by Jordan Marie
While I was distracted watching the kids, it appears all the couples have paired off. Nicole is now in Dragon’s lap. Carrie is in Dancer’s and Dani is in Crusher’s. The others, including Lips and Six have all moved to another table, and Freak has already given them boxes to open.
Gunner holds up this long white and red striped knitted rectangle like thing. It’s about six inches in length, and at its base is two oval like shapes knitted in green. Gunner’s waving it around.
“What the hell is this, Nicole?” he asks.
She looks up at him and says. “A umm…bird warmer. Prevents shriveling.”
The room rocks with laughter.
“Dad? Why does Gunner need a bird warmer?” Dakota asks Crusher.
“I’ll explain later, boy,” he says.
“Yeah, like when he’s forty,” Dani mutters.
Crusher kisses her while laughing, “I love you, Hellcat.”
“Love you too, Cowboy,” she responds, holding him close.
Freak brings two boxes to Dragon and Nicole.
“You first, Mama,” Dragon orders.
Nicole opens up her box and pulls out a gold chain, but the attached pendant is what is breathtaking. It’s a perfectly, precisely cut dragon that’s made of beautiful emeralds, and right in its chest is a dark ruby, in the shape of a small heart.
“Dragon,” Nicole cries, wrapping her arms around him.
“You’re always my heart, Mama. Forever.”
“Open yours!” she urges.
Dragon opens the box, and he’s quiet. I can’t help but wonder what’s in there. Then he pulls out a yellow baby rattle.
“Fuck…Mama…” he says, and then stops. When he looks up, his eyes are glowing, but I see something in the man I never thought I would see. Fear. “You will not get sick, Mama. You will not die on me Nicole. You will listen to every fucking thing I tell you, and you will be healthy. You hear me?”
“Yes, Dragon. I hear you. It’ll be fine sweetheart, and you’ll be with me every step of the way this time.”
“Damn straight,” he says gruffly, and then he kisses her. It’s not a small kiss either. It’s the kind of kiss that even makes me hot watching. I suddenly feel like I’m intruding.
Freak has handed Dancer and Carrie a box. He apparently got her a locket with a picture of him and his sister and Carrie all together from years ago, inside. Carrie is crying, even as Dancer opens up his box. Inside, are keys to a brand new Harley. The custom paint job is a Savage MC emblem with Dancers name in white and highlighted by blue flames. Carrie is rich it seems, but I get the feeling Dancer could care less. I look over at Crusher and Dani. They’ve already exchanged. Dani’s holding her hand up and she’s got a ring on that looks like the shape of a cat. I don’t know what she gave Crusher, but whatever it was, he’s practically making out with her. So, he must be happy. These Savage boys apparently aren’t shy in public, that’s for sure.
Then Freak comes to me and Bull. My stomach rolls with nerves. I think he will love what I got him. But then, you never know.
“Open it, Doc.”
My hand shakes as I tear the wrapping off the small box, and open it. Inside, is the prettiest diamond that I’ve ever seen. He takes the box from my hand, and puts the ring on my finger.
“Will you marry me, Doc?”
“Fuck, yeah,” I whisper through the tears, giving him the word he loves to wring from me the most, right before he claims my mouth.
When we break apart, Gunner is moaning again.
“Jesus H. Christ, that’s three of you in one holiday!”
I dry my tears and Freak looks up.
“There wasn’t a box under the tree for Bull.”
“I got everything I need.” Bull says, smiling down at me.
I take a step back, grinning. “I hope you have room for one more gift from Matty and me,” I tell him.
Matty walks over and he has the envelope I gave him earlier. I asked him to keep it with him. I knew I could trust him, because this is just as important to him as it is to me.
“Bull,” his little voice says, starting out wobbly. “Mom and I wanted to give you this together.” He reaches the envelope to Bull.
Bull looks at me and then Matty, confused. He takes the envelope, his hand ruffling Matty’s hair. “Thanks, little dude.”
