Kane pulled me in, one arm around my waist.“You’re mine,” he murmured in my ear.
“And you’re mine,” I said.
“Damn right,” he whispered.
Atilla let the noise run for a minute, then rapped his knuckles again.“All right, settle down,” he said.“Diaz is in a cage, Jade’s patched, and Spade’s still uglier than he thinks he is.We’ve got work ahead of us, same as always.But for right now?For this minute?Take the win.”
He looked at me.“You did good, girl,” he said.
Tears spilled over before I could stop them.I didn’t bother wiping them away.
“Thank you,” I said.
* * *
The party started as soon as Church let out.
Nobody called the gathering a celebration.MC men never used such words without qualifiers -- “victory celebration,” “patch celebration,” “ass-kicking celebration.”Bass thumped from speakers while someone rolled a keg across the floor.Marci piled nachos high enough to feed every hungry biker in the compound.
The kids woke from naps and ran barefoot through the common room.Their shrieks and laughter echoed off the walls.Casey’s daughter approached me, her eyes fixed on my new leather.
I turned to show her the front when she tapped my arm.
“Does this mean you’ll live here forever?”she asked.
“Pretty much.”
She beamed.“Good.You make better dragons than Knuckles.”
Knuckles clutched his chest in mock offense.“My dragon roar stands unmatched.”
“Yours reminds me of a dying cow,” she informed him, crossing her small arms.
Laughter rumbled through the room while I wandered among the bodies, accepting hugs and handshakes in a stunned haze.
People clapped me on the shoulder.Hugged me.Handed me drinks.Told me welcome in a dozen different ways.
Miss Irene even showed up, hair down for once, wearing a dress that didn’t quite fit the old lady stereotype.
“You skip book club for this?”I asked as she hugged me.
“Damn right,” she said.“Had to see my favorite troublemaker get her colors.”
“You’re going to get me kicked out for language,” I said.
“Please,” she sniffed.“I taught half these boys to swear properly.”
We laughed.
Later, I slipped outside.
The air felt cooler on my flushed skin.
The yard stretched out, familiar and strange with this new weight on my back.
I heard Kane walk up.He stopped a few feet away, hands in his pockets, gaze on my face.Then it dropped to my chest.My shoulders.My back.
“I like the view,” he said.
