Chapter 42—Kooper
She thinks I don’t want this. Us.
That I’ll pick someone or something over her.
She’s wrong.
But I’ll give her time.
She wants that.
So I’ll give it to her.
When she told me to think about it, I knew I didn’t need to. I’ve already thought about it. For months, maybe even years if I do the math between when my feelings changed for her. But she needs space. Without saying it, that’s what she needs.
She wants to think without me standing over her shoulder, assessing every move, every thought she might have.
She doesn’t think she can be herself. And maybe she can’t. People change. Some over time. Some in an instant.
Every day, I come to visit her. Every day, I check that she’s okay. I don’t bring up the things left unsaid between us. And she doesn’t either.
We keep our distance. Sort of. I cave more than I should with a touch here, a handhold there. I’m distant only because she wants me to be. She needs that wall right now. She needs to rebuild herself and find a way to stand on her own feet.
In her mind, at least.
General had her discharged as soon as he was happy with the weight gain. Natalie had some complications during her surgery and is still there. In another few days, she’ll be released.
Ruby hasn’t gone to see her. Not yet anyway.
We found her family and got a call out to them.
We’re waiting for their response before we talk to her.
Might seem shady, but Ruby has a right to call the plays here.
Well, that, and General keeps saying that visitors could upset Natalie’s progress.
That her nightmares have become night terrors, and they have to medicate her a bit more to keep her calm enough to heal.
I guess other shit went down with her that not even Ruby knows about. Could have been during their hostage moment or something else. My gut feeling is it’s a combination of both.
But I keep it to myself.
I park my truck and head up to her apartment.
She’s taken some time off school, mostly because she missed the start of the summer semester.
But she’s also playing catch-up with what she missed.
Her professors were cool about her extending her spring semester into a summer session.
Even the dickhead who usually gave her a hard time about shit.
Of course, a few choice words from me and the boys helped a bit.
Well, that, and a generous donation to the school, which made sure they were also on board with the decision.
All she had left was a paper to write and a final for each of her three classes.
Today, she submitted her last paper, so she’s officially done.
Just in time for us to drive to the hospital and do the paternity test. General says he can get us the results quickly, which is what we want. I don’t care what it says; I already know what I want. But if it eases her mind, I’m all for it.
“Coming,” she calls out when I knock on her door.
She opens it and gives me a smile that lights up the darkest corners of my soul. “Hey,” she says on a breath.
And I can’t help it. I just can’t. I lean in, grab her face with both hands, and pull her lips tight to mine.
Her squeak of surprise is enough to give me room to sweep my tongue inside her mouth to taste her. Her moan as she wraps her hands around me has me pushing her against the wall and moving my hands down to her ass to lift her legs around me.
I’m so hard that I’m surprised I’m not already inside her at this point.
She’s fully recovered. Well, enough that she’s only doing some physical therapy stretches for her shoulder.
The rest of her is back together enough that I know I can do this without causing too much damage.
Her bruises are gone, and her ribs, though still healing, are good enough to have some of my weight on them.
She pulls her mouth away and catches her breath as I move my lips down her neck and throat, nibbling at her skin as I go.
“Fuck, that feels good. Shit. Right there. No, stop. We have to go. Oh God, don’t stop.” She pushes me away and then pulls me back as she debates what she wants. I’m not letting my lips rest for one second. Now that I have them on her, it feels impossible to stop.
Till she pushes me hard enough to peel me off her. I’m still holding her up, but now her arms are fully extended and she’s looking at me. I feel wild, like an animal, and the desire swirling in her eyes matches what I feel inside. Especially in my dick.
I grind against her and watch her eyes roll back on a groan and smile. I love that I pull that out of her.
“We’re going to be late,” she grits out between her teeth as she rotates her hips to get my cock in the spot she wants.
She’s right, so I let her feet drop and kiss her nose before turning for the door. It closed when we came in, so I open it and turn back to her.
She’s still standing by the wall, holding on for support as her breathing returns to normal. Then her eyes meet mine, and I see the fire in them as she glares, making my dick jump in intrigue.
“You’ll pay for that.”
“Looking forward to it, Peaches.”
She shakes her head, but I don’t miss the smile on her lips as she crosses over the threshold and heads to my truck. We spoke about it a long time ago. No bike on the highways. Not when a car can fuck shit up for the both of us, and the kid, if it hits us when we take my bike.
If she keeps it.
The drive is quiet, rock music playing in the background as we pass mile after mile of cows and cornfields till we get to the hospital.
