Hope’s emotionally drained after our talk, so I tuck her in early. Having her back in my bed, in my arms… I can’t ever take this for granted again. With my girl right where she belongs, I sleep like the dead.
Before the sunlight even curls around the curtains, I’m awakened by Hope pressing her ass into my dick. Beside me, she stretches, and my sleepy arms wrap around her, my hand immediately groping and fondling. My face nuzzles into her hair until I find her neck. “Do that again, baby doll.”
She mumbles out a sleepy question, so I brush my thumb over her nipples, teasing her awake. She stretches hard, her body shuddering, her ass pressing into me again.
“Morning,” I whisper against her ear.
Her hand reaches back, pats my head, and she makes another contented sound.
I should let her sleep. But it’s been way too fucking long. My hands work their way to her sleep pants and tug them down her legs. Above me, she lets out a soft giggle, letting me know she’s been awake and messing with me.
That’s okay. I can be sneaky too.
Not done teasing me, she rolls over on her stomach and lets out a few fake snores. Reaching over to my nightstand, I quietly grab a condom and roll it on. My hands rub and stroke up the backs of her legs to her ass.
I place kisses along her spine, brush her hair aside, and continue kissing along her shoulder. “Good morning, my beautiful girl.”
She sleep mumbles something that sounds like, “Morning.”
“Baby doll, you can keep pretending you’re asleep, but I need to be inside you.”
Playful, sleepy Hope vanishes. Eager-for-my-cock Hope arches her back, lifting her ass to me. The curves of her hips fit my palms nicely as I pull her up and back.
“That’s my girl. I’ll go as slow as I can, but I’ve been waiting way too long. Just the sight of your sexy ass in the air has me ready to explode.”
“Mmm,” she answers.
Slowly, I work my cock inside her and have to pause—feels so fucking good to be home again. She whimpers and wriggles to get me moving.
Over and over I slide in and out, setting a relentless pace.
Her hands curl into the sheets, the sight driving me into her hard and fast. But she keeps up, thrusting back against me just as hard. Sitting back on my heels, I pull her into my lap.
“Work me, baby doll.”
This way, I can hold her. Run my hands over every inch of her and enjoy her gliding up and down my cock. She loops her arms back around my neck and turns her head. Leaning in, I take her lips in a long, lingering kiss.
With my hands gripping her hips, I lift her off me. She stretches out. Spreading her legs, she curls her finger at me in a “come here” gesture.
“I’m right here,” I rasp as I fall down over her and slide back into her tight heat.
Her hands glide up and down my arms, over my shoulders, into my hair. “You should wake me up like this every day,” she whispers.
“You started it, pressing your hot little ass into my dick.”
An indignant expression crosses her face. “I did not.”
My hands roam over every inch of her. My mouth finds one nipple, sucking it in, flicking my tongue over the hard peak. Her breathy cries only ramp me up more. My nose follows the curve of her neck, nipping and licking. She squirms, and that’s my cue to speed up. Leaning back, I hook my arms under her knees, dropping her legs over my shoulders, pounding in and out of her until she screams.
“Take it, baby.”
She takes everything, crying out as she comes apart underneath me.
Shortly after, I follow and collapse on top of her. “You’re so fucking perfect, baby doll.”
“You’re pretty fucking fantastic yourself, stud.”
Shaking with laughter, I roll over and get rid of the condom. I give her a quick slap on her ass and she yelps. “Come here, sass-mouth.”
She rolls over and lays her head on my chest. Her fingers trail the outline of my tattoos, down to the anchor on my hip.
We lie there in silence, running our hands over each other. At some point, she falls asleep, and I enjoy the feeling of having her back in my arms.
After my morning wakeup call, it’s hard to get out of bed. Even harder when Rock wraps himself around me for round two.
When we finally pull ourselves out of bed and downstairs for breakfast, I’m starving.
“Gotta feed my girl. Need to keep your energy up,” Rock teases me with a smug grin.
“I think I kept up just fine.”
He plants a kiss on my mouth. “Yeah, you did.”
