Chapter 3
Chapter three
Ironside
I couldn’t wait to visit The Bellflower again and get back to Lena. That pretty pink blush in her cheeks and the sparkle in her green eyes had taken hold of me to the point that I couldn’t think of anything else except her.
If I just wanted sex, there were a handful of bunnies who regularly drifted in and out of the clubhouse who would happily volunteer. And we had our fair share of good times.
But this was different. This was…
A nagging voice in the back of my mind knew exactly what I was feeling right now. I’d experienced it before, with my ex-fiancee, Denise. The one and only woman I had ever proposed to in my life.
And that went down in flames.
I shook my head, pushing my plate of half-eaten breakfast away. Suddenly, I didn’t have much of an appetite.
Denise had been my world, my everything. Before her, I dated around, but nothing serious. Then we met and it was an instant explosion of chemistry.
I really thought we would be together forever.
When I proposed, and she said yes, I saw my future laid out before me so clearly.
I could picture it—building a home together, raising a family, growing old side by side.
Denise would settle into club life, teasing my brothers like they were her siblings, and wearing my cut with Property of Ironside across the back.
Three months into our engagement, Denise got cold feet.
The next thing I knew, I woke up to find that she left my engagement ring on my nightstand, with a note, explaining that she simply didn’t love me enough to make it work. She packed up and slipped out in the middle of the night. And I never saw her again.
Dumping my breakfast scraps in the garbage, I braced my hands on the sink, blowing out a breath to steady myself.
That was a long time ago, I reasoned. More than twenty-five years by now.
Back then, I was a completely different person. Young, headstrong, and just getting my feet wet with The Reckless Order. Maybe there was a good reason that it didn’t work out with Denise.
Ever since she left, I hadn’t entertained any thoughts of marriage at all. I dated and fooled around, but nothing long term. Nothing remotely close to what I felt when I was with Denise.
Until I met Lena.
That woman had ignited something in my soul I thought I would never feel again.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, I thought. She hasn’t even agreed to a date yet.
I drove by The Bellflower, hoping to catch Lena before the shop opened at 9am. But a few customers had already gathered in the parking lot, lingering by the door. I didn’t want an audience when I spoke to Lena again, so I kept driving and headed to the clubhouse.
When I arrived, shouting echoed from inside. It wasn’t unusual for a brawl to break out when bikers got drunk. But it was still early in the morning. The club was usually pretty sedate at this hour.
The door opened and Psycho fled, looking like his tail was on fire.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He shook his head and climbed onto his bike.
“Married people are fucking crazy.”
Revving his engine, he took out of the parking lot, skidding on the pavement and burning rubber in his haste to escape.
With some uneasiness, I stepped into the clubhouse.
Hades and Jenny were facing off, with the bar between them. Mild-mannered, saintly Jenny with a heart of gold gripped a shotglass like a grenade, arm cocked back and ready to throw. Hades had his hands out, beseeching.
“Come on, baby,” he pleaded. “I was just surprised that your sister lost so much weight.”
“See? You practically called me a whale!”
She chucked the shotglass at his head with alarming precision. He ducked. The glass hit the wall and shattered. Glittering shards littered the floor.
“I meant it as a compliment!” Hades protested.
I sighed. Even though Hades and Jenny were technically divorced, neither of them had re-married. According to club law, that meant they were still husband and wife.
And they certainly acted like it.
For the most part, they got along just fine. Especially when the kids were around. Hell, I’d even caught Hades and Jenny making out in the parking lot on more than one occasion.
But there were other times—like right now—when it was clear why Hades and Jenny split up in the first place.
Jenny narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice, advancing on Hades. He took a few hurried steps to the side, keeping the bar safely between them for protection.
“If you even think about sleeping with my sister…”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Hades replied quickly. “You are more than enough to keep me satisfied, honey.”
“Don’t call me that,” Jenny snapped. “I’m not your honey anymore, remember?”
Hades—the idiot—grinned with a smug look.
“You seemed to enjoy it last night when you were gushing all over my—”
Jenny shrieked with fury. She sent another shotglass sailing through the air. I swore under my breath and skirted along the edge of the room, dodging projectiles in search of safety.
“You insufferable, pig-headed, arrogant—” Jenny spat.
“Don’t forget good-looking,” Hades put in.
Jenny’s eyes flashed. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey, rearing back to let it fly.
I drew the line at that. There would be no liquor casualties on my watch. Leaping forward, I swiped the bottle from her grip.
“That’s enough from both of you,” I said. “Take your domestic tiff somewhere else, all right?”
Jenny calmed down, looking chastened. She crossed her arms and scowled at Hades.
“I’m changing the locks on the house today,” she said. “So, you better not expect to just waltz in like you always do.”
Then she marched out the door. Hades scrubbed a hand through his hair with a sigh. I set the whiskey bottle safely back on the shelf, no harm done.
“Jenny is the sweetest, most patient woman I’ve ever met,” I said. “And I’m pretty sure you are the only man on this planet who can piss her off like that.”
He shrugged.
“It’s a talent, I guess.”
I retrieved the broom and dust pan from the janitor’s closet in the hall. Then I shoved them into Hades’s chest.
“Your ex-wife, your mess. You get to clean it up.”
