25. Soul
Soul
The guys have been itching for a party. Between the Feds storming the compound and the constant threat of other clubs scoping out abandoned Iron Sinners territory, everyone has been desperate for a night off. On top of that, I’ve been looking for an excuse to show Emery a little fun.
She does everything for our daughter while I’m tied up with the club. Sacrificing sleep, time, energy. Emery cares for Charlie with her entire being, and it’s one of many reasons I’m falling hard and fast for her. But I don’t want her to forget who she is outside of being a mother.
Emery is a fireball. She’s a wild spirit. She deserves to explore that side of herself too.
So tonight, I’m setting her free of her responsibilities, thanks to Steel’s grandma, Pearl, who offered to babysit Charlie while she’s watching Ember and Austin. We’re partying at the clubhouse, and with her by my side, I’m excited about it for the first time in ten months.
I help Emery out of the truck, and she gives me the biggest, brightest smile.
Her hand grips mine as she hops out, and her tits do a perfect little bounce.
This girl is going to be the death of me.
Her itty-bitty coral dress barely covers her ass—which is the whole reason I drove the truck instead of putting her on the back of my bike.
It’s molded to her body, making it impossible to keep my hands off her.
Thankfully, she curls to my side, fitting perfectly in that spot beneath my arm where I want her. There’s nothing like the feel of her fingers resting on my stomach. Like the sight of her big blue eyes blinking up at the clubhouse with excitement.
I’ve been to a thousand parties here, but with Emery at my side, it feels different from the rest. I’m not walking in intending to chase a high for the night. I’m here to show this girl the world.
Emery is so responsible it’s easy to forget she’s only twenty-two. Her first drink was at the casino the night we met. That night was filled with firsts for her. There’s still so much she’s yet to see—to do.
I’ll make sure she gets it all.
I want to help her explore.
We step inside the clubhouse, and her eyes widen. One of my brothers is fucking a patch bunny on a couch in the bar at the front and making a show of it.
I didn’t warn her what we’d be walking into, so I knew it’d be a bit of a shock. The last party she saw here was already winding down, so the worst was over. Tonight, that won’t be the case.
But this is the life I’m bringing her into, and I need to see how she feels about it. I need to see if she even wants it. This is the other half of my world.
Emery doesn’t shy away from the scene ahead of us. Her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink, but she doesn’t look away.
“You good?” My hand drifts down her spine, and her blush spreads to her neck.
Emery’s hair is in a high ponytail tonight, hiding nothing.
“I’m fine.” She pulls her lower lip between her teeth, glancing up at me. “Do you do that kind of thing?”
“Fuck in public?”
She nods, and while I’d like to lie to her to protect her feelings, I promised her I’d be honest. Unlike my father, I plan to live up to my wedding vows.
“I’ve chased a lot of highs in my life. Done a lot of shit.” I tip her chin up, and even if the party rages around us, she casts this bubble of peace around us. “If you really want to know something, I’ll tell you, but it might not always be an answer you like.”
She wets her lips, considering that. “I want to know the truth.”
“Then, yes. I’ve done just about everything that you’re going to witness around here tonight. Probably more than once.”
“Do you like it?” Her cheeks redden, drawing out her freckles. “Having sex in public. People watching you…”
“Yes, no. Not necessarily.” I shrug. “For me, it’s not about where I am or what’s around.
I just like the freedom of doing what I want, when I want, at any given moment, because tomorrow isn’t promised.
For a long time, that meant I didn’t give a shit.
When I wanted something, I did it. Fuck the consequences. ”
“So what you’re saying is that being spontaneous is your kink?”
I lower my forehead to hers, and somehow, she manages to smell like oranges and cloves even with the heavy scent of booze saturating the air. Who knew a scent could be addictive. One inhale, and I’ll never get enough.
“No, being spontaneous isn’t my kink. You are,” I admit.
A smile curls in the corner of her mouth. “A person isn’t a kink, Hayes.”
“Fuck that. You are for me.” I shrug, and her smile grows.
“Everything you do, everything you say. You could be reading a book or eating breakfast or just existing, and I can’t get enough of it.
Everything you do is my fucking obsession.
The way you smell, the way you move. Whether you let me fuck you in bed or let me fuck you in the middle of this room…
I want it all so long as it’s with you.”
Emery wraps her arms up over my shoulders. “So what if I’m not into all that?”
“Even then.” And I mean it with my whole being, no matter who I’ve been or what I’ve done.
My whole life, I’ve always needed more.
The next rush.
The next addiction.
Now I just need her.
“And what if I do want to try something?” Her eyebrow hitches. “What if I want to have a little fun?”
“Then tell me what you need to make that happen.”
“Anything?”
“Anything,” I promise. “Have your way with me, wife.”
Her eyes brighten, unblinking as she grazes her lips over mine. “Then kiss me like I’m yours, husband.”
