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I shoveled a monster bite into my mouth. “It is,” I mumbled.
We ate in silence, me feeding Madeline and her accepting what I gave her with loving eyes locked on me. She never pushed to talk. It made me appreciate her all the more, because I couldn’t tell her club business.
Once the plate was empty and our coffee cups drained, we snuggled in bed. I’d kicked off my boots but refrained from removing my clothes. Madeline was wearing my Ozzy T-shirt again. She was the most alluring woman I’d ever known. Her long hair was braided loosely, and her face was free of makeup. She was gorgeous in her natural state. I was one lucky fuck to call her mine.
“I know you’ve got a lot going on, so I thought I’d head home.”
The muscles in my shoulders tensed. “Absolutely not.”
“Storm, there’s nothing for me to do here but be in the way. At home, I could clean the house and get some laundry done.”
“You’re not leaving the clubhouse, Angel. This isn’t up for discussion.”
She furrowed her brow, gazing up at me. “Storm—”
My lips were on hers, kissing her until we were gasping for air. Breaking away, I clutched the side of her head and pressed it to my chest. She could probably feel my racing heart.
The words shot from my mouth. “I won’t be able to focus if you’re gone. The Hunters could go by your place again. They could get you.” I inhaled a deep breath so I’d stay calm. “I need you here where I can protect you. Understand?” I left no room for argument. No fuckin’ way would I let her off of the compound. Not after what happened to the women.
“I understand, but I do have a life, ya know.” She rubbed her hand over my chest. Her tenderness comforted me, but I knew she didn’t like being told what to do.
I wasn’t ready to tell her one of the women was raped. I would, eventually. But Jesus, I felt guilty as hell for not getting those fuckers out of our area. I could barely contain my fury. I couldn’t tell Madeline what happened in the state I was in.
“You’re on summer break. What else do you have going on?”
She sighed. “Nothing until Wednesday. I’m supposed to meet my friends at Sugar Bliss. We were going to hang out, do a little shopping, maybe catch a movie.”
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
She tossed her head back, laughing. “You’re going to go with me? Mr. Biker Prez is going to have coffee and pastries with a group of women and go shopping?” She giggled some more. I loved hearing the amusement in her voice. The musical sound was a balm to my aching chest. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Hey, I’m down with hanging out with you and your girlfriends. I’m confident in myself. Shopping doesn’t scare me.”
She rolled her eyes with a big smile on her face. “God, you’re incorrigible.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“Not so fast, Prez. If you think it’s not safe for me to be at home, what about Tara? They know she lives there too.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought about the redhead.
“Can she stay with one of your friends for a while? Just until we get the Hunters out of Winters?”
“I suppose she could, but is this really necessary?”
“Yes. When you see Nancy and Ava later today, you’ll understand.”
She noticeably stiffened. “That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s bad.” I pressed my lips to her head, my innards twisting into a knot. It would kill me if anything happened to my beautiful woman. “Let’s take a nap. I’m exhausted.”
“Okay…” She turned to her side so I could spoon her.
I exhaled, wrapping myself around her warm body and burying my face in her neck. My eyes closed, and I was out.
I hit the gavel once, bringing the meeting to order. I leveled my gaze on every man. This was my executive council and several select patched members at my table—eleven in all. Not one of them looked happy to be in churchagain. Nor should they.
In the five years I’d been president of Knight’s Legion, not once had I called church the day after a club party.