Hades didn’t protest as he started sweeping up the broken glass.
“She doesn’t mean it, you know.”
“What? That you’re insufferable, pig-headed, and arrogant? I think she hit the target dead center in that regard, brother.”
He huffed a dry laugh of amusement.
“I was talking about changing the locks. My Jenny has been threatening to do that ever since the divorce seven years ago. But she never follows through.”
“She might surprise you one day,” I pointed out.
Hades went quiet. The only sound in the room was the tinkle of glass and the swish-swish of the broom on the hardwood floor.
After the divorce was finalized and the papers were signed, it brought Hades to the lowest point of his life. He barely touched food for weeks. All he did was sit in one of the back rooms of the clubhouse with the blinds drawn, drinking.
We finally managed to pry him out of there and bring him back to the land of the living with the rest of us. But he never fully accepted the reality of his divorce. Which was obvious since he still referred to his ex-wife as my Jenny.
“I bet you’re counting your lucky stars that you didn’t get married, huh?” Hades said, dumping the broken glass in the garbage.
I said nothing.
If I was honest, enduring the wrath of a wife didn’t deter me.
I knew marriage wasn’t sunshine and rainbows all the time.
But I would be more than willing to weather the fights and arguments if it meant I got to experience the bliss of holding my wife in my arms, kissing her every morning, and fucking her deep into the mattress at night.
I thought I would have that life with Denise. Obviously, I was wrong.
Lena’s face filled my mind, with her lashes lowered and her cheeks flushed as I kissed her wrist.
I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions, especially since I hadn’t even asked her out properly yet. Technically, she hadn’t said yes, either.
But maybe…maybe the chance to become a married man hadn’t passed me by yet after all.
Parking outside The Bellflower around noon, I watched and waited for the shop to empty out. Lena was visible through the front display window, arranging flowers in a vintage watering can in a cascade of color.
I rubbed at my chest, trying to ease the aching tightness of hope there. At last, she was alone, and it was now or never.
Crossing the parking lot, I kept my eyes locked on her until I reached the door and stepped inside.
“Hi, welcome to The Bellfl—” Lena started, automatically.
Then she glanced up and broke off when she saw me standing by the door. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“It’s you,” she said softly, with a hint of surprise in her voice.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t show?”
She gave a thoughtful hum, shifting in place. The tip of her tongue flicked out, wetting her lips.
“I…I’m not sure what I expected. You might have walked out that door and forgotten all about me.”
I scoffed and shook my head.
“Not a chance, petal.”
Her cheeks went pink. I moved closer, eliminating the distance between us, until I caught the faint, delicate scent of her rose perfume.
“Petal?” she squeaked.
“It suits you, doesn’t it?” I replied. “You’re soft and pink, just like those flowers you love. And you smell like heaven.”
A flustered smile flickered across Lena’s lips and she turned her head away.
I reached out and slid my palm over the plush curve of her hip, smoothing down to the small of her back.
Her gaze darted to me with a gasp as I pulled her flush against me.
Her pupils dilated, beautiful and dark with arousal.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
I guided her hand around the back of my neck, encouraging her to touch me, claim me.
“The one thing I wanted to do before we were interrupted last time.”
Burying my fingers in her silky hair, I tilted Lena’s head up to kiss her. She gasped against my mouth, parting her lips. Her breasts swelled against my chest on a sharp intake of breath. Her grip on the back of my neck tightened.
God, I would give anything to get my hand under her skirt. To taste the way she moaned for me when she was dripping down my fingers as I kissed her deeper. Or feel the way her pussy clenched when my tongue was in her mouth.
But she was a fragile little thing. I couldn’t spook her.
Instead, I took her free hand and encouraged her to explore. Pushing inside my cut, I pressed her palm to my chest. She eagerly trailed her fingers everywhere.
Despite her shyness, she wasted no time unbuttoning my shirt and getting to my skin.
She teased lightly along my ribs until she found a ticklish spot that made me flinch.
Her feathery light touch spanned across the tattoos on my chest and down my torso, dipping dangerously low toward my belt before she skittered away.
I pulled her even tighter against me, molding her perfect body to mine. Lena melted as my mouth moved against hers. She tasted like strawberries and honey and the sweetest vanilla cream. And I couldn’t get enough, hungry for more. Hungry for everything she was willing to give me.
She broke away too soon, touching her tender lips as she rested her forehead against mine.
“Wow. No one…I’ve never been kissed like that before.”
Pride swelled in my chest.
“Does that mean you’ll have dinner with me? Tonight, seven o’clock. At the Old Spruce Pub.”
Lena pulled back just far enough to look at me. Her green eyes roamed over my face, slightly bewildered and a little guarded, like I was an alien and she was trying to figure out what planet I came from.
“Well, it’s…it’s been a while since I’ve dated. I might not be great company. I’ve just been so busy with the shop and—”
I let her ramble without interruption for a moment. Then I dipped my head and silenced her with another kiss. Not quite so deep this time. Just a chaste, lingering peck on the lips.
“You have to use your words, petal. I can’t do anything unless I know exactly what you want. Is that a yes? Or a no?”
Lena bit her lower lip to hide a small pleased smile. Her fingers idly followed the outline of my VP patch.
“Yes,” she replied, without a hint of hesitation this time. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”