Page 18 of Blood Revealed

“Fine. Then I’ll kiss you.” I take the few steps over to the bed and bend down, placing one hand to the side of her face while gathering her with my other arm. I bend in, pressing my lips to hers. It takes two-point-five seconds before Hannah ignites, taking over. I knew she would. This kiss isthekiss. The one that starts the rest of our lives.

As it’s slows the press of my lips shows exactly what I feel about her, but she shows it back. I lift my hand to pull the tie from her hair watching her long, soft locks spill down around her shoulders and sift my fingers through to cup her head. I lower her to the bed and climb on top, deepening the kiss, using my free hand to untie the apron, pulling it from her body and tossing it to the floor before moving my hand under her shirt to stroke the skin around her navel. She likes it when I do that. It’s a sensitive spot for her and she shows me how much she likes it when she groans into my mouth.

Hannah opens her legs, allowing my hips to fall between them. It’s starting to get good. She burrows her hands under my shirt, running her fingers up the bare skin of my back. We’re both struggling to take in air through our noses, not willing to come up from this fucking amazing kiss, and then there’s a pounding on my door.

“Fuck,” I grind out. Hannah snickers, but it’s one of those laugh-or-she’ll-end-up-crying-type of snickers. The ‘this shit ain’t funny’ kind. We press our foreheads together.

“We on the same page now, baby?” I ask.

“It’s not safe, Blood. You know—”

“What I know is if I’m being dragged into this anyway, I’m gonna have something worthwhile to come home to. That’s you, Han.”

“Knock that shit off,” Sneak yells through the door. “If I don’t get to fuck my wife before we leave, then you don’t get to fuck Hannah.” This time Hannah laughs for real. “Sorry, Han,” he finishes.

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a fucking second,” I yell back as I take inmy old lady, hair spread out like a halo around the pillow. Her gorgeous eyes searching mine. Finally, after all these years. “Sorry, baby. I gotta get going.” Then I kiss her one more time. Well, I mean it to only be one more time, but each time I pull away, Hannah raises her head to capture my lips again.

“Let me pack you some food while you get your clothes together,” she says after the very last time.

“Right,” I mutter. I know it’s the last time because it takes every ounce of strength I have to push up from that goddamn bed, but I make it happen.

“Blood?” She stops me when I’m heading for the closet door.

“Yeah, baby?”

“I do love you. I’ve loved you since I met you.”

Jesus, we finally get this breakthrough and I have to leave. My chest heaves as I fight the urge to sayfuck itand push her back down on the bed. I rub my hand over my face and, not looking at her—because I can’t, not right now—I say, “Prepare yourself, Han. This thing is going hyperdrive once I get back. Get used to it.”

I open the closet to pull out my pack. She slips out the door to go fix me food. I hear her greet Brin in the hallway. Their voices drift off. I lean against the wall to collect myself. Don’t need to be acting like a pussy in front of my brothers, but shit. I’ve been waiting for years for this to happen and I can’t even make love to her the way I want to.

For the time being, I force thoughts of Hannah out of my head and get down to business. Too soon, Hero knocks on my door once, walking in before I tell him to.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Fuck no,” I say. He looks confused, as he would. I’m always ready to go whenever my prez or my brothers need me. “Finally got Hannah to admit she’s my old lady and now I want to fuck her brains out, man.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,” he says. “Wasn’t enough time for Brin to give me her sendoff, either. But when we get home, Duke won’t send us out for a while. Take her somewhere and don’t leave until you have to carry her out.” He’s not wrong.

We leave my room. Sneak and Boetcher are waiting for us. Boetcher looks a little green, but like Duke said, he’s got good instincts. I’m not worried. Brinley and Hannah walk out from the kitchen with bags of food. Brin hands one off to Sneak first and Hannah hands one off to Boetcher.

“Since Trish is at work,” Brin says to Sneak.

He smiles. “Thanks, sweetheart. I appreciate it.” Sneak reaches a hand up to pat Brinley’s cheek like an older brother because Sneak would never hit on Brin; his wife owns his balls in every way balls can be owned. Hero slides in next to her, slipping his arm around her waist nonetheless. They’re still new and he almost screwed that shit up beyond repair, so I get it. But still, that shit’s funny.

Sneak and I chuckle, him under his breath, me outright.

When Boetcher takes the bag from Hannah, he shoots a glance at me before thanking her. They don’t even know she’s officially mine yet, but they all know she’s been mine since she arrived here.

“It’s okay,” she says to Boetcher. “Blood doesn’t mind. You don’t have an old lady to fix you food. It’s my jo—”

“It used to be your job,” I remind her, cutting in. “Not anymore.”

Sneak and Hero raise their eyebrows at me.

“Sissy, is there something you need to tell me?” Brinley asks my woman.

“I… Well…” She starts to hedge.

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