Trip looked up at me, still inside my body. He lifted his head and kissed me tenderly, carefully. Lovingly.
“Tell me you love me,” I said suddenly.
He looked up at me with raised eyebrows. “I love you.”
“I want to hear you say it again,” I said. “Please. I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
“Megan Ward, I love you,” he said with a grin. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Before I met you, my life was empty. I thought I had everything I wanted but I was so very wrong. Then I met you, and you changed all that.”
I smiled. “Do you mean it?”
“I mean every word, and so much more,” he replied. “I never want you to leave; never.”
“Then I won’t,” I said as I leaned down and pressed my lips to his. “Because I love you more than life itself.”
“And I love you.”
“You promise?” I asked, looking at him with all seriousness in my eyes. “Cross your heart?”
It was a phrase the kids often used in school, and it probably sounded silly coming from an adult, but to me, it was the purest expression of a promise.
Trip smiled up at me and made the sign over his chest. “I cross my heart,” he said.
Epilogue
Trip - Eight Months Later
“Looks good to me. Let’s get it out the door and work on the Charger, then we’ll call it a night,” I said.
“You guys both coming to the bar later?” Brutus asked. “We’ve not gotten to see a lot of Megan lately.”
“We’re both coming. I think Meg’s going to bring a couple of her friends from Barstow, too,” I told him.
“Anyone hot?” Odie asked. “I’m sick of this being single shit.”
“You should be focused enough on the club you aren’t worried about whether or not you’re single,” Brutus said. “That’s the sort of shit you luck in to when the time is right.”
“And that’s why he’s still single,” Gunner said with a laugh, pointing at Brutus.
“Not seeing you with anyone hanging off your arm,” Brutus shot back.
“That’s because your mother doesn’t want to us be seen in public together yet,” Gunner said. Brutus started for him as Axle and Odie both laughed.
“You know if you just ignore them, they’ll stop, right?” I asked as the others started leaving.
Brutus just grunted and grabbed his stuff, getting ready to leave.
“Oh, don’t be that way you grumpy old fucker,” I said. “Maybe if you smiled once in a while, you’d find a good woman too.”
He flipped me off over his shoulder as he walked out of the shop and I couldn’t help but laugh. Though he acted like he didn’t care, I knew differently. Brutus wanted someone to love and to love him just like the rest of us did. It was human nature. And even as fucked up as some of us were, we were still human beings that needed love.
then, but I had a feeling that some of my brothers were just jealous. They liked Meg. Loved her, in fact, but they all wanted what we had.
She was still feisty as shit and gave me a run for my money on a daily basis. Hell, not even the fact that she was expecting our first child had changed that, either. She was still just as independent as always and hadn’t even let me tell the boys for the first three months of the pregnancy.
Now, she was just starting to show, and I couldn’t wait for her to be at the bar that night with the rest of the gang. Kate was coming up from Barstow, and in the back of my mind, I could almost see her getting with one of my brothers.
Though the months Meg and I had been together, I’d gotten to know Kate a little better. She was just as headstrong as Meg, but with an even wilder streak running through her veins. She didn’t have many inhibitions in life, and they only faded with wine.
It was going to be a good time with her there tonight, I was sure. Even if Cutter was going to be there as well.
The whole point of going to the bar that night was to celebrate the final treaty between the Avenging Angels and Satan’s Souls. Ever since Meg had come to live with me in Ridgecrest, she had worked her ass off to bring the two clubs together.
She thought the Angels could be a positive influence on the Souls, and though we still didn’t see eye to eye on many things, she had managed to make peace between the two of us. Hell, she had made more progress in a matter of months than I had made in over a year, and I was proud of her.
Sure, it probably helped that she was Cutter’s sister. Though I felt that fact had been what had hurt his and my relationship at first. But, with time, he had come around, and when he found out he was going to be an uncle, he had readily cooperated with our demands.
He wanted to be part of the kid’s life, and he knew if that was going to happen, he was going to have to clean up his act. While I still wasn’t entirely sure about the situation, Meg seemed to be comfortable with it, and I trusted her.
I’d seen her in action, she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt our family. If she wanted her brother to be part of our child’s life, and if he was willing to make compromises with us to make that happen, then I was willing to see how it went.
It wasn’t going to be easy, but that was part of the reason she wanted us to start getting to know each other on better terms – months before the baby was born.
“You know this is going to be a good thing in the long run,” she said. “When we need someone to watch the baby, we’re going to need options.”
“There are a million people I would pick before I’d pick your brother,” I replied.
She gave me a look and I shrugged. “Am I wrong?”
Laughing, she shook her head. “Fair enough, but I want you to at least try, okay?”
“Okay,” I promised. “I’ll try. For you.”
We set a meeting at the local tavern where Meg and I and the guys would often hang out. They kept a few tables reserved for us on the weekends, so we were always guaranteed a spot. “I’m going to head to the center and pick her up, then I’ll meet you guys down there in a couple hours,” I said to Brutus as I followed him out.
