by Penny Dee
She smiled back and I gave her a wink. It felt good bringing her. She was in her second trimester and her belly was swelling more and more everyday. We’d agreed to wait until after the wedding to tell my family about the pregnancy. Honey wanted to meet them at least once before we told them. And I wanted to play it anyway she felt comfortable with. So the wedding was a good opportunity to introduce her to my family, to my world.
We hadn’t touched since the afternoon she’d pounced on me in the kitchen. I had waited for, hoped for, more pouncing, but since she’d created those ridiculous rules, I had to settle for getting up close and personal with only Mrs. Palmer and her five daughters.
Which was slowly driving me crazy with need.
When Father Murphy pronounced Tully and Heidi husband and wife, the public display of affection that followed was all tongues and shameless chemistry. Father Murphy looked a little squeamish, but everyone else in the room cheered and whistled, some bikers taking their own old ladies in their arms and kissing them senseless, too.
The ceremony was followed by a reception in one of Head Quarters’ large studios used for shooting some of the bigger scenes where more space was required. It was a huge room that opened up to a veranda overlooking the river cutting through the property.
Waiters roamed through the throng of wedding guests carrying trays of food and glasses of champagne. Beer bottles were opened, Patrón was shot and bourbon was swilled. From a state-of-the-art sound system, music filled the room and drifted out over the veranda.
The party had begun.
I found Honey filling a paper plate with food from a passing waiter.
“Sorry, I got caught up with the bride and groom.” I ran a gentle hand down her slender arm. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes sparkled with happiness. “Yes, so far I’ve met Indy and Cade, a guy called Hawke—who might or might not have a crush on me now that he knows I bake cupcakes for a living—oh, and a guy called Matlock who has the filthiest mouth I’ve ever heard!”
She was right. Matlock couldn't talk without cussing.
“Oh, and your uncle, Bull. He came over and introduced himself.” She bit into a piece of southern fried chicken. “He has very nice eyes.”
Bull had freaky-as-fuck eyes. But for some reason, all the chicks dug them.
“You want to meet my mom?”
“You know, every single person I’ve met today has asked me if I’ve met your mom, yet and when I tell them no, they laugh. I get the feeling you’re not telling me something. Is she that scary?”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah. She’s that scary.”
Honey rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she’s lovely.”
“You ready?”
“With sauce all over my face and teeth. Hell yes, I’m ready.” She winked and grinned. She did in fact have sauce on her lips, and when I reached up and wiped it from the corner of her mouth, her eyes danced across at me. She put her plate down on a nearby table and used a napkin to wipe her mouth. “How do I look?”
She showed me her teeth. They were spotless. And she was perfect.
“Beautiful,” I said.
“You’re just saying that to butter me up before I meet your scary mom.”
It was my mouth that opened to reply. But it was my mother’s voice that interrupted. “Oh, I don’t know if I’m that scary, am I?”
Honey and I both jerked our heads to find my mom standing two feet away from us. With a head of raven back curls and deeply hooded eyes that could reduce any man or woman to a smoldering, combusted mess at her feet, my mom was as intimidating as she was beautiful.
Honey looked horrified, but I had to stifle back a laugh.
“Oh my God—” Honey breathed desperately.
Mom came closer, her biker chick walk in check. Her eyes glittered up and down Honey, her expression pure poker faced.
“Relax, if my reputation hadn’t preceded me then I would worry I was losing my touch.” She offered Honey her hand. “I’m Ronnie, Caleb’s scary mother.”
Honey took it and shook it rigorously. “I’m Honey, Caleb’s disgraceful plus one.”
The two women smiled at one another and something about the moment resonated through me. And it took me a while to understand what I was feeling. But then it hit me with absolute clarity. Honey belonged here. With us. With me.
My mom turned her attention to me.
“I’m going to steal your date away. Tully needs you over at the bar for some best man duties or something. I’m thinking it’s probably shots. Although, considering the bar is currently holding him up, I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.” She smiled but I knew she was up to something. “So while you take care of your groom, I’m going to take your date over to meet a few of the ladies. Don’t worry, she’ll be safe. I promise I will be on my best behavior.”
She said the words sweetly. But my mom didn’t do sweet, so she was lying. Mom was taking this opportunity to find out what she could about my date.
I gave her a raised eyebrow, but Honey brushed a reassuring hand across mine as she passed by. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Watching my mom lead Honey away, I couldn’t help but smile. Something very real was happening inside of me. Something I’d never felt. Never known.
“She’s beautiful,” Cade said, joining me.
I couldn’t drag my eyes off her. “Yes, she is.”
“You know Mom’s going to know everything there is to know about her in the next five minutes.”
“Yep.”
“And if she finds out you’ve been keeping her a secret, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Yep.”
My brother chuckled and tapped me on the arm, finally dragging my attention away from Honey. “Come on, Tully wants us at the bar. He wants to celebrate with his groomsmen.”
Tully was hammered already. While his bride was outside on the veranda smoking cigarettes and a joint with her bridesmaids, he was inside getting plastered. He was a mess and already had a liquor stain down the front of his ruffled shirt.
