Angel's Halo: Forever Angel

by Terri Anne Browning

  The old T-shirt and pajama shorts I was wearing disappeared in no time, and then he was pushing deep inside of me. “Jesus,” he groaned. “Every time I slide into this pussy, I feel like I’m home.”

  I couldn’t speak, could barely breathe as he thrust in and out of me, driving me crazy with his lips on my body, staking his claim.

  My release snuck up on me, and I cried out his name before I could stop myself. He grinned down at me. “That’s right, baby. Scream my name. Let this whole goddamn place know who is fucking you.”

  My nails bit into his hips as the agony of pleasure made me convulse. His grin disappeared, replaced by a look of tormented ecstasy. He went stiff over me, and then I felt his cock grow harder, thicker inside me. His release filled me up, but I couldn’t find the will to care.

  Woman I love.

  Those words floated through my mind as he fell on top of me, his weight a comfort. Kissing my lips softly, he buried his face in my neck. “I was so damn scared,” he confessed in a raspy whisper. “You said there was an accident, and a nightmare of shit flashed through my head.”

  I stroked my hands down his sides, mindful of the tender flesh on his back. “Tanner…”

  “Mm?” He sounded sleepy, but his lips were sucking lazily on my neck while his cock started to wake up all over again deep inside me.

  “Did you mean it?” I whispered, half afraid to even ask.

  “That I was scared? Yeah, Jos. I was terrified.”

  “N-No…” I pushed on his shoulder, urging him back so I could see his face. “The part…when you said ‘the woman I love.’ Did you mean it?”

  The confusion on his face cleared, to be replaced by an expression I’d never seen on him before. Vulnerability. “Yeah,” he said after a minute had passed. “I love you, Jos. I always have.”

  Tears surprised us both by falling over my lashes. “Y-you really mean that?”

  He touched his lips to my tears, kissing them away. “Never meant anything more in my life, sweetheart.”

  “I love you too,” I whispered.

  His entire body jerked. Lifting his head, he met my gaze, a look of wonder in those magnetic blues. “Jos. Fuck. Beautiful, fuck.” He grew even harder inside me, and I arched up into him, desperate for him all over again.

  --

  My mom clock went off at six, as usual. I slowly shifted out from under Tanner’s hold. His casted arm was locked around my waist, but he was deep asleep. It took a moment, but I was finally able to free myself.

  I took a quick shower then tossed on the first things I could find, a pair of jeans and a black hoodie that was older than my son. Pulling my curls into a ponytail, I left Tanner still sleeping.

  Down the hall, Raven’s door was open, but I still knocked, not wanting to walk in without warning in case Bash was naked or something. But it was only Raven in there when I entered. There was a crib against one wall and a cot across from it, the bed right in the middle of the room.

  Reid and Max were already awake, both of them standing up in the crib, talking happily in their baby language. In the cot, Lexa was slowly waking up but not happy about it. “Mommy, my arm hurts,” she whined.

  “I know, baby,” Raven said with a sigh. “We’ll go to the doctor and see what’s going on, my love.”

  “Is her wound not healing right?” I asked, concerned.

  “No, it’s healing fine. It’s just giving her more pain the last few days. I think she might have some torn tendons or something. She might need an MRI.” She sighed heavily. “That’s going to be fun.”

  “Do you want me to watch Max for you?” I offered, picking up Reid. He already had a fresh diaper and, by the looks of it, so did Max.

  “Thanks, but I’m taking him with me. Flick and I have some grocery shopping to do, and Max needs some fresh air. Jet and Raider are going to go with us.” She picked up her phone. “Do you need anything? I’ll add it to my list.”

  “I’m good.” I kissed Reid’s cheek, and he wrapped his arms around my neck. That was his favorite spot. It seemed that was his father’s favorite spot too. “Tanner checked himself out of the hospital last night. Should I be worried he’s not recovered enough?”

  “Bash told me,” she said with a grimace. “I wouldn’t be too concerned. He’s basically recovered except for some muscle issues. That was why Doc wanted to keep him in the hospital a few more days, to make sure he gets enough physical therapy. It’s easier to have him home, though. We’ll make it work, Jos. Don’t worry.”

