by A. M. Myers
“We can be quick,” I whisper, leaning for another kiss but he cuts it short as he pulls back and laughs, shaking his head.
“Later, I promise. I’ve got a surprise for you before everyone gets here.”
I frown as I drop my hands to my sides and he chuckles again, poking my bottom lip as it juts out in a pout. The sound of laughter has me fighting back a smile of my own as he spins me around and presses up against my back, covering my eyes with his hands. His lips brush against my ear as he instructs me to start walking and a wave of desire floods my body. God, I can’t get enough of this man these days and if it wasn’t for work and the need to eat, I don’t either of us would get out of bed.
We stop and he turns me to the side as he presses his lips just below my ear. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I answer as I fidget in his arms. What the hell kind of surprise could he have planned for much in such a short amount of time? We just got the keys yesterday and he hasn’t left my side since then. As he pulls his hands away, my eyes flutter open and my lips part as I gaze around the room, taking it all in. The once white walls are now a pale mint green color and there is a gorgeous mahogany crib set up on one wall with a matching changing table across from it.
“When did you have time to do all this?” I whirl around to face him and he grins as he reaches up and brushes his thumb over my cheek.
“I left the back door unlocked after we came to look at the house yesterday and I had some of the guys set this up last night. They only did a little ‘cause I figured you would want to decorate yourself…”
“And because they’re bikers, not interior designers?” I ask and he laughs, nodding.
“That, too. Anyway, I know it’s not much but it’s a start and hopefully soon, we’ll have a baby to bring home to this room.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, unable to put into words how much I love what he did for me. As his tongue tangles with mine in a heated kiss, I can see the life we both want, images of babies running down the hallway, their little feet slapping against the hardwood floors and their laughter echoing off of the walls fill my mind and tears sting my eyes. That life is something I want so, so badly and I can’t wait until it becomes a reality.
Wyatt’s hand slips into my hair and my back hits the doorjamb as he groans and grinds his hips into me, his kiss becoming more heated. I slip my hands around his back and under his shirt, pressing them against his skin as he starts kissing down my neck. The air punches out of my lungs as I tip my head back and close my eyes, warmth spreading through my body with each press of his lips.
“Baby…” I breathe, my fingertips digging into his skin as his teeth graze my neck. “I need you.”
The doorbell rings and both of our heads snap up as we struggle to catch our breaths. His eyes meet mine and I’m ready to tell all our friends to go get lost when he pulls away with a tortured look on her face.
“We’re picking this up later.” His voice leaves no room for argument and I barely hold back a whimper as I grip the door frame to keep myself up right. The doorbell rings again and he runs his hand through his hair. “Also, you stay here until you don’t look like you want me to fuck your brains out.”
I run my hand up my body as my skin tingles with need before I reach out, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to me. I steal a kiss and another. “Maybe just fuck my brains out real quick and then I won’t look like that anymore.”
“Baby,” he groans, his eyes closing as he sucks in a breath and rolls his forehead against mine. “They’re at the goddamn door.”
“They can wait.”
Whoever it is starts banging on the front door and the sound reverberates through the empty house as Wyatt growls. He pulls away from me again and takes a few steps back before holding his hand up when I push off of the door frame to follow him. “I was serious before. There is no way in hell I’m letting the guys see you like this. I’ll fucking murder them.”
“They’re all married now, Wyatt.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he growls, turning and stomping away from me. A smirk spreads across my face as I suck air into my lungs and try to get my mind off my husband’s naked body and all the things I want him to be doing to me. The sound of muffled voices drift down the hallway and I take another deep breath as I smooth my hands over my maxi dress before combing my fingers through my hair. When my heart rate has finally slowed to a more acceptable pace, I walk out into the living room with a smile pasted on my face.
“Hey, sorry to hear about your mom,” Wyatt says to Kodiak as I step up next to him and slip my hand into his. He glances over at me, his eyes still raging with need and my tummy does a little flip as I turn my gaze back to Kodiak and Tate. I’m glad they’re the first ones to show up since I already met them a few days ago when they stopped by my apartment so Kodiak could talk to Wyatt.
“What’s going on with your mom?”
Kodiak’s face is somber as he sighs and Tate wraps her arm around his waist. “She passed away a couple of days ago.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I whisper, pain blooming in my chest as the smile melts off my face and Wyatt gives my hand a squeeze, reminding me that he is here and I can lean if I need to. A feeling of calm washes over me as I glance up at Kodiak. “What happened?”
“They said it was an aneurysm.” Tears shine in his eyes and he clears his throat. “I guess the good thing is that it happened fast and she didn’t feel any pain.”
I nod, my heart aching for him as memories from the day of my parents’ funeral flashes through my mind and the ache I’m so used to intensifies. With all of the things going on and how happy I’ve been, I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately, wishing they could be here to see what I made of myself and the wonderful man who always has my back.
“How is your sister holding up?” Wyatt asks and Kodiak clears his throat again, nodding. He looks thankful for the distraction and I can’t say that I blame him. I’m pretty fucking thankful for it, too.
