“As long as I don’t have to take care of some chick while I’m there, it’ll be all good.” Slayer put his arms behind his head and sat back in his chair. “I guess I can see the silver lining in all of this.”
“All right. That’s it.”
Everyone got up and slowly milled around.
“Clash,” Wrecker called.
I knew this was going to happen. Though I had sort of expected it during the meeting. I tipped my chin to him and moved into the chair Pipe had been sitting in.
“Get the hell out, fuckers,” Wrecker ordered.
The guys cleared out quickly, and Nickel pulled the door shut behind him.
“Where were you today?”
I rested my elbows on the table. “Out with Raven.”
I wasn’t really upset with Wrecker. He had done a shit thing to Raven, but I also knew there wasn’t a way in hell he could have known what would happen to her.
“That’s new,” he rumbled.
“There were a couple of places she wanted to look at.”
I didn’t know if I should be telling Raven’s business but I didn’t really think it would matter to Wrecker.
“Come again?”
Or maybe he would care.
“She found a few apartments online to look at. They all turned out to be shit.”
I was going to leave out the fact that the house we had looked at was exactly what Raven wanted, and I even had to admit that it was nice.
“She doesn’t need to find a place to live.”
“She really need to be in the clubhouse?”
She didn’t want to be here, and there wasn’t any threat against her. At least, not one I knew about.
“No, but she has the clubhouse. What's the sense in finding someplace else to live when she can live here?”
“Guess the same reason Alice, Karmen, Nikki, Wren, and Mayra have some place to live besides here.”
“They aren’t like Raven.”
I sat back in my chair. “We both know what this is about, Wrecker.”
“And just what do you think this is about?” he asked.
“You fucked up before, brother. Keeping her captive at the clubhouse isn’t going to fix any of that.”
“I didn’t fuck up,” he insisted. “I did what I thought was best for her.”
I knew this.
I knew the type of man Wrecker was. If he had an inclination that Raven would have been hurt, he never would have let her go into foster care.
But he hadn’t known. No one could have guessed that was going to happen to her.
“You think maybe you should be talking to her about this?”
I had finally started to break down the walls Raven had put up, and I didn’t want to fuck it up by betraying her trust and telling Wrecker everything she had told me.
“Because last night went so well.”
“Try not barging into her room.”
“You were in her room,” he replied. “Why the hell couldn’t I be in there?”
I shrugged. “She wanted me in there. You, not so much.”
“So you think you know my sister?” he growled.
I shook my head. “Not by a fucking longshot.”
“Yeah, because I remember not too long ago, you were bitching to anyone who would listen that she was a bitch and would be the death of you.”
There was no point in denying it. I had said all of those things and more, but that was before, when all I knew about Raven was the tiny bit she showed people. “Said it all, brother. Doesn’t mean I can’t change my opinion of her.”
“Yeah, seemed like you definitely changed when I walked in on you two.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “You mean when you barged in?”
“She had barely any clothes on, Clash. You really think it's a good idea to get tangled up with my sister?”
“Pretty sure you were the one who wanted me to keep an eye on her.”
“An eye on her, Clash. Not your fucking hands.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You’re walking a fine fucking line right now, brother. You might want to take a step back and think for a second.”
Wrecker was my Prez when it came to the club, but he did not get say in everything in my life.
“She is my sister.”
“You sure about that?” I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t keep the words in my mouth. “She needed you ten years ago, and you let her go without a fight. Sister or nuisance?”
Wrecker planted his hands on the table and pushed his chair back. It skidded on the floor and banged against the wall. “That how you see all of this?” he roared.
I quickly stood up and clenched my fists at my side. “I see this from both of your sides, Wrecker. The problem is, you’re both stubborn assholes who can only see the side they are standing on.”
I hadn’t been lying to Raven when I told her that I got it from all angles.
“I had no choice,” he rumbled. “What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know they were going to stick her in some home with a fucking lunatic. I didn’t know,” he shouted.
“No one could have known but stop acting like you had no choice. You had choices. They might not have been amazing, but you had them. You could have forgotten the club and found a regular nine-to-five job and a place to live.”
“That’s not the life for me.”
I knew what he meant. I felt it too. Nine-to-five was not the life meant for me either. I craved the unity and brotherhood of the club.
“I get that. But don’t sit there and act like you had no choice. You had choices and went with the one that you thought was for the best. I would have made the same choice. The choice you made that I don’t agree with is not checking on Raven. Making sure she was okay. You left her and didn’t look back. One phone call or visit to that house might have saved her, Wrecker. You left her for years without any word to her.”
Wrecker’s chest heaved, and he breathed heavily. “I. Didn't. Know.”
I shook my head. “And now you do know. What are you going to do about it?”
I walked out of church and straight to Raven.
She was sitting on the couch laughing at something Alice had said. Her eyes connected with mine, and she smiled wide.
