***
Sawyer
“That’s what I thought, too!” A woman’s voice broke into our conversation from behind us.
I turned to find myself staring at a blonde woman dressed in a paramedic t-shirt and jeans.
She wore a leather vest, much like the ones worn by the men, only hers had a rocker claiming her as Property of Shiva.
What the hell?
“You know who Santa Claus is?” I asked, a smile in my voice.
She winked. “His real name is Dixie Normus.”
“As in, his dick’s enormous?” I confirmed.
The woman grinned. “The one and only. My name’s Baylee.”
I shook her hand as Silas said, “This is Sebastian’s wife.”
“Ahh,” I nodded, letting her hand go. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Only good things, I hope. Silas, mind if I steal her?” Baylee asked.
Silas shrugged and looked down at me. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Although they’ll just talk about you behind your back if you don’t.”
I blinked. “I, um… Well, I guess if you put it that way…”
Baylee snorted and took a hold of my hand, looping her arm through the crook of mine, and heading off with a slight wave over her shoulder at Silas.
“Take care of my girl, Baylee,” Silas rumbled.
I tossed a blushing smile over my shoulder at him, and he winked.
A jolt of desire shot down my spine, but it was just as soon forgotten when I turned back around to see Baylee leading me to a table of women who were all staring at me expectantly.
“Ladies,” Baylee announced loudly. “I’d like to introduce you to the bear tamer, Ms. Sawyer Berry.”
There was a gaggle of ‘ooooh’s and ‘ahhh’s’ as they took me in.
“So you’re the one who has put Silas in such a good mood lately…I’ve never seen him this way,” a woman with long black hair and tattoos said cheekily.
I blushed as her words sunk in. “Yeah, I guess that’s me.”
There was a woman that looked to be the tattooed woman’s twin who spoke next. “My name is Viddy, and this is my twin sister, Adeline. She’s married to Kettle, the one with the Mohawk. I’m married to Trance.”
She would’ve continued, but I interrupted with, “The one with the dogs!”
The table laughed collectively.
“I was going to say the hot one with the weird eyes,” Viddy laughed. “But the one with the dogs is probably better.”
“From left to right,” Baylee said. “This is Tru, Rue, Channing, Adeline and Viddy.”
I waved at them all.
“Nice to meet you all,” I said, taking a seat when Baylee pulled one out for me.
“So what do you do, Sawyer?” The one Baylee had introduced to me as Tru, asked.
I smiled. “I work at Deguzman Veterinary and Associates. I’m a technician there.”
“Hey, that’s where we take our dogs!” Viddy exclaimed.
I nodded. “That’s how I knew you belonged to the one with the dogs.”
She laughed. “Well that sure does make an awful lot of sense.”
“Where’d you meet Silas?” The one named Rue asked.
I turned to her and said, “I met him at Halligans and Handcuffs.”
And so the evening begun.
They asked questions, and I answered them.
I didn’t drink like the majority of them did, though.
My eyes were taking in my surroundings, wondering what the big deal about a ‘biker party’ was when I finally said, “I thought biker parties were supposed to be wild and out of control.”
Adeline snorted. “It probably would’ve been three years ago before Baylee came along. Now it’s all about family and friends. They don’t get too wild unless the other chapters come around.”
“Other chapters?” I asked, taking a small sip of my Dr. Pepper.
Baylee was the one who answered.
“The Club has different ‘chapters,’” she said, forming her fingers into air quotes. “They’re all members of the same club, the Dixie Wardens, just based in different states. All the chapters have the same name, though. They all come around once or twice a year for the big parties. This year it’s our turn to host, too. Last year, it was the Alabama chapter’s turn, so we all went down there for a week.”
I nodded in understanding. “That’s cool. Kinda like one big extended family.”
They all nodded their heads in agreement. “Yeah, those parties get pretty wild just because of the sheer number of people here.”
“That,” Viddy said, “And the fact that they don’t have the same limits that our guys do. Our chapter is made up of men who are all public servants of some kind, which means they don’t generally do anything obviously illegal, unless things get really out of hand and it’s unavoidable. Most of the time, though, Silas is pretty good at keeping all our boys under control.”
My brows rose. “Silas doesn’t ever get out of control.”
Every single one of them laughed.
“I don’t think any of us has ever seen him have more than two beers at most. He doesn’t yell. Curse. Fight. Posture. He’s an all-around good man who just wants his club to have fun, while keeping their shit together as they do it,” Baylee admitted. “And he’s so set in his ways. I’ve never once seen him in anything but jeans, a t-shirt, boots and his cut. When there’s a pool party at one of our houses, he’s always there, wearing the same thing. Sometimes I wonder if he even sleeps in those clothes.”
It was my turn to laugh.
I’d seen the man naked.
And I knew he wore jeans only when he was at home relaxing.
Although I did notice when people came over, he always slipped on his boots and a t-shirt.
I’d never seen him drunk, but I’d seen him close.
And he laughed all the time with me.
Was it me who did that for him?
Because, if so, I kind of liked that. I liked the thought that I did the same for him as he did for me.
I was one very happy woman, and I wanted him to be happy, too.
“So he’s not so uptight around you?” Viddy asked hopefully before bringing her margarita up to her lips.
I nodded. “No. Actually he’s pretty laid back.”
“Glad to hear you think so, darlin’,” Silas’ voice said with amusement from behind me.
I turned my head upside down so I could look at him standing over the back of my chair.
He had both of his strong hands resting on either side of my shoulders, and he was looking down at me with a smile on his face.
“I was only telling the truth,” I informed him.
He winked and leaned down until his mouth touched my own.
“The boys want to go for a ride. You up for it?” He asked.
“That’s not fair!” Rue yelled. “I can’t ride!”
It was then she stood up and gestured to her belly, and I was surprised to see she’d been hiding a pretty sizable baby bump underneath the table.
I would’ve never even realized it had she not stood up.
“Cleo went to get the truck,” he answered her. “Apparently you’re going to the doctor early tomorrow anyway. And he said he had to be at work at five in the morning.”
Rue pursed her lips. “He’s such a liar. He just wants to get me home. Do you realize how hard it was to get him to let me come out here?” She grumbled, annoyance clear in her voice.
I snorted and stood. “I’m just going to use the bathroom,” I whispered to him. “And then, yes,” I said, pressing my lips against his, “I’d love to go for a ride with you.”
He caught the back of my head and forced my mouth down on his once more. “Good.”