Page 10 of Ink

When I am about eight feet from their table, Ink instinctively looks towards me and when my presence registers the tension on his face loosens and a smile spreads across his face. I can’t help but match it. He sets his beer down, stands and takes the last remaining steps toward me. Before I can speak he wraps his arms around me in a hug. It’s one of those good hugs that only tall, muscular men are capable of giving. He pulls me towards him, my cheek smashes up against his chest, his arms enveloping around my upper back squeezing me into him. I do what any girl in my place would do in this situation and wrap my arms around his middle and put my hands on his back and squeeze him right back. Did I want to reach down and give his Hubba Bubba butt a squeeze? Hell yes.

But I don’t. I don’t want to ruin the hug and more importantly, I don’t want everyone around us starting to ask a thousand questions that I am in no way shape or form prepared to answer. While we have had a talk about feelings, we didn’t talk about any labels and I don’t want to assume anything. That has only set me up for disappointment in the past and I am not about to go down that road again. No, thank you.

Slowly, his arms loosen around me and he brings his hands over my shoulders and grazes them down my arms. If I wasn’t wearing my coat, I would have shivered from his tenderness. He steps back and takes another look at me. “What’s the matter?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Baby, I can see from your face something is bothering you. What is it?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid. I went to your house to check on you and you weren’t there so I deduced that you’d be here. I was right.”

“Ok. So why do you look like you’re wound up tighter than a drum?”

I hold my tongue. I don’t want to tell him that Ray got into my head and I was nervous I was going to walk in to see some young, hot girl sitting on his lap trying to get a ride tonight. He raises one of his eyebrows as he waits expectantly. I bob my head up and down thinking. I am always honest so I might as well just put it out there. What could be the worst thing to happen? Yeah. I lower my voice so no one around us can eavesdrop. The last thing I need is one of the honeys to hear my moment of vulnerability and pounce. “I was concerned about what I would see here when I found you.”

His other eyebrow rises to meet the one now high up at his hairline. Then he does something I don’t expect, this fool laughs. Full-on laughter. Laughs so hard that he has to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye. When his deep and rich laugh finally comes to an end he directs his full attention to me. Gone is the easy laugh and full smile he had just had. His face is all serious as he takes the one step that was separating us. He leans down ever so slowly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against him. We are so close I’m sure he has to feel my erratic heart beating out of my chest. Then before I have time to ask him what he’s doing he leans down and seals his lips to mine.

He doesn’t just give me a polite kiss or a little peck on the lips. No. He devours my mouth like I am his last meal on earth. He rubs his tongue against my lips and doesn't even wait for permission but he plunges into my mouth, setting me on fire. I have a vague recollection that my arms are wrapped around him but other than that all I can focus on is his mouth on mine and it is divine. It could have lasted one minute or twenty, I don’t know; but when we finally break apart, we are panting and out of breath.

I look around the room and I can see several of the brothers looking at us and several of the club honeys eying us and pretending that they aren’t. I don’t care. I look at Ink and he is looking down at me smiling.

“Just so you know. I don’t care who knows about us. You’re my only girl and that’s how I want it and everyone else can get it too. Now give me some more sugar.”

Ink

She didn’t think I saw her when she first came into the clubhouse, but that wasn’t the case. I clocked her the moment she walked through the door. I had spent months being aware of her when we were in the same room together. Hell, I knew where she was at around town half the time, even when we weren’t in the same vicinity. My body was finely tuned to know its proximity to my Carmelita. I also knew the look on her face and the emotions that went along with it.

I could tell the moment she walked into the club that she was running high on anxiety and something else I couldn’t pinpoint. I just knew I could see her left eye twitching with several feet between us. Now that she had voiced it, I knew unwarranted jealousy didn’t have any room to be inside of her. If I could have gone back months to Christmas and pinpointed my idiocy, I would have. I could kick my own ass for walking away from her. I made her feel that insecurity and now I was going to have to be the one to make it disappear. Not give her one doubt that I wasn’t all in with her.

Knowing I have to remove any shred of doubt, I pull her to me and kiss her, pouring every emotion I have into it, wordlessly telling her what I cannot. I’ve had a lot of time to think in the weeks upon weeks that we weren’t speaking. Other than work and the club I didn’t have a lot of commitments or friends that weren’t my brothers. Carmen has become ingrained with the club because of Rayleighn, so I can never tell if she is going to be at the clubhouse for any of the events. When I’m at home my mind wanders to thoughts of her. When I’m at work, I catch myself wondering what she’s doing and if she’s at work, too. Then when I’m at the clubhouse and don’t see her, I would wonder where she is and who she’s with.

Now here she is with me in the clubhouse, and I had just let everyone see me lay a claim down on her. If anyone had any ideas about trying to get with her, now they knew that I’d left my mark. Besides, I’ve already warned off several of my brothers since she’d been coming around. I told our prospect Detroit the first night that I ever met her that he needed to keep his eyes and hands to himself if he wanted to keep them. Then there was Hammer who was more than old enough to be her dad and I’ve seen him give her a long look here and there. I have a lot of respect for Hammer, but that wouldn’t stop me from punching him right in the face if he tried to get with her.

I didn't look around the room to see if anyone was looking at us. I figure they are, but I don’t give a fuck. I only care about her. Before I can second-guess myself, I lean back down and give her another peck on the lips. She seems momentarily stunned by my show of affection. Or maybe it is just the setting in which I chose to do it. Either way, I’m going to take her moment of being shocked to my advantage. I wrap my arm around her waist and lead her over to the table that I’m sitting at with Leon.

Leon, being the true gentleman that he is, gets up and holds out his chair for her to sit. As he walks off he gives me a knowing nod, and I don’t bother to correct him. He has better things to do tonight than sit with me and talk about the fact that we’re now on full alert. I sit down across from Carmen and put my hands on the table. She mimics my behavior and when she has her hands on the tabletop I reach out and lace my fingers in hers.

“Carmelita, baby. I’m glad to see you tonight. I thought it would be another day or two until I’d get the pleasure of getting to see you.”

“Yeah, well I was worried about you with the break-in and everything.”

One side of my mouth quirks up an inch. “You can just tell me you missed me. I ain’t gonna be mad about it.”

She gives me a flat look and then starts to fight the urge to smile. I can see it peeking out. A second later she gets serious and her smile disappears. “Ink you shouldn’t kiss me like that here. People will talk and think we’re together.”

I give her hands a squeeze in mine. “Baby, that’s exactly what I want them to think. We’re together. You’re my woman and I’m your man. I don’t give a fuck who thinks it or speaks it and I especially don’t give a shit if anyone has a problem with it. If they do they can bring it to me.”

It takes a beat but she gives me a full smile. “Well, there’s one person who you’ll have no choice to win over if you want me in your life.”

“Just one?” I ask her quizzically.

“Yep.” She nods her head. “The most important person in my life. Who I’ll always put number one so I hope you’re okay with the idea of always coming in second.”

I get where she’s going with this and I know exactly who she’s talking about but I want her to be able to tell me. I want her to feel comfortable enough to lay down the law with me at home. When we’re in the clubhouse and around my brothers that’s a whole different thing, but at home she can be in charge.

“You ready to be introduced to Lucia as my boyfriend?”

“Hell yes, baby girl. I’m going to spoil the shit out of that kid. I’m ready for you to let me deep into your life and everything that comes with it. The fact that you have a daughter just means there’s another part of you to love.”

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