Page 7 of Taming Hawke

Luisa

Walking through Beats nightclub, Jasmine and I search the club looking for Hailey, Tess, and Tristan. We spot them and they begin to frantically wave at us when they see us coming through the doors.

It’s so great to see Tristan here tonight, we haven’t had a chance to catch up since he moved back in with his parents. He lost his job at the editing company, something about no longer requiring more than two editors, and unfortunately Tristan was the one chosen to leave.

“Look, there they are,” I yell over to Jasmine, pointing to the group. The music is loud and it’s hard to even think, let alone hear each other.

Jasmine slides her hand through my arm and we make our way to the table where they’re all seated. Tristan gets up from his seat immediately when we reach them, and grabs Jasmine from my arm and hugs her, then moves on to me with the same greeting.

“Hey you, it’s so great to see you,” I say when Tristan pulls back. He’s holding me at arm’s length, as though to get a good look at me. “It’s good to see you, Tris. How long has it been?”

“Oh, a couple of months,” he answers, smiling wide.

“Jasmine!” I hear yelled at a high pitch, and look over Tristan’s shoulder to see Hailey jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

Tess gets up and greets us both, moving Tristan out the way. I give her a hug, and then Jasmine does the same. Jasmine and I have gotten close to Tess; seeing we’re all dating members of the Blood Brothers MC, it’s only natural for us to become friends.

Tess is Blaze’s old lady. He’s hot! Blaze is from Barcelona and has a slight accent. Sometimes I catch him saying endearments to Tess in Spanish, and I have to say, it’s the hottest thing I have ever heard. He has chocolate brown eyes and dark hair that’s short on the sides and long on the top. He’s always wearing a white wifebeater with his cut over the top, his dog tags hanging out. His muscled biceps are covered in tattoos that Tess has done on him. Actually, that’s how they met in the first place. Tess is a tattoo artist, and Blaze went into her tattoo parlor one day to add to his half sleeve, and set his sights on Tess. As Tess explains it, it was love at first sight. Blaze was a prospect back then, and went nomad after he had a falling out with the club he belonged to in Barcelona, the Hot Heads. That’s when he came to the US and met the Blood Brothers, and he’s never turned back.

“Let’s dance!” Jasmine shouts as the song “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran comes on, and I gladly take her outstretched hand as we make our way onto the dance floor. I look over my shoulder and use my other hand to wave at the others to join us, and they follow suit.

Swaying my hips to the music, I run my fingers through my long hair and close my eyes, letting the music take me to another place.

Suddenly, I feel hands on my hips, traveling down the sides of my body. I smile thinking it’s Tristan with his hands on me, and I continue to move my hips to the music. That is until I feel something hard on my ass and freeze. I open my eyes and see Tristan and Jasmine in front of me, their mouths wide open. I turn around to face the man who has nerve enough to touch me this way, but don’t get the chance to say anything—one of the prospects, Torch I think his name is, slams a fist into the guy’s cheek, making him fall back on his ass. “Keep your fucking hands off her, unless you want another where that came from,” Torch yells as he leans over the guy.

The stranger rubs his cheek and puts his palms out. “I don’t want any problems. I’m sorry, I didn’t know she’s yours.”

Torch looks at me and grins. He’s got dark curls and green eyes, wide shoulders, and his muscles are screaming to let loose out of his sleeves. Torch gives me a wink before looking back down at the guy. “She’s not mine, but she is Blood Brothers property, so you don’t touch her. You got me?” he demands shoving his fist close to the guy’s face.

“Sure, man, sorry.”

“Piss off,” Torch commands. The guy, whose blond hair is in a mess, looks into my eyes with what looks like promise shining from their dark depths. I shiver at what the look might mean but let it go, not wanting to focus on him or his message for too long.

“Are you okay, hon?” Jasmine asks as she turns me toward her.

“I’m fine. I’m glad Torch was here, that guy gave me the creeps.”

“Do you want to leave?” Jasmine asks.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna let that guy ruin your night,” I say waving her off.

Jasmine smiles back and yells, “Let’s get you a drink!”

As we follow Jasmine’s lead, Torch halts me by placing his hand on my upper arm. “You okay, darlin’?”

I look up into his worried gaze. “I’m great. Thank you, Torch, for taking care of him for me.”

“Don’t mention it.” He runs his hand over the back of his neck. “Anything for a brother’s old lady,” he says giving me another wink.

I blush at the term “old lady.” Hawke hasn’t actually asked me to be his old lady yet. But I’m not worried, I know when he’s ready he will.

“Thanks, Torch,” I say as I take my leave, and notice then that he has a phone in his hand. He lifts it to his ear. “Prez?”

I don’t say anything else, instead hurry over to Jasmine and the others, only to hear them arguing about who’s paying for the drinks when I get there.

“You are not paying,” Tess says, “it’s your bachelorette party.”

“I’ll buy her a drink,” a guy offers from beside Jasmine, as he trails his hand down her bare back. Jasmine looks gorgeous. She’s wearing a red halter-neck dress that ends above her knees. It’s tight around her chest but flows at her hips, hiding her baby bump. If you didn’t know it, you would never know Jasmine’s pregnant.

---