Until July

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “My mom did like her,” he answers, making me regret asking when that all too familiar feeling of jealousy begins to ignite in my stomach. “We met right after Hell Week. I was still on a high from making it through SEAL training.” He pauses and pulls my hand back to his thigh and places his hand over it. “She had the whole girl-next-door thing going for her. I thought she was a sweet, beautiful woman, and I was gone so much that it took me far too long to realize she wasn’t at all who I thought she was. She married me so she could say her man was in the military. The moment I started talking about getting out, things went to shit. She was more concerned about what her friends would say than how I was feeling going into work everyday.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, squeezing his thigh.

  “Two years ago, right after I got out of the military, we got divorced. I know it may sound fucked up, but I don’t even think about her,” he confesses, and I have no idea what to say about that. I can’t imagine being married and having the person I promised to spend my life with become nothing, not even a thought in my head.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “There’s nothing to say.” He clasps my hand tighter.

  “Why did you get out of the military?” I ask after a moment, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.

  “Me and my boys had been on a rescue mission. One of our own had been kidnapped, and they were being held by insurgents who wanted us to give them back one of their men. The US doesn’t negotiate with terrorist, but they will attempt to rescue their people if they think they can. We were sent in and found out too late that it was a setup. I lost three of my brothers when everything went to shit, and the rest of us barely made it out alive,” he confides then runs his hand over mine, and I notice my fingers have dug into his denim-covered thigh. “Coming home from that solidified what I needed to do, and I knew it was time for me to leave the military and do something else with my life.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your friends,” I say, feeling tears sting my nose.

  “Me too, baby.” He gives my hand a squeeze.

  I look over at his profile and can tell he’s not with me but back there, so I attempt to lighten the mood by asking, “So you decided to become a biker?”

  “Smartass,” he mutters, smiling at the windshield before bringing his eyes to me for a brief moment.

  “Nah, me and my boys had always ridden on weekends when we were home, and we all did our own repairs and custom work on our bikes, so it seemed like fate was leading us down this path long before we moved to Tennessee.”

  “I’m glad it lead you here,” I say softly, giving his thigh a pat.

  “Me and you both, babe,” he murmurs then takes his hand off mine to turn onto another road then another until we pull up outside a small light blue house with white shutters and a small porch that is covered with flowers.

  “You ready for this?”

  “No.” I shake my head as a woman with long white hair wearing a pair of jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt steps out onto the front porch.

  “I’ve seen you face down a gang of angry bikers. This will be a walk in the park.”

  “Very funny,” I mumble, and he kisses my nose and I watch as he gets out of the truck. I unhook my belt then find the handle at the same time he opens the door for me.

  His hands go to my waist and he lifts me out of the cab, holding onto me until my ballet flat-covered feet hit the ground. Then he moves me out of the way, slams the door, puts his arm around my waist, and leads me up to the house.

  The moment we hit the top landing of the porch, his mom wraps her arms around him, whispering something in his ear before releasing him, turning to look at me.

  “Mom, I want you to meet July. July, this is my mom, Judy.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you.” I stick out my hand and she surprises me by pulling me into an embrace that fills me with warmth.

  “Sorry.” She smiles then laughs, patting my cheek. “I feel like I know you already. Every time I talk to my son, he tells me about you.”

  “Really?” I ask, feeling my cheeks heat in embarrassment.

  “It’s true. You have definitely woven a web around my son.”

  I look from her to Wes, unsure of what to say about that, but then don’t say anything, because she is taking my hand and leading me into the house, leaving Wes on the front porch, shaking his head.

  Once we get inside, the smell of cinnamon and apples touches my nose, reminding me of home. I follow Judy without choice through the living room and into the kitchen, where she leads me to the small island.

  “Sit here,” she says, dropping my hand. I hold back the laugh I feel and take a seat on one of her barstools to watch as she pulls a beautiful pie out of the oven and sets it in front of me.

  “Pulling out the big guns, Mom?” Wes asks, kissing the side of my head before taking a seat next to me.

  “You know I love to bake,” she states, smiling and spinning the pie around slightly. I wish I had half the baking skills she does; the whole pie looks like it could be in a magazine.

  “That would be true if you didn’t leave the evidence of your baking skills in your garbage,” Wes says, and I follow his eyes to the trashcan, where there is a box that once contained the apple pie sitting on top of it.

  “You’re such a know-it-all.” His mom laughs, hitting him with the hot oven mitt in her hand, making me laugh. “Just so you know, honey, this is his favorite pie. They have it at every store and all you have to do is put it in the oven.”

  “That’s good to know. I suck at baking,” I tell her, and her face goes soft.

  “Me too, but my boy didn’t know I couldn’t until he turned sixteen and found the first box from a frozen apple pie I had made him.”

  “I knew when I was ten,” Wes confesses, and her eyes go to him.

  “You did not!” she cries.

  “I did; I had a sleepover at a friend’s and his mom had bought one, and it looked and tasted just like yours. I just didn’t confront you about it until I was sixteen.”

  She shakes her head, but her gaze on him is soft and so full of love that I feel it all the way down to my toes.

