16. Roxy
Roxy
I fidget uncomfortably as soon as Chopper leaves. It’s times like this I wish I wasn’t a Savage princess. I wish I didn’t know what a dangerous situation this could mean for me. I’d rather be oblivious.
“Do you want to go into my office? Would that make you more comfortable?” River glances up from his drawing.
“No, I'm fine.” I fold my arms across my chest and glare at the men watching me. I refuse to be weak and hide in an office. I also want to know when Chopper gets here.
It makes me nervous having him in another club’s territory and not having another Savage Wolf with him.
“Can I add something to my tattoo?”
“Yeah, what are you thinking?”
I explain what I want and River nods along with it. He says he can handle that and goes back to his work.
“I can't believe he’s actually tattooing his left chest,” River murmurs under his breath a few minutes later.
He’s leaning over the counter with his black hair hanging down.
It’s not nearly as long as Chopper’s or Storm’s hair.
It’s cut close on the sides, but is longer on top.
He has a black beard, but it’s kept short and neat too.
He doesn’t really look like a biker. If he didn’t have his own cut on, I probably wouldn’t believe he was part of a club.
“What do you mean?”
River lifts his head to look at me. His brows furrow for a moment like he doesn’t know what I'm talking about, then they smooth out.
“He’s been keeping his left chest free of ink for years. He said he wanted it for something special. He wanted it for his future wife.”
I swallow hard as what he means washes over me. Chopper’s been waiting to ink this part of himself for me.
“How many tattoos do you have?” River asks as he goes back to sketching like he didn’t just rock my world.
“None.”
“Really?” He lifts his gaze to me again. He’s more than surprised I don’t have any ink yet.
“I’ve always wanted one, but I never took the plunge.” I lift my shoulder in a shrug.
“Man, I would’ve expected you to have a decent amount. Honestly, when you walked in here, I assumed you were covered in ink.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve got that biker princess vibe going on.” He motions to my clothes. “Not many women wear leather pants around here unless they’re part of a club.”
“I think I'm the highest club royalty you can get.” When I don’t continue, he raises a brow, asking what I'm talking about. I smirk, knowing I'm about to shock him. “I'm Porter Reeves’ daughter.”
“Yeah, I was afraid of that. When you walked in here with Chopper and you didn’t have a property patch on, I figured there was a reason. That’s a pretty good reason.” He chuckles. “I’d be terrified to give a Reeves daughter a property patch.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing none of us want you.”
“Yeah, I have enough drama in my life without mixing clubs. Could you imagine if one of Kaleb Dixon’s sons and one of Porter Reeves’ daughters ended up together? That’s just asking for trouble.” He shakes his head.
“A modern-day Romeo and Juliette… Dixon’s son? Really?”
“You don’t believe me?” His face lights up with amusement.
“I guess I just expected you to look tougher.”
“Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that.” He laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t see a need to act or look tough at work. I tattoo a lot of people who aren’t associated with clubs. I'm not trying to scare them off.”
“I can understand that.” I nod my head.
He has a point. At the car shop, we work on non-club member’s cars and bikes.
Most of the guys don’t wear their cuts while they’re working because they know they don’t need to at the shop and they don’t want to intimidate the customers.
It’s the same thing with Chopper and Storm when they go to a customer’s house to fix their plumbing or electrical work.
“Do you always dress like that?” He motions to my leather pants and I'm assuming he’s also referring to the corset.
“I have an image to uphold. I can't exactly be a Savage princess and not look the part. Plus, I run Savage Saloon. The outfit is fitting for a bar.”
“I can only imagine how much Chopper enjoys that.”
“What do I enjoy?” Chopper steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. He has a pair of black shorts in his hands and they look like dance shorts.
“Watching men ogle her at the bar.”
“Eh, my girl can handle her own. And if she can't, I'm always there to step in and protect her.”
“As you should… Also, I heard about the prospect. My dad spoke to him and made it clear he shouldn’t show his face at Savage Saloon again. I don’t know why they even bother to go there. We have a bar in our own territory.” River scratches the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
“It’s not a problem, man. Roxy laid him out on the floor and Savage is always full of our club members to back her up. We don’t hold you or Kaleb responsible for what the prospect did.” Chopper waves off his concern.
“I appreciate that… Ok. I have a rough drawing done for both of you. Chopper, you know how I roll. Roxy, this is just the outline. It will look like crap to you, but I promise it will be amazing when it’s all finished.”
He holds out the drawing to me and I scan it over. It really is just an outline. There’s a scar running down the right eye of the lion, but other than that, there are zero details.
“I’m better at freehanding the details. If there’s too much on the stencil, it’s distracting to me.”
“Ok.” I know if Chopper trusts him, I should too. I know Chopper doesn’t trust easily, especially when someone is inking something permanently on his body. If he brought me here, I can trust River too. I think River has done all of Chopper’s ink and they’re all amazing.
“Who’s going first?” River looks between the two of us.
“Me,” I say before Chopper can respond. I don’t want to sit and watch him get tattooed. I’ll get anxious about it and will end up chickening out before River gets to me.
I want this. I’ve wanted a tattoo since before I turned eighteen, but I haven’t followed through. I want to this time and I need to go first or it won't happen.
“Alright, you can go change in my office and then we can get started.” River motions to which door is his office.
I quickly head in there and shut the door. I glance around the large space and make sure no one is in here before I strip out of my leather pants and put on the tiny shorts Chopper got me.
I was half expecting him to come back with a pair of men’s athletic shorts. Anything to make me less attractive to the men here. I'm shocked he got me something I’d wear after today.
“Dang, baby. You look great in those,” Chopper murmurs in my ear as soon as I return to his side.
“I expected men’s athletic shorts.” I grin up at him.
“I thought about it.” He laughs. “I really did, but then I saw these and I thought about how much I’d enjoy seeing you in them.” He swats at my butt, making me scowl at him, but we both know I'm not mad. Not really.
I want his hands on me at all times. I like knowing he’s mine and he isn't afraid to show me affection. This might not be the case when we’re around Savage members though.
It will be interesting to see how he acts at the clubhouse or the bar. I want to know if things will continue the same way they have for years, or will Chopper step up and claim me in front of everyone.
“Alright, let’s do this.” River pats the table and I hop up on it.
Once he gets the stencil where he likes it, he asks me to take a look and see if I like it too. As soon as I approve of the placement, he puts together his tattoo gun with a clean needle and glances up at me.
“Are you ready?”