He opens the envelope and unfolds the papers inside.
“What…” he stops and he looks at both of us and his eyes are dark with emotion. I think I can see tears shining in them. My nerves go away.
“We want you to be my new dad,” Matty tells him, and I can hear the nerves in his voice. “Mom says if you sign the papers it will be all legal and everything. I can even have your name and stuff.”
Bull doesn’t respond, he looks at the papers, and then back at me. This time the tears in his eyes fall.
Matty must get worried about Bull’s silence. “I mean it’s cool if you don’t want to or whatever, we just thought, maybe you would like to be…” He looks up at Bull confused. “Don’t you want to be my dad?”
Bull tries to talk, but has to stop and clear his throat.
“Absolutely, Matthew. I want that more than anything in the world,” he says, picking him up, and holding him tight.
I look at my two favorite men in the whole world, crying and laughing. All the rest of the members come up slapping Bull on the back, congratulating him, then hugging me. My eyes lock onto Bull’s and he gives me everything I have ever wanted in one sentence.
“I love you, Skye.”
The man I was worried would be a mistake I would never recover from? That man has become my reason for living.
“I love you too, Bull. I love you too.”
Turn the page for a never seen before bonus Epilogue and see what Bull and Skye are up to!
BONUS SCENE
Bull & Skye
“Doctor Walker you’re needed in the ER.”
“Mary I’m off the clock,” I whine. Why I agreed to an ER rotation I don’t know. I didn’t have to, but when the Chief asked me I agreed. Bull almost had a cow—the only thing that softened it was it was during the day. Bull hates it when I work at night. “I have no plans other than to go home to my darling—but completely spoiled and over the top daughter—and my boy, put my feet up and watch as my sexy husband makes dinner—preferably with his shirt off.”
“Skye. Bull’s in the emergency room,” Mary says, and it’s her tone that gets me. It takes me a minute to register her words and then I take off running. I hear Mary calling after me, but I don’t make out the words. My heart is beating too fast and I just need to get to my husband.
He didn’t have anything planned today really. We had a friend watching Thea and Matty was in school. He had to do some things at the club, but he was going to be home early. He promised me it was nothing dangerous and we left it at that. I love Bull, and I even love club and the friends I have—but, there are things that go on in the club I’d rather not know anything about. This works for Bull and I because there are things he can’t tell me. Still, I’m not a fool and I know what he does can be dangerous.
“My husband?” I ask the nurses at the central desk. The central desk is literally just a round shaped area which serves as the hub and is surrounded by seven exam rooms. The nurses and doctors gravitate at the “hub” and monitors and files are top priority.
“Exam room three, Dr. Walker,” they answered immediately.
“Kane,” I mutter. Mary did it too. Everyone is still calling me Dr. Walker despite being married to Bull for a year. Right now, it seems important everyone remembers that I am Dr. Kane. I am married to Bull. He’s mine and we have a life together and—
“Doc,” Bull says as I enter the small room. My heart is pounding so hard it’s a miracle I haven’t passed out. Seeing him now, sitting on the exam table, seemingly fine makes a feeling of relief move over me so fast that I stumble. Hearing his voice makes tears flood my eyes.
“I was so scared,”
I whisper, forgetting to be professional. Bull is alive, he doesn’t look hurt and I can collapse now, I don’t need to be a doctor, I don’t need to be strong.
“I’m fine, Doc. I promise.”
“People who are fine don’t need to be in the emergency room,” I tell him, wiping the tears out of my eyes.
“That’s what I told Freak,” I growl.
I look up to see Freak, looking bored—then again he always does—in the corner. I immediately try to wipe my tears away.
“Then why are you here?” I ask Bull instead of Freak, but only because I can’t make myself look away from Bull long enough to talk to anyone else.
“For a tetanus shot,” Freak answers.
I blink.
“A tetanus shot?” I ask, and this time I direct the questions at Freak.
“A barbed wire fence attacked him,” Freak laughs.
