“Whatdid you just say?” Her voice is soft, but there’s an edge to it. Her eyes drop to the tattoo on my belly again and I sit up straighter, the sheet dropping farther down the bed.
I should be careful here, but this strange, primal need for her makes me thoughtless. I cover her hand in mine, my rough fingers closing around her little ones as she hands me the bag with my stuff in it. “I’m going to marry you. Knew it from the first second I saw you. I don’t care about your brother, I–”
Her eyes are blazing as she tries to pull away. “I know you don’t care about my brother, Saxon. You’re trying to kill him. So you’re not exactly at the top of my list of potential husbands.”
I stroke my thumb gently over the top of her knuckles, watching the connection register in her eyes before I let her go. “That’s not exactly how I see it.”
“I don’t care how you see it. Like I said before, I’m here to fulfill a professional duty as your nurse. I’m not going to let my personal feelings get in the way, even if I do hate you.”
I shake my head. “You don’t hate me, my angel.”
Her eyes are fierce. “Don’t you dare tell me how I feel. I can see why my brother has a problem with you. I’ll be back in an hour. You should get some rest.”
Kaia turns on her heel and marches out.
I thought it was some movie bullshit, the idea that anger makes a woman even more beautiful, but Kaia’s just proved me wrong. Her eyes blazing, she looked like a goddess. But I bet I’ve scared the crap out of her with my insistence that she’s going to be my wife.
She will be mine, though. I’m certain of it. There’s a spark there for her, too, but her brother’s probably told her all kinds of crap about me. I have some work to do.
My cell is in the bag, along with my wallet, keys, and tags. I have about twenty missed calls and hundreds of texts. I call Joker.
He picks up on the second ring. “Prez?”
“The same. Were you missing me? Did you cry?” Joker bawled at one of those Pixar movies and we’ve never let him forget it.
“Fuck you.”
“You gonna ask how I am?”
He sighs. “I know how you are, Prez. One of the sweet butts here used to date the ambulance tech. He tipped her off they’d picked you up. Recognized our patch, I guess. Or your ugly face.”
“I’m impressed. Any news on Blade?”
“Hawk’s been doing some digging. Apparently, Blade’s sister works at the hospital, we could try and scare some information outta her.”
“No, we fucking won’t. Anyone who comes within one hundred feet of her has to answer to me.” I raise my voice.
“Woah, okay there. Loud and clear. I’d guess Blade’s not gonna show his face back in Prephis for a while. If he knows what’s good for him.”
“That boy runs towards what’s not good for him as fast as he can.”
“Yeah, I guess. Hawk said Blade’s Mom and Dad died in an accident. Then his girlfriend had a car wreck six months ago and never woke up. So he must be kinda screwed up by that.”
“Screwed up enough to steal two hundred thousand dollars worth of pills from a cartel?”
Joker sighs again. “I’m not excusing it. What are we gonna do?”
“Sit tight. See what else you can dig up. Leave the sister to me. I’m going to stay here tonight and get out in the morning. I’ll text you to bring my ride over.”
“Sure. See you tomorrow, Prez.”
No wonder Blade is screwed up if he’s lost his parents and his girl. By contrast, Kaia is cool and collected, apart from that beautiful flush that rises in her cheeks.
A fierce wave of protectiveness rises in my gut. My angel’s had a hard life, if her parents are gone. I want to wrap her in my arms and shield her from anything that could ever hurt her. And if I’m honest, keep her naked and fucked until she’s happy and glowing from all the times I make her come.
Prez would think I’m losing my mind. I’ve been concentrating on keeping the MC a tightly run unit. Our private security business is bringing in good money and we’ve grown bigger every year. I have no time to spend on women. And no woman’s stirred me in years. Then this little angel walks in and I’m hit harder than I’ve ever been in my life. Thinking of babies and marriage, making her my ol’ lady forever. Because if any other guy looked at her I’d rip his head off and bounce it like a basketball.
I grit my teeth. I need to keep in control. It’s the one thing I pride myself on and if Blade is around to fuck things up, this could all go very wrong, very quickly. I text a couple of my contacts, including my old army buddy Rock. His MC is a few hours drive away, across the mountains down in Silent Lake.