We’re not the only ones getting a late start this morning. Trinity, Wrath, and Murphy are sitting around one of the tables in an awkward sort of silence. Wrath jerks his chin at us when we come in, and Trinity turns, smiling broadly.
Z joins us as we’re finishing breakfast.
“Mornin’,” he calls out as he walks past us into the kitchen.
I lift an eyebrow at Trinity, and she shrugs. The guys are busy discussing business in a cryptic sort of way, as if Trinity and I care enough to pay attention.
Z returns with a plate and joins their conversation.
“So don’t get mad, but are you going to set a date now?” Trinity asks.
Well, that’s a conversation stopper.
Rock squeezes my hand. Wrath shoots Trinity a dirty look.
I glance at Rock. “Fall?”
“Sounds good,” Rock agrees.
Trinity claps her hands together. “Ooo! That will be perfect. It’s so pretty up here, and the weather will still be nice so you won’t freeze your ass off.”
Trinity’s off in wedding-planning mode. This time, I feel really good about it.
Actually, I can’t wait.
Trinity taps my arm. “I know I’m not a professional, but I’ve been practicing. Can I make the cake?”
“Please say no, Hope. We’re all gonna get fat with her making us taste-test everything,” Z grumbles.
Murphy laughs and slaps his hand over his stomach. “Speak for yourself, old man. My metabolism’s still in high throttle.”
Wrath snorts.
Ignoring the guys, I grin at Trinity. “Of course you can. I trust you.”
“Awesome. Now what about the engagement party?”
My cheeks heat up. The party should be in a few weeks. If I hadn’t screwed everything up.
Everyone at the table must know—
“I never canceled anything, Hope,” Trinity says soft enough that only I can hear her.
“What?”
“I had faith you two would work it out. I think we just need to change the location. We can do it here or at Rock’s house.”
“Trinity—I don’t know what to say.” Tears prick behind my eyes, and I take a deep breath so I won’t make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
“You’re going to need four-wheel drive in the winter up here, babe,” Rock informs me, probably to stop me from getting all weepy on Trinity. He points at Murphy. “He’ll help you figure it out.”
Next to me, Trinity bumps me with her elbow.
“What do you like, Hope?” Murphy asks.
Confused to find myself in the middle of this conversation, I mumble out, “Wait, what?”
“You remember how bad it gets in the winter. Your little sedan is never going to make it up the mountain and definitely not up our driveway,” Murphy explains. “You want a Jeep like Trin’s?” he asks with a nod at her.
I turn to Rock, hoping he’ll explain. “Uh?”
He jabs a finger toward Murphy. “Road captain. Vehicles are his job. But if you’d rather have me go with you, we can do that,” he says, squeezing my hand under the table.
“Rock just terrorizes the salesmen, Hope. He’s got no finesse. You’re better off with me,” Murphy jokes.
Rock shrugs. “Don’t have time for bullshit.”
“You don’t seem like a truck kinda girl,” Murphy persists.
Shaking myself into this bizarre conversation, I answer, “Winter is way off. Why are we talking about this now?”
Rock just shakes his head. Murphy shrugs. “Don’t want to put it off to the last minute.”
I huff out an irritated breath. “Okay, I don’t really care. Something that gets me from point A to B, has a decent radio, and is good on fuel, because I’m terrible about remembering to fill up my tank.”
Rock waves his hand in the air. “Prospects will take care of that.”
“There’s always enough vehicles around, Hope, if you need to borrow one,” Wrath adds.
Huh. My mouth pulls into a cheeky grin. “Good to know. I wouldn’t mind borrowing your bike.”
His surprise is impossible to conceal, but then his eyebrows lower and his mouth curves into a smirk. “You’re right. She does have a good sense of humor,” he says to Rock.
When everyone stops chuckling at the idea of me taking Wrath’s motorcycle for a joyride, Rock lifts his chin at Murphy. “Whatever she wants. Just let me know, and I’ll move it from my account.”
“Yup.”
My hand settles on Rock’s arm to get his attention. “Wait. I can buy my own car.”
