Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons 5)

“I’m headed home,” I argued as he led me to his bike.

“Mack know what happened?”

“No, I haven’t been able to get ahold of him all night.”

“Then we should probably let him know, eh?”

I let out a sigh as Lily hugged me, the Harleys firing up around us.

“Aren’t you glad you had a babysitter?” she asked, giving me a squeeze.

“Shut up,” I replied. “And thanks for bringing your boyfriend.”

“I swear, he follows me around like a puppy,” she joked. “Can’t go anywhere without him.”

“That must make pooping an event.”

“You’re so gross,” she said, laughing as she pushed me away. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Have fun pooping,” I called as she walked over to Leo. She flipped me off over her shoulder.

“All set?” my dad asked, handing me my mom’s helmet.

“Yep.” I climbed onto the back of my dad’s bike like I’d done hundreds of times before, wrapped my arms around his waist, and let myself relax against his back. All the crap with Copper was over. Finally.

“What happened?” Mack called out several brief moments after we pulled into his driveway, hurrying down the porch steps in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He kept one arm unnaturally still along his side, and I could barely make out the pistol in his hand.

“Idiot showed up at the bar,” my dad replied as I climbed off the bike.

“Motherfucker,” Mack said, shaking his head. “You okay, baby?”

“I’m fine,” I replied, handing my dad mom’s helmet. “Leo and Lily were there.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked, pulling me against him and kissing my head.

“I tried,” I mumbled.

“Cam took him back to the clubhouse,” my dad said.

“I’ll meet you there,” Mack replied.

“Alright.” Dad stowed mom’s helmet and looked at me. “Love you, baby girl. Call your mom when you get inside, yeah?”

“I will. Love you, too.”

By the time my dad started his bike back up, Mack had already led me to the porch. We were up the stairs and inside the house within moments.

“I shoulda been there,” Mack said, locking the door behind us. “I knew that fucker was gonna show up sooner or later.”

“It was fine,” I replied tiredly. The night had felt never ending, and now I just wanted to climb in bed and pass out. “Lily and Leo were there.”

He strode to the kitchen and picked up his phone, cursing.

“It’s dead,” he said, shaking his head. Before I could reply, he’d thrown his phone across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

I stood there gaping for a long moment. “You could have just charged it,” I finally muttered.

“Can’t believe this shit,” he replied, coming toward me. He barely stopped walking as he hoisted me up so that my legs were wrapped around his waist. I held on tight as he took the stairs two at a time and brought us into the bedroom.

“You just ran up the stairs,” I said in awe as he set me on my feet. “While you were carrying me.”

“And?” He pushed his hair back from his face.

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever encountered in real life.”

Mack’s lips twitched as he tried not to smile.

“Seriously,” I said, widening my eyes. “Hotter than the guys in kilts that throw those big logs.”

“You have a thing for guys with big logs, huh?” he said, still holding back his smile.

“You have no idea,” I whispered, fluttering my eyelashes.

He laughed, the sound coming out rough, before it cut off completely. “Shit.”

“I was fine,” I said, sliding my hands up his chest and around his neck. “Really.”

“Can’t believe you couldn’t get ahold of me,” he said, running his hands over my hair until he was cupping the back of my neck.

“Leo took care of it,” I replied. “It’s all over now.”

“Not yet,” he said darkly. “But it will be soon.”

I dropped my arms as he pulled away from me, watching as he started getting dressed.

“Get in bed, baby,” he ordered gently. “Been a long night.”

“I don’t want to go to sleep without you,” I argued, staying where I was.

Mack looked up in surprise. “I gotta run to the club.”

“Then I’ll wait,” I said stubbornly.

“I don’t want you stayin’ up all night waitin’ on me,” he said, pulling a hoodie over his head. He came toward me and reached for the bottom of my shirt. Instead of fighting him on it, I let him strip me down to my underwear.

“I can’t sleep like this,” I said as he ran his fingers down the middle of my chest.

“I’ll grab ya a shirt,” he replied hoarsely.

“Is Kara home?” I asked as I pulled his t-shirt over my head.

“Yeah,” he replied, following me to the bed. When I climbed in, he sat down at my hip. “I’ll leave the pistol in the nightstand.”

“I won’t need it.”

“Just wanted you to know it was there,” he said, leaning forward to give me a kiss. His lips lingered on mine. “Wish I didn’t have to leave ya, but this shit needs to be handled.”