My smile, when it came, probably lit up the damn room at her words. I reached up and pinched her chin gently. “I’ll always keep you safe. But your daddies? They’re going to keep us safe.”
“Will he be nice to you?”
It didn’t take too many guesses to figure out which daddy she was referring to. “Yes,” I promised.
She blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”
“Thank you, baby.” When Amaryllis held out her hand, I frowned at it. “What’s wrong?”
“We can talk to him now if you want?”
Nodding, I smiled at her and got to my feet. Whatever business Wolfe was involved in at the moment, he could tell it to fuck off, because this was far more important.
I figured it was destiny on my side, though, when I knocked on the door and he called out, “Come on in.” As I peered around it, I saw that Dagger and Wolfe were there, and considering they were the two that she knew the least, it was definitely fate.
Dagger nearly turned white when he saw Amaryllis, but Wolfe? He smiled. And that smile? Jesus, it was enough to make my heart and my panties melt.
Fuck.
So many times I’d come into this office to be reprimanded. So many times, my father had been seated behind that god-awful desk and he’d screamed at me, hissed and snarled, raged at yet another stupid thing I’d done to act out.
This couldn’t have been a greater contrast.
“I have someone here who’d like to talk to you both,” I prompted, closing the door behind me.
“Well, we have all the time in the world, don’t we, Dag?” Wolfe replied, his tone sweet for her sake, but I heard the warning to Dagger and I had to stifle a snort.
This was just the first step on a journey that would take a thousand, but at least this was in the right direction.
I figured I couldn’t ask for much more than that.
7
Axe
“She’s so little, man. What if we break her?”
I snorted at Flame, then punched him in the arm. “We won’t break her.”
“You don’t know that,” Flame countered.
Shit, he wasn’t wrong. You couldn’t break kids though, could you? At least, I hoped you couldn’t. None of us were particularly gentle guys, but there were plenty of kids around the MC and none of them had ‘broken’ over the years.
That had to mean something, right?
Rubbing my chin with one hand, I used the other to prop myself up against the wall. We were outside where a lot of the kids had decided to play tag.
It had always been weird to me how a clubhouse could have so many kids in it, especially considering what went down on nights and weekends, but the MC was a family first, and families had kids.
Lots of them.
This past year, we’d had thirty brothers have kids. Thirty-four babies in all because JoJo and Rock couldn’t do anything simple and had to have twins. We were drowning in kids.
Some of the mothers were sweetbutts, but most belonged to Old ladies who actually worked and couldn’t when they had a baby attached to them twenty-four seven. I’d never even thought about the kids other than to label them as a nuisance in my mind. Funny how things could fucking change in the blink of an eye.
“I don’t like how that Lawrence kid is looking at her.” The words were punctuated by the hissing of Flame’s lighter.
I stared at Lawrence—Wheels’ surprise, surprise—and then saw how he was acting around Amaryllis.
“He’s protecting her.”
“Look at his eyes.” Flame grunted. “Don’t trust the little fucker.”
“He’s, what? Eleven? And she’s fucking five, dude. Don’t see shit where there ain’t nothing to see.”
“He’s gonna be a problem,” Flame intoned in his voice of doom.
I huffed. “Lawrence is a good kid. Maybe he just wants to look after her like we did Lucie.”
“Exactly.”
Elbowing him in the side, I grumbled, “We didn’t do shit until she started doing it to us.”
“Which part of this ain’t you getting?” Flame retorted. “That’s my fucking problem. You watch, they’ll be raising hell together.”
“Little early to condemn them,” I retorted, watching as Amaryllis, giggling all the way, began chasing after a little girl whose name I didn’t know in an attempt to tag her.
I’d never known any of the kids’ names because I hadn’t been interested. Not outside of how they and their mommas affected our men anyway.
Now, all of a sudden, both Flame and I were standing outside, watching over the proceedings and all because our daughter was in among the mix.
