Page 66 of Brother In Arms

She smiled a bit wryly and said, “How romantic.”

“I’m not trying to be romantic, baby. I’m trying to make you understand something.”

She fell silent and tipped her head gently, searching my face. Finally she said, “I’m listening.”

“You’re the first woman I have brought to this bed, and I never intended on bringing any woman to it that I didn’t feel like she would be the last.”

“Oh.”

“Stand up,” I ordered and she did. I hooked my fingers in the waistband of her jeans and she gave that little shimmy of her hips to help me ease them and her panties down in one go. It drove me crazy, absolutely wild, to see it.

I stood up and pulled my shirt over my head in a single easy movement. Bailey put her hands to my waist, head bowed; the fingertips of her one hand gently grazing the one percent diamond I had tattooed on my ribs.

“What you thinking?”

“Is it always like this?” she circled the dark ink under my skin with a fingertip.

“Only when people fuck with what’s ours. Our family, our lives… We won’t stand for this shit.” I tipped her face up to mine and gently touched the stain under her skin where the bastard had hit her.

She closed her eyes and nodded, and I tucked her into my bed while I finished stripping out of my clothes, letting them lay where they fell. I didn’t care about being neat right now, I cared about holding her close, about getting some sleep, and yeah, I’d be lying by omission if I didn’t say I was thinkin’ about getting in that pussy.

First, though, we needed some sleep, the both of us. I had her turn on her side, back to my front, the little spoon to my big, and pulled her into the curve of my body. Kissing the back of her shoulder, I let the peace of having her near, our emotional wounds on the mend, lull me into a restful sleep.

I think she was out before I was.

The next thing we knew, the door to my room was swinging open. We’d shifted in our sleep, Bailey might have gotten up at least once to pee or something, because while she’d started out with me between her and the door, she was tucked into the front of my body on that side, now. My shirt a puddle by the bed that said she’d worn and discarded it. I liked that.

“What the fuck, over?” I demanded, scowling at Dray while Bailey hid her face in my chest. The blankets had slipped while we’d slept and her back was bared to the cooler air of the room. I didn’t move, adjusting her coverage meant I’d probably expose more of her rather than just the relatively safe zone that was already showing.

“See, I told you she was fine,” he said and Bailey’s mom stepped half way into the room Bailey twisted around and looked over her shoulder.

“What the hell, Dray!?” she demanded and hid closer to the front of my body. I scowled at my club brother and let him know with my look alone that there would be some kind of reckoning for this down the line.

His smirk told me that his aunt had been a special kind of pain in his ass and that whatever was comin’ was gonna be worth it just to take her down a peg or two. To her credit, Bailey’s mom didn’t flip out. If anything she went total ice queen and said quietly in a voice and tone that was completely crisp and even.

“Get dressed, I’ll be waiting with your uncle, Jose. We have things to discuss.” And with that, she turned and strode from the room and back down the hall outside, the heels on her fashionable and likely expensive pumps muffled by the office style carpet out there.

“You’re a real dick, you know that?” I shot at my VP.

“Can’t be sorry, was totally worth it,” he said. Bailey turned and glared at him.

“Worth it for you and your point zero two seconds of revenge, nice to know you totally give a fuck about how it’s going to affect me. Thanks, so much, Dray.”

His expression darkened and he went out, shutting the door behind him. Bailey let out a breath and bowed her head. I palmed the back of her head and drew her forehead to my lips.

“It’ll be alright,” I told her.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t know my mother,” she groused and pushed away so she could get up and get dressed.

“Glad I’m not the only one gettin’ tired of mitigating family drama and emotional damage.”

“I swear to Christ I’m getting ready to inflict some,” she muttered darkly and I gave her a crooked grin as I pulled on my jeans.

“That’s what I like to hear, now you’re gettin’ it.”

She gave me a slight smile that screamed she was callin’ me a smart ass and I couldn’t disagree with her. I pulled my cut off the hook behind the door and put it on. Bailey took my hand and I grabbed the knob, giving it a twist and dragging the door open. Whatever shit show was about to go down, I needed her to know I was with her.

We went to the barroom where we held church and found Dragon, Dray, and Trudy sitting around a couple of tables that’d been pulled together. Trudy had her legs primly crossed at the knee, her arms crossed over her chest and was sitting there in an isolating cold silence. Dray was leaned back casually in his seat, a slight smile on his face while Dragon? Dragon just looked tired.

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