“If anything, I’m understating them. Don’t worry; I’ll have your back when they try to set you on fire.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll have your back when you need me to.” Jo moved to sit on the arm of the chair where he was. Leaning against his shoulder, she nuzzled his neck. “I got you a Valentine’s Day present. I’ll give it to you when we get home.”
“I have one for you, too. I’ll give it to you when Lily and Shade get back. It’s in my bedroom.”
She trailed loving fingers across the nape of his neck. “Is it perfume?”
“No.”
“Is it bigger than a breadbox?”
“Wait and see.”
“Is it the size of a—”
“Jo, wait and see.”
Lily and Shade came back earlier than she had expected. Then Jo and Rider left after saying a rushed goodbye to the couple. It was obvious they wanted to spend the rest of night doing what she planned to do with Rider.
It was strange how drastically things had changed. Usually, Valentine’s Day was spent in the tow truck, waiting to be called when a couple had imbibed too much and listening to Rachel describe what Cash had gotten for her. For once, she was going to be able to celebrate the holiday the way it was meant to be.
She felt like skipping down the small path, excited for him to see her present.
“Slow down. What’s the rush?”
She had been walking so fast she had gotten a little ahead of him.
Walking backward, she couldn’t help but tease him. “I’m anxious to see my present. It’s not going to be as good as mine.”
A deep frown marred Rider’s forehead as he sped up to match her steps. “Jo, it isn’t much.”
“If it’s a card, it’s more than I’ve had before.”
“You’ve never had a Valentine’s Day card from your parents or from a friend?”
“No, my mother thought it was a waste of money, but my father always took me to Mick’s for Valentine’s Day, and he would give me a hamburger and a—”
“A Big Red,” he finished for her.
“Yes,” she replied as they went through the back door of the clubhouse and into the kitchen.
Jo almost tripped over her own feet when she saw the kitchen was full. It wasn’t there being so many members that made her so clumsy; it was how provocatively the women were dressed. For example, Ember was dressed in a red teddy, and Mercury was wearing a tiny red thong and a big red bow wrapped around her breasts.
Rider grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the living room, but before going inside, he changed his mind and went to the table, pushing her down on a chair.
“Wait here. I need to go upstairs to take a shower and grab your present. If I didn’t have Clint’s spit on my clothes, I’d take one at your house, but the smell is getting worse.”
“Go ahead. I’ll keep her company.” Ember sat down at the table with her.
Jo returned Ember’s smile. It was only when she was raising her eyes back to Rider that she thought the two had been communicating behind her back.
She placed her hand on the table to rise. “I can wait in your room.”
Rider pushed her back down. “No. Stay with Ember. I don’t trust you to open your present until we’re at your house.”
“Hurry, then. I’m getting impatient.”
Rider took off, leaving her alone with Ember.
“That color looks good on you,” Jo complimented.
“Thanks. It’s new. I wanted something special for tonight.”
“You succeeded.”
“There are a lot of people here.”
“There’re even more in the other room and upstairs. The brothers from Ohio decided to come and celebrate with us. I think because Sasha and Mercury are still here,” she confided.
“Do the women who live here get jealous when the other ones come to visit?” Jo felt strange talking to Ember. She was unassuming, and Jo had never felt a spark of jealousy within her presence or while she had watched her on the monitors for the last month and a half.
“No, if the women get jealous, they don’t last long.”
If Jewell wasn’t jealous of Mercury and Sasha, then why was she jealous of her? She just hoped she wouldn’t see her tonight. She didn’t want anything to spoil the night she had planned to have with Rider.
The swinging door opened with Willa coming in, carrying two pink canvas bags. A large group followed behind her to crowd inside.
“Get back, or I’ll take it back to the church.”
Moans and groans filled the air as Willa went behind the counter.
“You can all get in line and take your turn.” Willa opened one bag, setting pink boxes out on the counter, then removed the lids.
Jo jumped up to help her, taking the bag as she emptied the other one. Then she went to the pantry for a big stack of paper plates and forks.
The smorgasbord of delicacies ranged from huge chocolate-covered strawberries, pink macaroons, chocolate cakes with pink filling, pink cupcakes with pink icing, and pink marshmallows dipped in chocolate. There were so many Jo felt like she had gained ten pounds by just touching the boxes.
“They’re beautiful, Willa. You have outdone yourself … in pinkness.”
“Pink is my favorite color.”
“I can tell. You think they’ll kill me if I snatch a pink cupcake without getting in line?”
Willa took one from the box and gave it to her. “They’re too afraid to mess with me. I need to run. I just wanted to drop these off so everyone can enjoy them tonight. Can you give this to Rider for me?” Reaching for a smaller pink box, she then handed it to her.
“Sure. He’s upstairs now, but when he comes down, I can.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate it. Be careful, or they’ll sneak it away from him.”
“I’ll be careful,” Jo assured her.
As Willa left, everyone hugged her, finally managing to escape when Moon started arguing with F.A.M.E that he was taking all the cupcakes.
