Page 35 of Tease Me

“I ask myself that every single day,” Eagle says, making us all laugh as he pulls me into a hug once his dad lets me go. “Seriously though, you both taught one another how to love. You’re both openin’ one another’s eyes to a lot of new things and it’s been very excitin’ to watch. I know more than you think I do, sis. Just be careful with his heart and he’ll give you the world.”

“He doesn’t have to worry about me being careful with his heart, Eagle. I’ll always protect it because it’s the other half of my heart. We were meant to find one another and build our lives here surrounded by all of you. Thank you for protecting him and loving him the way you have his entire life. I’ve got him now and I will always make sure you have a place in our home and a seat at our table. I’m not taking him from you but adding you to our family. Your dad and you will always be the first ones I turn to from now on,” I promise Eagle as he steps back and pulls his brother into one of those man hug things with the loud slaps on the back.

“Dammit, Cash! How the fuck did you know they were already married?” Titan finally growls out from his seat at our table as Hawk helps me sit down once again.

“Because I’m Hawk’s best friend and I know things before anyone else does. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I pay attention and spend almost all of my time with them,” Cash answers, a smug smile on his face as Titan continues grumbling and growling under his breath.

“That’s fuckin’ bullshit! You’re really gonna make me go through with this shit, aren’t ya?” Titan questions Cash even as he pulls his phone from his pocket.

“Of course I am. You’d make me do it if I was the one that lost. It’s only fair, brother,” Cash responds as Alex brings over two plates piled high with food and Zoey hands a smaller one over to Cash for Gideon.

“The bride and groom get first dibs on food. If you want anything else, Rebel will be coming around to the tables. The rest of you can serve yourselves,” Alex states, a bright smile lighting up her face as she turns and walks away from us.

Titan gets up from the table and makes his way over to the bar where the food has all been set up. I keep glancing at him as he makes two plates and brings them over. Setting one down in front of Cash, who’s helping Gideon eat his food, Titan takes his seat and goes back to whatever he’s doing on his phone. Though I have a feeling he’s setting up his dating profile on some site.

Hawk is sitting next to me on his phone when he immediately goes still and I wonder what the hell is wrong with him.

“I can’t believe this shit. I just got a wire transfer from the mayor in your hometown, Kendell. He’s gifted us a hundred thousand dollars. The note on the transfer says to enjoy our freedom and raise our son in his mom’s memory. He just gave us this money from his personal account as a damn gift,” Hawk informs us all as we sit back and take in that information.

“Um, I don’t honestly know what to say about that. Do you think we can accept it?” I ask him, setting my fork down on the plate in front of me.

“Yeah, we can accept it. This isn’t dirty money or any of that bullshit. Your mayor is as clean as they come. I’ve done the background search on him and dug as deep as I could go. This guy is truly who he portrays himself to be. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that this is just a good gesture on his part and he wants to congratulate us on the adoption goin’ through. We can use part of it to do somethin’ for Kelsey if you want to. Or we could use it all to do somethin’ in her memory. We’ll figure it out when we’re ready to,” my husband answers me as we get back to eating our food.

The rest of the night we’re surrounded by our family and friends. Hawk and I dance our first dance as husband and wife before I dance with Crow for a father, daughter dance. Alex steps up and dances with Hawk in place of his mom. It’s the best night I’ve had in such a long time. The only thing that would’ve made it better is Kelsey being here to celebrate with us. But, I know she’s here with us in spirit. I have to believe that because it’s the only way I get through each day. So, I enjoy the rest of my night. By the time we leave, I’m exhausted and ready for bed. Hawk has other plans though. He spends the rest of our night worshiping my body while I spend hours exploring his. We don’t get to sleep until the sun is starting to rise and I’m thoroughly sated. One of the best days of my life so far.

Epilogue

Titan

I CAN’T BELIEVE Cash won the fucking bet with me. I typically bet him because he tends to lose so it’s an easy win. However, it’s impossible to win when the deck is stacked against you. I should’ve known though because he was too eager to take the bet and he didn’t bitch about washing my bike when he lost. That should’ve been a dead giveaway to me. I was stupid and not thinking properly. This shit is gonna fuck with me. However, I’m not one to back out of a bet for any reason. I lost and so as I sit with Hawk, Kendell, Cash, and Gideon, I set up a damn profile on one of the many dating apps. Fuck Cash! I hope we can bet again soon because I’m gonna hand his ass to him in a bet I know I’ll win without a doubt. Though, I’m happy to know I’m not the only one who lost a bet and shit. Reaper is the only other one I know lost and he lost to his wife. I’m just not sure how many others bet against Hawk and his ol’ lady.

