Chapter 23

Ella

I tried not to be nervous as Dante parked his bike in front of the clubhouse. The parking lot was over half full of bikes, with a few cars – or cages as I'd heard them referred to – parked there, too.

I took off my new helmet, the one Dante had surprised me with when he'd picked me up this evening. It was painted in various shades of blue that resembled water. He said it had reminded him of my eyes, and I'd almost melted into a puddle of goo. He strapped the helmet to the back of the seat rest he'd had added for me, another surprise today.

I ran my fingers through my hair to fluff it, and Dante assured me it looked fine.

"You're fuckin' gorgeous, woman. I'm gonna have to beat my brothers to keep them away from you."

I'd been a little unsure of what to wear tonight, but had settled for my favorite jeans, topped with a casual, black V-neck shirt. It was sleeveless, and the shoulders straps were made up of three strips of fabric braided together. It had lacy panels inserted along each side, from my armpits to the hem, which gave a little flash of the skin underneath when I moved my arms. It was pretty, and different than my usual run-of-the-mill T-shirts. I'd worn a pair of flat, black ankle boots, since we'd taken the bike tonight. Based on the wolf-whistle and the scorching hot kiss Dante had planted on me when he picked me up, he approved of the way I looked.

Dante had given me the rundown on the clubhouse over dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant, describing the various members and what they did for the club. I doubted I'd be able to remember everything, but at least with their names on their cuts, I should be OK. I was a little nervous but felt prepared to face whatever was going on inside.

Dante took my hand and led me to the entrance. I could hear the music from inside even before he opened the door. Nobody paid any attention to our arrival until Cowboy spotted us and called out a greeting. Within seconds, every eye in the place was on us, or at least it felt that way to me.

I was relieved to see familiar faces scattered around. Jagger was sitting at a table with Lucky and two other men. I only knew it was Jagger – and not Rome – since Molly was sitting on his lap. There were subtle differences in their appearance, but unless I saw them side-by-side, or interacted with them, it was hard for me to tell them apart.

I saw Linc and Rod working behind the bar and noticed Pop at a table playing poker with several other men. That's where we were now headed, with Dante's arm resting on the small of my back as he guided me across the room.

"Hi, darlin'," Pop said, standing up to greet me with a kiss on my cheek. "I'm glad to see King brought you to meet the boys."

Dante wrapped his arm around my waist as he introduced me to the other men at the table.

"That's Saint there on the end. He works at Guardian Ink with Rome. Brick runs our security company. His wife, Theresa, took their girls to their swimming lessons tonight, so you'll have to meet her another time." Saint and Brick both greeted me with curious looks and polite smiles, then went back to studying their cards.

Dante's arm tightened a little as he got to the next man, who was staring in a way that made me extremely uncomfortable. His pale blue eyes raked over me, focusing on my boobs as he gave me a sleazy grin. He looked like he'd just stepped off of the Sons of Anarchy set, and not in a sexy, Charlie Hunnam way. No, this guy looked mean, with long, scraggily hair that was more gray than brown, and a long goatee to match, with faded tattoos covering his arms and even his neck. He was wearing multiple silver chains, and chunky silver rings on several fingers. "That's Ace, the club's road captain."

I struggled to keep my expression neutral. This was Dante's half-brother? They looked nothing alike, and I was thankful I'd never had the occasion to cross paths with him before. There was something about him that creeped me the fuck out. I offered a slight smile and a head nod to be polite. He stared at my boobs and licked his lips.

I glanced up at Dante, who thankfully had moved on to the next guy and had missed Ace's little stunt. I had a feeling things would have turned ugly otherwise.

"And this is Bull, our club secretary and resident computer genius." The man in question turned his head and greeted me in a deep, gravelly voice. I smiled and returned the greeting, and he cocked his head as if puzzled about something as he studied me carefully.

"Brothers, this is Eleanor Chadwick, otherwise known as Ella. She's Pop's neighbor and my – "

"Well, fuck me sideways. Ellie Drake. I knew you looked familiar." With that, the man called Bull pushed back his chair and stood up, with a huge smile on his face. He was heavily muscled and topped out at a couple of inches taller than Dante. His arms, neck, and hands were covered in swirls of dark ink, and he even had one on the side of his shaved head.

Dante tensed, and his arm tightened around me as he pulled me closer to him. This huge, scary looking man clearly knew me, since he knew my maiden name, and that I used to be called Ellie as a kid, but I had no idea who he was. As he got closer, I saw a pair of bright green eyes shining out of his tanned face, and something pinged in my memory. Before I could figure it out, he came to a stop in front of me.

