“Take two pieces,” Brooklyn said, handing me the aluminum to-go tin. “Then you guys can get out of here.”
Waverly was talking with Brielle and Jazz. About what, I had no idea.
“Is it that obvious?” I asked.
“You’re killing my buzz,” Doc teased.
“Sorry.”
“I’m kidding. Nothing can kill my buzz. Those mojitos are strong.”
“Take a few penis pastries for the road,” Brooklyn said. “I baked far too many.”
“Waverly!” I called. “Let’s go!”
I tossed her my keys and then carried out the hoard of baked goods Brooklyn insisted I take.
“See you guys later,” Mia called out.
The Old Ladies blew a bunch of kisses and waved in our direction as we left. Waverly and I hadn’t discussed what had happened—there was no privacy and I hadn’t wanted to get into it with her until we were alone. So, it had to wait until I was ready to leave the party.
“Were you and Dylan thinking about getting matching tattoos?” I demanded as I climbed into the passenger side.
Waverly waited to answer until she was buckled in and the car was started. “No. It had nothing to do with Dylan.”
“Then what?”
“It was two-fold,” Waverly explained. “One, I wanted a Three Kings Tattoo T-shirt for T-shirt cutting purposes.”
“Right, you’re the trend-setter now.”
“Yeah.” She agreed. “But I wanted to talk to Roman about a tattoo design for you and me.”
“You did?” I asked, glancing at her.
She nodded. “I mean, you have the clover tattoo with Duke and Savage. But we’re sisters. I wanted to share something with you. It was stupid. Never mind.”
“Not never mind. I think it’s—God, Waverly. Are you trying to make me cry?” I suddenly blubbered.
“I think that would be the vodka. I can smell it from over here,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanted it to be a surprise, you know? If I’d known Roman was going to call you about it, I would’ve waited. I know I’ve got a few more years before I can get a tattoo, I just thought it could be something cool to share with you.”
“You sweet little idiot,” I said, wiping my eyes. “You’re impossible to stay mad at.”
“It’s because my motives were pure of heart.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I snorted.
When we got home, I immediately kicked off my heels. Waverly took the pastries from me and set them on the coffee table.
“Forks, immediately,” she commanded.
“I’m working on it,” I said with a laugh, unbuttoning my pants. “I need sweats first.”
“Oh, yeah. Better plan.”
“Let’s change, chill, and devour.”
“And nap.”
“Wow, we sound old. When did we get old?”
After we changed and were sitting with the pastries, I handed her a fork and said, “While we’re being honest about stuff, I think it’s only fair to tell you something.”
“Okay,” she said, turning to look at me.
I took a deep breath. “Here goes. I’m meeting with a lawyer in a few days so I can start the process of becoming your legal guardian. It means having Angel relinquish her parental rights, and I don’t know how that’ll go…but I want to be your legal guardian.”
Waverly didn’t say anything, her face devoid of expression.
“You hate the idea,” I said quietly. “I just thought it would be better for you, for us in the long run. So if there’s a problem with the school, I can deal with it head on. Among other reasons, but yeah…crap, I—”
“Stop talking,” she said.
I immediately closed my mouth.
“You’ve been the only person in my entire life who’s been there for me. You’ve put me first. Always. Now you want to become my legal guardian?”
My throat tightened. “Yeah. I do. Because I don’t want anyone to be able to take you away from me.”
She lifted her head. Her blue eyes were shiny with tears. “I want that more than anything, Willa. More than anything.”
Waverly was sprawled out on the couch in a sugar coma, her legs thrown across my lap. Her black toenail polish was chipped.
“Do you resent me?” she asked quietly, not opening her eyes.
“Not even a little bit,” I assured her.
“You could’ve left a long time ago. Why didn’t you bail? Things have been bad for a long time, but you’re still here.”
“You know I love you, but you weren’t the only reason I stuck around,” I admitted.
“Duke and Savage?”
“Yeah.”
“I still have a hard time calling them by those names.”
I smiled. “Yeah. Sometimes I forget they weren’t always bikers.”
She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. “My teeth feel fuzzy. I’m gonna brush the sugar off them.” Waverly lowered her feet to the floor.
“I was nine when you were born,” I said.
“Yeah. So you tell me all the time.”
“Hush, Little Punk.”
She grinned.
“What I’m trying to say is this; I was nine and it was already hard with Angel. Then you came along—”
“And made it harder?”
“Shut up, will you?” I laughed. “Yeah, it was hard with you being a newborn and all, but you gave me something to look forward to. You made the really sad and difficult moments better. You didn’t know how hard life was yet. Smiling came so easy to you. So did laughter. You were this bright spot in a really dark childhood. And it wasn’t just me, you know? It was the three of us. It was hard for us. But you gave us something to protect. You gave us a reason for wanting to get out of that shit hole of a life. You’re the reason we all wanted better. We wanted it for you.”
Waverly swallowed, but she didn’t say anything. After a moment, she nodded, and then went toward the bathroom.
My phone rang.
I hoisted myself up from the couch to peer at my ringing cell.
“Hello,” I greeted.
“How many drinks have you had?” Duke asked.
“I stopped at two—they were strong. I’m already home with Waverly.”
“I thought engagement brunches were supposed to get rowdy.”
“I’ve had two penises.”
“So Joni totally called for male strippers, huh?”
I laughed. “Nah. I’m talking about pastries in the shape of penises that Brooklyn baked.”
“I knew you girls were going to get wild.”