Wrecker may not have chosen her back then, but I was going to be damned if I didn’t choose her right now.
*
Chapter Twelve
Clash
“They accepted.”
I cracked open one eye. “Huh?”
“My offer.”
I closed my eye and tried to process what the hell Raven was talking about. “What time is it?”
“Four.”
“In the morning?”
Her light laugh floated around me. “No. In the afternoon. You crashed while I was working.”
That was a relief. I had been thinking I had slept all of the day away.
It had been a week since Raven had looked at her dream house and I had my disagreement with Wrecker.
In that time, she had managed to get preapproved for a loan and put an offer in on the house. Now, it sounded like it was hers.
“Okay, start from the beginning.”
Raven flopped on the bed next to me and rested her head on her hand. “They accepted my offer,” she repeated. “Closing will be in a couple of weeks, and then I can move in! I’m going to be free!” she shouted.
I put my hand over her mouth. “Whoa there, beautiful. I think maybe you should break the news to Wrecker in a better way than shouting it for the whole clubhouse to hear.”
She rolled her eyes and knocked my hand away. “I couldn’t care less what he thinks.”
I knew she didn’t care what Wrecker thought, but at the end of the day, he was still her brother.
“I’m happy for you, beautiful.”
“You say that now until you have to help me move in,” she giggled.
My fingers brushed against her bare arm. “Is that your subtle way of asking m
e to help?”
Things had stayed the same between Raven and me.
She was more open with me, and there was a slight sexual tension in the air. I wanted her. There wasn’t any doubt about that, but I didn’t want to push her. I didn’t want her to think that I only wanted her because she was within arm’s reach.
She laid her head down and smiled. “Perhaps?”
“Well,” I mumbled. “I guess I need to know what I get in return.”
She batted her eyelashes. “The warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach knowing you helped me without wanting anything in return?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I think I might need a little bit more than that.”
“Just a little bit more?” she whispered.
I scooted closer and draped my arm across her waist. “I’m pretty sure we can work something out that would make both of us happy.”
She bit her lip, and she focused on my mouth. “Maybe…a kiss?” she whispered.
“You’d be happy with that?” I asked.
She nodded. “I wouldn’t be upset about it or anything.”
“You let me kiss you now, that means I’ll probably kiss you later.” I cleared my throat. “Fair warning.”
“I like that warning.”
“So do I.” I threaded my fingers through her hair and pulled her close ‘til my lips pressed to hers.
She melted into my touch and gasped lightly.
“Tell me to stop, Raven.”
She shook her head. “Never.” She rolled into me and pushed her body fully against mine. “Kiss me, Clash.”
Those were the three words I had been wanting to hear the past two weeks. Those were words I couldn’t say no to.
Her lips were like velvet beneath mine, and her soft whimpers drove me insane. Her hands traveled over my chest, and I pulled her on top of me.
“It sure is a nice view from up here,” she whispered against my lips.
“It’s not too bad for me either.”
“Such a sweet talker,” she giggled.
Her lips melded against mine, and I pulled the hem of her shirt up. Her warm skin was soft and silky beneath my fingers. “You feel like heaven.”
She moaned and opened her mouth. My tongue slid inside, and her delicious taste went straight to my head.
“Why did we dance around this for two weeks?” she asked breathlessly.
“I think we both thought it was a bad idea, but right now, I don’t know why we thought that.”
A knock sounded on her door, and we both froze.
“No,” she groaned.
“Just ignore it.”
The fucking pope could have been knocking on the door and I wouldn’t have answered it.
Whoever it was knocked again.
“Go away!” Raven shouted over her shoulder.
“Open the door, Raven.”
“Was that Alice?”
That was not who I expected to be knocking on the door.
Raven dropped her forehead against mine. “Ugh. Yes.”
“What the hell is she knocking on the door for?”
Raven sighed and lifted her head. “I told her I would go with her to her doctor’s appointment. Wrecker had something going on, and he can’t be there.”
“Seriously?”
That surprised the hell out of me that Raven had agreed to go with her. Ever since Raven had opened up to me about her past, she had also opened up a bit with the other girls. Wrecker was a completely different story, though.
I could count on one hand the amount of words Raven had spoken to him.
“Is it hard to believe that she asked me?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Hard to believe that you said yes.”
“Raven! We need to leave in two minutes. Put your pants on and let’s go.”
Raven’s eyes bugged out.
“She’s got her pants on,” I shouted back.
“Then get your paws off of her and let me have my friend for two hours,” Alice replied crankily.
“Does she have x-ray vision?” Raven whispered.
I rolled out from under her and stood up. “No, beautiful.”
Though I did have to wonder how she knew I was even touching Raven.
“You two have been making googly eyes at each other for the last two weeks. Wrap it up and I promise you can continue it just as soon as we get back from checking on baby man.”
“Is she really still calling her baby that?”
