Chapter 31
Dima : I’m by your house.
Me : Get away from it.
— Text from Milena to Dima
MILENA
I smiled at the man walking through the front door of my coffee shop.
The coffee shop that I changed the hours to shortly after getting home from Montana .
I was no longer opening at the ass crack of dawn like every other coffee shop in the area.
Instead , I opened at ten and stayed open until eight.
I had four very consistent employees, one of which was Simeon .
His brother came in to work when his schedule allowed, and I’d hired two girls that were more than willing to work next to two very hot guys.
I also had six part-time employees that, though not perfect, allowed me to work as little or as much as I wanted.
And I’d finally realized that there was more to life than my coffee shop being open.
If no one showed up, I didn’t open, because there was no way that I was living like that anymore.
Was it the best business practice? No .
But was it working out for me? Yes .
I’d seen my life flash before my eyes in those moments when that hitman’s gun had been pointed at me, and what I saw, I hadn’t liked.
I didn’t want to live my life buried in work anymore.
I wanted to live it, and to do that, it required me giving up a little of the control that I’d always held onto so tight.
“ Simeon .” I smiled at him. “ Thanks for coming in.”
He rolled his eyes. “ They tell me to jump, and I ask how high.”
I patted his shoulder as we passed in the middle of the store. “ True . But you’re almost there, right?”
“ Hopefully ,” he muttered. “ Conway’s at least not getting to go, either. So there’s that.”
I chuckled as I readjusted the leather material on my shoulders.
Today was the first day that I was going riding on the back of Cutter’s bike with the vest declaring me as ‘ Property of Coastguard ’ on my back.
It should’ve been sexist.
It should have irritated me that such a blatant claim was on my back.
But what it did was make me feel wanted.
It made me feel special.
It made me feel like I belonged.
Plus , I liked the way it made my husband hard when he saw me wearing it.
Something primal in him really got off on seeing me so publicly claimed.
Speaking of my primal husband, as I pushed out of the door of the shop, it was to see three smiling Claybornes on the backs of their bikes waiting for me.
Only one caught my eye and held it, though.
Walking right up to Cutter , I leaned into him and kissed him like I hadn’t just seen him a couple of hours ago as I’d left our bed.
“ Hey , baby,” I said as I pulled away.
“ Hey , Go .” He gripped my hip, his fingers coming around to the inside of my thigh, right in the crease of my ass.
“ Could you spare about five minutes?” I asked sheepishly. “ I broke something in my office and I want you to take a look at it.”
He and I both knew there wasn’t anything in my office for him to fix.
I just wanted him to give me a quickie before we got onto the back of his bike together.
The two brothers groaned and got off their bikes as well.
“ Don’t take too long.” They followed us inside. “ We have to be at the meetup spot for the poker run in twenty-five minutes.”
I ignored them and walked into the back while Simeon made them a coffee for the wait.
The moment I was in my office, my back was to the door and Cutter’s mouth was on mine.
His hands made quick work of my jeans, and soon I was bent over my desk.
His cock filled me in one go—god, I’d needed him so bad all day—and he fucked the holy hell out of me.
By the time we were done, my pencil cup was on the ground with pens and pencils scattered all over the floor. My papers were scattered, and I was fairly sure a glass of water had fallen over the other side of the desk onto the floor.
I cleaned up using wet wipes that I kept in my office for just this type of occasion and smiled innocently at my man as he tucked himself back into his jeans.
“ Thanks .” I flushed.
He caught me up and pulled me into his arms, his smiling eyes taking me in as he said, “ You don’t ever, and I do mean ever, have to thank me for that. It really is my pleasure.”
I scrunched up my nose at him and we headed out but came to a stop when we found Hazel standing in my shop with her arms crossed over her chest.
“ I’m sorry,” she said to me. “ I was wrong about Asher . I was wrong about Jacinda and Rayann . And I was really wrong to put you last.”
Rayann and Hazel had suffered gunshot wounds to their abdomens.
Both had recovered fine, except Hazel had to wear an ostomy bag for a couple of months while her bowels healed.
At this, Rayann had been properly disgusted and left. Along with Mark , Hazel’s boyfriend.
It’d been two months, and through the grapevine I heard that Mark and Rayann were now dating. Jacinda had started dating Rayann’s ex, Gibson .
“ It’s okay.” I shrugged.
I wasn’t one to not offer forgiveness, but she would never be my friend again.
Once burned, never fucking shy again was my motto.
“ Asher is dying in prison.” She shook her head. “ I had no clue about him. I’m sorry I encouraged you to try again with him.”
Cutter’s hand cupped my ass and he said, “ It’s time to go.”
I smiled at her. “ Bye , Hazel .”
She opened her mouth to say something more I was sure, but Cutter guided me out the door and to his bike.
Copper and Chevy stared at us.
“ Nice hair.”
I immediately started to smooth it down, causing both men to grin.
“ Not funny,” I grumbled.
I’d forgot I was in braids.
My hair and motorcycle riding did not get along.
I’d learned the hard way to always braid it, and always tuck it into my helmet.
“ It’s kind of funny.” Copper chuckled as he placed his own helmet over his head.
As we drove to the meeting point, I thought of my life up until this point.
Never in a million years would I think a pseudo-arranged marriage would turn out to be like this for me.
But now that we were married, and I was officially a Clayborne , I couldn’t see my life going any other way.
I was happy, truly happy, for the first time in my life.
And that was all because of the man I was currently wrapped around.
He’d saved me, and I couldn’t dream up a better man.