Page 169 of Dagger

Suddenly, claps began filling the air, and the roof seemed to rise as an enormous cheer went up. The bar filled with wolf whistles, hoots, and shouts.

Chuckling, I pulled Elise into my chest, and she buried her face in my tee, giggling. Then, her eyes lifted to meet mine, and the world shrunk to a pinpoint as gold met green.

Oh my God, Elise mouthed, her eyes crinkling with mirth and her cheeks flaming.

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, raising a hand and waving to the boys as we walked toward the main doors.

Another roar went up, and my heart leaped with the knowledge that all my boys wanted this for me. After Adele, there’d been nobody. I’d been celibate for years, never thinking about sex or even needing it. I’d gone for so long without it feeling right, I knew it was Elise or nobody.

The warm air hit my skin when we walked outside, hand in hand. It was late August, so the ground had cooled, making the heat somewhat bearable.

It was the perfect day for a ride.

I turned Elise until her front plastered against mine, and I held her in my arms. “Wait here?” I asked.

She tipped her face up, and I marveled at how the sunrays lit up her creamy, soft skin.

“What are you up to?” she inquired good-naturedly.

I bent my neck, resting my forehead against hers. “Wait for me?”

She beamed up at me and whispered, “I guess another couple of minutes won’t hurt.”

I turned and sauntered toward the huge garage that housed the club members’ vehicles. All my bikes were in there. I had nine in total. I usually brought a new one every few years, and I’d restored a few, too. I planned to give them to my grandsons, especially after I smashed Bandit’s up. Still, there was one I’d put away thirty years ago that I knew I’d keep forever, even though I couldn’t bear to ride it without my Duchess. Luckily, I’d kept her tuned and serviced, and during the times I felt sick with missing Elise, I fired her up and got lost in my memories.

Heading for the wall full of hooks where I’d left the keys, I grabbed them and went to a tall cupboard, looking for something else from back in the day.

Grabbing it, I went to my green bike—the same one Duchess rode with me that fateful day we went to Grand Junction, and I enlisted—hooked the cargo on the handlebars and threw my leg over the saddle before starting her up.

Thepop, pop, poppingof the engine filled my chest, and turning the handlebars toward the open doors, I slowly rode out into the parking lot with my gaze riveted to my Duchess.

The second she recognized the bike, her fingers flew to her mouth, and her eyes locked with mine as I pulled up right beside her.

Abe and Iris had already mounted his bike. Looking over my shoulder, I yelled over the noise of my engine, “What about a ride up to Grand Junction?”

“Good call,” Abe yelled back.

I went into the saddle bags and pulled out my old Walkman. “Springsteen or R.E.M.?”

“I’m in an R.E.M. mood,” she told me decisively.

Taking Elise’s old helmet that I’d kept in pristine condition, I beckoned her closer, chuckling at the memory of her telling me she loved it when I crooked my finger at her because it reminded her of Patrick Swayze fromDirty Dancing.

I gently popped an earphone in her ear, before placing the helmet over her head and doing the same with my own, feeling relief at the fact her brain bucket still fit her perfectly. Taking her hand, I helped her on behind me, leaning back and pulling her thighs closer until her pussy nestled against my ass.

“My butterflies just came alive,” she shouted over the noise of the engine.

My throat thickened with emotion because fuck me, she gave me butterflies, too. I closed my eyes at the warmth of her skin as she snaked her arms around my waist.

“You ready, baby?” I called back.

“Hurry up,” she yelled excitedly.

I pointed the wheels toward the gates, slowly setting off to join the road.

Elise pressed her belly to my back and flung her arms in the air, yelling a loud “whoop,”and my shoulders shook with laughter.

As we joined the main road, avoiding the massive pothole, I clicked my Walkman on, and the opening bars of ‘Losing My Religion’thumped through the earphones.

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