Hannah practically beamed. “It’s a great idea! And a picnic following it is even better. I’ll talk to Tedra about the meal and get everything ready. You just go find your wife and get her out of here before my sister talks her into calling a divorce lawyer.”
“I already gave Tedra my card to handle all of the expenses you ladies have this week, so whatever you need to make this happen, she can put it on the card, too.”
That earned me a double thumbs up from Hannah. “I know that’s right! Take care of your wifeandher family.”
The part she left off was that my wife’s family had their own money and didn’t need me to foot the bill for this girls’ trip. They knew it and so did I. Still, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Dakota, and I definitely wasn’t hurting for money.
“As for your sister, I don’t do warnings, I make promises. So you might want to explain to her that there will be no divorce over here, not today and not ever.” I spoke in the same tone I used when giving instructions to the Ryders or any of the staff that worked for us—cordial but unwavering.
Hannah only waved my words away. “Don’t worry about Mo. She’s just mad Kodi didn’t tell her first. The two of them are thick as thieves with secrets from as long ago as preschool. She’s hurt, and for Mo, that puts her in a sour and combative mood.”
“I don’t give a damn what kind of mood she’s in as long as she doesn’t try to fuck with my marriage.”
With a tilt of her head, she eyed me as if she were trying to figure out if I was issuing a serious threat or just mouthing off. My silence was all the answer she was going to get because I was finished with the conversation.
Four hours later, I stared at the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She sat on the beige and white striped blanket, her legs crossed at the ankles. The denim shirt dress she wore stopped at her lower thighs and hung off her shoulders. When she was working in the field, it was the same protective jumpsuits, bootie-covered flat tennis shoes, cap and goggles as her staff. In the office, her signature style was pantsuits and sky-high heels that made her legs look long and elevated her normal five-foot nine height until she was just about eye-level with my six-three stature. My pops would call her a brickhouse, the guys down at the bar would brand her a stallion, but to me she was simply everything.
Especially this version of her. Always stylish and impeccably groomed, I adored the soft side of Dakota. The woman who knew she was fine and dressed to impress herself more than anyone who had the honor of being in her presence. From the flat, natural-colored sandals she wore today, to the soft curve of her bared shoulder, I couldn’t keep my eyes or hands off of her.And she had those thick pretty ass thighs on display as soon as she dropped down onto this blanket. My mouth had watered throughout the entire picnic, and it wasn’t for the food Tedra had ordered.
Now, my head was cradled by those thighs that I spent an embarrassing amount of time sitting in my office dreaming about. A bunch of pillows that—which along with the miles of lush green grass and spectacular water view in the distance, created a relaxing ambiance—were now stacked behind her as she leaned against an oak tree. Full from the fried chicken strips, because Dakota only liked chicken breasts, deviled eggs, potato salad, fruit salad and fresh-squeezed lemonade, we’d settled into this spot and a comfortable silence for the last few minutes.
I covered her hand that rested on my chest, while her other hand brushed over my head. I fuckin’ loved when she rubbed my head. That shit got me more aroused than expensive lingerie every damn time. We were in a secluded enough spot that I could lay her down and plant my face between her legs, a position that she would again put her hands on my head to drive me insane, but I was content just laying here with her. Breathing this water-scented air and staring at the woman who had a death grip on my heart.
Hannah was officially my favorite Donovan for suggesting and putting together one of the best afternoons I’d ever experienced.
“Is that what you think you have to do?” I asked, something she’d said last night popping back into my mind. “You think you have to figure out how to live in the world your family has built and the one I dominate?”
She inhaled deeply and turned to gaze out toward the water. I watched as she slowly released the breath, a thin gold cross she wore on a gold necklace rising and falling with the action.
“Hey.” I brought her hand up to kiss the back, then turned it around to kiss her palm. “Talk to me, love. You know I’ll do any and everything in my power to make you happy. I just need you to talk to me.”
Communication was a big thing for me. I couldn’t fix shit I didn’t know about, and I wanted to know everything about Dakota. I wanted to give her things beyond the material because I knew she could get that on her own. I wanted to fill the empty parts of her. The parts that had immediately called out to those same places within me.
On a sigh, she looked down at me again. A warm breeze rolled off the water, lifting the tendrils of hair that hung from the messy top knot she’d pulled her honey gold hair into. “It’s what I know I have to do,” she replied. “I never filed for divorce because I want to be married to you. I want to be your partner in life. And to do that means I accept everything about you. It means that I stand beside you at corporate functionsandunderstand the workings of the bike club that made you.”
She smoothed my eyebrows, then flipped her hand so the back of her fingers brushed over my cheek. “One week from today I have to walk into my parents’ house and say, ‘hey guys, I’m married’ and my brother is going to immediately lose his shit. My father might shoot you and my mother will contemplate strangling the daughter she dreamed would marry well and have a carload of kids.”
“Well damn.” I frowned. “Call me a lowlife piece of shit without calling me a lowlife piece of shit.” I knew that wasn’t how Dakota saw me, and again, I didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought about me, but her words still left a little sting.
She shook her head, a small smile touching her lips. “You know that’s not what I think.” The next sigh was heavier than thefirst, the weight of this situation almost visible on her shoulders now. “I know you’ve probably wondered if I really love you.”
“Never.” Placing the hand I held over my heart, I locked gazes with her. “I feel you right here. Every moment of every day, with every single beat I feel you, Dakota. My love. Your love.Ourlove. It fills me and keeps me moving every day since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“But I insisted on keeping the secret, and I know that must’ve seemed like I was also hiding our love. And I need you to know that was never my intention.”
“I know, baby.” I did know that her words were true. While she didn’t want anyone to know about our marriage, behind the closed doors of my house and hers, Dakota was every inch of my wife. I wasn’t lying when I told her cousins she had clothes at my house. Hell, she had more shit at my place than she probably did at her own. I had things at her place. Up until the moment she decided to get slick and ditch her security, we knew each other’s schedules. We knew each other’s goals and desires and talked about how those things would intersect with our marriage. Hell, as far as I was concerned, we were already partners.
“I feel like such an idiot for not having a better handle on this. I’m not an indecisive person. I plan and work to get what I want. I speak my mind and let others figure out how they’re going to deal with whatever my position is. I’m not a weak bitch.”
“Whoa.” Immediately shifting so that I was now sitting up, I cupped her face, tilting it slightly so she would look at me. “Make that the last time I ever hear you saying some shit like that. There’s nothing weak about you or how you navigate your life. You don’t have to do shit the way others think you should. How many times have I told you this is your world, love? Tell me what you want and that’s what it will be.”
Doubt clouded her eyes, and I hated that as much as I hated the time we were apart. “My family,” she whispered.
“Will always be related to you by blood,” I finished for her. “Nothing will ever change that. Your last name is different now, a fact I better see reflected on your office door, your website, every damn where, the second we get back home.” I didn’t believe in that hyphenating or not carrying my last name shit. This woman belonged to me, and everybody was going to know it. “But they don’t define you. The career you choose, who you marry, the path in life you take is not theirs to control. You know that, Dakota. You’ve already been living your life on your own terms. Why is this, us, any different?”
My phone buzzed, and her gaze dropped. It was in the front pocket of the sweats I wore and from my new position beside her, she rested her hand right there on my thigh.
“That’s your personal phone,” she said softly. “I saw you turn off the burner you use for business and put it in your bag before we left.”
