Copper (Hell's Handlers MC 4)

Made every second of discomfort worth it.

Shell sat on the floor alongside her daughter trying to soften the munchkin’s touch. Didn’t work. Beth plowed on like a bull in a china shop.

The evening was damn near perfect. Once Beth went to bed, and he could get his woman naked, it would be perfect.

As though she read his mind, Shell stood and hauled her squirming daughter to her feet. “All right, Bethy. Time to brush those teeth and head to bed.”

“Can I fix Copper one more time? Please, Mommy!” she whined.

“Not tonight, honey.”

“But, Mom—”

“Hey, come here, princess.” Copper crooked a finger at her.

Her face lit up, and she scrambled onto the couch. “What?”

He cupped his hand and whispered in her ear. “If you go brush your teeth and get into bed without giving Mommy trouble, we’ll go get ice cream tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Beth shouted then shot off toward the bathroom.

Shell cocked her head. Hair pulled back in a messy bun, face make-up free, and wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “What’d you say to her?”

He winked. “Secret.”

With a roll of her eyes, Shell followed her daughter into the bathroom. It took almost half an hour, but she eventually returned. “Phew,” she said, gently wedging herself on the couch next to him.

His arm immediately went around her shoulders. “Tired?”

“Bedtime is a process.”

“Isn’t everything a process with a kiddo?”

“You have a point.” She fell silent. “You okay? I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know you seem frustrated with the outcome. I’ve been worried about you. I know how things had to end with Rusty, but you still lost a brother, the one you used to know. The one you raised. You lost him the day you found out what he did to me. It has to be hard for you.”

It was true. And all the grief of it would probably hit one day soon. And his ol’ lady would be there to help him through it. But for now, he just felt relief Rusty was gone. “Hey,” he lifted a finger to her lips. “All you need to know is that you never have to worry about Rusty again. And I wasn’t the one to do the job.” She didn’t need those details. Just the outcome.

Shell visibly relaxed before his eyes. Had he known how much this was eating at her, he’d have told her earlier he wasn’t going to off Rusty himself. “Good,” she whispered. “It’s all over.”

“You ready to put it behind us? Move forward?”

Her face softened, and she stared at him, love shining in her eyes. “Yes. That’s exactly what I want.”

“Good.” Copper captured a stray curl and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. “You can start by planning the wedding. Doc says I’ll be fully functional in three to four months. “So let’s plan it for the end of July. Yeah?”

Her mouth flapped open and closed, making him laugh.

“What? You thought I forgot?”

“Um, well, yeah. Well, not forgot, but I thought you were rambling from blood loss or something.” Her face had paled a little.

Copper snorted. “Nope. And you agreed. You gonna tell me you lied to me?”

Shell shook her head. More curls fell from the loose pile. “No. I just…are you sure?”

“Michelle Ward, I can’t get down on one knee for the next few months, but I can still tell you how I feel. I’ve wasted so much time. Should have tied you to me years ago. I don’t want to spend another day without you by my side. I love you. I want to marry you and adopt that adorable girl back there.”

Shell was openly crying now. “You want to adopt Beth?”

“Yeah, baby. I want to adopt Beth.”

“And you want to marry me?”

“I want to marry you so fucking bad. So, what do you say? Will you make an honest man outta me?”

Shell threw her arms around him and squeezed. When he winced, she said, “Sorry! Sorry! I forgot you were hurt. Oh, my God, how did I forget?”

He mock scowled at her. He’d take pain any day if it meant having her in his arms. “You gonna put me out of my misery?”

“Oh! Yes,” she said. “Yes, Copper, I’ll marry you. It’s all I’ve wanted for more than ten years. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

He gripped her by the back of the head and crushed their mouths together, split lip be damned. There was no way he wasn’t tasting that mouth.

She’d agreed to be his wife.

His kingdom was complete now that he had his queen.

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Say it again,” Copper said as he drew his hips back.

“Copper, come on, you’re killing me. Just let me come.”

Killing her? She had no freaking idea. The slow, sucking grasp of her pussy as he pulled out nearly did him in. “Say it.”