Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
“ B lade, your girl just walked in,” Ink alerted him.
Blade turned from answering Storm’s question to spot her at the door of the clubhouse. Sapphire was worrying about something. The tightness around her mouth was a dead giveaway. Abandoning his beer, he stood up and walked to greet her.
“Hi, Blue Eyes. Did everything go okay this afternoon?”
“Hi….” She leaned in to whisper, “Daddy.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to talk quietly here,” he reminded her.
“I know. I’m just getting used to calling you that around people,” she confided in the same low tone.
“You take as much time as you need, Blue Eyes. What happened today?” he probed. They’d talked repeatedly throughout the course of the day. She hadn’t allowed him to go to work with her again. He required her to call every two hours to check in with him—more often if she got scared. She’d followed his directions perfectly.
“Yes. I worked on one of the projects you brought me while Desiree was taking care of the customers. I love having her there. She’s going to be a great help.”
“Good. You needed an assistant.”
“You won’t believe this. My cousin, Amelia, came in to shop. She’d never visited before. She bought several pairs of earrings,” Sapphire shared.
“And she was pleasant?” Blade asked.
“Yes. Unbelievably so. It was nice.”
“Good for her. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.”
“Blade!” Sapphire slapped his thick bicep. He was always in her corner. She was going to remember that visual of her cousin as a snapping mongrel. That would make it easier to shake off any rude comments Amelia made. Fingers crossed Aaron would choose civility over rudeness as well.
“Back to our project. Are you going to share it with me?”
“It needs to be polished more, but you can see what it should look like,” she said hesitantly.
“Show me, Little girl.” He extended out his hand.
Slowly, she pulled her straps of her large purse off her shoulder. Easing it open, she searched inside. When Sapphire appeared to be struggling to balance her bag on one hand and scavenge inside with the other, Blade took the heavy tote from her and held it steady.
“Try finding it now, Blue Eyes. You don’t need knives with this thing. One good blow and you’ll knock someone out,” he suggested.
“You!” she said with a laugh and searched again. “Here it is!”
After pulling out the protective package, she unwrapped it and handed over the metal item.
Blade stared at it, unable to believe his eyes. Finally, he put an arm around her shoulder and said, “Kitchen. I need light.”
As they walked, she babbled, “I’m sorry. I tried to make it perfect. I think I can do better on the next idea if you’re not happy with that one.”
“I don’t know what you’re looking at, but this is more than I ever dreamed possible,” Blade told her as he rotated it in the bright light of the kitchen. The detail work was amazing. It appeared solely decorative. Incorporated seamlessly into the design, the knives would create a visual that completely disguised their actual nature.
“Damn. I get the first order,” Bear said, having caught a glimpse as he walked by. He stopped to examine it closer and then held out his hand.
“She’s just slightly talented,” Blade teased, as he handed over the implement for the biker to check out.
“Really? It’s okay?” Sapphire asked, wringing her hands.
“I knew it would at a bare minimum be okay when I asked you to do this, Blue Eyes. This is more than I imagined. Hey! What’s that?” Blade asked, pointing to a small embellishment at the corner of the design.
“I can take that off,” she blurted. “It’s our initials. BG for Blade Granby and SJ for Sapphire Jones. I thought because we worked on this together, we might want to add a credit for ourselves?”
“Hold this,” Blade said to Steele as he walked by and slapped the unsharpened knife into the MC president’s hand. He pulled Sapphire close and kissed her hard. Blade didn’t know how she continued to amaze him, but she did. Every fucking time.
“Wow! This is amazing. Is this going in that fuel tank design? I need this,” Steele said.
“That’s what I said too,” Bear added.
Blade waved them away behind Sapphire’s back and concentrated on kissing her.
“Wait,” Sapphire protested, wiggling back. “You guys like the design? It’s not even polished yet.”
“This is amazing, Sapphire. The customer is going to be so pleased. Blade’s wait list is going to be two years long,” Steele suggested.
“Let me see,” Kade asked as he approached with his hand out. He looked up at Sapphire and said, “You do beautiful work.”
“Thank you.”
Kade locked gazes with Blade. “You’re going to be swamped with orders, Blade. There’s no way you can keep up with the demand there’s going to be for these. I’d guess you have plans to make these embellishments on other spots on the bike?”
“Handlebars, frame… Yeah, I’ve got ideas,” Blade admitted.
“What do you think about letting one of the apprentices start working with you?” Kade asked too easily. Blade guessed the shop manager had been planning to suggest this already.
As much as he hated giving up control of his specialty, Blade understood that, for the benefit of the MC, he needed to try expanding. “I get to choose.” He felt Sapphire’s startled response next to him. She knew how much he needed control.
“Of course. Got an idea now?”
“I do. But I think it’s important to give anyone the chance to try out if they step up to the challenge. I bet I wasn’t my teacher’s first choice. It’s only fair to pass along that opportunity,” Blade told them.
“You want to announce it?” Kade asked.
