AJ

by Jessie Cooke

  He was excited about the wedding. He had learned even more about his own culture over the past three months, but Jolene had been the one to suggest they have a traditional Navajo wedding. AJ wanted that too, but he had to tell her that he wasn’t so sure that their friends and her family were ready for that. It was worlds apart from what any of their non-Native friends would expect a wedding ceremony to be. Jolene’s response to his concerns was simply, “If they love us, they’ll support us.”

  “You doing okay?” Sam stepped into the neighbor’s hogan where AJ was getting dressed. Sam was dressed in a green ribbon shirt much like the one that AJ would wear for the wedding. It was handmade too, like Jolene’s dress, and another tradition.

  “I might throw up,” AJ said with a grin.

  Sam laughed. “Why so nervous? Any fool can see how much you love that girl just by the way you look at her.”

  “I’m not nervous about marrying Jolene, not at all. I’m lucky she’ll have me. I’m nervous about meeting her parents and what they’ll think of all this.”

  Sam smiled and said, “I just left the new hogan and I’m impressed. I’m sure they will be too.” AJ had built the home he and Jolene would live in himself. It was one of four, just like he promised Jolene. They had one on each of the four corners of the Navajo Nation. The doors of all hogans faced east, but AJ had built each of theirs with multiple doors so that it had a more rounded appearance. They hadn’t furnished it yet and the open space would work perfectly for the wedding ceremony. “I think they’ll be able to look around and see how hard you work and look into your eyes and see how much you love their daughter...and as long as you remember to move clockwise, it should all go just fine.”

  AJ laughed. Sam and Yanaha had a traditional Navajo wedding as well and during the ceremony, Sam had forgotten one of the most important rules of a hogan...always enter and turn clockwise. In other words when Sam walked into the east door, he should have walked through the entire hogan in a clockwise direction to get to the north side where he’d be standing. That meant he had to turn left, but instead, he turned right and it was something the wedding guests relentlessly teased him about all through the reception. “I think that part I’ll remember. Follow me, okay?” Sam smiled and clapped AJ on the back.

  “I’m proud of you, Atsa, and thrilled that you and your sister have reconciled. She’s been happier these past three months than she had been in a long time. Partly it’s our sweet girl, Johana, but it’s having her brother back in her life too. Family means a lot to our Yanaha.”

  AJ nodded and said, “Family is everything.” Sam stayed with him until it was time for the ceremony to begin. His brother-in-law was a good man and over the past few months AJ had come to love their child, Johana, as much as if she was his own blood. He’d never known pure goodness before he met her and it made him start thinking about having a family of his own, someday. For now...he had to get through this ceremony without throwing up.

  When it was time for the ceremony to begin, everyone lined up outside. AJ couldn’t help searching the line behind him for Jolene. His breath caught in his throat when he found her. She and her parents had just stepped out of the neighbor’s hogan on the other side. She was dressed in a red and black woven dress. Her hair was swept up into a fancy bun but curly tendrils hung loose around her pretty face. Her brown eyes were shining like precious stones and his heart swelled with the knowledge that she was that happy about marrying him. Her mother stood next to her. She was wearing a dress made out of lace. It was dark green and the heels that she wore with it only brought her up as far as her daughter’s shoulder. Her olive skin was flawless and her dark hair shone like gloss under the sun. Sadly, she looked more confused than happy and AJ had to remind himself that as much as he’d like her to be happy for them, Jolene’s happiness was what mattered today.

  Her father was the polar opposite of her mother. His hair was as red as Jolene’s and pulled back into a band at the nape of his neck. His eyes were as dark green as his wife’s dress and his skin ruddy and freckled. Where her mother looked close to miserable, her father was beaming. Of course, he was looking at his daughter, and AJ couldn’t imagine anyone looking at her and not smiling. It was clear to see how much he loved her and how proud he was. AJ hoped that once they had a chance to get to know him, and witness how happy he and Jolene made each other, they’d be proud to have him as part of their family as well.

  Finally, Jolene’s brown eyes met his. It was only for a second but AJ could feel the warmth from them even from twelve feet away. He smiled at her and she winked. His stomach flipped one last time as he turned back toward the hogan and prepared himself to enter it with his family. Yanaha was on one side of him, holding Johana’s hand. Johana’s other little hand was wrapped up in his and he was sure he was clinging on tighter than she was. Sam stood on the other side of him and as a unit, they stepped inside the hogan. He looked around at the chairs and the table that had been set up with the traditional items and told himself that if he did throw up, or turned the wrong way or tripped over his own feet...it wouldn’t matter. In an hour or less he would be joined to the most beautiful person who ever existed and he had never felt so blessed.

  When they stepped inside, AJ walked to the west side of the hogan and sat in front of the small table, facing east. His family left him there and went to sit on his left, to the north side. He breathed a sigh of relief that he’d gotten it right, and then he looked up and watched his beautiful bride be led in on the arms of her parents. Jolene’s father led her to the seat on AJ’s right. The huge man engulfed her in a hug before finally leaving her there and following her mother to the south side of the hogan where they would sit. Once the bride and groom and their families were seated, the groom’s guests, a collection of construction workers and most of the Phoenix Skulls, were led in by a young Navajo man and seated on the north side. Jolene’s guests, mostly her friends she’d made on her trips so far, were seated on the south side.