Raven chuckled and scrubbed her hands down her face. “Sure is. Though she does switch up the nickname now and then.” She rolled off the bed and shoved her feet into a black pair of Converse. “I’m coming,” she called.
“You need me to drive you to the doctor?”
Raven shook her head. “No. Cora is coming with us too so I think I’ll be protected.”
“The fact that Cora will keep you just as safe as I could is a little alarming.”
She laughed and grabbed a black sweatshirt that was draped over her desk chair. “Please, you know between Cora and me, no one stands a chance.”
I squinted. “Yeah, I would have to say, whoever messed with you two would have to be pretty dumb.”
She grabbed her wallet and tucked it under her arm. “Does this mean I get a goodbye kiss now?”
I shrugged. “Only if you come and give me one.”
She rolled her eyes but moved over to me. “You’re kind of demanding.” She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against mine. “But I like it,” she whispered.
I swept her into my arms and kissed her like she was my next breath.
“Whoa,” she gasped, breathless. “Save some of that for later, warden.” She patted my on my chest and licked her lips. “Definitely later,” she mumbled.
Raven walked out of the bedroom and winked at me over her shoulder.
“Later, beautiful.”
Alice clutched a hand to her heart and sighed. “I know that look all too well.”
Oh, hell. Maybe giving Raven a goodbye kiss wasn’t the best idea. Now it was going to be all over the clubhouse by dinner time that Alice had interrupted us.
“Call me if you need anything,” I called.
Raven nodded and threw another wink my way. “Will do, warden.”
“You calling him warden now is a whole new level of kink I didn’t even think of,” Alice gushed.
Raven rolled her eyes and pulled the door shut behind her while Alice kept talking.
Now I had a good two or three hours without Raven around.
I looked around her room and laughed. “So this is what it was like before she came into my life.”
Three hours of free time and all I thought about was what it would sound like if Raven called me warden during sex.
I figured out it would be hot as fuck.
*
Chapter Thirteen
Raven
“Any other questions?” The doctor looked between the three of us.
Alice had just gone through four pages of questions she had jotted down the past two weeks. If she had any more questions, they were going to be along the lines of what would happen if the baby came out as an alien, because she had asked every other possible question under the sun.
Alice shook her head, and the doctor took off out the door without a backward glance. She knew if she gave Alice time, she would be stuck in here for another fifteen minutes.
Cora grabbed the notebook out of Alice’s hand and tossed it in the garbage. “You are damn insane.”
“What?” Alice gasped. “I just asked the doctor all of the questions I had. Isn’t that what she is here for?”
Cora bent forward and looked at me. “What happens if I take a bath? Do I have to stop eating peanut butter? And this one was my favorite. Are beards hereditary?”
I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I blew out a raspberry and burst out laughing.
“I don’t know why I thought coming to the doctor with you would be a normal exp
erience. Being your friend sure the hell isn’t, so why would this, right?” Cora grabbed her purse off the floor and tucked it under her arm. “I need a drink and possibly a cigarette.”
Alice plugged her fingers in her ears. “You cannot talk about drinking. I’ve wanted a drink since I peed on that damn stick.”
“You do know you can have a glass a wine or some shit like that, right?”
Cora and Alice both turned to look at me.
“How the hell do you know that?” Alice demanded.
I rolled my eyes and stood up. “I’m really surprised you didn’t ask the doctor that.”
“Because I didn’t want them to take my baby away before I even had it,” Alice muttered. “Now spill the beans on how you know I can have a glass of wine. I need proof to back up me doing this.”
I held out my hand and pulled Alice out of her chair. She barely had a bump, but she was fully embracing the pregnant life.
“I heard it on one of those morning shows, and it was a big deal a couple of years ago. I’ll Google it on the way home or I can call the doctor back in.”
Alice rubbed her stomach and shook her head. “No. I need a foot-long sub and one of those big-ass fountain drinks.”
“It has been ten minutes since you’ve eaten,” Cora muttered. “Wouldn’t want you to get hungry or anything.”
In the middle of Alice asking the doctor every question under the sun, she had pulled out a bag of dried cranberries and a sleeve of crackers.
The woman had a snack while she rapid-fired questions at the poor doctor. I would be surprised as hell of the doctor didn’t cancel her next appointment and suggest she find a new OB/GYN.
“We can stop on the way back to the clubhouse.”
We made our way through the clinic and out to Cora’s car. Alice sat in the front next to Cora, and I chilled out in the back.
I pulled out my phone and saw that Clash had texted me.
How’s it going? It was from forty-five minutes ago.
I’m trying to figure out what I did before you came to the clubhouse. Thirty-nine minutes ago.
I think I was bored a lot. Thirty-seven minutes ago.
Or I was drunk a lot. Twenty-nine minutes ago.
Took the bike to fill it up. Nineteen minutes ago.
Just realized I’m texting you a fuck ton. Thirteen minutes ago.
Fallen Lords MC: Books 4-6 Page 40
