Hammer (Regulators MC 2)

This time, there is no question in my voice. “I love you, Desirae.”

She starts to shake her head again, but I stop her.

“Hear me out, woman. I fucked up, and I know I did. As much as I may not deserve it, I’m standing here, asking you for another chance, because life is colorless without you. You’re my oxygen, my reason to breathe. Walk out that door, sugar, and breathe the life back into me. Without you, I feel dead.”

Epilogue

Three Months Later

~Desirae~

“Pack a bag, Drill Sergeant,” Ethan orders, slapping my ass as I lie there, draped over him.

“Who is the one commanding now?” I give him sass back.

He smiles down at me then kisses the top of my head. “Baby, if we’re in this bed—any bed—I’m in charge. If you wanna push my body to the limits out of bed to keep my stamina strong in the bed, fine by me, but baby, in bed, it’s my way, and I assure you it’s gonna be in all the ways you love.”

I can’t argue with him there. Since the day he came to the gym, we haven’t spent a night apart. I am happier than I have ever been in my life, though a piece of me will always be missing because my sister is gone. I wish she could have had this feeling.

The rumble of his voice takes me out of my thoughts. “What’s got you lost in thought?”

“Suzie,” I reply honestly, holding Ethan a little more tightly. “I hate that she didn’t have this in her life.”

“This?”

“Love, security, a partner, a friend,” I ramble as tears fill my eyes.

Ethan tips my chin with his finger and does a half-crunch, forcing me up to him as he comes down to me. Then his lips brush mine.

“Is that what you feel with me?”

I close my eyes then open them, biting my bottom lip. “Yes,” I say on a whisper.

“Desirae, this bed-hopping shit ain’t working for me.”

I gasp, wanting to punch him. “How do we have such a sweet moment, and then you say something like that?” I roll my eyes. “Ice said you were an asshole. I must have rose-colored glasses on or some shit. Way to ruin it, Ethan.” I move to get up, but a firm hand on my ass keeps me in place.

His eyes meet mine, and the seriousness in them has butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “We’re together every night. I don’t plan on that ever changing. You get me?”

I nod as I finally realize what he is saying.

“You’re my love, my partner, my best friend. I’m tired of sharing two beds. I want one … with you and me for a lifetime. What I’m saying in my asshole way is, move in with me.”

“Um … Ethan, I’m all for this, but you said pack a bag. Honey, all my shit”—I wave my arm dramatically in the air around us—“won’t fit in just one bag.”

He laughs, and the sound is pure heaven.

“Baby, the bag is for our trip. When we get back, the boys will have your shit moved for us.”

“Oh.” I pause. “Trip? Where are we going?”

“Trust me,” he says with a wink. “But do it while you get that fine ass moving, because we have a plane to catch.”

“Work?”

“I already handled it. Now go and pack a bag.”

Ethan rushes me through a shower, packing enough for three days, and then we are out the door.

When we get into the Camaro, I ask for a hint about where we are going, but he tells me I can wait and see, to trust him.

Silly man. Doesn’t he know I trust him with everything I am?

To prove that I do, I don’t say another word as he drives to the airport and parks. He grabs both of our bags and drags me inside the terminal. When we get up to the counter, he picks up two tickets for Clarksville, Tennessee, which seems pretty left field. If it had been Nashville, I might have thought we were going to tour Music City. However, my man asked me to trust him, so I still refuse to ask another question. He has gone out of his way to surprise me with this, and I’m going to appreciate that I have someone who loves me enough to do something that sweet.

An hour later, after being x-rayed by airport security, our bags searched, and then stopping in a coffee shop for a quick cup to go, we finally board the commercial plane.

Ethan gives me the window seat and sits next to me. He buckles me in then himself. The flight is packed, so I’m surprised when no one sits on the aisle seat.

“We don’t have anyone sitting with us?”

“Hell no, woman. I don’t want someone hanging all over me and drooling on my shoulder when they fall asleep during the flight. I bought that seat, too.”