Chapter One
Jenalyn
The morning sun peeks through our drapes and pierces my closed eyelids, causing them to flutter in response. Slowly, I open them and as usual, I look over at the baby monitors and see my precious angels still sleeping. This certainly is a first. I roll over to snuggle up to my man, but again, he’s not there.
“Ugh,” I mumble out loud before the urge to mock him overcomes me. “These women don’t understand the threat,” I finish saying before I notice Justice’s icy-blue glare haunting me from across the room. Well, isn’t this a treat? There’s Mr. Overbearing himself standing right in the doorway to our bedroom. I wonder just how much of that he actually heard?
“Still pissy I take it?” he asks me, crossing his arms over his chest as a grin emerges on his face.
Perplexed by his grin, I ask, “Why the happy expression? Have you decided the threat is minimal and therefore the site and friendships we’re beginning to form can continue?” Wearing my usual sleeping attire that consists of his t-shirt and panties, I sashay toward him and grab him by his cut. “That’s it, isn’t it? The grin? You’ve decided and couldn’t wait to tell me! Oh, Justice, I promise you won’t regret…” He halts my excitement as he pulls backward and holds up one hand close to my face, gesturing for me to be silent.
“Um, no, not exactly,” he starts, “it has more to do with your piss-poor attempt at mocking me. Please tell me I sound nothing like that prepubescent soprano-pitch you just mimicked me to be?”
I bat his arm. “Ass,” I say to him as I turn to make my way to the bathroom for a quick shower while the kids are still sleeping. “Mind listening out for our children while I shower right quick?”
“Are you really asking me that question? Have I ever had a problem watching our children?”
Looking back at him over my shoulder, I reply, “No, not when you’re actually home.”
As I enter the bathroom, I smell freshly-cut roses and notice a beautiful vase that holds at least a dozen and a half pink roses. While I’m not typically a flowers and candy type of girl, my heart goes pitter-patter at his gesture. There’s a card tucked in at the top, so I open it and immediately think about what a suck-ass he’s being. Immediately the guilt from my last thought plagues me as I begin to read the handwritten card.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You’ve made new friends, and I finally approve...for now.
Justice
I clutch my chest as an audible sigh leaps from my throat. In other circumstances, I would say it’s cliché, but this is anything but that coming from him. “Eeee,” I start to squeal and run out of the bathroom to shower him with gratitude, but he’s already standing in the doorway beaming with pride at his accomplishment. Momentarily, I stop and take a mental note of the accolades he’s probably already given himself for this. Yes, my man is a cocky bastard, but he’s my cocky bastard and I wouldn’t change a thing...most days. I wrap my arms around his neck and begin planting kisses all over his neck and face.
“I’m sorry for mocking you earlier, babe. You do not sound like a prepubescent boy, not all the time anyway,” I tease as I stretch to the tip of my toes and place a kiss on the end of his nose.
“That’s it, I take it all back,” he declares and I can feel my face fall slightly. “Not really,” he tells me as he gently taps the end of my nose with his index finger. “If you’re gonna dish it out…” I stifle his words with the pout of my lips followed by my words.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. You won’t regret this, Jus. Thank you for trusting me.”
I turn to head back to the shower I just put on hold, and he takes the opportunity to smack my ass, and I leap into the air as I let out a yelp. Yeah, I knew it was coming, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit how much I enjoy it.
As I make it to the doorway, I stop, and turn around to look back at him. “Sure you don’t want to join me, Sailor?”
“The fuck did you just call me? That some sort of fetish you have or something?” he growls in my direction.
I can feel my eyes as they roll so far back in my head I swear I can see my brain. “Calm down. It’s a phrase, a saying. No, I only want you in all your overbearing glory, so not to worry.”
“Good, because I was about to have to figure out how in the world I was gonna take on an entire branch of the U.S. military.” He pulls out his cell phone from his pocket and then puts it back. “We’ve got an important meeting today before the cookout and it starts in twenty minutes, so I’ve got to go. I’ll see you and the kids there in a bit. Don’t forget that pussy is mine tonight, so be ready,” he tells me, as he shoots me a wink that makes my panties instantly wet from desire.
His words stir up the resting butterflies in my stomach, and this evening can’t get here quick enough. “Oh, I’ll be ready,” I say to him as I lick the excessive saliva from my watering mouth off my lips.
“Cut it out, woman!” he demands as he adjusts the bulge that’s formed beneath his jeans. “I love you, Jen.”
“Love you, too!”
Savanna
Gripping Ty’s waist, I lean with him as we turn and weave around the corners on his bike. The wind tugs gently at the loose strands of my hair that hang from underneath my helmet. Today’s the annual club cookout, and it’s a big deal. Every single patched member, prospect, ‘Ol lady, and their children will be there. This will be the third one since Don’s passed away, and although I think Lorna, Jenalyn, and Ty still suffer silently inside, they’re doing well overall.
