“Are you okay with having a weakness in your life now? Aren’t we going to be liabilities?”
Oz shrugged his shoulders.
“Small price to pay for the joy you and the baby will bring. And I’m not going to trade you two for anything in the world. My life was never about peace and quiet to begin with,” he said, and we both laughed.
“Your family is going to hate this!” he exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.
“If they truly love me, they’ll accept these new changes in my life once they see how happy I am.”
He kissed my forehead and I laid my head on his chest. It was amazing how calm I felt right now, despite the chaos from just an hour ago. It wasn’t until several minutes later that Oz’ phone rang. He took the call and I could hear the anger and panic in his voice.
When the call ended, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“It’s Dash. They still haven’t found him. Abe called to tell me they need my help.”
I was nodding my head already.
“You should go. You should go and find him. I’ll stay here at the hospital, until I hear news about Melody’s surgery,” I said.
Oz kissed my lips again and stroked my cheek as he stood up.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said and I nodded.
Then, I watched him running down the hospital corridor. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from him. He was my man. The father of my child. The man I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with.
And the funny thing was that I wasn’t afraid. I was excited. I had butterflies in my stomach. My life was going to be a real adventure.
31
Oz
Abe called me at the hospital before they were about to raid the warehouse where they thought the Dark Legion were holding Dash. I drove the car over to the spot just as the other bikes started to arrive.
Everything was quiet and there were a few Hell’s Drifters bikes parked outside. We charged in before any of those fuckers had the time to react. But, even going in, I knew this wasn’t where they were holding Dash. I just had a feeling about it.
There weren’t many of them in there so it didn’t take us long to scan the perimeter. Rodeo and Lewis debated over whether they should take a couple of their guys as hostages, but we decided against it. Ultimately, we didn’t want to stoop to their level and, besides, we knew that wouldn’t do the trick.
They didn’t give a shit about their own men, not the way we did about our own. The raid was fruitless. Dash was still nowhere in sight. Girth sent some of the prospects out to look for intel again. We needed to figure out where they were holding Dash, and get to him before they had a chance to do anything. I just hoped they would keep him alive.
After the raid, I walked around the warehouse, just to get my mind off things. There was a lot going on and I had no idea how I was going to start dealing with everything. Just an hour ago, I’d found out I was going to be a dad. I was giddy with excitement and scared for the first time.
Eventually, Abe found me having a smoke by myself in the dark. I had my gun out and pointed at him first before he laughed and I slipped it back in again.
“You’re on edge,” he said, coming up to me. I offered him a cigarette and we smoked together.
“Today was a shitstorm,” I said and Abe nodded.
“Yes, it was, but despite what happened with Dash—you handled things well. For a minute there, we were all convinced you were about to give our shit to them,” Abe said.
I pulled in a mouthful of smoke and blew it out again.
“I was just trying to keep them engaged in conversation and bide time. Counting down the minutes till the rest of the MC showed up,” I said.
Abe was smiling at me proudly.
“We’ve all been singing your praises to Lewis, and he wants to go ahead with making you in-charge of the Cuban deal.”
“If we even have a Cuban deal,” I remarked and Abe thumped my back.
“Things are going to work out. We’re going to figure this shit out with Dash and the Dark Legions are going to climb back into whichever black hole they emerged from,” Abe said.
I was still thinking about Kaya and the baby; my mind wasn’t fully in the conversation and it seemed like Abe could sense that too.
“Your girl is brave,” he commented, and I snapped my head up to look at him.
“Yeah, she went through a lot today,” I said and he nodded.
“And she held her own. Her friend was brave, too. I hope she’s going to be okay,” he continued.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.”
We stood in silence for a minute longer before I broke. I was going to have to tell somebody and without Dash here, it was going to be Abe. Even though I knew he would tell my sister straight away.
“She’s pregnant,” I said. Abe threw his burning cigarette to the ground.
“What did you just say?”
“Kaya, she’s pregnant. The kid is mine.”
Abe stared at me for a few moments before he yelled joyfully and threw his arms around me in a bear hug.
“You’re going to be a dad! I’m going to be an uncle! What the actual fuck!”
I laughed at Abe’s complete and utter joy.
“We have to tell Alexis!”
“You can have the honor of telling her, and calming her down before I have to speak to her,” I said, shaking my head. If this was Abe’s reaction, I couldn’t even imagine what my sister’s was going to be.
“When did you find out?”
“Today. It’s still pretty early.”
“Is she okay?”
“She seems fine, but I’m going to force her to go see a doctor first thing tomorrow.”
Abe was still grinning happily.
“Then what are you still doing here? Go be with your woman, Oz!”
“We need to find Dash first. That’s what she wants too,” I said, but Abe was shaking his head.
“We got bad intel on this place. We have no idea where they’re holding him. Until we get some news on that, there is nothing you or I can do. Dash is their only leverage right now. He’s a strong kid, and he’ll be fine. You’re just wasting precious time away from your family by hanging around with me.”