  Once the hogan was full to capacity, with more people spilling over outside, the officiator, a female doctor on the reservation, gave a short introduction and described what would take place, for the benefit of those who had never been to a Diné wedding. AJ’s favorite part was when she talked about the first “wedding.” It became a tradition based on the mating of the young maiden White Shell Woman and the Sun God in the White World. White Shell Woman was the perfect deity to compare his soon to be wife to, he thought. White Shell Woman came to earth bearing the sunshine of protection. She was also said to bring dreams and renewed hope and when she arrived a rainbow appeared and banished sadness with the promise of reuniting mankind with the gods someday. Today it’s said she continues to renew that promise each March by whispering her message on the winds and bearing it on the wings of an eagle. Nothing had ever made AJ believe in a higher power the way Jolene did. Something great had created her and he wouldn’t have been surprised if it were White Shell Woman herself.

  Once the officiator finished her opening greeting, Jolene picked up a gourd dipper from the table in front of them, dipped it in a pot that was also on the table, and then as AJ held out his hands, she poured the water over them. Once that was done, AJ did the same, pouring water over the delicate hands of his bride to be. Left on the table then was a ceremonial wedding basket filled with blue corn mush. The basket would remain in place in front of the couple throughout the ceremony. When it was time, the officiator came over and performed a blessing on the mush. She sprinkled corn pollen on it, made a cross over it, and then in a clockwise direction, beginning from the east she made a circle. She didn’t close the circle completely, however; it was left open per Diné custom as “an entrance and exit for the way of life.”

  When she finished her blessings, AJ and Jolene each took a dab of the corn mush from the east side of the basket and ate it. Then they repeated the process from each of the four directions before finally both taking a bite from the center. And then just like that, she was his wife.
The ceremony wasn’t quite finished yet, however. It was time for the families to come forward. AJ’s family was first, each dipping their fingers into the wedding mush one at a time and eating what they took out. Jolene’s parents went next. Her father was still smiling when he took his and he looked pleased when he put it in his mouth. When it was Jolene’s mother’s turn, she hesitated and AJ wondered if she might refuse to go through with it. He didn’t fault her for being overwhelmed. He actually felt sorry for her. He was sure this was not the way she had imagined her daughter’s wedding would be. Jolene told him that her mother wanted her to have a traditional Catholic wedding, like the one her parents had. AJ planned on giving that to her too later on, if that’s what Jolene wanted as well. He was prepared to marry her a dozen times if he had to. Jolene’s tiny mother finally settled her dark eyes on her daughter’s face and when Jolene smiled up at her, she smiled back. AJ almost breathed out his relief when she dipped the mush out and brought it to her lips. Once she’d taken the bite, she smiled again, this time at AJ.

  After the ceremony was over, the elders gathered in a circle outside to offer advice to the new couple. They were presented with the gifts, and then it was time for the party. Jace had generously offered his brand-new clubhouse for their celebration. It was finally finished and if AJ said so himself, he’d done a great job with the design. Jace and a very pregnant Beck had laid out a huge spread of food, both traditional Navajo and eclectic. The booze was flowing freely and the music was loud enough to shake the walls and once again, he worried about Jolene’s mother and how she would feel about the bikers and their style of celebrating. His fears were dispelled long before the night was over when he spotted her, champagne flute in hand, dancing to a heavy metal song with Finn of all people. Her husband was doing something that could either pass for dancing or a seizure with Finn’s girl Caitlin and he looked like he was having a hell of a good time. AJ looked over at his bride and she was looking at them too, and beaming. All in all, it had been the best day of his life, and he hadn’t even taken his bride home yet.

  When they were finally able to sneak away from the reception, which was still going strong, AJ and Jolene rode on his Harley back to their new hogan. Their guests had placed a bed in their room and stocked the kitchen with food. Neither of them was interested in any more food or drink. Jolene left AJ sitting on the edge of the new bed and went into the bathroom to get ready for her wedding night. She’d bought a sexy little white teddy made of silk and lace and easy to remove when the time came. She put it on and took down her hair and shook out her curls. For reasons beyond her understanding, AJ liked it like that. She decided that was all that mattered. She’d do anything to make him happy.

  When she made it back out to the bedroom, AJ had already washed up in the kitchen and stripped down to his shorts. When he saw her, the look in his eyes was worth every penny she’d paid for the skimpy little outfit. “Wow.”

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  He reached for her hand and pulled her to him. “No, baby, thank you. I never imagined I could be this happy.” He kissed her softly and then pulled the handmade quilt on the bed back. He let her slide in first and she snuggled down into the soft mattress and satin sheets. AJ climbed in next to her and for a few minutes, he lay on his back and she put her head on his chest and they just quietly enjoyed the silence. AJ was brushing her cheek softly with one of his fingers and Jolene closed her eyes and got lost in his tender, gentle touch. It didn’t take long though for those tender feelings to begin stirring up the passion in her core that she felt for him. She finally opened her eyes and sat up. AJ smiled at her and she leaned down and kissed him...deeply. AJ kissed her back, sucking at her tongue and lips like he was trying to suck the heat right out of her body.

