"No reason." She chewed her lip, keeping her head on his shoulder and watching across the room as Buck and Gertie's well-wishers let them be long enough to share a kiss. Was she really imagining what it'd be like to have Tank's baby?
"You didn't answer, English."
"What?"
"You like kids?"
"I love them."
There was a long pause before he replied, "That's good."
She leaned back to look up at him, her mouth fighting not to smile too wide. "Are you drunk right now?"
That smile again tugged at her heart and various other sensitive parts of her body. "I'm afraid so, English. We might need to stay here tonight."
"I won't mind that."
He kissed her quickly, then pushed her head to his shoulder again. "It gets loud here on party nights."
"It gets loud when it's just the two of us."
His laugh was deep. "Yeah, it does. I like that kind of loud."
"Me, too." She squeezed him tighter.
Chapter Thirty-Four
"Fuck me," he groaned, cracking an eye open as his head beat out a steady rhythm of pain behind his eyes. "What the hell did I drink last night?"
"Everything," Rose mumbled next to him, nuzzling into his chest.
"Man. I can't drink like I used to." He cracked an eye, looking at the watch he still had on. "When did we go to bed?"
"Around four."
"Jesus. That's not even that late." He set his hand on her arm again, eyes falling closed. "I can't remember. Did I rock your world last night?"
She laughed at that and it made him smile. "No, sorry, Cowboy. You were ready and willing but fell asleep the second you were horizontal."
"I'm sorry, baby."
"Don't be. I'd rather you were functional."
"I bet I still could've got it done."
"I'm sure. If you weren't sleeping, absolutely."
"Give me twenty minutes. I'll make it up to you."
"Just lie here with me. This is good, too."
He had to agree. The room wasn't terribly warm, but she was, like a little personal heater snuggled into his side from knee to chest. The sheets were clean, and whoever was cleaning the room had put the flannel sheets on this bed. Good thing; it was unusually cool. He could tell without going outside the temperature had dropped a lot.
"Did your friends enjoy themselves?"
"I think so. Jennifer disappeared with that Guido guy. I think Gloria went back to my apartment alone. I have no idea where Brandi got to, but I never worry about her."
He chuckled. "I know where Brandi went. I saw her and Knuckles making out right in the clubhouse."
"Really? What a slut."
He laughed along with her.
"They were going to take it easy last night because they wanted to go to the strip club tonight."
"Really?"
"They're curious to check it out. I don't know why. I think they want to see how well you guys protect the place."
"You think they're looking to work?"
"They could be convinced to stay for a little while. They don't really settle."
"Nomads, huh?"
"I guess. I was like that. Then I realized I was almost thirty. I wanted a place that was home."
He pondered that. "I was around thirty when I got that same urge. I'd been in the club for two years, but then it really sunk in that ... this was home. It's an imperfect place, but I like it here. This is my kind of town."
She laughed at that. "I think I like it, too."
Tank let it lie. He wasn't going to push the issue, but the thought of her wanting to stay here made him pretty fucking happy. "You hung over, English?"
"Nope. I didn't feel the need to get hammered last night."
"Good," he grunted, throwing the blankets off her.
"Tank! It's cold."
"You're naked, English!"
"I know!" She was giggling, trying to get to the blankets, but he wouldn't let her up.
"Only one way to keep warm when you're naked. I'm willing to provide that service." He got that sweet sigh from her as he pressed her into the bed with his weight, nibbling along her neck with his lips and gently with his teeth. Her hands got all twisted in his hair as she got a good grip on him.
With her tits in hand, he finally kissed her on the mouth, somewhat worried he tasted like a distillery. So he paid careful attention to her straining nipples, making her groan and squirm to distract her from his morning breath. He was hard already, of course, pressed into her thigh. He was rubbing against her, but it was involuntary.
