“Hawk,” I whisper in a shuddering breath, my eyes locked on the banner with my name on it. “What is this?”
He doesn’t get to respond before the room erupts with cheers and laughter as the people rush toward us—large men I’ve never met and ladies, some of whom I met after our courthouse wedding. The same ladies who took Wren so Hawk and I could make the most of our wedding night. The same ones who watched baby Wren so I could attend the audition and Hawk could attend the court hearing. And when my violin was broken, they had someone bring me another so I wouldn’t miss out on the chance of fighting for my dreams.
And now, they’ve thrown me a party. I assume it’s mine, if the large banner with my name on it is anything to go by.
“Welcome to the club, Amelia.” Jade, who gifted me the nightgown on my wedding night, steps forward and takes my hand, pulling me away from the entrance and to a group of other ladies. “And congratulations on winning first chair.”
“How did you know?”
“Hawk organized this party in advance. He was confident you would win, and so were we.”
“What?”
She stops and turns to look at me. “I heard you,” she says. “When we went to Hawk’s apartment to set up for Wren, we heard music coming from next door. So beautiful.”
“I was there too and we all stopped to listen,” Chelsea, another wife says. “It was indeed beautiful.”
My heart swells with affection for these ladies I’ve met only once before, and yet they’re treating me like they’ve known me forever. Like my achievement means something to them. “Thank you,” I whisper, tears clogging my throat. “For the partyand for welcoming me. I never thought I would live to see a day when I would walk into a clubhouse to be greeted by flowers, balloons, and streamers.”
The ladies laugh as another one chimes in. “If given a choice, the men would have used rusty metal, chains, and bandanas to decorate the place. We had to bribe and seduce our husbands into letting us add a bit of color, even for just a day.”
I laugh, touched by the effort these ladies put in for someone they barely know. Suddenly, I understand what Hawk meant when he said the club was his family.
I take my time getting to know them, surprised and oddly comforted when I learn that only one of them was raised in the club and being in the MC world is almost as new to them as it is to me. In a span of a few minutes, I already have a plate in my hand, a glass of wine, and people conversing with me like they’ve known me their entire lives.
“Will you play the violin for us later?” Jade asks.
“If you like,” I say, excited by the prospect of sharing a part of me with as much love as I have received. Still, there’s someone missing from the party.
“Marie is bringing her down,” Jade says when she notices me glancing around. “How do you feel about being a wife? A mother?”
“Fulfilled,” I say with a smile, and when a loud cry tears through the air, my head whips around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. And then I’m moving before my mind can process what I’m doing, and my heart doesn’t settle until Wren is cradled in my arms and those bright, teary blue eyes are blinking up at me. “Hi there, my little songbird. Miss me?”
She immediately goes quiet and blinks up at me, waving her small hands about. I thought about her the entire audition, slowly realizing that I’d found a new dream for myself. I realized that music would forever be my first love but these two—Hawk and Wren—are my lasting love.
I’m tied to them for life.
The rest of the party goes on with ease as I’m introduced to everyone. The club members welcome me warmly despite their massive, intimidating frames. Wren is passed to the bikers and we all get a laugh out of it as they hold her awkwardly as one would a grenade they’re afraid to drop. Later, when everyone has eaten, I grab my violin and perform a set of random music, from classics to pop. The crowd joins in, singing out of tune but together it’s charming.
Hawk was right.
This is indeed more than a motorcycle club. It’s a family.
***
It’s well past eight when we make it back to the apartment. My cheeks are hurting from all the laughter and partying. We feed Wren, then give her a bath before putting her in her crib for the night. While Hawk is on the phone, I head into the bathroom to prepare a bath for us. After the day we had, I figure we need one too.
Once it’s ready, I strip out of my clothes and start to step in when a deep raspy voice from behind stops me.
“Hmm, what a way to stir a man’s appetite.”
I flush as I always do in the presence of my hot neighbor turned husband. “You’re still dressed. Maybe we should rectify that.”
His eyes fire up with heat as he steps into the room, placing the baby monitor on the shelf as he approaches me. “And how do you plan to go about it?”
Naked, I push him back against the wall and slide my hands under his shirt, sighing as I caress those rippled muscles. Suddenly, I want to lick them. I want to take my time running my tongue over his hard muscles and reveling in the feel of them, but then again, there’s something about him being fully dressed and me being naked that turns me on.
“I like you this way,” I say, moving my hands lower. With my eyes locked on his, I unbutton his slacks, then slide my hand into his boxers, fisting his massive cock. He’s hard and warm in my hands. And so big. “Thank you for today.”
