The leather of his cut is warm against my bare skin. He never took it off.
He fucked me wearing his colors, and there’s something about being claimed by a man like that.
He rolls off the bed. Opens the bottom drawer of the dresser. Pulls out a folded piece of leather.
He drops it on the pillow next to my face. I unfold it with shaking hands.
It’s a cut that reads: PROPERTY OF DUKE.
“Put it on,” he commands.
I sit up and pull the leather over my bare shoulders. Nothing else on my body.
His eyes drag down over me. “I know it’s late. But it’s on you now, and it’s not coming off.”
Mine. He’s mine. And now every person in this clubhouse will know I’m his.
Duke kisses me, then says, “Let’s go get our son.”
Ourson. I like the sound of that.
CHAPTER 8
DUKE
Violet pulls on a tank top,then puts the property cut back on before reaching for her shorts on the floor. “Where’s Shelby’s room?”
I text Shelby while Violet gets dressed.
Me:Where’s Leo?
Shelby:Common area. He’s out cold on my lap. Come get him whenever.
Violet finger-combs her hair into something that doesn’t scream what we’ve been doing. It doesn’t work. She looks exactly like a woman who just got fucked.
Good.
We walk down the hallway together. The common area is half-full. Crash is at the long table with coffee, Razor is on his phone, and Joker is by the bar drinking a beer. Shelby is on the couch, Leo asleep on her lap, with the coloring book open next to them.
She spots us and grins. “He ate a few crackers, colored one page, and passed out.” She shifts Leo into my arms. He doesn’t wake up. His face presses into my neck, and his fist curls into the fabric of my shirt.
Crash looks up from his coffee. His eyes move from Leo to me, and his head tilts.
“Duke.” He sets the mug down. “That kid looks exactly like you.”
“Yeah.” I adjust Leo in my arms. “Because he’s mine.”
Dead silence. Crash’s eyes go wide. Razor puts his phone down. Joker takes a slow sip of his beer.
Then Crash spots the cut on Violet’s shoulders. PROPERTY OF DUKE. His mouth splits into a grin.
“No shit.” He lifts his coffee mug toward Violet. “Duke’s Old Lady, huh?”
Shelby’s hands go to her mouth as she looks between Violet and me.
“About fucking time,” Joker says.
Razor nods and goes back to his phone. No speeches. No ceremony. My brothers just accept her, because I claimed her.
