“Noah?”
It’s Chloe’s voice.
I slide my eyes in her direction, even as much as it hurts and peer at her through my half-mast slits. She’s leaning over the rail on my bed, her expression a mask of concern.
“Chlo…”
“Oh, thank God. I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up.”
I wonder how long I’ve been out, but that’s a question for another time.
“King?”
“He’s safe. He’s in the hospital with a leg.”
Relief floods me that the prospect is okay.
“Your brothers have been in and out all day. This is one of the few times we’ve been alone.”
Her hand slips into mine and I can feel how soft, how delicate she is. I vow in this moment nothing will touch her.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“This life… it’s dangerous.”
“Yeah,” I admit. There’s no point sugar-coating the truth.
She squeezes my hand and her face wrinkles. “You can’t leave me, Noah. I’m nothing without you.”
“Baby, you’re everything, and you made me something. Don’t forget that.”
Chloe leans down to kiss me and even though it hurts, I kiss her back, needing that closeness to her.
“I was so worried when you never showed up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I called Sofia, who called her brother. I don’t know what happened after that, but Charlie turned up at the flat a little while after. He brought me and Jesse to the hospital.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeat. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
Before she can respond, a voice rumbles, “You’re awake.” I glance around her to see Logan’s huge frame in the doorway. Chloe straightens.
“I’m going to grab a coffee, give you boys a chance to talk.”
Yeah, she’s going to be a hell of an old lady.
Chloe kisses me again and then steps around Logan. He waits until the door is shut before he comes to the edge of the bed.
“Fuck, brother. You look like shit.”
“I feel like it too.”
“It was Dylan, right? It was the only thing King managed to tell us before the nursing staff took him down to surgery.”
I wince. “Other than that, he’s okay?”
“Yeah, Weed. He took a bit of a battering from the car tipping, but nothing life threatening.”
Relief floods me, until Logan says, “What happened?”
“We’re at war with the Reapers.”
Logan jolts at this. “What?”
“Those fuckers helped Dylan infiltrate the Club,” I say, my tongue feeling too small for the words spewing out of my mouth. “They’re working to unseat us from Kingsley.”
“Dylan told you that?”
“Yeah. He wanted me to give a message to the Club, back down or the Reapers will spill blood. I don’t know if Tap knew this was the end game, but I can’t believe he did. This doesn’t seem like his aim of recapturing the glory days of the Club.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Logan moves to the chair at the side of the bed and sinks into it, his hands clasping between his spread legs. “It’s possible he promised Tap something different to what he was actually planned on delivering.”
I shake my head, ignoring the way the room rolls when I do. “There’s something more going on here, Lo. I just don’t know what.”
“Did he say something else?”
“No. It’s just a feeling I’ve got. We’re not seeing the full picture yet.”
And I dread to imagine what that full picture will look like.
What I do know is we need to batten down the hatches, because the storm we thought we were riding out is now back in full force.
And the Lost Saxons are at war.
Epilogue
Three weeks later…
“Weed, where’s this going?”
I glance up at Wade and Adam who have stopped in the middle of the room with a large sideboard. It’s new, like most of the furniture in the flat. We had to buy stuff, so we could kit out Logan and Beth’s old flat because Chloe had so little and I have a few things scattered around brothers’ houses, but not enough. We went to a small furniture store in town and picked up a some new pieces. Most of the big things, like the appliances, are being delivered at some point today. The lads collected the rest of the furniture in the Club’s van. I’m grateful as fuck for their help today, because I sure as hell couldn’t do it. I’m still recovering from my injuries, so lifting is out.
“Chlo?” When she pops her head through the door that leads to the hallway where the bedrooms are located, I ask, “Where’d you get the sideboard for?”
Even though I was with her when she picked this stuff out, I have no fucking idea where Chloe wants anything.
She peers at it, a cute furrow appearing between her brows that makes me want to kiss her senseless. “Oh, uh, that’s for Jesse’s room. Under the window, please, guys.”
The lads move through and she slips out of their way, coming to me.
Her hands go under my hoodie, running up the bare skin of my abdomen. “Are you behaving?” she asks.
“Sweetheart, have you ever known me not to be on my best behaviour?”
She snorts. “Is that a trick question?”
I poke her side and she squeals, grabbing my hand to stop me from tickling her more. “No tickling. That’s a hard limit, Noah Williams, and you know it.”
I grin. I do, but I love the noise she makes when I get right in there. I can’t help doing it.
“So, are you?”
“What?”
“Behaving, Noah. You’re not doing any lifting, right? The doctor said nothing strenuous.”
“Like I’d dare.”
I’m still healing from my attack and lifting is out of the question with three broken ribs and a badly bruised wrist. Dylan’s attack earned me three days in the hospital—a place I’m starting to loathe. Having been on the other side of the bed, I get Wade’s frustration when he was stuck in there for six fucking weeks.
I came off better than King though who has pins holding the bone in his leg together. Poor fucker’s going to be on crutches for months. I was worried it might stop him getting his full patch, but Derek said it wouldn’t.
But I’m not liking the fact I can’t help my woman move. It should be me doing this shit, not my brothers. Yeah, okay, it’s some macho bullshit I’m pushing here, but I can’t help it. Chloe’s mine.