“A barbed wire… Where?” I ask, still trying to calm down. I look around trying to see something on Bull that shows why he’s here in the ER—and still not finding anything.
“It’s nothing, Doc. I promise. It got my back and—”
I don’t let him finish before I’m lifting up his shirt and checking his back out. There are two very deep gashes there. Not big enough for stitches, but they will probably leave a scar.
“What happened to you?”
“It’s—”
“He fell on his ass,” Freak laughs.
“Fuck off,” Bull growls.
“You fell? Were you dizzy? Did something happen?” I ask, ignoring their banter.
“Nothing was wrong,” Freak answers for him. “Other than the man has two left feet.”
“Fuck you, I do not. It’s just there ain’t a fucker alive that could dance to that shit you had blasting—which was exactly what I was showing you.”
“Showing me while ass planting the ground you mean,” Freak smirks.
“You were dancing?”
Don’t get me wrong, my man is smooth and he can dance with the best of them. He has a natural ability that I envy—but, he’s also not big on dancing much more than a slow groove. What really is annoying me however, is that I was picturing him bleeding to death from a gunshot or something.
“I was goofing off,” Bull shrugs.
“Home boy can’t dance worth shit,” Freak adds.
“I got moves motherfucker,” Bull growls.
“Like an eighty-year-old white man—”
“Asshole—”
“In a wheelchair,” Freak adds and at this point I’m trying not to laugh. Instead, I try to keep my face stern—my voice too.
“So you got hurt goofing off?” I ask.
“Dr. Walker here’s the syringe. Do you want to inject it? Dr. Williams asked me—”
“I’ve got this Nurse Graves. Thanks,” I tell her with a smile.
“When did you last have one of these?” I ask Bull.
“Damn, I don’t know Doc,” Bull shrugs as I hold the needle out. Suddenly he looks uncomfortable and that makes me grin.
“Freak? You care to leave me alone a minute with my husband?”
“You going to give him a shot in the ass?”
“Yeah,” I answer with a laugh as Bull squirms.
“The fuck yeah I’m leaving. I don’t need to see that,” Freak agrees with a wink. “I’ll be out by the bikes, man.”
Bull nods, but doesn’t answer Freak. Instead he keeps his eyes on me.
“Now, Doc—”
“You do know there are clinics open where you could get a tetanus shot right?” I ask him.
“I do, but I didn’t think you’d want anyone else giving it to me but you,” he shrugs.
“If the it we were referring to was sex—”
“Doc—”
“This does bring back memories though. Seems like the last time you were here and I needed to give you a shot you were—”
“A fucking mess, Doc. I was a fucking mess before I met you,” he says and he pulls me into his arms and fixes it so I sit astride him. I go willingly, after all, being in my man’s arms is the best place in the world.
I lay my forehead on his shoulder and breathe him in, carefully holding my hand with the syringe out of the way.
“I was too, you know. Just a different kind of mess,” I confess.
“You were… are perfect. You saved me, Doc. You were my sunshine—warm, bright, and joyful.”
“There you go being all sweet. I love you, Bull.”
“I love you. When do you get out of this damn place?”
“I need to finish up with one patient and then I’m free,” I whisper, turning my head so I can kiss the side of his neck.
“Then how about you get on the back of my bike and we ride up the mountain for a bit before we get home to the kids?”
“I like that idea. What mountain are you thinking?”
“The one that takes us to Stellar’s point,” he says and I do a little full body shiver at the tone in his voice.
“We won’t be in a car,” I remind him. Stellar’s point is a deserted area that Bull and I run away to when we can find time alone. It overlooks the town below and all you can see are the lights of the city sparkling like small stars. Other than that it’s dark, peaceful… and the perfect place to make out…and maybe more.