As we pull up, the steel security gates are already open and guarded by prospects. They nod in our direction as we slowly pass them. Ty parks and we take our helmets off. He helps me off and tenderly strokes the back of my hair as if he’s trying to fix my windblown hot mess. I can feel the slight upward turn of the corner of my lips as I gaze into his dream-inducing aqua eyes. How I ever got this lucky, I will never understand. Never in a million years would I have guessed I’d end up loving and wanting to be with a biker, but Ty isn’t every man...he’s definitely not your stereotypical biker. He has a past filled with lies, betrayal, and abandonment which is similar to mine, yet he’s humble and kind-hearted.
“What did I ever do to deserve you?” he asks me, first looking me in my eyes, then up toward the sky as if he’s asking a higher power.
“I was just thinking the same about you,” I tell him as I place a tender kiss upon his full, soft lips. “We better get over there. My father’s glare is about to burn a hole right through your cut.”
Walking up, I notice everyone appears to already be here, so I glance at my phone to check the time. It’s only twelve forty-five. The cookout doesn’t officially start for another fifteen minutes. I blow out a small sigh of relief because I cannot stand being late. The women have all shifted to one side, right by the playground with the children and the men are all on another side with beers in their hands. Yep, looks like it does every other time we have this.
Ty kisses my cheek. “Gonna go say hi,” he tells me, and by saying hi, he means to the men.
“Okay, sexy,” I respond as we part ways.
“Vanna!” Jenalyn calls out to me, “you have to come see what your brothers got Leo and Carter!”
Lorna’s holding Leo, and Mila’s holding Carter. As far as Mila goes, it’s still premature to say we’re emotionally mended and in a good place, but we are on speaking terms. As I approach, I notice both the babies are wearing tiny handmade leather cuts. They’ve got the Soul Shifterz MC logo on the front, and Lorna holds Leo up and “Future Members” is embroidered on the back. Inwardly I cringe, but I’m not entirely sure why. My family is entirely made up of bikers, and I’m living with and planning my future with one. Maybe I naively allowed myself to believe somewhere subconsciously that they would be the generation that ended the death and destruction.
A frown forms on the womens’ face, and Jenalyn speaks up, “You don’t like them?”
Quickly, I square my shoulders off and compose myself. These aren’t my children, so I have no right or say so in the matter. These women are my family, and if they’re happy and smiling, I should be elated alongside them.
“No... I mean, yes, they’re adorable. Sorry, I was up late last night making four-dozen organic chocolate chip cookies. I’m not used to making anything involving food in large quantities,” I reply and force a smile across my face. It’s not entirely a lie, I’m exhausted from all that baking and hot morning sex. It left me with no time for my morning meditation, and that plays a huge part in my attitude right now.
“Oh!” Jenalyn says excitedly, “Everyone knows about the site now, and the response from the other women is overwhelmingly positive. Isn’t that awesome? Can you believe I was able to work Justice over so easily on this one?”
Perplexed, I ask her, “Wait. A decision was already made?”
She grabs a beer from one of the picnic tables she must be babysitting because she rarely drinks beer. “Mhmm,” she replies through her chug.
“Ty hasn’t mentioned it yet,” I tell her. “But that’s fabulous! I think the men are going to be glad they decided in favor of this when it’s all said and done. This will be so therapeutic, and gives each of us the ability to vent about our men outside of just this club. That will help to release some of the negativity from within just these particular walls. Same for the other women.”
Lorna looks at Mila. “I completely agree, and it sure would’ve been nice to have during our more active days, huh?”
“Speak for yourself. I’m still as active as I ever was. Just took a forced and unwanted hiatus,” Mila tells Lorna, but looks to me as her eyes still plead with mine, hers desperately seeking further forgiveness.
“It’s too damn hot out here for this,” Stormie says, rubbing her rounded belly as she approaches us. “I have no idea how you all have managed to do this on purpose. It’s absolute misery.”
Jenalyn tries to hide the fact that she bats Stormie’s arm as she looks at Tess, silently reminding Stormie that not all of us are so lucky.
Stormie quickly clears her throat. “But, I wouldn’t change a thing. Not everyone’s so lucky,” she finishes, but there’s obvious uncertainty behind her words.
Jenalyn and I both let out a heavy sigh and she rolls her eyes so hard I’m certain she saw her damn brain.
Tess takes Carter from Mila. “Honestly, girls, it’s time to quit walking on eggshells around me. I’ve got this beautiful son now, and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier. It’s fine,” she finishes, as she rubs Stormie’s arm and offers a smile along with it.
“The guys look wrapped up in conversation over there. Now would be a great time to show me what all this fuss is about, huh? Plus, it’ll be easier to see on a larger screen like a laptop,” Stormie says, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow.
“Girl, you don’t have to lie to me. The thought of that cool air inside seems better than an orgasm right now I’m sure. Been there, and done that,” Jenalyn tells her and we all burst out in laughter.
We make our way inside and Jenalyn pulls up the site on her laptop that’s been plugged in and charging.