Abe thumped my back again.
Family.
I’d never used that word before. Not even with Alexis. Well, she was the only family I had until now, but it was never like this. I was never responsible for my sister. She never relied on me.
And now I had Kaya—the most beautiful woman in the world—and a baby she was carrying. Two people who were mine, and mine alone. I knew I would do anything to protect them, to make them happy. Nothing would ever be more important.
“Keep me posted,” I said to Abe as I rushed back towards the car.
I was worried about Dash, but I was worried about Kaya more. I knew she would need me tonight. And I needed her, too.
When I walked into the diner that day, I was hungry. I never thought I would meet a woman who was going to change my life. And now I couldn’t imagine a life without her.
* * *
I went to the hospital first to check on Kaya, but she wasn’t there, so I drove to her apartment. When she opened the door, there was a sparkle in her large green eyes.
“First things first, we should exchange phone numbers,” I said, as I stepped into her apartment and she laughed. I gave my phone to her and she typed in her number and I sent her a text so she had mine.
“That is probably one of the first things we should have done when we met,” she said and I followed her to the kitchen.
Kaya fetched a can of beer from her fridge and she handed it to me.
“How is Melody?” I asked and she shrugged her shoulders.
“The doctors said her surgery was successful but they won’t let me see her till tomorrow. I didn’t know what else I could do, so I came back home,” she told me.
I followed her to her couch, the one we had sex on last night. I sa
t down beside her and she swung her legs up on my lap and sat back. If this was what having a family was supposed to feel like—I was loving it already.
“How’s Dash?” she asked and there was a streak of worry on her face.
“We haven’t found him yet.”
Kaya gulped nervously.
“What do you think is going to happen to him?”
“They’re going to use him as leverage.”
“Are they going to hurt him?” she said, and her voice was shaky.
“They’re not going to kill him,” I replied firmly. “Because they know they can use him to get what they want from us.”
I rubbed her feet gently and she smiled weakly.
“I really like Dash, he’s a good guy. And he looks up to you. He made me feel safe today, and he did everything he could to stop those men from hurting me,” she continued. I massaged her feet harder and she drew in a deep breath.
“Yes, he’s a great guy. I trust him, I’d trust him with your life, and I’m going to do everything I can to get him back to safety,” I said. Kaya nodded her head.
“I know it’ll be fine. You will find him and save him, just like you saved me.”
I bent my head low so I could kiss the soft skin on her left knee. She purred like a cat, and I took a long swig of my beer.
“Today must have been very scary for you,” I said and Kaya breathed softly.
“I was scared, yes, but I also knew the whole time that you were coming for me.”
“What changed your mind? The last time we spoke in the morning, I was sure that you wanted me gone from your life.”
Kaya smiled softly and looked me strongly in the eye.
“I was fooling myself. I thought I could go on without you, that in a few months’ time, I would forget you. But that was never going to happen.”
I rubbed her feet more and she purred again softly.
“And then I found out I was pregnant and everything changed. I knew, and Melody helped me realize, that it wasn’t worth it. Living away from you was never justifiable. The only way I’d ever be happy was by being with you.”
She moved over closer to me and I threw an arm around her.
“I’m glad you changed your mind, because the only way I’ll not worry about you and our baby’s safety is if you are with me,” I said. She reached over and kissed my cheek so I turned and took her mouth into mine.
We kissed gently for some time before Kaya drew herself away from me.
“I still cannot believe that you love me. That all this while, we’ve been feeling the same things for each other but we couldn’t say it.”
I pinched her chin and kissed the tip of her nose.
“And I still can’t believe we’re going to be parents. I couldn’t have picked a better mother for my child.”
I held her tightly in my arms and she placed her head on my shoulder.
“And you haven’t even met my sister yet!”
“The one who is engaged to your friend?”
“Yeah, her name is Alexis. She is currently planning a wedding with Abe, and she is going to be in complete shock when she finds out I’m going to be a dad. I don’t think any of my friends have ever imagined me as one.”
I was laughing and Kaya was laughing too.
“I’m going to have to break the news to my family eventually, and they might either hate me more or forgive me and ask to be a part of our child’s life.”
“I hope for their sake that it’s the latter, because this kid is going to be amazing.”
As I held Kaya to myself, I couldn’t help but imagine our future together. A small kid in our arms, a bigger home, coming home to the smell of dinner filling the rooms and the sound of our baby’s laughter.
I’d never pictured these things before and now it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“I love you, Oz,” she said.
“I am in love with you, Kaya.”
We sat like that together, talking some more about our future and for some time—I was able to forget about the Dark Legion and the fact that Dash was missing. That was just the effect that Kaya had on me. She made me forget about everything else but her and my life with her.
I couldn’t wait for the rest of our lives to begin. Today was only Day One and already I was fulfilled. This woman was the best thing that had happened to me and I was going to make sure she remembered that every day of my life.
