Diamond in the Dust (Lost Kings MC 18)

I scoot off the mattress, scooping up a pile of clean, folded linens on the nightstand. “Let’s make this up first. Unmade beds give me the willies.”

“The willies, huh?” He catches the fitted sheet I toss him, spreading it over the mattress.

“So, Hopper implied young Logan was all about the bunnies.” I shake out the top sheet and let it fall while Rooster smooths out the wrinkles.

“I’m sure he did.” He cocks his head and stares at me. “I let him think that so he wouldn’t suspect I was fuckin’ his daughter behind his back.” He tosses the comforter over the bed with a little more force than necessary.

I wrinkle my nose. “Solid plan. How’d that work out for ya?”

His laughter seems somewhere between amused and annoyed. “Well, he still tried to shoot me, so…”

“Maybe it was because he thought you were cheatin’ on his daughter?”

“Doubt it. Feel free to ask if you want. I don’t really care.” He stalks to my side of the bed and yanks me against his body. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

I think I’ve teased Rooster enough for the day. “Yes, you are,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him.

He pulls away right before our lips touch, still staring at me with an intensity that singes my skin. “If I’d known you were in my future, I would’ve happily taken every bullet.”

Damn, he’s so sweet. “No wonder you were worried about my momma gettin’ a gun when she caught us in the shower.”

“Hell yeah.” He rubs his butt. “That shit hurts.”

I’m still laughing when he presses a finger to my chin and tips my head back. “You’re not charmed by our Washington charter, are you?”

“It’s too soon to tell.”

He presses a soft, lingering kiss against my lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For trying. Giving it a chance. Just being here with me. You could’ve done other stuff on your days off than watch prospects learn oral and hang out with my ex and her dad.”

“I’m just happy being with you.”

Someone knocks on our door and I swear Rooster snarls at the intrusion.

He toes my suitcase out of the way and opens the door.

Jiggy brushes past him. “Oh, good, caught you before the shedding of clothes happened.”

“Come in, join us, won’t you?” Rooster’s heavy sarcasm only makes Jiggy laugh.

“They’re getting ready to roll out in ten. Thought you’d wanna know.”

Rooster glances at me. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“I’m looking forward to it. Show me Washington. Everything I’ve seen so far is so pretty, I’m eager to see more.”

“All right.” He rubs his hands together. “Let’s ride, chickadee.”

In the parking lot, brothers are performing last minute checks on their bikes, throwing around some good-natured heckling of each other too.

While Ink had been a bit of a jerk—as far as I was concerned—earlier, he seems to have gotten it out of his system and joins us to talk to Rooster about New York and riding across the country.

“You’re not thinking of relocating, are you?” Jigsaw asks.

“Maybe.” He lifts his chin at Rooster. “How you feelin’ with Z in charge now?”

“Good,” Rooster answers without hesitation. “Club’s headed in the right direction and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty with the rest of us.”

Ink nods slowly. “Thought that might be the case.” He glances at the clubhouse. “Pony’s actually improved a lot of stuff here but I still get itchy feet, ya know?”

“I hear you,” Rooster says. “Our doors are always open, you know that. Come visit.”

“Vegas and I were talking about making the trip. Maybe see if we can get one or two more brothers to join us.”

“Yeah, definitely.” Rooster pats his back.

Jigsaw’s mostly quiet and tight-jawed during their conversation. I’m dying to ask if it’s a general not-wanting-to-share-his-club-with-other-brothers issue or if he doesn’t like Ink for some reason. But I can’t come up with a way to ask that won’t seem rude. Plus, if I don’t pipe up, they’re more likely to keep talking about club stuff in front of me.

Even so, I move closer to Jiggy and nudge him with my elbow. His serial killer vibe melts away and he smiles down at me. “You’re coming back to New York with us, right?”

Well, shoot.

Rooster and I haven’t directly talked about where I’ll land after the tour and recording my album. We’re already pretty much living together out on the road. If I say I want to move to New York with him, is that too much too soon? Too clingy?

I don’t want to be away from Rooster for long periods of time, I know that for sure.

And I know he has to get back to his club at some point.

When I don’t answer right away, Jigsaw mutters, “Shit,” and returns to fiddling with his bike.

While I need to talk it out with Rooster first, I hate Jiggy being mad or upset or whatever he is with me. I scoot over to him and touch his arm.