Wrath laughs so hard there’s no way the girls can’t hear us out here.
“What are you three knuckleheads doing?” Z calls out, striding into the dining room carrying Alexa in his arms. He lifts his chin at Murphy. “Where’s your woman? Our little princess here, has frosting in her ears, up her nose, in her hair, and hell knows where else.”
Murphy snorts and holds out his hands. “Give her to me.”
“Aw, such a modern dad,” Z snarks.
Murphy flips him a discrete middle finger behind Alexa’s back, then nods at the door. “Guess I’m going in.”
After he’s gone, Wrath claps me on the back. “You gonna rescue your girl?”
“From Hope?” No fucking way. The two of them have been spending more and more time together since our trip downstate, which was exactly what I’d hoped for. I want Hope on Charlotte’s side, especially now.
“You want her teaching your girl the art of withholding sex?”
Z lets out a sharp bark of laughter. “I don’t think Hope’s familiar with that one.”
Wrath’s eyes widen and he lets out a dramatic gasp. “Are you calling our First Lady slutty?”
“No, I’m calling her dick-whipped.”
I place a hand on my stomach. “I’m going to throw up.”
Z pats my head, similar to how he pets the dogs. “Sorry, little brother.” He turns to Wrath. “He still hasn’t recovered from catching Mom and Dad doing it on the war room table.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Wrath says. “They have their own damn house.”
“Why are you all in here?” Rock says as he pushes through the dining room doors and throws his hands in the air. “The party’s outside.”
“These two were spying on the girls,” Z explains.
“I wasn’t,” Wrath says. “Teller and his ginger wonder twin were.”
Rock heaves out a deep breath, searching for patience to deal with us, I’m sure.
“Tell me, Prez,” Wrath says, stroking his hand over his beard. “Did you and your ol’ lady desecrate our war room table?”
“Asshole,” I hiss at him.
Rock’s mouth twists into a smirk and he gives us a casual shrug. “Man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
Wrath leaves to find Trinity and Z leaves to take the dogs for a run.
“How you doing?” Rock asks.
“Good.” I stop and take a breath. “I want to patch Charlotte and ask for the officers’ votes.”
“All right. Today?”
“Yes.”
Together, we push into the kitchen and find Murphy and Heidi fussing over a pissed-off Alexa who’s getting bathed in the sink.
“Blake, can you grab me a towel?” Heidi asks.
Murphy holds a towel open while Heidi hands Alexa to him. He wraps her up tight, and she stops wailing. Leaning over, he gives Heidi a quick kiss and they share a few words.
Rock walks up behind Hope and wraps his arms around her middle while she continues her conversation with Charlotte.
I join them and slip an arm around Charlotte. “Where’ve you been?” she teases.
“We’re gonna sit down for church in a few,” Rock says.
“You want me to round everyone up, Prez?” Murphy asks.
“No. You’re busy with our birthday girl.” He nods at me. “Bring everyone in.”
“You got it.”
Murphy lifts his chin at me, grateful I think, to have a few extra minutes with his family.
I take Charlotte outside. Before we return to the party, I stop and back her against the side of the clubhouse.
“Kiss me.”
She wraps her arms around my neck, rises up on her toes, and presses her lips to mine.
I pull back, staring down at her face. “Do you want kids?”
Her big blue eyes widen in surprise. “Eventually, yes.”
“You ever think about us having kids?”
A bright smile lights up her face. “Only every time I see you with Alexa.”
“Yeah?”
She nods and pulls me down for another kiss.
“What made you ask that today?” she murmurs against my lips.
“Realized I’ve never really asked.”
“And what if I said no?”
She’s teasing me, so I pin her to the wall and grind my hips into her. “I would’ve convinced you.”
Her soft laughter warms me all over, confirming my decision to patch her. Hopefully it won’t be hard to convince my brothers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Church is quick. Rock passes out assignments to everyone for the week. I pass around some cash. Wrath updates us on the rebuild of the gym.
Rock dismisses the general members but asks the officers to stay. Murphy gives me a smile and a nod, knowing what I’m about to do.
“I want to give Charlotte my property patch.”
“Are you asking for our votes as well?” Rock asks.
“Yes.”
Rock’s the first one to say yes. Then he moves to Z.
“Yes.” He pats my shoulder. “She cured this moody prick. She’s a loyal girl.”
Murphy’s a ‘yes’ as well.
All of us turn to Wrath. He doesn’t ask questions or dick around, which is a bad sign.
“No.”
He might as well have taken one of his giant fists and hammered it into my gut.
“What the fuck?” I shout.
Unmoved by my outburst, he holds up his hand. “I’m not saying no forever. Just right now, I think it’s too soon. We should see how things shake out with her uncle first.”
“Motherfucker,” I grumble even though I’m not really surprised. “You know she and Trinity patched things up, right?”
He rolls his eyes as if I’m dense. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“Like fuck it doesn’t.”
“All right. Simmer down,” Rock says. “You still want to give her your patch?”