Taking a bite of her cupcake, Jo was walking around the counter when Jewell turned from the refrigerator. Her bite of cupcake settled in her throat like lead. Jo hadn’t seen her enter the room.
Jewell hadn’t dressed in red like the other women. Instead, she had gone for black, wearing a silk robe that came to the top of her thighs and was belted loosely at her waist. The robe was partially open, showing the swells of her breasts and her waxed privates, which weren’t really private, as anyone near her could see.
Jo looked at the box Willa had given her for Rider, debating what she should do.
“You can take it upstairs if you want. He’s going to want to thank Willa before she leaves. If you don’t want to, I’d be happy to do it for you,” Jewell said, twisting the top off a bottled water.
“Willa already left.”
“She’s probably at the factory. She wouldn’t leave before giving Diablo and Trip any. What’s on the counter will be gone before they get off.”
“All right. Then I better hurry.”
Jewell shrugged as if she didn’t care what Jo did.
Going around the table, she managed to go out the swinging doors and into the clubroom. Keeping her eyes lowered, she tried not to look at what the members were doing, grateful when she made it up the steps. She then headed toward the bedroom that Rider had shown her a couple of times when she had stayed with him in the security room and he had to get a change of clothes before leaving with her.
As she passed the bathroom, she heard the water running. Not wanting to assume it was Rider and seeing his door was opened a crack, she decided to check and make sure he wasn’t in there. Besides, if Rider was in the shower, he wouldn’t have enough time to see Willa before she left anyway.
She gave a brief tap on his door, which had it opening a bit, allowing her to see further into the room.
What she saw had her taking an unintentional step forward. Her eagerness to celebrate tonight sunk into a deep pool of ice wate
r as reality hit her with a smack across the face.
Rider hadn’t wanted her to come upstairs because he was worried she would open her present. He had wanted to open his.
37
Rider dried off, then wrapped a towel around his hips. Running a quick comb through his wet hair, he decided not to take the time to blow-dry it, too anxious to get back down to Jo.
As he left the bathroom, he saw his door was wide open. Whoever had gone inside would have their ass bounced out. He didn’t have time …
He stopped at the threshold, seeing Jo sitting on the bottom of his bed, surrounded by the mound of presents the women had given him.
He only had a split-second before she saw him to come up with a strategy for damage control.
“You were supposed to wait downstairs.”
“Willa brought you a gift. I wanted you to see it before she left.” Jo held a small pink box he easily recognized.
He walked to his dresser, taking out his clothes. “Has she left?” he asked as he put on his jeans.
Nodding, he saw her hand go to the new pair of jeans that Ember had given him for Valentine’s Day, holding them out.
“You don’t want to wear these instead?”
“No, they need to be washed.”
Jo jumped up, running for the open door.
Anticipating her reaction, he caught her around the waist, lifting her into his arms and using a foot to slam the door. He checked that it was closed before carrying her to his bed and sitting down. He let her hit his chest as she struggled against him on his lap.
“Let go of me. I want to leave!”
“I want to talk first. Then, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I think there is. Your feelings have been hurt, and I can’t fix it if we don’t talk about it.”
“I don’t need you fixing anything!” she snarled, sinking her teeth into his shoulder to get him to release her.
“Red.”
Jo immediately stopped biting him. “That’s my safe word, not yours.”
“Now it’s mine, too. I didn’t like the way you were biting me, and I didn’t want to hurt you to make you stop.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hurt you.”
“You didn’t. I just didn’t like the way you were doing it. Anytime you want to use those sharp teeth on me when I’m balls deep in your pussy, go ahead; just not when you’re mad at me. I wouldn’t hurt you when I’m mad at you. I expect the same from you.”
“I want to leave.”
“We’re not finished talking.”
“I don’t want to talk. I want to get the hell out of here.”
“If you don’t want to talk here, we can go to your house,” he offered the alternative, hoping it would lessen her distress.
“No!” she yelled out, then lowered her voice when she heard how loud she had become. “I want to go alone.”
Rider knew why she didn’t want him to go with her. She didn’t want him to see what she had gotten him for Valentine’s Day. With the bounty on his bed, she now felt like hers would be just one more present without any special significance to him.
When he was nine years old, he had decorated an old shoebox for Valentine’s Day. During the school day, their class had a party where all the students would walk around the desks and put their Valentine’s Day cards in each other’s boxes. He still remembered one of his friends whose box had been nearly empty, while his own had been filled to overflowing.
Jo’s hadn’t had a few cards. Hers had been empty. She had never had a Valentine’s Day when she had felt singled out and made to feel that she was important.
“Then we’ll stay here,” he answered imperturbably.
“Fine,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her breasts stubbornly. “So talk.”
“I’m not the one who’s angry. You are.” He remained unruffled, seeking to defuse her anger by getting her to examine and talk about what had hurt her.
“Are all those presents from the women in the clubhouse?”
“No, Moon gave me the blow-up doll. It was a prank gift.”
“No shit.”
“A few are from women in Treepoint, Jamestown, Lexington, and Ohio,” Rider continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’ve never hidden the fact I had sexual contact with women who didn’t just belong to the club; only that I had stopped playing around when I won the date with you at the auction.”
