“I left in such a hurry, I forgot the salmon, salads, and dip. They’re in the fridge. Do you have time to run them over to 101 Kastler Street?”
“No problem. Be right there.” He ended the call and threw an arm around Dixie’s shoulder, following the others into the bar. “You think you can get someone to take over from eight to midnight Tuesday and Wednesday? And from five to midnight Friday and Saturday? Someone big and mean?”
“No, but I can get Jed, and I’m sure Fin would go crazy if we hired Isabel.” She smiled and said, “You’re doing the right thing, Bullet, even though I know you have a hard time accepting that. You’ve protected me my whole life. It’s Finlay’s turn, and more importantly, it’s your turn. She loves you, B. I can see it in her eyes.”
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Bullet was walking through a living room filled with women and baby paraphernalia, where he gazed into Finlay’s gorgeous blue eyes. The women were gathered around Leesa Braden, who was trying to calm her screaming baby girl. Bullet set the dishes on the table by Finlay.
“Thank you so much,” she said, and went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“Everything okay?” He eyed the unhappy baby, remembering when Truman had first brought Lincoln and Kennedy home after rescuing them from a crack house where their mother had overdosed. They were scared and fussy, but when Bullet had held them, they’d calmed right down. He didn’t know if it was his size or what, but to this day, those babies were happy when they were in his arms. And Lord knew he loved holding them.
“Leesa’s baby, Avery, has been fussy since she got here. She’s nursing, so she didn’t want to leave her, and the party is for one of her best friends.”
He walked over to the crowd of women, and they parted like a deck of cards. He nodded at Leesa, whom he knew well, as she was married to Cole Braden, one of Beau’s cousins, who lived there in Peaceful Harbor. “Hi, sweetheart. Can I try to calm your baby girl?”
“Bullet? What are you doing here?” Leesa asked.
“Fin’s my girl. She forgot something, and I brought it over for her.” He thrust his hands forward. “Give me your princess so you can enjoy the party.”
“Um, sure, but she’s having a hard time,” Leesa said, and handed him the baby.
He settled the baby over his shoulder and spoke softly to her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Calm down for Uncle Bullet.” He spread his hand over her back, rubbing in slow circles. As he paced the floor, the baby quieted, save for a few whimpers. She smelled as new and fresh as a warm summer’s breeze. “That’s it, li’l princess. That’s a good girl.”
“Oh my gosh,” a brunette woman said. “Who are you?”
“I’ve got twin eight-month-olds who could use a manny, if you’re free,” a petite blonde with wide brown eyes pleaded.
“Wait,” another blonde said anxiously. “I’ve got a colicky four-month-old. I get dibs.”
Finlay was watching him with an amused and dreamy expression. If he’d had any lingering doubts about his decision to cut back his hours and where he needed to be at night, that look silenced them.
“Sorry, ladies, but all my free time”—and my heart—“is spoken for.”
Chapter Eighteen
FINLAY AWOKE TO the sound of Penny’s ringtone. She rolled toward Bullet’s side of the bed and realized she was alone. It had been two weeks since Bullet had mentioned cutting back his hours and ten days since Jed had modified his schedule to accommodate the change. Bullet had been far less edgy ever since, and he’d been sleeping soundly again, which was why she was confused about waking to an empty bed.
She reached blindly for her phone and put it to her ear. “Hey, Pen. What’s up?”
“Obviously not you.”
“What time is it?” She turned to look at the clock and found a sticky note blocking the numbers. She snagged it and read Bullet’s blocky handwriting. Meet me out front.
“Time for you to get up,” Penny said way too cheerily. “I gotta run. I’m meeting Tegan at Jazzy Joe’s for coffee. Love you!” The line went dead.
Jazzy Joe’s was a café in town run by twins Jasmine and Joe Carbo. Coffee sounded really good right then. She sat at the edge of the bed, wondering what the heck was going on, then padded over to the bathroom and found another sticky note on the mirror.