One of her warm hands ran over his back, bringing him up another notch. He was anxious to sink into her, but he also felt like taking his time today. With teeth and tongue he made a path down her neck, over her collarbone and back again, between her gorgeous breasts, pausing to give those peaked tips more attention as well. He nipped at her skin over and around her bellybutton, pressing up on the back of her thighs to open her up to him. With a sigh she settled her legs over his shoulders and he took one long lap at her opening, already warm and wet.
"Cowboy," she moaned, and he cast a look up at her. Her head was to the side, face soft and relaxed. She wasn't in a hurry, either. That was good.
He made slow but thorough work of her, her orgasm arching her back so her heels dug into the muscles of his back with surprising strength.
He rose up to his knees, wiping her from his mouth and smiling down on the sight of her, sprawled naked in the bed he'd spent the last twelve years in. Fuck, she was at home here. He wanted her here always.
She smiled at him, comfortable in her skin like always. "You're not done, are you?"
He cocked an eyebrow, then crawled his way up and over her. Her hands tried to pull him down, but he was stronger than her. "You want more than that?"
"I do."
"Greedy, greedy woman."
She smiled, biting her lip, then reached down and took him in her hand. He backed off of her, out of reach.
"Tank!"
"You take it when I give it to you, woman."
"Give it to me now."
She laughed again and he realized he loved it when she was playful and horny. He reached for the nightstand drawer to grab a condom. "Relax. That pussy's gonna get what it deserves, I promise."
"Don't use that word!"
He laughed again, tearing into the package. "Pussy?"
"Yes. I don't like that." She didn't seem too put out, but she was expressing an opinion somewhat seriously.
"What should I call it?"
"Do you have to reference it at all?"
"Yeah, English. I do."
Her eyes watched as he rolled the condom on. "Why?"
"I have to call it something if I wanna hear you talking about my cock."
"I have to do that, too?"
"Why not?"
She was smiling as he settled back onto her body, her legs fitting to his sides like it was reflex. "Do I have to call it a cock?"
"Yes."
"Isn't there another word?"
"No fucking way. No one wants a fucking nickname. It's my cock, English. You want it or not?"
"You know I do." It was whispered because the body parts in question were just barely touching.
"Then call it by name, and tell me where to put it."
"Can't you call it a lady garden?" She was laughing, and she stopped with a gasp as he pressed his way in just a couple inches.
"No way am I using the term lady garden."
"Fine," she whispered, eyes closed as she tried to pull his hips closer to gain more of him, but he resisted that, too.
"Fine what?"
"It's a cock."
"And what should I do with it?"
"Fill my pussy and fuck it raw."
He paused for a moment, nearly coming just from how unexpected that was. "Jesus, English."
"What?"
"You got a filthy mouth."
"Shut up," she shot back as a whimper, squirming
again.
"But since you asked for it."
She cried out as he drove into her to the hilt, waited for her body to adjust, then proceeded to make love to her. He took his time, getting lost in kissing her and caressing her while she tensed and quivered through one, two, then three more orgasms before finding his own. He bellowed, groaned, shouted through it like always, the relief so intense it felt like it turned his damn toes inside out.
He'd collapsed onto her, worried he was squishing her but too tired to move. She pulled his hair to one side, which was nice as the room's cooler air hit the back of his neck.
"We got a club meeting at one," he mumbled, out of nowhere.
"Okay."
"You want me to take you to your apartment?"
"Nah. I'll stay here."
He grinned again then went up on his elbows, framing her face with one hand. "Yeah? You're just hanging out here today?"
"Yeah. Until you're done your meeting anyway. At some point I'll have to make sure my girls are all whole still."
"They're whole," he promised, easing free of her and getting to his feet to clean up.
"I'm not actually worried," she assured him. "You wouldn't let me come around here if anyone was dangerous."
He stopped at the bathroom door, turning to smile at her. "That's right."
She slipped the sheet back over her body, rolling to her side. "Is it okay if I keep napping?"
"Go for it, English. You keep that bed warm for me."
"You got it, Cowboy."
