I hear my Cindy in my head, ‘You love her, handsome. She loves you. You have each other now, I can finally rest knowing you're both happy. I love you. Always will I love you, but it's time to move on. Don't feel guilty, my love, she's the one. Goodbye, Sam.’
‘Goodbye, Cindy.’
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. It's time to finally let go and let Cindy rest.
I know Cindy would be happy. She'd be happy and that's all that matters. She's finally at peace. Now it's time to really move on with the woman I love.
And I do love her.
I love Willow more than anything in this world. Why shouldn't I tell her how I feel?
I smile to myself.
I kiss Willow's head. “I love you, too, Willow. More than you could ever know.”
Chapter Nine
Hammer
“Do you like it?”
“It's perfect, baby girl.”
Willow smiles at me excitedly through the floor-length mirror on the tattoo studio wall. I brought her here a couple hours ago to get her ink. The same shop where most of us get our tats. We have an in-house tattooist, Roman, do the work we want most of the time, but he's not always available, and this is where Tank brought Nova for hers, so I figured here would be a good place as any to bring Willow.
Roman won't be happy about it, but he's too damn busy right now to stamp my girl with the ink she wanted. So he'll just have to deal with it.
The tattoo Willow chose was simply: Property Of Hammer, written in an arch on her left shoulder. Two hammers crossed over with snakes entwining them. The same snakes each member of the Snakes Henchmen has on his patch and brand. Diamonds for eyes, pistol smoke coming out of their mouths. It's basically our patch but hammers instead of pistols.
To make up the bottom rocker of her patch it has the clubs name and Tennessee scrawled across it. The perfect cut. Sounds like a huge tat, but it's not. It's perfect. Sits proudly across her shoulder and down her shoulder blade.
My old lady inked. Damn, she's fucking hot.
She designed the tattoo herself before we got here. Of course, it needed to represent our patch, she just wanted to interpret her own little stamp, hence the hammers. She didn't need to go all out like this, but she wanted more than simply the words.
Just like Nova when she got a snake and its diamond eyes wrapped around Property Of Tank.
I don't think I've ever seen one as hot as Willow's.
Of course, I know why she wanted something so elaborate, she didn't want the same tattoo as Cindy. Cindy simply had Property Of Hammer. She couldn't take the pain for more.
Not that I'd want Willow to have the same tattoo as Cindy. I wouldn't have expected that anyway.
“I love it!” I chuckle as she jumps up and down like an excited child.
With the tattoo covered and her top back on, she comes running over to me. She jumps into my arms. Her arms around my neck, her legs around my waist, and she kisses me like it's the most natural thing in the world to do. But, of course, it is.
“Is it weird,” she whispers in my ear, “that it turned me on like crazy having that needle buzz into my skin?”
“My own little kinky girl, huh?”
She nods and laughs. “Now show me yours.”
I set her on her feet with a smile on my face. She hadn't known I was going to do this until we walked through the door. But I am hers as much as she's mine. She's the only person I have ever done this for, apart from my parents. I didn't even do this for Cindy. I don't know why I didn't, it just never happened.
I take off my cut and hand it to her. She holds it close to her chest with a smile on her face while I remove my t-shirt. She's wide-eyed as I peel back the tap holding the covering against my skin that protects my new tattoo.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, Hammer,” I smile as she stares at the Willow tree tattooed over my heart. She stops herself from reaching out and touching it. “Property of Willow. Why did you do this?” She looks up at me.
I cup her cheek and stroke my thumb under her eye. “I meant what I said. We belong together. You marked yourself for me, it's only right that I did the same.”
“But you didn't do this for Cindy. Why me?”
I smile and lean in to kiss her softly. “Because you are everything.” She has a stunning smile on her face, but I need say no more about it.
I recover my tattoo, pull my t-shirt over my head. She hands me my cut, which I slip on just in time to catch her as she jumps in my arms.
I laugh and kiss her. It's so good to see her smiling like this.
“I can't believe you did this, Hammer. But I am so happy you did.”
“I'd do anything for you.” She smiles knowingly and slams her mouth against mine while grinding her hot little pussy against my rock hard cock.
Damn, if she keeps this up, we won't make it out the damn door and I need to get her to the safe house.
I made her call into work and tell them she wasn't ready to come back after all. I don't know how long she's gonna be at the safe house and I can't have her out there, even to work. Even if I had ten prospects following her, half the damn MC, I won't risk anything happening to her.
When we arrive at the safe house, her mother is outside waiting for us. The relief on her face is evident when her eyes slide shut for a second. She opens them with a smile and holds her arms open to her daughter. Willow runs into her mother's arms, laughing and talking a mile a minute.
The look Lynette shoots my way doesn't go unnoticed. She's not happy with me for taking Willow and making her mine. God help me when Shepard finds out. Willow may not be his daughter by blood, but she's as good as. He loves her as his own and always has. After everything she's been through, he's been extra protective of her. He'll hit the damn roof when he finds out she's already got my ink on her body. Something she put off for years with Trace.
It's crazy we both did that. There must have been a reason deep down, but I guess we'll never know what that reason is.
The only reason Shepard let Trace live was that they spoke alone for a few moments, and for some reason, Shepard came out of the room a lot more understanding than when they went in. Every biker in the place thought the Prez would come out covered in blood having cut the man to pieces. Not like it hasn't happened before. Shepard might well be the man every woman trusts, but he's an evil fuck when he needs to be. But there was something about Trace that stopped him from hurting him any more than I already had.
Willow. That's what stopped him.
I only hope Shepard's not too hard on me for this. Somehow, I know he's gonna knock my damn teeth down my throat. But it worked for Tank when he claimed Nova, he made Shepard see that he wouldn't give up his girl for anything. I'll make him see the same damn thing.
If he can let Trace live after cheating on Willow, he's got no right to do anything to me for claiming her.
“Are you coming inside?”
“No, baby girl,” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me. “I need to get to the clubhouse, but I'll be back tonight. Don't worry,”
“I'm not worried,” She tells me as she wraps her arms around my neck, standing on her tiptoes. “I'm worried what Daddy is gonna say about this. If he makes you choose...”
“He won't do that.” I have no idea if he will or not. But I don't want her to worry about it. “I'll be home soon, baby.”
“I love you.” She says it so effortlessly. I love that about her.
“I love you, too.” I kiss her again. “Go inside with your mother. Ratchet and Buzz will be outside until we return.” One more kiss and she walks inside with her mother, who's still giving me that all-knowing look. And if looks could kill, I'd be dead.
Charming.
I've been here for hours. Hours while the whole club tries to sort through this mess. But there's something more going on. Shepard is fuming, but he won't tell us why. He's yelled a lot, banged his damn fist a lot. Something's really gotten to him.
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