Once we’re inside, the test is quick. We could have done it at the hospital by the school, but we both wanted General to do it. He’s still the only one who knows. No need to talk about it till she makes her choice.
When we get back into the car, I drive home.
Not to the clubhouse, but to home.
“What’s this?” she asks as I pull up the drive and park.
I look at her and then just get out of the truck.
Like usual, she doesn’t wait for me to get to the door before she’s hopping out. I’ve got half a mind to get the truck lifted so she’ll have to stay in there till I get her down. But I know, pregnant or not, she’d still hop down on her own.
She doesn’t need a man. But if I’m lucky, she’ll want one.
I grab her hand and don’t say anything as I move to the walkway that leads to the front door instead of the garage that we parked by.
It’s a single-story farmhouse design with a black roof and clean white lines. The entire thing is a mirror of itself if you cut it down the middle. I pull her along as we walk the path to the front door. I take a second to key in the door code, then open it and step back, letting her go in first.
She gives me half a smirk and an eyebrow raise but steps in. The main area has an open floor plan, and she can see the royal blue bottom kitchen cabinets on the left and the large sectional leather sofa on the right.
“You trying to compete with Bass and his place?”
I shrug. Of course she’s been to his house. She was usually the one stocking the fridge when he was getting back into town after being on a mission before he and Brooklyn got together.
“This is a few hundred square feet bigger. Behind the kitchen are three extra rooms and the attachment to the garage.”
“And over here?” She shimmies her delectable ass to the right, pointing past the brick fireplace to the hallway behind.
“Why don’t you go and see?”
With the squeal of a small child, she takes off at a jog and runs down the hall. As if I’d change my mind and demand she stay put.
I follow easily. Nothing much back here, just the laundry room and an extra bathroom. Oh, and the massive primary bedroom.
I find her there, jaw wide open, as she takes in the sitting area, the platform up to the bed, and then the bath. At least the closet doors are closed, or I’m sure she might have an aneurysm with the size of it. If I know one thing about my girl, she’s a sucker for a good-size closet.
“What size bed is that?”
“It’s a Wyoming king.” I move up behind her and wrap my arms around her as I place my chin on her shoulder.
“It’s bigger than a California.”
“Still smaller than an Alaskan.”
She turns in my arms. “They have bigger?”
I chuckle as I brush a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yup. But I think those sizes are usually reserved for those who share.”
“Oh.” Her hands come up to my chest and fiddle with the buttons there. “And do you share?”
“Yup.”
“You do?” Her eyes go wide, and then she rolls them and shakes her head as if she just got it. “I mean other than with you and the brothers.”
I shake my head. “I only share with you.” That gets a smile out of her. “And I don’t have brothers.”
“You’ve got the club.”
“Do I?”
I raise an eyebrow at her, and she smiles, but then looks down, then back up, and her eyes are wide.
“What happened? Where’s your vest?” She pushes out of my arms and paces.
“Did Casper kick you out? Because of me? Because of us?” She points at herself, then me.
“Oh, he better not. Get your keys, King Koopa. We’re about to whip some ass.
” She starts marching for the door, and I can’t help but feel happiness burst from the inside out.
“Hold up. No need to go all Donkey Kong on someone who had nothing to do with it.”
“What? Casper wasn’t the one? Does he know? Because only the president can kick you out. God, was it my father?” The blood drains from her face, and I pull her in for a quick hug and a kiss before she passes out.
“No, Peaches, nothing like that.”
“Then what was it?”
“I’m out.”
She’s it for me. And she needs to feel like someone put her first. Her and our kid. I don’t care what the damn blood test says. I know what I know. That’s my kid inside her. It might not share my DNA, but it will be mine.
“What did you do?” She takes a step back, horror on her face.
“I chose.” I say it simply, because it is.
“You chose? You chose what?”
“You.” I nod and gesture to her.
“Me.”
“You.”
“What about the club?”
“What about it?” I say with a shrug.
She shakes her head and paces again. “You can’t do that. I don’t want you to. We need to call Casper, tell him this was all a mistake. He can overlook this. You can still be part of the club.”
I walk to her and put my hands on her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. “I can, and I did. I choose you. I will always choose you. I love you.”
She blinks. Several times. I know how much she hates crying, though it seems to happen a lot more now. She blames it on the pregnancy. I don’t care what the reason is, but I don’t bring it up. She likes to pretend she doesn’t have feelings. That she’s as tough as nails and more. And she is.
“I love you too.”
Four small words that shatter me completely.
“Damn right you do. Now give me those lips.”
I pull her close and resolve then and there to never let go.
Ever.