He stared at me and didn’t answer. I took that to mean yes. “Donovan, that’s a lot to take in. I need to think about it. Please, let’s just eat and then I’ll let you know when I’m done thinking.”
“Please, don’t let this change anything. I’d never hurt you or Hope. I’ll protect you. If that means I had to kill someone to do it, I would. I’m being honest with you. We don’t hurt innocent people. I want you to remember that while you’re thinking. I pray to God you don’t hold that against me. I think if you walked away, it might just kill me.” His face was full of sincerity. It awed me that he felt like that after only knowing me for a few days.
I nodded. “Okay, I’ll remember that. Come on. Let’s see what you have to eat here. Maybe I can recommend some new items for the menu,” I teased him to get over the somber moment. He let me do it.
Once we got inside, I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere was more upscale in the restaurant section. In the bar, it was more relaxed, but still nice. It wasn’t a dive bar. I saw they had a dance floor and a stage. I pointed to it as our hostess took us to our table. There was no waiting for Bear. As soon as she saw him, she came to attention and was all over us. I guess when the boss came to eat, you didn’t fool around.
“Do you have bands here? Or is that just for a DJ or the jukebox I see in the corner?”
He pulled out my chair so I could sit. The hostess set a high chair at the end for Hope. As soon as I was seated, he put her in it and buckled her in securely. He sat down beside me instead of across from me. “It’s for bands. We have them on Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the nights it’s the jukebox. Occasionally, a guest DJ might come in and play too.”
“That’s awesome. I bet it attracts a lot of people.”
“It does. What would you like to drink, baby?” he asked. The hostess was still standing there. She was watching Bear and her eyes got big when he called me baby.
“I’ll have water with no lemon and could we have a small milk for Hope?”
“Sure, baby, we can do that. Taylor, I’ll have an iced tea, no sugar, a milk and iced water, no lemon.”
“I’ll get that right away, Bear.” She hurried off after giving me one more searching look.
“She’s wondering who the hell I am, Bear.”
“She is and she’ll soon learn who you are. I want everyone to know you’re gonna be mine, Ilara.”
I didn’t know what to say. We chatted about the bar for a few minutes until Taylor came back. As she was setting down the glasses, Bear casually leaned over and kissed me. He didn’t make it a peck on the mouth either. He went for it. When he was done, I was a little breathless and Taylor was frozen. He looked at her.
“Is there something you need, Taylor? Oh, how rude, I didn’t introduce you ladies. Ilara, baby, this is Taylor. She’s been our hostess for a few years. Taylor, this is my woman, Ilara, and her daughter, Hope.” He tickled Hope, making her giggle when he said her name. Taylor’s mouth was hanging open. She quickly shut it and pasted a fake smile on her face.
“Hello, nice to meet you. Let me know if you need anything else, Bear. Your server will be right with you.” She smiled at him and walked off. I swear she put some sway in her walk. I glanced at him. He wasn’t paying any attention. I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I was going to.
“Did you and Taylor date or something?”
He gave me a wide-eyed look. “What the hell? No, we didn’t date or something. Why would you ask me that?”
“Because she was eating you up with her eyes and she wasn’t happy when you said I was your woman. I think she’s got a thing for you, Bear.” Taylor was an attractive woman; I’d say in her early thirties. I could see them together.
“God, no. I’ve never seen her like that. Warriors don’t casually do that shit with our employees. If there ever is an exception, it’s like Rebel and Madisen or Ajax and Jessica. It’s only done when we’re serious about claiming the woman. I think you’re imagining Taylor having a crush or whatever on me.” He scoffed.
“Okay, if you wanna be oblivious, that works for me. I don’t want you seeing anyone but me,” I confessed to him.
He smiled. “You’re all I see. No worries. Now, let’s see what you like on this menu and we’ll get my ladies fed.”
The rest of our lunch went by without incident, other than people staring at us, especially the employees. I knew Taylor had run to tell them who I was. When we were done, we headed back to the compound. I didn’t think I could have stood to shop anywhere else. It had been exhausting.
When we pulled into the compound, I saw more bikes at the clubhouse. He drove past them and to his house. I saw my car was parked outside. He got out then got Hope out. He wouldn’t let me help him with the bags. He said he’d take care of them. Before he did, he sent off a text to someone. I wasn’t sure what that was about.
By the time he was done with the bags, he gave me a hug and kiss. “Tate is coming to help me unload your car. I’ll put it all in one of the other bedrooms. You can sort through it at your leisure.”
“Donovan, you don’t need to unload my car. I can do it. Are you sure you want me to bring it in the house? Do you have a storage place or something? It’s going to clutter things up and take up space.”
“Honey, I want your stuff in the house. Take all the room you want. If you need more, tell me. If there are things you wanna get rid of, set them aside and we’ll take them to Goodwill.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t maybe stay in the clubhouse or something?”
“Hell no, you’re not staying at the damn clubhouse! You’re staying with me. Do you think I want those horny brothers of mine thinking you’re up for grabs? I’d hate to have to kill one of my own, but if they do that, I’ll have no choice,” he growled.
I laughed at him and gave him a kiss this time. “Crazy man, no one is going to do that. Okay, you asked for it. If I take up all your space, with all the stuff you bought today added, it’s your own fault,” I told him happily as I skipped out of his reach. He laughed and chased me. That’s what we were doing when Tate showed up to help. Wow, things had really changed in the last twenty-four hours for me. I only hoped it wasn’t a big dream. Even knowing he hadn’t always been on the right side of the law and killed didn’t seem to be deterring me one bit. Maybe I had lost my mind.