When Flame had found me in the common room having a beer and a game of pool with Rodeo, one of the guys who was working his way up the ladder to sit on the council, he’d said two words, “Amaryllis’s outside,” and instantly, he’d gained my attention.
Didn’t matter that there was a Benjamin Franklin riding on the game, didn’t matter that I was close to winning. Those words had been like a stick up the ass as we’d headed outside.
Why?
It was the first time she’d left the clubhouse.
Period.
With or without her momma at her side.
Seeing her now in the yard, I had to admit to feeling a little better about shit. This had to mean she was settling in, right? Or was it too soon to even be thinking of that?
“She misses Ryan,” Flame murmured sadly.
“She ain’t the only one,” I said on a sigh. We all missed Ryan. It was like being short of one of our Musketeers. We’d been five, though, not four, but now we were that permanently.
“Wish I’d gotten to see him before he passed over,” Flame rasped, showing about as much emotion as he was capable of.
I cut him a look, then eyed the vicinity. That tone of voice usually went hand in hand with him setting fire to something, but I figured we were okay out here. Not only was Amaryllis playing nearby, but there wasn’t really anything flammable around us.
“Me too, brother.” I reached over and slapped him on the back. “Let’s be grateful Lucie and Ama are back, though, yeah?”
“I am. Even if she’s bringing trouble with her.”
“Lucie is trouble. Fuck, there should be a picture of her in the dictionary near the definition of the word.”
Flame smirked. “True.”
And if the fucker didn’t sound proud as fucking punch about that, I’d eat my bike.
I let quiet fall between us, one that was softened only by giggles from the kids who were playing. As I studied Amaryllis, I saw that Lawrence was studying her in turn. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that… fuck. Flame was right. It reminded me of how we’d looked after Lucie.
Flame snorted at my growl. “About fucking time you saw it.”
“They’re only kids,” I tried to argue.
“Not for long. You know they grow up fast around here.” He peered up at the sky. “Five years for him, eleven for her. What’s that in the grand scheme of things?”
“I’ll cut his dick off if he touches her before she’s eighteen.”
Flame grinned. “You cut it off and I’ll burn it.”
“Deal.” We spat on our hands and shook on it.
When we turned back to stare at our daughter, Flame grunted. “Fuck’s sake.”
I had to shake my head as I saw Jamie, Rodeo’s hellspawn, heading over to Amaryllis, who was giggling on the ground and rolling around like she was a headless chicken, with a bottle of water.
Water?
“We’re gonna have to kill all the little bastards,” I said grimly.
Flame’s grunt said he was totally on board.
“I think we should go back inside before we start getting even more homicidal.” Christ, we’d only been dads for a handful of days. How the fuck had Ryan survived it?
“Might be wise.” With another grunt, he stopped messing around with his lighter and turned on his heel so he coul
d walk away.
For a second, my gaze lingered on Amaryllis. It had to be said that she didn’t look uncomfortable with either Lawrence or Jamie’s attention. If anything, her cheeks were bright pink as she smiled up at them.
Hell, was it weird to be jealous?
She hadn’t really smiled at me like that yet. Nor any of us, as far as I knew. Even with Lucie she was pretty somber, and I figured that was down to Ryan’s death and what she was going through after the move.
Could I really begrudge two little bastards who made her smile like that?
Fuck yeah, I could.
Growling under my breath, I followed Flame into the clubhouse. The second we were in the bar, my eyes widened when a squeal echoed around the room and a body hurled itself at me. A roar of laughter came next, as I almost stumbled at the unexpected weight, but it was second nature to plant myself so I didn’t fall over.
The second the bundle was in my arms, with her legs and arms wrapped around me, I found myself being kissed.
To death.
Fuck, I remembered those octopus lips. They were like suckers. Jenna had been awesome at handing out BJs, but when that suction was anywhere other than focused on my cock, it was like making out with a vacuum cleaner.
Before I could grab the sweetbutt’s hair and drag her off me—fuck, that was the only means of self-defense—someone’s hand was in the clubwhore’s hair. Except there was no kindness in her grip…
“Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing kissing my man?”
