by Olivia Chase
“Just tell me this is real,” I whisper, a little frightened.
“It’s real,” he reassures me, and I relax completely.
And then our mouths are on each other’s again, and we’re delving back into the depths of our passion.
Levi
“This bike almost killed me,” I grumble as I finish wiping down the chrome. I take a step back and stare at it. The cherry red gleams, the leather on the seats and saddlebags is rich and supple, and the custom artwork is perfect. I pop a red bow on the black leather seat—who says I don’t have Christmas spirit?
Gregory Rothchild is gonna be one happy motherfucker. Well, he’d better be, or I’ll choke him to death. I worked my ass off designing this bike, and Tommy, Cade, and I put in a ton of man-hours to make it happen by his requested deadline. Hey, he was willing to pay extra to have it before Christmas. Call me Santa Fucking Clause.
“Yeah, but what a fucking way to die,” Tommy says to me, clapping me on the back. “I think it’s our best one yet. He’s going to pop an insta-boner when he sees it.”
“Agreed.” Cade nods and walks around slowly, evaluating the chopper. “We outdid ourselves on this chopper.”
“We’ll, he’d better love it.” I grin as I tilt my head and eye the bike. They’re right. It’s pretty fucking amazing.
“He will. I’m just happy about getting paid for it,” Cade says with a laugh. “God knows we charged him enough. We should be kissing his ass instead of the other way around.”
I roll my eyes but laugh with him. It’s true, we charged Gregory a premium for the bike. I finally caved and gave him a call on the card he’d left at our front desk, told him I’d do the bike but only under two conditions: that he get all future maintenance and repairs through my shop, and that he stops fucking nagging me. He gleefully agreed.
Alexa was happy that I gave him a chance. And hell, I guess I’m happy too, since two of Rothchild’s friends have already come in wanting bikes of their own after seeing pics of the bike in progress. Gotta love rich guys and their disposable income. They couldn’t let Gregory be the only one with one of my custom rides.
Alexa comes barreling into the back, her face bright and her smile wide. Her hot-pink sweater makes her breasts look mouth-wateringly good. This morning, it was difficult as hell to not try to strip it off her when she was dressing. We had sex, but once is never enough. “Guess what? Morgan got into the first college of her choice! And they’ve offered her a good scholarship, too.”
I go over and hug her tight. “We’ll go out to dinner tonight to celebrate.”
I moved in with Alexa and her sisters last week. We’re currently house hunting for a place of our own, a place suitable for our unorthodox family. The girls have been quite free in offering their opinion on what we should buy. I’m just happy they’re starting to cope with the shit hand life dealt them.
Alexa pulls back, beaming, and strokes my face. “Thanks.” She presses a kiss to my cheek. “Oh, and I got us in to that motorcycle show in Detroit next year. We’re going to get such good publicity there. We’ll be set up in a great location, too. The guy assured me that area gets lots of excellent foot traffic. I’m already working on our promo material.”
“That’s fucking awesome,” Tommy says. He goes over and bumps her fist. “Well done.”
Alexa returned to work at the shop the day after we got back together a couple of months ago. Not only is she running the main room like a pro, she’s also expanded her tasks into helping us with marketing. Our business is doing better than it ever was. I’m even going to be hiring on two new mechanics to help with the increased workload, plus a part-time receptionist to assist her in the front. Cade and Tommy are grateful as fuck for the back room help, since they’re working their asses off.
If things keep going like this, I might have to open a second shop.
But that’s down the road a bit.
I couldn’t do this without Alexa. The shop…my life…any of it. She’s changed me in all the best ways.
How foolish, how arrogant, how stupid I was to think I didn’t need her. When I recall the first time I met her and how sure I was she wouldn’t fit in here—I couldn’t have been more wrong.
And never have I been happier to be so wrong.
She goes back to the front, and we finish prepping the bike for Gregory, who’s coming by this afternoon to get it. He’s been blowing up my cell phone with eager texts all damn week.