Wear jeans and those sexy lace-up boots.
She couldn’t stop smiling as she used the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair. Her life had changed so much, so fast. The morning of the baby shower, she’d thought her life couldn’t get any better. Then one of the women at the event had hired her to cater a surprise party for her mother and Bullet had broken the news about cutting back his hours at work and told her that Dixie had mentioned the possibility of hiring Isabel. Finlay had been so excited, she’d accepted the part-time job with the Whiskeys that very night. In the two weeks since, she’d had the menus designed and printed, and Isabel had worked out an almost full-time schedule with Dixie, giving her time to also work with Finlay, and she’d already put in her notice at the restaurant in Boston.
Last Saturday they’d pulled together the final details for the fundraiser, which was taking place in two weeks, after the charity ride. Sarah’s brother was out of ICU, and with any luck, he and the baby would be discharged before the event. The fundraiser was being held on the grounds of Whiskey Bro’s, and they would use it to announce the opening of the kitchen. Finlay was going to cook, and all proceeds from food sales as well as the rally itself would go to the Beckleys.
She gazed out the bedroom window at the backyard as she pulled on a pair of skinny jeans. She and Bullet had worked in the gardens together last Sunday. His passion for nature, and for her, was boundless, and she loved working with him in the gardens as much as she loved working with him at the bar. It was easy to see how working with his hands, concentrating on bringing life into the world, nurturing it, and watching it grow, was cathartic. Just like loving him.
As she laced up the boots he loved and threw on a comfy gray sweater, she wondered what he had up his sleeve this morning.
Downstairs, she found a Pillsbury cinnamon bun on a plate in the kitchen with raisins in the shape of the letter B on top, along with a cup of instant coffee. He was so thoughtful, but she had to laugh that his possessiveness carried over to the B on the top of the cinnamon bun. Could she fall any more in love with him? She quickly ate the bun, getting more excited by the second, and downed the coffee, which was too bitter, but Bullet had gone to the trouble of making it. It could have been thick as sludge and she still would have drank it.
She put her dishes in the sink and ran out front. “Bullet?”
He came out of the garage wearing his leather jacket and jeans and carrying something behind his back. “There’s my angel.”
Tinkerbell trotted over to Finlay, and she knelt to love her up, remembering the first time she’d seen her and screamed and the morning she’d come over to meet her. She’d been terrified, but Bullet and his family had made her feel safe, and they hadn’t stopped since.
Bullet knelt beside her and kissed her cheek. He’d trimmed his beard, but it was still long enough to tickle. “Hey, baby. I got you something.”
“Was that something a phone call from Penny?”
He chuckled. “Someone had to wake you.” He handed her a box wrapped in sparkling silver paper with a big pink bow around it. “She told me about your dad and his gifts. I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to carry on that tradition of celebrating your milestones.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Bullet? What’s this for?” she asked as they both rose to their feet. Tinkerbell leaned against her leg.
“Because you’re my girl.”
She untied the bow and lifted off the top. “Oh my gosh, is this leather?”
Bullet took the box as she withdrew a gorgeous black leather biker jacket with big silver zippers, just like his, only made for a woman.
“Turn it around.”
She did, and her heart
leapt. WHISKEY’S was embroidered across the back in script. “You got me a jacket from the bar? I love it.”
He set the box down and gathered her in his arms. “That’s not a bar jacket, babe.” A spark of possession glimmered in his eyes.
“You’re branding me?” She giggled.
“Protecting.”
“More like claiming.” She tugged him down for a kiss and said, “I love it. Thank you.”
“Try it on.” He held it as she slipped her arms into it.
“It’s so soft. Does it look okay?”
He made a guttural noise and hauled her in for a greedy kiss, leaving her breathless.
“Wow. I like getting presents from you.”
“You look hot as fuck, baby. Seriously, I shouldn’t let you go out wearing those painted-on jeans and that jacket.”
