AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It had given Skye pause, a little heart bump. Abby asking the question was an official acknowledgment that Skye had taken the lead on the male submissive they considered one of theirs.
She’d told them she’d keep them in the loop, but nothing was needed at this time. However, there’d been more than a ripple of concern when Ros asked about sending a bouquet and learned the event was being held at the Fallen Angels’ clubhouse compound.
“Tiger wouldn’t take me anywhere I’d be in danger,” she’d signed firmly. “You all know that.”
Familiar with his protective instincts, they’d grudgingly accepted it as truth. Ros still made her promise she’d text throughout the day.
Now Skye arched a brow at Cyn and used her disapproving Vera voice, which made Vera chuckle. “No, you can’t have him. You sound like Bastion.”
“Who do you think I was quoting?” Cyn shot a half-smile at Vera. “Don’t have an aneurysm, HR nazi. He said it before Tiger crossed the threshold. Under his breath. To me, because we were at his desk. No corruptible innocents, aka staff, heard us.”
Vera shook her head, then swept her gaze over Skye. “You look good,” she said.
Skye wondered if she appeared to need the reassurance. She was about to meet Tiger’s blood family, and that relationship seemed rocky. She’d gone for a more conservative look for her, a black tailored skirt with a V-shaped border of lavender embroidery at the front waistline. It matched the simple blouse, the neckline offering a discreet glimpse of lavender lace beneath.
For jewelry, she’d chosen a thumbnail sized silver cross necklace, left to her by a grandmother who’d died before she was old enough to remember her. She’d paired it with smallhoop earrings and amethyst-studded ear cuffs. Three-inch black pumps with narrow heels were the finishing touch.
She wanted to appear calm and in control, in case he needed that steadiness. Usually burying her own nerves was easy, thanks to long practice. Yet even after all these years, entering an unfamiliar social environment could cause a few twinges of anxiety about her communication challenges. Especially if she was anticipating conflict.
Since he was far newer to having that experience, she expected Tiger had thrown up at least once this morning. Or handled his nerves the way a tough biker guy did. Smoking a pack of cigarettes and snarling at anyone unwise enough to cross his path. Squirrels, ants. Dust motes.
Pressing her lips against a smile, she took the carpeted winding staircase down to the foyer. She hadn’t really thought of what he’d be wearing, so absurdly, she expected to see him in much the same outfit he’d worn at the garage. Jeans, T-shirt. Maybe just a little cleaner and less worn.
He was wearing asuit.
The blue dress shirt picked up the color of his eyes, and a pewter Harley pin held a tie with thin stripes of an alternating dark and lighter blue against it. The suit jacket and slacks were a dark gray, the cowboy boots under the slacks a polished black alligator skin.
Now she understood the gleam in Cyn’s eye and the sexual interest Bastion had expressed, since Bastion enjoyed both genders. To the point he didn’t shy away from taking on two subs in the same session.
I’m greedy. If I see two tasty things on the buffet, I’m having them both, before someone else snatches them away.
What she was looking at was more than enough for her. Tiger was exceptional suit porn material.
She was pleased to see he was having an actual conversation with Bastion. Though he had the manners to come in for her, she expected he would have been tempted to appear occupied by the front window view while waiting, self-isolating, making conversation unnecessary. Which was what you did when you couldn’t hear what people were saying to you or understand it.
But Bastion had his computer screen turned around toward Tiger and was typing his side of the conversation. As she came down the steps, she heard Tiger’s responses and realized they were talking about motorcycles. Bastion had been considering getting one. As Tiger responded to his interest, his deep voice echoed through the open foyer. He laughed as Bastion pulled up a mean muscle bike photo.
“Yeah, man, she is a beauty. But that’s a quarter million dollar bike you’re looking at. Definitely not what you buy if you’re just starting to ride.”
Bastion chuckled. “Oh, honey, I’ll just tell Ros I need a bigger raise for my next inevitably exceptional review.”
He was speaking the words as he typed them, making it easier to convey emotional cues. Tiger was already learning to keep his attention on a person’s face, and he did so now, shifting it between Bastion’s expressions and the screen.
The day after she’d visited him at the garage, he'd texted her that he'd finally attended a Total Communication class. His intelligence and will had won out over emotions. She was proud of him.
She knew he had a lot of hard days ahead, though. She’d been mute since she was four years old. So while she hadn’t experienced the hurdles an adult losing their hearing or ability to speak would, she understood that the lifetime of challenges never truly ended. When she’d eventually started volunteering for the community center special needs programs for the newlydeaf, her understanding had been both confirmed and expanded by their experiences.
A person progressed, thought they were doing great, and then they’d hit a trip wire, something they hadn’t expected. For a toddler, falling down and getting back up was part of the process, no frustration. For an adult, it could be far more traumatic.
Plus, a toddler was working toward “normal.” For the newly deaf, the real kick in the face was when they realized they’d thought, whether overtly or more subconsciously, that they’d eventually find the “normal” they’d been before they lost their hearing.
Maybe Tiger wouldn’t have to face that one. But if he did, she knew he’d get through it.
She’d make sure of it.
He straightened from the computer and saw her. As his gaze slid over her appreciatively, she returned the favor. The suit had an excellent fit. Which meant having it altered for those broad shoulders, the tapering to his hips, and the right amount of cuff showing beneath the jacket sleeves. Since she expected that tailoring hadn’t happened in the past several days since he’d made the decision to attend this event, she wondered when he’d bought the suit and why.
Bastion offered a dramatic eye roll and fanning gesture behind his back. But when her gaze came back to Tiger, her spurt of amusement became something else.
