STELLA

I knew my role at the club was to clean, cook, and look after the place. After all, that was why they hired me, but my position as Booth’s … What was I, his girlfriend? I was there to help wherever I could to keep things away from Booth that could be handled by others. His focus was needed elsewhere now, and the best way to show him my support and that I was all in was to not break down, no matter how much I wanted to.

Though, surprisingly, I felt okay. I mean sure, I’d come close to being blown into tiny pieces only a few short minutes ago, but I was okay. I was more worried about the fact that Shiloh had been so close to the danger. What was going on here? Was this Rogue? Or was it my stepfamily? God, I hated calling them that. They were no family to me, except through marriage, a marriage that ended with Mum’s passing from cancer. They needed to leave and get out of my house. Mum left it to me, but Gary refused to see it that way.

Idiot, I thought to myself as I made my way out of Booth’s room and into the main room. His text message said he was going to be busy for a few hours. I needed to do something, but I wasn’t going to clean. There were far too many people around for me to make any difference to the mess, so it would be best to wait until the morning. Tonight, I thought that my flock and I needed Christian Grey to take our mind off explosions, abusive stepbrothers, and crazy ex-soldiers.

***

“Rainn, gather the girls. Fifty Shades Darker is the remedy we need,” I called out as I walked into the room, waving the DVD high above my head. The stunningly beautiful dancer smiled wide as she nodded her head in agreement.

“Let me go get Teach and Vegas,” she said and took off for the suite of rooms on the other side of the main room. Booth’s suite was on its own, just off the war room. I knew why he chose those rooms for his own. Whether he was aware I knew or not, I didn’t know, but Booth was an intuitive man, so there wasn’t much that got past him. I wanted to talk about it with him, but I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up. I could wait for him. Some things couldn’t be rushed, and I needed Booth to come to me, to want my help, to be his confidant.

“Mia? Christian?” I asked, holding up the DVD so she could see what my intentions were for the rest of the night. The sadness of the night was replaced with looks of glee. The flock loved the ‘kinky fuckery’ of Mr Grey.

“I’ll make a jug of fruity goodness,” she shouted back.

“Don’t forget a few virgin ones for Charlotte,” I reminded her. Charlotte’s pregnancy had us all giddy with excitement for a new baby. I personally couldn’t wait. Shiloh’s birth was bittersweet, and no one had celebrated too much at the time, what with Zoe dying and Jason falling to pieces. My word, I vividly remembered the day Shiloh came home to the compound. Ten men and a baby, and Tom Selleck, Deck was not. Yeah, those were some fun times, all right.

We settled ourselves into the TV area where Shiloh usually watched her cartoons and Tour of Duty DVDs. It was far enough away from the bar and entertaining area that we could have the television loud enough to hear. And far away enough so the guys couldn’t hear. Perfect really.

We were only three-quarters of the way through the pitcher of Pina Coladas, and Christian and Anna had gone into the red room when the patched members came through the door. They didn’t look so happy, but what interested me was Creed. He pushed past Steel, his huge shoulder making contact with Steel’s chest, earning him a growl from the pretty boy. Creed’s eyes searched wildly around the room.

“Mia.” The shout got everyone’s attention.

“Oh, Creed.” Mia gasped, then jumped to her feet from her perch on the comfortable beanbag, almost dumping her glass on my foot, and ran over to the broody road captain.

We all watched in fascination as she threw herself into his arms. But what intrigued me was Steel’s reaction to their display. The VP looked like he wanted to punch the shit out of his mate.

Hmm, this is interesting. I glanced slyly at Booth. “Wow,” I mouthed.

His response? A chin lift. Those men! Seriously, would it hurt to let us in on what all the chin lifts meant? Surely, they couldn’t all say ‘who gives a fuck’ or ‘thanks, brother.’

“You okay, gorgeous?” Creed asked her, holding her close against his chest, a mighty fine chest, too. His hands were rubbing slow, soothing circles on her lower back, ignoring Steel, who was standing directly behind Mia. She couldn’t see Steel, but the two men were facing each other. Two completely different expressions on their faces, but their eyes both held the same pissed-off intensity. Oh, boy, this was going to be fun to watch.

“My car blew up,” Mia said. It wasn’t necessary for her to tell him. I was pretty sure he was already aware of the fact, but he answered anyway, making me smile.

“I got that impression. Don’t worry, gorgeous. I got insurance coverage for it when we picked it out. You are more than covered to get a replacement,” he reassured her. But his eyes never left Steel, and the dig hit where it was meant to—Steel was who was supposed to take Mia car shopping. He had offered, but of course, Callie needed him for a fake emergency and left Mia waiting alone in the car yard. Creed had rescued her and helped her purchase a good, safe car.

The tension was thick between the two brothers. But honestly, where was this going? What did Steel think he was doing with the two sisters? If Creed claimed Mia, then Steel had no one to blame but himself. He kept dicking around with Callie, going to her at the drop of a hat and leaving Mia to fend for herself at the Bar and Grill or at car yards. Mia’s sister was evil and only after one thing from the club and from Steel. I didn’t trust her.

“Her name is Mia. You can use it, brother,” said Steel, referencing how Creed had just called her ‘gorgeous.’

From where I was, I could see Steel’s fists, and how tightly clenched they were. Ooh, someone is jealous. I took a sip of my pina colada. Mia was totally clueless that these two strong men were going into battle for her. She was so sweet.

Creed turned Mia in his arms so they were all standing looking at each other. Creed’s face was hard, his eyes narrowed, and if I were a betting girl, I would put fifty on Creed.

“Shouldn’t you be kissing Callie’s fake arse?” Creed taunted—the man was scared of no one, especially not his former sniper partner. Steel quickly raised his fist just enough for Creed to know what might be coming, and Creed positioned Mia so she was at his back.