“Then why did they give you all these presents?”
“Because, while I no longer share a sexual relationship with them, I’m still their friend.”
“It’s good to know we’ll remain friends when you break up with me.” She dropped her arms to her sides as she sat stiffly on his lap.
“Or it could be a saving grace when you break up with me.” Taking one of her hands, he twined his fingers through hers before raising it to rest on his heart.
Artfully pretending a guilelessness that couldn’t be further from the truth, now that her anger was diffused, he needed to disperse her hurt feelings by switching from herself to him. Jo had a weakness that he logically used against her. When Jo loved someone, she placed their needs above her own. It was the one thing that he had every intention of exploiting.
“You think I’ll be the one breaking up with you?”
He met her gaze, making sure he didn’t blink or turn them away from hers. “I come with a lot of baggage. I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve been married twice, and I belong to a motorcycle club that I’ll never leave. Sometimes I’m going to have to put them first when you won’t want me to. I’ll never shirk the duty I’ve pledged to The Last Riders, but I promise that you will always come first when it counts.
“Those presents don’t mean a damn thing; only yours does. I’ll give them all away or return them if you want me to. I already planned on returning the blow-up doll to Moon. I plan to shove it up his ass.”
Her body loosened, sinking against him as she rubbed the shoulder she had bitten. “You’d return Willa’s candy?”
“Not that one, but I’ll share,” he compromised.
“You can keep that one.” Jo nuzzled her face into the side of his neck.
His semi-erect cock beginning to strain under his unbuttoned jeans, he gently lifted her to his side so he could fasten his jeans.
“Can I give you your present now?” he asked with fake humbleness, the hardest emotion in his repertoire to fake.
Waiting for her slow nod, he went to his closet, opening it to reach inside and take the box out.
“I hope you like it.” Placing it on the floor at her feet, he didn’t have to fake his enthusiasm. He had given a lot of thought to her present and was excited to see if he was right.
Jo slipped to the floor on her knees. She stared at it for a minute before carefully unwrapping it.
His excitement dimmed at how careful she was being. He had expected her to tear it open. That she was using a finger so the wrapping paper wouldn’t tear disconcerted him.
Going to his haunches, he started to help her.
Jo swatted his hand away. “Don’t. I want to do it myself. I want to save the paper.”
“Why? I have more paper in the closet—”
“It won’t be the same as this one.” Shyly, she paused from loosening a flap that had more than its fair share of tape. “I know it’s silly, but it was wrapped in the first present you gave me.”
Stunned at her reasoning, he sank onto his butt, leaning back against the bed’s footboard as he watched her unwrap her present.
No punch had ever affected him as much as her embarrassed confession had. His bitter heart had frozen over when he was twenty-four, and the passing years since then had only hardened it further. From the first night he had fucked Jo, she had been chipping away at his resolve to never love another woman. He had repaired each chip, fortifying his bitterness with the same steely willpower he had learned in the military. It had saved him then, an
d it would save him now.
With the paper folded and placed at her side, Jo opened the box and reached inside, pulling out a big heart that was filled with chocolates.
Smiling, she placed it on the floor next to her knees, then reached inside again, taking out a stuffed middle-sized puppy. It was sitting on its hind legs with doleful eyes, holding a red box between its front paw. On top of the box, it said “Be Mine.” Rider didn’t miss the trembling of her fingers as she opened it.
Jo took out two necklaces. Each one was gold, and one was thicker than the other. The thinner one was so fine it didn’t look strong enough to hold the gold heart with a picture gazing back at them.
They had taken the picture when Jo had wanted to go to the Jamestown junkyard. Afterward, they had gone to a restaurant where they had jokingly taken selfies as they waited for their food, their faces pressed together. He had known Jo liked it when he had seen her using it as a wallpaper on her phone a few days later.
“One is for you and the other is for me.” Rider took the necklaces out of her hand, showing her that, when the magnetized hearts were close together, they clung to each other. Then he opened the clasp of the necklace that held his face in the center, leaning forward to clasp it behind her neck. Giving her the thicker chain, he waited expectantly for her to put it on him.
When she was done, her hand went to the necklace she was wearing. “Thank you, Rider. It’s beautiful.”
“You’re welcome, Bluebonnet.” Dipping his head, he poised his lips over hers. “You didn’t answer my question?”
“Your question?” She lifted stargazed eyes to his.
“Will you be mine?” he asked huskily, seducing her with words.
“Yes, Rider, I’ll be yours.”
“Forever and ever?” he prompted the response he wanted.
“Forever and ever.”
He swooped down, capturing her mouth, giving her no time to think about the commitment she had just promised. He sought out the proof he wanted, the proof that her promise wouldn’t be forgotten when another man came along.
The stuffed puppy fell out of her hands when she circled her arms around his neck.
Pushing her backward, he covered her body with his, nudging himself between her thighs so his cock could rest against her pussy. His kisses became more forceful, parting her tender lips to find the passionate warmth she hid from everyone else.