Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Delaney
“Are you sure this looks okay?”
I look down at my jeans and blouse as I twirl in front of Tank.
“Yes. You look amazing. Honestly, we don’t even need to go. Let’s go to the bedroom. You can tell me what to do, and I can make you come on my face,” he growls, stepping toward me.
“Down, big fella.” I pat his chest. “I just worry I look too much like an elementary school teacher and not like…” I trail off, not sure what to say.
“A biker’s girlfriend?” he asks.
“Is that what I am?” I look up at him.
He cups my cheek. “Yes. I already told you, Laney. I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me. It’s why I let you order me around and do butt stuff.”
I snort. “You are a horndog.”
“You bring it out in me. Seriously, you look sexy as hell.”
I originally wanted to wear a sundress, but it’s on the cooler side tonight despite the temperature getting warmer with each passing day, and I knew Tank wanted to take his bike.
“Come on, if I don’t get you out of here now, I won’t want to go,” he pouts.
“They are your friends. Don’t you want to hang out with them?”
He scrunches up his nose. “Jagger is going to be all up in our business. He feels like I haven’t spent enough time with him lately. He’s a child.”
I give him a look. “Seriously? Pot want to meet kettle?”
He grabs my hand, pulling me toward the door. “Wait until you hang out with him for an extended amount of time.”
“I did,” I tell him as I watch him lock up my house. “The night we met.”
“That was different. You were a rando I met at a bar. He didn’t think twice about you because he had his own chick he was hitting on. This time you are more than that. He will want to know everything about you. I apologize in advance.”
I laugh. “It’s fine. I hang out with six-year-olds all day. I can handle him.”
He puts my helmet on, strapping it for me before pulling me in by the helmet and blowing me a kiss through the visor.
“If it gets to be too much, what is our safe word?”
My belly warms as I realize what he is saying. If I say the word, he will get me out of there without question.
“Papaya,” I whisper.
“Yes. Remember that.”
I let him put his coat around me, zipping it up. I’m surprised by how heavy it is.
“Why does it feel heavy?” I ask.
“Plates in case we get in an accident. I drive as safe as I can, but other drivers are a factor I can’t control.”
“I trust you,” I tell him.
He nods, climbing on the bike. I wait for him to turn it on and hold out his hand for me. Then I climb onto the seat behind him.
It feels like my seat. I wasn’t sure the first time he took me on a ride, but the more I’m on the bike, the more I am learning to love it.
Hell, the more I’m with Tank, the more I’m learning to love him.
The worst part is that I don’t even think I care anymore. I’m falling fast, and I don’t plan to stop it.
The ride to the clubhouse isn’t too terribly long, yet I enjoy every minute of the cool evening air.
This is one of my favorite times of year.
We don’t usually get all four seasons in Pensacola, but in the spring, the heat hasn’t quite set in yet, making it unbearable outside. I love how beautiful it is.
I’m already looking forward to fall, when the leaves change colors. So much has already changed for me this year. I’m changing colors, finding what feels right for me. By the end of the fall, the old me will die away, but in her place will be a new bloom.
I can’t wait to meet her.
When we finally pull up to the clubhouse, all my nerves have faded away. I feel like this is where I belong.
We get off the bike, and I let him take the helmet and jacket from me.
“Remember what I said,” Tank tells me as he threads his fingers through mine.
“If I see anything illegal, no I didn’t. If anyone is having sex or doing sex stuff, I can look, but mind my business. Don’t leave your side unless it’s with Sloane, Jane, or Kelly.”
“That’s it. My brothers know you’re mine, but I’d rather keep you close.”
He pulls my hand up to his mouth to kiss it.
This is what being cherished feels like.
I let that warm feeling settle inside as he opens the door to the clubhouse, letting me enter before him.
I’ll admit, I figured it would be a lot more rowdy from the way he talked. I pictured every movie and TV show about bikers all wrapped up into one. Drugs, alcohol, women with barely there clothes and all that, but this is much more tame.
Several brothers are hanging around drinking. Some are at a pool table. Others at a bar.
Oh, I spoke too soon.
As we walk through the main room and into one in the back, I see the scantily-dressed women. One is giving a lap dance while another is making out with a guy while straddling him.
Tank doesn’t linger, he pulls me into a room with several couches.
I recognize Jagger immediately.
“Finally. I have been waiting for hours, Tanky. What took you so long? It was my replacement, wasn’t it? Did you make him wait?” Jagger glares at me.
It’s not a menacing glare, though. It looks more like someone is playing with his toy and he’s about to throw a tantrum.
