It doesn’t take long for Melissa’s question to be answered, only a couple of weeks in fact. It’s the time that it takes her to write and publish her story on the Kings. It wasn’t anything like the exposé that The Tribune had wanted her or Wes to write. If anything, it was a love letter to the club, complete with name changes. She’d been through a few different pseudonyms for the Caged Kings but finally settled on “The Wandering Tornados.” Felicia and Josh had gotten a good laugh out of that.
She’d glossed over the illegal stuff and focused on the sense of community of the club, the brotherhood, and the way they kept criminals off of the street of Portland and protected the common man. Ali had teased her, saying that she’d romanticized the club, and Melissa knew that she was right. How could she have written about it and the man who had stolen her heart in any other way?
Melissa had published the story on her blog and word of mouth had spread like wildfire. After only twenty-four hours, it was picked up by some national newspapers. She couldn’t help but feel a little smug that she’d managed to get her name in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal before Wes, and she’d done it without compromising herself. The Tribune had been left with nothing to write. Melissa had beaten them to the punch, and she’d painted the bikers in such warm a way that it made it impossible for DeVry to come up with a counter-article. She’d killed it with kindness, her default setting. Pollyanna that, she’d thought.
Melissa smiles to herself as she checks her emails on her iPhone for the hundredth time that day. “You know that this is bordering on obsessive behavior, right?” Ali tries to snatch Melissa’s phone away but is too slow.
“It’s just they said they would get back to me by the weekend and, hell, it’s almost the weekend!” Melissa makes a frustrated sound in the back of her throat and wills her foot to stop tapping impatiently.
“Well, it’s only three o’clock, you’ve still got a few hours, so I don’t know why you’re getting your panties in a twist.” Felicia takes a drink of her beer before she notices that Melissa’s frustration hasn’t eased.
“It’s three in Portland, but it’s six in New York.” Ali says the words as if they should mean something to her.
“And what’s in New York?” Felicia looks between the two women, none the wiser.
“Oh you know, the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, and The New Yorker.” Ali rolls her eyes. “Melissa has been submitting stories to them since she was in kindergarten, and after all the attention her piece on the club got, she reached out to them. They said they’d read a new fiction story she’s been working on.”
“Let’s just forget about it.” Melissa pockets her cell, waving away Ali’s words as if that will stop her from worrying herself sick over the email that she hasn’t yet received. “We’re here to enjoy ourselves, not to stare at a goddam cell phone.” As if to highlight her words, she takes a swig of her beer. She keeps stealing glances towards the room at the back of the bar, and her foot keeps on tapping.
Felicia gives her a frank look. “Are you more nervous about the New Yorker thing or the vote?”
Melissa smiles sheepishly. “I’ll take the Fifth on that.” She looks at the clock on the wall again, which has only advanced by a minute since the last time she looked. “What’s taking so long anyway? I thought this was pretty much a done deal?”
Felicia shrugs. “It’ll happen, don’t worry.”
It better, Melissa thinks. Today was the day that Hawk was going to get patched. That morning, Hawk had woken up so excited, like a kid who knew he was on his way to Disney World. It was the one thing he’d been working towards his whole life. It was such a big deal for him that Melissa had tried to persuade him to invite his mom to the Patch Party. Whereas once he might have railed against the idea, gotten mad, and told Melissa it wasn’t any of her business, he’d thought about it. He’d really considered it, but eventually he’d told Melissa that he wasn’t ready to share something this big with his mother, not yet. Melissa had told him that when he was ready, she’d be standing by his side every step of the way.
Melissa smiles as she thinks back to that morning when Hawk had wrestled her back to bed. He’d swiped her hair away from her face and looked down at her oh so tenderly.
Suddenly, he’d turned serious. “If it doesn’t happen today…”
“It will! What are you talking about?” Melissa had nudged him, playfully wondering where this self-doubt had come from that was so unlike him.
“But if it doesn’t, then I want you to know that it’s alright.” His dark eyes remain trained on her.
“What do you mean, it’s alright? This what you’ve always wanted! It’s more than important to you; it’s everything. I know that already.” She’d traced the line of stubble that he always seemed to carry no matter how often he shaved. To Melissa, it just made him even sexier.
“It’s not everything.” He looked at her pointedly. “There’s something more important in my life now.”
Melissa had to swallow the lump in her throat before she could speak. “And what’s that?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “And if you say my car, then I’m going to seriously hurt you.”
Hawk threw back his head and laughed, and Melissa thought yet again how lucky she was to have this gorgeous man in her bed. “Well, the car is a bonus.” He catches her fist before she can punch him. “But I was talking about you, Melissa Potter. You’re the most important thing in my life. I need you to know that.”