I glare at Wrath. “No. I’m not making her feel like she’s less than since she won’t have the officers’ patches like the other girls do.”
Wrath shrugs. “Give it to her. If she gets pissed, it’s a sign she’s not cut out for this. If she understands, maybe she is.”
“Fuck you.”
He leans over the table. “I’ve been humoring you since I know why you’re pissed, but watch yourself, little brother.”
“Knock it off.” Rock swings his right arm out, pushing Wrath back in his chair.
I take a few deep breaths and compose myself. “I have another announcement.”
Rock raises an eyebrow and waits for me to continue.
“I’m moving out of the clubhouse.”
Everyone just stares at me for a few seconds.
Except for Murphy, who slowly nods, not at all surprised.
“Where are you going?” Z asks.
“Bought a house right down the road. The property actually borders ours.”
“The old farmhouse that’s been up for sale for over a year?” Wrath asks. “That place?”
“Yup. People who owned it blew all their cash restoring it, couldn’t pay the mortgage, and lost it. There’s still some work that needs to be done, but it’s solid. I’m showing it to Charlotte today.”
“She doesn’t know about it?” Z asks.
“No. It was a surprise.” I glare across the table at Wrath again. “I was going to give her the patch when I showed her the house.”
Wrath rarely, if ever, shows remorse and his expression remains blank.
Z’s already in planning mode. “We can break an access trail between the two properties, that’ll be cool. So you’ll have a back way in.”
“Not a bad idea,” Rock says. He gives me a nod. “Congratulations.”
Still pissed about the vote, but excited to show Charlotte the house, I leave the table.
Hope, Trinity, Heidi, and Charlotte are in the living room playing with Alexa. I tug my girl up off the couch. “Did y
our brother head home already?”
“A little while ago.”
“Come take a ride with me, Sunshine.”
The girls hoot and make obnoxious catcalls at us. “Perverts,” Charlotte calls out as I lead her outside. “What’s the hurry?”
“No hurry. Just want you to myself.”
I hand over her helmet and straddle my bike. Carefully, she gets on behind me, snuggling up close. She doesn’t ask where we’re going, just holds on tight.
When I turn down the unfamiliar driveway ten minutes later, her body shifts and I feel her turning her head, checking out the surroundings.
“Where are we?” she asks after dismounting. Her eyes are wide with curiosity. A bemused smile plays over her lips.
“You’ll see.”
I take her hand and lead her up the steps. She watches as I take out a key and open the front door.
It’s not furnished yet, but the place is beautiful. Dark, gleaming hardwood floors. Large windows with plenty of light.
I follow as she moves through the living room and up the stairs, checking out each bedroom. “This was two bedrooms, but they converted it to one master suite.”
It’s the one room with any furniture.
“Hmm.” She runs her hand over the gray comforter on the bed. “This looks familiar.”
She checks out the master bathroom, which is one room that still needs to be finished. “We can do whatever you want in here. There’s plenty of room.”
So far, she hasn’t said a word and a sense of dread begins to form.
We end up downstairs in the kitchen, where I lift her up to sit on the counter. “Move in with me.”
Her hands frame my face and she brushes her lips against mine. “We’re pretty much already living together.”
“Let’s move into our own place.”
A bit of nervous laughter flows out of her. “What did you do?”
“Let’s make this our place.”
“Is it yours?”
“It’s ours.”
She blinks and throws her arms around me. “Oh my God! You bought us a house? Thank you. This place is amazing.”
“You like it?”
“I love it! I didn’t want to get too excited since I didn’t know why you were showing it to me.”
“Sorry about that. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
She pulls me down for another kiss. “I’m surprised.”
“There’s something I have to tell you, though.”
“Oh, no. It’s not haunted, is it?”
I drop my head and chuckle. “No.”
“Is there a family of cannibals living in the basement?”
I laugh even harder. “You and Trinity need to stop watching so many horror movies together.”
“Is it clowns?” she asks in a fake-serious voice. “Are there killer clowns in the attic?” She stops goofing around, but her smile remains. “Heidi said she thought you were asking the guys to vote me in today.”
Goddamn it, Heidi.
“She knows better than to talk about club stuff.”
Charlotte’s smile falters.
“I did ask,” I say gently. “The verdict was not yet.”
“Oh.” She blinks a few times. “But not a solid no, right?”
“Right.”
She presses her palms against my face again. “I understand. Chuck’s still in jail. Your club’s relationship with the Wolf Knights is still questionable until that gets sorted.” She narrows her eyes. “I hope you didn’t give your brothers a hard time.”
This woman’s perfect for me in every single way. “Shit, I love you.” I lift her off the counter, and she wraps her legs around me. “I can still give you my patch. It just won’t have the officer patches on the side.”
“Nope.” She shakes her head and hugs me tighter. “I want it all, Marcel and I’ll wait for it.”
Marcel stares into my eyes with nothing but love. “I do want to give you everything.”
“Is that why you’re moving away from the clubhouse?”