Another squeal escaped Jenna as Lucie hauled her off me and dragged her to the ground face first. Looming over Jenna’s prone form, she tipped Jenna’s head back and glowered down at her. Every ounce of Lucie throbbed with her outrage.
Was it hot?
Fuck yeah.
And I had to admit, I loved that she’d claimed me.
It didn’t work like that in this world. Brothers claimed bitches, but Lucie? She always had lived by her own rules.
I didn’t even know where she’d come from, but like a bat out of fucking hell—how appropriate, right?—she was there, cussing up a storm as she pulled her signature move. Hair in her fist, Lucie tugged her head right back and she slammed into the ground.
Even as Jenna whimpered and clutched at her nose, Lucie was spitting and hissing at her. I kind of felt bad for Jenna, but fuck, even if the bitch had known I was taken, she’d have still tried it on.
Sweetbutts had no loyalty, and therefore, didn’t understand the connection between brothers and their bitches.
A sad fact of life, but true nonetheless.
And just when I wondered if I was turning into a philosopher in my old fucking age, I decided to wade into the catfight. Much to the horror of my brothers, who hollered and hooted at me as I slipped my arms around Lucie’s waist and hefted her into the air. Her legs kicked and her arms slapped into mine as she tried to work free, but when I pressed my mouth to her ear and hissed, “Calm down,” she obeyed.
Panting, her face red, her hair all over the place now, she stopped struggling and let me hold her. A chuckle sounded to my left and I saw Flame, lighter in hand, clicking it as he leaned on the bar and watched the display.
Knowing Flame’s chuckle was like pouring gas onto Lucie’s fire, I groaned, but wasn’t altogether surprised when she spat, “No one touches the council. Any whore goes near them, I’ll fucking gut them.”
The promise of violence in her voice had my cock hardening, and seeing Wolfe in the doorway, his arm resting high on the jamb as he looked over the situation, I was surprised he didn’t tell her to shut her mouth, especially since she was publicly claiming us in front of the clubwhores who were present.
“The council? You greedy bitch, you can’t just take them all out of play. Axe, tell her!” Jenna whined, her voice so nasally I was hard-pressed not to laugh—I’d never liked the bitch. Some sweetbutts were there for the free roof, the protection, and a good time. They fucked and sucked at night, and cleaned and cooked by day. That was their job, and most of them were happy to do just that.
Then there were the clubwhores like Jenna who wanted to tie themselves to a brother. Personally, I’d never understood the fascination with becoming an old lady. Bikers were mean sons of bitches, and it took a strong kind of woman to put up with their shit. Unless you were born into the life like Lucie, it could be hard work being claimed by a brother. Still, some sweetbutts tried to make it into a fucking career of all things.
“Yeah, Axe, tell her,” Lucie retorted, her voice mimicking Jenna’s.
I shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell you, Jenna, Lucie’s right. We’ve claimed her.”
The bar, loaded down with over thirty members, buzzed with noise. The music, the pool game going down, and the chatter of a bunch of dudes and clubwhores talking shit after a day at work, it was all white noise. But at my words? Silence fell.
“You claimed her?” Jenna said around a gasp.
“Yeah. Lucie’s ours,” Wolfe called out from the doorway. “You know the drill, Lucie. Show them your ink.”
Lucie’s lips curved, and I saw the flash of triumph in her eyes. She was a creature of instinct, and seeing Jenna on me like white on rice had prompted her attack. This wasn’t something she could have planned, but it worked out for her anyway.
We may have made the declaration at church, but the news wouldn’t have spilled out to the women. What happened in church, stayed in church after all. So this was the first public claiming, and even though we’d inadvertently been backed into a corner, I had to admit I was amused.
My cock had been hers since the first time she’d given me a hard-on—back when she was fifteen and I was just about to turn twenty. I’d felt like fucking scum, a total pervert, but hell, Lucie in a pair of short shorts and rocking a shirt that she’d knotted between her tits, looking like Marilyn Monroe reborn, was something no teenage guy could withstand.