“It was tame. You’re thinking about bachelorette parties, and Doc didn’t want one of those. It was all the Old Ladies could do to convince her to have a brunch. By the way, is Boxer having a bachelor party?”
“Hell yeah, he’s having one. We’re going to pull an all-nighter. Strippers, snorting coke off of said strippers, and then some other things that I’m not allowed to talk about.”
“So, bourbon and an all-night poker game with just the guys and a few cigars?”
Duke laughed. “Yeah, exactly.”
“You guys aren’t like normal bikers,” I said.
“You mean we’re insanely loyal to our women and have no wish for different pussy?”
“Charming, Duke. Really charming.”
“They call me Duke Charming.”
“Who’s they?” I quipped, but didn’t give him a chance to respond. “How are things in Odessa?”
“Getting sorted,” Duke said. “There was some fuckery going on, but Savage handled it.”
“If I was allowed to know, would I even want to know?”
“No.”
“Figured. Where are you?” I asked.
“Right now? Outside a shitty dive bar on the outskirts of town. Savage is inside, chasing a skirt.”
“Ah, so you had time to call your skirt, huh?”
“Something like that. I’ll be back Tuesday,” he said.
“All right.”
“We’re still good for Wednesday?”
“Yeah, we’re good for Wednesday. Hey, let’s try something different this time, okay?”
“Sushi is different. We talked about this, remember?” he asked.
“No, I mean, why don’t you come over here. Pick me up for our date and drive me there instead of meeting me like we usually do.”
“That means you’re getting on the back of my bike…”
“So it does.”
He paused. “You’ve worked out the shit about us?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll tell me more on Wednesday?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“Good,” I agreed.
“Later,” he said gruffly.
He hung up and I set my phone aside.
“Willa and Duke, sitting in a tree,” Waverly teased.
“Gah!” I put my hand to my heart. “I didn’t even hear you come back.”
“How could you hear anything over the flirting. You guys are gross, by the way. Like seriously gross.”
“Thanks.” I snorted.
She beamed. “I’m really happy for you guys.”
I opened the door and cocked my hip.
Duke’s gaze lowered. “I’m a fan of the outfit, but I’m not sure it’s restaurant appropriate.”
I grasped the lapels of his leather cut. “We’re not going to a restaurant.”
He entered the foyer and quickly closed the front door.
It had been a bold move, answering the door wearing a beet red negligee, but it had been days since I’d seen him, and we had the house to ourselves. There was no fear of Waverly walking in since she was at her CPR class and Savage was occupied.
I urged Duke to the couch and made him sit. And then I straddled him, the negligee riding up my thighs.
His hands settled underneath the slip to grasp my legs.
“I missed you,” I said.
“Yeah?” He grinned. “Prove it.”
I ground against him, my cleft rubbing against the fly of his jeans. He was already rock hard. I lowered my head and brushed my lips against his.
His tongue slid into my mouth as he hauled me even closer.
Sparks flared between my legs as Duke made love to my mouth. His hands wandered from the back of my thighs to my hips. They settled there for only a moment until he glided them up to caress my breasts.
His thumbs teased my nipples through the lace cups, turning them into hard points. He stopped kissing me.
“Come here,” he rasped, urging me to sit up higher so my breasts were level with his mouth. He flicked his tongue and dragged it across the lace. He was toying with me, sucking my nipples between his lips.
I moaned, pressing into him more.
“Undo my fly,” he commanded.
With trembling fingers, I reached between us. I popped the button of his jeans and lowered the zipper. I got off him so that he could raise his hips.
He shoved his jeans down, along with his boxers.
I grasped his firm erection in my hand, giving it a little squeeze. He threw his head back and closed his eyes.
My thumb swiped across the head of him, causing him to shudder. I leaned over and took him into my mouth, as far back as he would go. He tasted like man and musk. He tasted like Duke.
I was heady with need, delirious with want. I sucked him greedily, taking as much of him as I could, so much so that I nearly choked.
“Come here, baby,” he whispered. “I need to be inside you.”
I released him with a pop and then I climbed onto his lap. I gripped him again, angling him toward my body. I gently slid down until he was nestled inside me.
He grabbed my hips. “Ride me.”
I gyrated against him, pleasure cresting in tiny waves that grew with each movement. He kept one hand on my hip, but the other went to my breast. He released it from the lace and pinched my nipple between his fingers.
A heavy, dull pulse throbbed between my legs with each twist of my nipple.
Somewhere, a cell phone rang.
It wasn’t mine.
Duke’s hand left my hip to reach into his leather cut.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I growled.
“Let’s play a game of control.” He grinned and answered the call. “Hey, Prez. No, I’m not busy.”
With renewed determination, I clamped around him, watching as his eyes shot to mine.
Stop that, he mouthed.
I did it again.
Leaning back, I took off my lingerie and tossed it aside. I swirled my hips as I caressed my breasts, painting my fingers around my nipples.
“Uh huh,” Duke said and then he clenched his jaw.
I ceased moving and slid my hand down between us to play with myself.
“Sure, I’ve got it. Later.” Duke hung up and threw his phone to the side. It hit the floor with a crash.
“Not without me,” he gritted out. “Don’t you dare come without me.”
He gripped my hips and speared up into me. I screamed and all the pressure released inside of me.
“Fuck yes,” he moaned. “Fuck, Willa.”
Duke closed his eyes as he continued to rock up into me, eventually stilling.
I collapsed against him, burying my flushed face in the crook of his neck. “If you ever answer another call while you’re inside me, I’m going to take your phone and throw it against the wall.”