Everyone at the table falls silent. Rock’s lips twitch. “Babe, you wouldn’t need it if you weren’t moving up here. I’ll take care of it,” he answers slowly.
Trinity leans over and mock whispers in my ear, “It will be easier if you just say yes, Rock.”
Wrath snorts with laughter.
I turn and glare at Rock. “Yes, Rock,” I mimic.
“Good girl,” he says with a smirk.
I kinda want to kick his ass.
But it’s also kind of sweet—in a bossy, overbearing, caveman sort of way.
Murphy’s jazzed about going shopping for a new vehicle. He’s obviously well suited to his job. “What do you think? SUV? Minivan?”
“Gosh no.” I gasp, which gets a laugh out of everyone. I think about it a little more. “Just nothing too big. I still need to parallel park downtown.”
He nods. “Normally, I prefer American made, but I’m thinking one of those little Subaru wagons would be perfect for you. All-wheel drive. We’ll put some studded snow tires on in the winter, and you’ll rip through anything.”
Rock rubs his hand over my back and leans over to whisper in my ear, “You won’t be leaving the bedroom much next winter. I’m looking forward to being snowed in with my wife—a lot.”
I shiver from the raw desire in his voice. I can’t wait to be Rock’s wife. Blushing, I glance down at the table. The guys chuckle at my unease.
Eventually, they turn their attention to other topics, and I sit back and enjoy the feeling of being home.
“I noticed you steered the conversation away from the engagement party this morning,” Hope says as I take her hand and lead her outside.
Stopping, I turn and grab her other hand. Our eyes meet, and her mouth turns up. Her pretty green eyes blink up at me, and I swear I could stare into them forever.
“I didn’t want you to get overwhelmed,” I explain. “Besides, we really do need to get you a better car for winter.”
She rolls her eyes, then tugs on my hands. I take the hint and lean down. She touches her forehead to mine. “I’m not overwhelmed. I’m actually really excited.” Her mouth curves into a dreamy smile. “I can’t wait for you to be my husband.”
There are no words to describe the pleasure I feel from hearing her say that.
I press a kiss to her forehead and tilt my head toward the woods. “Let’s go for a walk.”
She’s quiet as we hike. Every time I turn my head to check on her, she’s watching her feet. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she answers a little breathlessly.
When we reach our destination, I squeeze her hand, and she looks up.
“Rock, you kept building the house?” She gasps in her beautiful, awed way.
Circling behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tight. “Our house. Of course I did. I told you—one way or another, you were always mine. Will always be mine,” I add to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
“Thank you. I can’t believe how much work you’ve gotten done.”
It’s true. A lot of trees have been cleared out from the spot. Foundation and walls have been poured. We’re essentially looking at our basement.
Curling myself around her, I lean my chin on her shoulder and point. “That’s where I’m going to set up our sex room.”
Hope gasps and struggles to turn around. “What?”
I can’t keep the corners of my mouth down. The expression on her face—outrage and arousal—is both funny and sexy.
“Yeah, you told me about your friend’s dungeon room. Loved the idea.”
Her jaw drops. Christ, this is fun. “Not the entire basement.” I wave my hand at the foundation. “Only half of it.”
While I am enjoying messing with Hope, I’m also dead serious, and I think she knows it.
After teasing her until she’s giggling uncontrollably, she hiccups and can’t stop. Holding in my laughter is impossible. “I’m sorry, baby doll.”
“Jerk-hic-why-hic—” She sucks in a deep breath and holds it until they go away.
“Better?”
She nods. “Rock? I’m sorry.”
All the joking has gone right out of her. “‘Bout what?”
“Leaving the way I did. You said slow things down, and all I heard was rejection. And I’m sorry.”
Aw, fuck. I pull her close and wrap her in my arms. “My fault, baby. I knew better than to push you like that.”
“I’m glad you gave me some space to sort through things, but it scared me too.”
“I just wanted you to figure it out without me complicating things for you. Together or not, you were always mine.”
“That’s true,” she whispers.
I point in the direction of the clubhouse. “You don’t know how much shit they gave me.”
She tips up her head and laughs. “Even Wrath?”