“I can’t show them all,” she purred. “Considering two of them are in places my men won’t want any of you fuckers to see.”
Though I knew the brothers were stunned at our mass claiming of her, they snickered at that, hollered our names, and outright grinned at Lucie’s front.
With our public claiming, I knew the brothers would start to integrate her into the club more. Bomber’s dictates hadn’t died just because she’d returned with Wolfe’s kid, but this was definitely a step in the right direction because bikers appreciated loyalty. And they sure as fuck liked catfights.
She did as she’d done that first day—showed off her tats with a pride that almost had me shaking my head at her. We weren’t exactly prizes, but I knew to Lucie, we were. Fuck, now that I thought about it, she was to us as well, so the feeling was definitely mutual.
When the brothers saw her ink, they still looked a little stunned but they stopped gaping at her when Wolfe growled, “Stop checking out my woman.” Like that, their attention averted.
Sweetbutts were fair game, but an old lady? Not even outright looking was permitted. Not unless the motherfucker wanted a broken nose.
Lucie bent down, her tight ass even more on display now with her jeans pulled taut, and she propped herself up by placing her hands on her knees—fuck, I wanted her in that position the next time we fucked—and stared down at Jenna. “You get the memo, bitch? You go anywhere near my men and I’ll fuck you up something fierce.” Her top lip curled in a sneer. “No shaking your tits in their face or grabbing their cocks. I’ll make you wish you’d never been born if you do.”
Wolfe, who’d finally moved into the bar from the doorway, snorted at that, then grabbed Lucie and twisted her around so he could haul her over his shoulder. She squealed at the move then laughed as she found herself in a fireman’s hold. Wolfe smacked her on the ass and declared, “Makes me wanna fuck you when you get all possessive, Lucifer.” To Jenna, he murmured, “I’d listen to her, bitch. She lives up to her name.”
And with that, he spun on his heel, and knowing wha
t was about to go down? Flame and me traipsed after him like eager puppies.
❖
Lucie
Being in Wolfe’s arms and having the club’s sweetbutts knowing exactly who I was, filled me with a satisfaction that couldn’t be feigned.
It was like one big hug, and I didn’t even care that I was being hauled off like a rioter in a crowd. Didn’t give a shit.
I’d staked my claim.
They’d staked theirs.
God, if that wasn’t enough to make me spontaneously combust, I didn’t know what was.
I heard Flame and Axe chuckling as they trailed behind us, and their heavy gait pounded alongside my heart.
So many times, I’d been in my bedroom, listening to Wolfe head to his room with a giggling slut in his arms. I’d listened to her cries of pleasure, heard them and felt myself die inside.
This time, I was the woman in his arms as he carried me past the bedroom where Amaryllis and I were sleeping, and over to his room.
He wasn’t using the same one, not now he was Prez, and the notion hit me then that I’d never actually been inside the Prez’s bedroom.
Ever.
My dad had never let me in, and I’d never have thought to crawl into his bed as a little girl after a bad nightmare. It would never have occurred to me to huddle in his arms if I was scared.
Most of the time, I was scared of him.
Until I’d grown up, until these boys had taught me how to defend myself.
If I’d wanted comfort, I’d gone to Kid or Dagger. If I’d wanted help with a girl at school, that was Flame and Wolfe’s territory. Axe was for plotting and homework. Although, now that I thought about it, they were all amenable to hugging me, to kissing my head if I’d done well or if I was sad.
Maybe it was fucked up that, in some small way, they’d been the only paternal influences in my life, but I loved them with all that I was for every single ounce of care and attention they’d given me.
As a kid, it had been innocent.
Then, shit had changed when I was sixteen. Sure, I’d been half in love with them since forever, but at sixteen, most girls were losing their V-cards around this place. Just not me. Bomber had put a warning on me. Any brothers touched me, and they’d lose their hands.
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