Epilogue
EPILOGUE
S ix weeks later, I stood in the expanded VIP area with my arms crossed over my chest surveying my kingdom. If you told me a year ago I’d be running one of the biggest strip clubs in Tijuana or one of the largest earners for the Royal Bastards I would’ve said you were fuckin’ crazy.
But here I was loving every minute with a good woman at my side and a group of brothers who were far from perfect—which made them just right. Perfection was highly overrated especially when you were talking about an outlaw MC clawing our way out against all odds.
We hired the same crew who handled the original renovations to enlarge the first floor including the VIP area with Ricky overseeing the job. Then we added rooms for private dances, a larger storeroom for the liquor, and a secluded space for our weekly church meetings.
Manny had his own office where he put his accounting skills into practice and installed four monitors, each one surveying different parts of the club.
Marisol nudged me jogging me out of my thoughts. “You should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished. ”
I smiled down at my petite spitfire because in a roundabout way without her none of this would’ve happened. “I’m proud of us .” I tugged her to my side and extended my arm around the room. “All of us. There wasn’t one fuckin’ person in our corner when we landed in Tijuana, and yet here we are stronger than ever.”
“It’s definitely a combined effort, but you were the driving force. You and Blood are the ones everyone runs to when there’s trouble.”
Trouble. We sure as shit knew about that.
After the ambush at Rico’s villa the other cartel bosses in Mexico came out of the woodwork with their hands out expecting what they considered their fair share. We sat in on a few tense meetings, one where guns were drawn until Manny stepped in and declared himself the reigning heir of Rico’s holdings. Seemed even though Manny hated his father, he listened when he explained the workings of the cartel. Manny also knew all the players and where they fit into this intricate chess game.
In the end, the other members of the cartel agreed to let the Royal Bastards prosper in Tijuana promising we would keep our hands off any and all of their enterprises. We still made sure we covered our backs, but for now it was a working arrangement agreed on by all.
Shit, with the money we confiscated from Rico’s villa, our chapter was set for a good long time. I’d already talked to Jameson about plans of bringing The Tropics to other cities in Mexico.
Tonight’s invitation only party celebrated Bolt, Ricky, Manny, and Diesel becoming official members of the Royal Bastards. Jameson sanctioned the new members and even used words like proud and nice job. Sounds crazy that a hard ass like me got off on it, but I did. Making my club and my chapter prez happy meant a lot, and fuck me, but I couldn’t deny it .
Marisol and I fell into an easy arrangement and after the night at Rico’s villa, she never left my side. She had her silent moments as she worked through shit, but her strength blew me away, plus her first-rate ideas for making the club more upscale. She’d done some research on mixology and crafting cocktails, then taught the other bartenders how to make these exotic drinks featuring a different one every night. I never would’ve believed it could be a success in a strip club, but the tourists loved it, and even the locals were enjoying it.
Just give me a shot glass and a bottle of Jack, but the customers came just to watch Marisol and her staff flip bottles and pour these different concoctions. She also managed the bar which included keeping track of the other bartenders and their schedules, along with ordering and invoicing all the liquor deliveries. It turned out she loved interacting with the customers and making sure everyone was happy on both sides of the bar.
“Big night, got to get back to work.” Marisol leaned up for a kiss then headed behind the bar.
Yup, I was one lucky fucker.
“Well brother, who the fuck would’ve believed it.” Blood slapped me on the back. “When we walked in this place six months ago the whole damn place was a fallin’ down rat trap and now . . . Gotta say, you waded through some deep shit with this one.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you, brother.”
“Ahhh, fuck, you’re not gonna kiss me, are you?” Blood did some air boxing and of course I fake punched him, but in the end he was a true brother.
I jerked my head toward Diesel and Bolt on the other side of the room. “I think we got a pretty good crew.”
“Muy bien.”
“Nice to see your new se?orita is teaching you more than just ‘fuck me now’ and ‘fuck me harder’. ”
“You’re not gonna think you’re so funny when I’m speaking fluent Spanish.”
“You can’t speak fluent English, so I’m not too worried.”
Blood shoulder-butted me. “Blow me.”
