Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (24 page)

“I’m not your fuckin’
constellation price!” he sneered, jutting out his chin and moving
his shoulder to push me away.

I swallowed my smile but felt the
corners of my mouth quirk. “No, Matty, you aren’t the consolation
prize. You’re the real deal—the whole fucking package.”

He held my glare, mistaking my
amusement, and I could see the fight he was forming in his mind. If
I couldn’t calm him down there would be lots of yelling and broken
bottles—and whatever damage Matty could do in response to mine. He
wet his lips with his tongue and inspiration struck. Last time,
we’d both been married to other people and I hadn’t been able to
use sex to persuade him to leave the bar, but I knew it would work.
Now, he was mine. He wanted me as much as I did him, and I would
use whatever tool I could. My hand slid from his knee up the inside
of his thigh, massaging gently. He inhaled sharply and his whole
body tensed.

“Come on, Matty.” My voice was as
low as I could get it, eyes pleading with his. “I’ve missed you. I
need you to take me to your room and show me how much you’ve missed
me.” I bit my lip and closed my eyes, the way he loved. Then I
leaned in, nipping at his ear. “God Matty,” I moaned seductively,
or at least I hoped it was, and then kissed his ticking jaw. “I
need you right now!”

He groaned, a noise so raw and
filled with pain that it physically hurt my heart. I could see the
struggle, his brilliant mind trying to fight through the Jack
Daniels fog. His pupils darted back and forth in crazy rhythm,
desperate to figure out if I was sincere. Then, he pushed himself
up and stumbled towards the hallway, grabbing my hand and yanking
me roughly. I followed him, hurriedly, looking over my shoulder to
see if I could find Rob.

Instead, my eyes landed on
an obviously irritated Rebel, hand on her hip, hatred clear on her
face. I’d been too worried about Matty earlier to pay any attention
to her, but I had a feeling I’d see her again soon.
Get in line
, I
thought bitterly,
he has a fiancé,
too.

Matty’s room looked just like
Rocker’s, or at least what I could see of it was the same. Matty
hadn’t turned on a light when he pushed through the door, and I
didn’t try to look for the switch. I hadn’t realized just how drunk
he was until I followed him to the bed and started pulling his
boots and socks off after he flopped onto the covers and remained
immobile. Somehow I got him stripped down to his boxers and lying
under the covers on one side.

“You’re not leavin’ right?” Were
the only words he mumbled. I promised him I wasn’t, but he asked
over and over, as if he’d forgotten the answer.

I piled his clothes in the chair
and stripped off my flip-flops and jeans, crawling in next to him.
The warm scent of his cologne and the sound of his even breathing
calmed me, and it didn’t take long for my eyes to close and sleep
to call. The last thing I remember was him moving next to me,
throwing a heavy arm over my middle, and burying his head in my
neck. “I love you so fuckin’ much, Joes.  So much it
hurts.”

Matty 

There was a fucking freight train
running through my head. No. I take that back. I was stuck on the
goddamn gravitron with a freight train running through my head. My
world was spinning so fast that I couldn’t begin to figure out
where I was, and the locomotive was pounding a loud path from
temple to temple, screeching as it bounced back and forth like a
ping-pong ball. I forced one leg to move, knowing I needed to find
the floor before either would get better.

Instead of hardwood, though, my
toes met ice-cold concrete. I ignored the chill, planting my foot
flat, and almost immediately the room stopped moving. I opened on
eye, cautiously, and then the other. There was no head-splitting
pain, which surprised me. Then I realized the chugging engine noise
was actually coming from the soft warm body next to me. I smiled.
Only one woman made that much noise when she slept.

Last night was a vague memory. I’d
been so angry with Joes that I’d come to the club. Dean and I’d
drowned our troubles with the Three Wisemen—Johnie Walker, Jack
Daniels, and Jim Beam. I hadn’t had a night filled with so much
whiskey since—fuck, I couldn’t remember. I’d had fun, or at least I
thought I had.