-oOo-
Fritter barely made it to the boardroom for the club meeting, narrowly avoiding a fine. As he took his place at Jayce's right, opposite from him, Tank had to frown. He had no idea where the SAA had been, but it was obvious that the guy hadn't stayed the night. It wasn't unheard of for Fritter to spend a night at his mom's, but it didn't usually happen on a party night.
No one else seemed to notice the oddity, and Jayce called the meeting to order and got to it without fucking around. Which was good; most of the guys were showing the effects of the revelry.
"Guido brought me an interesting proposition last night. The Nomads are interested in getting in on some Sachetti cash."
"I bet," Tiny muttered. "It was a matter of time before someone came looking to get in on it."
"His idea is a bit more involved than just getting hands on money, though. Nomads want to patch in as Red Rebels, which would make them a second chapter of the club."
Eye contact was made and changed rapidly around the table. "No shit?" Knuckles asked what everyone was thinking.
"No shit. We know Sachetti will get nervous with too many different patches touching his cargo. But if we're all Red Rebels ..." Jayce shrugged.
"They'd want to do that for what reason? Just the cash?" Tiny asked.
"There's strength in numbers, too," Tank pointed out. "We're talking shared alliances. They've got some friends we don't."
"And we've got allies they don't." Fritter was quick to add.
"Guido brought this to us because his club is already on board. So it's up to us whether or not we want their monthly dues and the help or not."
Again everyone shared a look with everyone else. "We may as well vote now," Fritter suggested.
"All in favor of patching in Nomads as a nomad chapter of the Red Rebels."
No contest. Everyone except Jayce raised a hand. The Prez rapped on the table top once. "I'll let Guido know. That'll likely clear us out of patches."
"I'll get more. And we'll need to get Nomad rockers made." Spaz sounded slightly in awe.
That brought out grins around the table. Not only was there a second chapter, now Markham was the mother chapter of the Red Rebels. Things were getting big.
"I know you've all heard about the Mazari raid that we handed over to the Markham PD," Jayce went on. "I haven't heard word yet on what the Sherriff found, but Terry tells me the place had police protection all night with flood lights set up and the whole shebang. His words, not mine. I don't know how much Downey will share with us, but I want everyone watching for anything strange. This is the second time we've pissed these fuckers off, and they don't come after us, they come after those close to us."
"Maybe Terry should stay somewhere else for a few days." Tank was worried about the guy since Jayce had mentioned him. "He's close. They gotta know who turned them in."
"I told Terry the same thing, and he told me to fuck myself. Again, his words not mine."
That sounded about right.
"Terry said the place was actually bought by a couple, two people that were there for only a couple days," Tank mused. "Spaz, you can find out who the property is registered to, right?"
The tech officer scoffed. "Umm, anyone can do that. You want me to show you how to use Google?"
Tank frowned and sat up straighter, and the little prick shrank in his chair. As he fucking should. "Just answers are fine, Junior," Tank said low and dangerous. "If I want sarcasm I'll ask Knuckles. He's better at it."
"Aww, thanks man."
"Anyway," Jayce cut in, barely keeping the smile from his face. "That's a good idea. Let's find out who those people were, track them down if we can. If we can get any clue how the Mazaris operate, that'd be helpful. We really only know the scary stories, and I'm not sure that makes us any smarter than we were back when they first came after Gertie. Speaking of which ..." Jayce pointed at Buck. "What. The. Fuck?"
They all chuckled at that and Buck rested his elbows on the table, shaking his head. "Yeah. Sorry guys, it was just something I thought of when we headed up to North Dakota. I asked and she said yeah. We were going to tell you eventually, but when she found out about the baby we thought we should come clean."
"So this is a Sturgis baby?" Tank guessed, grinning. He already couldn't wait to meet this kid.
Buck shook his head. "Nah. But not long after Sturgis."
"Congratulations, man." Jayce sounded like he absolutely meant it. "And I know I'm happy as hell for Gertie, too."