"Don't you recognize me, Ellie?" He teased, clearly not offended. "I guess I have changed a little in the last twenty-odd years. I'm – "

"Mike Hollis," I gasped in surprise as his identity finally registered. He laughed and leaned in for a hug, which I gladly returned. I felt Dante's arm slip off my waist as Mike released me and I looked up to find him glaring at us both.

"You wanna share with the rest of us how you know Bull, darlin'?"

I grinned at Pop, then turned to smile back up at Mike, or rather, Bull.

"I grew up down the street from him and his family. I went to school with his brother Chris." I looked up at Dante again, and he looked even more pissed off than before. His jaw was clenched, and he looked like he wanted to punch my old neighbor.

Mike and I spent a few minutes catching up, while Dante stood next to us, watching our interaction with narrowed eyes.

"I can't believe Chris is a paramedic now," I mused. "I remember how he always refused to use a bandage any time he cut himself working on that old bike of his. He'd wrap a piece of duct tape around the cut instead, usually without even cleaning the grease off first."

Mike winced and said that luckily Chris knew better than that these days. "He actually comes around the clubhouse every once in a while, so you might run into him here."

"I'd love to see him sometime," I agreed. I had fond memories of our teenaged years.

"Sugar, I think Jagger and Molly want to talk to you. Bull, we'll catch up with you later." Dante grabbed my hand and led me through the common room but kept walking right on by the table where Jagger and Molly were at. We ended up in the back hallway by the kitchen when Dante came to a stop and gently pushed me against the wall. He pressed his body against mine and looked down at me with a stern expression.

"What's wrong? I thought you said –"

"Just give me a minute to process this, sugar."

"Process what?" I was completely confused, and frankly, a little pissed off at the high-handed way he was acting.

"The fact that you've been on the back of a bike with one of my goddamned club brothers," he snarled, then appeared to collect himself. He took a deep breath and rolled his head from side to side as if trying to release tension in his neck, as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Look, it's not your fault, Ella. It's just something I need to get over." He brought his hand up and ran a gentle finger down my cheek, then tilted my chin up and placed a fleeting kiss on my forehead.

"I don't understand," I said softly.

He sighed, then looked at me. "For a lot of bikers, me included, having a woman on the back of our bike is special. We don't just let any woman ride with us. It was one thing when I knew you'd ridden before with a couple of teenagers you grew up with, but to find out that one of those guys is Bull…well, that kind of threw me a little."

"So, you're jealous because I used to ride with Mike?"

"You need to call him Bull now, sugar. We usually reserve our given names for someone special, too."

I nodded, beginning to understand, and secretly feeling pleased that I was special enough to receive that honor. "So, you're jealous because I used to ride with Bull ?"

He shook his head ruefully and gave me a reluctant smile, then wrapped his arms around me. "Yeah, apparently so. Jealous, possessive, territorial. All of the above. I want to rip his balls off and shove them in the exhaust pipe on his bike, so you tell me what that feeling is."

Well, OK then. That cleared that up. "How do we fix this? I mean, I can't exactly go back in time and erase the fact that I rode with him, even if I wanted to…which I don't, for the record. Those are fond memories for me."

"There's nothing to fix, sugar, and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. I just need to get my head on straight about it. Hell, he wasn't even in the club then, so I'm not even sure why it bothered me so fuckin' much. I'm in unfamiliar territory, here, so you might need to have a little extra patience while I find my way around in this relationship."

I smiled at his quiet admission, then pulled his head down for a kiss. With a groan, he pulled me close, until I was plastered against his body. The kiss went deepened and would have continued had we not been interrupted by Star, who stormed by us without a word and entered the ladies' restroom at the end of the hall.

"Shit, sugar, I forgot where we were for a second. Let me finish showing you around."

He held my hand as he gave me a tour. I loved the amount of counter space in the kitchen, including an immense center island that was over twice the size of mine. I was in awe as he showed me the enormous walk-in pantry that was almost as big as Mia's bedroom.

Dante laughed as I glanced around at the loaded shelves, marveling at the sheer amount of food, sodas, juice, and assorted items stored there.

"Well, a lot of the brothers live here full-time, so there's always someone cooking or eating around here."