  “Milk,” Reid complained. “Milk, Momma.”

  “Okay, okay.” I rearranged him on my hip. “Be careful going into town.”

  “Tell Tanner you’re going with me later. Flick and Kelli are making plans with their men too.”

  “Will do,” I called as I left the room and headed for the kitchen.

  In the main room, others were just starting to wake up, but the kitchen was in full swing when I walked in. There was a sippy cup already waiting for Reid in the fridge with his name on it, filled with milk. Beside it sat a small cup of grapes and cut-up strawberries.

  “Thank you, whoever did this,” I said to the room at large.

  “We figured you would be busy this morning,” Quinn said with a smile. “We’re just glad Tanner is home.”

  “Me too,” I admitted.

  “Here, girl.” Aggie pushed a plate into my hands. It had three sandwiches on it, thick slices of toast with fried eggs and crispy bacon. My stomach growled just looking at them. “Go feed yourself and your man. It’s about time the Reid boys met each other, don’t you think?”

  Chapter 21

  Tanner

  The overhead light turning on had me reaching for the pillow to cover my face. “Go away, Matt,” I groaned.

  “Sorry, no Matt here.” Jos’s sweet voice reached me, sounding amused. “We brought breakfast, Daddy.”

  My entire body went still, even my heart stopped beating. Daddy. Lifting my head, I saw Jos walking toward our bed, a kid in her arms who looked so much like Max, I had to blink a few times before I realized it wasn’t. He had a sippy cup full of milk in one hand, some kind of kiddie cup I’d seen the other little ones have snacks in held in the other.

  I started to sit up quickly, only to remember I was naked under the blankets.

  “Easy,” Jos said with a soft laugh. “He’s got all the same parts you do, so you don’t have to freak out he’s going to see your dick.”

  Cursing under my breath, I finished sitting up in bed, putting my back against the headboard and keeping the blanket tucked at my waist. All my moving around had caught Reid’s attention. His blue eyes, a Reid trademark if ever there was one, were glued to me. Curiosity was plain on his face as he watched me from the safety of his mother’s arms.

  Jos stopped beside the bed, placing a plate I’d just noticed on the nightstand before sitting beside me. Reid moved to sit on the bed and pulled out a grape. He offered it to his mother. Her smile was so kind, so full of love, and I’d never seen her look more beautiful.

  “No thank you, baby boy. Ask Daddy if he wants a bite.”

  Reid frowned then pointed at me. Jos nodded, her smile encouraging. “Yes, Reid. That’s your daddy.”

  I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do, while a million things went through my mind. Would he like me? Accept me? Fuck, he wasn’t even two, but this little boy’s opinion of me was suddenly the only thing that mattered.

  The hand holding the grape lifted in my direction fearlessly. “Bite?”

  I leaned forward, letting him feed it to me, making a growling noise as I sucked the piece of fruit into my mouth. He squealed in delight, giggling, and it was my new favorite sound. A small chunk of strawberry was produced from the snack cup next, which he promptly fed to me. I growled again, eating it up, my beard tickling his chubby little hand.

  While he giggled and screamed with delight, I drank in the sight of my son in the fl
esh. Fuck, he was a beautiful boy. Dark, curly hair. Bright blue eyes that were full of the kind of happiness every kid should have. There was no denying he was a Reid. Anyone would know what clan he belonged to from a mile away.

  And he was mine.

  I’d helped create him.

  This beautiful little boy was half me, half his mother, and the best thing I’d ever made in my life.

  A lump filled my throat, and all I wanted in the world right then was to hug him. Not wanting to scare him, I held out both my hands to him, letting him decide for himself. His attention was immediately pulled to my cast. “Boo-boo?”

  “Yes, honey. Daddy has a boo-boo,” Jos murmured softly, but I could still hear the catch in her voice.

