by K E Osborn
“She’s gonna give us all hell when she’s worn out and can’t fucking walk. Will you sit. The. Fuck. Down!”
Prinie snorts out a laugh. “Since when did you think taking that bossy tone with me would ever work?”
I smirk at Kevlar as they keep walking toward the kitchen. “Princess, for the sake of our baby, will you please rest?”
I gnaw down on my bottom lip as Prinie exhales. She stops, turns to face him, then wraps her arms around his neck. “Fine, but only because you used our baby against me.”
Wraith smiles. I feel like that might be something seldom seen from him as he leans in to kiss her. His hands move to her ass, and I avert my eyes while letting out a small laugh. “They really have a good bond, don’t they?” I ask Kevlar.
He snorts. “Prinie and Wraith? Shit, those two are like fireworks in a gas tank. One of them ignites, then it’s like a fucking explosion of epic proportions. It can either be emotional or physical, but those two… hell, their story is addictive.”
Warmth floods through me. I want a love like theirs. Something that sinks in right to the very depth of your soul—a love that consumes you. One where you know you’re meant to be with the other person. My eyes shift to Kevlar, and my skin riddles in goosebumps, my heart beats a little faster.
“Are you cold? Want me to get you a jacket?”
“No, I’m fine. But thank you.” I grin.
Kevlar’s lips turn up at me, beaming with graceful ease. He’s the light in all this darkness, and with him by my side, I see the world with a new perspective. Everything might have been dark, it might have been bleak with my father chasing after me to join the Slavers, making me a fugitive from my old life. But the way Kevlar is looking at me right now, there’s something, a small spark making me feel like somehow, in some way, this is all going to work itself out.
“Actually, this party is probably going to get a little wild. You were in a car wreck… you and Sav should rest up tonight and tomorrow. Honestly, I’m sure this party will continue on into tomorrow night if you wanna head up to bed.”
My shoulder is aching like a bitch, and I have to admit, I’m tired as all hell from the pain meds. I want to stay up for Kevlar, but he’s giving me a clear out here. Maybe I should take it. “You won’t mind me bailing on your first night back?”
His caring eyes meet mine, sincerely. “Honestly, it would make me feel better knowing you’re resting and heeling like you need to be.”
“Are you sure?”
His face lights up in a genuine smile. “C’mon, I’ll tuck you in myself.”
I link my sore arm with his as we head for the stairs. “You’re good to me, you know that?”
He tightens his grip on my arm. “You’re good for me, too.”
We traipse the stairs, my head feeling heavier with each step until we get to my door. “Thank you… for rescuing me.”
His eyes meet mine, and an understanding washes over me that maybe I may have just rescued him too.
The Next Night
Kevlar was right, the party is still continuing, and even though I’m still sore, I’m making sure to have more of an appearance tonight than last night.
“You wanna head outside… sit by the fire pit?” Kevlar asks me.
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
Kevlar places my hand in his, and he leads me out the side to the cookout area. The moon shines brightly above as the flames from the giant circular firepit flicker up, cracking and popping in the evening air. Bikers are already mingling outside. An older man and woman are by the grill dealing with the food while others stand around drinking.
Kevlar leads me over to the fire pit, and we sit in a couple of seats right beside it, the heat of the embers radiating over my goosebump-laden skin. My skin isn’t raised from the cold, it’s simply from Kevlar’s presence.
Slouching back, I take in everyone around us.
Savanah’s partying with a younger guy.
“Who’s that?” I ask Kevlar while gesturing over to Savanah and her new friend.
“That’s Phantom. He’s our latest patched member. He’s kind of a practical joker.”
“So, shouldn’t he be the Joker or the Riddler, rather than the Phantom?”
“It’s more of a hiding-in-shadows and always-there-when-you-need-him kind of name rather than the comic-book spin you’re thinking.”
“Got it! And the young kid running laps around the compound?” I ask, watching the young guy doing sprints like he’s training for the Olympics.
“That’s Koda, Prinie and Zero’s brother. He’s taken to running lately… seems to calm him down.”
“Can I ask you something?”
He dips his chin. “Anything.”
“Why the name Kevlar?” He chuckles, his head throwing back like he’s suddenly shy about telling this story. “C’mon, you have to tell me.”
He groans, facing me. “Fine! After I left the force and joined the club, it was hard for me to transition into the idea of heading into fights without wearing a vest. So, I suggested one day to the club just before I was about to patch in that maybe the club should invest in some Kevlar vests for protection. Needless to say, that didn’t go down too well. Bikers are tough, they don’t wear protection, and I was laughed at… excessively. So that became my name when I patched in.” I try to fight back my smile, but it fights its way through. “See, even you’re laughing at me.”
I giggle. “No, I’m laughing because I think it’s a sensible idea and that the club is too pig-headed to listen to you. But honestly, I couldn’t imagine you with a different name. It suits you.”
He exhales, taking my hand in his. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Can I ask another question?” I face him, letting him know this is more of a serious question.
“Of course.”
I hesitate for a moment, but then just go for it. “Why does Ethan have the kids?”