It doesn’t take me long to answer the questions, upload a photo, and all the rest of the bullshit I have to do. The very second I submit my profile, I’m getting notifications about women liking me or whatever the hell it means when they swipe left. Or right. Who the fuck knows how these things work. Instead of dealing with it now, I shove my phone back in my pocket after putting it on vibrate. I look across the table and Cash is laughing his ass off.

“Not one fuckin’ word, Cash. I mean it,” I growl out, my voice low and menacing so I don’t scare Gideon.

“I’m not sayin’ anythin’, Titan. Just hearin’ your phone go off like crazy is kind of funny. Out of everyone in the club, you’re the one who’s on your phone the least amount of time. Now, you can’t just ignore that shit. You actually have to talk to a woman and go out on a date with her. Those are the conditions of the bet. But, I mean, if you don’t wanna pick one of them, I’m sure I could find you one from the women already likin’ your profile and shit,” Cash tells me, his voice filled with laughter and excitement.

“Not fuckin’ happenin’. I’m more than capable of findin’ my own date. At least I know how to fuckin’ date. You just fuck and bounce,” I return as Cash covers Gideon’s ears and Hawk and Kendell start laughing their asses off.

“He’s heard far worse from Hawk, Cash. You really don’t have to cover his ears. I’ve already accepted that he’s going to grow up around a group of bikers who swear no matter who’s around them,” Kendell says as she finally manages to stop laughing for a few seconds.

“I’m outta here,” I state, getting up and grabbing my empty plate and beer bottle.

Throwing everything away, I make my way out of the common room and up to my room here in the clubhouse. Closing and locking the door behind me, I slide my cut off and hang it on the back of my door. Removing my shirt and boots, I get on my bed and lay back before pulling out my phone and seeing what the hell is going on with this dating app. My notifications are still blowing up and I know this is going to fucking annoy me really quick. Cash wasn’t lying when he said I’m rarely on my phone. I hate this damn thing so I only use it for club business. I don’t have anyone else in my life who would go out of their way to contact me. And when I find a piece of strange for the night when I need a release, they don’t ever get my number.

Scrolling through the women who have liked my profile, I instantly stop when I come across a profile. The girl in the picture has long, dark brown hair with those natural golden highlights in it. Her eyes are too large for her face and a hazel color I’ve never seen before. There’s flecks of gold and green mixed in giving her an exotic look. The girl’s long lashes are hidden behind a pair of black framed glasses and my mind goes into overdrive. One fantasy after another begins playing in my mind. Shaking my head, I take in her delicate looking pale skin as the tank top she’s wearing does nothing to hide her ample chest. This girl isn’t skin and bones from what I can see. She’s got curves and is my type of woman. At least looks wise. Let’s see what this girl is about.

I read her profile and discover that she’s just finished school to become a vet and is an animal lover. She’s spent her life rescuing one animal after another which led to her wanting to be a vet. Instead of dropping an injured animal off to someone else to take care of, she wanted to do it herself. I can’t blame her there. She’s been single for over two years now as she focused on finishing her degree and is ready to start dating again. I go through each line of her profile and every word I read only makes me want to get to know this woman more. There’s just something about her and I can’t put my finger on it.

“Fuck it,” I murmur to my empty room.

I press the little icon thing to send her a message.

Me: Hello. My name is Adam, but I’m better known as Titan. I came across your profile as one who liked mine. I’m interested in learning more about you. Like you, I’m an animal lover. I don’t read, but I will listen to you talk about books. I’ve heard about so many lately. Even when I didn’t want to. I look forward to hearing back from you.

I honestly have no clue if that’s a good message to send or not. It’s different when I can walk up and talk to a woman. Watch her body language and reactions to our conversation. I can tell pretty quickly if a woman just wants to fuck me for a night or if she’s looking for more. The ones I really stay away from are those who are filled with desperation. That’s honestly not the vibe I’m getting from this girl. Setting my phone down, I don’t bother looking at any of the other profiles. Once I have my mind set on a woman, I’m not one to play the field and all that stupid bullshit. If I’m talking to you, I’m only talking to you.

Before I can get up to take a shower, my phone vibrates on my chest where I laid it. Picking it up, I see it’s a response from the girl I messaged. An excitement I haven’t felt in a very long time fills me as I unlock my phone and go into our message thread.

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