Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 74

Carter

3 hours later

I held Briar's hand as Willow worked; she didn’t even flinch as the ink penetrated into layers of pristine skin. When Willow had her roll over, she draped her shirt over her breasts and I eyed Juan, who paid no mind, too focused on his work. He’d probably seen enough tits working here he wasn’t phased. To my surprise, Briar fell asleep as Willow etched the lines of the realistic dragonfly just over her shoulder near her collarbone. Briar seemed pleased with the outcome. The realistic cluster of dandelions had depth and dimension. The seeds were blowing over her shoulder in a swirl around the dragonfly. Black and grey with the faintest color bringing the dragonfly to life. It suited her. 

Her mood had lightened, and she seemed more relaxed. She kissed my cheek and thanked me,  as we got back on the bike to head back home. I checked my phone before starting the engine.

Mazzie: Moonlight ride with my crew, bring your girl

The cavalry had assembled.

Carter: We will be there

“So Mazzie just invited us to a moonlit ride with the girls, what do you think?”

“What about training?”

“It’s just one day, we will work double tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan I will regret later, but OK, sounds like a blast,” she said, smiling at me over my shoulder as I looked at her. I revved the engine and off we went.

We grabbed a quick dinner at my sister’s diner after getting Briar’s bag from the shop. Then went to meet the girls at Diago's bar. It was Lana’s favorite place, and the girls liked to hang out there together.

“Look who finally showed up!” Lana teased. “Good thing, too. You can take over bike watch so I can pee, come on, Briar, the girls are dying to meet you properly,” she said, hooking arms with her and dragging her inside. 

I was used to watching the bikes while the girls chattered and did what girls do best: primped and gossiped. I sat back on the bike and relaxed. My mind drifted to everything Briar had told me. I didn’t like it, but with the bond to him holding on, it made sense. She couldn’t help but feel the instinctual allure of him, if only she knew that was all it was; that she had another choice. But to do that, I needed to pull out her wolf. I had seen it in her quickly gaining endurance, in the strength of her punches, and the tautness and sinew of her rapidly forming muscles; only a wolf could progress so quickly with training. There was also her keen ability to anticipate my attacks; she was a fast learner, and the bags and sparring would come next. Watching her progression had become a new addiction of mine. In just a few weeks, she was already months ahead of where anyone else would expect her to be.

Mazzie came out in her skin-tight, cropped jeans, and her hair and makeup done up like a pin-up girl. The hard, yet feminine, look suited her, and she was smiling.

“See your girl saw Willow today.”

I grinned, “Yeah, she did. I never thought much about her ‘healing’ specialty, but it seems to have rubbed off on Briar. I dunno, her spirit seems lighter.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a half bottle of whisky just to stop my inner murderer, and put me to bed, but she's happy right now, so that's all that matters. She wasn’t mad at me, she thought I’d have second thoughts once I knew the details,” I paused, not saying the words out loud that didn’t need to be said. “Trouble is, things would be simpler if I could just tell her.” 

Mazzie gave me a sympathetic look. 

“Thanks for doing this, Maz, it means a lot.”

“No sweat, the girls are excited to meet her. She’s been the talk of the town and all. I think it’s important if we are trying to build her relationships in the pack, she starts with the right people, and I must say, my girls fit the bill.”

“That they do,” I said, before the sounds of revving bikes interrupted us. Mazzie’s and my eyes met, this was trouble.