Kevlar exhales loudly. “It stems back to me leaving the force for the club. Ethan doesn’t believe the clubhouse is the right environment for my children. Says it will teach them bad shit. Or they will get hurt. Or worse…” I breathe out heavily. “Also, I left the kids in Ethan’s care for a while after their mother died… which was a bad move. He saw it as me shirking my fatherly responsibilities, but I saw it as getting my head back in the right space.”
“Do you think he’s right? About the kids, I mean?”
Kevlar scoffs. “Ethan has a grudge against me because I left the family for the club. He knows he can use his pull as a cop over me. Says if the kids don’t stay with him, he’ll call in social services. That’s the power he has over me. Ethan has me over a barrel, and he knows it. Social services would choose a cop for them over a biker, any day. I’m not a bad father. I love my kids more than fucking anything. I was… in a real bad place after Em died, and I needed a fucking moment. He’s using that, and the fact I’m in the club, against me.”
“Sounds like Ethan is a manipulative asshole.”
“You’re not wrong. But when it all boils down, he’s only looking out for Sadie and Lucas. He adores them as if they’re his own. He’d never let anything happen to them.”
“Can I ask another hard question?”
“Why not. Let’s get them all out the way.”
“Will you tell me what happened to their mother?” I’m not asking out of jealousy—I genuinely want to know. How can I be here for him and the kids if I don’t understand the full story?
He looks to the ground, but then his eyes shoot up to meet mine.
He’s not shutting down.
“I was a cop when me and Em met. Needless to say, with her being the daughter of a biker, our attraction was frowned upon, but the attraction was absolute. I couldn’t keep away, even though I knew who she was and who she belonged to.”
“Houston Defiance?” I ask.
He tilts his head toward the grill. “Fox and Bub, they’re her parents. Fox didn’t take too kindly to me a
t first. He said if I was serious about his daughter, then I had to make a choice…”
“Her or the force.”
Kevlar lets out a small laugh. “You know how the story goes… cop leaves the beat, ends up falling for the biker’s daughter. We ended up getting married, I prospected in, then got my patch. But it was fucking hard. Everything I thought I was, the man I trained to be, had to go out the window. It took me a fucking long time to fully commit to the dark side… but Em, she was worth it.”
“And in the process, your cop family disowned you?”
His head bobs up and down in agreement. “Even when the kids came along. Sure, my family saw the kids, we talked, but they were never there. When Em died, that was when Ethan stepped in and took over. I needed a minute to process. So, the kids went to Ethan’s. He took that time to come up with his plan of shutting me out.”
“He shut you out after Em died? That’s horrible!”
“I was distraught, I didn’t even realize it was happening until it was too late, and my kids were gone. I tried to come up with ways to get them back to the club with me. Wraith threatened to have Ethan killed, but he’s my brother. I just…”
“He’s family.”
“He may be an asshole, but he took care of my kids when I wasn’t able to. And as much as he screwed me over at the time, he was taking care of them. I might not get to live with them, but they’re happy and well taken care of.”
“Wouldn’t you rather they were here with you?”
“Always! But I can’t see it happening while Ethan is a straight-down-the-line cop.”
Exhaling, I gnaw on my bottom lip.
Should I ask this?
Fuck it! Here goes nothing.
“How did Em die?”
Kevlar grimaces, like the memory is still so painful for him. He doesn’t look at me, but his hand in mine tightens. “A year after Lucas was born, she was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease.”
“Jesus, she had that young!”
He exhales. “Young and sudden. She went in just under a year.”
“God, I’m so fucking sorry.”
I saw a documentary once on MND. In the end stages, the patient has respiratory problems, difficulty swallowing, pain, cognitive changes, and variations in their speech. Usually, the cause of death is respiratory insufficiency. The thought of Kevlar being there to watch his beautiful wife decline at such a rapid rate is earth-shattering news.
“I miss Em every damn day. But wallowing in my grief is no good for me or our kids. I did for a while, but it was pointless.”
I move over, resting my hand on his leg. “You don’t have to close yourself off to her completely. You can always have a place for her in your heart.”
“And I do. It’s best to try not to get caught up in the emotion of it all.”
“You’re an amazing man, Kevlar.”
His eyes meet mine. “And you’re an amazing woman, Jovie.” Kevlar rests his hand on top of mine on his leg, sending an electrical jolt throughout my body.
Goosebumps prickle all over my skin again. “Thank you for opening up to me.”
“This feels good… talking to you.” He reaches out to stroke my cheek.
“Yeah, it does.”
He drops his hand. “Tell me about you?”
I inhale, sitting taller. “I was studying to be an attorney, so I could try to bring the Slavers down until my mother got sick with a virus. They never really knew what was wrong with her, some crazy bug that struck her down suddenly. She was sick over a few months. I took care of her, so I dropped out of my program and went to work at The Lone Wolf instead. I’d work at night and be home during the day to take her to doctor’s appointments. No doctor could figure it out… and she died. I never went back to my degree program. I didn’t see the point.”
Kevlar narrows his eyes on me. “Would you, though? If you could?”
“Go back to law?”
“Yeah?”
I shrug. “I mean, it’s all I ever saw myself doing. It all kind of vanished when Mom got sick.”
