Page 56 of Clover

“Arrow. What the hell, man?” and now my face is completely crimson.

“Owww. What? You obviously wanted to get caught, or you would have locked the door. Owww. Stop kicking me.” He scowls at Nix, who is obviously the one kicking him.

“I’ll stop kicking when you stop talking.” Nix turns and winks at me. I don’t think he’s ever winked at me, and I’m pretty sure my ovaries just exploded. Fucking hell.

While I’m hiding my eyes in embarrassment, so the others don’t see how much I enjoyed that quickie in Nix’s private tattooing room at his shop, I notice through the curtain of my hair that Magnus’s eyes are not fixed on me as I expected. Instead, he’s looking over my shoulder without lifting his head. Only his eyes shift from left to right like he’s tracking movement. As subtly as possible, I turn to look over my shoulder to see what or who he’s watching.

In his line of sight, I see the cutest leggy blonde practically floating into the bakery. Her thick blonde hair is tied up in two messy buns on top of her head. I think there’s a pencil or two shoved in them. Possibly holding their shape. It’s quite sweet. Overall, she’s sweet. Floral baby doll dress paired with an oversized cardigan and high-top chucks. Not my style, but it looks good on her.

The taller woman approaches the counter and chats with Lily, getting a to-go coffee and a bag of mixed pastries. Her smile is warm and welcoming, and Lily’s eyes shift over the blonde’s shoulder in our direction, but she’s not looking at me. She’s looking at Magnus, looking at the blonde. Lily’s eyes shift back as quickly as they left. The sweet blonde woman pays and leaves without looking around or noticing Magnus watching her. I can’t see where she goes once she leaves without breaking my neck, so I turn back to watch Magnus. The man is smitten. It’s so obvious. There’s longing and a sad desperation in his lovesick gaze. Poor guy. She didn’t even notice him. Wonder if she ever has, or if he’s ever even spoken to her?

Clearing his throat and returning his attention to our table, he redirects the conversation. “So, has anyone heard anything more about Braxton’s killer?” We all shake our heads. The council has been trying to figure out who it was since that day. No one has taken claim for it, and they haven’t been able to find any evidence to point to who might have done it. Obviously, the Shaw’s continue to blame the Colton’s and point fingers at Nix and even me. I don’t blame them; we are the obvious suspects. A version of our story spread through the Syndicate by now, so everyone knows we have beef with them. However, the security cameras at the bar and Nix’s shop prove that we had nothing to do with it. We have solid alibi’s, and there’s nothing they can say that will change that.

Since Braxton had a long list of people who hated his fucking guts, it’s been hard to narrow it down. At this point, I don’t know that they’ll ever know who did it. Unless someone comes forward and claims responsibility.

“Still nothing. From what I hear, the council is going to put this to bed and stop looking. They just keep hitting dead ends. So, what’s the point?” Arrow shrugs one shoulder and takes another bite of his apple fritter that Lily brought over and deposited in front of him.

“Good. He’s not worth all this time. The only people who care he’s gone are his parents and siblings. Even then, I don’t think they’re that torn up about him actually being dead. I think they’re more pissed that someone was able to get the drop on a Shaw than the fact that Shaw was Braxton. It could have been any Shaw, and they would have reacted the same.”

“What about Oxana and her little power trip?” Ever since we met with the council before Braxton’s untimely demise, that woman has scared the ever-loving crap out of me. I can see pure evil in that woman, and she obviously wants to take control of the Syndicate.

“For now, the Shaw’s are being carefully watched. Most of the council is in agreement that they are skating on thin ice. We can’t outright remove them. They do produce all the narcotics, after all. Without them or at least without their carefully cultivated cook houses and production, we wouldn’t have anything to sell.” What Nix doesn’t say is that they can’t get rid of them until they have control over their part of the Syndicate. They can’t remove the Shaw family without the allegiance of their people. So, for now, they stay but under a watchful eye. Which means if they step out of line, the council will be watching.

