Eve
EVERY KID DESERVES the birthday party of his or her dreams. I’ve brought some weird requests to life—kids ask for the strangest things and then enjoy the shit out of them. There’s no point in not going for what you want—or in letting other people make you feel weird or bad for your own personal preferences.
Rev’s like that in bed, although I’d rather not think about his prowess in the context of kids. That’s just creepy.
After I left him standing on my driveway like the ending of a bad, sad movie, I went inside and did some thinking. Lots of thinking—it was days before I came to any conclusions. I found Rocker a lawyer. I learned that the district attorney considered him a major flight risk and bail had been denied. I visited, which was thirty minutes of awkward on my part followed by fifteen minutes with a box of tissues afterward. I hope he’s going to be okay. We all make choices every day, and I still want nothing but the best for him. His recent choices, however, have been the wrong ones and they come with a price tag.
In a few years, I hope he can make new, better choices. I hope he finds a new beginning and a new life, even if the old one is now on hold. Forgiveness. Atonement. Redemption. Pick a noun. I wish all of those for Rocker. Today, however, I’m making a choice for myself.
The day’s sunny, the weather perfect for BBQ and beer. The bikers aren’t my usual crowd, but a few kids run around the bikes like sugar-fueled maniacs. Mary Jane brought hers and Tío gives me a head nod from across the courtyard.
When I called Vik, I thought he was going to have a stroke. You remember the offer he made me the last time I was here? About bikers sharing? Yeah. I told him I wanted to take him up on it. He almost hung up on me, which was both cute and inconvenient. Not that he’s opposed to a threesome in bed, but he’s decided I belonged to Rev and my pussy has a no-poaching sign on it.
I straightened him out.
I want to share Rev with the Hard Riders MC.
Which is why I’m here now. It’s Rev’s birthday today, according to the driver’s license he flashed in my direction the day I met him.
Vik slides me a glance. “You sure about this?”
Nope. Not at all. But I want my man back. I want the guy who discusses favorite colors with a five-year-old girl, who eats cupcakes and takes me for rides in the desert and who believes oral sex is the answer to every argument. He’s not a nice guy, but he’s mine and I need him in a way I’ve never needed anyone before. And if he’s a biker who comes with a bunch of rough, loud, filterless bikers, I’ll love that part of him, too, because they love him and they’re his family.
Rev tears into the courtyard, going too fast as always, and then he brings the bike to a fast stop. Does some staring.
We redecorated when he rode out this morning. The Princess Mobile is parked on one side of the courtyard with enough balloons to float the thing into outer space. We’ve got cake and beer, and yes, we have fairy wings. I tried to convince the club to jump out and yell “surprise,” but Vik said that would get us all shot and then he and Hawke started arguing about how many guys would get plugged if Rev was startled.
Rev straddles his bike, silently taking in the scene, but it’s a good sign he doesn’t point his bike toward the exit and leave. His gaze moves down my body, taking in my outfit.
What there is of it.
Since this is a biker princess party, I’ve made a few modifications. My dress is still pink and sparkly, but it now stops mere inches south of my butt. I’m wearing black motorcycle boots (with pink laces) and a leather vest I borrowed from Vik. It doesn’t have any patches on it, but I improvised and embroidered Happy Birthday on the back. It’s silly, it’s fun, and...
I have no idea how Rev will react.
Maybe...
“Happy birthday.” I walk up to him, still watching his face closely. Then I lean in and put my hands on his thighs as I brush a kiss over his cheek.
Oh my God. What if he lied about his birthday on his license? What if today isn’t his day?
He looks me over. “That’s one hell of an outfit.”
“Dress for success, right?” I pivot slowly so he can get the full effect. He must like it because he lifts me up onto the bike in front of him. There’s not a hell of a lot of room, so I end up facing him, my legs wrapped around his hips.
“Hey.” He drops his forehead to mine.
“I missed you.”
Please let that be enough.
He’s quiet for a moment. “Is that all you have to say to me?”
“You want me to sing to you? I do a mean rendition of ‘Happy Birthday.’”
