HAWG
No relationships for how long, years, just dates if you can even call them that, and then this high spirited, stubborn female gets under my skin. I hold her in my arms as she nuzzles into my chest, her breath warming my bare skin. I have no clue what she was thinking, heading out on her own, only that maybe she’s only had herself and the ladies to depend on before.
She may not have wanted to disrupt Pearl’s wedding, but the prez of the Harlots would have understood if she and Carver had been told. No way would they have let a little post wedding sex stand in the way of helping one of their own.
I stroke down the length of Onyx’s long dark hair, silky and smooth. Her desire to give Pearl space and time to enjoy her special day, it’s nothing I don’t get. But she could have woken me and didn’t which says a lot about her trust in me or probably any man.
The minute realization that she was gone hit, that she may be in trouble, my heart constricted like a motherfucker. Nothing like that fear has hit me ever.
Onyx shifts in her sleep, her hand sliding across my midsection as her leg slides over my thigh. I cradle her head next to my chest. Never have I wanted to stay in someone’s bed after a roll, but this was far more than a fucking roll.
After this day and what we’ve been through, I already know, with Onyx, it’s far more than that.
If I didn’t know it when I kissed her, slid into her the first time or cradled her in bed afterward without one desire to leave, having her go missing, not knowing where she was but knowing she was in danger, told me all there was to know.
Onyx is fucking mine.
Maybe she doesn’t know it yet, but when she wakes up we’re going to have a long fucking conversation about our relationship.
I fall into a deep slumber content and satisfied knowing she’s safely protected in my arms.
But when I wake in the early hours of the morning and she’s not there, my chest tightens with the worst kind of fear.
Again…
19
ONYX
Pearl and Skye are talking as I walk around the bar and grab a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator and pour myself a glass. I take a seat next to Pearl on one of the stools. We have lots to talk about but first things first, I’m starving. “I’m ordering breakfast. Anyone in?”
“Absolutely,” Skye says, and Pearl nods. “Order enough for the group. No one goes out today.”
I pull up my app and order our usual, muffins, loaded pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a container of cinnamon and nut flavored oatmeal that always comes in a big tub and we end up eating the next day. Then I place an order for the rest of the day because I have no doubt we’ll be cooking here for lunch and supper if Pearl’s got us on lockdown. I add things to make hamburgers on the grill. “What do you want, potato salad or macaroni salad?” I ask. “Never mind, I’m getting both. One for lunch and one for supper. We’ll have some macaroni salad with burgers for lunch and potato salad with the pork ribs for supper. I’ll even cook.”
Skye gives me a smile but not one of them says a word about Hawg and I appreciate the hell out of that. I need time to sort outwhat I’m going to say. I grab a leftover bagel from a bag sitting on the bar and split it in half before taking a bite because after everything that happened last night and the energy we spent, I am running on empty.
“Moving church to today?” I ask Pearl.
She nods. “Going to have to since somebody ruined the plan for yesterday.”
“I couldn’t leave her out there alone. I had a plan, but Hawg and the Royal Bastards rode in.”
Her piercing eyes meet mine. “I’ve been brought up to date. Seems there’s a lot you have been keeping me sheltered from the last few days.”
She’s not wrong. “I wanted you to have a great wedding and planned to bring you up to speed before church yesterday, but things got in the way, like rescuing Shine.”
“You should have had all of us with you. You can’t just ride out on your own. What were you thinking going up against the Scorpions all by yourself?”
“I wasn’t planning to go up against them. I was planning to make a deal with their VP to trade Shine for the drugs. Set up a meet and then we could get them onto neutral ground and take them out. Or something along those lines,” I say as I meet the president’s narrowing eyes.
She shakes her head. “From now on, I need to be aware. No matter what. We’ve always worked together. It’s what keeps us safe. No more lone wolfing. You’re part of a sisterhood that has each other’s back. Don’t forget it again.”
I close my eyes. “This I know.” And I also knew I wasn’t going to get away with what I did without getting my ass chewed by the prez. I have it coming so I take it until she’s finally done.
“So you know about the Desert Riders leaving you the bag the other night? It’s up in my room, but honestly, it’s nothing you need to see. Just another pathetic scare tactic, but we’re goingto need to deal with them, because clearly, they still have you in their sights.”
Pearl nods. “Yeah, I’m thinking through that right now. A little wrinkle in the plan with the ladies we sent north. Apparently Lacey, one of the twins we helped, liked it here a lot, loves the warmth and made good friends with the rest of our crew. Duchess called me and asked me if we have a place for her. Her sister’s getting married, and she wants to take this time to venture out on her own for once in her life. If so, she’s got someone riding this way next week to pick up a load of girls that need to go north and she’d send Lacey too.”