“Hell yes. Z nagged me every fuckin’ day. Teller tried to be helpful by bringing girls up to our room.”
Her hands push me back. “That little fucker!” she shrieks. “I’m so gonna kick his ass.”
The outrage on her face is funny as fuck. Before she storms back to the clubhouse and attempts to carry out her threat, I yank her to me. “Don’t worry. I gave him a solid choking.”
“Good.”
The fact that she doesn’t scold me for hurting Teller reveals how pissed she is.
“Mmm… so bloodthirsty, baby doll.”
“When it comes to my man, damn right,” she grumbles, wrapping her arms around my middle and burying her face against my chest.
We stand like that for a few minutes. She never questions whether I took Teller up on his offer.
An almost feathery touch lifts the back of my T-shirt, and Hope’s fingers stroke over my back. My cock twitches, and I squeeze her a little tighter.
She tips up her head. “Rock?”
“Yes, baby doll.”
“Show me the basement.”
Rock’s face is priceless. I’m stunned that he kept working on our house. But so happy. Now that I see the actual foundation and it seems so much more real, I don’t know if I can wait another day to make it our home.
“How much longer do you think until it’s finished?”
Rock takes my hand as he leads me through the doorway. “I think fall is doable if they keep at it. The hardest part was the foundation.”
I’m bursting with happiness as we stroll through the empty space. There isn’t much to look at yet, but it’s ours.
As we walk back to the doorway, Rock turns and wraps his arms around me. “Won’t be long and you can start picking out the finish stuff you want.”
I tilt my head so he’ll explain.
“Doors, knobs, appliances, paint… that kind of stuff.”
“Oh. You don’t have any opinions on paint and knobs?”
He sort of half smirks at me. “No, baby doll. Paint it fucking orange. As long as you’re here with me, I don’t care.”
“You don’t want some sort of man cave?”
He rolls his eyes skyward. “Babe, I’ve been living in one giant man cave for years. Besides, I’ll have my sex dungeon.”
“I’m scared to ask what you plan on doing in your sex dungeon.”
“I plan to fuck you in it. A lot.”
“You might want to stop calling it a dungeon, then.”
I expected a laugh for that one—and he is smiling—but he’s also got a devious gleam in his eye as he yanks me tight against him. “We can call it whatever you want,” he says in a low voice that makes my insides quiver.
His hands roam down and squeeze my butt while he leans down and kisses my cheek. “We can break it in now,” he whispers against my ear.
“Um, no doors.” I point at the sky. “No roof.”
“So? No one has a reason to come out here.”
“Yeah, which is why you know the minute you get my pants off, one of the guys will decide to go on a nature walk.”
Mentioning “pants” and “off” was a bad idea. Rock’s all growly and fiddling with my jeans. “You need a hiking skirt,” he mutters.
“I don’t think—oh!” Talking isn’t possible with his fingers stroking me like that.
He walks me backward until I bump into a wall. Then it’s game on.
Or rather, pants off and cock out.
Big hands supporting my thighs, lifting me gently while keeping me pinned.
“Oh, oh, Rock!” I yelp as he pushes inside.
He tenses and cups my chin, turning me to meet his ardent stare. “Are you okay? Do you hurt from this morning?”
My hands clamp down harder on his shoulders for leverage so I can move, since he’s momentarily stopped.
“I’m feeling well loved,” I answer breathlessly. “But don’t you dare stop,” I add.
He nuzzles my cheek and finally starts moving again. Lazily sliding in and out. “Fuckin’ love you, baby doll. So damn happy you’re mine.”
His voice is low and husky, so sexy. I clench tight around him. My hips roll with him, and he thrusts faster.
The wet sounds of sex fill the open air, increasing my excitement.
“So good.” His warm breath puffs against my ear, and I whine in agreement.
Buzzing bounces through the woods, and it takes me a second to realize the noise is one of the club’s ATVs.
In an effort to distract me from the fact that we’re about to be caught by someone, Rock moves faster. His hand reaches between us to rub circles over my throbbing clit.
“Better come quick for me, baby doll,” he rumbles against my lips.
