Claimed by the Biker Giant (Maxine and Tank) novel Chapter 51

Tank POV

I kept my arms around Max as we watched the mud wrestling.

She said “yuck” a few times, and “no way,” and a few other comments that told me she won’t be wallowing in the mud anytime soon. Lucky me, the idea of her in there, slipping around, some think it’s fun, but I don’t, we had to get a guys bike home on the trailer, because he pulled a muscle after a rather large guy, landed on him, to try and pin him down, our guy won, but at a cost to his leg. I would’ve been worried the whole time she was in the mud, and if she won, she would have to do it again and again, till an overall winner was found.

I was also worried about the video of her downing that guy; it could get ugly for her. Bruiser wasn’t so concerned with the picture of him; you could see he was angry with her, and regardless of how they try to spin it, the girl was thrown out in the middle of the night.

Later, we will discuss it after we have had time to relax and take in the fun that day promised. We will also get a sense of how people feel as more people wake up and watch the video. We don’t want to react too soon.

Max didn’t question it yet, and I know she’s not a big talker, most likely would wait when it was just the two of us, and not so many ears around.

Her phone pinged, and she pulled out her phone.

I looked over her shoulder and could see someone had sent her the video, which made me frown. Who had her number?

Before I could answer, Sticks came over and whispered in her ear.

“Thought you might like a copy that was sent to me. Bruiser said you can study it and check out your form.” Max chuckled and nodded.

“Your form? That’s a new one.” I chucked in Max’s ear, kissing it, and nuzzling her neck. She was cute as she scrunched up her shoulders, trying to keep my lips off her ears.

“Can we move from here? I am not interested in watching men or women frolicking in the mud. ” Max distractedly as another man disappeared briefly under the mud, standing up with a roar and throwing the man off his back with ease.

“Piggyback again?” I offered to crouch down in front of her. I have a wide grin on my face as I look over my shoulder at her, urging her to climb on.

She stares at me in shock, at first. This slow smirk fills her face, her eyes sparkle with mirth, and she climbs on, her hands on my shoulders, as I grab her legs and wrap them around my waist, and boost her up as I stand, she quickly wraps her arms around my neck, tight, but not strangling, I have one hand on her bottom, as she settles on my back.

“Where to my lady?” Deepening my voice low, and trying to sound like an actor in a movie! had once seen.

She bursts out giggling at my acting, as if I were some knight in shining armor, but hearing her laughter makes the effort worth it.

“How about showing me this lake? It looked pretty.” She suggests, and I know the perfect place to go.

I walked away from the group and headed to a small area that had a rapid section. It’s not fast, but it might appeal to Max.

I had been there a few times to get away from the crowd, and I thought that it could get a little too much, trying to stay polite to drunken idiots who see me as a large opponent to try their luck with. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than happy to punch the lights out of some drunk guy, if he pushes for too long, but it can become frustrating, and walking away and taking a breather.

They say “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”, and that might be true, but I am like a large oak tree; it takes a while and persistence to knock this oak tree down.

Cautiously, I navigate the ground. This trail was not used much; either others don’t know what lies beyond, or they want to stay with the crowd, and the enjoyment they make. It was more used this weekend, couples finding a quiet place to kiss and cuddle.

The idea of this couple’s weekend was to be interactive with others, gain new friendships, and reaffirm old ones, but for some reason, this year was all wrong. Sticks was furious with the direction the weekend was going, like some small minority group is targeting us, and we have no clue the reason behind it.

I moved over some rocks, stepping from one to the other, water running between them, making the rocks a little slippery. Max stayed perfectly still, as she does on the bike, a perfect passenger, following my directions. I love having this close to me, even if it was on my back. She weighs nothing compared to picking up engines.

I could see my destination, and breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw no one else here.

We have the place to ourselves.

Perfect.

I make it to a large tree, its branches hover over the river, giving you a perfect place to sit in the shade, and enjoy the scenery. These trees have large roots that snake along the ground, making them great for sitting on or using as back support. One tree root runs right by the water; you can sit on it and dangle your feet in the faster-flowing water. Or if you want to lie in the water, which is about knee-high, you can rest your back against it as the water flows over you.

I lowered to a crouch position.

“Want off?” I asked and allowed her to climb off and look around.

“This place is so peaceful, you wouldn’t know anyone was near here, if it weren’t for the cheers and the sound of music, wafting to us on the breeze,” Max said, looking around, touching the tree, and running her hand along an exposed tree root. She sounded so poetic, the way she said that. It had me smiling at the simple things she says and does.

This big, bad biker is whipped when it comes to this girl. Bet the guys are enjoying watching me fall hard for this woman. I used to make fun of guys when I saw them tripping over themselves for a woman, but I get it now, and expect nothing less from them.

We stand watching the water ripple over the rocks, as fast-paced, small, deeper pools have fish darting about, eating something from the river bottom, and spitting out a mouthful of pebble. I am behind Max, my arms around her waist, my head resting on her shoulder.

For the first time, in my memory, I felt at peace, no evil thoughts rushing through my mind, no need to hurry to do something, no bad memories. With Max, I was making some new memories that will carry me through on bad days, and I needed something positive to focus on. Even if in the end, we part ways, I will carry today, now, with me forever.

“Look, did you see that? Larger predators are lurking. I thought the water was too shallow for something that large.” Max exclaimed excitedly, pointing to one of the deeper pools.

“I missed it,” I replied, wondering what she had just seen, and my eyes were glued to where she had pointed. We both watched for a bit, but whatever she saw didn’t emerge again.

A text pinged on my phone. Pulling it out of my jacket pocket, I read it with a sigh.

“Prez wants to know where we are,” I say, moving to type out my reply.

“Our time’s up?” Max asked softly, leaning back into me as I held my phone in one hand, waiting for an answer, and the other arm around her waist.

My phone pinged again.

“Yep, time to return. Maybe we get a chance to come back here later.” I replied and moved back and squatted, turning, and offering her my back again. She giggled as she climbed on, with no hesitation this time.

navigated my way back, going the long way around, and coming out near our campsite, most of the Club members were already there, standing, looking around.

“What’s up?” I asked Bruiser as I neared the guys.

“The Jones gang is behind the action, even though they aren’t here; they have friends here that are causing problems. It seems word was out about the warehouse, and we are being blamed for the deaths and police involvement.” Bruiser spat on the ground, as if ridding himself of something that tasted terrible in his mouth.