Tonight, I was excited to be going to the clubhouse again. The guys wanted to celebrate. They said they hadn’t done it for a while. In fact, they were going to relax tonight and then next weekend, invite the Dublin Falls members and a few others over to have a barbeque and fun. Bear told me he wanted to introduce me to them. I was nervous. What if they didn’t like me?
I found the more I heard about the other Warriors and their friends, the more I wanted to meet them, especially the three women he’d mentioned to me—the ones who had been raped like me. I wanted to see how they were dealing with what happened to them. I might not ask them, but I could watch them. Bear tried to reassure me they all were happy and well adjusted, and that no one treated them differently either.
I was a little concerned about leaving Hope with someone. However, the other ladies were going to have their babies with sitters. The two ladies and one guy they had coming were the ones who watched them when they worked. Their husbands watched the kids a lot, when they could, but they couldn’t manage that all the time. Somehow, Bull had found this trio of two sisters and their brother, who had run a daycare, but then had stopped doing it when they came to town. They had considered opening one here, but Bull convinced them they would make more if they became the exclusive sitters for the club. I got the impression the club was generous, especially if it was outside normal daycare hours. Elizabeth, Emma, and Elias Fuller were funny and had a great way with kids. I watched them in action earlier in the week. Bear promised we’d check on Hope to be sure she was doing fine. We weren’t leaving the compound and the kids would be here. It made me feel much calmer about the whole thing.
I took a last look and walked out into our bedroom. He had Hope dressed and on the bed. He was playing with her. I took a moment to watch and admire my man. He was dressed in his usual jeans, t-shirt, biker boots, and his cut. He looked hot with his hair slicked back and that scruff on his face. I could feel my nipples getting hard. Damn, I needed to learn to keep that under control.
Bear had dressed Hope in a new outfit he’d ordered for her. It was a onesie with a gauzy tutu around the waist. It was black and had a small white skull and crossbones with turquoise bows on the upper crossbones like it was hair. It said, Daddy’s Little Badass, in turquoise. He’d paired it with tiny jeans and biker boots. Her hair was pulled up in two small ponytails and they had bows to match the ones on the onesie. She looked so adorable, I wanted to scream.
I moved closer and Bear looked up. His eyes ran up and down my body. I waited to see what he’d say. In addition to ordering Hope’s outfit, he’d gotten me some clothes. I was wearing some of them. I would call them biker babe clothes. They were sexy and made me feel great. I hoped he liked them as much as I did. They weren’t anything like I’d worn before.
I had on jeans, which wasn’t unusual, though they were much nicer and had a little bling on the back pockets. The top had sheer mesh long sleeves. It was black and laced up the front like a corset with tiny eyelets up both sides. With it cinched, it showed off my curves and my breasts peeked out at the top. I wasn’t hanging out, but it was sexy. It reminded me of those bodices on old-fashioned dresses in the late eighteen hundreds you see in movies.
To go with the edgier look, I left my hair down and straight with just a little height at the crown. My makeup was darker, and I’d contoured my face with more makeup. My jewelry was simple dangle earrings and a fine necklace that hung between my breasts. He’d also ordered me a pair of black riding boots. They had a heel and laced up the front. I loved them. They made me feel like a badass and sexy. I turned around in a circle.
“What do you think?”
He got up and sat Hope down on the floor. She came over to me and clutched my leg. “Momma, pwetty.”
Bear pressed against me. I could feel him getting hard. He kissed me and whispered, “Momma is more than pretty. She’s fucking gorgeous. I’m so damn lucky. Wanna skip this and stay in bed?”
I laughed and pushed him away. “No, you got me these and I want to show them off. I love the clothes. They’re not my typical style, but they’re great. And Hope looks adorable.” I bent down and picked her up. She giggled and gave me a kiss. Before we left, I made sure I had everything she might need, then we walked over to the clubhouse. It was dark and the music was playing. The kids would be in the basement. It was all fixed up for them.
As we walked, Bear cleared his throat. “There’s one thing I want to warn you about. You’ll probably see it later and definitely you will next weekend. When we party, the bunnies and sometimes hang arounds come.” He saw my puzzled look when he said hang arounds.
“Hang arounds are people from town who come, wanting to party. They’re mainly women who want to hook up with a biker. My single brothers will be partaking of what is offered later. They might not be the most reserved about it.” He paused then continued, “Hell, I’ll just say it. You might see them having sex or doing shit. If their partner doesn’t care, most of them don’t either. It’s all fun and consensual. When that happens, we can leave. I just don’t want you to be caught off guard. Next weekend, the other clubs will probably bring some of their bunnies with them to party too.”
I stopped outside the clubhouse. “Thank you for telling me. I would have been caught off guard. As for what we’ll do when that starts, I think leaving will be my response. I won’t judge what they do. They’re adults and single. If everyone is okay with it, then fine. However, they won’t do that when the kids are around, will they? I don’t want Hope seeing anything like that, even at this age.”
“No! No, they won’t ever do it in front of the kids, I promise,” he hurried to assure me.