He exhales. “The thing is, Jovie, life is painfully short, and at any second, it can be taken from you. You need to do something that’s going to make you happy.”
Savanah comes barreling over at that very second, drunk as a skunk. “Man, if my father could see me now.”
I let out a laugh. “If your father could see you now, he’d be hauling your ass back to San Antonio.”
Savanah huffs. “Not gonna happen. I don’t know why I ever thought it was a bad idea to come here.” She takes off running into the middle of the group of bikers.
“She’s been held on a tight leash, hasn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“I’m glad she can unwind here.”
“I’m glad I can, too.”
Kevlar’s eyes shift to mine, his lips turning up in approval. “Okay, enough of this serious conversation stuff, let’s have a good night.”
“Yes! Time to show me how to party like a biker.”
He waggles his brows. “Oh, sunshine, you don’t know what you’re in for.”
KEVLAR
The party’s in full swing, and Jovie has drunk a shit ton of alcohol. She’s unwinding, and that’s a good thing. Even I’ve had a few to drink, but at least Jovie isn’t at the point she was in New Orleans—we don’t want that mess again.
She’s more like a sleepy drunk as she sits quietly in her chair by the fire pit, her eyes closed as the party blasts on around us. I smirk, throwing back the last of my longneck, then three-point it. It flies past Neon’s face, just missing him as it slams into the side of the clubhouse. It then drops down into the open oil barrel full of empty bottles with a clunk.
Neon glowers at me as I raise my head at him in the form of an apology for almost sideswiping his face. He turns with a scoff, continuing to drink as he chats to Cherry and Zero. I stand, moving over to Jovie. She’s out like a light, so I bend over. I’m tipsy but not wasted, still able to function as I bend down, hoisting her up over my shoulder. She immediately wakes and lets out a small squeal as she slumps down, her head falling in line with my ass.
“Kevlar, what the hell?”
“Time for bed, sleepyhead.”
Jovie slaps my ass as I head for the door. No one even bats an eyelid as I carry her through the sea of people.
“I can walk, you know!”
“You can’t even keep your eyes op—”
“They’re open right now and staring at your ass.”
“And do you like the view?” I ask upon reaching the stairs.
She laughs. “That’s beside the point.”
“Where are you taking her?” Savanah calls out from behind us.
“I’m taking her to bed,” I call back, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Be safe, slut,” Sav jokes as she’s whisked away by Texas.
“You, too, you whore,” Jovie yells back through a fit of giggles as we make it to the second level.
I shake my head at the two women who seem to have some sort of crazy friendship.
“You often talk to each other like that?” I ask as I reach her room, sliding her down my body. Her face is bright, happy, and definitely awake as she stares deep into my eyes.
“It’s all said out of love. A term of endearment.” She laughs as her arms slide up wrapping around me, her fingers stroking the nape of my neck. I’m not sure if my senses are heightened from the alcohol or just from being around Jovie, but right now, even with her being drunken crazy, I feel this pull to her, this connection that’s drawing me in. My hands slide around her waist as I stare into her electric-blue eyes. They’re so bright and vivid, it’s like I am seeing them for the first time, though I swear I have stared at her a dozen times by now.
I pull her to me, our bodies connecting, my cock jerking with the tension rising. The atmosphere is charged, activating with energy, making everything more responsive. My hand slides up into her hair as I back her up against her d
oor. She hits it with a thud, our breathing frantic as I slam my mouth to hers.
I need her right now.
My lips tingle, the shock of adrenaline courses through my veins. My tongue collides with hers in a flurry of passion as I press my newly formed erection into her pussy. She whimpers into my mouth, making me even hotter for her. I fucking burn for her so bad it feels like I’m going to burst.
My fingers run down, grabbing her toned ass, and I lift her against me. Jovie’s legs wrap around my waist as I thrust my cock harder against her in the hall. I groan into her mouth, desperate to be inside of her as her hand reaches down for the handle of the door which flies open, and I don’t hesitate to walk us through. I kick the door shut with my foot, all the while kissing her as if our lives depend on it. There’s no doubt we have chemistry—unbelievable, undeniable, unfathomable chemistry—as I stumble us over to the bed. My lips leave hers for the briefest of seconds before I throw her off me and onto the mattress.
Jovie bounces, letting off a little giggle as she sits up on her elbows while biting down on her bottom lip. She’s sexy as hell as I move to shrug out of my cut, but a sudden flash of Em crosses through my mind.
Em’s lying on the bed in that exact same pose years ago when I first got my patch.
My chest tightens, and I stop, staggering a little on the spot.
Jovie sits up dramatically, reaching out for me. “Are you okay?”
I take a step back.
Regret.
Some kind of guilt.
That shit washes over me like a bucketload of frigid water.
Fuck! I have no idea what this feeling is.
All I know is I can’t be here right now.
I back up, shaking my head.
“Kevlar?”
All I see is Emma.
“Liam?”
My stomach churns as I look up.
Jovie’s eyes are wide, glistening with tears.
“I’m… fuck… I can’t.”
Jovie’s expression falls as I turn for the door, yanking it open a little too forcefully, rushing out into the hall.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
