Page 53 of All's Fair in Love & Chaos
“We are. We’re not leaving the property. We’ve got acres of land here.”
“Why don’t you expand?”
“’Cause why disturb the environment to take more than we need? We all fit here just fine. The bunkhouse is huge, and everyone hangs in here anyway,” I tell her truthfully.
“Jesus, Camden. Are you sure you’re from Earth?” I laugh at her quizzical question.
“I’m sure, why?”
“’Cause most people don’t care about that stuff anymore. They just want expansion, more, more, more. It’s never enough.”
“I’m not like most people, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. Now c’mon, we’ve got somewhere to be.”
Saige follows me through the clubhouse as we pass men drinking at the bar, playing pool on our new table, or playing darts at the far end. Wrath is making out with a patch bunny on one of the couches, and I know it won’t be long before his pants are around his ankles and he’s balls deep inside her. Something I should probably warn Saige about before she sees it. He can’t be controlled.
“You good with taking my bike?” I ask her, knowing how she is about needing control and feeling less than me because she’s a woman.
“Yeah, I’m okay with it,” she surprises me by saying, and just like that, I’m fucking feral for her, but I’m trying to keep my shit together.
I climb onto my bike, edging forward and waiting for Saige to swing her leg around behind me. I’ve never had a woman on the back of my bike before. It’s a spot that’s sacred, reserved only for the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.
It’s reserved for my queen.
Saige runs her hands over my waist, finding their home as I start her up, the low rumble surrounding us, vibrations spreading throughout our bodies. I ride down the dirt road and swing right, heading toward my favorite spot. The trip isn’t long, maybe five minutes, but nerves are starting to eat me alive. I never get nervous. I reach my hand behind me, squeezing her calf, searching for comfort and grounding. Ifucking love the way she feels behind me, and touching her like this does exactly what I was hoping it would.
I pull into the spot, wishing like hell I could turn around in time to see Saige’s face brighten in excitement, or awe, or happiness. I’d take any of those. As long as she’s smiling.
I stop the bike at the top of a hill, the highest point on our land, right under a massive willow tree that’s been here for nearly a century. Saige climbs off first, and I’m right behind her, turning to face her, wanting to see her reaction.
My face falls as I see her, ready to backtrack and explain. Fuck, maybe this was too soon, maybe she’s not ready for all of this.Maybe if I explain . . .
“This is my favorite place. When Lucas and I first got here, we were dumbass teenagers, and we were so used to it just being the two of us that a few times a week, when the noise became too much, we’d sneak out here and smoke a little weed. We’d end up just lying down and looking at the stars,” I explain as I reach out and grasp her hand, pulling her closer to me as I drag her away from the bike and farther under the tree. “I’m sure you recognize the type of tree this is; it’s the only one on the property. Something always called me back here, when things got tough for Lucas and me, when the world became too much, when Queenie died, and then Lucas . . . this is where I escape to. I never believed in fate, Saige. I believed that life was carved out piece by piece by our choices and those of the people around us.”
“Believed?”
“Fate is real, vixen. It has to be. It brought me you.”
“But we lost Lucas and Willow for that to happen.”
“I know, baby, but we can live on in their memory.”
I press her forward to the scene laid out in front of us. Fairy lights wrap around branches, twinkling lights that illuminate the large white picnic blanket below. I lead us closer, coming to a stop right in front of the blanket, the view on the other side of the hill going on for miles and miles. It’s the perfect spot to watch the sunset, and I wanted to share it with her. The blanket is set with a massive charcuterie spread, two wine glasses, a bottle of red and white, a carafe of coffee with two mugs and add-ins, and all the baked goods you could dream of.
“Camden . . .” Her hands move to her mouth, covering her smile while she looks around. I take a solid step into her space, grabbing them and pulling them away with a squeeze.
“Let me see every single one of those.” I walk her over to the blanket and large cushioned pillows, motioning for her to have a seat.
“What is all of this, Camden?”
“I want to get to know you, all the superficial, mundane, boring, everyday shit that makes youyou.” Her face lights up in a smile, and it feels like the sun has come out just for me. My body heats as warmth radiates from her.
Saige gets comfortable, looking around at the massive spread of food and drinks in front of us, and I know exactly where I want to start. I hand her a mug, grabbing the carafe and pouring it halfway full with the best coffee on this side of Washington.
“How do you take your coffee, vixen?” And then it happens, she fucking laughs. It catches me off guard for a second, loud andsudden, her head thrown back in genuine, pure enjoyment. I can’t help myself, the moment she’s righted, my hands are clasping her face, dropping an innocent kiss to her lips. She closes her eyes slowly, and when she opens them, I release her, rubbing my thumb back and forth over her bottom lip.
“Okay. Let’s do this,” she says, giving in.
“Okay,” I say with excitement, rubbing my hands together. “You don’t like it black, your face really looked puckered when you drank it. So, I’m guessing you like it sweet as hell, don’t you?”