My mouth opens to say, “I can’t,” but my body blazes with excitement as he shifts his hips enough to hit the spot that sends me over the edge.
I’m not aware of anything for the next few seconds—except how good he feels. Rock’s slamming into me faster until he finds his own release. He sets me down slowly, and my legs can barely hold me up.
“Yo, prez?” Someone—Z, I think—calls out.
“Shit!” I squeak, bending over to grab my jeans so fast I get dizzy.
Rock—jerk that he is—laughs at my embarrassment.
“I told you this would happen,” I hiss at him.
“Go away. We’re busy,” he yells back.
My pants are almost in place. “Jeez, that’s as good as inviting him in,” I grumble.
Of course, I’m right. Barely a second later, Z’s in the doorway, laughing at us. “Hey, nymphos.”
Rock keeps his back to Z. “Does ‘go away’ mean ‘come join us’ where you were raised?”
Z winks at me, and my cheeks heat up even more. I mean, we’re dressed now, but it’s pretty obvious what we’ve been up to.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t hear that,” he answers with a smirk, not looking one bit sorry.
Very slowly, I scratch the side of my nose with my middle finger, and Z cracks up. Rock catches me, and his mouth twists into a grin. “Don’t give him any ideas.”
We join Z outside. “Guys are ready for church,” he tells Rock.
“Yeah, okay. We were on our way back. Didn’t need to come track me down.”
Z ignores him. “You want a ride back, Hope?”
Linking my arm through Rock’s, I answer, “No, I’m okay. Thanks.”
Rock smiles down at me. “Fun’s over, baby doll.”
Fuckin’ Z. As if I’ve ever missed church. And I’m not late. I’m the president. Not like they can start without me.
Next to me, Hope’s somewhere between flustered and amused. “Thanks for bringing me out here,” she says.
I reach down and squeeze her ass. “My pleasure.”
She giggles and skips ahead out of my reach. “That too. But I mean thanks for the house… for everything.”
Her fluttering hands catch my attention, and I grab them. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, baby doll.”
“I know,” she whispers.
“Good. Want to give you everything.”
“As long as I have you, nothing else matters, Rock.”
A feeling of peace settles over me hearing those words from her mouth. I wrap my arms around her. “Knew you were special the moment I saw you in that courtroom.”
Mentioning that time in our lives when she was married and I couldn’t have her usually brings sadness to her eyes, and I wish I’d kept the thought to myself. But today, the corners of her mouth tilt up and her eyes sparkle with amusement.
“And I knew you were trouble,” she teases.
“Damn right.”
Her grin gets bigger. “The best kind of trouble.”
As we step out of the woods, I see the parking lot is full. The ATV Z used to come find us is parked next to the clubhouse, so I assume he’s inside giving the guys all sorts of lurid details.
I shake my head. “Sorry our time got cut short.”
“It’s okay. I knew you had church. Trinity and I have a project we’re working on anyway.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yup.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably,” she says with a smirk.
Fuck, I love her.
I stop her before she takes the first step up to the door. “Love you, baby doll.”
She turns and throws her arms around my neck. “Love you too.”
“For fuck’s sake, you two,” Wrath grumbles from the doorway. “We’re all waitin’ on you, prez.”
Hope giggles and pulls away. “Sorry, sorry. He’s all yours.”
Wrath grins and holds the door open for her. “You can have him back in about an hour. Then we’ll have a big bonfire later tonight.”
Hope claps her hands. “Can we do s’mores?”
Wrath chuckles. “Whatever you want, sugar.”
She flits around the room, saying hello to Bricks, Dex, and the others.
My brother ignores my death glare and instead quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Simmer down.” I give him a more serious assessment. “You ready?”
He swings his arms and cracks his knuckles as if he’s getting ready for a fight instead of a club meeting. “Yeah, I’m good,” he answers.
Hope returns to my side and stretches up on tiptoes to press a kiss to my cheek. All the guys waiting outside the war room whistle and generally hassle us. Her cheeks turn red and she draws back. “Have a good meeting,” she calls out as she heads down the hall toward Trinity’s room.