And she is mine.
Officially, I’m going to claim her tonight at the house-warming we’re throwing. I would have claimed her the moment I woke up in the hospital, but I needed to get shit organised, like her property kutte.
After my beating, I realised a few things, first and foremost, I need Chloe like I need my next breath. It’s selfish bringing her in when the Club is facing such calamity, but I can’t let her go. Not now, not after having all that sweet and good in my life.
Her and Jesse have been a wakeup call for me. I realised I was on a downward spiral, doing nothing and everything to avoid really living my life, but nameless sex was never as fulfilling as making love to my girl. I love making her moan my name, I love that I know what she loves, and I love making her feel special.
There’s very little about Chloe Allen that I don’t love.
I want my patch on her back. Tonight, I’ll make her mine in every way that counts.
“Are you sure about this?” she asks me, peering up at me. The uncertainty in her face breaks me. I don’t want those insecurities there.
I stroke her cheek with a finger.
“Babe, yeah, I’m sure. I wouldn’t have said about us all moving here if I wasn’t.”
I’m also moving in with them both. I spend all my free time with them anyway, so when Chloe asked it was a no-brainer. The decision to move in was a big step, though. It should have scared me, but it didn’t.
I feel at peace. For the first time in my life, that noise in my head is silent—because of her.
Everything with her feels good. Right. This is exactly where I’m meant to be and wild horses couldn’t drag me away from her and Jesse. They’re my world now. I just hope I can protect them both from the coming storm.
And it is going to be a storm. Logan had me relay what I told him to Derek and Slade while I was in the hospital. The whole Club went on lockdown. It lasted a week before life had to resume. Really, I’d prefer everyone to be locked down until we’ve dealt with this new threat, but it’s not feasible. Everyone has jobs and we have Club businesses to run. We can’t stay out of the real world for too long.
I was undecided as to whether moving in with Chloe and Jesse was a good idea or not. I don’t want to put them on Dylan’s radar, but I figure they’re safer with me here than not. I hope so anyway. I can’t bear the thought of anything touching either of them—not after the shit they’ve been through.
Chloe breaks through my thoughts by rolling to her toes and dropping a kiss on my mouth. I ease into the kiss, letting her take control for a moment before I take command. I can’t help it. She brings out the bossy, domineering bastard in me. I want to fuck her so badly right now, but I’m not into voyeurism and since we have a full house, it’s not going to happen.
Still, I can’t resist telling Chloe this. “I want to be inside you.”
A flush works up her cheeks. “You can’t say things like that to me unless you’re going to follow through with it.”
I pull her against me, my cock scraping over her pussy—the only barrier between us our jeans. She lets out a little whimper as she clutches my arms.
“Noah…”
I move my mouth to her ear and ask, “What do you need, baby?”
“You. Always you.”
I kiss her. “Later.” The promise in my voice is telling. I will give her this later and more. Jesse’s will be out with friends tonight, so we’ll have an hour or so before the party starts. I plan to make good use of that hour, very good use.
“What’s next?” Wade asks, coming back into the room with Adam on his heels.
Jesse meanders in after them.
“Maybe the rest of the living room furniture. Then the bedrooms. No, get the bedroom stuff first. I can make the beds up while you’re bringing in the rest.”
Wade nods, all business, and heads down stairs, Adam on his heels.
“So, what do you think, kiddo?” I ask Jesse, draping an arm over his shoulder.
He shrugs. “It’s nice.”
I guess that’s as good as I’m going to get from a sixteen-year-old boy.
“What about you, Chlo?”
“I love it. Logan and Beth are kind to give us this place at a reduced rate.”
A reduced rate she won’t be paying anything towards. We’ve not had that conversation yet. I don’t want to deal with the argument it’s bound to cause, but I can afford to take care of us all. Chloe can’t. Her earnings are, as I suspected, minimal. To be honest, I don’t know how she took care of herself for so long. She’s straddling the poverty line.
“That’s what family does, babe. And you and Jesse are family now. The Club will always take care of you.” I rub at the back of my neck. “I was going to do this tonight, but… it doesn’t seem right to do it with a room full of people.”
Chloe’s brows draw together and she looks adorably confused. “Do what?”
I move over to my holdall, which is sitting near the front door. I unzip it and reach inside, my fingers skimming over the leather. I pull out the kutte and hand it to her.
She opens it out and the words over the back—Property of Weed—are exposed. Her consternation turns into something else—happiness, I think.
“Noah…”
“Whoa,” Jesse mutters.
“In our world, we don’t do rings and weddings, although if you want that, I’ll give you it. This is what we do. I want to show the world you’re mine, Chlo. If you’ll have me.”
She stares down at the kutte, her throat working and I hold my breath, waiting as she collects herself.
“Yeah, Noah. I’ll have you.”
She throws herself into my arms and kisses me like I’m her life. I love that she does, and I take her mouth with reverence. I love this woman. She’s mine. Completely. And nothing is going to change that.
Not even the coming storm.
Did you love reading about the Lost Saxons Motorcycle Club? The story continues in book seven, Fallen Rider, with Mackenzie and Dane…
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Also by Jessica Ames
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Flawed Rider
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Flawed Rider: A Lost Saxons Novel #6 Page 19