He showed me the workout space in the basement, and even opened the door of the chapel so I could see it. I had remembered that he'd once mentioned that non-members weren't allowed to enter, so I made sure to stand outside the doorway while I peeked inside. I didn't want to be disrespectful of their rules and traditions, even if I didn't quite understand all of them.

We eventually ended up back in the common room and sat down with Jagger and Molly to chat. In addition to Lucky, I learned that the other two men were Bodhi and Trick. When I found out that Bodhi worked at Fallen Angels, I wondered if he was the man who had returned Dante's wallet to him. Trick managed an MMA gym for the club and used to be a fighter himself. He was now the sergeant-at-arms.

"He upholds the club's by-laws and keeps us all in line," Jagger explained when it was clear that I didn't know what exactly that title meant.

"So, are most of your club brothers here tonight?" I asked Dante, leaning close so that he could hear me above the music, which someone had just cranked up a few notches.

He glanced around, then shrugged. "A little over half of them, anyway. Some of them are working, and who the hell knows where the rest of them are."

I noticed about a half-dozen women around, some a little more scantily dressed than others. Dante noticed my gaze zeroing in on a group of four women playing pool with some of the club members. Star was one of them, and the other three were dressed – or rather, practically undressed – in a similar fashion.

"You didn't introduce me to those ladies," I pointed out with smirk, and Dante flicked his gaze over to the women in question.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. "Those aren't exactly ladies. Those are the other club bunnies we have right now. The one next to Star is Misty. The blonde on the other side of the table is Diamond, and the other one is Danielle, but she goes by her initials, DD."

I eyed her impressive bustline, which was spilling out of the low-cut shirt she wore. DD…how fitting .

"There are a few other women around, but they're what we call hangarounds. They like to hang out and party with the club." I nodded, remembering that part from the conversation I'd had weeks ago with Michelle when she explained a little about club life.

Molly and Jagger left soon after, with her apologizing that they were leaving early.

"I'm sorry to leave you here on your own, but I've had a splitting headache all afternoon, and this music is making it even worse."

I gave her a hug and assured her that I understood and hoped she felt better soon. Not long after they left, I excused myself to make a much-needed visit to the ladies' room.

A few minutes later, the restroom door swung open as I was washing my hands. I tried not to groan out loud when Star strolled in and drawled, "Wow, I'm surprised you're still here, now that King knows you're nothin' but a cut-slut."

My eyebrows rose high enough to hit my hairline as I turned to gape at her.

"Excuse me? I'm a what?" I deliberately kept my voice even and my tone polite, trying to avoid a screaming match with this bitch. I'd like to believe I had too much class for that.

"You heard me. Cut. Slut." Star grinned triumphantly as she emphasized the words. "Trust me, he won't think your ass is anythin' special, now that he knows you've been with one of his brothers."

I brushed past her, refusing to engage with her bullshit. I swung the door open and stepped out to find Dante leaning against the wall opposite the door. He smiled and pushed away from the wall as the door closed behind me.

"Hey, sugar, Sinner wanted us to join the poker game, if you're up for it?"

"I've never played before, but I'm happy to try. First though, what is a cut slut , exactly?"

His gaze shot to mine in surprise. "A what?"

I cocked my head as I pretended to think. "Well, I think that's what she said. Hold on, let me check."

I pushed open the door to find Star inspecting her makeup in the mirror.

"You did say I was a cut slut , right?" I asked innocently, and she swung her head around in surprise. Dante moved me aside as he barged into the room. Star paled and took a step back, as he loomed over her.

"What the fuck did you say to Ella?"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't say anything to her."

"Don't fuckin' lie to me, Star. What the fuck did you say?"

At that point, Star began to cry, wailing that it wasn't fair that Dante wouldn't let her ride on his bike, yet my " fat ass " had gotten to ride with both him and Bull.

"You have thirty minutes to get your shit and get out," Dante ordered. "Trick will escort you off the grounds, and he will be checking your belongings to make sure it's all actually yours."

He turned and reached for me, shaking her off as she grabbed for his arm.

"King, please, I'm sorry, I –"

He rounded on her again, and she shrank back against the wall.

"I fuckin' warned you that you were on your last strike. You know the rules. You're banned from the compound, Star. Now, since you've been with us for years with no real problems until here lately, I won't object if Ace and Bodhi want to keep you on to work at Fallen Angels, but you're not to set foot on the compound again. And just to be clear, if you start any shit while you're working there, you'll be fired and banned from all club businesses and property. You got me?"