“She’s doing okay. As soon as she gets all Mom’s stuff taken care of, I told her I want her down here with us.”
I scowl.
Is he not going to go to her funeral?
“You’re not going to head up to Alaska?” Wyatt asks, beating me to it and Kodiak shakes his head, glancing over at Tate, who rolls her eyes.
“Nah. Mom wanted to be cremated and have her ashes thrown into the ocean and we can do that here. Besides, I can’t leave Tate right now.”
“For the of God, Lincoln,” she growls, pinning him with a glare. “Women have been having babies since the dawn of time. I’ll be okay alone.”
His gaze snaps to hers, hard and determined. “I’m not going.”
“I swear to God…”
“Just keep the taser in your purse, woman,” he growls and they stare at each other for a second before she rolls her eyes and turns away from him.
“I’m not going to break, you know.”
He shakes his head again, completely ignoring her comment as my gaze bounces between the two of them. Wyatt told me that Smith’s wife, Quinn, and Moose’s wife, Juliette, we're pregnant but he never mentioned Tate.
“You’re pregnant, too?” Wyatt asks like he’s reading my mind, glancing between the two of them and they share a look before Tate turns to us, fighting back a smile.
“Yep. We’re going to tell everyone today.”
The doorbell rings again and Wyatt release my hand to go answer it as I watch Lincoln and Tate share another look full of love. When Wyatt told me he wanted to introduce me to everyone, I didn't really know what to expect but if these two are any indication, I think I'm going to like them. I was already leaning that way, though, after hearing Wyatt talk about how they gave him a purpose when he was lost and became like a second family to him.
I just hope they don't judge me too harshly for the past.
Three more couples pile into the living room and Wyatt walks back to my side and introduces me to them.
“Babe, this is Storm, his wife, Ali, and their baby girl, Magnolia.” There is a hint of humor in his tone as he says the baby’s name and I scowl at him but he just ignores it as he points to the second couple. “This is Chance and his wife, Carly, and this is Moose and Juliette.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet all of you,” I tell them as my belly flips and my heart jumps into my throat. God, why am I so nervous?
“Well, it’s real nice to meet you since Fuzz here didn't even tell anyone you existed until like a month ago,” Chance says and my head jerks back before I turn to look at Wyatt with a scowl.
“Fuzz?”
“Yeah, you know, ‘cause he was a cop for a hot minute,” Moose says and my eyes widen as I study Wyatt’s face but he just shrugs. Oh, that’s definitely something we will be talking about later. Actually, now that I think about it, I could see Wyatt as a cop but he would be one of those cops who straddles the line of right and wrong, the one that goes too far to find answers and put the truly bad guys away.
The doorbell rings again, pulling me out of my fantasy of Wyatt in a police uniform and he kisses my cheek as he releases my hand and walks over to the door.
“Where is my best friend?” Eden asks, her voice booming through the room and I shake my head as Wyatt stands back to let her in. She points a finger in his face. “You've been keeping her from me.”
“She’s my wife,” he growls and I sigh as everyone else looks on in amusement. I wouldn't say that Wyatt and Eden’s first meeting didn't go well but there is some definite tension between them and as hard as they are both trying to get along for me, they tend to butt heads. Eden dismisses his comment with a flippant hand wave as she turns to me and smiles.
“Pip-squeak!”
A few chuckles fill the room and I roll my eyes as she wraps me up in a hug. “Hey, Edie.”
“I love the place,” she says as she pulls away and glances at Wyatt as he walks up to us. “You did all right, I suppose.”
“Will you be nice?”
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open, her face the picture of innocence as she turns back to me. “What? I'm not allowed to bust his balls a little bit?”
I roll my eyes again as Wyatt shakes his head and Eden turns to look at all the people staring at her.
“Uh, you gonna introduce me to everyone?”
The doorbell rings and as Wyatt goes to answer it, I introduce her to all of the guys and their wives before doing the same when Lillian walks in. By the time I'm finished, the last group is walking through the door.
“Everyone, this is my wife, Piper,” he says as he returns to my side and takes my hand. “Pip, this is Blaze, our president, Smith and his wife, Quinn, Henn and his wife, Kady, and this asshole is Streak.”
Streak flashes a grin at me. “Don't believe anything these fuckers say about me.”
“It’s all true,” Wyatt whispers in my ear and Streak pins him with a glare as he laughs. Everyone stares at Wyatt with confused looks on their faces.
“Jesus Christ, dude,” Smith says, shaking his head before he motions to me. “You’re like a whole new man with this one around.”
I arch a brow. “Oh?”
“Oh, yeah,” Streak says, nodding as he walks forward and throws his arm over my shoulders. “He was one moody son of a bitch without you.”
“Get your arm off of my wife,” Wyatt growls, venom in his tone and I turn to him with wide eyes as Streak pulls his arm off my shoulders and groans.
“Oh my God, I’m so fucking sick of all the couples. We need to get some fresh blood up in this club, people that aren’t already shacked up.”
Blaze scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, we’ll put it to a vote the next time we have church.”
“Perfect. Now, let’s start grillin’. I’m fucking starving.”
