“But if he means something to you, and I think he does, you can’t put it off forever,” she warned.
“I know,” I sighed. “I just wanted this one weekend—after all that time in the hospital, it feels like this is our reward, and I wanted it to be just his and mine,” I explained.
“I get that,” Wren replied. “I’ll cover for you if you need it.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” I replied. “Gotta go, babe. Have fun tonight.”
“Will do—see ya.”
After I hung up with Wren, it wasn’t long before the rumble of Ruston’s bike sounded in the distance. I grinned, elated, my heart beating at a frantic pace despite him only having been gone a short time.
But when he walked in, pizza in one hand and a bag in the other, his gaze hard, I immediately braced.
“This was on your front porch,” he growled, holding up the unfamiliar bag while I took the pizza.
“What is it?” I asked in confusion, following him as he stalked to the kitchen, setting the bag on the table and opening it.
“Fucking soup—from that asshole, Elliot,” he growled. “And it’s still hot, which means he left that shit while I was gone. That he most likely waiteduntilI was gone.”
My stomach sank, and despite having lied about being sick when I called in to work this morning, it now felt like a very real affliction.
“Grace, I don’t like this. You need to quit that fucking job and have someone with you until I can take care of this. For now, that’s me. But until I can get you down to Colorado, I won’t always be here. Which means we need to brief your pop.”
“That’s a lot of assumptions and demands when it comes to my life.” I glared, my hand on my hip.
A far-too-confident smirk quirked his lips. “Oh baby, there are no assumptions when it comes to you and me.”
When his phone rang again, for the fifth time since he’d walked in, I waved a hand toward it. “You should probably get that… Prez. Should I address you that way? Or maybe just 'sir,’ since you seem so hell-bent on telling me what’s going to happen next?” I retorted.
He pulled me into his body so fast, I let out a quiet umph at the contact. His hands gripped my backside, squeezing the globes of my ass as his mouth came to my neck. “I’ll settle for King,” he rasped against my flesh, licking up to the shell of my ear, making my entire body quiver.
When he moved away slightly to answer his phone, I had to grip the counter for support.
“Yeah,” he clipped, holding his phone to his ear, his other hand cupping the side of my neck as he looked directly at me.
The intensity of this man continued to confound me.
When I heard the all-too-familiar tone of my brother on the other end, I inwardly groaned. Wren had been right; they were trying to call him in.
“Right, just gotta take care of something first. Yeah, see you, brother,” he replied, hanging up and staring down at me.
“That was Tatum,” he explained, confirming that it had indeed been my younger brother on the phone. “The Knights want a meet—sounds like they just want to check in after my time in the hospital. They’re assuming I’ll be headed back to Bishop and want to catch me before I head out. Your father and crew are good people.”
“They are,” I acknowledged quietly.
“So, are you telling them, or am I?” He cocked his head to the side. “Because,” he continued when I made a noise of dispute, “there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone here with that asshole around. So that means you’re coming too. And, Grace, I know we’re still getting to know each other, but I’d hope you know by now there’s no way I’m walking into that club pretending you’re not mine. Because, baby, I may be king but you’re my fucking queen, and I’m not going to accept otherwise, even for show.”
I sucked in a ragged breath as I digested his words. I hadn’t expected to need to do this so soon. “I don’t want to pretend,” I assured him, my hand resting on his chest. “But I don’t want to blindside my pop either. We need to talk to him first.”
His nostrils flared, but he nodded once. “Out of respect for Cole, we can do that. But I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen right away.”
“Fair,” I agreed. “I’ll follow you in my car and show up a few minutes later.”
“Fuck no.” He shook his head adamantly. “You’re on the back of my bike.” He pulled me close when he saw my worried expression. “Baby, your pop isn’t stupid—far from it. I’m sure he knows something’s up. This is a small town, and he has ears and eyes everywhere. We’ll be straight with him tonight. I don’t want to lie to him. And showing up without you on the back of my bike—trying to pretend you’re not mine by letting you drive yourself to his club, into his domain—would be the biggest lie of all.”
He wrapped his arms around me, and I nuzzled close.
“You’re not making this easy,” I sighed.
