“You seem a little happier,” Tally said, coming to take a seat next to me and offering a beer. The atmosphere was relaxed and chilled out with Mix still strumming away on his guitar and the Brothers and women that were left just letting the vibe seep into their veins. It almost felt like home, except I wasn’t waiting for one of the guys, who knew which one, to take me back to his room. I was waiting for one guy and one guy only, and the thought of that was finally putting a smile on my face.
I held up my hand, rejecting the offer of another drink and he shrugged, throwing the beer back himself.
I laughed. “I guess you could say that.”
“Prez, treating you good then?”
“That was never debated, you know that.” I smiled as I thought about the way he had treated my body during that day. “Kit is a great guy.”
“True story, no one could have stepped into his dad’s shoes and filled them as he has. Oz was a hard ass, a firm believer that there are rules for a reason. But man, you couldn’t fault him on the give-a-shit scale, the man cared about each and every one of his Brothers and their families. He made sure they were always taken care of.”
I nodded, noting that Kit obviously had a lot of his father’s beliefs instilled in him. He was hard, but his intentions were for the best of his family and his friends.
“I hope I get to meet him one day.”
Tally laughed. “You will. He’s been away with Bright Eyes, making the most of the fact that he no longer has a club to run. But I think they get back in a couple days. No doubt in my mind that Kit will want you to meet them.”
Even though nerves began to turn my stomach inside out, I looked forward to meeting the people that had created the man who’d taken over my life so dramatically and so swiftly. I wanted to know more about him, learn more about who he was and what made him who he is today.
“Harmony! Let’s hear more of that cute voice of yours.”
I laughed as the boys threw around random song suggestions and were mortified when I admitted that I didn’t know some of them. Then they proceeded to teach me, the chorus of deep masculine voices breaking through the night.
I stood at the sink of the bathroom which was attached to Kit’s room. It had been a long night and I was ready for bed. Kit had been gone for a couple hours. I hoped he’d be back soon, but I understood that club business meant I probably wouldn’t know when.
I climbed into bed and curled myself into the soft sheets, the smell of him attacking my nose. Although I fought it, the urge to bury my face in his pillow and inhale got the best of me. Kit always smelled amazing. I knew why as I’d found a stack of empty Lynx body spray cans hidden in the cupboard under the sink. The smell was so God damn sexy with a little bit of sweet hidden under a thick masculine scent.
I rolled over and shook my head. I was going crazy. Just a few days ago I’d been angry and upset that he’d forced me out of my comfort zone, my home, and dragged me up here so that he could keep a watchful eye over my every move. And now here I was, sniffing his pillows and pining for the moment he walks back through the door.
Kit had broken down every defense I’d tried to build up. I’d given him attitude and all hell along the way, but he was a man who knew what he wanted, and wasn’t afraid to go after it and hold onto it tight no matter what the cost.
There was a soft knock on the door and I pulled the sheet tighter around me before I called for the person to come in.
Del popped her head around the corner and smiled softly. “Hey, hun.”
“What’s up?”
She walked in and sat at the edge of the bed. “Some of the boys had to shoot out. Something happened with Kit and his group and they have to go down to the police station to sort it out. Wreck called and said Kit just wanted to let you know he was all good and would be home soon.”
“The police station?” I said in shock.
“Don’t worry, it’s not for him,” she said quickly.
I sighed and climbed out of bed. Throwing a pair of jeans on under the oversized T-shirt of Kit’s that I’d stolen, I walked toward the couch in the corner of the room that faced the television. “Guessing you won’t be sleeping until Wreck gets home?” She smiled but shook her head. “You wanna throw a movie on?”
“Yes, that’s an fantastic idea.”
Del and I raided the pantry downstairs before rifling through Kit’s enormous stack of DVDs. We finally pulled out an Adam Sandler movie, opting for something that would make us laugh as we waited for our men to return.
“How did you and Wreck meet?” I enquired as I stuffed my mouth with potato chips.
“In the hospital.”
“He worked in the hospital?” I asked, not able to keep the skepticism out of my voice.
She giggled. “Oh God no. He was my patient. He’d been stabbed.”
“Oh, wow…”
“Yeah. Hardcore for us, but just another day in the life of an outlaw,” she said a little too seriously before slapping a smile back on her face. “He kept trying to get out of bed, adamant that he was all right and needed to get back to the club to help out. I told him to sit his punk ass down before I stabbed him myself. The rest is history.”
I laughed; the picture she painted in my head just so hilarious. Del was sweet and small, at five foot nothing. Wreck, on the other hand, was maybe closer to six-foot-one or six-foot-two. Just the idea of her being able to put the hulking piece of man in his place was hard to comprehend.
“He’s very serious. I get the feeling he doesn’t like me much,” I told her honestly.
She turned her body to me, the movie forgotten for now. “It’s not you, Harmony. Wreck is a hard man to understand. He was burned before and it takes time for those types of wounds to heal.” She lay a soft hand on my shoulder. “Like all of us, he’s had bad experiences. Only he took them to heart and takes a lot longer to warm to people and to trust them if they aren’t his Brothers. Even our relationship was bumpy to begin with, but deep down he is very sweet and very loyal. You’ll see.”
I nodded, hoping that she was right. “Do you still work at the hospital?”
Her smiled beamed, telling me all I needed to know without the words. “Yes, I couldn’t quit if I tried. I love my job so much.”
“Have you ever gotten into trouble, you know, for helping out the boys and stuff when they get hurt?” I remembered reading an article once about a doctor who had been thrown through hell for treating patients outside of a medically licensed premises. It didn’t help that the men he was working for and treating were members of a well-known gang.
“I took an oath when I became a nurse and swore I would help people no matter who they were – gender, age, ethnicity, criminal or no criminal. I live by that. If the boys need help, I’m going to help them. If they wanted to do me for it, they can. But I will continue to help people no matter what.”
“I don’t think I could do it. Blood I could handle, but I’m pretty sure my bedside manner would suck.” I laughed.
“Girl, if you can hang out with the club and deal with these men, working in a hospital and dealing with patients would be a walk in the park.”