I don’t know about good, but our situation is more optimistic than it was a few weeks ago.
“Plants are healing, boss. Yield’s lookin’ plentiful,” Sparky informs me once everyone gets their ass in a chair. He’s grinning from ear to ear. “I think having your woman down there helped turn things around early enough.”
I’m not seeing the connection, which seems to annoy Sparky. “You should send her down again. Plants liked her.”
No one even blinks because Sparky says weird shit like this all the time.
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll let her know.” I can picture that conversation now. Hope will think it’s adorable and probably run right downstairs.
Shaking my head, I turn to Teller.
“Things are good. CB’s strong.”
I nod at Z. “Yeah, we replaced the ones we had to let go. No shortage of college girls coming in looking to make tuition,” he jokes and gets a fist-bump from Dex.
My gaze lands on Wrath next. His hands are clasped in front of him on the table, and he’s coiled tight with tension. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he nods once before speaking. “Gym’s good. Thinking of keeping the kid on.” He pauses, and the corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk. “Supposedly, Ulfric’s all freaked thinkin’ you’re pissed with him. Might wanna give him a call.”
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck is going on with him lately?”
Wrath shakes his head. “No clue. But that little discovery was a major fuck-up. He keeps that up, you know they’re gonna vote him out.”
“Whatever, not our problem,” I say, turning to the rest of the guys.
Murphy’s got details on a run he’s trying to organize over the Fourth of July. It will include the whole club, and I’m looking forward to having Hope join us for that trip.
Now that Wrath’s cast is off, he’s eager to jump back into club business and agrees to join Z on the next Demon drop.
I finally take the vote on introducing Loco to Sway. Surprisingly, everyone—even Wrath—agrees, with the understanding we’ll make the introduction but won’t have any further involvement.
Once club business concludes, I glance at Wrath. I catch his eye, and he gives me a slight nod.
“Hang tight, everyone. Wrath has an announcement.”
Once that fuckery’s over with and I’m confident Wrath won’t dismember anyone, I run upstairs and grab Hope’s property patch. Can’t get the image of the cute way she patted me down looking for it yesterday out of my head. With the heavy conversation we had last night and then getting… distracted this morning, I never got to give it back to her.
I need to see it on her. Now.
She said she was working on a project with Trinity. Hell only knows what that meant.
Trinity’s door is open, which is unusual. Giggling reaches me before I raise my hand to knock. Pushing the door open, I find the two of them sitting in front of Trinity’s computer.
“Hey,” I call out. They both jump. Trinity flicks the monitor off while Hope spins around. Her mouth turns up, and my mind blanks.
“Done so soon?” Hope asks.
Church had never seemed so long. “Yup. Come here. Got something for you.”
Trinity snickers and mutters something to Hope, who turns pink. “Wrath’s been a terrible influence on you,” she teasingly scolds Trinity.
“Trin, you need help setting up the bonfire tonight, have the prospects do it, okay?” I tell her.
“Sure, prez.”
I’m getting impatient and raise an eyebrow at Hope.
She turns to Trinity. “Later?”
“Yup.”
When she gets close enough, I reach out and pull her to my side. She latches onto the door and closes it as I drag her with me.
“What’s gotten into you, caveman?”
“Just missed my woman. We have some time to make up for.” I didn’t mean for that to come out so serious, but Hope doesn’t seem bothered.
“Yes, we do. What’s with the bonfire?”
My shoulders lift. “Got lots to celebrate.”
She quirks an eyebrow at me. “Oh yeah?”
“Yup.” I pull her vest out from behind my back. “Also, I need to see you in this tonight.”
“With or without additional clothes?” she sasses.
“Now that you mention—”
She snatches it out of my hands. “Give me that.”
I end up helping her into it. She humors me by turning and modeling it for me, then plants a kiss on my cheek.
My fingers trace along her jaw. “Gotta celebrate you being back home. Well, back at the clubhouse. Our home won’t—”
“Rock?” she interrupts.
“Yeah, baby doll?”
She settles her hand over my heart. “My home is wherever you are.”