  “So, how did you two meet?” she asks, going to a cupboard and pulling out three plates, setting them in front of us.

  “Me and the boys were out riding when this biker swerved and tried to run me off the road,” Wes says, and his mom’s face pales.

  “I swerved to miss a bird that was in the road,” I defend, pulling Judy’s eyes to me. “Its wing was broken, and I didn’t want to kill it. After I swerved, your son and his friends chased me down on their bikes,” I tattle, and she inhales a sharp breath.

  “Why don’t you tell her how you stun-gunned me?”

  “Oh my…”

  I turn my head and glare at him, then hiss, “You scared me and it was an accident.”

  “Oh lord,” Judy whispers, and I turn to look at her. Her eyes go from him to me, and the same look I saw on my mom’s face when she met Wes appears on hers. “That will be a good story for your kids one day,” she cheers blissfully then turns around, leaving me sitting there like a fish out of water, with my mouth gaping while she goes over to a drawer, opening it up and pulling out forks.

  “Close your mouth, babe,” Wes chortles, pushing up on my chin. I turn to look at him, noticing he doesn’t even look slightly taken aback by his mom’s comment. I double-blink then snap my mouth closed.

  “So, you ride a bike also?” Judy asks while cutting a piece of pie and placing it on the plate in front of me.

  “I do…well, not a Harley, but a sport bike,” I tell her, smiling.

  “My ex used to ride, and I hate that my son rides. I worry about him everyday, but I know it’s something that makes him happy. I’m glad you guys have that in common,” she says, and Wes’ hand wraps around the back of my neck and he pulls me closer to him so he can place a kiss above my ear.

  “My mom rides, and it was always something we
did together.”

  “How does your dad feel about it?” Judy asks.

  “The first bike I ever had, I was constantly having to refill the tires with air, and I couldn’t figure out why. And I wouldn’t ride it, because it was too risky. Then one day, I went to the garage and found my dad taking the cap off the nozzle on the tires. He hated that I was riding, so he was sabotaging my bike.”

  “Well then, I don’t feel so bad.” His mom smiles and I smile back, taking a bite of the pie, and I have to agree; even if it was frozen, it is seriously delicious.

  By the time we leave, I have completely fallen in love with Wes’ mom, and I know that if the time ever comes for our parents to meet, my mom and dad will both love her too.

  “I love your mom,” I tell Wes as we head back to my house.

  “Told you.” He smiles, squeezing my thigh.

  “Do you want to stay at my house tonight?” I ask, not knowing why I even bother asking, ’cause he has stayed with me every night since the first time he crawled into my bed.

  “Babe,” he starts, and I can tell he’s trying not to laugh, “I haven’t even been to my place in three days.”

  “It’s weird how this thing has been happening between us,” I say quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everything has been at warp speed since our first date, or what would have been our first date, if you hadn’t ruined it.”

  “Thought you forgot about that,” he mumbles, but I can hear the smile in his voice.

  “Nope, I still remember, and will probably use it as leverage for the rest of your life.”

  “You plan on knowing me that long?”

  “I hope so,” I reply, wondering why the hell I just said that.

  “Glad to know even in warp speed we’re on the same page,” he says, and I pull my eyes away from him and look out the window.

  I don’t know if it’s possible to fall in love in such a short time, but if it is, I’m in love with Wes Silver. Now I just had to figure out how to tell my dad about him.

  *

  Wes

  “Silver,” Jax calls, walking into the shop through the open bay’s door. I lift my chin and step away from the bike I’m working on while wiping my hands on a greasy rag. “I have some news about Snake,” he says, and my jaw grinds at the mention of his name. As much as I don’t want to be involved with this shit, I know I have to be. It’s not in me to sit by while good, innocent people are hurt. “He was seen leaving a meeting in downtown Nashville this afternoon.”

  “And?”

  “And the meeting was with Franco Demitrez.”

  “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  “He controls one of the largest sex trafficking and prostitution rings this side of the Mississippi,” he says, and my gut twists. I had known for a while that what was happening with Snake and his boys was bad, but this takes this shit to a whole different level.

  “You know I hate asking you for any favors,” he starts, and my eyes narrow. Since the first moment we met he has been asking my crew to help him with shit. “I need you and your boys to help me secure some girls their moving soon.”

  “Then what? Do you even know the level of fucked-up you’re dealing with right now? You can’t just sweep in and you sure as fuck need to have a plan in place for when it’s all over.”

  “I understand that, I also understand that Landon came to talk to me.” He says pulling his hat off and running a hand over his head.

  “What did he want?” I ask, Landon’s dad owns Mamma’s Country; he’s the kid that was dropping off dogs to July, the same kid July asked me to help.

  “Did you know Landon has a sister?”

  “No.” Ronnie never mentioned having another kid, not to me and I never saw a girl around.

  “He does but Snakes boys took her and that’s the leverage they have been holding over Ronnie that’s why things went to shit at Mamma’s Country.

  “Christ.”

  “Landon heard one of Snake’s boys talking about some girls that they were holding and Landon thinks his sister will be with them.

  “Jesus,” I grunt, disgusted. “Let me talk to the guys. I’ll call you so we can meet up and figure out what we’re going to do.” The boys and I have never made a move without each of us agreeing, and I’m not going to start doing that shit now.