She straightened her spine and nodded, then glared daggers at me as she ran from the room.

I knew I should probably feel bad for her, but I just couldn't find it in me to give a flying fuck. She was a troublemaking bitch who clearly wanted Dante for herself, but more importantly, she had apparently broken several of the club rules. Even as a newbie, I knew that the club rules were sacrosanct.

Dante spent the next five minutes trying to apologize, until I finally kissed him in the middle of the ladies' room just to shut him up.

"You don't need to apologize for her. Here's a news flash for you…she's not the first bitch I've encountered in my life, and she definitely won't be the last. I'm just glad I won't have to see her labia anymore."

Dante busted out laughing at that comment, and I propped my hands on my hips and scolded him. "It's disgusting, Dante. I mean, those bunnies are running around getting their coochie cooties everywhere. At least make them put on some fucking panties that cover the important bits, for God's sake."

He was still chuckling as he led me back out into the common room to join Pop at the poker table. I was pleased to see that Ace was no longer there. According to Bull, he'd taken Misty up to his room, which made my skin crawl to think about.

It didn't take long to realize that I was a lousy poker player. Luckily, Dante had spotted me the cash to join the game, so it was actually his ten dollars that I lost.

"Don't feel bad, sugar. You just don't have a poker face, so you can't bluff worth shit. We can all tell exactly what you're thinking." Dante explained as he started shuffling the cards in preparation to deal the next hand.

I arched a brow and smiled. "Oh, really? What am I thinking right this minute?"

Dante paused mid-shuffle and eyed me closely, then grinned as he handed the deck of cards off to Saint.

"Deal us out, brother. We're outta here,"

Every man at the table laughed as I flushed to the roots of my hair.

"That was NOT what I was thinking, Dante Morgan," I protested loudly as he took my hand and practically pulled me out of my chair.

"That's OK, sugar. I'm thinking about it enough for both of us." He hustled me up the stairs to his room, urging me to walk faster with his hands on my ass. The sound of laughter and catcalls followed us, until I was sure I'd die of embarrassment.

An hour or so later, I was surprised I hadn't died of pleasure instead.

The next two weeks passed in a haze of romantic dates, incredible sex, and a party at the clubhouse that was eye-opening to say the least.

I'd learned that Trick liked to have sex with the hangarounds in darkened hallways, rather than taking them up to his room at the club, as it was apparently easier to get rid of them afterward. I'd also learned that Trick's ass was so white compared to the rest of his tanned skin that it practically glowed in the dark in said darkened hallways. It was still a very nice ass, even if it was a little on the pale side.

I'd also learned how to play darts, courtesy of Viking and Pop. I wasn't very good at it, but Bull said I was a hell of a lot better than Molly was. She'd apparently almost hit him with a wayward dart on one of her first visits to the clubhouse.

I'd spent time with the Ol' Ladies in the club. Theresa, Brick's wife, was a tiny dynamo who took absolutely no shit from anyone, especially her hulking husband, who clearly adored every last curly hair on her head.

Abby and Molly had told me about the upside to MC life - the sense of family, the club rides, and the community outreach. I'd had lunch with Michelle, who was close to my age and in the same position I was. We weren't Ol' Ladies, but we were seriously dating club officers, so that put us in a unique position. I hesitated to refer to myself as Dante's girlfriend. First of all, at my age it felt a little awkward. Secondly, Dante and I had never actually used that label. We were together, and he called me his woman sometimes, but we hadn't defined it beyond that.

I knew I was falling in love with him, but I had no idea how he felt. Since our relationship was so new, it felt like I'd be pushing too hard if I pressed him for answers, so I didn't. Part of me was scared of those answers anyway.

He'd even spent time with my kids without me asking, volunteering to give Mia a driving lesson one night when I'd had to work late to deal with a client who wanted a last-minute change on their logo design.

They'd driven Hunter's Jeep, and Dante had noticed that the transmission wasn't shifting smoothly. My heart sank when he'd told me, because I knew Clayton would refuse to help contribute to the repair costs. I knew that because he'd also refused to contribute to buying the Jeep in the first place. That's why Hunter was driving a used, eleven-year-old Jeep with more miles on it than I would have liked. Dante had been livid when I'd told him all of that, grumbling about what a " lousy motherfucker" Clayton was.