He was also at the I love you stage and slung an arm over my shoulder.
“You gotta find yourself a good woman and let her make an honest man outta you. Because it’s the best feeling in the world.” He slumped against me and I had to hold him up. Something told me his bride was going to be doing all the work later. “You gotta find a nice girl—or a bad one— and settle down.”
“I’ll take that under consideration,” I said to him with a grin.
“There’s no feeling like that smooth, warm body of your hot old lady filling the bed next to you,” he slurred, his eyes hooded. He struggled to focus on his wife out on the veranda. “Tonight, I’m going to give her a baby.”
I couldn’t help my chuckle. I doubted he was going to give her anything in his state.
“In fact, I’m gonna go give her one right . . . right, now.” He released me and stumbled out onto the veranda and into the arms of his brand new wife. I turned away just as Cade slid another shot along the bar. I shook my head.
“No more,” I said. After two shots of Patrón, I was done. I ordered a bourbon. I wasn’t going to get hammered, not when Honey was with me.
I watched her from the bar across the room, my bones aching to touch her and claim her as mine. My heart bloomed with pride because that beautiful woman over there talking to my sister-in-law was carrying my baby in her belly.
Fuck it. I didn’t want to be over here at the bar. I wanted to be out on that dance floor with her in my arms. Because dancing with her was the only way it was going to happen.
I put down my glass, wandered over to her, and extended my hand. She looked up at me, grinned, and accepted it, then followed me out onto the dance floor. Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Mary Had A Little Lamb” filled the room and everyone on the dance floor danced away to the bluesy number like they didn’t have a care in the world. And as I danced with her, we laughed and enjoyed the night, and it felt good. It had been a
good night. Hell, it had been an amazing night. Being with her. Seeing her relax and be at ease in my world; watching her talk and laugh with the old ladies like she was one of them.
When Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues” took over, the mood on the dance floor changed and I wondered if Honey would walk away. But she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and let me pull her closer so I could wrap my arms around her waist and hold her against the body that was aching for her touch. For her closeness. For her. It had been weeks since our last encounter, and my body was screaming for her to touch me.
A sheen of sweat shone on her beautiful face as she smiled up at me. The song was intimate. Full of emotion. A song about longing. And longing was something I knew something about. She looked up at me, and for a moment I was lost in the vibrant blue of her lovely eyes. Emotion shimmered across her face and she licked her lips as she leaned into me and laid her cheek against my chest. My heart beat wildly. This was torture. Absolute torture. Being this close to her, holding her close and feeling the gentle swell of her belly pressing into my stomach.
Across the room, Cade danced with his wife on the dance floor. She was heavily pregnant and he did nothing but dote on her. Now he held her close, his hands cupping her face as he kissed her gently. Together they swayed to the music, their love vibrant, their future certain. I felt Honey shift her head and knew she was looking at them, too.
Suddenly she straightened, a big smile spreading across her face. She grabbed both my hands and placed them on her curved belly.
“Did you feel that?” she asked, her face open, her eyes shining.
And then it happened. Right there on the dance floor, I felt my baby move in Honey’s belly. The world around us fell away as our baby moved about, awake and active, shifting in her. We both looked at each other and laughed.
“Holy hell,” I said, sliding my hands over the curve of her stomach.
Something in me shifted. Feeling my baby. He never seemed more real to me.
Oh yeah. We were having a boy. I just knew it.
I looked up from her belly to her beautiful face. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to pull her to me and slam my mouth to hers. I wanted to take her home and peel those clothes off her, piece by piece, and make love to her right through the night until dawn. Hell, I wanted to scream to the heavens about how much I wanted this.
Instead, the moment was broken by my mom’s surprised and very loud voice.
“You’re pregnant?” she exclaimed.
Both Honey and I turned our heads to look at her. Standing only a few feet away and holding a glass of champagne in each hand, my mom stared at us in disbelief.
“Oh, crap,” Honey whispered.
“Guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” I replied out of the corner of my mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“In about sixty seconds this entire wedding reception is going to know about this.”
Honey jerked her head to look at me, her eyes wide with concern. “What do we tell them? How do we explain us to them?”
“We don’t have to explain anything to them.” We both looked down at my hands on her stomach and then back at my mom. “We were kind of hoping to keep it to ourselves for a bit.”
But Mom didn’t hear anything other than my confirmation that yes, Honey was pregnant.
“A baby!” She looked at me. “Is it yours?”
“Jesus, Mom. Yes, it’s my baby.”
Her smile started in her eyes and finally broke on her lips. She handed the champagne glasses to a passing waitress and walked over to us.
“A baby, well, color me surprised.” She pulled me into a hug, squeezing tight. When she released me, she did the same to Honey.
“You’re okay with it?” I asked.
“Another grandbaby, of course I’m okay with it.” She smiled, but it was dubious. “But you better tell your grandmother and pray no one gets to her first.”
HONEY
It was a crazy night from that point on.
Our secret was out and what followed was a lot of congratulations and a lot of questions.