As Alexa says, there’s no point in us turning down good-paying jobs. Not to mention yet another small thing from my past I’ve been able to let go of. Win-win.
The next few hours pass by quickly. We’re busy with an influx of new customers who are holiday shopping, and I move to my office to order new inventory. If we keep expanding the way we are, I’m gonna need to rent a new building for the shop. Something bigger. Maybe I can even buy a place.
When the last customer leaves ten minutes before closing time, Alexa ducks behind the front desk and kicks off her shoes, rubbing her socked soles. She grimaces. “My feet are killing me.”
I get up from my office, sit on the edge of the desk, and tug her leg up, digging my thumbs into her arches.
She groans and lets her head fall back. “Oh God, that’s amazing. I can’t tell you how much I needed that.”
“You’re doing an amazing job,” I say with a smile. “The least I can do is massage your pretty toes every once in a while.” I want to massage more, but it’ll have to wait until we get home and I have her naked in bed.
The door dings, and we both look up. Alexa smiles, slips back into her shoe, and says hi, but I just freeze, staring in surprise. My heart gives a painful kick.
Uncle Jack walks over, his gaze unsure as he looks at us.
“Can I help you?” Alexa chirps. She doesn’t know who he is.
I squeeze her elbow and try to find the words, but he beats me to it. “I’m…I’m Levi’s uncle. Jack.”
“Oh,” she breathes. She looks over at me, her brows knitted in concern. “Um.” She presses her lips together, unspoken questions flying in her eyes.
She and I haven’t talked much about the things I told her that day. Just pieces here and there, with me filling in blanks about my past. She’s not pushing me, and I’m grateful for that. While I’m getting better about opening up, I’m still trying to deal with the ramifications of feeling everything again, from not shutting down and ignoring things that hurt. Alexa’s been kind and understanding, saying it takes time to heal.
I guess that includes all the old shit with my uncle. I never did call him back, never did read his messages. I wasn’t ready.
I take a hard look at him. The past ten years have been rough on him. He’s more gray than I remember, with salt-and-pepper scruff on his face. There are bags under his eyes. He’s also less sure of himself…more uncertain. Probably because he’s picked up the hint that I haven’t wanted to talk to him.
And yet here he is. Still stubborn as ever.
After clearing my throat, I say evenly, “What do you need, Jack?”
He scrubs the scruff on his jaw. “Been trying to talk to you. Figured I should just come here in person.”
Alexa reaches down and takes my hand, her eyes a question to me—do I want her to go or stay?
I squeeze her fingers and keep them threaded in mine, and her soft smile eases some of the stress in my chest. She’s here with me. She isn’t going anywhere. I nod at Jack. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
He looks me over. “You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”
“Yup.” Not really sure what else to say. I feel uncomfortable. I want him to get to the point. But I’m also trying to not be purposely rude or push him away. If he needs to say something, I’ll give him the space to do so.
Adulting is fucking hard sometimes.
“I’ve…been waiting a while to tell you some things. Been trying to call you, as you know. But I figured you weren’t ever gonna call me
back.” He clears his throat. “I have some guilt about the bad blood between us. And I know it’s all my fault.”
My emotions are conflicted, warring between surprise over his honesty or cynicism that he’s only saying this because he wants something from me. Not exactly the things I was expecting to hear from him. Alexa rubs her thumb along my fingers in silent encouragement. I make myself stand in place and listen.
“I was a very young man when I found out I was the only relative willing or able to take you into my home,” he starts, hesitant. “Your mom was my favorite cousin. We grew up together. When she…died…I was very upset, of course.” His gaze roams the store as he talks, in an absentminded fashion of someone struggling to remain even-keeled and unemotional. “If I’d refused to take you in, you would have gone to foster care.”
Fuck me. I had no idea. True, I have a very small family, mostly extended relatives scattered throughout the US, but none of them wanted to take me in? My stomach churns with hurt and shock.
