We spend the next hour talking and drinking. We talk about the men in our lives, our jobs, funny stories. I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard in years.
We are all still sitting and chatting when a giant man with a scar running the length of his face approaches us. As he gets closer, I can’t help but notice how gorgeous he is. Tall and muscular with soft, short chestnut hair. His brown eyes don’t compare to Axel’s, but they sure are nice to look at. I’m starting to rethink my whole idea about bikers—these guys are all smoking hot.
“Ladies,” he says in the deepest voice I think I’ve ever heard.
“Hey, Motley,” Mia says, a blush creeping up her cheeks.Interesting.I’ll have to ask her about that later. “I’m sorry I didn’t say hi on your birthday. You were busy, and I was stuck behind the bar.” She continues.
“No worries, love. It was a crazy night,” he says as he wiggles his eyebrows. He looks around the table at all of us.
“Sierra, you look good. How ya been?”
“Great, Motley. Still working at Axel’s shop and trying to keep up with the grump that is my old man,” she chuckles. Her face is now flushed from the tequila.
“Where have you been? We haven’t seen you in months,” Cali asks.
“Been up in Dalewood. Had a job to do with the charter in that area. Came back because I heard the boys had a little fun without me. Why? You miss me, Cali?” He bats his eyes at her.
“You wish,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Mark my words. One of these days, you’re going to realize that I’m the big, bad biker you need—not that asshole you call an old man,” his words laced with mischief.
“I’ll be sure to tell him you think so when he’s up,” she laughs. He winks at her and then makes eye contact with Marley and me.
“Club girls?” he says to Mia as he moves to stand over me. She goes to respond, but he starts to talk. He puts out his hand. “Nice to meet you, gorgeous. I’m your biggest fantasy come to life.”
I stare at his hand and then back up at him. “That’s the best pickup line you could come up with?” The girls all chuckle as he cocks his head with a shit-eating grin.
“Oh, I like this one,” he states. I shake his hand and laugh with the girls.
“I’m Jenna, and I’m definitely not a club girl. Whatever that is.” I nod toward Marley. “That’s Marley. Same goes for her.” He winks at Marley and then brings his attention back to me. He still hasn’t let go of my hand and is now staring at me as if I’m a difficult puzzle he wants to solve.
“Well, not-club-girl Jenna, why are you hanging out in a biker bar at 3 a.m. if you aren’t part of the club?”
Suddenly, the front door slams open. Axel, Blaze, and Jax strut in with terrifying looks on their faces. Axel instantly makes eye contact with me, then his gaze travels up to where Motley is still holding my hand. His jaw ticks, a movement so small that if you weren’t attuned to him, you wouldn’t have noticed. I’m starting to realize that’s his tell—the one that screams, I’m mad as all hell.
“That’s why she’s here,” I hear Sierra giggle next to me. Motley drops my hand immediately like I have the plague and backs away with his hands in the air like he’s been caught red-handed. The confident, cocky man who stood in front of me a second ago is gone.
“Shit, Ax, I didn’t know she was with you. She just caught my eye,” he says as he shrugs with an unapologetic, smug look. I think he knew exactly what he was doing.
I can’t stifle my laugh as I watch the three of them walk over to our table. Axel comes around to me, giving my head a quick kiss before resting his hands on my shoulders and kneading the tension I’ve been holding there. Having his hands on my body is messing with my mind, and I have to fight not to close my eyes and sink into the heavenly massage. I wasn’t tired moments ago, but I feel like I can finally relax.
“Touch her again, and you’ll be eating all your meals through a straw from here on out.” His tone is calm and all alpha. I slowly look up at Axel, raising one eyebrow in question.
“Are you joking? Who says things like that?” I ask. I shouldn’t like that he’s threatening another man, but I can’t help but get a little turned on by it. I want to grab him by the belt loop and drag him upstairs.
“I do. He shouldn’t have his hands on you and shouldn’t be looking at you like that,” he says, looking down at me with a heated gaze—one that says this conversation is over.
I sigh and look over to Motley, who has the world’s biggest grin on his face.
“Well, well, well. The mighty Axel has been snatched up, eh? Didn’t hear anything about you claiming anyone, but I have been away a while,” Motley states. Axel’s hold on my shoulders goes still.
“Claim?” I ask, looking at Marley across the table. I laugh. “What the hell is he talking about?” But her face looks unsure as she looks around the table at the other women.
Cali shrugs. “It’s their way of saying you’re theirs. Once a member of the club claims someone at the table, it means you’re pretty much married in the eyes of the club. It also means you have the club’s full support and protection.”
I blink a few times, trying to work through all this information. I’ve only known Axel for a few weeks, and although my feelings for him are strong, this seems pretty intense. The nachos and margarita churn in my stomach as reality is once again thrown right into my face. I really need to get home tomorrow and put some space between us. Get my thoughts together.
“Every guy does this?” I look up to Axel. His face is serious, and he stares at me for a moment before responding.
