X~Talia~X
I was up worrying all night.
Tig said we were going to have a nice night in just to spend time with one another, but he didn't come home and he wasn't in bed this morning either. No call, no text, no note on the door. No contact all night was never a good sign and I was thinking of all the worst possible outcomes. I knew going to the clubhouse wouldn't be a good idea because nobody answered when I called and I thought about phoning Gem to see if she knew what the hell was going on, but I doubted she'd know. This is why I hated being in the dark about what the boys were up to. Something could go wrong and they'd need my help, but I wouldn't know where the hell they were!
I managed to go to sleep and having Rouge curled up next to me put me at ease for a bit. She obviously missed me and I got to see Buffy and Fang's big family in the basement too. Half-Sack was knocking on my door this morning and he said he was assigned to watch me last night, but as much as I prodded, he didn't tell me anything about what the Sons did. Someone told him to keep his mouth shut. At least he was loyal. Something happened last night and thanks to Chibs' child blocking, the guys probably wouldn't tell me anything either.
Half-Sack drove me to the Den this morning and Marco and David had everything running smoothly. I loved being my own boss. I had the choice of coming to work whenever I wanted because my business practically ran itself. Since the Den was closed on Sundays and Mondays, I'd probably take the Kittens out on a little Girl's Day, get some new clothes and maybe go out to lunch. If Gemma could stand them for a few hours, I'd love for her to join us.
We just got to TM and I spotted Gemma when Sack pulled in, so I asked her if she'd want me to man the office for her. She got one look at me, or more of what I was wearing, and smirked. Under my cut was a rosy brown off-shoulder top, black combat boots and high-waisted denim shorts. They were very frayed and my right front pocket was cover with a leopard patch. She said she could use a little vacation and told me not to cause too much trouble before she gave me a peck on the cheek.
I really did want to give her a break, but I wanted to stick around the garage to possibly pickup on what the hell happened last night and if snooping didn't work, I was going to pry the info out of Juice. He was as loyal to the Club as I was, but he couldn't keep a secret from me if his life was on the line.
I sat behind the desk and saw that Gem was working on some service forms. I sat down and slid my cut on the chair to get some relief from the insane California heat. I wasn't used to it yet and the office didn't have an AC to cool me off. I started where Gem left of, finishing the rest of the blue stacks of paper. After about 20 minutes of writing, going though the filing cabinets and getting information off the computer, I heard the door open and looked up to see Juice looking at the key rack on the wall. There was a woman waiting at the door and she looked a few years younger than me, probably a college kid. She was drooling over Juice though.
"What are you looking for?" I asked, finishing a check-in report on a Ford Fusion.
"Keys to a red...Camry?" He turned to the brunette, clearly confused on what the hell he was trying to find.
"Civic." The woman sweetly corrected and Juice apologized, making her smile.
I went to the key rack and took the keys with a string of cosmetic charms dangling from it, having mercy on Juice because he had no idea what the hell he was doing. I called Long John and asked him to take the woman to her car. I slowly shut the door and leaned on it, trapping Juice in the office. I noticed a small cut on his cheekbone and frowned at it. Usually, any bruises Juice get come from the boys, but this looked like it came from a bullet grazing and that wasn't any better. Maybe that's why he was so scatterbrained today.
Juice got one look at me and before I could ask him anything, he bolted out the other door into the garage. I looked through the blinds and he was already sliding under a Nissan Sentra.
I got back to work and was going though the few cars that were marked to be repossessed. Today, there was an SUV at a place in the Wahewa Reservation that was going to get taken and I just wrote down the address when I heard the door open again. I didn't look up this time because I thought one of the guys was coming to get a customer's keys again, but I felt strong hands starting to rub my bare shoulders in the best way. I didn't stop working and he started kissing my cheek, going down until he got to the crook of my neck.
"We're gonna get caught in here, Jax." I said softly. I laughed when he curtly pulled back and I turned to face Tig. His eyes were playfully narrowed at me and I couldn't stop smiling because I knew I had him going for a second.
"Of all your options, you pick that little shit?" I nodded and tried to stop smiling, but I couldn't. "You hate blondes."
"You're right. I'd probably go for Chibby. He's got more experience." That made him scoff and me laugh again.
I suddenly remembered that I wasn't supposed to be nice to him because I was still ticked at him bailing on me yesterday and the seriousness hit me like a brick wall. I turned my back to Tig and set the repo paper aside to start on the repair orders.
"I'm sorry about last night, baby." Tig said, but I didn't answer and I heard him sigh. I got up and walked over to another file cabinet to get the right folder, giving him the silent treatment and the cold shoulder. I felt his hands on my hips to pull me against him and his head rested against my cheek, his lips peppering my skin in soft kisses. "I didn't forget about our date. We got tipped off on the NORDS making Meth and dealt with Darby, shit got a little crazy. I'm sorry I didn't home."
