Rubin.
Just a friend of my younger brother’s, now playing a vital part in the MC’s future. How was this possible? How had all of this come full circle to Rubin, the mayor’s very own son, being the one to save us all?
When Drew turned around in my arms, letting me run my soapy hands over his chest, he opened his eyes and let the water rain down his handsome face.
“Do you want to know a secret, Ayda?” he whispered.
“I do.”
“I’m losing control of the club.”
I blinked in surprise and rocked back far enough to catch his eyes with mine. I’d needed to see if he was serious, and he was. I could see it in the lines of his face, the clarity of his eyes, and the set of his mouth as he studied me right back.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Can’t you see it?” His expression was blank, accepting, and I had to imagine Drew saying those words without fury tainting his tongue when I first met him. His club had always been his everything. It was the blood running through his veins. The ink on his chest. It was the beating of his heart and the light in his eyes, but now…
Drew sighed softly and then drew in a breath. “I’m good at reacting. I’m good at being at the front of the pack when they need someone bold enough to bark and howl from the rooftops. They know I’m loyal. I was born to be who I am—the president of the mighty Hounds of Babylon MC. And all that’s been a part of my life I’ve had to accept, even on the days when I’ve felt more alone than a man standing at the top of a mountain. But things are different now. People don’t come to me to ask my advice like they once did. They don’t need myapproval to respond to a situation. They don’t mind keeping me in the dark when they think it’s for the greater good. That’s something Slater, Jedd, Kenny… fuck, all my men… it’s something they wouldn’t have done before I went to prison. When I came out, they wanted a leader to return, and I guess for a bit, I did. I was angry enough to do it. I was vengeful enough to want it, but now…”
“Now…?” I echoed.
“Now there’s only gratitude. Revenge is more motivating than gratitude. It gives you a greater drive. I think I’ve lost that drive now. All I want is… peace.”
I rinsed my hands quickly before framing his face in my palms, and I pulled in a long breath.
“I think you’re wrong. I think that this club has grown and evolved since you’ve been out of prison, but I don’t think that means you’re losing control, Drew. These guys trust you. They idolize you, but you’ve also let them know that you trust and respect them, which means they have the freedom to make these choices for the good of the club. For you. That doesn’t tell me you’re a bad leader or that you’re not angry and vengeful enough to lead them. It means that you’re thinking, and you have them doing the same. Every single one of us loves this club, but the club isn’t what it is without all of you. Or without you in particular. You’re the heart and soul of this place and every last one of those men knows that. They feel that.”
“I never said I was a bad leader, Ayda,” he said softly. “But I am an honest one, and I have to be honest with myself about what’s in my heart. And right now…” He trailed off, glancing down at my bare stomach, a small scowl creasing his brows together. “Now there’s more to life than death for me. More than motor oil, patches, and enemies. I’m losing control, whether you like to think it or not.” His gaze rose slowly, taking in every inch of my naked skin before his eyes locked onmine again. “And the truth of my heart tells me I’m okay with that,” he whispered.
I released a long breath. Inside, I already knew what I felt. It had always been there. It was a mantra that played every time I looked at him. I’d always thought that it meant something different. I’d thought it had meant destruction, but now I realized that the possibilities were as endless as the love I felt for him.
“I will follow you anywhere, Drew Tucker.”
He smiled softly, the force of it barely moving his lips, but I saw the real happiness in the crease of his eyes. “All I want is a life filled with you.”
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.” I felt tears stinging my eyes. I was happy. Happier than I felt I had any right to be in this moment while the world around us was on fire, but it was there, right in the center of my chest: an overwhelming love that would always eclipse everything else in my universe. “I can’t wait to marry you. I don’t want to wait.”
Drew wrapped me in his arms, curling my body against his as he held me tight and rested his cheek against the top of my head. “Call Autumn in the morning. No more waiting. Life’s too short. Arrange the wedding of your dreams. The fires can wait until we’re ready to put them out. There’s nothing I want more than to marry you and marry you now.”
I threw myself at him, catching us both off guard as his back hit the tile and our mouths crashed together. There just weren’t enough words to express my feelings. There were also no clothes to keep us apart.
Drew took control easily. I may have made the first move, but his hands were slow and gentle, running from my shoulders and down under my arms. No matter how hard and fast I wanted him, he was setting the pace tonight, and from the looks that he aimed at me, he was in the mood to appreciate the time we had together and worship every inch ofskin he could reach in his own time.
I wasn’t going to complain. He could have me any way he wanted me.
Drew’s thumbs brushed the edges of my breasts in a slow, teasing slide, slipping under the weight of them with a hum of appreciation. He twisted us, my back now pressed against the wall so I was fully at his mercy. He spread his palms over my ribs and lowered himself just enough to press his mouth over my right nipple, his teeth grazing the taut skin as the water beat down around us.
My breath rushed out in a mass evacuation from my lungs, and my head fell back and hit the wall as a moan of pure appreciation left my mouth at his sudden attention. Drew knew my body. He knew every dip and valley of my flesh. He understood where to touch, where to lick, and even where to brush, so gently that I would beg for it to be harder. If my body had been a puzzle, he’d know where every piece connected, and he proved it every time.
He moved slow and languorously between teasing with his tongue and teeth, working my body into a heated frenzy that I wasn’t sure I would be able to control for long. I wanted it all and more. I wanted his fast and hard—his slow and attentive. I wanted to see his eyes and watch the green flare into dominance as he pushed into me. I wanted it all because I knew he could give it to me. I knew that every contradicting thought and need would be met and that only seemed to make the ache between my thighs grow.
My fingers fisted in his hair when he switched his attention to my neglected nipple by dragging his hot mouth and tongue over my chest, exploring the skin there. I moved quickly in sudden desperation, one leg riding up his thigh and hooking over his hip in an invitation as I fought, and failed, to draw in a breath and regain some control over that physical connection between us.
Drew didn’t take the invitation. He reached past me, turning off the water as our eyes met, and I knew tonight was going to last a while. The intensity that burned in his eyes promised it and was followed when he swept me up against his body, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me out of the shower and into our room.
He didn’t so much as acknowledge how wet we both still were as he laid me on the bed and then stepped back to look at me. His gaze roamed over my body, taking it all in. I knew when his focus landed on the marks I’d tried to hide from him. The blue and green of his eyes lit like fire, stoking the flames of anger before he let them give way to arousal again.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t taking my chance to look at him also. Drew Tucker was a sight to behold naked, but glistening in the dim light with droplets of water gathering in the ridges of his muscles was something I was having trouble finding words for.