“I’m surprised you don’t know that one too.”
Blood huffed out a deep laugh, then sobered. “Manny never comes out of the office. Hard to believe anybody can crunch numbers like him.”
“Never saw anybody like numbers like him. All that finessing the money is gonna come in handy when we start making steady shipments up to the States.”
I turned my head toward the bar and Blood followed my gaze. “Your woman’s got it all together too.”
“She likes people and she knows how to handle them. Fuckin’ amazing.”
“About time you told her that.”
Blood’s words rattled around in my head. My woman. That’s how all the guys referred to Marisol and I liked it. Now, I just had to put what I wanted to say to her into words. Not so easy for a guy who’s spent most of his life pushing his emotions down or just ignoring them.
A fter two hours of non-stop partying we were running low on tequila, so I eased under the bridge of the service bar and pulled the keys to the storeroom out of my pocket. Everybody came to Mexico to drink tequila and this party was no different.
For the first time in weeks, Smoke seemed truly relaxed, and I loved seeing him happy and having fun with the other guys instead of worrying about me or the club. Thankfully, my wound healed and he got the cast off his hand last week. The doctor said we both made complete recoveries which considering what went down, made it even more remarkable.
I released the lock on the storeroom door and a large body shadowed me, then growled in my ear, “Need some help?”
“Just trying to do my job, but some big biker is crowding my space.”
“Mmmmm, I like the sound of that.” Smoke nudged me into the storeroom and let the door ease closed behind us.
“You do realize we’re slammed with people three deep at the bar. Most of them waiting for tequila.”
“Let ‘em fuckin’ wait.” Smoke caged me in against the metal shelves holding the liquor. His broad hands skimmed my waist, then gripped my ass and lifted placing me on an empty counter off to the side. My pulse pounded in my ears in anticipation and my heart skittered faster. Reactions becoming all too familiar when I was in Smoke’s presence, but there were still issues to work out . . .
Issues I felt we should talk about. Issues I’d wished he’d open up about, but whenever I asked him about the meeting with my father, or anything regarding what happened at the villa, he would shut it down. He refused to talk about his emotions of that horrible day which left us with stilted conversation.
He nuzzled my neck and mumbled, “Now that you’re all healed up I can’t keep my hands off you.”
I’d had enough of him treating me like fragile glass about to crack at any moment. I wanted the tough guy, bad boy who’d stop at nothing when it came to sex. Being worshipped was great, just not all the time, and now that we were both fully recovered from our injuries, and alone in a small room . . . no time like the present—even if he would hate my timing.
“I think it’s time we have an actual conversation about what happened at the villa and about how we feel.”
He jerked away from me. “Now?”
“Even Manny and I discussed what happened, but you’ve put me off with one lame excuse after the other.”
He took a half-step back and glanced around the room, then zeroed in on me. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Fine. Then I’ll start. When Manny told me the truth about what my father did to my mother, I couldn’t believe it, but deep down I knew he was telling the truth, so I confronted my father. At first, he denied it, but then his ego got the best of him. I couldn’t believe the cavalier way he excused his murderous actions. Then he brought you into the picture and I became frantic with worry. If he murdered his own wife, he’d have no qualms about ending your life.” I shuddered and Smoke reached out to me but I held him off. I needed to get this all out.
“All I could think about was getting out of his office and warning you, but he locked me in with his guards who took away my phone. The panic, the worry overwhelmed me, but I knew I had to fight back.” My voice caught, but I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. “And I did.”
“Not necessary, babe. I know all this already.”
“When I entered the foyer and saw you at gunpoint I realized . . .”
Smoke cocked his head.
“I realized how much I cared about you and what it would mean if anything happened to you.”
“Believe me, I get it.”
“But you’re not ready or willing to express it or tell me how it all made you feel?”
“I just . . . I never learned how to talk about shit as a kid. I did learn opening my mouth at the wrong time or saying the wrong thing earned me a punch in the face. Probably one of the main reasons I’m such a good cage fighter. Getting hit and batted around didn’t mean anything to me, but I’m shit poor at talking about my feelings.”