I'd been dreading a huge mechanic's repair bill, but Dante took Hunter to the club's garage and with Viking's help, they diagnosed the problem and repaired it. It had turned out to be a fairly easy fix, thankfully, but Dante had argued with me when I'd tried to at least pay for the parts. Hunter had stepped up and told him that he wanted to pay for the parts with money he'd earned helping Mrs. Kirschbaum, our elderly neighbor across the street, with her yardwork.

Dante had given in then, telling me he respected that Hunter was stepping up and taking on adult responsibilities. He'd also turned right around and given the money back to me, telling me to add it to Hunter's college fund. I'd finally given in and done just that when it became clear that Dante wouldn't be swayed.

Mia had tagged along with them to the garage that day, and Dante had given her an impromptu lesson in basic auto care, including changing a tire and checking various fluid levels.

"If she's going to be driving soon, she needs to know these things, sugar. We need to be sure she's safe when she's out on the road, just in case she can't reach one of us," he'd told me later that evening as we snuggled up on the couch.

Every minute I spent with Dante convinced me that he was the man I was meant to find. He was the man I would have chosen as my childrens' father, if I could have rewritten history. He was the man I wanted to grow old with.

The only dark spot, aside from my ex, was Dante's ex, Christy. She'd shown up at Pop's place one evening, only to spot Dante's bike in my driveway. He and I had been taking advantage of a precious bit of alone time, as Hunter had driven Mia over to her friend's house and stopped off at the park to play basketball with his friends on his way home.

We were wrapped up in each other's arms on the couch making out like teenagers after the prom, when there was a sudden pounding on my front door. I'd almost fallen off of Dante's lap at the sound, and he had quickly jumped up and reached for his cut. My eyes widened as he slipped a knife out of the inside pocket and pressed a switch to flip it open.

He'd stormed over the door and peered out the peephole, only to step back and start cursing.

"It's safe, sugar. It's just my fucking bitch of an ex-wife. I'll get rid of her."

He'd flicked the blade closed and shoved it in his back pocket, then unlocked the door and threw it open. The argument that took place on my front porch started off loud and ugly, especially when she caught sight of me through the living room window.

She pointed at me and started to say something, but Dante cut her off in mid-screech.

"Get the hell off this property, and don't even fuckin' think about coming back here, or to Sinner's house. Stay away from my house, stay away from the compound and stay the fuck away from our boys. I swear to God, Christy, if I see your face again, I'm gonna call that probation officer of yours and report that you're using again. He'll violate your probation, and you'll end up serving the rest of your sentence."

She started to cry then, scratching and picking at the skin on her arm until I expected it to start bleeding any second. She was extremely thin, unhealthily so, with sallow skin and brittle hair. It was clear she was in the throes of addiction, and while part of me felt sorry for her, the other part of me remembered that this is the woman who'd abandoned her children and had made their lives miserable ever since.

"You have thirty seconds to get your ass back in that shitbucket of a car and get the fuck out of here." He'd started counting, and she ran for the car, jumping into the passenger seat as the driver gunned the engine. They roared out of Sinner's driveway with seven seconds to spare.

Finally, the day I'd been both dreading and waiting for was here.

I dreaded the fact that my kids were leaving for Florida this morning. I was worried about them flying alone, and I knew I would miss them terribly. But I also knew that my former in-laws would take wonderful care of them, and that they would all have a great time on the cruise they were embarking on tomorrow morning.

I also felt guilty, because as much as I loved my kids, I was excited as hell about having an extended period of time alone with Dante. Camille and I were leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend in Chicago with Kim to celebrate her birthday, but once I returned Sunday night, I planned to spend every single night wrapped up in Dante's arms until my kids returned.

We would have almost two weeks together when we weren't limited to Sunday afternoons and Wednesday nights. We wouldn't be limited to stolen moments when the kids were out with friends, or when Dante and I met at the clubhouse for "lunch" in his room there. I was thankful that he understood that I wasn't ready for him to stay overnight when my kids were at home, but I knew we were both frustrated with the situation at times.

It hadn't helped that Clayton and Sabrina had left for Hawaii yesterday, meaning he hadn't taken the kids for his normal Wednesday overnight visit. I'd gotten used to having my own overnight visitor on those nights, and I'd missed Dante like hell when I'd woken up alone this morning.

So now, as I drove home after dropping the kids off at the airport, I made plans for tonight. Plans that started with one of the sexy bra and panty sets I'd bought a few days ago and ended with orgasms. Toe-curling, mind-blowing, soul-restoring orgasms. I couldn't wait.