by A. J. Downey
“To Elka, for putting up with our crazy and Oz for bringing us the best damn addition to family this club could ever hope to get. We don’t know how you do it, honey – but more power to you!”
Oz laughed and flipped Reflash off and I snorted.
“Here! Here!”
Glasses clinked and we all sipped, and I went to the bar and asked Skids, “Can I have the thing?”
“You sure can.” He pulled out the wide, flat, colorfully wrapped parcel and handed it over. I took it over to Oz.
“This is for you.”
“For me? What for?” he asked.
“Because I love you, you dorkasaurus rex!” I rolled my eyes.
He tore the paper down the middle and took a double take.
“Are you fuckin’ serious?” he demanded and pulled the rest of the paper off the painting.
“Uh huh.”
“This is the most badass thing I’ve ever been given.”
A chorus of ‘aaaawwwws’ went around the room as he covered his mouth and his eyes got misty. It was the painting of him, alone on the stoop, lighting his cigar. I’d painstakingly finished it in secret, swapping between it and another painting after guiltily lying and saying I hadn’t liked how the painting of him was turning out and had said I had painted over it.
“This is,” he choked up. “This is really something.”
I smiled softly, touched that he was so touched. “I’m glad you like it,” I said gently.
“I don’t like it, I love it,” he declared.
“How about you let the rest of us see it?” Golden called out.
“You shut up! I’m having a moment here,” Oz declared and we all laughed. I leaned in and kissed him soundly, smiling, happy, relieved that he liked it.
“Just don’t let his ass become your favorite subject,” someone said and we laughed.
“He’ll always be my favorite subject,” I said, and he kissed me again to another chorus of cheers.
THE END
Also by A.J. Downey
The Sacred Hearts MC
1. Shattered & Scarred
2. Broken & Burned
3. Cracked & Crushed
3.5 Masked & Miserable (a novella)
4. Tattered & Torn
5. Fractured & Formidable
6. Damaged & Dangerous
The Virtues
1. Cutter’s Hope
2. Marlin’s Faith
3. Charity for Nothing
4. Stoker’s Serenity
The Sacred Brotherhood
1. Brother to Brother
2. Her Brother’s Keeper
3. Brother In Arms
4. Between Brothers
5. A Brother’s Secret
6. A Brother At My Back
7. A Brother’s Salvation
Indigo Knights
1. Her Thin Blue Lifeline
2. His Cold Blue Command
3. A Low Blue Flame
4. His Wild Blue Rose
5. Her Pained Blue Silence
6. A Cold Blue Call
7. Her Reluctant Blue Cavalier
Paranormal Romance (with Ryan Kells)
1. I Am The Alpha
2. Omega’s Run
3. Hunter’s End
About the Author
A.J. Downey specializes in writing real and relatable contemporary romance stories. She’s from Seattle, WA and loves the Pacific Northwest. She finds inspiration from her surroundings, through the people she meets, and likely as a byproduct of way too much caffeine. An avid reader all of her life, it’s now her turn to try and give back a little, entertaining as she has been entertained.
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