Chapter Eight

Clive woke to an ache in his shoulder, another in his butt, and the wonderful smell of bacon cooking. So, this is what being mated feels like, he thought with a grin as he stretched. Then he frowned as he heard his phone buzzing. It was likely still on the floor in his pants pocket. It can wait. I have a hunky honey in the kitchen I have to go and say hello to first.

Taking care of the important things in the bathroom, Clive padded out to the kitchen with nothing more than a pair of boxers on, his phone in his hand. He’d never been shy about his body, but he didn’t want to freak out any passing wildlife. He was pleased he’d bothered when he saw Roy standing at the stove in a pair of briefs he recognized as his.

“You cook too? You’re a man of many talents.” It felt natural to go over and give his mate a kiss on his warm bare shoulder.

“It’s a matter of having to.” Roy leaned over and pecked Clive’s lips. “You have an efficient kitchen, but it doesn’t look like it gets used much. I was surprised to find food in the pantry.”

Clive chuckled. “I still buy fresh food every week, and then I find most of the time I eat at the club, so I donate the food to the local homeless shelter and buy some more. Do you need me to do anything?”

“Nope, another few minutes and we’ll be done. How do you like your eggs?”

“Any way they come. I’m not fussy.” Clive went over to the coffee machine that was already going. Pouring himself a huge mug he sipped the well-made brew as he watched his mate. It all felt so natural, like they’d been together for years.

My mate. Clive still couldn’t believe it. Instead of waking up every day and immediately worrying about his blood pressure, this morning he felt calm and focused. He looked down at his phone screen and saw he’d missed six calls from Trent. Shit. That could ruin the start of a perfectly good day. But then he saw the time. It was after eleven in the morning. Trent wouldn’t be calling unless it was important. He pressed the button to return the last call.

“What’s up?”

“Troy and Donny were spotted wearing Black Skulls patches this morning in town by three of our members.”

“That wasn’t unexpected. They probably think those patches will protect them from the Epitaphs. What else?”

“Bobby’s gone.”

“His patch is on my desk. I kicked him out.” Clive looked over to see Roy watching him and winked. “He’s banned from the premises from now on.”

“I guessed that when I poked my head in your office.” Trent’s voice lowered. “There’s some rumblings going on. You didn’t call a meeting, did you? Because damn near every patch member is here.”

“I’d have told you about it first. What’s the gossip? How bad is it?”

“A couple of guys who were still in the house last night heard Bobby tell you he loved you. They also heard why you kicked him out. But it seems some of our members are greedier than others. The general consensus is, if the drugs bring in more money, and it uses our existing transport lines, then they don’t see the harm in that. They also heard Bobby scream that you were too old for your position and a merger with the Black Skulls would be lucrative. The split is about fifty/fifty as to who agrees and who doesn’t.”

“Damn fools.” Clive managed a smile for Roy as he set two piled plates of food on the table and sat down. “Anything about Roy or the attempt on my life?”

“Nada. The fuckers are too busy seeing dollar signs and imagining how they’ll spend their new wealth.”

“Shit. Give me an hour. I’ll see you in the office. Call a mandatory club meeting for one thirty. Patched members only, no women, prospects, or hang-arounds. It might be an idea if Marly wasn’t there either. This could get messy.”

“He’s working today. There’s a big sale on at the store. I told him I’d pick him up at six.”

“You’ll be there. I promise. And Trent, you might want to start thinking about the president’s position. If the club votes to go with the drugs and this fucking merger, I’m not sticking around.”

“I’ll be walking out that door with you,” Trent rumbled. “I didn’t sign up to mess with that shit. By the way, congratulations.”

Trent clicked off and Clive threw his phone on the table. “Babe, this looks amazing. I’m starving.” He picked up a bit of crispy bacon and bit into it. “Taste’s good too.”

“You know I heard both sides of that conversation, don’t you?” Roy didn’t look worried and his plate was already half empty. “Are you really going to walk away from the club?”

Scooping up some fluffy scrambled eggs with his fork, Clive chewed on it as he thought about how to answer. “If you’d asked me that forty-eight hours ago, I would’ve said hell no. That club has been my home away from home for well over ten years. I’ve made a lot of money through there, the thrill of riding with the gang on my tail never fails to excite me. I always thought it was a bit like having a pack, you know. I care about the men who ride with me. But Bobby made a good point. I’m getting too old for this shit and besides, my position would be a permanent thorn in your ass when it came to your job.”

Roy scraped his plate clean and licked the knife. At the sight of that wide tongue Clive’s cock sprung to life and he quickly shoveled another forkful of food in his mouth.

“You know,” Roy said slowly as he put his knife and fork on his plate, “I’d already spent this morning considering my job position. Regardless of whether you’re still president of the Epitaphs or not, I still think it’d be a good idea for me to hand in my notice. I don’t think you’ve got any idea on how possessive us bears can be.”

Clive’s heart did an extra thump. “Trent and Marly seem to do all right, being apart from each other when Marly works,” he said trying to keep his tone neutral.

“Wolves.” Roy showed his teeth. “Their matings don’t fit a specific pattern. Trent’s an alpha and Marly’s an omega which makes a difference too. I bet Trent gets grumpy in the afternoons if Marly isn’t around.”

“Marly cut back his work shifts to half days about three months ago, but before that, yep. Trent was like a bear with a sore head.” Clive grinned as he took another mouthful.