  His chin puckered, and he crawled forward until he could reach me. Pushing up to his knees, he carefully patted my cast. It was still painful from surgery, and even his light pat was enough to send pain-filled vibrations all the way up my arm, but I didn’t even flinch, too caught up in the moment of having my son touch me so fearlessly. “Boo-boo,” he said with the kind of empathy only the innocent possessed.

  When he kissed my cast, the magical medicine I’d seen Raven and Bash use countless times on Lexa and Max, a lump filled my throat. Reid lifted his head, his eyes wide as if to ask “All better?”

  “Thanks, buddy,” I choked out, more overcome with emotions than I could ever remember being in my entire life. “That feels much better now.”

  He beamed then climbed into my lap. “Milk, Momma,” he said, holding out his hands toward his sippy cup.

  Jos handed over the sippy and the snack cups then leaned back against the headboard beside me before placing the plate she’d brought with her between us. “Aggie made breakfast. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  She picked up one of the three sandwiches, biting into it like she hadn’t eaten in days.

  With my good arm holding Reid loosely against me, I wasn’t even going to try using my casted one to pick up the sandwich. My stomach came a poor second to holding my son for the first time. I leaned back, enjoying this first meeting, praying like mad I didn’t ever fuck it up. I loved this kid like crazy already. He was mine to raise into a man, to protect with my life.

  I won’t let him down.

  Fuck, I’d missed almost two years of this because of my own stupidity. I never should have let Jos go, should have just been my usual selfish self and kept her as close as possible and damn the consequences. Then I wouldn’t have missed out on watching her stomach grow with our baby, or holding him when he was first pushed into the world, or loving him and his mother with every breath that left my body.

  “Bite?” Reid offered me another grape, but before I could move to take it and make him giggle, Jos was offering him a bite of her sandwich. He bit into it hungrily, protesting with a squeal when she went to pull away. The snack cup was tossed into my lap as he crawled over to his mother for more.

  She tore off a piece of the sandwich and offered it to him.

  “The look on your face is sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time,” she murmured softly. “He’s a Reid, Tanner. He’s going to follow the food every time.”

  “He’s mine, Jos. He’s going to follow you. Every time,” I told her, leaning in for a quick kiss. “I can’t blame him. You’re just so damn beautiful, it’s hard to resist.”

  Pink filled her cheeks, and she pushed the plate into my now-free hand. “Eat. Then you need to walk around a little so your muscles don’t get too stiff. Doc said the more walking you do, the better. But I still want you to take things easy. No heavy lifting, and when Reid naps, I would like for you to as well.”

  “Napping with my son sounds like fun,” I said with a shrug. “But only if you’re napping with us too.”

  That got me a roll of her eyes. “I have work to do. Actually, I’m glad I brought so much with me last night. Now I won’t have to go to the office.”

  I paused, my sandwich inches away from my mouth, my stomach clenching in dread. “You aren’t going anywhere without me from now on, we clear?” I couldn’t risk her life. I fucking wouldn’t risk it. She was too important to me. I loved this woman, and I wasn’t going to let anyone try to take her away from me.

  Her teeth bit into her bottom lip for a second before she sighed. “I can’t stay locked up in the clubhouse, Tanner. I have work to do. Men who are relying on me to run Barker Construction so they will have a job, health care, a paycheck to pay their bills and feed their families.”

  “And you can work. I’m just going to be with you.” I finally took a bite of my breakfast, mentally groaning at the taste of perfectly salted eggs and crispy bacon. Food had never tasted so good, but maybe that was because I’d taken it for granted all my life. Three weeks without a single crumb to eat made a man appreciate the food placed in front of him.

  “I don’t want to argue with you about this,” she muttered grumpily. Standing, she dusted a few crumbs off her shirt then the bed where Reid was just finishing up the last bite of his portion of the sandwich.

  As soon as it was stuffed into his mouth, he eyeballed my sandwich, and I gladly tore off a piece like his mother had done and offered it to him. He moved so he was leaning against me before accepting the offered food.

  “I’m going to get us some coffee,” Jos announced. “You two carry on cuddling.”

  “Can I have another sandwich?” I asked with a pout.

  “Pretty sure Aggie would make you a hundred sandwiches.”