“I can’t promise we aren’t going to already be shitfaced when you get there,” Brutus replied as he got on his bike.
“As long as no one starts any shit with Meg and Kate there, you can get as shitfaced as you want,” I reminded him.
“You got it Boss” he said with a mock salute.
Even though he acted like my warning was an annoyance, I knew Brutus would make sure everyone behaved, especially if Megan was there.
She had been treated like she was made of gold since everyone found out about the baby, and that was how I wanted it to stay. They had banded together to help us move into a small house, and more often than not, one of my men would help her with grocery shopping or anything else she needed.
She was barely even showing, and things were already this good, I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like when the baby was actually born. That child was going to have more “uncles” than he or she knew what to do with, and I heartily approved.
Meg had changed her mind about the evils of the club, and she had grown used to the idea of being associated with us. In fact, she had taken her work in Barstow and combined it with what Amanda was doing at the shelter in Ridgecrest.
Together, they had joined forced and created a center that wasn’t only providing shelter and resources for battered women, but also reached out to women facing unwanted pregnancies, women who struggled with substance abuse, and teenagers who were coming from broken homes.
Her goal was to bring everyone together in a single place, making it possible for the two women to reach out to as many people as they could from one center. The idea had taken off with the community, and they now employed several other women who helped with the daily duties.
There were therapists, counselors, and even a couple medically trained nurses on site at all times. The place had become a beacon of hope not only in Ridgecrest, but in the entire surrounding a
rea. They had women coming from hundreds of miles away for help, and no one was ever turned away for any reason.
But for tonight, I wanted Meg by my side. This was a big deal, even if it wasn’t her brother who would be on the other side of that treaty. I was proud of what the Avenging Angels had accomplished, and I was going to stand tall as we made our pact with each other.
We would join forces as brothers, setting aside differences of the past and focusing on what we could do to move forward in the future. No more drugs, no more guns. No more violence or breaking the law to get what we wanted. Instead, we would work together as allies, keeping the illegal activity off the streets and out of our towns.
I pulled up in front of the center and waited. It was only a few seconds before Meg emerged, her purse over her shoulder and a smile on her face. She hurried down the steps and toward me, grinning as she did so.
“You’re just on time,” she said.
“Always,” I replied. “I couldn’t wait any longer too see you.”
“Aren’t you charming,” she commented as she climbed into the truck. Since we’d found out she was pregnant, I’d taken to driving her in the truck. There was no way I was risking her and our baby on the back of my bike.
She wrapped her arms around me and planted a kiss on my lips. I pulled back and smiled.
“Don’t start or we’re going to have everyone waiting on us,” I said as I adjusted my growing cock in my jeans.
“What?” she said, batting her eyes and feigning innocence. “It’s not my fault the pregnancy hormones make me crazy horny,” she said.
“Babe, you’re gonna kill me,” I chuckled as she reached over and undid my belt.
“But what a way to go,” she said, as she pulled my cock free and bent over to take it in her mouth.
“What a way to go,” I agreed, my head falling back against the headrest. Thank fuck my windows were blacked out.
As she bobbed her head up and down, I threaded my fingers through her hair and tugged gently to let her know I was close to coming. The warning only served to spur her on and she increased her suction, lapping at my shaft and flicking her tongue over the sensitive tip before releasing me with a pop and saying only one word before diving back down over me.
At the sound of her sweet voice saying, “Slade”, my cock jumped and immediately exploded in her mouth and I cried out as I spilled myself down the back of her throat. Jesus, I loved hearing her use my real name. It got me every time.
As she swallowed down every last drop and pulled her lips from me, I couldn’t help but smile. I had hit the jackpot.
“What a way to go.”
Book Four - Saving Sky
1
Jack
“You have to go! It’s for the Captain!” Welsh said as he clapped me on the back.
“I know, but strip clubs aren’t really my cup of tea,” I said. “I’d rather not.”
“Okay, it’s not a strip club, it’s a gentleman’s club,” Welsh said, emphasizing the word.
“You realize those are the same thing, right?” I asked.
“They are not!” Welsh shot back, horror in his expression. “There are a lot of differences!”
“Women taking off their clothes and men watching them, that’s what they are,” I said with a laugh. “You can’t argue that.”
“A gentleman’s club is far classier, hence the name. Everything is nicer, including the girls. So, you’re a lot more likely to find someone hot to take home than you would if you were at a strip club,” he said. There was a look on his face that told me he planned to do that very thing.
“I don’t have any intention of even going, let alone taking any of the girls’ home,” I replied. “Seriously man, I’ve got work to do.”
“Oh, you’re going. It’s his bachelor party! With any luck Cap’s only going to be married this one time, and you’re going to feel pretty stupid in the morning when you are the only one in the unit who didn’t show up at the party,” Welsh shook his head.