“Jagger, watch it,” Tank growls at him.
I have to admit, I like obedient Tank on his knees for me, but this Tank? The one who is protective and willing to go toe-to-toe with his best friend for me? He’s hot.
Maybe we can explore that in the bedroom. A role-play sort of thing. I can still be in control but make him dominate me.
Top him from the bottom.
Pulling myself back to the present, I stare Jagger down. “I know you have some big feelings right now, and that’s okay. You are allowed to feel them, but do you feel it’s fair to be taking those big feelings to try and hurt another person with them?”
He pouts. “I didn’t. That’s not what I was doing.”
“It’s okay. It’s human nature to lash out when you feel big things, but there are better, more positive ways to handle it. Like by telling Tank, ‘I am hurt that you weren’t here when I thought you were going to be.’ Then you give Tank an opportunity to respond.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m not hurt. That’s not what I said.” Jagger actually looks confused.
I try to hide my smirk. “What is it that you are feeling then? We can talk it out and get to the bottom of it.”
I see the way his face relaxes. “You take up all his time now. I guess I’m threatened by you.”
I nod. “I apologize for stealing so much of his time. I’ll be more considerate of his other obligations from now on. Would that make you feel better?”
He nods. “It would, actually. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Dude, she just mind-fucked Jagger,” I hear a woman whisper from behind Jagger.
I look around him to see two couples sitting on the couch.
“Sorry, that was majestic, though. Can you teach me your ways?”
Tank pulls me under his arm, kissing the side of my head.
“Everyone, this is Delaney, my girl. Delaney, that’s Sloane, Gunner, Smoke, you’ve met Kelly, and the big guy leaning against the wall is Bear. You know Jagger.”
I throw Kelly a quick smile, happy to see another familiar face before turning back to Jagger.
“I do. We are besties now, aren’t we?” I ask him.
Jagger’s smile grows. “Hell yeah, we are. Come on, bestie.”
He tries to pull me away from Tank, but Tank smacks his hand. That starts them play-fighting, so I go and take a seat next to Sloane on the couch.
“Seriously, how did you do that? Does it work with two-year-olds?” Kelly asks.
“You have to work with them to acknowledge why they are feeling how they do before you can come up with a resolution. With Jagger, he felt like he lost his best friend, so he was acting angry, but really he was hurt, even if he won’t admit it.
So I identified it and offered a solution.
We don’t have to be enemies. Instead, we can be friends and both be in Tank’s life. ” I shrug like it’s no big deal.
“Jane is going to love you. She will be here shortly. Bertha came in tonight to see the kids and is going to babysit while they come,” Sloane tells me.
“I met Jane. She seems sweet,” I tell her.
“Bertha is here?” Jagger says, stopping his fight with Tank.
“Yeah, so don’t bother her. She will stick a lead pipe up your ass then smoke you,” Gunner growls at him.
“I didn’t say I was going to bother her. She’s a cool chick, is all,” Jagger says, moving to take a chair.
Tank frowns when he sees no spot for him to sit. I stand and point to the couch cushion I vacated.
“Sit.”
I withhold my smirk when he does as I ask immediately.
“You have him well trained. I like it.” Sloane turns to Gunner. “Will you sit when I tell you?”
“No, but you will. Won’t you, Trouble?” he grunts.
“Sure, Daddy. Whatever you say.”
“Ignore them. This is their form of foreplay. Tank has told me a lot about you. What made you start teaching elementary?” Kelly asks.
“I enjoy the younger children. They have such a craving for knowledge. They are sponges. I even have these little fact cards in the room. We read them at the end of some of the lessons, and they just love it.”
“You sound like a wonderful teacher.”
“Thank you. What do you do for a living?”
As we all talk and I get to know each one of them, I feel at ease. I was worried I would feel out of place here. That they would see me as too different to join their little club, but that’s not the case.
If anything, they have made me feel more welcome than I have ever been in my life.
Tank
She is having the time of her life.
I look over at her dancing with the girls on the floor.
As soon as Jane showed up, she claimed Delaney as part of the group and said they would be drinking and dancing.
She doesn’t get time away from the kids often, so I understand it.
Funny enough, Jagger has disappeared. He’s the one who says I never hang out, yet he is the one MIA currently.
“They like her,” Smoke says, leaning against the wall next to me.
“What’s not to like? She’s sweet as hell. She’s a goddamn teacher for fuck’s sake.”
He laughs. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she would vibe with the girls. You know they are a protective bunch.”
“They liked the way she handled Jagger,” Gunner says, moving to lean on my other side.
