MICHELLE

 

One of the nice things about living in a small town like Ivory was that there were a lot of small, family-owned businesses. A lot of the people living here weren’t trying to make fortunes. They were only doing what they enjoyed to make ends meet.

Declan and I had been living in Ivory long enough that some of the residents were practically family to us. They respected us because they’d known us for so long. It helped that he was a club president and I was his wife. But I was sure that they would have treated us the same even if we were some out-of-towners.

I looked around the steakhouse and observed the crowd. It was a quiet Saturday evening with a few other people out to enjoy themselves.

Declan had his head down, focused on his beer in front of him.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

He looked up at me and smiled.

Declan never failed to make me feel like a kid. We were both approaching our 30s but he was still just as handsome as when I met him. It didn’t hurt that he was exactly my type.

Dark hair. A thick beard that wasn’t wild or out of control. It hid the strong jawline I knew was hiding underneath. The tattoos on his neck accentuated his good looks.

But then there was the way he looked at me. The first moment he met me, he eyeballed me like I was a piece of meat. He was the only man I would be willing to give myself up to so easily.

He stared at me with those brown eyes of his. His intentions were obvious just from the smirk on his lips but Declan was the kind of man who liked playing games. I guess that’s because we knew each other so well.

“Club business?” I asked.

“Club business is club business,” he replied. “Same shit as it always is.”

“You must have had a really good time last night.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you look like you’d rather be out with the club than having dinner with me.”

He chuckled softly to himself and shook his head. Even the way he laughed would’ve intrigued a woman.

He leaned forward and propped his elbows up on the table.

“Right now, Sully and Needle are probably playing poker while Ghost tries to mediate between the two,” he said. “You think I’d rather be with them than here with the most beautiful woman in Ivory?”

There we go. Just the man I wanted to see.

I was old enough not to let flattery get to me but I didn’t mind hearing it.

I leaned forward across the table and whispered back to him.

“The most beautiful woman in Ivory?” I said. “That hurts.”

“And why’s that?”

“I would’ve expected you to say I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Michelle… You’re my world.”

I bit my bottom lip and looked away from him, trying not to laugh so much that the rest of the restaurant would notice.

Declan leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his beer. He brushed a hand through his hair and slicked it back. Leather kutte. Baggy blue jeans. Boots. Thick beard. Tattoos on his arms and neck. Damn if he didn’t look so good right now.

I took a moment to admire him but he was insistent.

“How was last night?” he asked.

“I think your night was a little more interesting. You don’t see any bruises on my cheeks, do you?”

“A little bit of a scuffle and a night in jail isn’t interesting. It’s just par for the course.”

“Well, last night with the ladies wasn’t eventful.”

“Oh, I think it was.”

“Really? And what makes you say that, Mr. Cunningham?”

“You spend the night with the ladies and all of a sudden you wanna go out for dinner. I think last night had to be eventful, Mrs. Cunningham.”

He was right.

I had the whole night to think about it. I went over it in my head and kept coming to the same conclusion even though it had only been less than a day. Now it was just a matter of telling Declan.

“What is it?” he said.

“Right… Last night, I was talking to Katrina. You should see Bella. She’s so beautiful.”

“She must get that from her mother. Then again, Needle spends enough time in the mirror, it’s no surprise his daughter looks as pretty as him.”

“Maybe,” I said with a laugh. “But I was holding her and I…”

“You what?”

Declan arched an eyebrow. I couldn’t help but smirk at his curiosity.

“I was thinking that maybe it’s time,” I said. “For us. We’re both almost 30 now. I mean, I get it when we were younger but we’re not kids anymore.”

“Right…”

Declan took another gulp of beer. His eyes locked on me, he pursed his lips like he was trying to stop himself from smiling.

“All this because of Bella, huh?” he said.

“Not just because of Bella. I just don’t see why not. The clubhouse is doing well. We’ve got everything in order. Even without club business, we’ve got more than enough money to make ends meet. It wouldn’t be a struggle for you and me.”

“Taking care of a child is a struggle.”

“I know it won’t be easy. But you know we can do this. Together.”

I wasn’t sure what Declan was thinking. I didn’t want to guess that he didn’t agree with me.

He stared at me and the smirk on his lips grew even wider. He eyeballed me like it was all those years ago when we first met.

“All right,” he said with a nod.

“You really mean it?”

“Yeah. If that’s what you want—”

“It’s not what I want. We both have to want this.”

“Michelle, I’ve wanted this ever since I first laid eyes on you. All you’re doing is giving me the approval to do something I’ve been wanting to do.”

An unexpected sigh escaped my lips. There were butterflies fluttering around in my chest. I felt a teenager in love all over again.

“You’re my wife,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

“It has,” I said with a smile.

“It’ll be nice not having to pull out for a change.”

“I never told you to pull out. You just like it when I swallow…”

He leaned forward across the table. His eyes narrowed.

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to talk like that at the dinner table?” he said.

“My parents told me to never get involved with club members and yet, here I am.”

“That’s funny. My parents told me to never get involved with a woman so easily willing to bend over for you.”

“Is that right?” I said, an eyebrow raised at him. “And what makes you think it’s going to be so easy for you?”

“Good… I like a challenge.”

Declan leaned back in his seat and took another sip of his beer. He didn’t blink. He just stared at me with that knowing look in his eyes.

I’d been around the club long enough to know that shit was never easy. Being with Declan for so long would have hardened any woman. But when he looked at me the way he was staring at me now, it was hard to focus. It was like my knees were buckling even though I was sitting down.

Two can play this game.

I reached my foot forward and pressed my heel between his legs. His eyes widened in surprise. With the tablecloth covering us and the lights in the restaurant already dim enough, nobody had a clue what was going on.

“Where is he?” I whispered.

I stared into his eyes as I searched for it. It only took a few seconds to find his cock. It was already getting thick between his legs. It swelled up underneath the leg of his jeans. It must’ve hurt for him to have to be restrained so much.

“There he is.”

Declan reached forward for his beer and sipped on it nonchalantly even though I knew he was having trouble. He leaned forward across the table and whispered back to me.

“Knock it off.”

“Or else what, Garnet? What are you gonna do about it?”

I leaned forward across the table and gave him a good view of my cleavage. He might’ve been stronger than me but I knew what it took to tame a man like Declan.

“You gonna do something—”

Before we could do anything more, the waiter arrived with our food. I put my foot down. Declan leaned back in his chair. We both stared at each other as the waiter placed our plates down.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” the waiter asked.

“We’re just fine,” I said, my eyes still locked on my husband.

“Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

Declan gave me the subtlest smirk before turning his attention to his food. Just like that, the moment was over. But the anticipation was only building.

Dinner couldn’t be over soon enough.