"Or on Kase's couch, before we go," she adds between kisses.
"An excellent suggestion," I say with a smirk. "I still have to drop the smoothie off."
Epilogue
Penny
If someone told me a year ago I'd be engaged to Calamity Fucking Gardel, I'd have beat their face in after having a good hearty fuck-you laugh. If someone told the Spades that their war with the Hellions would be won because of Calamity Fucking Gardel, they'd have been laughed out of town.
And yet here we are, stuffed into the interior of the clubhouse. The Spades numbers have swelled to around two hundred when Calamity's men joined up. It would have been more, but he insists on vetting them before they join.
He took my concerns seriously. No pimps. No more drugs. And no more executions. Any King that couldn't abide by the new rules was welcome to join what remained of the Hellions. Not a great prospect. So everyone toed the line or else.
We hang back in the clubhouse, watching as the members new and old pair off and file out the doors. Cruz and Holly linger the longest, Cruz staring unhappily at how I'm curled around Gardel, head on his shoulder, my feet half in his lap. I don't think he's ever seen me so cozy with someone before. The fact it's Gardel I'm smitten with is just bizarre, even by our standards.
"PDA," he grumbles.
"Oh fuck off, Ro," I retort. "Your hand is still on Holly's ass."
He glances down with an unrepentant smirk. Holly was always curvy, but she's filled out a lot since having her kid. Her bust is impressive, and her already enviable ass has gained its own gravitational pull.
"Did you two hear a thing I said?" he asks testily.
"You mean there was a point to that pontification?" Calamity shoots back, daring Cruz to get pissed. I almost think my brother will rise to the bait. Then he deflates, keeping his insults to himself.
It's progress, at least. They're not threatening to shoot each other anymore. And Calamity has stopped hitting below the belt.
"Goodnight, Penny," Holly says, squeezing Cruz's forearm pointedly. "You'll make announcements next meeting, right?"
She gives me an exasperated look, rebuking me silently for my cowardice. I smile in what I hope is a contrite manner.
"Right."
Holly tugs Cruz out of the room after he and Calamity have exchanged a few pointed jabs and a mutual fuck you. I sigh and sink into his side, glad that everyone has gone. The place is downright claustrophobic these days.
"You seem tense," he says, squeezing my fingers. "Are you really that worried?"
I trace my fingers over the back of Calamity's hand, stalling. It's still surreal to see the Spade inked onto the back of his hand. Surreal that his name is on the recovered charter that Harman held onto for years. Surreal that he's in charge of my ass inside and outside of the bed.
"Not worried, per se. Just...possessive. It's my secret."
"So, that's why you didn't announce it?" He traces his fingers lightly down the inside of my wrist next. Heat trails in the wake of his fingers. The sex has gotten impossibly better since we settled into our own home. Every time he touches me, I'm painfully aroused. Damn hormones. Right now I just want to take him down to the bench seat and ride him until I scream. He's already teased me to an almost painful extent.
"You were distracting me," I hiss back. "It's not exactly polite to finger someone under the table at a club meeting, Vincent."
He grins unrepentantly. "You needed to unwind. Also, your brother likes to hear himself talk, and I bore easily. Idle hands and all that shit."
"Pervert."
"You love it."
Sadly, that's true. I'm down for just about anything where he's concerned. Voyeurism has never been my kink, but when he's around, I suddenly stop caring about who might be watching. I just want him inside of me every second these days. It's taking most of my concentration to keep the conversation in check.
"Why didn't you announce it?"
"I'm not the one carrying the kid. It seems like you should get the honors. My contribution seems a little...pitiful in relation to yours. I came. Now you do the hard work. I tell Cruz, and we'll end up with a shotgun wedding officiated by a judge instead of the private service you wanted."
He has a point. Cruz tolerates Calamity. Barely. He'll be fucking pissed when he learns that he knocked me up months ago, during our first night together.