“What? What did I miss?” Mac asks, taking the spot next to Gunner.
“Tank’s woman managed Jagger like a five-year-old.
He stepped up to her thinking he could intimidate her, then walked away being best friends with her, and the kicker is he thinks it was his idea.
He told me that he claimed her as his new best friend since Tank ditched him.
” Smoke snorts. “Fucking egotistical motherfucker.”
“The woman that locks him down is going to be a ballbuster,” Mac adds.
“Speaking of, he seemed real interested in Bertha being here,” Smoke tells Mac.
“I’ll kill him if he fucks with my sister. She doesn’t need any of his fuck-boy shit. Where is he?” Mac moves away from the wall, seeking out Jagger.
I have a feeling he isn’t going to find him anywhere on the property.
“Your girl got any friends?” Bear asks, looking toward Delaney as he joins our group.
“Really?” Gunner asks, looking back at the girls. “The school teacher thing does it for you?”
Bear shrugs. “School teacher. Preacher’s daughter. Innocent-looking. All of that means wild-ass women. The best sex I’ve had has been with a woman who everyone swore was too innocent for the likes of me.”
“You didn’t lock that shit down?” I ask.
“Hell no. I don’t do repeats. A shame, really. She was good.”
“Why would I hook you up with one of her friends if you are going to break their heart?” I shake my head.
“Who said anything about hearts being involved? I’m talking raw and primal sex. The kind that makes your throat scratchy and legs weak. Leave them walking bowlegged for a week,” he grunts.
“How wild can sex get when you only fuck them against a wall?” Smoke muses.
Bear lets out a small laugh, “Oh you’d be surprised how creative you can get.”
“I don’t get it, man. What’s with the walls?” I ask.
“Easy. One, there’s always a wall available. Two, no worries about her falling asleep and accidentally staying the night. Three, I don’t have to wash my sheets right afterward.” He shrugs like it’s common sense.
Fuck, if I don’t get the thought behind it.
Still, as I look back out at Delaney, I know I could never be just a wall sex guy. It’s not my kink.
No, I enjoy being ordered around by a five foot seven school teacher who looks like she couldn’t scold a fucking fly.
“We all have our own kinks,” I mutter.
“Really? What’s yours?” Smoke asks, a smirk on his face.
I glare at him. “None of your business. Unless… Do you want to get kinky with me?”
That only makes him laugh harder.
“You guys are fucking weird,” Gunner mutters under his breath, not taking his eyes off his woman.
“I’m just saying. Bear likes to fuck against walls. I enjoy making my good girl dirty. Gunner probably spanks Sloane and gets hard when she calls him ‘Daddy.’ So what’s your kink?” Smoke asks.
“I bet he likes when he gets detention. Does she smack your ass with a ruler?” Bear teases.
I hate that he is right, so I don’t say anything.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Smoke says, a smile growing on his face, “You like being scolded by the teacher. Can’t say I don’t see the appeal.”
“Don’t let Jagger find out. I don’t want to hear his incessant commentary on the subject.”
“Our lips are sealed. Right boys?” Smoke looks to Bear and Gunner.
Gunner looks at me but doesn’t say a word. He knows when to mind his business, and this ain’t his business.
Bear holds his hands up. “Jagger talks too much for me. He won’t find out from me.”
Mac comes back then, looking angry. “He’s not here. I swear to God, if he’s at my house.”
I watch as he pulls up his feed.
“His bike is there. I’m going to kill him.” Mac goes to stalk off, but I grab his arm.
“Jane is having a good time. What harm will come from him talking to her? Bertha is a fucking truck driver. She eats men like Jagger for lunch. Trust me, she will send him on his way with his tail between his legs. Don’t take this from your old lady. Let her have the night off.”
I watch as the anger fades. He looks back to the girls.
“You’re right. Fuck, I hate that you’re right. Okay, but if shit goes down with them, you don’t get to come at me for breaking club rules when I break his face.”
“Hey, touching a sister is an unspoken rule. I won’t interfere.” I hold up my hands.
All conversation stops when Delaney comes stumbling my way.
“Come dance with me,” she says, falling into my chest.
“Do you need water? You’re a little drunk.”
She narrows her eyes. “Maybe I need to rephrase. Dance with me. Now.”
The slight bark to her tone has my cock growing in my pants.
I hear the guys chuckle as I let her lead me out to the dance floor, but I don’t give a fuck.
As I spin Laney around the dance floor, all I care about is this moment with my girl.
Happy and carefree.
How I always want us to be.