Roy chuckled, but then he turned serious again. “Bears are solitary creatures for the most part, but when shifter bears mate, they don’t like being away from their other half. I wouldn’t be handing in my notice so much because of your position in the club, although that wouldn’t make my work life easy, but it’s me. The hours would be too long for me to be away from you and I’d be worried about you every second I was away.”

His eyes becoming suspiciously moist, Clive put down his knife and fork and reached for Roy’s hand. “Which wouldn’t be good for you, or safe with you being out on the streets in a uniform. I’m only a human, but I think it says a lot for our future relationship, that both of us were prepared to give up what we do to be together, don’t you? I meant what I said. If I have to, I’ll walk away from the club and into a life with you and not have a moment’s regret.”

“We’re going to be fucking amazing together, starting at that meeting this afternoon.”

/~/~/~/~/

Roy was deadly serious about handing in his notice. He’d already called his office and told his sergeant he had to take emergency leave. As far as he was concerned, having a wolf at his mate’s back was no substitute for a grumpy bear. But from the look on Clive’s face it seemed their first morning was going to ring in their first disagreement. Kissing Clive’s knuckles, Roy dropped the hand he was holding and stacked up the plates, taking them over to the sink. Washing the dishes would stop him from pushing his mate down over the table and reminding him who was the alpha in their relationship.

“You heard what I said to Trent.” Clive’s voice was clipped. “Only patched members are allowed in the meeting.”

“I’ll take Bobby’s patch if I have to, not that there’s a lot of point if you’re going to be leaving anyway.” Roy ran the hot water and started scrubbing at the plate in his hand. “But you’re not going to that meeting without me.”

“It’s not as simple as that.” Roy smirked at the exasperation he could hear in his mate’s voice. His mate was used to getting his own way, but was being careful on how he phrased things, which was sweet. “You have to fight six members to earn a patch and while I’m sure you can do it, we don’t have the time. Most of the men there know you were in a uniform yesterday. It’ll be too dangerous. If they turn on you, you’ll get hurt.”

“I’ll get hurt?” Roy wasn’t going to take that lying down. He put down the plate he was holding with exaggerated care before turning to his mate with a scowl. “Who was it with blood pouring from his mouth yesterday? Who did your fucking members try to kill yesterday? It wasn’t me, it was you.”

“You also heard what Bobby said. It was a ruse to get me out of the club for a few days. A dumbass ruse, I’ll give you that, but my death wasn’t the intention. I’m not budging on this. You can’t come with me.”

Roy folded his arms across his chest. “I’m coming, and if you don’t want me there in plain clothes, guarding your back the way a mate should, then you have two other options I’d consider. I can come in, full uniform, with a half a dozen of my officer friends with me, sirens blazing and lights flashing.” A bit awkward to explain when he was on leave, but not impossible. “Or, another option would be me turning up in bear form. Of course, I’m a grizzly bear and at least a third bigger than any natural bear, but I’m sure that’d liven up the afternoon.”

“Someone would fucking shoot you if you were in your fur. Damn it.” Clive pounded the table with his fists. “The police have never been to the Epitaphs’ compound. They’ve never had a reason. Nothing illegal goes on there.”

“No,” Roy said slowly as he had a lightbulb moment, “but if someone was in town shooting off their mouths about the Skulls and the drugs, and even possibly the merger, wouldn’t a raid remind your members of what happens to those people associated with drugs before they got in to deep?”

Clive tilted his head as he considered the idea. Roy was transfixed by the white scar gleaming on his mate’s shoulder. It was almost a perfect circle and big enough to make Roy beam with pride.

“Surely a raid takes weeks or even months to prepare,” Clive said at last. “You’ve got less than two hours before the meeting starts.”

“It wouldn’t be a raid as such. You said yourself, there’s nothing there for the police to find. But it would put the wind up a few people which might turn the meeting around in your favor.”

“Nah. It wouldn’t work.” Clive shook his head. “Besides if you turn up in uniform, after everyone saw you there last night with me, they’ll consider you a nark or an informant and I’d be pounded out of the club because I vouched for you last night. No one there would ever trust me again except Trent.”

His mate did have a point. “Fur or blue jeans then, babe, because either way, I’m coming with you.” There was no way Roy was letting Clive go into that meeting alone.

Tapping his knuckles together, Clive thought for a long moment. Then he smiled, showing his teeth. “Have you got a collar for your furry form? I’ve always fancied an exotic pet.”

“Bears are considered a class 1 animal under Florida statutes. It’s illegal to own a bear unless you owned it prior to nineteen eighty and can prove you have the facilities and experience necessary to own a class 1 animal. You’d never get a license.”

“I’m a biker, babe. What do I care about licenses? Besides, didn’t you tell me yourself, you’re a very old bear?”

His clever mate did have a point and Roy didn’t have a problem spending the afternoon in his fur. It meant he could snap his teeth at anyone who came close. He thought of the woman who’d persistently draped herself over his mate the night before, and the way Bobby professed his love. Who knew who else in the MC harbored feelings of lust for his sexy mate?

Stretching out his arms, Roy flexed his pecs for show, watching how Clive’s pupils dilated. “Did we just have our first fight? I hear make-up sex is the bomb.”

“We’ve only got about forty minutes. I’ll see you in the shower after you’ve done the dishes.” Clive winked as he got up and sauntered towards the bathroom.

Roy looked at the dirty plates. He listened as he heard the sound of water running. Fuck the dishes, they could wait. He had a sexy soapy mate to seduce.