated me, and frankly, frustrated him, too.
Where had all this gotten me? Lonely. Bitter. Full of regret.
“It’s already time to get a move on.” Grace grabbed her handbag and her sunglasses. “Will we be seeing you at the party tonight, Lindy?”
My lips tipped up as I rose from the chair. “I’ll be there.”
“Lindy, you’re amazing. Thank you.” In the mirror, Shannon admired the eye makeup I’d applied on her. Shimmery duo-chrome purple eyeliner with more blue around the contour of her eyes, along with a pink wing at the sides. Tiny rhinestone-like glitter dotted her upper brow.
Lucy had red glittery eyeliner with a gold wing at the sides. Lucy hugged me. “I love it.”
“My pleasure, believe me. I’m so glad you guys like it.”
“You’re fucking good at this,” said Lucy.
I checked my face in the mirror. My metallic silver eyeliner looked good with the dark-red lip. I swooshed the highlighter brush across my cheekbones and my upper chest one last time. I was my casual but fancy self in tight black jeans, high-heeled boots, a lot of jewelry, a silky scarf wrapped around my hair, and of course, my makeup was top-notch glowy glam.
A knock came at the door. One of the prospects. “You guys ready? Time to scoot.”
“We’re ready.” Lucy checked herself out in the mirror one last time.
Shouts and hoots exploded down the hallway, sharp whistles slicing through the air. “Yo, Lindy!” Bear’s voice boomed. “Prince Charming is here!”
The girls grinned at me as we left my room, and I shot them back a smile. Only I wasn’t truly feeling that smile. The tightening in my stomach as we headed down the hallway to the lounge told me how facing Wes after this morning’s orgasmathon and slight tiff had me anxious.
“Lindyyyyy! Where are you?” Bear hollered.
The girls and I got to the lounge, and everyone moved aside like a sea parting for me. My breath lodged in my chest.
Wes stood on the opposite side of the lounge looking…fucking amazing. Black motorcycle boots, and lean black trousers that fit him so precisely. A printed dress shirt with a silver design on it, unbuttoned down his spectacular chest covered in his tattoos and several heavy silver necklaces. A perfectly-cut black jacket that matched the trousers. Silver and black rings on his fingers, and small silver hoops in both ears.
My body wavered, and my brain stuttered. My insides blazed, sending flames licking over every inch of my flesh .
His eyes narrowed as he took me in, those unforgettable lips of his now twisted. Lips that had been on me this morning. Lips I knew so well. Lips I craved.
Wes’s cool gaze flicked over me from head to toe, sending chills racing over my heated flesh. I dug the stiletto heels of my boots into the floor as a hot vibrational hum blasted through me at full force. Only Wes, be he the rugged hoodie and jeans version or this cold edgy alpha (in an incredible sophisticated black suit!) version, had the power to make me melt, blush, tremble.
And come.
Alpha hot man, indeed. I swallowed hard, but it was no use, I couldn’t steel myself against the magnificence that was this man, and I didn’t want to anymore. Didn’t have to. No. More.
Everyone stared at us. Grinning, waiting, a dizzying current buzzing around the lounge.
I lifted my chin. “Where’s my corsage?”
Wes’s eyes widened. “Your what ?” Everyone burst into laughter.
A grin twitched over my lips. “It feels like you’re picking me up for the prom.”
Wes’s lips tightened, but no grin. “The prom that never was, huh?”
Something in my chest pinched. He remembered. When we were seeing each other back in high school, Wes had promised to take me to my prom and to his. But it had all been a lie. A lie that I had counted on, daydreamed about. Spent hours fantasizing about.
But now, I could dream again.
My back straightened as I strode toward him with everyone silently watching us, my boots making a dink dink sound on the floor in the loaded silence. I got close, and Wes’s chest expanded on a big inhale, his spicy woody cologne filled my senses. All man.
I slid my hand in his and smiled softly at him. “This is way better.”
His gaze shot down to our joined hands. “Is it?” His voice was a hoarse whisper.
I squeezed his hand in mine. “Most definitely.”
His jaw still tight, he met my gaze again. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. You look fantastic. Handsome, in fact.”
“Are you saying I’m not usually handsome?” He let loose a smile, which sent an electric jab through my suddenly wobbly insides.
“You’re always cute?—”
“Cute?” His lips twisted.
“And sexy and very hot. This is sophisticated and edgy handsome.” I touched the edge of his black jacket and a familiar luxury French designer logo flashed at me from the inside. “Whoa. You’re going all out on your clothes.”
He let out a chuckle. “All of this was a gift from Beck. Didn’t think I’d ever wear it, but here we are.”
“I’m glad you did.” My gaze raked down his chest and his long legs to his boots. “It’s perfect on you, especially with your boots and all the silver.” I fingered the wallet chain hanging from his pants.
Our gazes locked and held, and that internal hum got louder. Mesmerized all right.
“Let’s roll out!” Bear’s booming voice snapped me and Wes to rigid attention. Bear marched out of the clubhouse and we all followed.