There is absolutely no containing the growl in my chest. I’m obsessed with her calling me that. Possessed. There’s no turning back.
My lips press to Emery’s, and if I wasn’t already consumed by my wife, this would seal it.
A sweet but greedy caress quickly turns needy as her tongue searches me out.
In so many ways, she’s still unsure of herself.
But when she’s in my arms, her confidence wakes.
She demands what her body craves, and I happily deliver.
To kiss her is better than any other high I’ve chased. An aphrodisiac that has my blood chanting for more.
By the time she pulls back, her freckles are on fire. I cup her cheeks, brushing my thumbs over them. How the hell does a man like me get so damn lucky?
She lowers to her heels, pulling us farther apart, and I already miss her.
“You ready for a drink?” I ask, ignoring that I’d like to drag her home right now and take her to bed.
“Please.” She bites her lower lip.
It’s red and puffy from the kiss.
Fucking delicious.
I lace my fingers through hers and lead her away from the bar in the front of the clubhouse toward the larger one in the back. On the back wall hangs a giant banner that says Congratulations, with a picture of a ball and chain drawn beside it.
“Let me guess… this was your doing.” I slap Chaos on the shoulder when he stops beside us, already grinning.
“Figured I owed you after the shit you did when I married Willa.”
Nothing contains my laugh. When Chaos returned to Vegas and I found out he married Willa while they were traveling the country, I attached shackles to the back of his bike with a giant cement block at the end of it.
It was on there good. Havoc had to bring shit from Kings Auto to cut it off, and he was fucking pissed.
Which, of course, just made it more amusing.
It’s not that I don’t love Willa, or that I wasn’t happy for my brother, but marriage wasn’t something I considered before Emery walked back into my life, and I understood the primal need to claim someone as mine in every way.
Emery sticks to my side. Her palm rests flat on my chest as she stares up at the sign. I’m not offended in the least because us being married is just one more way that she’s mine.
Willa pops up beside Chaos, and like he knew where she was all along, his arm is already raised to welcome her at his side.
“You want a drink?” She smiles at Emery. “I think the girls are making lemon drops.”
“Aren’t lemons sour?” Emery’s nose scrunches.
“You’ve never had a lemon drop?”
Emery shakes her head, frowning. “My uncle only ever served wine at his dinners. Sometimes he’d have them pour me a glass, but I only ever had a few sips. It was better to keep a clear head around him and his friends.”
My jaw tightens, knowing why she felt that way.
“The only other time I had a drink was at the casino on New Year’s,” she says. “It was something pink and fruity.”
“A strawberry daiquiri.” I fill in the blank.
“Right.” Emery smiles up at me. “It was pretty intense and way too much sugar. If I had more than one, I might have been sick.”
“Lemon drops are nothing like that,” Willa assures her.
“And if you don’t like it, don’t worry about it.
We’ll mix something else until we figure out what you like.
I spent a little too much time around bars growing up, so I know how to make just about anything.
This one was good at sneaking liquor bottles without my friend Harloe’s father noticing. ”
Willa nudges Chaos, and he chuckles.
“My girl’s got you covered.” Chaos smiles, and Emery’s shoulders relax.
I appreciate that he’s nice to her for my sake when he’s known for being an asshole.
“What do you think?” Willa asks, but Emery looks up at me when she answers.
“I’m going to get a drink.”
Gripping her chin between my thumb and finger, I tilt her face up more. “Have fun. Stay where I can see you."
“Why?” Her eyebrows pinch. “Is it dangerous?”
“For you? No. But if one of my brothers so much as looks at you wrong, we’re going to have a problem.”
“Possessive much?” She smiles.
“Only for you.”
I thought I was born without a jealous bone in my body.
I’ve never been possessive when it comes to women.
Once they left my bed, I couldn’t give two shits about who they fucked or spent time with.
But the thought of anyone so much as looking at Emery wrong makes my skin itch.
I’m tempted to take her to the couch and fuck her right here in front of my brothers just so they understand who she belongs to, but I’m not quite sure if she’s up for that yet.
Willa leads Emery away, explaining what’s in a lemon drop. Aimee and Luna are already behind the bar, mixing drinks. Luna’s is without alcohol since she’s pregnant. The prospect working behind the bar keeps his distance, fetching beers while they finish up.
“All right, you’re coming with me.” Chaos grabs my shoulder, leading me toward the other side of the room. “Since you skipped the bachelor party, Venom is intent on pumping you full of booze to celebrate.”
“I’ve had thirty years of a bachelor party. Pretty sure that was enough.”
I was drinking before I learned to drive. I was fucking not that long after. I’ve done it all, seen it all, and for the first time in my life, I feel done with it.
Chaos chuckles, not arguing because I know he can relate. “Don’t I know it, brother.”