Melissa pulled his face down to hers, kissing him with all the emotion she felt bubbling up inside of her. When they’d broken apart, breathless but both wanting more, she smiled at him. “Consider me informed, Hawk Ownes.” She giggles, as he kisses the sensitive spot on her neck. “But I’m pretty sure I signed up to be a full-fledged patched biker’s girlfriend, and that’s what I’m intending to be in a few hours from now.”
Hawk blinks in surprise. “I think I’ve just fallen in love with you all over again.”
“Don’t tell me, Ownes, show me.” She’d stretched out underneath him, and he’d done just that.
***
“Hey, Potter! Get your mind out of the gutter. Some of us aren’t getting any!” Felicia gives her a disparaging shake of the head, and Melissa knows without having to look in a mirror that the goofy smile is back on her face. “Speaking of which, how are things going with you and young Vince?” Felicia gives Ali a knowing look, and Ali obliges by turning a particularly unflattering shade of red.
“I don’t kiss and tell, Felicia!” But her giggles tell a different story.
Melissa reaches over and hugs her best friend, impulsively. “I’m happy for you, Ali. It was about damn time.” A week ago Vince had turned up at their door, and he’d done what Ali should have done years ago. He told her that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and not just as a friend. The rest, as they say, was history. Vince had become a permanent fixture in their little house, and things were made even easier with the fact that he and Hawk got along like a house on fire.
“Hey, it looks like something’s happening.” Felicia’s urgent whisper jerks Melissa’s attention back to the fateful door—now being pushed open. Various high-ranking club members file out looking serious. Hawk is the last one out, and Melissa’s heart only slows when he winks at her, telling her that everything is going to be alright.
Josh stands tall. Since he’s the one who nominated Hawk, he’s the one to make the announcement. Hawk had explained the protocol of the vote to Melissa the night before. “Caged Kings, it’s time to welcome another brother to the club. For the first time in the history of this club, the vote was unanimous, and I’m proud to say that Hawk Ownes is now a fully-patched member of the Caged Kings!” Josh holds up Hawk’s leather jacket which now bears the symbol of the Kings on the back. He hands it over ceremoniously to Hawk who shrugs it on and smiles broadly. “And not only that, he’s now co-owner of The Shop.”
The whole bar goes crazy. There’s whooping and hollering, and Hawk is virtually knocked off his feet as the rest of the bikers surge forward to congratulate him.
“Aren’t you going to see him?” Ali nudges Melissa who remains calmly seated on her stool at the bar.
Melissa shakes her head. “This is his moment; he needs to share it with his brothers.”
“But none of my brothers are as pretty as you, ‘Mel.” Hawk’s voice from behind her makes her jump, and she spins around to face him. “And I sure as hell don’t want to kiss any of them like I do you.” The huskiness in his voice is enough to make Melissa warm between her thighs.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” She smiles, tilting her face up to his, and he kisses her deeply. He takes what he wants from her, and she gives it up freely. Melissa is vaguely aware of whistling and clapping and whooping around them and, although there had been a time when it would have embarrassed her, now she couldn’t care less. Hawk’s kisses had a habit of making her feel like they were the only two people in the room. A fact that means it takes her a few moments to realize that someone is shouting her name.
“Melissa! Melissa!” The urgency in Ali’s voice makes her look over to her friend who is waving her cell phone in her face. “You’ve got mail.”
Melissa snatches the phone away from her friend, ignoring Ali’s chuckle at her sudden change in focus. She has to read the message three times before the words really sink in.
“Well? What’s it say?” Ali nudges her, showcasing just how far down on the list she values patience in the list of virtues.
It takes a few seconds for Melissa to find her voice. “They love it. They love it!” She repeats the words as if to convince herself that’s what she’s actually read. “They’re going to publish it, and they want to know if I have any more!” Melissa starts jumping up and down like a little girl, before she’s swept off her feet.
Hawk holds onto her as he walks with purpose towards one of the back rooms of the bar. “Hey, where are we going?” She twists around to see the amused faces of her friends and the bikers over Hawk’s shoulder.
“Somewhere I can tell you how proud I am of you.” Hawk’s voice in her ear makes her shiver.
“And you can’t do that here?” Melissa frowns, feeling a little ridiculous at being carried.
“Not for what I have in mind.” His tone is serious.
“And what is that exactly?” She looks up at him, tracing the line of stubble on his cheek.
“Show, don’t tell. Isn’t that what you said to me, ‘Mel?” The dark look of lust he gives her makes her glad that he’s carrying her, as her knees would surely have given way.
“I remember something along those lines.” She smiles up at him. “Oh, and by the way, I decided to take a page out of your book today.” Hawk looks down at her curiously. She reaches up to kiss him lightly on the lips and whispers against his mouth. “I’m going commando, too.” She laughs at his expression, his eyes widening as if they’re about to bug out of his face. He pulls her towards him, settling her against his chest, her ear against his heart, which beats in time with hers.
THE END
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