Outside, Wes handed me a lid, and fastening it on, I climbed on the back of his bike like the proverbial ol’ lady. This was my life. The life I knew. Only this time I wasn’t my parents’ kid on the sidelines anymore. I was in it.
Wes took off in the middle of the convoy of Harleys toward the center of town. I held on to him, a slow grin growing on my lips. Me and Wes. On a bike. Like years ago. But I wasn’t that bright-eyed innocent, and Wes was no longer that angry rebel with the nefarious cause. Now we were adults making choices.
Adults shadowed with sadness and regrets but reaching for something better.
We glided over the winding road through the forested hills, riding in the center of the Jacks. My body leaned against Wes as he commandeered his Harley. The Jacks were not my father’s brothers, yet I felt accepted, a member of their family somehow.
“I belonged,” Grace had said.
With Dad missing, I clung to those feelings of acceptance and comfortable, soaking them up through the intense vibration and roar of the chrome monster underneath us and the thundering of all the bikes surrounding us, soaking them up through Wes. As we zoomed over the blacktop my body curled around his.
The cool wind pummeled me, and the crisp air scented with resinous woods that were almost sweet filled me up. My gaze took in the cathedral of evergreens on the high hills surrounding us. Meager was so beautiful, so different from all the many remote Wyoming and Nebraska small towns of my past that had blurred into one quiet, dusty strip of aged stores and nondescript houses surrounded by farmland or flat, empty prairies. They had their own austere appeal, but this…
This was truly beautiful, stirring something new inside me.
The road descended, and suddenly the wall of forest broke and the peaks of buildings and roofs were finally visible. The sun set in the distance, its rich orange glow a ball of fire in the sky over the ridge of evergreens that enclosed Meager.
Slowing our speed, Wes got us onto Clay Street, and I sat up straighter. The old fashioned street lamps had just flicked on, brightening the street along with the lights glowing from every shop. There was traffic, vehicle and pedestrian. The town was crowded this evening with people strolling and window shopping on a breezy summer’s evening. Cocktail hour at Pete’s Tavern. Dinner time at the Bay Leaf.
And party time at the town’s tattoo shop, Trash Ink, whose neon signs lit up the freshly-painted white brick building outside and in, along with multi-colored lights strung up on its corner location, creating a party space outside. I was sure Alicia must have had to wrangle town permission for that, and she’d gotten her way.
A crowd of boisterous people had already spilled out onto the street, rock music filling the air. The roaring blast of our motorcycles had everyone spinning around, smiling, waving, a few scowling. Luckily, we all found parking down the side streets. Locking down his bike, Wes took my hand and we charged up Clay with the Jacks crew. My pulse pounded along with our quick pace and with the feeling that Wes and I were on a date.
“By the way—” He slung an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close, and I let out a small gasp at the sudden movement. “I’m all set for tonight.” He lowered his voice. “My truck is ready for us on the outskirts of the clubhouse.”
“You’re still into going?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He kept his attention ahead, not meeting my gaze.
My hand went to his chest. “Thank you, Wes.”
We got to the shop, and the people partying on the sidewalk turned and stared at us. A couple of women my age frowned, spotting Wes with his arm around me.
“I think your fan club is disappointed.”
“They’ll survive.”
We cut our way through the crowd to get inside the shop.
“Wes! There he is!” Jams, a tattoo artist who worked on Lenore, darted over.
“Hey, man, you know, Lindy?”
“Hey, Lindy. You work for Lenore, right?” asked Jams. “I’ve seen you around.”
“That’s me. You do amazing work, Jams.”
“Thanks.” His grin deepened. “When are you coming over for some work?”
“I—”
“She’s mine. Only I get to touch her skin.”
My heart jerked in my chest, and Jams raised his hands in the air, his freckled face blushing. “Message received loud and clear, bro.”
I forced a laugh to release the tension. Alpha Man mode had been engaged.
Jams handed us beers.
“Thanks. To the shop!” I raised my bottle.
“To the shop!” the men said.
I swallowed down a gulp. It had been so long since I’d been to any kind of party, and here I was with Wes. Definite date vibes. The teenage girl in me squealed and happy danced in delight.
I reminded myself not to drink much more. Sure, I’d love to catch a buzz to take my current edge off, but I didn’t want to pay for that pleasure with sluggishness later on as tonight was game night.
I’d never heard back from Minty. Had he gone to the Dip already? Could he even get away from the clubhouse? I knew if I told him what I was planning he’d freak and find a way to stop me, so I didn’t tell him.
Wes steered me through the crowd. “Let me introduce you to Ronny.” Another group of young women’s faces brightened at the sight of Wes then dimmed at the sight of me with Wes.
Alicia had her arms around a tall, robust, older man with longish hair pulled back in a ponytail, earrings along his one ear, tats swirling around his neck and down his chest, chains around his jeans. A blazer over a shop T-shirt.
“Sweetheart, hey.” Alicia beamed at Wes and beamed light on me too. “Lindy, so good to see you, hon. You look fantastic. So good to see you here together.” She hugged me.
Approval formally bestowed.
“Thanks, Alicia. Congratulations on the shop’s anniversary. It looks incredible tonight.”