“Actually,” Kodiak says and everyone turns to him. “We have somethin’ to tell y’all.”
They share that look again and this time, I smile with them since I’m lucky enough to be in on the secret. Tate turns to the guys, flashing them a wide smile.
“I’m pregnant!”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Streak groans before anyone can say anything else, scrubbing his hands down his face. “Why don’t we just start a goddamn daycare at this point?”
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Storm says with a gleam in his eyes and Ali nods, grinning as Streak continues throwing his little temper tantrum. Blaze nods.
“We’ll vote on that at church, too.”
Streak groans loudly, rolling his eyes. “Is there any beer in this fucking place? I can’t take much more of this shit.”
Everyone laughs as he trudges into the kitchen to search for liquor and I look around at the rest of the group, an unfamiliar feeling settling into my chest as they all turn to congratulate Kodiak and Tate. I know I just met most of them but as I look at their faces, I can’t help but think that for the first time in a long time, I truly have a home and a family.
Chapter Twenty-One
Wyatt
I gaze out at the booths around me, full of stuffed animals and other various toys for kids to win as lights flash and sirens go off in a chaotic symphony that brings a smile to my face and reminds me of my childhood. The smell of popcorn and cotton candy drifts through the air and kids race past my booth, headed for the rides at the other end of the park. Storm and Ali are working the booth directly across from me and next to them is Smith and Quinn. On one side of my booth is Moose and Juliette and Chance and Carly are running the booth on the other side. Henn volunteered to run one of the rides and Kady is somewhere serving food with Blaze. The only ones missing are Kodiak and Tate but only because she had a doctor’s appointment to make sure everything was okay with the baby - something Kodiak insisted on after she felt a little bit of pain at our housewarming barbecue last night. I glance over at Streak on the other side of the booth and frown. Piper couldn’t get out of work or she would have been here with me, running the ring toss game instead of this grumpy fucker and I can’t believe how much I fucking miss her.
About a month ago, the club was contacted by a few people to help work this carnival to raise money for a group of kids in a really bad bus crash. Most of them made it out okay with minor injuries but three of them are still stuck in the ICU and the community has been doing everything they can for them as well as the driver’s wife after he died in the crash. Some of the guys, namely Streak, weren’t too big on the idea but honestly, I loved it as soon as Blaze brought it up. It means that our neighbors are finally starting to see us as more than just a bunch of rowdy bikers and we’re finally shedding more of our past reputation. Plus, this is our mission now - to help people - and that comes in many forms despite what Streak thinks.
“Thank God, this is almost over,” Streak bitches, leaning back in his metal folding chair and crossing his arms over his chest. I glance back at him and shake my head.
“If you’re going to be such a whiney little bitch then why did you even come?”
He scoffs. “Because Blaze made me. Said I needed some goddamn perspective.”
“He’s right. What the fuck is your problem lately?” I ask and he shakes his head, refusing to look in my direction.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
“Mama, I wanna win this one,” a little voice says and I turn back to the front of the booth, smiling as I crouch down in front of a little boy with a mop of brown hair and bright blue eyes. He points to the giant penguin above my head, jumping up and down in excitement as his mom eyes us warily, Streak more than me. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I have spent the whole day listening to his grumpy ass and picking up his slack so I’m done. He can just fucking leave for all I care. I point to the penguin.
“You want this guy?”
The little boy nods. “Yes, sir!”
“Well, you know what you got to do, right?” I ask. He can’t be more than four or five and he’s fucking adorable as
he scowls up at me before his gaze flicks over to the game. Finally, he looks back at me and shakes his head.
“No, I dunno.”
I stand up and grab four rings off of the table before showing them to him. “Don’t worry, it’s easy. All you gotta do is take these rings and toss them. If they land on a bottle, you win.”
I’m not supposed to give a prize that big out unless they land all four rings but we’re almost done for the day and I can’t say no to this kid. His eyes light up as a grin stretches across his face and he nods, holding his hands out to me.
“I can do that.”
“All right, bud. Let’s see it,” I say as I hand him the rings and his mom flashes me a more reassured smile as she steps up behind him and tries to help him toss his first ring. He shakes her off with a scowl.
“I got this, Mama.”
Backing away from him, she holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, baby.”
He narrows his eyes as he focuses on the group of bottles and his little tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth. All I can think about is doing something like this with my own kid someday and I’m so lost in the fantasy, I almost miss his first toss. The ring hits the top of one bottle before sliding between another two and he sighs.
“Wow. That was so close, dude,” I say, flashing him a thumbs up. “Try again. I bet you’ll get it this time.”
His gaze falls back to the bottles, his concentration straining his face as he lifts the next ring and it sails through the air. It’s not a very graceful throw but I’m impressed for his age and when it lands on one of the bottle in the middle, his eyes pop open and he jumps up.
“I got it!”
I clap my hands and crouch down again, holding my hand up for a high-five. He slaps his little hand against mine before spinning in a circle, doing a little happy dance. Laughing, I stand up and grab the giant penguin off of the hook. The goddamn thing is almost as big as me and I have no idea how he is going to carry it.