“But you definitely have feelings. I saw your eyes when my father held his gun to my head. I even saw through the tough guy acting like you hated me. So why don’t you just get it out so we can move forward.”
Smoke pushed away from the counter and paced in front of me in the small storeroom. “You want me to get it out.” He grabbed a fifth of tequila and pitched it against the opposite wall. The bottle exploded sending shards of glass to the concrete floor. “How’s that? Is that good enough for you? Is that what you wanna see?”
“I want to see anything that makes you feel better. Remember I’m the daughter of one of the most feared members of the cartel. I don’t scare easily—but I think you know that already.”
“My heart almost stopped seeing that bastard holding you hostage. I could’ve easily dropped him, but I didn’t want you to have that image in your head, cause no matter what, Rico was still your father.”
He stopped pacing and faced me. “Then Manny came in and the fucked up situation got worse. All I could think about was getting you outta there and to safety. You bleeding out on the floor of the van gutted me.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I had my damn hand slammed in a metal cargo door and I didn’t even feel it cause I was so worried about you.”
He braced his palms on either side of the counter, our faces only inches apart. “Cause if anything happened to you I wouldn’t be able to function.”
I opened my arms and he leaned into my embrace. He held me tight and we stayed like that for a few long minutes, then I pulled back slightly.
“Thank you.” I smiled up at him. “For finally admitting you’re human. ”
“How dare you call me human.” He pulled a goofy face, but I saw right through him.
I cupped his stubbled jaw. “I know how hard that was for you, and I appreciate you opening up to me. I also know you have to put on a front and act like a leader, but you never have to put on a facade for me. With me you can always be, just you.”
His eyes narrowed. “You sure about that?”
“Always.”
“How on fuckin’ earth did I get so damn lucky?” Smoke braced his arm around my waist and hoisted me off the counter. “Give me the keys.”
I dug them out of my pocket and handed them to him. He grabbed up my hand and we headed out of the storeroom and into the main room of the club.
“Hey, Ricky.” Smoke tossed him the keys and he caught them in mid-air. “You’re the beverage manager for the night.”
“Right, boss.”
“Let’s go.” He led me down the back hallway then angled us toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” I protested halfway up the stairs. “They need more tequila, and I have to make sure they have enough limes, fill the ice bins, and put out the mixers for the specialty drinks.” I stopped at the top of the landing. “I just can’t leave on a busy night like tonight.”
“Sure you can, cause you’re with the boss.” He nudged me down the upstairs hallway.
“Boss?” I cocked my head. “Really?”
“Yeah, with the guys I’m the boss. With you, hell no—except tonight. Tonight you’re gonna do everything I say, and believe me you won’t be disappointed.”
A shiver shimmied up my spine as Smoke unlocked the apartment door, bundled me inside, then kicked it closed with his booted foot. A minute later, he hoisted me up, stumbled us into the bedroom, and crashed us to the bed. His eyes narrowed, his lips parted and when he leaned over me I heard a growl in the back of his throat.
“I hope you’re ready for me cause after treating you like a fragile princess for the last few weeks . . . I’m fuckin’ amped.”
I opened my arms for him, but he pushed back, and eased my shorts over my thighs. He focused on my side for a second. “It looks pretty good.”
“I told you. It’s completely healed.”
“Good.” He grabbed the hem of my tank top and yanked it over my head, then smiled. “Love knowing you’re strutting around down there without a bra. All those suckers drooling over you, and knowing you’re mine.”
“That’s right, all yours.”
I snuck my hand under his t-shirt. “No fair. I’m naked and you’re still dressed.”
“Just the way I like it.” His grin widened. “Love having you spread out for me.”
“You really enjoy being a bad boy don’t you?” I teased, and prayed he wouldn’t stop there.
“Only with you, babe.”
He lowered his head to my pebbled nipples and drew one into his mouth, then the other. My back arched and he smoothed his hand over my hip, then cupped my core, dipping one and then two fingers into my heat.
His fingers kept time with his tongue and I could feel the pressure build. Amazing, the man could bring me to this point and we hadn’t even had sex yet. I dug my nails into his back and he growled against my tender flesh, then laved the skin with his tongue.