“Thank you, hon.”
“Hey, Ronny—” Wes touched the man’s arm. “Want you to meet my girl, Lindy.”
My heart expanded and squeezed all at once. My girl. Did he say that to make a show of being in a relationship, for the strategy? Maybe, but it damn well sounded good, landing straight in my chest and melting there. Felt good, too.
“Hey, Lindy.” Ronny took my hand, and Alicia’s smile got wider and brighter. “Great to meet you. Heard a lot about you.”
“Great to meet you too, Ronny. I’ve been over here a few times with Lenore, but I never got to meet you. Congratulations on the store’s anniversary, to both of you.”
“Thank you. I want you to know, I’m praying and hoping your dad comes home real soon. That’s got to be real rough on you. I’ve met your dad a number of times and he’s one tough man.”
“He sure is.”
Ronny leaned in closer to me. “A man doesn’t get his road name for an ice pick for nothing, now does he?”
“He certainly does not.” I grinned. “Speaking of which, he loved how you improved on his original ice pick tat a few months ago. Your sense of detail is beyond.”
His eyes lit up. “Thanks. Appreciate that.”
Wes introduced me to Jet, a gorgeous raven-haired tattoo artist he worked with, and we hung out with her and Rachel. Jams came over and he took off with the girls to check on party supplies. Wes leaned into me. “You’re not drinking your beer. Need a soda?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
Wes dove back into the crowd and headed for the drinks corner. As he waited for the bartender at the front reception desk, a woman chatted him up. She was gorgeous. Tall, athletic body. Great makeup. Maybe she was a dancer at the local strip club?
My stomach twisted as I remembered what Zo? had told me about Wes dating lots of pretty girls all the time. I’d bet Wes was a popular man over at the strip club. A handsome grin lit his face as she spoke, but the second he got our drinks, he disengaged and came right over.
I let out a laugh as he handed me my soda. “Thank you.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Everywhere you go, you’ve got a fan club.”
He only shrugged and sipped his beer. No comeback.
“It’s a sure sign,” I said.
“Of what?”
“An Alpha hottie who leaves a potent scent trail behind him, leaving all in his wake swooning.”
“You don’t have to flirt with me, Lindy.”
“What?” My shoulders tensed.
“I don’t want any more misunderstandings between us. I made myself clear last night and this morning, but if that’s not what you want, that’s not what you want. So, this, now, tonight —” He wagged his index finger between us. “—is all about the strategy, right?”
My brow furrowed.
“That’s what you said, isn’t it? That’s what you want?”
I only twisted my lips. Words jumbled in my brain.
“Excuse me?” He tilted his head. “What was that?”
“That is what I said, but–”
“I must admit, you’re right.”
“I am? About…”
“The strategy. Good call. I’m committed to the plan for later tonight, and I know you are too, so we need to see this through for that to work smoothly.” Taking a long pull from his beer bottle, he pressed me in tight to his side. His hand lazed down the slope of my hip to my rear, sending blazes of fire over every inch of my body. His lips brushed the side of my face. “You smell good. Feel even better.”
A shiver went through my middle. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“I am, because I like being close to you, 'cause I’m feeling it.” His lips brushed my temple. “We made it obvious to the club, now we got to do it for the whole town—” Turning me, he took my mouth.
My pulse jerked, my clit throbbed. “Wes?—”
His tongue dove deep, a ringed hand sliding around my neck, keeping me close.
Holy. Shit.
“How was that?” he said against my lips.
“Huh? Oh.” I swallowed hard. “That was g-good.”
“Good? That’s all you got for me?”
“Amazing.”
His thumb rubbed across my swollen lips as a sly grin prickled over his features. I knew what was coming.
“Don’t say it, Wes. Don’t…”
“So amazing, babe ,” he purred on a chuckle as he leaned back against the wall, his arm casually slung over my shoulders. “I get it now, Lindy. I do. It’s easy for you to tease and take the reins. You dig that. You like the control.”
I stilled. My face heated.
“You don’t have to answer, because I know the answer. No one can threaten you in your bubble.” He took my hand in his, gently brushing my skin with his soft, warm lips. A moan rose in my throat. “Funny thing though, Lind, that’s usually a guy issue. Yet, you outdo us all.”
I bowed my head. “So honored you think so, especially coming from Meager’s most sought after young stud. All the sighing and fluttering of eyelashes in here has made me positively dizzy.”
His lips tipped up. “Mmm. I should take credit for your tough as nails bubble. I’m the one who put that defense mode there, right?” That muscle along his jaw flexed.
“Wes, hi! Great to see you!” a young blonde chirped at his side.
He turned, his hand releasing me from its firm grip. “Hey, Debbie.” His voice brightened, a smile forming on those sensual lips.
My lips.
My fingers curled into his fabulous French suit jacket, and with a tug, I swiveled him back toward me and took his mouth, my body surging against his. His hand cupped the back of my head as he moaned down my throat. I swallowed that moan like I’d swallowed his cum. With determination, with longing. Lust and hunger.
Wes was mine.