“I haven’t met or seen the bunnies here. I know you’ve been with them. Do they all know you’re taken? Will I have to contend with them or the hang arounds you’ve been with, being inappropriate with you?”
“Baby, if they do, I’ll put them straight. I think the bunnies know, but I haven’t talked to any of them. I’ve stayed away when they’ve been here. There will be no inappropriate shit. I promise. Remember, it’s just us, no one else.” He pulled me close and gave me a kiss. It helped to calm my agitation. I didn’t know how I’d react if the women he’d been with made a play for him or said something to me. I hoped they’d stay away from us.
I took a deep breath as he opened the door. Inside, it was just the guys and the old ladies. They had the babies still with them. The music was playing, but not horribly loud. For the next half hour, we mingled and laughed. It was nine o’clock when Emma, Elizabeth, and Elias showed up. They got something to drink, non-alcoholic of course, and chatted for a little bit. At nine thirty, they said they’d take the kids downstairs. I had to go with them. Bear just smiled at me. I was glad to see the other moms and dads did the same.
When we got back upstairs, the music got louder, and the alcohol came out. I wasn’t drunk two hours later, but I was feeling good. Earlier after we came back from taking Hope downstairs, Bear had hollered for everyone to shut up. When they got done razzing him, they did quiet down. He had me standing with him. I had no idea what he was going to say. What he did say, floored me.
He turned to me and gave me a loving look. “Ilara, you know I love you and that I’ve already claimed you as my old lady.” I nodded. He had told me. More than once. “Well, as an old lady, you need to have something official telling others that. Like the other ladies here have.” I looked at them. That’s when their property cuts registered with me. The ladies had explained what they were last week when I saw one of them with hers on. My heart raced. Was he going to give me one?
He reached behind him and picked up a gift bag on the table. I hadn’t even noticed it. He handed it to me. I opened it with shaking hands and took out a leather piece. It was a cut! I unfolded it and held it up. A thrill shot through me seeing Property of Bear on the back, and on the front, in tiny cursive writing was my nickname. He’d chosen Beloved. I loved when he called me that. I gave a girly squeal, which had everyone laughing as I went to put it on. Bear took it away from me and held it open. I slid my arms into the holes and felt it envelope me. I instantly felt secure. As everyone cheered and offered their congratulations, Bear kissed the hell outta me and I did the same to him. I was still riding that high now.
I was having fun. Jocelyn and the other ladies had gotten me up to dance with them. We were acting silly and showing off our dance moves. I’d gotten so into the fun, I forgot that the bunnies and hang arounds might be coming. My first awareness of them was when I heard Jessica curse. I looked at her and then to where she was staring.
I swung around and saw six women coming through the door. They were all different heights—different looks and hair and ranged in age from early twenties to thirties. But what they all did have in common was too much makeup, barely there clothes that left nothing to the imagination, and stripper heels. My mouth fell open. Was this what Bear and the others liked? If so, how in the hell did he ever look at me? Even sexed up as I thought I was tonight, I was nothing like them.
I leaned over to Jocelyn. “Is that them?” She nodded. She knew who I was referring to. “What in the hell does he see in me?” I asked. I thought I’d said it low enough, but she heard me. She gave me a stern look.
“He sees a beautiful, strong, sexy woman who doesn’t have to cheapen herself to get a man. If he wanted that, he could have had any of them years ago. Same way with Bull and the others. Men will take sex however they can get it. Their emotions don’t seem to get involved unlike most women. We need more than sex to be with someone. We can’t compare ourselves to them. We got the men, not them. Pray one day they’ll wake up and realize they need to change in order to get someone they can probably be happy with.”
Her words helped me beat back the sense of insecurity that had come over me. Madisen smirked. “You have Property of Bear on you, Beloved, they don’t. Own that shit, girl.” She shimmied her hips. That got all of us laughing. I turned my back on the bunnies and their friends. I went back to dancing with the girls. I saw Bear was in the corner with a beer. He was talking to Maverick. I blew him a kiss which he returned, much to Maverick’s delight.
As we danced, I noticed the bunnies breaking off and going over to different men. So far, no one had approached the taken men. I saw a few of the single brothers with an arm around one of the ladies. I shrugged and got back into the discussion with the old ladies. We were trying to decide what to do for the party next weekend and Thanksgiving next month.
My bladder soon told me that I needed to go to the bathroom or risk wetting myself. I told the girls I’d be back, and I raced down the hall. It was a relief when I went. I cleaned up, checked my face in the mirror, and was coming back up the hall, when I bumped into one of the bunnies or maybe she was a hang around. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. If you’re looking for the bathroom, it’s the third door on the right,” I told her nicely. No need to be a bitch.
She looked me up and down. Her eyes landed on my cut. Her lip curled up in a sneer. “I know where the damn bathroom is. I’ve been here before. I saw you out on the dance floor. You think that property cut means anything? These guys are bikers. Bikers like sex and they don’t care who they get it from. Being an old lady isn’t getting you exclusive rights to him. I’ve been with Bear several times. I know what his sexual appetite is like. You have no hope of satisfying him. I’ll be seeing him soon. I’ll make sure he’s more than satisfied when I send him back to little ole you.”