Booth moved between his two brothers. “Enough! Fucking hell, Creed, stop poking the bear, and Steel, I have already told you to figure your shit out or bow out. Got it?” Booth bellowed at his men, who were still staring each other down.

Booth turned his eyes to me and tilted his head slightly towards the war room. I knew he had to get this sorted, but I could see he was torn.

“What are you up to, Honey?” he asked, eyeing the drink in my hand, and a smirk lifted at the corner of his mouth.

“I’m good, handsome. We are watching Fifty, so you go do what you need to,” I said, trying to make things easier for him. Worrying about me was the last thing he needed, but deep down inside, worry and guilt plagued me. Was this explosion my fault? Was it Gary or his sons? I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to Shiloh or the baby Charlotte was carrying because of my stubbornness not to sign my mum’s house over to my stepfather.

“Cent?”

“Pardon?” My brow furrowed at Booth. What on earth was he talking about? I hadn’t been stuck in my head that long.

“Fifty Cent. Is that what you are watching?” Booth questioned. Oh, he was serious.

The girls behind me giggled. Seriously? Fifty Cent?

“No, handsome. Christian Grey in Fifty Shades Darker,” I explained, unsuccessfully hiding my smile. He was so cute yet clueless.

“Sweetness, what have I told you about that fucking dude?” Deck warned Charlotte in his growly voice. Thank you, Shiloh. Deck headed over to where Charlotte was sitting. Her morning sickness, or as she’d dubbed it, all-day sickness seemed to have left the building for a while, so she was busy munching on a disgusting concoction of lemon sorbet, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles. Ewww.

“Oh, pish posh, soldier man, I’m pregnant. Now go do your thing, then when you get back, I will let you tie me up later,” she said.

A growl left his throat as he dropped down next to his woman, his look of annoyance at the movie changing to one of heat. He pressed his face into her neck then, and I could tell he was saying something to her, but his words were muffled. If Charlotte’s blush was anything to go by, yeah, I thought one ballet dancer was going to see herself deliciously tied up tonight. Bugger it. I wanted to be tied up… I think? Maybe that spreader bar? Christian made it look hot. Not that I would know. I had yet to have anything at all between my legs.

“Honey, wanna tell me what the look is for?” Booth asked in my ear. I hadn’t realised he had moved closer to me. Damn, my drifting off needed to be brought under control. I kept missing things around me.

“Nope, not unless you want to buy us a spreader bar like in the movie and show me what ya got, military man,” I sassed back at him. I really did want him to buy the bar. I loved the idea of a man taking so much control. It didn’t mean I was weak and needed a man to control me, but I thought I would like direction as to what I might like in the bedroom. My whole body tingled from head to toe whenever I watched these movies. I could feel my face heat up under his scrutiny.

His face was unreadable. Booth hid his emotions so well, but there were times when he let his barriers down. The night at the hospital after I’d wrecked his car, he showed me the Booth I really wanted to get to know better.

Oh, God, Dundee was dead. All I could see when I closed my eyes was his body going under the truck’s front tyres and his bike being run over. I knew the minute I saw it happen he wasn’t going to come out of it. I felt sick sitting there in the hospital bed, but Shiloh wouldn’t let me go. She was leaning against me as Deck held her hand that wasn’t in a cast, his head resting on her little chest, listening to her heartbeat and soothing himself while he waited for news about Charlotte. They had taken her away earlier and left me with a crying little girl that just wanted her mummy. I knew how she felt. I wished my mum were here, too. I really didn’t feel like adulting anymore today. I thought Shiloh had a good idea when she’d let rip with her wailing sobs.

“Deck, Teach is coming,” Darth called from the curtain.

Deck’s head whipped up, his eyes looking hungry to catch a glimpse of his woman, but he didn’t want to leave his daughter.

“Go, Deck. She is fast asleep. Don’t wake her,” I urged him. He needed to see his fiancée.

Giving me a grateful smile, he left but not before he dropped a kiss on her head. His eyes were soft and devastated as he took her in like he didn’t want to leave her. Quickly, he turned and left the room.

“Do you have any idea what it would have done to me if you had died today?” The words came out of nowhere. Booth had been standing at attention since the guys arrived at the hospital. His stoic face gave away nothing, no emotion, but I knew he was capable of showing his feelings. The phone call between us proved that. I came so close to telling him I loved him, and he said he knew. What did he know exactly? That I loved him or that he knew because he felt the same way? Gah. I wish I were better at this game men and women played.

“Pardon?” I whispered. I’d heard him, but I wanted him to say it again.

Booth left his post at the entrance of the room and quickly walked over to me. Careful of the sleeping Shiloh, he dropped to his knees beside the bed and grabbed my hand, lifting it to his lips.

“Don’t think for one second I don’t know what you meant on the phone. Don’t think for one second I feel any different than you do. I got shit to work out, Honey, I know, but if you aren’t in my life in some capacity, then it ain’t worth it. Yeah?”

I didn’t get to answer him because Deck had returned with Charlotte in a wheelchair. Shiloh then woke up when she heard her mother’s voice, so all the attention had been on them, and then Deck declared them all ready to leave.

Booth hadn’t spoken about that night at the hospital, and then we shared that kiss in the laundry room, which was fantastic and amazing, everything I ever dreamt it could be. I sure wanted to kiss him more and soon. And yes, Booth had claimed me, but I was yet to find out what that meant exactly. So many details needed to be ironed out before I could get my hopes up too much.

“Stella, we will get there. I just need another hour, and then we will talk.” Booth gave me a chin lift, then stalked away. Dammit, I had hoped for a kiss.

“War room. Now,” he bellowed as he took off, his shoulders stiff and tense. Thank God I didn’t have to be in there for this.