"You could've called, sent me a text, shot up a goddamn flare." I mumbled and scolded myself for sounding like, well, a chick. I wasn't normally so emotional or girly, but it was different when it came to him. "You were out all night, you didn't check-in and you had Half-Sack watching me. I was worried sick about you, Tig."
"Tal-" I turned around and saw his eyes soften at the concerned look on my face.
"You could've been all the way in Reno with a bullet in your knee and I wouldn't have known. You could've crashed on 75 and been lying unconscious on the side of the road and I wouldn't have known. Jesus, Tig, you could go out there and die and I wouldn't know unless you tell me something. When you don't come home and I haven't heard from you in hours, I start to worry."
"I'll check-in more, but you don't need to worry about me, angel. I'm always gonna come back to you, promise." His soothing voice made me calm down a bit and he took my cheeks in his hands, kissing my head before bringing me into a hug.
Tig tilted my chin up to look at him and promised again. I sighed and closed my eyes, nuzzling into his hand. Staying mad at him was like trying to breathe in space, it was impossible. Those damn eyes were impossible to hate too. I loved them and how intense they'd get when he was around me. It was like a cosmic explosion was happening in front of him and he was mesmerized by it. To say that Tig loved me would be an understatement. The man was madly and deeply attached to me. I was the same with him, couldn't bare to have him leave me. I don't know what I'd do without him and that's why I was so pissed at him. Forget the date, I just needed to know he was okay when we weren't together.
"I wanna make it up to you." Tig said and I opened my eyes. "Our date, rescheduled for today."
"Really?" I smiled and he did too. It was then that I noticed he didn't have his mechanic shirt on, just his cut and a blue flannel."What are we doing?"
"You'll have to get on my bike and find out." His eyes were watching his fingers twirl a lock of my hair, but he casually glanced at me and he didn't even smirk.
Curiosity peaked with how spontaneous he was being, I grabbed the repo paper and walked out the door. Tig must've went looking for Clay or Bobby to manage the office because he wasn't following me. I saw Half-Sack handing someone tools under a Ford Escape and he smiled at me when I got close.
"Gotta repo for you." He took the paper and read over it, nodding.
"Rat, wanna help me with this?" My eyebrow quirked when he said what was under there, but nobody responded and Half-Sack hit the hood twice.
The brown-haired Prospect rolled out and sat up. He was about to say something to Half-Sack, but he saw me and greeted me first. He called me 'ma'am' and I felt like an old woman. He and Sack piled in the tow truck and I went to Tig's bike. He was ready to go. He gave me his spare helmet and I got on, wrapping my arms around him.
My chin was on his shoulder as we drove down the long roads. One of the things I loved about riding with Tig was that he didn't go slow or tried to be careful when he had me on the back. He drove at a pretty fast speed, sharply cut corners, drove naturally. Sometimes, he'd let the grips go and control the bike with his body weight. He'd always wildly swerve, so I'd laugh and hang on to him tighter.
I wasn't sure if we were out of Charming, but Tig started slowing down until he came to a stop. He took my helmet off and covered my eyes. He was leading me somewhere and when he finally let me see again, we were in what I guessed was a park. There were Weeping Willow trees decorating the clear landscape and near one was a beautiful lake. Under that one was a plaid blanket with lumbar pillow leaning on the tree, a wicker picnic basket and green bottle were sitting in the middle.
My heart was melting at how dedicated Tig was to spending time with me and I hugged him, laughing when he picked me up. He walked us to the blanket and set me down first.
"No Club, no phones, no distractions, just us." Tig promised with a kiss on my head and I felt him start to tug my cut off, doing the same with his. He took out his phones next and I gave him mine. He turned our mobiles off, tucked them in his cut and folded them, then chucked our Burners in the water. He was serious about this.
He opened the basket and pulled out a container with green grapes and cheese, taking out wine glasses next. Tig grabbed the green bottle and showed it to me. Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhônes Reserve Blanc was on it and I had no idea how to pronounce the name, but I knew it was wine.
"Let Dolphins Coat do Ron Reserve Blank." Tig tried and I laughed.
"I never knew you were into this kinda stuff." I said and he poured us glasses, taking out another pair of containers.
"I'm all flowers and chocolates, darlin'." He smirked. "I did ask Gem to help me out though. She made everything and let me borrow the basket."
Tig and I talked about any and everything as we ate, catching up really. He wanted to know everything about my time in Russia and I told him all the details, about how I became friends with some of Rostislav's others pupils. He told me Chibs wouldn't let me start fighting until he was convinced I was healed up, but Half-Sack was going up for some matches soon and I was looking forward to seeing them. I never knew Sack was into fighting. Maybe I could train him.