I hesitated. He did have a point with that one. I didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t show up, and with the buzz about the party being at the club circulating through the force, I had a feeling I was the only one who wouldn’t be.
“We’re leaving in an hour. You don’t have a lot of time to decide,” he pushed.
“I already made up my mind,” I said. “I’m not going.”
“That’s stupid. You are going, and you’re going to have a good time. Trust me. You can’t go to Smitty’s and not have a good time,” Welsh replied.
“Smitty’s? He chose Smitty’s?” I asked. “Now I’m definitely not going.”
“What’s wrong with Smitty’s?”
“What isn’t?”
“Jesus Jack. Quit being such a pussy. Just show up for an hour. You never know, you might want to stay longer when you see what they have on the menu and get a drink or two in you,” Welsh argued.
I hesitated once more. I really didn’t like those venues, but he kept making good points. If I went, I didn’t have to stay for very long. I could show up, make sure Cap saw that I was there, then head home.
“Are you just trying to get a rise out of me? Is that it?” I asked. “Seems to me like you want me there pretty bad, when we all know that you’re going to be throwing money at the strippers and ignoring the rest of us.”
“Do you have to call them that? It’s degrading. These women are dancers. Hence why they work where they do. Show them some respect,” Welsh shook his head once more in mock disgust.
“I’d show them plenty of respect if they kept their clothes on,” I replied. “Now finish with filing the reports from today so we can get out of here.”
“I’m only going to hurry if you’re going to the club. We can start showing up like an hour before Cap gets there to get the table set up and shit,” Welsh rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“I’m working in the morning so I can’t get drunk,” I flipped through a couple folders on the desk before sliding them into a drawer.
“You sound older than you are, Jack. Thirty-three should be your prime of life, not when you’re at home in your slippers at seven on a Friday,” Welsh gave me a look and I shrugged. My job was exhausting, and I didn’t often go out for drinks with friends anymore.
It wasn’t just about being home at a certain time. I had outgrown a lot of that lifestyle. I still had a drink every now and then, but Welsh, being eight years younger than me, would far rather be out partying when he could get away with it than not.
It was embarrassing at times. As an officer of the law, I felt we should carry ourselves with more respect, even when we were off duty. But it wasn’t my place to tell him what to do with his free time.
He was an adult, and he could do whatever he wanted.
“Just come for one hour. Just one!” he persisted. “I’ll even pay for you to get an Uber back home. Really.”
I sighed, putting more files in another drawer. I hated doing paperwork, and I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. Welsh happened to be good at it, so if I could get him off my back, we could get out of there in a matter of minutes.
At the end of a long stint, I was ready to be off. One more day, and I could be.
“Okay. If it’ll make you lay off and get the rest of the work done in here, I’ll go,” I said. “But I’m not going to stay very long, and I don’t want you begging me in front of everyone like a little lost puppy, either.”
“Deal,” he said triumphantly. “But I swear as soon as we get there you aren’t going to want to leave. You’ll be right there with the best of us next to the stage, trust me.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Tits and ass, my friend, and lots of it. You know you’ll like it. Hell, I know you will,” he laughed as I walked out of the office, leaving him to do the rest of the paperwork himself.
It might be good for me to get out for a night. It had been a while.
“I told you! I
told you you’d be glad you came!” Welsh nearly shouted in my ear as we walked into the club. We didn’t get out of the office as early as he’d wanted, but we were still there before the Captain and several of the others.
The music was blaring, making it difficult to hear what he said. There were times I didn’t think that would be a bad thing.
He pushed his way past the bouncer and into the room, leading the way to the table we’d reserved for the party. It was right up against the stage with little space in between, giving us full view of everything that was going on. The girl on the pole was hot, I’d give her that, but she didn’t get my juices flowing.
“Hey, you guys made it! How the hell did you convince Jack to come?” Drake asked as we took our seats.
“Bribery,” I announced.
He laughed. “Any sign of the Cap?”
“I’m sure he’s going to get here as soon as possible. He’s probably laying down his own set of ground rules for his fiancé’s bachelorette party!” Welsh laughed. “You know how he is.”
“No touching!” Deichman laughed from his end of the table. We all joined in. Each one of us could certainly picture Captain Markel being more worried about his soon-to-be-wife touching the stripper they hired than she was about him. They had a good relationship, but he still had a tendency to overthink things.
I settled in with a drink and turned my attention to the stage. The lights were flashing, and the girl was still dancing in time to the music. I didn’t watch for very long, however, as I wasn’t joking when I’d told Welsh strip clubs weren’t my scene. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the female form, because I surely did. It was just that I’d rather be the only one appreciating it and not sharing with a room full of drunken horndogs.
Welsh was transfixed. He had his eyes glued to every movement she made. I had a feeling he was going to get several lap dances before the night was out. He liked women, a lot. Nearly desperate for a girlfriend, he’d frequent the clubs in the hopes that someone would go home with him at the end of the night.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 59