  “I’m in,” Z says, coming to my side.

  “Me too,” Mic chimes in.

  “I’m down,” Harlen mutters.

  “I was getting bored anyways.” Everret shrugs, walking up to the group.

  “Looks like we’re in,” I sigh. “We’ll meet tonight and go over the details.

  “Until tonight,” Jax says, heading out.

  “We’re going to need to get some weapons,” Z says.

  “I know a place,” Harlen tells us. “If I head out now, I should still be able to make the connect.”

  “Mic, you go with Everret. Harlen, you find out everything you can about this situation.”

  “On it,” Mic says, walking away, followed by Everret and Harlen.

  “We’re going to need someone to watch the girls when we can’t,” Z states, and I run a hand over my head then look at him.

  “Jax and the boys will help.”

  “Would they kill to protect them? Die to protect them?” he asks, and I think about Jax, Talon and Sage and I know they would. “They would do whatever is necessary,” I assure him.

  “I wasn’t going to tell anyone, not yet, ’cause it’s so early, but Kayan’s pregnant,” he confides, and all I can do is stare at him. “We weren’t planning on this happening. Hell, I wasn’t even planning on her.” He scrubs his hand down his face, and when his eyes meet mine, I notice for the first time in years that he looks happy.

  “Jesus, you move fast,” I mutter, smiling.

  “When she told me she was pregnant, I thought I was going to fucking pass out. I have never been so scared in my life.” He shakes his head and looks out the bay door then back at me. “I never put much thought into the future until her,” he says, and I get that. Even when I was married, I didn’t think about the future or having children. I didn’t think about anything but my next mission. Seeing July changed all of that. I want tomorrow and seventy years from now with her.

  “I’m happy for you, brother.” I pull him in for a one-arm hug then lean back just enough to see his face and wrap my hand around the side of his neck, smiling. “You ever think two years ago this would have happened?”

  “Fuck no.” He shakes his head and I let him go.

  “Me, neither.” I didn’t expect to find a woman who fits me perfectly, a woman who makes me want to slide a ring on her finger just so I can show everyone she’s mine, a woman who brings out every possessive and protective instinct I didn’t even know I had. But that’s what I found the day I met July Mayson. “You okay?” I ask Z, who suddenly looks worried.

  “Never been in love. You know my family’s fucked up,” he says, and I nod. “I don’t even know what love feels like.”

  Fuck…

  “I worry I won’t do her justice,” he admits, rubbing his chest.

  “That’s love, brother. Knowing you’re not good enough, but keeping her anyways—that’s love.”

  “That’s fucked up.”

  I laugh and agree, “Yep.”

  Chapter 11

  “Hey, you,” I greet, seeing Wes standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

  His arms cross over his chest and his eyes drop to my breasts as I straighten the straps of my bra.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says as he pushes away from the door.

  “I thought we were leaving soon,” I tell him, reading the look in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just walks me backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed and I’m falling, landing with him on top of me.

  “You smell good.” His tongue licks up the column of my throat.

  “Yeah?” I question, wrapping my arm
s around his neck and my leg around his hip.

  His mouth lands on mine, and his tongue slides across my bottom lip as I open up for him, tilting my head to the side. The moment his taste floods my mouth, I moan and let my hands travel down his back then up his shirt, feeling his hot skin under my palms. I pull his shirt up until he’s forced to release my mouth, and he sits back, pulling his shirt off over his head then comes back to me. His hand slips behind my back, and the bra I had just put on is quickly unhooked. He slips it off first one arm then the other before pulling it away from my chest¸ returning his mouth to mine as his hand runs up my side, stopping at the underside of my breast.

  “Wes,” I mewl, and his thumb sweeps over my nipple. That one swipe has my core tightening and wetness flooding between my legs. There is nothing I want more than him inside me, but every time we get close to going there, he pulls away, and that thought has my nails scratching down his back and my head digging into the pillow as his mouth travels down my jaw and neck.

  I tilt my head down to look at him as he shifts, palming my breast in one large hand then licking over my nipple before kissing down between my breasts, down my stomach, teasing around my belly button.

  “Lift your ass, babe,” he commands as he unsnaps my jeans. I lift my hips off the bed as he pulls them over my ass and down my legs. My hands go to the bed near my hips as I begin to pant. The thought of his mouth on me has my body lighting up in anticipation. “You’re swollen and wet, baby,” he breathes over my core, using his thumbs to spread me open.

  I tilt my head down, and the moment our eyes meet, he licks up my center. My head falls back onto the bed, my eyes squeeze closed, and I lift myself higher then run a hand over his head. “I want to touch you,” I hiss as his tongue licks back and forth over my clit, causing an ache to fill my lower belly.

  He grunts and my hips stir as his fingers play just outside my entrance, torturing me.

  “Wes, please stop,” I cry, needing more than he’s giving me, but instead of filling me with his fingers like I want, his hands go to my thighs and he holds me open, pulling my clit into his mouth. My head presses harder into the bed and my legs lift me higher to his mouth then slam closed around his ears as that ache in my lower stomach explodes.