Gemma made me a chicken salad and Tig looked like he was eating a tuna melt. I'm surprised she didn't make him some of her mouthwatering meatloaf because the man would kill for it. For dessert, we had Chocolate Mousse Brownies and they were delicious. I was definitely asking Gem to make another batch for me. The wine went perfectly with the diced cheese and grapes, but we were shooting them into each others mouths and missed more than we ate.
After our meal, we walked barefoot along the shallow end of the lake and splashed in it a bit. We got back on the blanket and pulled it from under the tree to look at the clouds in the sky. Our legs were up against the trunk as we pointed out what we saw and we saw some very weird things, a 3-headed King Kong cyclops being one of them. My head was on Tig's chest and his arm was curled around me. I had my eyes closed to just enjoy being with him, being close and together like this.
"Sweetheart?" Tig whispered and his arm tightened around me. I hummed in response, feeling very lax and snug. I would've drifted off if he didn't say anything. "I wanna ask you somethin'. It's been on my mind for a while."
"What is it?" Tig didn't answer right away and I looked up at him. He was staring up at the elongated greenish-white leaves, but he sat up on his side. He took my hand and held it tight, his eyes soft with something I couldn't pinpoint. "Tig, you're making me a bit nervous..."
"I love you, Tal...and I want you to get the Crow." He said smoothly and smiled when I sighed in relief. He let go of my hand and trailed it down my side. His fingers were curled around my hip and his thumb was rubbing the patch of skin inches from it. Thinking about it, that was the spot Happy had his newest batch of smiley face tattoos. "Right here...I really want you to, but if you don't wanna get it-"
"Tonight." I cut off his despondent rambling before it got too deep and he laughed, obviously relieved.
Tig hugged me and we were both laughing. Honestly, I've wanted to get that tattoo since we starting dating, but it wasn't in my power to say something about it. He had to make that decision and I'm glad he finally told me because I was starting to get a little nervous about how he felt about me. Tig started playfully nipping at my neck and I was squirming under him, trying to push him off. He was too strong, but I still tried. He kissed me and we were both smiling, but I felt him settle between my legs. His hand was inching up my leg until it got to the button of my shorts and unfastened it.
"Out here?" I managed to ask between our kisses and giggling.
"Mhmm."
"What if someone sees us?"
"I'll make them eat their eyeballs." I giggled and his lips were back on mine, passion starting to overtake the playfulness.
My legs laced around his waist and he pulled his hands from my shorts to trail them under my shirt. I arched up to let him unhook my bra, but I heard someone clear their throat as soon as his fingers were on the latch. I thought it was a park patrolman or something, so I couldn't give a damn if they saw us and Tig didn't stop kissing me either.
"We're not going anywhere, guys." I groaned and let my head drop into the pillow, looking upside-down at Jax and Chibs. The Scot looked at our picnic and nodded in approval while Jax had an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Our hardcore Sergeant-At-Arms spends his free time sneaking off with his girlfriend to go on romantic picnic dates by the lake. How aggressive."
"I'm gonna strangle him one day." Tig said calmly, but he was glaring at a smiling Jax. He rolled off me with an irritated groan and I buttoned my shorts before he helped me up.
"We were callin' you, both of you." Jax started as we walked back to their bikes. "No answer at home, on the cells or Burners. We started to think you guys were dead or something."
"Must've left mine back at the clubhouse." Tig lied, smirking at me, and I slipped my cell out of his cut before pulling mine on.
"What's your excuse, princess?"
"Don't question me, Jackson." He threw his hands up in surrender and I felt my phone buzzing. Chibs nodded his head to the left, so I took that as my cue to give them some space while they talked to Tig. "Hello?"
"Madam Talia? It's me, Nalani." I recognized the frantic voice on the other end and her Kitten name was Kaia. She used to be my Hawaiian girl and one of the 3 I sold to Luann. She, Roxy and Gaia were all pretty sad to leave the Den, but more excited to me making kinky videos with the Saffron Sisters.
"Hey, darlin'. How's the porn business treating you?"
"I want out! Gianni and Yumi do too! Please take us back, Madam Talia! We didn't sign up for this! We're gonna get killed over here!"
"Calm down, sweetheart. I'll be there in a minute." I could still hear her going off when I hung up and the guys were ready to go when I got to them. "Can someone drop me off at Cara Cara?"
"That's where we're headed." Tig answered and I mounted his bike again.
For the entire ride there, I couldn't get Nalani's voice out of my head. She sounded terrified and I had no idea why she'd be so scared. Luann didn't do any dark, savage kind of porn because brutality wasn't her thing. She had her kinky films for certain fetishes, but nothing extreme that would scare the girls.
What the hell was going on over there?