“Let me? Do we need to have a talk about this?”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“Good, because now that I’ve seen your reaction, I’m going to make a point of wearing jeans around you more often.”
His arm swooped around her waist, and he lifted her with one arm and kissed her again. “You might never leave the house if you do.”
“I’m not sure my employers will be happy about that. You know, I have a real job now.”
“This employer has no qualms with you spending all your time in his bed.” He set her on her feet and put an arm around her neck. “Come on, babe. We’re going for a ride.”
He led her into the garage to his shiny black motorcycle and patted the leather seat. “Hop on, baby girl.”
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”
“Until a few weeks ago you’d never had sex outside, and until two nights ago, you’d never had sex on top of the washer while it was running. I seem to remember you enjoying both so much, we needed repeat performances.”
She was unable to deny the thrill of either.
He put his arms around her again and said, “You can always trust me, baby. I’d never put you in harm’s way, and I promise to go slow.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear and his gaze softened and somehow intensified at once. “I love you, Finlay, and I want you with me when I ride. Please do this for me?”
“You…” Emotions clogged her throat.
“I love you, baby. I love how you stand up for what you believe in. I love how you believe in me and how you love Tinkerbell. I love you in your frilly dresses, and I love you lying naked beneath me. I love all of you, and I want, I hope, you’ll try this for me because riding is a big part of who I am.”
She could barely breathe as she struggled to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. “I love you, too.” She threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her into his arms, both of them laughing and kissing. “So much, Bullet. I love you so much.”
“Me too, baby.” Kiss, kiss. “God, it feels good to finally tell you.”
“For me, too.” She kissed him again, and as he set her feet on the ground, she said, “I’ll try to go for a ride, but if I get scared, you’ll stop?”
“Always, baby.”
“Where will we go? Do you have a favorite place you like to ride?”
“No. The open road has always been my place.”
He put Tinkerbell in the house and gave Finlay a lesson in motorcycle safety. She tried really hard to concentrate, but she was busy silently repeating everything he’d said about loving her so she’d never forget a word of it. When he helped her onto the bike and gave her a pink helmet with WHISKEY’S written in black cursive on the sides and said, “I had it made to match your jacket,” she fell even more in love with him. The emotions were so overwhelming, they mounted inside her, taking up all of her until she couldn’t keep them in any longer.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you more than words can say, Bullet, and I just want to tell you over and over again, so you never forget.”
“I’ll never forget, baby. But I hope you’ll never stop telling me anyway.”
He helped her onto the bike, then climbed on in front of her and showed her how to hold him. Wrapping herself around Bullet felt as natural as baking a cake. This was where she belonged, with Bullet, no matter where he was.
“Ready, angel?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
The motorcycle roared to life, vibrating like thunder beneath her. As good as that felt, it didn’t feel half as incredible as the way it rumbled up Bullet’s body, humming through his back and radiating against her heart.
“I think I’m going to love this!” she yelled.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there before pulling her arms around him tighter and putting on his helmet.
As he drove down the driveway, she felt like she was flying. She inhaled the grassy, leafy scents of fall, which took on a sharper, more vibrant aroma. He stopped at the end of the long driveway to ask how she was doing and she gave him a thumbs-up. He revved the engine and turned onto the main drag, heading out of Peaceful Harbor and toward their newest adventure.
BULLET STOPPED TO check in with Finlay two or three times during the beginning of their ride, and he was thrilled that she not only wasn’t freaking out, but was bubbling over with enthusiasm. Seeing her on his bike, with that leather jacket and helmet, was almost the biggest aphrodisiac he’d ever encountered. But nothing was more of a turn-on than Finlay Wilson wearing one of her frilly little dresses and that sunshine smile.