“I want to know where we’re at.” His thumb teases the corner of my mouth.
“Truth?”
“Always.”
“I want to choose you. I want you to be in my life, both when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. I want to wake up with you and fuck with you and do a whole lot of loving and living together. I want us to ride and then come home and do whatever it is that couples do when they’re not fighting or having makeup sex. I want us to figure it out together, and I want you to be happy.”
He pulls me closer, so close that I’m straddling his dick. His dick’s ready to kiss and make up, or maybe that’s because I wriggle a little, just in the interest of getting comfortable.
“Makeup sex?” His mouth brushes my ear.
Please.
“I want another chance at us.”
He wraps his arms around me. “That it?”
There’s one thing I haven’t told Rev yet, and I need to do it before I chicken out. “No. I love you. I know you don’t do relationships and I’m pretty damned rusty at them. I overplan and overthink, and I’ve never met a rule I didn’t like, while you’re more of a saddle-up-and-ride guy. I have a plan and you have a mission, and we’re bound to fight. But... I love you and everything else is just a detail.”
Rev’s hands slip beneath my short skirt and cup my butt.
“So I’d like you to tell me if you’re willing to give us another shot. Tell me what you need to make this happen, and I’ll figure it out.”
Rev stares me. He looks a little stunned.
“You love me.”
“I do.”
See? That wasn’t so hard to say.
And then he makes me wait. He stares, his mouth dipping to my mouth and lower. His fingers tighten on my butt, and time sort of stretches out and out and out.
God, he’s killing me.
“You made me a promise.”
“Uh-huh. Said all sorts of things.” He buries his face in my neck.
“You promised I’d be safe with you, that I’d never be hurt again. And then you made me an offer.”
I’m stretching the truth a little, but it’s in a good cause.
He raises his head, frowning. “Who the fuck hurt you?”
“You can.”
His frown gets deeper.
“Better tell me how, because I promise you I’ll never fucking do it again.”
“I want us to stay together and I want to be your old lady. You promised to keep me safe, and I’d like to think that means my heart, too.”
I study his face anxiously, because maybe he’s changed his mind, or maybe he didn’t mean it at all. I’ve thought of a thousand different maybes since I walked away from him.
“Fuck yeah,” he growls. “I love you.”
Rev
No fucking trumpets. No bells, no fireworks, no sign in the heavens. I pour out my heart to Evie and she stares at me, wiggling nervously on my lap. Don’t think she knows what she’s doing to me, but she’s gonna find out soon. My dick’s already skipped ahead to our happy ending.
“Gotta get a couple of things straight, though.” I appreciate her coming here and the birthday party’s cute, but we haven’t done enough talking recently.
“Okay,” she says, more slowly this time.
“We good when it comes to Rocker?” Her brother’s looking at some serious time, and we both know I had a hand in it. If he gets his act together, I’ll wish him the best, but he’s currently out of choices.
She slides her arms around my waist. “Wish things could have gone differently, but...yeah. We’re okay.”
I make a note to get the club’s lawyer on Rocker’s case. Maybe there’s some way to make things easier. Worth looking into.
“And you understand that this thing between us is long-term?”
She nods.
“Then we’re straight. Didn’t think I’d get a princess out of it.”
She grins up at me. “No more princesses.”
“Huh. I kind of liked it.”
“I’m upgrading.” She gives me a determined look. Probably should be getting nervous right now, but this is Evie. She gets whatever she wants. “I’m planning on being the queen of your heart—the same way you’re king of mine.”
“Uh-huh.” I almost keep a straight face, but then I bust out laughing. She slaps at my chest, but she’s giggling, too. “Fucking corniest line I’ve ever heard, sweetheart.”
I pull her close, kissing her cheek and making for her mouth. Probably should stop there since we’re sitting on my bike in full view of my club. “Love you anyhow. Can’t believe you’re choosing me.”
“Always,” she whispers. “As long as you want me.”
Not gonna have a problem there.
That’s one fucking promise I can make. “Forever. You and me.”
* * * * *
Read on for an extract from A WEEK TO BE WILD by JC Harroway.