He raised his head, removed his fingers and sucked on them. “ Fuckin’ sweet, babe.” He nudged my thighs apart and bit the inside of my thigh, and when I yelped he bit the other one too.
He buried his head between my legs and sucked on my clit, his stubbled jaw rasping against my thighs setting off all kinds of shock waves. He stuck his tongue deep, then clamped down hard and I exploded in his mouth.
“Ahhhh,” I moaned out unable to control the glorious sensations.
Smoke raised his head with a devilish grin. “And that’s only the beginning.”
He leaned away from me and pulled at the tab and zipper of his jeans, toed off his boots and pushed away the denim, flinging them to the floor.
“Roll over.”
I did as he ordered because I wanted this as much as him.
Maybe more.
I easily gripped Marisol’s waist and raised her firm ass until I had her where I wanted her. I lowered my head and sucked at her ass cheek, then nipped the sweet flesh. Her hips jerked and I slapped her ass.
Marisol moaned out and fuck me, but my cocked jumped. The fuckin’ thing was past hard. Nothing could match Marisol’s tight, shapely body under me, or over me.
I snuck my hand around her hip again and dipped a finger inside. Just the way I liked it, hot and wet. I played with her clit, coated my dick with her cream, then slid it between those glorious ass cheeks. I squeezed her flesh tight around my dick and it was fuckin’ amazing.
Her writhing body and little moans had me crazy. All I could think about was sliding home and then it hit me. I hadn’t wrapped up. I pulled away from her body and reached for the bedside table.
Marisol turned toward me. “We don’t have to use those, I’m on the pill.”
Her words stopped me cold. What was she saying? I didn’t have to wrap up.
When I didn’t say anything she continued. “I haven’t been with anyone since you or way before you.”
“I haven’t been with anyone but you since I got to Tijuana, and before that I always strapped up.”
“Then I guess we’re good.”
“And this is what you want?” Not using a condom was a big deal for me. Such a big deal, that I’d never had sex without a wrap, so my brain was spinning along with my dick.
“Absolutely.” She leaned over and covered my lips with hers.
I drew in a deep breath. Sounds fucked up but this was a big step for me. A step I’d never taken with another woman and definitely wanted to take with Marisol, but . . .
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, just . . . want you to know this means something to me. You mean something to me and—I want us to be just you and me.” I ran my tongue over my lower lip. “You okay with that?” I wasn’t exactly asking her to be my ol’ lady, but I definitely wanted to make some kind of a commitment. Fucked up that at thirty-five I’d never committed to a woman before but . . .
Shit, with all my speculating and thinking I didn’t realize she hadn’t said anything. Not a good sign.
“Look, just forget it.” I leaned away from her. “I got a lot of fuckin’ baggage, I’m much older than you, and—shit you could do way better than a busted up cage fighter for an outlaw MC.”
“Shut up.” She covered my lips with her forefinger. “I don’t want to use a condom and I would love to have something more serious with you. Actually, I’m pretty sure I love you, so unless that scares you away, I’m good.”
“Fuck,” I mumbled, then realized too late what slipped out of my mouth. “I mean, yeah.”
“I guess now it’s my turn to be insecure. I’m sure I’m not as experienced as the other women you’ve been with and I don’t want you to feel you have to say it just because I did.”
“Are you kidding me right now? You are everything I’ve wanted and I’m so fucked in the head I didn’t even know it. You bring out whatever good is inside me, and you even got me to talk about shit—which is amazing.”
“I still don’t want you under any pressure to feel the same way about me as I do about you.”
“No, no, it’s not that it’s—I’ve never said that word to anybody, but . . . I love you too.”
Once the words left my mouth I knew they were right. I’d never experienced such a consuming, overwhelming sensation and I knew it had to be love, because this woman became a part of me way before I even realized it.
Her smile widened. “Spoken like a true outlaw biker.”
This woman made me better and made me want to be better and I knew having her by my side all things were possible. The empty hole I’d lived with for most of my life filled with contentment and hope.
“An outlaw biker in love with his beautiful, headstrong woman.”
THE END