Page 19 of Her Feral Biker
I shook my head. “Nope. And you’re on a deadline.” I knew the club needed to move on, and I had a shop to open.
Lake leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. “In the club life, wearing my jacket means you’re my old lady.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds?—”
“It’s a mark of respect,” he cut me off. “I said you’re mine, and it means that. Permanently.”
My breath stalled. “Wait. More than just…us?” I didn’t have any more words.
He swallowed. “Yeah. I needed more than just that last night.”
I should have been angry. For more than the first time I should have ranted and raved and screamed at him.
I didn’t.
“You could have asked,” I said softly.
“I’m asking now.”
“Okay.” I wiggled, and closed the tiny gap between us, pressing my lips to his. “Pick me up tonight after work?”
He stared at me hard, then his eyes narrowed. “Princess? You gonna tell me what the fuck just happened in that crazy head of yours?”
I wiggled on his lap again, enjoying the way he stifled a groan way too much. “You offered, belatedly. I accepted. Same thing. And you said something about a place to live?” I said brightly.
Lake watched me, keeping his lips still but the corners twitched as she dropped his hands to my ass and squeezed through the leather skirt. “We’re gonna have a conversation after I collect you from work, princess.” His mouth descended on mine in a long, deep kiss that left me staggering as he deposited me on the sidewalk. “I’ll be back for you tonight. Then I’ll take you to a place you’ll call home from now on.”
My hands twitched on the keys that he’d rescued for me the night before. “Back at the bar?” That was the only thing I wasn’t sure of. I sucked at communal living. I’d proven that with my father, and even he didn’t seem to want me, enough to end a mafia prince out to ruin my chosen version of life.
Lake revved his bike. “I’ll see you tonight princess.”
My heart half at odds with his words and half invested in hope, I turned toward my shop, wishing the day would go faster.
But first, coffee. And new locks on my doors.
CHAPTER TEN
LAKE
It blew me away how accepting Annalise was of my lifestyle. What I thought I could never have in this world since I joined the Savage Kings landed in my lap—quite literally—and sashayed away through the doors of her shop that my brothers cleared. There was no way I’d let her go in there otherwise.
We were on a mission to ensure that neither she nor any of the other businesses in Jackson Ridge would be bothered by the Albanian mafia shit after today. After all, that was what the mission had always been about. Clear the town of threats.
Prinze Kola started as a niggling thorn in our side, and became something far more poisonous. It was time to rip the Band-Aid off.
Heading away from Annalise hurt. Riding with my brothers was the singular sort of joy that sounded cheesy and probably was, but I’d take it all the same. Crossing into the mafia don’s territory—Kola’s father, not his, he wasn’t don yet—felt like running through a physical barrier. My shoulders prickled as we pulled up in front of a nondescript warehouse. I doubted this was more than one of a dozen small businesses the don keptfor meeting purposes and it certainly wasn’t his home. From the little I knew about the Family,ostentatiousdidn’t cut it.
If our brand was chrome and leather, theirs was sports cars and gilt.
I followed the members into the door, noting who was stationed outside, patched members standing beside silent, suited men. We all carried weapons openly today. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop us.
I frowned, expecting the don’s men to remove the cache of firearms walking into this building. The concept sat raw on me. At least, it did, until my vision flared out and settled in the dim light, the sunlight too bright outside in comparison. When my vision cleared, I suddenly understood the don’s strategy.
His men outnumbered our membership three to one, along with hardware, and his son was nowhere in sight.
“Sit down.” He gestured to our President, who didn’t move opposite where he sat at a small table set out with a fucking steak meal and a bottle of wine.
“I’ll stand.”