We were in my room at the club. Jo
must have come to me. I could remember seeing her, and she looked
pissed, but that memory was merged with visions of Rebel, and I
couldn’t sort reality from the tricks my mind was playing. Christ,
I could only hope that I hadn’t been a douche and that Jo hadn’t
been on the receiving end of it.

As if sensing I was awake, she
stretched next to me and a hand flattened itself on my chest. She
pushed herself up on one elbow and leaned over me, smiling that
sexy smile that made every part of me jump to attention. I grinned
back. “Good morning, Beautiful.”

She arched one eyebrow and eyes
searched my face. “Is it? A good morning, I mean. How are you
feeling?” Her hand went to my forehead as if checking my
temperature and then drifted down to my cheek.

“Don’t you know by now—waking up
next to you always makes everything ok.”

She rolled her eyes and slapped my
chest playfully. “Whatever. Want me to go get you a water or
coffee?”

I grabbed her hand before she
could sit up and pull away. “No. All I need right now is you.” I
gave her a tug, pulling her body on top of mine, finding her lips.
Screw morning whiskey breath and hangovers. All I wanted right now
was to be buried inside her. She kissed me back and lost herself in
me, responding with an intensity that I’d never gotten from anyone
else. I rolled us over, her back to the bed and me on top, and
pushed my upper body off as my knees moved her thighs
apart.

“Matty, what the…” she trailed
off, voice full of shock, as her fingernail dug into
breastbone.

“What?” I stilled, looking down,
half-afraid of what I might see.

“When did you get that?” Her eyes
were wide with surprise as her hand moved to the Claddagh tattoo
over my heart, but it was the trinity knot that she was
tracing.

“Last fall.” It was a simple
trinity, winding in and around the symbol of love, loyalty, and
friendship that mattered so much to me. But, somehow, I knew it
wasn’t just the trinity that had stolen her words.

“August 9, 2002.” Fingertips light
on my flesh traced the dates as she whispered them. “July 26,
2013.” Her eyes moved up to mine, questioning. She had no idea what
they meant, but I knew they seemed familiar and her mind was
churning, trying to figure it out.

I grabbed her hand, not taking my
eyes off hers, and moved her finger back to the first date
permanently etched on my heart. “Not the day I met you, but the day
everything changed. That’s the day I told Rob what a pain in the
ass you were and how fucking insane you made me. He laughed and
told me I was crazy about you. Lookin’ back, that’s the day I fell
in love with you.”

Tears filled her eyes. I slid our fingers to
the second date. “It took almost eleven years, but this is the day
that you told me you loved me back.” A single drop fell from her
eyes and my thumb caught it, stroking her cheek. She needed to hear
it all.

“When you left, I had to find a
way to carry you forever. I needed to remember that it took eleven
long miserable years for you to realize you loved me too, and that
no matter how long it took, you’d remember again. Until then, I
needed to see a piece of you every time I looked in the mirror.
These were two of the best days in my life.”

Her face was soft and she was
biting her lip, driving me insane, but I needed to finish this.
Then, I could nibble on her flesh all I wanted. “And this,” I
pulled her fingers to the bottom of the trinity, the dateless band,
“this is where I’m going to put our wedding date.”

Her eyes grew huge, and she pulled
her fingers away. “What?”

I pulled the ring off my pinky,
holding it up to her. “This was my mom’s.” She knew the story, I’d
told her years ago, but it didn’t seem right to not tell it again.
“It was her dad’s. And his dad’s before that. It goes back for
generations.” The ring showed serious wear, but it was still
beautiful. Crown, heart, and hands etched into the thin silver
band, darkened by age.

“When the eldest son came of age,
his father would pull him aside and tell him that when found a
woman that he would stay loyal to, one that he would love for
eternity, and most importantly, a woman he would be friends with
until the end, and, as long as she would return all three, then he
was to give her this ring immediately and marry her.”

