Ties That Bind (Ruthless Sinners MC 1)

The next morning, I was disappointed to find that I was in the bed alone. I’d hoped to pick up where we’d left off the night before, but that wasn’t going to happen—not this morning or anytime soon, for that matter. Zander had his mind set on giving me time to heal. While urging me to stay in the bed and rest, he took care of all the cooking and everything around the house. The only time I even got out of my pjs was the day we rode over to the clubhouse.

Zander needed to speak with Viper about some club business, and he thought it would be a good opportunity for him to show me around. When we got there, most of the guys were off doing whatever it was they did, so the place was basically empty, giving us free rein to walk about. I’d only been in the one room when I was there before, so I had no idea how big the place really was. It was massive. Not only was there a full bar with pool tables and a jukebox, there was also a large kitchen and a family room area with sofas and a large flat-screen TV. I was surprised to see that there were enough bedrooms for every member to have their own room, and for the most part, they looked like the one I stayed in. Even though most of the guys had a place of their own, they used them whenever they wanted to spend the night at the clubhouse. Zander had me wait in the family room while he spoke with Viper, and as soon as they were done, Zander insisted that we return home.

I tried to protest, telling him I was fine and didn’t need more rest, but he wasn’t having it. He was set on taking care of me, and he did. In fact, he’d tended to my every need—except one. He refused to engage in any sexual activity whatsoever. Other than a few brief kisses, he simply wouldn’t touch me, and even though I found it very endearing, I was becoming frustrated.

On the fourth morning, I’d had enough and decided it was time for us to talk. When I walked into the kitchen, he was wearing only his boxer briefs as he stood at the stove, frying up a batch of bacon. I took a moment to admire the defined muscles of his back. The man was a beautiful creature, and just looking at him had me wanting to reach out and touch him and spend the entire morning messing up the sheets with him. Unfortunately, when he glanced over his shoulder and saw how I was gawking at him, he shook his head and said, “Don’t even think about, beautiful. We’re not having any of that.”

“And why not?”

“Because you’ve been through an ordeal and need time to heal.”

“I’ve had time to heal, Zander. It’s been days,” I fussed. “The bruises are practically gone.”

“You need more time.” He turned his attention back to the stove. “Besides, we’ve got things we need to discuss.”

“Such as?”

I walked over to the counter and sat down on one of the stools, listening with surprise as he said, “I want you to move in with me.”

“What?” I gasped. “When?”

“The sooner the better.” As if it were no big deal, he continued, “I was actually thinking I’d get a few of the prospects to bring the rest of your stuff over this afternoon.”

“You don’t think that’s rushing it a bit?”

“Not at all.” He turned to face me as he said, “I’ve waited a lifetime for you, and now that you’re here, I don’t want to waste a second of the time we have together.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

A sexy smirk crossed his face as he said, “It’s simple. Just say yes, and we’ll start our future together.”

“But—”

“Stop thinking of all the reasons why you should say no, and just say yes, Delilah.” He leaned towards me, still smiling as he rested his elbows on the counter. “You know you want to.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll move in with you.”

“That’s my girl.” He leaned in closer, briefly kissing me before turning back to the stove. “I’ll call the guys and get them to bring your stuff over.”

“I have a lot of stuff, Zander. I’ll want to be there to help.”

“Fine, but I don’t want you overdoing it and I’ll be there to see that you don’t.”

“Okay, I guess that settles it. You have yourself a new roommate.”

He glanced back over his shoulder as he said, “You’ll be more than just a roommate, Delilah. You’re my ol’ lady, and if I have my way about it, it won’t be long before you’ll have my last name and a ring on that pretty, little finger of yours.”