17. Poker
CHAPTER 17
POKER
There is nothing on Earth that could stop me from keeping her.
Told you I could take care of myself.
Meri’s words echo in my mind as I lie here staring at the ceiling. The first hint of daylight streams through my window, casting a glow in the room. After she passed out last night, I carried her to my room and had Jackyl check her over to make sure she was okay. He assured me that she’d be fine once she got some rest, so I’ve been watching over her ever since.
When Kitty came up to me at the party, I was worried that Meri would mistake her advances for something I wanted, but my little hellcat surprised the fuck out of me.
And turned me on.
Meri stirs beside me, pulling me from the memory of the beat down she gave. She looks so good in my bed, sprawled out under my sheets, and it takes an unnatural amount of willpower not to ease my way inside of her body and wake her up with my dick.
“I’m never drinking again,” she says, her tone groggy, as she moves her arm to cover her still closed eyes.
I chuckle. “That’s what they all say.”
Slowly, she lowers her arm and cracks open one eye. “Am… Where am I?”
“You don’t remember?”
Oh, this is too good.
Meri shakes her head and winces. “Fuck, that hurts.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you died and went to Heaven.”
Now both eyes are open, and she’s squinting at me. “Makes sense.”
Huffing out a laugh, I slip an arm beneath her and pull her against my side. “How does that make sense?”
“Because that’s the only scenario I can think of where I’d feel this shitty while I’m with you.”
“Am I death or Heaven?”
She playfully smacks my chest. “Heaven, of course.”
“And how does beating Kitty and dragging her out of the clubhouse by her hair factor in?” I ask, humor lacing my words.
“Oh, God, that really happened?”
“Yep.”
“Is Crow gonna kill me? He’s probably gonna kill me. I don’t blame him, I guess, because I caused a scene, and now he’s gotta?—”
I press a finger to her lips to stop her rambling. “Crow isn’t gonna kill you,” I assure her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But I interfered in club business.”
I pull her to straddle me and cup her cheeks as I shake my head. “No, babe. That wasn’t club business. That was personal, and you handled it like a pro.”
“So, he’s not mad?”
“Hell, no. If anything, he’s as proud of you as I am.”
She exhales a relieved breath. “That bitch just made me so fucking mad. I mean, who the hell hits on a guy who’s clearly with another woman?”
“Trust me when I say, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Kitty.”
Meri locks eyes with me. “I know. I trust you.”
That simple statement shoves me headfirst over the cliff of emotion I’ve been teetering on. If I wasn’t in love with this woman before, I am now.
I clear my throat. “Besides, you’ll never have to worry about Kitty again.”
She gasps. “I didn’t kill her, did I?”
I smile. “No.”
She narrows her eyes. “You didn’t kill her, did you?”
My smile turns into a full-blown grin. “No. No one killed anyone. But Kitty has been kicked out of the club and ordered to never show her face again.”
“Oh.” My girl seems almost disappointed by that news.
“She broke a major rule by disrespecting you, and she knew it. Don’t feel bad for her.”
“I don’t, not really.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I…” She swallows. “I just didn’t expect to be treated like I’m one of you guys.”
“Aw, babe, the second I set my sights on you, you became one of us.”
She shifts to lie down on my chest, her cheek pressed against my heart. “I like that,” she whispers, her breath kissing my skin.
It isn’t more than a few minutes before her breathing evens out, and I know she’s asleep again. As I lie here and hold her, I think about how easily she’s become the most important person in my world. I don’t know what the fuck I ever did to deserve her, but I know that there is nothing on Earth that could stop me from keeping her.