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“Yeah, just a little confused at first.”
“Are you all right? I went at you kinda hard last night.”
“You were hard all right. All night.” She whisper-giggles into her pillow and I reach over to pinch her nipple, making her gasp. “Don’t start.”
“I’m not sure we ever finished, Mrs. Frazier.”
I’m obsessed with that beautiful smile she shines on me every time I remind her she’s my wife.
Later in the morning, we order room service and have breakfast on the larger balcony. As we’re finishing, Lilly’s phone rings and she runs inside to grab it.
“You want to go down to the beach again today?” I ask Chance.
All the worries from home finally fade away.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Z
Once we finished our honeymoon and packed up Lilly’s place, we ended up being away for over a week.
“It feels good to be home,” Lilly says as we get off the plane.
I heft Chance in my arms and grab her carry-on bag. “It feels good to hear you say that.”
After getting Lilly and Chance settled, I have to stop by the clubhouse.
“I figured,” Lilly says.
“I won’t be long,” I promise.
She grabs a fistful of my T-shirt and yanks me closer. “I knew there would be club business to attend to when we came home. Thank you for giving me one hundred percent of your attention while we were away.”
I brush my lips against hers. “I love you.”
“Love you too. I’ll try to wait up for you.”
My first shock when I roll up to the clubhouse is the gate out front. It’s nothing fancy, looks like pieces of left-over guardrail and fencing, but it does the job. Someone rigged an intercom and a camera. Not quite as sophisticated as what we have upstate, but it’s an improvement.
I press the white button.
“Please state your business.”
Now I’m annoyed. “Are you fucking serious? It’s your president.”
“What’s the password?”
“Let me in or I’m going to shoot whoever this is.”
“That was yesterday’s password.” The prankster laughs and I finally realize it’s Murphy fucking with me.
Before I can throw out some more curses, the gates swing open.
I search the parking lot and don’t see any other changes, but the security was the most important part. Surprised they got everything installed while I was gone.
The inside of the clubhouse is a different matter. I barely recognize it.
It’s been thoroughly cleaned for one thing. Furniture in the main area has all been replaced. One large sectional takes up the space to the left. The far end almost like a bed it’s so wide. I raise an eyebrow at Murphy, and he shrugs. “It’s what they wanted.”
“What’d you do, sit down at the table and take a vote on the furniture?”
“Pretty much. Hustler called the meeting and gave ‘em their options.” He glances around the space and shrugs. “They went with the Roman orgy meets MC theme.”
I guess that explains all the black leather furniture.
“Carpet’s gone too?” What looks like dark gray, weathered hardwood stretches through the main room and down the hallways. It enhances the freshly painted slate-blue and dark gray walls and gives everything a classier vibe.
“Yup. Jigsaw supervised the installation of the laminate flooring. I think that’s where his road name actually came from. He fit that shit together fast. It’s heavy duty industrial-grade stuff. Should be able to stand up to our abuse.”
“Looks like a whole new place.” I slap his shoulder. “I’m shocked you managed to accomplish so much while I was gone.”
Murphy stares at me, then shrugs. “You wanted it done, I made sure it got done.”
“Thank you.”
“We didn’t touch the bedrooms.” He smirks. “Just the common areas.”
“At least it’s a start. And it looks great.”
We walk to the back of the building and downstairs to the pool.
“You can actually see the bottom now.” He explains the rest of the cleaning and maintenance that went on down here. All I care about is that it doesn’t look like something out of a Swamp Thing movie anymore.
The room he wanted to turn into a gym is halfway there. A treadmill, elliptical, and some weights. “Thought this was your priority?” I ask.
He shrugs. “The other stuff seemed more important. Some equipment is on order. I’ll finish it before I go home.”
Home. Shit. Murphy busted his ass helping to fix up a clubhouse that isn’t really his. “Thank you, brother.”
“I didn’t do that much, Z. They were kind of fired up and wanted to get it done before you got back.”
