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“Why are you staring at me,” Bambi grumbled, making Taco chuckle. Quietly. No need to wake the baby.
“Just thinking about how lucky I am,” he told her truthfully. Half of her face pressed into the bed pillow, she cracked her right eye open and glared up at him as if trying to find the lie in his face, but all she was gonna find was the deep and abiding love he had for her.
After a moment, she rolled over onto her side and stared at him some more. Still waiting? She wouldn’t find a change. Taco was totally gone for her and always would be.
“How do you not hate me? I’m a total shrew lately.”
“Nah, you’re just pregnant,” he said easily. Hormones. Bleh. They made his lady crazy, but when it was all said and done, it was a small price to pay to get the little human that would terrorize their life in the best way possible for years to come.
“You’re too good to me.”
“Not good enough,” he contended. In fact, he felt like she deserved so much better than him, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Didn’t want to give her ideas. Even though he was certain she loved him, he wasn’t taking any chances. The woman was too good for a slum dog like him. Babies. Babies everywhere. That was his solution. Plus, he just enjoyed seeing her full and round from his babies growing inside her. It was the hottest damn thing he’d ever seen. Imagine that. Man, he’d come a long way in a short time.
But that was women for ya. When the right one came along, they had a way of changing a man forever. There were days that Taco reflected on his life and couldn’t comprehend how he’d gotten by for so long without her.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered to her, and she returned the words with softly spoken ones of her own.
With their babies between them, Taco and Bambi closed the gap as much as they dared and crossed an arm over each other, cradling their little family between their loving embrace, knowing that nothing and no one would ever come between them, because if they tried, Taco would be there, ready to eliminate it. And he knew he’d always have his brothers at his back, which was the most comforting knowledge of all.
twenty-eight
Moose clenched the blankets in his fists. Beside him, Mouse was lying there, basking in the afterglow of their vigorous lovemaking. She was, in a word, insatiable. But who wouldn’t be with a beast like him in their bed.
All jokes aside, he might be a cocky bastard on his best day, but he still had his moments of weakness. Not that anyone better ever tell anyone. The brothers didn’t need to know that he was anything but hard and tough and ready to kick any one of their asses if warranted.
Back to the matter at hand though…
He had a hell of an elephant weighing on his brain. His earlier conversation with Quick kept playing on repeat until he was certain he was going to lose his ever-loving mind. He’d memorized every damn word his president and friend had said, analyzing the conversation to death, until he came to the stunning conclusion that the asshole had a point: he needed to stop being a pussy and ask the damn question.
But Moose didn’t ask for shit. Never had and didn’t intend to start now. He was more a demand and receive kind of guy. Except for that one time when he asked Angel to try being his girl on for size. But that was a one-time deal, a courtesy of sorts because he was a nice guy.
Reaching down beside the bed, he felt around, and when his fingertips grazed the cool leather, he pulled the size small jacket up and draped it haphazardly over Angel’s naked hip.
She stiffened, then slowly sat up as she asked, “What’s this?”
Tucking his hands behind his head, Moose watched her hold the leather jacket up in front of her, allowing her to take a moment to digest just what it was that she was looking at—a jacket that would fit her perfectly, with his name across the back along with the Spartan’s insignia, and a “Property of” patch.
She couldn’t miss that, and she hadn’t. Looking over her shoulder at him, Moose decided he wasn’t going to allow an argument or any kind of protests to pass her lips.
“I’ve decided to take you on permanently.”
“You decided?” she said, her tone escalating, indicating that she, in fact, was going to argue.
“I did. You took the trial period, and I decided it’s expired. I want to keep you, Mouse, and I’m gonna. You’re my woman now, for better or worse, forever and ever.”
“Those are vows. When someone gets married. That’s not a question of whether I want to be your ‘property,’” she sniped.
“Property is such a harsh word for a twentieth century girl, babe.” He sat up, taking the jacket from her and laying it out across both their legs. “Consider it like a promise ring. The ring that leads up to the real deal.”
“So…you want to marry me?” she asked with a huge heaping of disbelief.
Yeah, so no one ever thought he was the marrying type, but they’d be wrong. As he’d once told Country, he wanted to travel the world and see the sights, learn history, and all that cool shit. But instead of looking for European tail, he now preferred the idea of taking his woman with him, sharing the experience together, making memories that would last a lifetime. Substance, that’s what he was after.
My, how he’d grown. If his mother were still around, she’d be proud. If his father were still alive, he’d tell him he was a giant pussy, and then clap him on the back and tell him he was proud…even if he did have a big, gay son. The thought made him smile inwardly. He and his pops always had a wisecrack or ten in the works for one another.
Man, he missed that old fart.
“Not right now,” Moose finally answered her question. “But someday, maybe sooner than later, yeah, you’re damn right I do, because I can’t imagine anyone more perfect than you, Mouse.”
