Page 37 of Rattler
I felt an ache in my heart, watching them.This was what family was all about.Caring about each other and sharing the important moments in their lives.None of these women had ever met my brother Jack, but just the fact that he had fought alongside their men was enough for them to accept me without question.
We were just finishing up the last of the bags, Janet carefully stacking them into a basket she’d decorated with lace and ribbon, when the faint rumble of motorcycles in the distance sounded.
My heart leaped in anticipation.My Rattler was back.Yeah, mine.I wasn’t sure at what point I’d started thinking of him as mine, but it felt right.
The other women smiled indulgently as I jumped to my feet and mumbled an excuse.Racing to the front of the house, I stood on the wide porch, hopping from foot to foot.The row of trees between the building and the road meant I didn’t see Rattler until he rounded the curve in the driveway.
Then he was here!
My breath caught in my throat.He sat tall and proud on his Harley, the chrome glistening in the late afternoon sunlight.
He pulled up to the front of the house and killed the engine, pulling off his helmet as he dismounted.He tossed it onto the seat of the bike then raced up the stairs and pulled me into his arms to scorch a kiss across my lips.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on like he was the only thing keeping me sane.Now that he was back, I could admit to myself how scared I’d been that something or someone might hurt him, that he wouldn’t make it back to me.The rational part of my brain realized it was a gut reaction to Jack’s not returning from his last mission, but reason rarely conquered gut fears.
“Get a room!”Preacher was laughing at us as he sat on his bike, parked beside Rattler’s.
“Good plan, but we already have one.”Rattler lifted his head to glare good-naturedly at him.“Go check in with Ace.”
I let out a little squeal as he scooped me up in his arms.He smelled exactly as I remembered him, with the added tang of road dust.“Don’t you have to check in too?”
He grinned.“I outrank those guys, and I already talked to Ace before we headed home.Now that we’re here, he’ll call church, but I told him we needed an hour or so to wash the dust from the trip off.”
My brows drew down in a puzzled frown.“You just told Preacher and Joker to go check in with him.”
“Yeah.That was a polite way of saying fuck off and leave me alone.”He flicked his tongue out to lick the side of my neck.“Damn, you taste good!”
I giggled, heat flaring in my cheeks.
We entered the foyer.Ace stood lounging lazily in the entrance to the kitchen, managing to look amused and stern at the same time.“I see you made good time on the way back.Church in an hour to bring everyone up to speed.”
“Roger that.”Rattler didn’t slow down as he strode past Ace toward the staircase.
I buried my head in the crook of his shoulder, not sure if I should be embarrassed or flattered.“They all know where we’re going.”I whispered it into his shirt.
“Yes, they do.”He didn’t sound like the thought bothered him in the least.
He reached our room and twisted the doorknob, using his shoulder to push the door open.Crossing the open space in a matter of seconds he placed me on the bed.
His eyes gleamed.“Strip.”
I sat up and reached down, slowly pulling the shirt up and over my head.Tossing it aside, I cupped my breasts in my hands and stroked my thumbs across my nipples.They immediately puckered into tight little rosebuds.
Rattler’s eyes narrowed, and he growled low in his throat as he stripped off his own clothes.His cut came off first, which he hung over the back of the chair.
I raised my eyebrows.“We in a hurry or something?”
He kicked off his boots and stood on one leg to pull off his pants, then switched to the other.“You heard Ace.Church in an hour.Probably less since we wasted all that time getting up here.”
“Like you think we should have maybe just had at it on the porch?”
He left the pants where they fell and reached down to pull his shirt over his head.“Yeah, but I was being thoughtful.Figured the audience might freak you out.”
I stared for a solid second before I burst out laughing.“It definitely would.I’m not into exhibitionism.”
He raked his gaze over my half-nude figure.“You might want to get the rest of those clothes off if you want them to stay in one piece.”
I obliged, squirming a bit to get the skintight leggings off while sitting on the edge of the bed.No sooner had I pulled them over my feet than Rattler grabbed me by the ankles and slid me toward him.
