Porter shook his head. “Pathetic, if you ask me.”
The four of us shared a nice little moment of laughter before we all got up from the table. Brooks and Raven escorted us to the front door, and my brother actually gave me a hug before we left. A hug! I hadn’t gotten him to hug me properly once since I’d gotten into town. But I guess another man in my life to take care of things finally snapped some sense into him.
That, and Raven.
Bless that woman.
They waved us off as we got back onto Porter’s bike, and I slid my arms around his waist. I pressed my cheek against his leather jacket, reveling in the freedom we had as we pulled out of the townhouse complex. The wind whipped around us as we soared back to my childhood home. I nestled against him, drinking in the way his muscles flexed as his bike shifted gears. Enjoying the way his warmth felt as the cool summer wind wrapped around our bodies. I loved riding on the back of this man’s bike. I wanted to make it a thing we did at least once a month, where we simply packed up a couple of outfits, rode until we wanted to stop, and then got a hotel for a weekend where we enjoyed one another to the fullest.
I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my days with this man.
“Home sweet home,” Porter said.
He helped me off the back of the bike before we walked inside. Every time I walked into this place, I saw something else that needed to be done. A piece of furniture that needed to be replaced or a crack in the wall that needed to be patched. The carpet itself needed to come up altogether, but I needed to save up the money first.
But Porter’s voice pierced my thoughts. “So, what happens now?”
“Hmm?”
I turned around and watched him lock the front door closed before he sighed. “What happens now?”
I blinked. “I’m not following.”
He turned toward me and shrugged. “Are you staying here? Are you staying in town, but finding somewhere else to live? Are you heading back to L.A.? What’s the plan?”
Confusion wafted through my body. “I thought we already discussed you moving in.”
He nodded. “Yeah, but that was before you patched things up with Brooks.”
I paused. “I still don’t see how that changes anything.”
He walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “What I’m trying to say is, things are different. And maybe that means you’ve had a change of heart or plans. I’m just trying to get a read on where we stand now since that breakfast didn’t go one bit how I imagined it.”
I giggled. “Right!? I mean, I knew Raven could talk some sense into him. But I didn’t expect a flat-out acceptance.”
His hands slid down my arms until he took my hands in his. “So, where do we stand? Are you staying, or have you decided to head back since there’s no tension with you and Brooks anymore?”
I took a step toward him. “My work travels with me. I can do voice-over work from anywhere, so long as I have a quiet and soundproof room to work in.”
He took a step toward me. “I could soundproof any room in this house for you, once I figure out how to do it.”
I took yet another step toward him. “And while this house does need some updating and some work done to it, it’s got good bones.”
He closed the distance between us. “I’ve already got projects I’m budgeting for that I can start today. I’ll need a truck, though. Or someone to help me get shit back to the house.”
I gazed up into his eyes. “I’m sure one of the guys would be willing to help out. I know Josie’s got a Bronco, but I’m not sure how much can fit back there.”
He brought my hands to his lips to kiss. “You know I’m not leaving the club though, right?”
His question gave me pause. “Even if it gets too dangerous?”
He nodded. “Even then. They’re my family in ways I’ve never had family before. I’ll never abandon them, no matter what happens.”
“Even if it gets you put in prison? Like my brother?”
His eyes held mine before he nodded. “Just like I’d die or go to prison for you, I’d die or go to prison for them. That’s just how it works.”
I sighed heavily. “I can come to accept it with time, but that’s the best I can do.”
He released my hands and cupped my cheeks. “That’s all anyone can ask.”
My eyes danced between his. “I’ve only got one rule regarding the club, though, and this house.”
“Oh, work doesn’t come home like that. Church meetings are always at the clubhouse, not in people’s actual homes.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I was about to ask.”
“Then, ask it. I’ll do my best to oblige.”
I hung my hands off his forearms. “I don’t want Chops in this house. I get a bad feeling about him, and I don’t want him anywhere near this place.”
He didn’t skip a beat, either. “Trust me, that man isn’t coming anywhere near this neighborhood. You’re not the only one who’s got a bad feeling about him. And if we’re really being brutally honest about him right now? I’m pretty sure he’s the one who set up Brooks for prison.”
I gawked. “You’re fucking kidding.”
His hands fell from my cheeks and he ushered me into the kitchen. “We’ve actually been investigating him as of late. We don’t have all the details so I can’t talk about much until we have concrete evidence, but all of us are basically in agreement that the night Gage died and the night Brooks got arrested, Chops was behind all of that shit. We think he got Hyde killed, too.”
My eyes widened as my voice lowered. “Holy fuck, and he’s your president, isn’t he?”
He nodded slowly. “Yep.”
“Please tell me you guys have a plan to take him down. Because if you don’t? I might just do it myself.”
He grinned. “And what will you do, beautiful?”
I scoffed. “For starters? Tie him down and pull his teeth out, one by one. Five of them, for every year of Brooks life that got taken from me. Then, we start on his toenails. One by one, just like his teeth. Five of them, five of his fingernails.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist. “You’re cute when you act tough, you know that?”
I drew in a sobering breath. “I mean it, Porter. If that’s really true? Either you guys do something or I do.”
His forehead touched down against my own. “We’re working on it, gorgeous. I promise.”
I kissed his lips softly. “Good.”
He captured my lips of his own volition before his tongue invaded my mouth. I moaned down the back of his throat as I stood onto my tiptoes, pressing myself deeply against him. His arms cloaked my back. His warmth penetrated me as our teeth clattered together. My head fell off to the side as he backed me against the kitchen wall, his leg pressed between my own.
And when his knee touched my panties, wetness pooled against them.
“I’ve wanted to flip this dress up since you first put it on,” he growled.
I sucked on his lower lip before I giggled. “Then do it, big boy.”
He grunted as he whipped me around, flinging me like a ragdoll. He shoved my cheek against the kitchen table with his hand fisted into my hair before I felt the cool air of the house against the backs of my legs. He spanked my ass, causing me to jolt as my excess jiggled for his viewing pleasure. And as he massaged the spot that he cracked against, my breathing grew to wanton panting.