We all know this, and after our obligatory update, we move on to more important topics, like Sloan and her Russian commands, Magnus and him spending more time at the Bakery, and of course Arrow’s flavor of the week named Donna. He’s talked about so many girls since I’ve known him that I don’t even listen to him anymore when he starts rambling about who he’s dating now. Nix might have been a serial one-nighter, but Arrow is a serial dater.

The late morning turns to afternoon, and everyone leaves one by one, heading to wherever it is they need to be on a Sunday afternoon. Arrow scurrying off when the elusive Donna, a full-busted mini skirt-clad stiletto-wearing blonde, appears. They walk away Arrow’s hand on her ass, groping shamelessly. Magnus to I don’t know where. He just says his goodbyes and drops a peck on my cheek on his way out, that Nix almost growls over. He doesn’t like it when people touch me. Even his family that he knows would never try anything.

Nix and I are last to leave, saying goodbye to Lily and grabbing a bag of pumpkin spice everything to go. I’m sure I’m going to gain a hundred pounds eating Magnus’s baked goods.

Exiting the bakery, Nix holds open the door and waits for me to pass, wrapping a hand around my back and following me out. Ever since everything that happened, whenever we’re together, he always has a hand on me. Making sure I’m still there. Not only does it reassure him, but it puts me at ease as well.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, we make our way to his motorcycle parked at the front. I finally got to take my ride on his bike with him. Before settling on the rear seat, I secure the precious pastry cargo in my purse, and Nix slides in between me and the bike. Sitting sideways on the driver’s seat, he wraps me in his arms and between his legs.

His lips meet mine in a sweet kiss that tastes just as sugary sweet.

“I am the luckiest man on the fucking planet. You know that?”

“Oh really? Why is that?”

“Because I have you.” He whispers in my ear, his lush lips skimming across the flesh of my ear. Sending a chill down my spine. No matter how many times his lips are on my body, he always manages to send a ripple of elation through me.

With his body twined around mine and his lips on my skin, I feel complete here in the parking lot of his family’s bakery. The cool autumn breeze lifting my hair to tickle his neck, there is nothing more in this world I could ever want. Our lives aren’t perfect, and there’s a lot we’re still learning about one another. But I do know this; I love this man, body, and soul, and he will always own mine. There’s no other man that keeps up with my snark and can make me melt under his touch. He may have some anger issues, and I might not trust anyone whose name isn’t Colton, but together we’re perfect.

Perfectly matched, perfectly flawed, and a perfect fit. Confirmed by how my body locks into place against his. Nix’s lips pressing soft kisses along my pulse as his hands find their way to my ass. We probably look like two horny teenagers making out in the parking lot, and I couldn’t give a fuck.

“I love you, sweet cheeks, and I’m never letting you go. You’re mine now. Forever.”

“I love you too, my prince charming. And I’m not going anywhere becauseyouare mine.”

Claiming his mouth with mine, I seal our declaration in a kiss. A kiss that promises many more kisses. Many more moments, minutes, hours, and days together. A promise of loyalty, love, and stability.

Epilogue

Phoenix

Okay, tonight is the night. I’m going to do it. Don’t back out now,man. It’s a big decision, but it’s the right one. You’ve prepped for this all day. You love her. You want to be with her and only her. So why wait? Just ask her. There’s no way she’ll say no. She loves you. You can do this.

I silently hype myself up for what I have been planning to do since the moment I knew I loved her. It’s only been a handful of months since the whole Braxton incident, and since then,life has been more than I could have hoped for. Clover has been happy working at the bar and living in my home,our home,with me. She still looks over her shoulder every now and then when she thinks she’s being watched. Eventually, it’ll be out of habit rather than fear. Instead of looking back wearily, fearing what she may find there, one day, she’ll look back strong. Daring whatever or whoever might be there, to even try to mess with my girl. She is strong, and we both know it. I could always see her strength. Her strength of character and the strength in which she loves.

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