Before Bull, I was never one to have sex outside. Bull and I seem to make a habit of having sex outside, in a car, an airplane, a boat and even on a train once. He makes me adventurous. I never worry about what will happen with Bull because I know I’m always safe with him. He’ll take care of me no matter what. I’ve never been more sure of that than I have of anything else in my life.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve fucked under the stars on the back of a bike, Doc,” he says, his voice deep and purring as his hands move under my shirt.
I quickly move my hand and after double checking the needle and tapping it behind his back, I stab him in the arm with it. I don’t do it easy either and he jerks underneath me.
“Fuck, Doc,” he grumbles. I pull away to look at him and then slide off his lap.
“I rather not think of women you might have fucked on the back of your bike,” I grumble, walking to the corner to dispose of the needle.
Proving my man is in fact light on his feet, he comes up behind me without me even hearing him and wraps his arms around me. He pulls me back so I’m braced against his body and he kisses my shoulder and whispers in my ear.
“Never made love to any woman on my bike, Skye.”
“Bull—” I start. I feel like an idiot. We’ve been together too long for me to get jealous over this crap. I just don’t like to think of him with anyone else. I never realized I was the jealous type before, but with Bull I’m so territorial it’s not even funny.
“I’ve never made love to any woman before you—period, Doc. I never will.”
“God, Bull,” I whisper, at once knowing what he means. I relax against him and close my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I tell him and I am because I know I’m all over the place.
“No need to be sorry, Skye. How is our little one today?” he asks, his hand moving to my stomach where our child is resting. He’s just a small thing. There’s no trace of him really, no belly bulge and nothing else—unless you count my hormones being all out of whack.
“Making mommy seem like a jealous, psycho wife?” I ask hopefully—knowing I can’t really blame it all on hormones.
“How about you finish up with your patient and I show you how much I love my jealous, psycho wife?”
“You’re such a sweet talker,” I grumble, but I do it smiling.
“That’s what you love about me,” he says, turning me around to face him.
“Well I do like the way you work your tongue—so that’s close,” I joke.
“Cute, Doc. So how long will it take you to finish?”
“I’m finished. Just gave my last patient a shot in the arm,” I tell him.
I grin when he realizes what I said.
“In that case,” he says and before I realize what he’s doing he picks me up and starts carrying me out of the ER.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to go show you just how well I can work my tongue,” he says and the ER staff begins yelling and clapping. I hide my face into his neck.
“She’s going to end up knocked up again,” another one yells to which Bull laughs. I just keep my face hidden as we walk out of the ER. There’s a lot I could say, but I’m just happy. So instead I hug Bull closer and I whisper into his ear.
“Let’s hurry, Bull. I need you.”
Then my man does what he always does. He sets about making everything I want happen.
I’m a lucky woman.
Needing Carrie
Prologue
Dancer
I thought that killing the men who had tormented me for years would make me feel better. I had thought that doing so would somehow end the ghosts who have taken up a permanent residence in my brain, stop the voices that haunt me in the dead of the night.
I look over at my brothers. All of them are here. All of them supporting me, even with this gruesome task. A task that would put one more black spot on our souls and doom us all to hell. Dragon, my club President and best friend, is my brother not blood born, but definitely by the blood we’ve shed. He’s one of the meanest assholes around, but to his family, to the men who have joined the Savage Brothers, he would lay down his life without question. Bull has been through Hell and back on his own. He probably has his own demons yelling at him, but he’s here too. At one time, I hated him, but only because he wanted to lay claim on my Carrie. That’s changed since Skye came into his life. Then there’s Crusher. Crusher doesn’t live here anymore, but he came back just for this, because sometimes true brotherhood runs deeper than even the club’s colors.
These men mean more to me than I could ever tell them. Ever would tell them. Some things a man can’t express outside of a slap on the back and the sharing of a beer. Still, the emotions are there. These three men are my family, as real as if we had been born from the same parents. More so. Because we’ve chosen to be brothers, and betrayal is never something we worry about with each other. It’s rare to have that trust, especially after all the shit we’ve gone through. Somehow, we have it. We know each other’s secrets. We know where the bodies are hidden.
