Trev then grabbed a chair and slid it into the middle of the floor. There was a table there too. Our buddy - River - was the best tattoo artist in the world. He downed a shot of whiskey and put on black rubber gloves. He started to get himself set up as Trev kept talking.
“Tonight, Harlee becomes Trent’s old lady. Officially. She’ll wear his ink and she has his ring. We’ve protected her throughout all this bullshit but tonight she becomes part of our family.”
The club clapped for Harlee. She grabbed at my hand tight. I looked at her and we kissed.
Trev and Jasper had wanted to marry us tonight but I managed to talk them out of it. They knew we were still getting everything in order. I didn’t want Harlee to be tossed in the middle of the clubhouse and married to me. Shit, the woman deserved to live out at least one dream in her life. I wanted to give her the dream wedding. Was that pathetic for an outlaw like me to say? Maybe. But Harlee was worth it.
Trev put out shot glasses and poured shots for the entire club, including Harlee. He then poured a shot of water and gave it to Eden. Eden touched her very round belly and smiled. I had a vision of Harlee looking like that someday. Carrying our child. Goddamn. What had happened to the monster?
I looked at Harlee and we kissed.
We held our shot glasses and it was time for the best man to speak.
Duke rose up and looked around the room.
I thought it seemed a little fitting to ask Duke to be my best man. Shit, I had an entire MC who were all my best men. But all things considered, I asked Duke out of respect and love for him and what he’d done.
Duke lifted his shot glass and then brought it to his nose. He sniffed it a few times and looked right at Harlee. “Just making sure it’s not poisoned.”
The entire MC erupted with a deep OOhhh sound.
Hell, even I laughed a little at that one.
“No poison,” Harlee said. “You’re better off suffering alive, Duke.”
“Damn,” Jasper said.
“Being serious for a second,” Duke said. “I’m honored to stand here as the best man for… for this tramp stamp.”
“Fuck, brother,” I said. “Don’t call it that.”
Duke laughed. “That’s what it is, man. But it’ll look good on Harlee. She’ll be wearing your ink and she’ll be in your heart. Then you two will get married and she’ll be knocked up in no time.”
“Bigger tits!” Cash called out and whistled.
Harlee smirked but inched closer to me. She was getting uncomfortable. But she had to stick up for herself though. I nudged my knee to hers and nodded.
“You’ll never see them, Cash,” Harlee said. “I only show them to real men and real outlaws.”
The guys all ooohhh’ed again.
Cash opened his legs. “Sweetie, you couldn’t take what I have to give.”
“Wait,” Harlee said. “Before you unzip your pants… anyone have binoculars or something?”
I clapped my hands together. “She’s got your number, Cash.”
“I’ll take my dick out right now,” Cash said.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Harlee said. “There’s already a needle over there to tattoo me.”
The entire clubhouse went silent. Cash’s jaw dropped. He slowly shut his mouth and nodded.
“I like her,” he said. “I really like her. But for the record, my dick is huge.”
“With that said,” Duke cut in, “I say we get this night moving again. Everyone drink, dance, fuck, whatever. We celebrate our club, our families, our President and his old lady, who is getting closer every day to giving birth to another outlaw.”
“Not quite,” Eden said. “We’re having a girl.”
“Holy shit,” I said. I looked at Trev and started to laugh.
You’re so screwed, Prez.
Everyone got up and hugged Trev and Eden. A bunch of renegade criminals, blood and death on our hands and souls, and there we were touching Eden’s belly. No matter what anyone called us, we’d protect that little girl in Eden’s stomach for the rest of our lives. She had no idea what she was being born into.
A few minutes later, Harlee straddled a chair and I sat across from her. The whir of the tattoo sounded and her face turned bright red.
“Does it hurt?” she asked me.
“It’s like me, darling,” I said. “It hurts for a few seconds but then it feels fucking great.”
I touched Harlee’s face and kissed her. I felt her jump when the needle touched her the first time. After that, we just kept kissing. Noise all around. The world spinning. Hell waiting outside the clubhouse to try and make its way in again.
But with Harlee kissing me, none of that shit mattered.
I found my reason to be a monster. I found my reason to be an enforcer.
Fuck, I found my reason to be an outlaw… and a man.