I sat and stared at her talking and felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
32
Kaya
I was in Oz’s arms. How had that happened? When this day started off, I wasn’t pregnant. I hadn’t come so close to death before. And I definitely thought things were over between Oz and me.
And even though I had never been more frightened before than I was today—I felt the happiest now. Here with Oz, back on this couch, just the two of us…well, almost.
Oz and I were debating what gender the baby was going to be. He said he wanted a girl, but was afraid of how much more protective he was going to become if he had two girls in his life. I laughed at that. I laughed at everything he said…and not only because I was so madly in love with him but also because Oz was genuinely funny.
Now that we were comfortable with each other and we could see a future together, Oz was displaying a softer and calmer side of him. I loved him even more. As crazy as that sounded, I couldn’t wait to introduce him to my family.
He was no Gus, and that was exactly the point!
Oz ordered take-out and after it arrived, we sat on the couch eating pizzas and coke and laughing even more. Sometimes, his mind drifted to Dash again or I thought of Melody and we both worked hard to keep our minds off our friends.
Right now, at this very minute—we couldn’t do anything to help them. And we knew that both Melody and Dash would have wanted us to savor this moment. Our first night together as a real couple, with a baby growing between us.
I told him Dash knew and Oz said I’d done the right thing by telling him. That way Dash knew exactly what was at stake when the Dark Legion got there.
He also told me that, since I was his woman now, I had the full protection of the MC. Which meant that it wasn’t only Oz and Dash who were going to make sure the baby and I were always safe—but I had the support of the entire Marked Skulls.
As crazy as this was, I had never felt safer in my life. Now, I knew that nobody could touch me. That no matter what happened, these men would always be there to protect me.
After we’d gobbled down all the pizza, we fell into each other’s arms again and spoke about buying a house. Oz had money, more money than I imagined he had. The business he was involved in was dangerous but it paid well. He wanted me to pick exactly the house I wanted and I wouldn’t have to work in the diner any more. He said he wanted me to focus on my art and hearing that made me even happier.
It was amazing how quickly and easily everything was falling into place. My family had been wrong all along—I was happy now because I was following my heart, and not a set of pre-planned rules.
I threw my arms around Oz and kissed him, crawling up on his lap. He kissed me back and I giggled when he nibbled gently on my lips. They already felt swollen to me. We’d been kissing a lot today and very intensely. But that didn’t mean I wanted him to slow down.
I started unbuttoning his shirt and then I unbuttoned his jeans and took off his belt.
Oz stopped me just as I started pulling down his jeans.
“What about the baby?” he asked and I couldn’t help it. I threw back my head back and laughed.
“So, you think we’re not going to have sex for the next nine months?”
Oz shrugged his shoulders. I kissed his neck and smiled.
“You really know nothing about this, do you?”
I pulled down his jeans to his knees and skipped off the couch. Oz threw his head back, staring up at the ceiling as I kneeled in front of him.
“You have no idea how long
I’ve fantasized about his,” he growled.
His cock was big and rock-hard between his thighs and I took him in my hand.
“What exactly have you fantasized about?” I asked him and Oz’ eyes grew dark and narrowed on me.
“Your tight pink mouth around my cock.”
I parted my mouth and I watched as he clenched his jaws. I could see his cock throbbing. I knew exactly how much he wanted me and I wanted to tease him.
I stroked him, gently and slowly at first as I leaned over him. My curls fell around him and I heard him breathe in sharply.
My mouth opened wide over his cock and he reached out and held my hair. My curls were bunched up tightly in his hand. I licked the tip of his cock at first and he grunted. He was going to be too big for me so I opened my mouth wider. He was still too big.
I could feel the wetness spreading between my legs. The more I lowered my head over his cock, the wetter I felt between my thighs. I’d never wanted a cock in my mouth so badly before. I thought I would come right there like that.
I could only take a few inches of him in my mouth without gagging. He was so big in my mouth, and I started sliding my head up and down, while he held my hair tightly.
I could taste the saltiness of him, his pre-cum filled my tongue and my pussy throbbed for him. I grabbed his balls and squeezed lightly and I heard Oz grunt deliciously again.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he growled and I sucked on him harder.
“That’s it, beautiful. That’s it, sweet Kaya.”
I sucked and sucked, till I could feel him reverberating. Within minutes, I knew I’d done enough to bring him to the edge of coming.
He tugged at my hair, to pull me away from his cock. I wanted him to come in my mouth. I wanted his cum inside me, sliding down my throat. I felt ravenous, thirsty for him…but he was stopping me.
“Not like this. I want to be inside you. I want to see you coming too,” he whispered.
Oz pulled me back up on his lap. I’d changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt earlier, and they were coming off now. One by one, Oz started stripping me of my clothes while I settled on his lap.
Marked Skulls MC Series: Books 1-5 Page 57