“Nah. I’m busy here,” Blade answered, looking at Sapphire, who stood in the crook of his arm.
“Gotcha. I’ll return this when you’re done celebrating,” Kade told the two of them, wagging the decorated piece at them.
Kade glanced at Steele and Bear. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get these guys to listen.”
The trio took off toward the bar as Blade pulled Sapphire back against him. “You did so good, Little girl.”
“Are you okay with having someone assisting you?” she asked, worried.
“Best thing I ever did was walk into your shop to see if we could collaborate. Working with one of the guys won’t be as life-changing as finding my soulmate, but if I’m half as lucky, I’ll end up with someone competent.”
Sapphire bounced up on her toes to press her mouth to Blade’s. After a soft kiss, she whispered against his lips, “Kiss me, Daddy.”
He was more than willing to take over for her.
When they joined the gathering around the bar a few minutes later, Kade still stood on top of the wooden surface. Blade listened to the chatter as everyone discussed who would vie for the position. He had his eye on one guy.
Sapphire must have followed his line of sight. “Who’s that?”
“Snake. He’s new—came from an MC in Texas,” Blade told her.
“He’s who you want,” she guessed.
“He is.”
“Think he’ll take a stab at it?” she asked.
The last word just popped from her mouth when the young biker shifted to look at Blade. Snake’s eyes blazed with interest. He lifted his chin to acknowledge Blade’s attention. Blade nodded once and turned back to Sapphire.
“He’s in. Now, I’ll see if he’s as talented as I think. Steele’s going to be pissed.”
“Why?” Sapphire questioned.
“He’s a welder.”
“Isn’t that what Steele does?”
“It is. But there’s another new recruit who’s got experience too. Steele can have him,” Blade said.
“You really like the design?” she asked.
“I think I need a new tattoo.”
“Really? Where are you going to put it?”
“Right over my heart, Blue Eyes.”
“Can we go back to your room, and you can show me where?” Sapphire trailed a finger along his throat to the neckline of his T-shirt.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Scooping her up into his arms, Blade strode down the hallway. He could answer questions and celebrate with the MC later.
Having his Little girl with him in the morning and the evening meant everything to Blade. Sapphire had been spending the night with him since the incident with that man. Peering over his cup of coffee at the woman sitting on the barstool in the MC’s gathering room, Blade watched her face as he said, “I want you to move in here permanently with me.”
“Give up my apartment?” she asked. “That’s a big step.”
“I want you in my arms every night. We could live at your place if you’d rather.”
He watched her scan the large space. Several people were already up. Kade and Remi sat at a table, having breakfast together. He raised a biscuit to her lips, and she obediently took a bite. Her gaze focused on Gabriel moving around the kitchen to feed everyone. His Little, Eden, obviously had chosen to sleep in. A few single members sat in clumps around the room, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. The shop opened late on Sunday morning with a skeleton crew to take care of emergencies.
“I like it here. I have lots of new friends,” she told him.
“So, we stay here. Want to keep your apartment for a while until you’re sure you want to move in with me?” he asked.
“You sound so confident. You don’t have any doubts, do you?” she asked. Her gaze assessed him carefully.
“I don’t. I don’t think you do either,” he challenged.
She thought for a minute before confessing, “I don’t. I love you and want to be with you.”
“Then we live here together.”
“It’s that easy?” she asked.
“Yes. What do you want to do on your day off, Blue Eyes?”
“I’d like to do some designing with you. Then maybe we could take a ride to get lunch? There’s a seafood restaurant on Milligan’s Lake I’ve wanted to go to,” she suggested.
“I’ve heard of that place. Good plan, Little girl. Then a nap and playtime with your friends.”
“I don’t need to sleep during the day, Blade,” she said, laughing.
“It’s your day off. You need to rest. You’re always so busy. I don’t want you to run yourself down. You’ll get sick.”
“I’m never ill,” she protested.
“I’m glad.”
“You’re still going to make me take a nap?” she asked in disbelief.
“With a red bottom or without. That’s your choice.”
She squirmed a bit in her chair. He could almost hear the gears in her brain churning away. “You have to lie down with me.”
“Okay.” Blade would stretch out with her in his arms. That certainly wouldn’t be a hardship. He’d hold her any time he could.
The look on her face tempted him to laugh, but Blade controlled that impulse. He waited to see what she would say next.
“You were supposed to say no. Now I can’t argue with you,” she told him.
“Arguing with your Daddy is never a smart idea. Maybe you need to experience that naughty corner?” he suggested.
“I don’t think I’d like that,” she whispered.
“No, sweetheart. I don’t think so either. So, some design work, a ride to lunch, a nap, and play with your friends?”
“Sounds like a great day,” she said agreeably.
“Good girl. Now, let’s finish breakfast and we can go brainstorm some new ideas.”
That brought a genuine smile to her lips. As they talked about some concepts she already had, Blade knew she’d get used to him taking care of her. One step at a time.