“No, I already had this place,” he explains, but a small part of me wonders if deep down he knew it would take a while before all his brothers accepted me completely.
Overwhelmed with love for this man who has risked an awful lot to be with me, I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Thank you.”
“You’re not upset?”
I pull back, so we’re eye-level. “Hell, no. How could I be upset? Are you sure you want to be away from the club?”
He sets me back on the counter and tucks my hair behind my ear. My eyes close and I lean into his touch. “I want to be where you are.”
“But you won’t be near your sister and Alexa.”
“We’re only ten or fifteen minutes from the clubhouse. Easy enough for Heidi to drop Alexa off when she needs me to watch her. Close enough for me to be up there when the club needs me.”
“What did Heidi say? Was she upset?”
“I haven’t told her yet.”
My eyebrow quirks up. “Really?”
“I wanted to show it to you first. Murphy probably guessed because he was with me when I found the place, but this is about you and me. No one else.”
I hug him tight, inhaling the scent of the man I love so much. “I love you, Marcel.”
He kisses my forehead. “Come on, I want to show you the rest of it.”
I slide down off the counter and stroll to the side door that seems to lead to the yard. Beyond that, there are a few smaller buildings. “What are the other buildings?”
Marcel comes up behind me, wrapping me up in his arms, and pulling me against his chest. “That,” he says, pointing to the one that from here looks like a miniature of this house. “Was the caretaker’s cottage. It was converted into a workshop downstairs and an apartment upstairs.”
“Neat. What are you planning to do with it?”
“Thought we’d offer it to Carter. He can use the workshop as an art studio or something and live upstairs. Or just stay there when he visits.”
Unsure I’m hearing him correctly, I turn and stare at him.
“You bought a place.” Each word comes out slow and full of awe. “For us. That has a place. For my brother?”
Doubt creeps into his expression. “Well, yeah. When I saw it, I knew it’d be a great setup for our situation.”
“Our situation?”
“Well, he can’t stay under our roof. Not with us being all depraved and stuff.”
Wowwowow.
I practically jump on him. “You’re the sweetest. I can’t even. Thank you.”
He truly seems perplexed by my reaction. How can I even explain it?
Uncle Chuck kicked Carter out of his house and my boyfriend, no, my old man, is offering this amazing, beautiful, wonderful home as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. Because to Marcel, it’s the right thing to do.
That’s his moral code. To take care of and provide for his loved ones.
“I know how important he is to you, Sunshine. He’s family.”
“You’re my family now too.”
He gives me a half-smile. “Yes, I am.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
We spend more time exploring the house and property. After Alexa’s birthday party, a regular club party had been planned and we’re supposed to be there.
Marcel’s almost hesitant, as if he’s worried I won’t want to visit the clubhouse again after the guys didn’t vote me in.
“We have to go up. They’re expecting you.”
He still doesn’t say anything.
“I’m fine, Marcel. I’m not even supposed to know about it, right?” I remind him.
“True.”
“It doesn’t change how I feel about you or the club.”
Besides, I can take a good guess at who cast the no vote.
When we arrive, Marcel stops to talk to Murphy, and I search for Wrath. I find him in a corner of the living room, back to the wall, arms cross
ed over his chest, surveying the party with the terrifying intensity that has to be partially responsible for his road name.
Deep breath.
I walk over and stare up at him for a few seconds before he acknowledges my presence with a raised eyebrow.
“Can we talk?”
Pretty damn ballsy of me, right?
But I went over this in my head a few times on the ride up here. There are two things I figure Wrath respects above everything else. Brutal honesty and bravery.
To confirm my suspicions, there’s a twitch at the corner of his mouth. I can’t tell if he’s trying not to laugh or wants to tell me to fuck off. He jerks his head toward the front door and I follow him outside.
“What’s on your mind, Charlotte?” he asks in his deep, rumbling voice.
Since I’m pretty sure a long speech will piss him off, I dive right in.
“I’m guessing you didn’t vote for me.”
His expression doesn’t change. “You mad about that darlin’?” he asks with an edge of sarcasm.
“No. I get it. I wouldn’t think you were so good at your job if you let me in right away.”
He snorts. “That so?”
“Yup.” I lean in closer and drop my voice so he has to bend down to hear me. “You should know, though, I love Teller and I’m not going anywhere.”
I think the big, scary enforcer for the Lost Kings MC is speechless so I continue. “I’ll prove to you that the club can trust me and I understand it will take time to earn that trust.”
After a few seconds, I’m on the receiving end of a genuine smile from Wrath. My very first. “You’re fearless, I’ll give you that.”
“I am concerned he’s moving away from the clubhouse, though. I don’t want him to resent me later because of it.”
Wrath seems surprised. “He didn’t have to move.”
“I don’t want it to interfere with his relationship with the club, with his brothers.”
“No one questions his dedication or loyalty to the club, Charlotte.” He flicks his gaze to somewhere over my shoulder, then back to my face. “I’ll be honest with you, he’s been taking care of everyone else his whole life. He deserves to have something just for himself and a good woman he can trust.”