  Jolene let her hands run down his chest to his stomach as the kiss became even hotter and more desperate. She wanted to go slow, take their time on their first night as husband and wife...but it was so hard. He was the sexiest man she’d ever met and her desire for him only grew more intense by the day.

  She stroked his hard abdomen with her fingers until AJ pulled her up on top of him. They broke the kiss, but left their mouths so close to each other that every ragged breath was like a caress. AJ’s eyes locked into hers while his hands explored her body. They ran down over the satin that draped her back and landed on the cheeks of her butt, which were exposed, thanks to the thong panty of the teddy. He massaged and caressed and then she lifted her head and he put his lips on her neck. She loved the way his soft lips felt on the delicate skin there and how he nipped at her lightly with his teeth. She could feel how hard he was between them and she couldn’t wait a second longer to touch him. Finally she slid her hand down between them and into the top of his boxers. AJ sucked in a hard breath when she touched him and he let out a groan when she slid her fingers down his shaft. She rolled off him then so she could get a better grip and for a few minutes she stroked him gently and planted kisses across his chest.

  The more she touched him, the wetter she got. And by the time AJ slipped the straps of the teddy off her shoulders and she peeled it off, the panty was soaked. She pushed at his boxers then and he helped her get them out of her way. She grasped his cock again, giving it a light squeeze and pressing her lips back into his. She loved how he felt like an iron rod wrapped in silk. She let her lips slide down his chest and she kissed her way across his stomach and then she let her tongue come out and she licked the salty juice off the tip. He moaned as she slid her tongue all the way down his shaft and licked the V just underneath it before returning to the tip. When she got there, she opened her lips and let it slide across her tongue and into her mouth until it pressed against the back of her throat. AJ groaned loudly and brought his hips up off the bed. She squeezed her lips around him tightly and began to move her head up and down, letting him slide in and out of her mouth. She loved the noises he made when she was giving him pleasure and she loved the looks of ecstasy that crossed his face when they made love.

  AJ let her pleasure him with her mouth for a while, but she was in tune to his body now and she knew even before he pulled her off that he was close to an orgasm. He sat up then, kissed her again, and said, “Get on your knees, baby.”

  Jolene smiled and turned over and lifted her hips, revealing her backside and her now dripping-wet pussy to him. She felt one of his hands come around front to squeeze a breast while the other was pressing a finger into her from behind. He caressed her breast and played with the hard nipple while working one and then two fingers in and out of her. She pushed back against him each time, loving the sensations, but aching for his cock with each new thrust of his fingers. When she was dangling on the edge of her climax, he stopped, pulling out his fingers and bringing his hand around front. He pressed one of his wet fingers to her lips and Jolene sucked it into her mouth. She loved her own taste against his and she licked both of his fingers clean before AJ finally flipped her over and at last climbed on top of her.

  She immediately reached down and took hold of his cock. She led it to her throbbing pussy and AJ slipped it inside of her. They both gasped and she clutched at his shoulders as he entered her. He pushed in slowly until she was filled with him and then he looked into her eyes and held her gaze as he fucked her. He was finished being gentle and Jolene was more than okay with that. He thrust into her hard and pulled back, and slammed into her again, over and over. She was moaning and writhing underneath him and her hips fell into a rhythm with him matching him thrust for thrust. Their breaths were heavy and their groans and moans loud and the sound of their bodies slapping together was the only other sound in the room for a long time. Finally AJ broke the silence:

  “God, I love you,” he gasped. She could feel him getting ready to explode and she was right there too. She held onto him tighter and slammed into him harder.

  “I love you so much,” she breathed out.

  “Tell me, baby. Tell me you’re going to love me forever.”

  “N
o doubt in my mind. I’m going to love you all the way to the underworld, Atsa Jacy.” He groaned loudly and she felt him swell even thicker inside of her. She cried out when his cock brushed against her g-spot and her orgasm was finally released from the tight hold the center of her core had on it. AJ let out a sound that was almost like a growl and in a strangled voice as he exploded inside of her he said:

  “You’re my passion, Jolene. This life we’ve made, it’s always going to be my passion.”

  He collapsed down next to her then, covered in a fine sheen of sweat and panting hard. She cradled his head against her chest and kissed the side of his head and said, “And you’re mine, Atsa. Together we’re going to do amazing things.” She lay there recovering from their lovemaking and stroking his soft hair and marveling at how the last few months had taught her that freedom wasn’t about being alone. The only true description of freedom as far as she was concerned now, was that feeling a person got deep in their soul when they had, as Atsa said, “found their passion.” She had surely found hers.

  Excerpt from Hawk

  SKULLS The Early Years (Skulls MC Romance Book 27)

  Chapter One

  Boston, Massachusetts “Combat Zone”

  1964