Overall, people seemed really excited and enthusiastic, especially some of the old ladies who crowded around me and started with the questions about names, due dates, OB-GYNs, and was I getting the right prenatal care. They circled me like a wolf pack, protecting one of their own.
Others didn’t seem too interested, namely the older club members who simply patted Caleb on the back and moved on.
Indy, who looked like she was about to pop, was excited about a cousin for her baby. Ronnie was thrilled with the idea of another grandbaby. Although, beneath the façade of joy I could see a simmering doubt in those sapphire blue eyes of hers. She didn’t know me and I didn’t know her. And if I was honest, she kind of intimidated me. She was a tough biker queen. The widow of the murdered President, sister to the current President, and mother to three Kings of Mayhem club members. Going by some of the conversations I’d heard, she was the one the other old ladies either feared or looked up to. I glanced over at her. She was having a quiet one-on-one with Caleb. Probably asking him what the hell he was up to and making sure he hadn’t lost his mind.
But I couldn’t blame her for being doubtful. Or guarded about me. Tonight was the first time she’d met me, and two hours later she found out I was pregnant and her son was the father. Getting to know each other was going to take time. I glanced around the reception area full of Kings and their Queens. This whole environment was going to take time to get used to.
Needing to use the bathroom, I excused myself and walked along a long hallway until I found it. Inside it was empty and I was relieved, after the frenzied attention from everyone at the reception I needed five minutes of peace and quiet. I took a moment in the stall to catch my breath and close my eyes against the world. This was happening. I was becoming a part of this MC whether I’d planned to or not. If the last twenty minutes had shown me anything it was that I might not be a member of the club but I was carrying a King’s baby and that made me someone in this club. I thought of Caleb and smiled. Through all the craziness, his attention never wavered, always casting a protective eye in my direction, even when the old ladies swarmed around me and separated us, he’d maintained a watchful eye over me.
I exhaled and felt any reservations about Caleb leave me. I felt good. Happy. And for the first time, relaxed and confident that we knew what we were doing and nothing could stand in our way.
When I left the cubicle, I noticed a blonde girl at the sink, checking her make-up and fixing her long hair. As I washed my hands, our eyes met in the mirror.
“I think you’re very brave,” she said.
Her tone grabbed my attention.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
Her eyes dropped to my stomach and then returned to mine in the mirror.
“Caleb isn’t known for his commitment. He loses interest real quick, if you know what I mean.” She flounced her hair and adjusted her large boobs in the low-cut top she had on. A gold necklace with the name Tiffani glinted in the harsh fluorescent light. “He’s always been that way. Always looking for new pussy. I mean, we thought that maybe he had changed when he hooked up with Brandi. But, well, not even she could tame him.”
She stepped away from the mirror and turned to look at me. Again, her eyes swept over me, one eyebrow lifting. “And if Brandi couldn’t keep him interested, what chance do you have?”
My jaw dropped.
“Oh, don’t look so shocked. I’m simply keeping it real. Telling you how it is. You know, girl code and all that.”
There was absolutely no girl code in anything she had just said. It was pure vitriolic bullshit. Probably motivated by a burn from the man himself.
“So when did he turn you down?” I asked casually, drying my hands with a paper towel.
Her glossy lips parted with a scowl. “Come again?”
“Caleb. When did he turn you down? Or has it been so many times you’ve lost count? ”
<
br /> Her confidence slipped, only briefly, but long enough for me to know I was right.
Her eyes narrowed and she dug her tongue into her cheek as she smirked. “Don’t think for a moment that this baby changes anything. You’re nothing more than a passing hobby. He’ll move on. Trust me. You’re just another notch on his bedpost, darlin’.”
This girl was a real bitch.
And I had a real short wick when it came to this type of bitchiness.
“It must really suck wanting something so much and knowing you can’t have him,” I said, scrunching up the paper towel and throwing it in the bin. “But if you ever want to know how good it feels to be fucked by him, you know where to find me. I’ll be the one riding him later tonight.”
It was a lie. No one knew we weren’t anything more than friends. But this bitch needed to be put in her place, and despite being a little bit rocked by her attack, I felt up to the task.
Her eyes narrowed and her smirk disappeared, replaced by a face full of thunder. Obviously, I’d struck a nerve.
But Tiffani was a girl with goals. She had done what she had set out to do so she flashed me a nasty smile, pushed up her boobs a bit more, and threw her little handbag over her shoulder. “He’ll break your heart, darlin’. Don’t say you weren’t warned.”
She walked out first, while I leaned against the sink and tried to collect my emotions. I felt sick but refused to let her rattle me.
I straightened. Girls like that, they got their satisfaction from the pain of others. But I wasn’t going to give her anything to fuel it. So I shook it off and left the bathroom, determined to put Tiffani behind me.
Caleb found me before I found him. He was waiting for me outside the bathroom, a glass of sparkling water in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. I wondered if he’d been there in time to see Tiffani leave, but she wasn’t draped all over him like I’m sure she would have been if she’d seen him.