Page 8 of Hero: Claimed

As I search the refrigerator and cupboards, a menu comes to mind. With the ingredients I find, I’m able to put together a makeshift Muffalotta, which is basically an Italian cold cut sandwich with an olive salad on top. Then I make a quick giardiniera with cut-up vegetables and the dill pickle juice from the pickle jar. I fill a large thermos with coffee, a smaller one with cream and I pack some sugar packets because I don’t know how he takes his coffee. I pack all these, along with a can of Pringles, in the bag Hannah tosses me, one that will fit in his saddle bags, and walk back out front.

The man, I assume to be Boss since he’s standing next to Hero with a travel bag of his own, is holding a baby the spitting image of him. They both have hair the color of peanut butter and deep brown eyes, not quite as dark as mine. Only Boss is a wall of muscle. From our first interaction I thought Hero was ripped, and he is… but this guy takes the cake. Or he passes on the cake because you don’t keep a physique like that by eating cake.

He has a gorgeous woman wrapped around him—of course he does. No, gorgeous doesn’t cut it. My sister is gorgeous. This woman is phenomenally beautiful. Long natural blonde hair, quite curvy with a tiny waist. She has the kind of face you normally see on magazine covers. As intimidating as it is to be in her presence looking the way I do, I pick up Hero’s bag from the bar and walk over to them.

“Here.” I hold out the bags to Hero. “I packed for you. And this” —I shake the food bag—“is some lunch I whipped up. I didn’t know what you liked, so I had to wing it. If it’s not to, you know, your liking, just let me know, then I won’t make it again. Okay?” He stares at me like I’ve lost my mind but reaches out to take the bags.

Thank the good Lord he’s leaving. Everything about him is a piece of him that I could fall for. Hero might not be a wall of muscle like Boss, but he’s—what’s slightly shorter and maybe a tiny bit less bulky than a wall? And by tiny bit, I mean miniscule. Because he’s that. If Boss is like 6’2 then Hero would be 6’1, if I had to guess. He keeps his hair trimmed short, the same as his beard. I’ve always had a thing for men with that brown hair, brown eye combination. No visible tattoos, thankfully. Not that I dislike tattoos, it’s just that they remind me of all the men in my dad’s club. And with me being Hero’s old lady now, we’ll probably be forced to spend time in each other’s company. I could stand to not lump a good guy like Hero in with men like the Pythons. Hero’s gritty and hard, but beautiful. Can men be beautiful?

It takes a second for my brain to click back on and I realize I’ve been standing here like an idiot waiting for him to move. He doesn’t, move that is, and it’s distracting being this close to him for this long. Does he realize how good he smells? Warm and spicy with hints of sweetness, so unlike the Axe-wearing losers who trigger migraines simply from walking past me. Those are the men I’m used to. Here I thought this place would be a safe haven stop-off. Canada is looking better and better by the minute.

Boss pats Hero’s back. “Gotta go.”Thank you, Boss.Finally.

Boss’s woman kisses him passionately. Hannah hugs Blood with a warmth that now I know,knowthere’s something more going on there. Figuring I should do something, I hold my hand out for Hero to shake. He takes it but doesn’t shake it.

“Brinley…”

“Thank you for everything. You saved me today. I am forever indebted to you. Um… Be safe,okay?” That last part I throw in after realizing my words might have come off completely disingenuous. I meant them. It’s just the way they sounded leaving my mouth.

Hero tugs me closer by the hand he holds and places his lips to my ear. “We’re talking when I get back.”

I tense. He doesn’t need to waste his time, as there’s nothing we need to talk about. We haven’t even known each other an hour. One measly, insignificant hour. Admittedly, I could’ve handled the naked woman situation better. It’s not like I haven’t seen boobs before. I have them. Big ones. It just threw me is all. I’m not used to seeing naked boobs in a bed I’m supposed to be sleeping in. It won’t happen again. From here on out, I’ll simply expect to see a naked woman in the bed… and be pleasantly surprised when there isn’t one.

He bends to place a kiss to the top of my head, because he’s that much taller than me, and shoves off. “Thanks for packing.” Then he shakes the food bag. “And for the lunch. I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”

The other women stay standing, watching the men leave, so I do too. A couple of moments later, we hear the revving of bike engines. And then we hear them drifting farther away until the sound dissipates completely.

“Brin.” My sister tugs on the poofy sweatshirt sleeve to pull me closer to her. “This is Elise. She’s Boss’s old lady, his wife. And this”—she pulls the toddler from the woman’s arms—“is baby Gun.”

“His name is Gunner,” Elise says. “But Gun’s a badass baby nickname.”

Well, she’s right. ‘Gun’ happens to be abadassbaby nickname.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I hold my hand out for her to shake. “I’m Brinley Brown.”

She gives me that almost motherly perusal as she shakes my hand. “Hero is a good guy, you know. We’re very close.”

“Yes, I can tell he’s a good man.” Even if I didn’t think it, which I most certainlydo, now doesn’t seem the best time to disagree with her.

“He saved my life. Not in a figurative sense. Like, he literally saved my life.”

Bingo. Something told me to tread carefully with this woman.

“That’s why they call him ‘Hero,’” she finishes.

“Well, I promise to take care of him as long as I’m here. Clean clothes, clean sheets. I’m a good cook and I won’t cramp his style with the ladies.”

Instead of letting go, Elise squeezes my hand a bit harder. “No. Heneedssomeone to cramp his style with the ladies. And I think you might just be perfect.” Then, I kid not, she winks at me.Winks.

“Okay, so um, it was nice to meet you. I’m going to go lay down for a while. It was a long drive.”

My sister and Elise snicker rather loudly as I walk away. Whatever. As long as I’m safe, I’ll take their jabs and jokes. I have to count the doors down the hallway so I don’t walk into the wrong one. None of the clubhouse is overly dingy, not like the ones at my dad’s club. The Pythons are straight-up pigs. But Hero’s room is especially clean. I shut the door behind me, kick off my shoes, and leap into his ginormous fluffy bed. Time to sleep.

When Blood said he didn’t know how long they’d be gone, I hoped he meant a day or so. It’s now been three days. To stay occupied, I helped Hannah cook and clean up after the men.

The rest of day one, I sort of lazed around, finding my bearings and getting introduced to the other brothers. Most were pretty surprised to hear my sister call me Hero’s old lady. But they were nice. Very nice. Since they’re his brothers, I’m sure they’re well aware of his hero complex. The fact that he came to my rescue, I’m sure, surprised none of them.

Especially Blue and Blaze. Apparently, he prospected with these two, and it’s some sort of unwritten biker bylaw that the men you prospect with become your best friends. They really made me feel welcomed. And holy hotties! Except for the hair, Blue could be Hero’s brother. Whereas Hero’s is a rich chestnut brown, Blue has this thick head of black hair with, well, blue undertones that shine brighter in the light. Although Blaze is slightly thinner and not quite as ripped, thereissomething about tight jeans and scruff to get a girl all hot and bothered.

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