My girl nodded as she scanned the room, her expression puzzled.
“We’ll make sure to get you some excellent clothes for dates. There are a lot of single guys here and—”
“She’s off-limits,” I growled.
Cat shrugged with a laugh. “Good to know. Guess we'll spread the word.” Then she winked at me, and I inclined my head in thanks.
I didn’t like Erin walking around without my name stamped on her. I’d considered handing Erin my cut and telling her to put it on, but her past had held me back. From what she’d told me, being the old lady of a Devil’s Jester was not a good life unless you were as hard and ruthless as the patches. I had a feeling Erin would be wary of letting an MC patch brand her, even if it was temporary and not an official property patch.
“You’re in charge of cooking?” Erin asked.
Cat shrugged again as she pulled a tray of biscuits from the oven. “I love to cook, so I tend to take over more often. But if I’m not up for it or unavailable, someone else is always willing to feed everyone. Even a few of the guys like to take a turn.” She walked over, leaned in conspiratorially, and stage whispered, “I don’t really have a modest bone in my body, so I’ll admit, I hate it that Dash’s pot roast is better than mine.”
“The men cook?” Erin appeared completely floored by this information.
“Sure, they have to earn their keep, too”—Cat winked at Erin—“which means keeping the old ladies happy.”
“I’d like to show her around, but she’s hungry,” I told Cat.
She swept an arm toward the table spanning the back of the kitchen that could easily seat forty people. “No problem.”
I led Erin over and helped her into a chair before sitting next to her. Barely a minute later, Cat placed a steaming bowl of clam chowder and a plate with biscuits in front of each of us.
“Holy cow. They never cook anything like this at the Devil’s Jester clubhouse,” Erin breathed after her first bite.
“It’s certainly a step up from military chow.”
“I heard someone say you’d been in the military,” Erin said hesitantly. “If you don’t mind me asking something so personal.”
“You can ask me anything you want, baby. To you, I’m an open book.”
Erin’s cheeks tinged with pink as she smiled.
“To answer your question. Yes, I was an Army Ranger. Hooah.”
“Is that how you got your nickname?”
“Mostly.” I went on to tell her a little about my time in the service, and slowly, she began to relax.
After she was done eating her dinner, I gave her a tour of the clubhouse. Our last stop was the tattoo shop, Silver Ink, owned by the club and where I worked.
“You’re an artist?” Erin asked as she eagerly looked around at the artwork on the walls. “Wow! Are these all yours?”
I laughed, delighted at her enthusiasm. “No, baby. I’m one of five artists, but about a third of these designs are mine.”
“That’s so cool. I’ve always wanted a tattoo.”
My cock swelled when I realized that not only was her pussy a virgin, so was her skin. Which meant I would be the first and only man to own both.
“Once we get everything settled, we’ll work on something special for you, and I’ll do it.”
“Really?” Her face lit up, and she practically bounced on the balls of her feet, making me grin.
Damn, I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled this much. Erin was so genuine and interested, it was refreshing. I’d known I wanted her the second I laid eyes on her, but as I spent time with her, I became more intrigued by her personality. She was everything I’d been searching for, and I hadn’t even realized it.
Eventually, her eyes grew heavy, and I guided her back to my room. I pulled out a gray T-shirt that said “Army” on the front and tossed it to her. “You can sleep in that tonight.”
“Um, Patriot?”
“Call me Patrick, baby,” I said as I found her a clean towel.
“Patrick?”
I laughed at her perplexed expression. “Yeah, my name is Patrick O’Bannon.”
“No, I mean, okay, but you want me to call you Patrick?”
“Get ready for bed, baby. I’ll be back in a bit.” I didn’t answer her question because it would’ve led to a discussion she wasn’t ready for yet.
When I returned, she was fast asleep, so I stripped to my boxers and climbed into bed. After wrapping my woman in my arms, I fell asleep. The next morning, I was shocked to realize I’d slept through the night. The last time that happened had been before my first deployment.
7
Erin
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went shopping with Cat and Bridget, but it definitely wasn’t for us to be gone all day. Or for them to pressure me into buying whatever I wanted. By the time we returned to the Silver Saints clubhouse, my belly was full of tacos, chips, and salsa, and I had too many bags to carry in by myself. Staring at the pile in the back of Cat’s SUV, I started to freak out a little. “I didn’t realize how much stuff I got. Are you absolutely, positively sure that Patriot wanted me to buy all of this?”