"Hear hear," Knuckles mumbled as the rest of them voiced their simple agreement.
Tank had a thought. "When she getting inked?"
"Well, not until after the baby. She wants Brady to do it, and he said he wouldn't ink her until she'd been sober a year. Baby won't be due until well after that, so she's just going to wait."
"She'll look hot with a tat," Spaz said.
"Hit him," Tank instructed Knuckles, who, without hesitation, cuffed Spaz up the backside of the head.
"Anyway, congrats on the wedding and the baby. You know we gotta do up a party right just for you two, right?"
"Yeah," Mickey jumped on Jayce's statement. "Jolene was sure I knew about the wedding and thought I was holding out on her. I thought she was going to beat me senseless."
"Sorry, man. And yeah, I know. We'll have a party. Nothing crazy though, just us."
"And tell her to bring that Brady guy. He was actually kinda funny," Tiny said with a smile.
"You getting ink from him?" Tank asked, mostly looking at Jayce.
Tiny and the Prez nodded. "Yeah. Jayce is gonna let me be his guinea pig. He's got some decent ink himself. I think he'll do a good job."
"Perfect," Tank mused, rubbing his beard. "Might need ink too."
Now he was being grinned at. "Is that right?" Jayce could barely fight back the chuckle. "You thinking of getting a pretty flower maybe?"
"On your ankle?" Mickey laughed along with the rest of them. "A dainty little rose?"
"Fuck you guys."
That brought them all to outright laughter, then Jayce called up the final topic for the meeting. “We got the address from the perv courier of where that kid was supposed to be delivered. It’s a swanky Bakersfield address. I’m of the mind that we scare him straight, make him think he’ll be exposed as a predator. In the meantime he cuts ties with the Mazaris for this business, maybe it starts getting around that someone’s onto their pipeline.
“Yeah,” Knuckles was fast
to jump in. “Let me in on that.”
“You sure? You just got back from Cabo.” Tank could tell Jayce was still nervous. None of them were sure how Knuckles could do the shit he did and still be functional. Well, mostly anyway.
“I want it,” he repeated, hands tightening into fists. “I’ll let him live, but he’ll be looking over his shoulder until he drops dead.”
Jayce and Tank exchanged a knowing look, then Tank nodded.
“Okay. Knuckles will send the warning, just let us know when you leave. The less we know, the better.” Jayce’s knock on the table drew the meeting to a close. On his way out of the clubhouse, Tank caught sight of Jolene and Gertie talking next to the bar, and the snippets he caught of their talk was decidedly "baby" oriented.
The night before he’d broached the subject of liking kids with Rose. That hardly meant she wanted to be a mother, and he knew that. But imagining a few kids running around was appealing. As big as the club might get, and as much as it heightened tensions, having family kept the group a bit more grounded and careful. He'd seen it once Jayce and Trinny had settled down.
As they’d headed back to his dorm, she’d shared that she hadn’t showered yet. He had to grin. He suddenly had an urge to practice some baby-making techniques he knew about. So once in his room he shed his kutte, T-shirt and jeans before joining her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The girls were at her apartment when Rose returned home. Gloria was the only one looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the other two looked a bit pathetic.
"So," Rose began pulling off the shirt she had on over a tank top. She needed fresh clothes. "Jennifer, how was your night?"
As rough as she looked, the dark-haired bombshell smiled. "Umm ... rigorous."
"Rigorous? That's a good word," Gloria muttered, swallowing a mouthful of water from her glass. She handed a glass to Jennifer as well.
"I'm not used to being tossed out of a room that quickly," Jennifer went on, pausing to gulp down water like she'd been stranded in the desert for two days. "But it saved me from having to do the walk of shame this morning." She pointed to Rose. "Unlike you."
Rose laughed, heading for her bedroom. "It's three in the afternoon. That's not a walk of shame. That's me making good use of a locking door with my man."
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