Alexa steps close to me and wraps her arm in the crook of my elbow. Her other hand rubs my forearm.
My jaw is tight. “I see.” Splendid. I’m so glad he came all this way to tell me that.
Uncle Jack continues, “I didn’t tell you because I never wanted you to feel unwanted. And there was no way I could let you go through that kind of upbringing, especially after the way we lost your mom. But truth is…” He pauses, seems to gather himself, “I resented the disruption in my life. Shitty to say, but it’s true. I never wanted kids, never planned to have any. And I was young and terrified about how to raise and care for a young boy. So I took my resentment out on you, which was unfair as hell.” His voice goes low. “I can’t make up for the past or go back and fix the wrongs I did. But I can own my mistakes and face you, apologize for the shitty way I treated you. I was cold and distant, harsh. I did the best I could, but it wasn’t enough. I should have tried harder.” Regret is clear on his face now, in the deep grooves on his brow, the lines fanning out around his eyes and mouth.
My chest is tight and it’s hard to breathe freely.
“So why did you wait until now to tell me all of this?” I ask.
“Took me a while to pull my head out of my ass,” he says bluntly.
I guess I can understand that. “Family trait,” I mumble.
He nods, a small shadow of a smile on his face. “You come from stubborn stock. It’s pretty much genetic.” His eyes go serious as he looks at me, and he sighs. “I’m sorry, Levi. I’m fucking sorry. You deserved better than me, and you got the raw end of the deal all around.”
The words release something in me, something that has been tightly locked up for years. Another wall is crumbling away in my chest.
Uncle Jack’s eyes get suspiciously wet. He shrugs, swipes at them. “I’m fucking ashamed of myself. It’s taken me this long to admit it, to come to you, knowing you have every right to hate me.” His voice gets thick. “But…I’m tired. Tired of the bad blood between us. I’m ready to put a rest to this bitterness. I don’t know if you can forgive me, but I hope you can. Family needs to stick together, and we haven’t done that, but I want us to.”
My heart splinters; the pain is clear in his voice, in his words. Took him a lot of courage to face me when I’d been shutting him down. I can respect that.
I step toward him and give him a hug. It’s awkward, and it doesn’t last long, but it’s a move in the right direction. He pats my back, and I pat his, and we step apart. I hear sniffling and turn to see Alexa has tears running down her face, a small smile gracing her lips.
“Alexa,” I say, reaching a hand out toward her, “meet my uncle. Jack, this is my girlfriend. No,” I say to correct myself, “actually, this is the woman who brought me back to life.”
She rushes over and hugs me, then sticks out her hand to him. “I’m so glad to meet you.” Her voice is warm and welcoming. Just like her. No hesitation, no doubt.
A small tear slips out of my uncle’s eye, but he wipes it away and then takes Alexa’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You should come over for dinner sometime,” she suggests, then looks at me with a wince. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to push. I was just…”
I press a kiss to her forehead. Sweet, sweet girl, always trying to make everything better for everyone else. I can’t be mad at her for wanting my happiness. “It’s a good idea.” I look at Uncle Jack. “What do you say? Maybe you can come over Christmas Eve. We’re not planning anything fancy, but you’re invited.”
The smile he gives me is genuine. I’ve never seen him smile like that.
I decide I like this version of my uncle. I want to get to know him better. For him to know me, too.
He nods. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
Six months later
I shift and adjust the collar of my suit. Not used to dressing up this nicely, but then again, it isn’t every day that a man gets hitched. Alexa’s well worth putting a monkey suit on for.
It’s a warm, balmy day in early June. The sun has warmed the whole clearing of the lake, and I can hear the water softly swish behind me as a breeze sends currents to the shore. It was Alexa’s idea for us to get married here. When I popped the question on Valentine’s Day, she said yes about fifty times. She asked us to do it here, because of the importance of the place to her and to me.