Jo looked confused, but I
continued. “I married Becky because she was pregnant with my kid
and it was the right thing to do. I never offered her this ring
because I never knew if I would be able to stay loyal to her.” I
swallowed, knowing what an ass that made me sound like. I could see
the question on her face and needed to answer it before she asked.
“Taylor never would have gotten this ring either, because she is
none of those things.” A look of anger passed over Jo’s face, and I
leaned down, pushing my lips against hers.

I pulled back again, planting a
quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “This ring has been meant for
your finger for the last twelve years, Jo. I will be loyal to you
until the day I die, I will love you longer than eternity, and you
will be my best friend until the end of time. You don’t have to
take it now, but I’m gonna ask anyway. Just know, even if you say
no, I’ll hold onto it until you’re ready.”

I could feel her heartbeat
pounding wildly beneath me, but she didn’t move a muscle. “Joes, my
beautiful, hilarious, stubborn Joes… You have always been mine.
Let's make it legal. Marry me?”

She was going to say no. I could
see it in the scowl that wrinkled her forehead and the unvoiced
concern in her eyes. I fought down the disappointment, even though
I’d known it was a possibility. I’d hoped that she wouldn’t fight
the inevitable because we were always going to end up here one day.
She took a deep breath, ready to launch into whatever lecture she
was going to give, and I had to force myself not to lean over and
kiss her senseless.

Instead, I cut her off. “I know
you’re worried that we won’t be able to fix us. But, we can. You
have tons of questions, and I promise I’ll answer every single one.
You’re scared about the club, my life, and worried there isn’t a
place for you here. Joes, you need to know that you are my life.
I’m a dick with a bad attitude, and I’m gonna do stupid shit. But I
will never be stupid enough to let you go again. I told you, I’ll
be here when you’re ready. Take as long as you need.”

Tears filled her eyes and
the tension left her face. “I love you, more than I ever thought it
would be possible to love someone.” Her voice was a
whisper
.
I
inhaled. Here we go. “I want nothing more than to be yours
forever.” I held my breath as she bit her bottom lip and closed her
eyes. When she opened them, they were filled with nothing but love.
“Of course I’ll marry you!” 

I stared down at her, almost
afraid to breathe again because I was sure she was going to change
her mind. But, she only stared back. Holy shit. I couldn’t breathe.
I don’t know how, but I found her ring finger and slid the circle
on, almost surprised that it fit. It was a little loose, but we’d
figure it out. Right now, there was only one thing I wanted to
do
.

Chapter 23

Matty

I paused, mesmerized as I looked
down at the beautiful woman in my bed. I was terrified that if I
blinked she’d disappear, that this would all be a dream. I couldn’t
really be this lucky, right? I had done nothing to deserve someone
like her. In fact, I’d done just the opposite, and at any moment
fate was going to step in and say, “Ha-ha, just kidding!” The
thought scared me shitless, freezing me in place.

She lifted an eyebrow, watching me as intently
as I was her, and then smirked. “Well…” she trailed off as her
finger tips climbed up my arms, “I thought I’d at least get a kiss
when I said yes.”

I laughed, leaning down to press
my lips against hers. I met her eyes, knowing that she’d see the
hunger mine were barely containing. She shifted her legs to the
outside of mine and thrust herself against me. She’d seen the look,
all right, and she wanted what it had promised.

There were still way too many
pieces of clothing between us. I pushed away, sitting back on my
knees, and yanked her shirt up and over her head. She pulled her
knees to her chest, as if giving me permission to remove her
panties, but I was too impatient, ripping them off
instead.

She yelped in surprise and then
giggled as she wrapped her legs around my waist and tugged me down
on top of her. “Better?” Her words held a teasing note, but I
couldn’t do anything more than grunt a response. Her hands had
wound themselves tightly in my hair, fingers digging into my scalp,
and her heels were grinding into my ass cheeks as if she were
trying to make sure I didn’t move.

I framed her head with my
forearms, trying to hold some of my weight off her. The move made
my chest push into her perfect tits, nipples hard in anticipation.
I fucking loved feeling her like this. Skin on skin was the only
way I ever wanted to be with Jo. “So fuckin’ much!”