Page 11 of Jagger
“How do I stop myself from blowing this with Jackie?”
“Jackie is a straight shooter. She wants to know what’s what, so if something bothers you, tell her. If you’re having issues about something, talk to her. That’s the biggest thing I can stress to you. Don’t let things get so far gone that there’s no coming back from it. And I’ll tell you something Nitro told me the first time I screwed things up with Cheyenne. He said no one is perfect and we all deserve grace.”
“That makes sense,” I returned.
“And he also said don’t be stupid enough to screw around on her or I’d probably end up with a knife in my back.” He cut his eyes to me and added, “And I’d say that goes double for Jackie.”
“Why?” He paused, and I could tell he didn’t want to say whatever he was thinking, but if he knew something that would help me with Jackie, then I needed to know. “Please tell me.”
“Are you aware of what happened to Jackie’s ex?”
I shook my head and tried to rein in the unreasonable anger at the mention of someone she used to date. I never knew I was the jealous type until that very moment.
He exhaled and looked me straight in the eyes. “Do not ever repeat that I told you this or my ol’ lady will have my balls for dinner.” I nodded, and he lowered his voice as he continued. “Jackie dated a guy for a few years after high school, someone from the tribe, and she found out he was using her, thinking her father would give him a council position if he was with her. Basically, he used her for power and was fucking more than a few girls behind her back.” He shook his head and looked off into the field as he added, “It took her years before she trusted anyone again.”
The idea that someone would use such an amazing woman for their own personal gain pissed me off, and I almost asked for the fucker’s name, but I wouldn’t do anything that could get me locked up away from her.
The entire week, I thought about how painful his betrayal must have been for her, and I made myself a promise that no matter what, I wouldn’t do anything to cause her heart any pain.
We were taking one of the side-by-sides across the ranch to the Sin Den, the Sinners Revenge clubhouse on the backside of the property. Roughstock had closed the bar to the public for the night, so it would only be brothers and their ol’ ladies. I was eager to walk in with Jackie, and as I maneuvered the machine down the path, following behind Cheyenne and Roughstock, I lifted our connected hands and placed a kiss on the back of hers.
Quick, stolen kisses were all we were able to have this week, but we did have lots of time to talk. She told me about her mother and how she’d left when Jackie was a few weeks old, and I shared how my mother passed away when I was in high school from cancer. She had been diagnosed with stage four cancer of multiple organs and was gone within ten days. Jackie squeezed my hand tighter as she simply said, “I’m sorry.”
As the lights of the Sin Den shined on the horizon, I looked over at her and asked over the sound of the motor, “Are you ready for a fun evening?”
She practically bounced in her seat as she replied, “Oh, yes.”
“You have as much to drink as you want, darlin’. I’ll make sure you get back to the ranch safely.”
“What about you? Aren’t you going to drink?”
“I never have more than two, so don’t worry about me.”
Her forehead drew down, but she didn’t respond as the trail let out in the back of the parking lot of the clubhouse. Pulling up next to Roughstock’s vehicle, I saw him and Cheyenne walking into the back door as I turned to look at Jackie.
Remembering what Roughstock said, I took her hand into mine as I explained. “My father was a worthless man who lived off my mother’s hard work and money. He drank every day, and it finally killed him my last year in high school. He drove drunk,and it cost him his life. Luckily, he didn’t hurt anyone else, but since then, I’ve kept my drinking under a certain limit. I don’t ever want to become like him.”
She leaned over, pressing her pouty lips against mine as she kissed me softly. I lifted my hand and slid it under her thick hair to the back of her neck, and when I placed my hand on her, she moaned and opened her mouth, allowing our tongues to duel. The sound of approaching bikes brought our embrace to a conclusion, and her hypnotic green eyes twinkled under the lights.
“Thank you for trusting me with that,” she said.
I brushed a piece of hair from her forehead and remarked, “I trust you with everything.”
Her smile grew in brilliance, and when we heard someone yelling from the back of the building, we both turned to see Cheyenne standing on the steps, looking at us.
“Let’s go already. You two can mush faces all you want later.”
She smiled and returned inside, and I looked at Jackie. “I guess we need to get inside.”
“Okay.”
She’d learned not to reach for her door, and I got out, walked around, and opened the door for her. Offering my hand, I helped her get out of the side-by-side then we walked across the parking lot and up the stairs into the Sin Den.
The music was loud, and the strong odor of weed filled the air as we walked inside. The few brothers who had worked the week with us were already aware that I had claimed Jackie, but the ones who’d been dealing with club business didn’t know. As we walked through the crowd of brothers, their ol’ ladies, and the few club butts who were allowed inside tonight, we got hoots and hollers from a few and back slaps and hugs from others.
There were a few club butts who gave Jackie dirty looks, and I gave them a piercing stare that relayed one thing—do not fuckwith Jackie. I wouldn’t have some jealous woman who I shared a few sweaty minutes with thinking they had a claim on me, or that I would tolerate them being disrespectful.
I guess my face showed what I wanted because they averted their eyes and went back to paying attention to whichever brother they were trying to rub up against. I didn’t have a problem with the ladies who liked to be passed around by the brothers, but they needed to know their place. They were at the bottom of the totem pole, and Jackie was on the second to highest level, just one below ol’ lady. And something deep down said that she would rise to the top faster than I’d expected.