Not a lot of people are here, but that’s by design. Cade and his parents are sitting by Uncle Jack, serving as my family. They’re talking to each other. Tommy’s behind them with a few of my friends in the biker scene.
Alexa’s sisters are here, of course, and they’re right by her aunt and uncle, who are fussing and making pleased noises over how the girls are dressed.
They had a lot of fun shopping for their dresses. I wanted to die, because shopping with teen girls is pretty much the most awful thing ever, but it made Alexa so happy that I just shut up and did it.
The small band in the back starts to play, and then there’s Alexa, walking down the center of the aisle we created between rows of seats. Her dress is white and form-fitting, strapless. Her hair is pulled into a loose bun and decorated with small pearls.
She’s fucking stunning.
I can’t breathe as I watch her come toward me. My hands start to shake—not from nerves, but from anticipation.
This beautiful woman is going to be my wife. I don’t know how I managed to be the fucking luckiest guy in the universe, but I’m so ridiculously grateful.
The guy marrying us is a family friend of Cade’s who is a pastor but very chill and accepting of all people. His parents attend the pastor’s church and they recommended we give him a shot. When Alexa and I met him, we both felt so welcomed that we knew it would be perfect.
She reaches me, and I see a slight sheen in her eyes. I take her hand and with my other hand, brush her soft cheek.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” I whisper. She wouldn’t let me see the dress beforehand. And now I’m glad, because it was worth the surprise.
The pastor begins, talking about the healing power of love, how it bonds a couple together. I’m only half listening, because I can’t stop staring at the woman beside me. Her face is glowing as she locks eyes with me.
Alexa and I are still working on our personal journeys. On accepting the tragedies of our past. But we can do it together, support each other. Give each other strength and courage. This woman gave it all to me, even when I was too fucking stupid to realize what a precious gift it was.
“Love brings peace,” the pastor says to wrap up his speech, grabbing my attention again. “It makes us want to be better people. It sets us free.”
No truer words have ever been spoken, I decide.
A moment later he asks the most pertinent questions to both of us.
She says I do.
I say I do.
We exchange rings, and I slide the band onto the finger sporting the diamond engagement ring.
And when it’s all do
ne, I grab my beautiful wife and kiss her hard enough to make our small group of attendees holler and laugh, clapping. My heart is hammering. My God, I don’t know what I did to find her, but I’m never letting this woman go.
I unashamedly taste her mouth, claim her, bite her lips to mark her as mine. This woman is mine, my love, my desire, the best parts of me. She kisses me with a boldness that matches my enthusiasm, and I feel myself getting hard.
It’s difficult to do so, but I pull back. Probably shouldn’t be popping a semi-boner in front of everyone. But later tonight…later, I’m going to take my sweet time sliding her out of that stunning wedding dress, and then I’m going to fuck her so hard, she can’t walk for a week.
“Tell me it’s forever,” she whispers against my mouth.
“Forever and beyond,” I reply back softly. “I’m so fucking happy.”
“Get a room, you guys!” Morgan yells in a teasing tone.
Everyone laughs. We pull apart, and Alexa waggles a finger at her. And then we’re walking down the aisle toward the reception area we set up nearby as others start mingling and snacking on appetizers.
When music starts to play, I take my wife in my arms and move out to our impromptu dance area, shutting out the rest of the world. The sun is setting, and the sunset casts a golden glow to her skin. I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at her. Wanting her.
“Hiring you was the best decision I ever made.” I wink.
She smirks and shakes her head, her eyes glowing. “Told you I’d be good for your shop. Never question me again.”
“Absolutely,” I promise, crossing an X over my heart. “Now, let’s get this reception started, because the sooner it’s over, the sooner I can get you in bed and make love to you for hours.”
Her smile holds so many wicked promises that I feel my dick throb in response. “I’m looking forward to that. I believe you promised me a new experience tonight.”