chapter Twenty-Three
The smell of hairspray caused Denise to cough as she finished her hair. She was trying desperately to make it look how the hairstylist had made it look. Taking her hands to it, she artfully mussed it, smiling at the end result. She had never been good at hair or cosmetics, but tonight she wanted to be. Unlike most nights, she had also taken great care with her makeup, hoping that Liam took notice.
Walking over to the bed, she glanced at the outfit she’d laid out for herself. Sparkles had convinced her she was wearing clothes two sizes too big, and she had to admit Sparkles had been right. Smoothing her hands down the shirt she wore, she blew out a nervous breath.
“What the hell, Denise. You only live once right?” she whispered to herself. This was the time to make the changes she had wanted to make for years. Liam was giving her that option, and she knew that she’d be crazy not to take this opportunity and run with it.
Liam sat on the couch in his living room, twiddling his thumbs. He didn’t think he had ever been so keyed up in his life. Excited didn’t even begin to describe his feelings at this moment. He felt special. This wasn’t some woman who was a friend of the club, she wasn’t a hanger-on just looking for a good time. A quick f*ck in his dorm room so that she could go back and tell all the other women how big his dick was. This woman was actually upstairs trying to look cute for him. In all his years, he’d never had what one would consider a girlfriend, much less an old lady. He’d just had a couple women here and there in his life who had warmed his bed, and that was never for long. He always got out before it got too serious, before they started demanding his time and requesting words he didn’t want to say. This was just as new for him as it was for her.
When he heard the click of heels against the hardwood of the stairs, he glanced up. A low whistle sounded from his lips as he got a good look at her. She blushed, smiling softly as she descended.
“Look at you,” he admired appreciatively, the low rasp of his voice showing just how much he liked what she wore and the care she’d taken with her appearance.
Turning in a circle, she spread her arms out so that he could get a decent look at her. It was unusual, to feel on display like she was. She watched as his eyes roamed her body, from the top of her hair to the stiletto boots that encased her feet.
“You, Denise Cunningham, are lookin’ like sex on a silver platter right now. Believe that.”
It was true, his eyes had almost popped out of his head when he first caught sight of her. A pink tank top hugged her curves while a pair of boot cut jeans showed off toned legs. She wasn’t what one would call tall, but the jeans and shoes made it look like her legs went on forever. It was amazing how confident she’d become in the days they’d known each other. He was watching her blossom, and he loved it. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he was hindering her as much as helping her. Once she got in too deep with the club, there would be no getting out. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he smiled at her.
“Thanks, I do feel kinda good about myself in this,” she admitted, walking over to where she had laid out a black leather jacket.
She put it on and looked at him for approval. “Do I pass biker bitch inspection?”
The grin on her face showed that she was teasing. He liked this playful side of her. When they’d first met, he wouldn’t have known she had such a sense of humor or such a bangin’ body. Both were very pleasant surprises.
“You pass old lady inspection,” he clarified.
“What does that mean?”
He forgot that she wasn’t familiar with biker lingo. She hadn’t been born into the culture, and many things were still foreign to her. At that moment, he realized just how much he wanted her to be a part of this culture.
“It means kind of like a wife without the ring. I can get you a ‘property of’ patch, which means you’re my property and no one messes with you without facing my wrath.”
“Can I think about that?” She wasn’t really sure what all this entailed, even though he’d just explained it to her. She would need to speak to Roni about what he had just proposed.
“Of course,” he answered, even though it hurt his pride to know that she couldn’t make a snap decision like that. “You ready to go?”
Excitement danced in her eyes and bounced off her body in waves. “Yes. Where are you taking me?”
Her excitement fueled his. He’d never felt this way about taking a woman out before. “Out to dinner, then we’re taking a nighttime ride. It’s beautiful to ride at night.
“Awesome, I can’t wait.”
An hour later, they arrived at a local steakhouse and were seated. She couldn’t help but notice that people watched Liam as they walked by. There seemed to be many different schools of thought about this man that had come to mean so much to her. Some looked at him with thinly veiled fear, some looked at him with a glaring respect, and the women looked at him with undisguised lust. Her mind raced. She wasn’t sure if it was because of him personally or because of the club and outlaw life he represented. Either way, it made her uncomfortable to see other women look at him that way. Scooting closer to where he sat, she made sure their legs touched and that everyone could see it.
“Would you like to sit on my lap and feed me?” he joked as she slid over one more time. Accommodating her, he moved his arm up on the booth and put it around her neck, pulling her closer to him.
Denise had the decency to blush. “These women looking at you just pisses me off.”
A deep chuckle sounded in his throat. That was great to hear. “You got nothin’ to worry about,” he reassured her.
The two of them had put in their order and now sat talking softly over their drinks, a bottle of beer for him, a margarita for her. Out of the blue, she blurted, “What’s your favorite color?”
“I’d have to say whatever color your underwear is,” he flirted, taking a pull off his beer.
She preened prettily, huffing at the same time. “I’m serious here. We know nothing about each other, but we’re living together and you’ve asked me to be your old lady. Do you not see anything wrong with this?”
His large hand enclosed hers, and he brought it up to his lips before turning it over and placing a soft kiss on the pulse point at her wrist. “I know all I need to know. You love your kids, you’re loyal and honest. You know that I love my family, my club, and I’ll always protect you. What else do you need?”
“It’s not conventional,” she argued.
“If you haven’t noticed this about me yet baby, I’m not conventional. If I have a feelin’ in my gut, I’m goin’ with it,” he quirked an eyebrow at her. “And to be honest, you aren’t really conventional either. Don’t let society’s rules about what’s conventional make you uncomfortable with what we do.”
“Is that how you do everything in life?” she asked.
“For the most part. I’ll admit to you that it sometimes bites me in the ass, but when it works out it’s usually the best time of my life.”
Denise yearned to be like him, to just let things fall as they may, but she had her kids to think about. “I’m a mom,” she explained.
“I realize that, honey. And I promise you this, no matter what happens between us your children will always be taken care of. Just let this happen. We may be together forever.”
“And we may not.”
He brought his hand up to her cheek. “And we may. What’s life without risks?”
“Comfortable.”
“Tell me,” he begged, leaning his head into her neck, nipping her ear. “Do you want comfortable? Or do you want this out-of-control feeling we get whenever we touch each other?” he breathed, causing goose bumps to pop on her arms.
“The out-of-control feeling,” she whispered, relenting to the feelings he evoked within her.
It was hard on her though, leaving everything up to chance. A part of her conscious argued that her carefully laid plans had backfired on her before. Why not do what she wanted to for once in her life?
“Do you wanna take the long way home?” he asked after dinner. They sat on his bike, waiting for her to fasten her helmet.
“Yes,” she agreed. Anything to allow her to keep her arms around him and hold on tight. Riding the bike with him had become her favorite pastime and one she didn’t want to give it up anytime soon.
He cranked the bike and revved it, causing her to dig her nails into his cut before they took off onto Scottsville Road. He eased into a lane of traffic that would take him onto the interstate and allow him to hit the back roads that would take him all the way to his house.
As they stopped at a light, he leaned into her. Reaching his hands up, he caressed hers where they rested on his flat stomach. He snuck a kiss through her open-face helmet, groaning when her hands moved down further to the apex of his thighs.
“Not here baby, it’s hell ridin’ with a hard on.”
She threw her head back and laughed. It felt good to be free with him. To do everything that she’d always thought about doing but had never been sure she would ever get to do.
The light changed, and they raced off into the night.