  “One more is plenty.” I took another bite, chewing slowly.

  “Coffee and another breakfast sandwich coming up,” she said with a smile. “You two be good.”

  Reid didn’t even pay attention when she left the room. He was too interested in looking at my four-fingered hand. I glanced down at where my pinkie should have been, remembering the excruciating pain when Fontana had sliced it off with a cigar cutter. It hadn’t been quick. The whole thing took minutes while I’d tried to hold in my screams of agony, not wanting to give the evil bastard the satisfaction of hearing how much pain I was truly in.

  When it was over, he’d lit a cigar and used it to stanch the bleeding, searing the wound closed.

  It was mostly healed now, as were my fingernail beds, but the memories would stay with me for the rest of my life.

  “How about some TV, little dude?” I offered, grabbing the remote off the nightstand to distract us both from my missing finger.

  I turned it on to some Disney cartoon thing about two puppies. Reid shifted, getting more comfortable, and laid his head on my side.

  By the time Jos returned, I was just as engrossed in the damn show as my son was and even had a favorite of the two puppies.

  “You two look like you’ve been doing this forever,” Jos commented as she took my empty plate and replaced it with one that held another sandwich and some pancakes. “Lexa wanted pancakes, so Raven made you a few too.”

  Reid was already tearing apart the top pancake, sprinkling powdered sugar all over the bed. Jos didn’t seem to care, though. The sheets were going to need washing anyway after our crazy night, so I didn’t give a shit either. Let the kid play. He was having fun, and I was enjoying watching him.

  The crazy thing was, I saw so much of myself in him. Not just in looks, but in personality. We hadn’t even met until that morning, but he acted so much like me, it made me grin.

  When we were finished eating, the show was over, and Reid didn’t seem as interested in the next show. He climbed off the end of the bed and toddled over to the corner of the room where his toys were.

  “He’s going to be busy for the next fifteen minutes or so,” Jos informed me, following my gaze. “You should take a shower. Everyone was asking how you are, and they want to see with their own eyes that you’re okay.”

  I let my eyes trace over her, a new hunger starting to gnaw at my gut. “I guess you can’t join me, huh?”

  A matchi
ng hunger began to burn in her gaze, but she shook her head reluctantly. “Sorry, babe. Reid will destroy this place if someone doesn’t watch him.”

  “Damn,” I grumbled, but I leaned in for a kiss. “Later?”

  “Definitely,” she promised, a dazed look on her beautiful face.

  --

  As soon as I walked into the main room of the clubhouse, it turned into pure mayhem. Ol’ ladies and sheep alike surrounded me, hugging me, patting me on the back, sobbing that they were so happy I was okay.

  I let the majority of them hug me, but I made sure to keep it short, not wanting to give Jos a reason to feel jealous or insecure.

  Eventually, though, I just had to tell them to give me some room to breathe, because they were all smothering me.

  As soon as they went back to doing what they should have been doing, Reid toddled up to me with a toothy grin on his face, a book in his hands. “Da-Da, up!”

  Heart contracting, I bent and lifted him up, looking down at the book in his hands. “Whatcha got, little dude?”

  “Play?” he asked hopefully.

  “Soon, son. Daddy’s got some work to do.” I kissed the top of his head, hugging him tight.

  “Yo, T!” Spider called out as he came through the door. “Let’s go to church, man.”

  “Right behind you,” I told him and reluctantly put Reid on his feet. “Go play, buddy. We will play later.”

  He toddled back over to the group of kids playing, and I started up the steps to Bash’s office.

  The room was already crowded with my fellow brothers, and I shut the door behind me as I stepped inside. There wasn’t an empty seat, but I was tired of sitting around, so when someone offered me their chair, I shook my head. “I’m good.”

  Bash slapped his hand on the desk, calling church to order. “Let’s get this shit started. We got a lot to cover and not a lot of time to do it in.”

  “Last night, someone tried to kill me and Jos,” Hawk announced, but only a few of the brothers seemed to find this news, most of them probably having already known about it. “Jos was most likely the target, and we all know why.”