Okay. I’m not sure how to respond to that. Here I thought everyone would be pissed that I bullied them into cleaning up the place right before conveniently taking off to the other side of the country.
“I think it meant a lot that you…trusted them after everything that’s gone down,” Murphy says in a lower voice. He nods to my left hand. “Now, tell me you didn’t get married out there.”
“I don’t like to lie to my loved ones, Murphy.”
He clutches his chest. “Aw, is that supposed to make me feel special?”
I reach out and pat his cheek. “You’re my special boy.” My tone’s pretty much the same one I used when I was house-training the dogs.
He slaps my hand away and swaggers back down the hallway. At the room Lilly and I use while we’re here, he stops. “I guess it’s appropriate we fixed up one of the rooms.”
“What are you talking about?”
He throws open the door and nods for me to go inside.
“Why do you have a key to my room?”
“Shut up and turn on the lights.”
“So disrespectful,” I mutter. The words evaporate as I take in the new room.
“I’m going to have nightmares about whatever was in that carpet, it was so fucking old and gross.” Murphy stamps his boot against the floor, drawing my attention to the same wood-look flooring in the rest of the clubhouse. “We tore up the carpet everywhere. It just made sense to do it all at once and get it out of here.”
That’s not all they did, though. The old, ratty leftover hotel furniture has been replaced. “Nothing fancy. Jake has a friend who got us a deal,” Murphy explains. He gestures toward the sheets. “You can make your own fucking bed, though.”
Rumbling with laughter, I slap his back.
“Oh, I tossed your mint lube from the eighties.”
“What are you talking about?” I walk over to the bathroom and stop outside the door. The utilitarian tub and shower combo have been replaced with a jacuzzi tub and glass-enclosed, walk-in shower. Brand new tile, sink, and everything.
“We’re only upgrading a handful of the bathrooms like this.” He shrugs. “Figured the president’s should be one of them.”
“Sway’s got his man cave upstairs.”
Murphy gives me a look like I’m dense or something before shaking his head. “I’m hurt you didn’t want us at your wedding.”
“It’s not that I didn’t want you there. It felt like a good time and place to do it, so I didn’t want to wait. We’ll still have a party or s
omething here.” I hesitate. “But I don’t want to tell too many people outside the club yet. I can’t. You know why.”
The humor drains from his expression. “Don’t worry, brother. We got you. Congratulations.”
“Sorry if I stepped on your toes by getting hitched before you.”
He laughs. “You’re gettin’ old, man. Gotta lock her down while you can still walk.”
“You’re a dick.”
He grins and waves his hand in the air. “I’m not worried about it. Was Lilly upset she couldn’t do all the wedding stuff?”
“I don’t think so.” She hadn’t said so anyway. “It felt right.”
“Well, you’re the one who has to explain it to Rock and Wrath, not me. So good luck with that.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Z
Murphy kept his word and didn’t tell anyone about Lilly and I eloping.
For about twenty minutes.
“I should’ve known you couldn’t keep a secret from Mom,” I growl at him when I get a text from Hope the next morning.
Completely unapologetic, Murphy shrugs. “She beat it out of me.”
“Over the phone?”
Even though I originally got the idea from Hope, apparently, she’s miffed that Lilly and I eloped.
So, I’m not surprised when Rock calls and casually asks about throwing a joint party for upstate and downstate.
I smell a rat, but I play along anyway. “Let’s do it down here. The guys have worked hard on fixing up the clubhouse. You need to see it.”
We work out a date—a whole weekend—and even decide to invite the Devil Demons MC to the party. “I think we should give that relationship a little attention,” I explain.
“Sounds like a plan,” Rock agrees.
After we hang up, I get a call from Sway that he’s being released from the hospital.
“Holy shit, already?”
“They wanted to stick me in a rehab facility, but fuck that.” He lowers his voice. “I’m not ready to take back over the club, Z, so don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried, brother.” Fuck, I’d been hopeful I could finally go home. “Take your time.”
