“Come, I don’t wanna miss it.”
“Miss what? It’s got to be the middle of the night.”
“Not quite and that’s all I’m gonna say. Get dressed.”
I grumbled but did as he asked, shivering at the cold nip in the air as I shed my tee and slipped on an easy pleated dress. King whistled as I quickly ran a comb through my hair and brushed my teeth.
“You’re awfully cheery for so early in the morning,” I mumbled through my toothpaste before I leaned over and rinsed.
King’s hand found my hips, and he pressed his groin to my bent behind. “Got a good woman, the best woman, in my bed, a club of brothers at my back, and a house we made together into a home. How can you doubt my cheer?”
I met his gaze in the mirror, sass softening under his warm regard. “I’ll remind you of that whenever you get grumpy.”
“Never grumpy,” he countered, scowling at the use of the word. “When the fuck have I been grumpy?”
“Um, maybe right now?”
He chuckled and landed a swat on my ass. “Will be if you don’t hurry this fine ass up. Meet you downstairs in one minute, or I’m comin’ up and takin’ you over my shoulder.”
I tipped my chin. “Maybe I need two minutes.”
He dropped his head back between his shoulders as if beseeching God for patience and then ducked quickly, wrapping those long arms around my legs and lifting me up over his shoulder as if I weighed no more than a sack of rice.
“King!” I protested through my laughter as he moved out of the bathroom and into the landing at the top of the stairs. “Put me down!”
He spanked me once, twice, and then hooted as he pounded down the stairs and straight out the doors of the cottage. He dumped me in the Honda, to my surprise, and then closed the door before I could say a word and jogged back to the house.
I touched my face just to feel the breadth of the smile there and then sighed as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
“This is your life,” I told myself. “This is real.”
Because sometimes I needed to hear it aloud. I need to remember that this man and the family that’d adopted me through him were real, alive, and mine.
I started as the backdoor opened. King swung a bag onto the seat, and then rounded to the driver’s seat. It never ceased to amaze me how delicious he looked driving my girly pink car. It seemed to emphasize his sheer size and manliness instead of undercut it.
Still, I smiled at him as he adjusted the seat and brought up the song “You and I” by Barns Courtney. He tinkered with the rear-view mirror, then turned his gaze to me.
“You ready, babe?”
“Honestly, why do you even ask? You know I’d follow you anywhere,” I admitted, blushing because I couldn’t seem to quit the habit.
King chuckled, planting a hand on my thigh as he began to drive us through the dark, empty streets of Entrance. We were quiet for a time, but my curiosity eventually got the better of me. As an Old Lady, I wasn’t entitled to know much about the goings-on in the club, but King was the type of man who didn’t mind sharing with me most of the time, and I felt lucky for it.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Nah, but for good reason. Dealt with the Berserker problem fuckin’ beautifully, and now you’re lookin’ at the latest fully patched member of The Fallen MC mother Chapter.”
Instantly, I squealed, drawing my legs onto the seat so I could sit on my knees and lean across the console to wrap my arms around his neck and pepper his cheek with kisses.
“King, this is fab! Like holy freaking wow! I am so just thrilled and beyond proud of you. It’s like a promotion at work, only so much better because this is like…the family business, and I am just. So. Flipping. Happy!”
He chuckled, bracing against my attack. “Sit your ass back down or at least get outta my face, babe. Can’t see to drive and not crashin’ this cage with precious cargo in it.”
“Oh, fine. But you should know, I think this is deserving of something special,” I announced as I flounced back down in my seat. “What do you want?”
“What do I always want?” he asked with a salacious grin as he parked the car in the shadows of a dead end.
“Sex.”
“Mmm.” He crossed his arms over the steering wheel and waggled his brows. “So what’s on offer exactly?”
Heat sluiced over me like a bucket of warm water. I wriggled in my seat a bit and nibbled my lip. “Whatever you want.”
“Givin’ me a lot to think about,” he teased. “Now, c’mon.”
I followed him out of the car, waited for him to retrieve the bag from the back, and then snagged his hand as he led us off the road through a barely trodden path in the bushes until we emerged in a clearing.