About an hour outside of the harbor, he turned off the highway, heading up a narrow mountain road, to give Finlay the experience of riding the back roads. The sun had kicked up, gracing them with a gorgeous day. If he were riding with the guys, he’d keep on going for hours, but as incredible as it felt to have Finlay pressed up against him, he wanted her in his arms. He physically ached with love for her. Like his heart had never fully functioned, and she made it work harder than it ever had. That was a new and exquisite pain, one he hoped never ended.
He followed the windy mountain roads until they came to a meadow, when Finlay yanked at his jacket, indicating she wanted to stop. He pulled over and removed his helmet, stepping off the bike to see his bright-eyed girl.
“You okay?”
She tugged at her helmet, and he helped her take it off.
“That was amazing. Fantastic. It was so romantic, holding on to you. I can’t explain it, but…” She rose onto her toes, still straddling the bike, and pressed her lips to his.
“I wish I knew more about romance for you, baby.”
Her smile cut straight to his heart.
“Just saying that is more romantic than anything I could dream up.” She grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him closer. “I get it now. All of it, Bullet. The closeness of the club, the way these rides become a part of you. The reason you sometimes get edgy when you don’t have a chance to ride.”
“I don’t get that way much when I’m with you, do I?”
“No, but sometimes I see something there, and then when you come home from work and step off your bike, that look is gone.”
“That’s me coming home to you, baby.” He lifted her off the bike and kissed her hard. He ran his fingers through her hair and held on tight with both hands, angling her face up so he could gaze into her eyes. “You slay my demons and make everything seem possible. I want everything with you, Fins. I want days of riding and nights of making love until the sun comes up. And right now, pretty girl,” he said as he lifted her into his arms and carried her across the meadow, “I need to love you.”
She laughed and kissed him as he carried her through the tall flowers and grass to the far side of the meadow, out of sight from any passersby. He lowered her to her feet, taking her in another sensual kiss.
“You okay here?” he asked against her lips.
She pushed his jacket from his shoulders without hesitation or embarrassment, and that trust nearly did him in. He tugged off his shirt and laid it on the ground. Their mouths came together in slo
w, loving kisses as they undressed each other and sank down to the grass. Cool air brushed over their skin, but her flesh was warm to the touch, gorgeous in the sun’s rays.
“God, I love you, baby,” he said between urgent kisses as he loved every inch of her body, worshipping her scars and that heavenly paradise between her legs. He guided her legs over his shoulders, devouring her, teasing over the special spot that made her quiver and shake. She pulled at his hair, holding his mouth tight against her swollen sex as he took his fill.
“Please, Bullet.”
He lifted her hips, feasting on her, feeling the rush of her approaching orgasm in her quickening breaths, the flexing of her thighs. He gripped her ass, holding it tight in the way he’d learned made her climaxes even more intense. She cried out, her body bucking wildly as she shattered against his mouth. He didn’t relent, holding her tighter, plunging his tongue deeper, through the very last pulse of her release. Then he sheathed his cock and drove into her in one hard thrust.
“Ah!” she cried out as his mouth came down over hers.
She was right there with him, meeting every thrust of his hips, every stroke of his tongue, with an eager, loving motion of her own. Every breath she took, every noise she made, roused his passion. Long, surrendering moans came from both of them as they yielded to their love. As they soared up toward the clouds, he was filled with an incredible sense of completeness.
They lay together for a long while afterward, until Bullet had no choice but to reluctantly break their connection so he could take care of the condom.
He helped her on with her panties and sweater and put on his briefs, still too hot to be dressed. Then he lay on his back with Finlay tucked against his side. Her thigh moved over his, and she ran her fingers along his chest. He laced their hands together and kissed her knuckles.
“When we’re close,” she said softly, “I feel like we fall into this world of our own, and nothing else matters or exists. Is that terribly selfish? I mean, the real world is out there. Poor Sarah is struggling to heal her family and make ends meet, and people around the world are suffering, and here we are in this blissful meadow.”
Driving Whiskey Wild Page 24