Chapter Fourteen
Katie
“KAM,” I brEATHED out. I was straddling him, my back to his chest, his knees between my thighs, reverse cowboy style, and I'd already come twice.
We’d arrived at our hotel an hour ago and practically ripped each other’s clothes off as we rushed to the bedroom.
“Jesus,” Rooster growled in my ear, his hand cupping my breast, fingers rolling my nipple as his cock drove inside me. He slid his free hand between my legs and fingered my clit and my head dropped back, colliding with his shoulder and I came. Fast.
His hand between my legs moved to wrap around my middle, his other hand still cupping my breast as he drove me down and he thrust up.
His face pressed into my neck, his deep grunts quivering through me.
Then he pulled me down as he powered up, keeping the connection and he growled into my neck, and then I felt his cock pulsate inside of me as he let out a feral grunt.
“Beckham,” I breathed out.
He separated from me and gently settled me on the bed, stretching out beside me. “Hey.”
I grinned. “Hey.”
Rooster’s hand cupped the side of my cheek, then his thumb circled my temple. “You doin’ okay?”
I ran my hand down his chest, then over the rooster tattoo on his left pec. “I’m great. You doing okay?”
He grinned. “Fucking amazing, honey.”
“Is Sundance okay with you staying here for a while?”
“Forever,” he pressed.
I bit my lip. “How will that work?”
“I’ll patch back over to the Dogs. Well, I’ll fold back in, I guess. It’s not like I stopped paying dues.”
“Right.” It took me a second to process what he said, and when I did, I let out a quiet hiss and met his eyes. “Wait, what? You’ve been paying double dues?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked. “You haven’t been here.”
“Because I never stopped being part of the club. I told you my absence was never going to be permanent.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I just can’t believe Hatch would make you—”
“Baby, Hatch didn’t make me do shit.”
“You paid double dues by choice?”
“Hatch saved my life, honey. And then he helped me find a purpose by facilitating my move to Colorado—”
“Yeah, by ruining mine.”
“You know, if he’d had any idea about us, I have a feeling he would have stopped me.”
I sighed. “Yeah, he probably would have.”
“But we’re not going back there, remember?”
“Yes.” I forced a smile. “We’re not going back there. Continue.”
He gave me a gentle squeeze. “Hatch set everything up with Sundance so I could transition into life with the Howlers, school, a new business, all of it. These men took me under their wing and kept me from completely losin’ my shit.
I owe them both everything. So, I paid dues to both of them.
And I will continue to pay my dues to the Howlers even though I’m here. It’s only fair.”
I bit my lip. “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”
He chuckled. “I’m also a hungry man.”
I kissed his chest. “Let’s see what we can rustle up.”
We cleaned up, then dressed in sweats and T-shirts before heading out to the large living room, kitchen area to unpack the groceries.
“This place is super cute,” I exclaimed as I opened the blinds. “How did you find it?”
“Mack owns it.”
“No way,” I breathed out.
“Yeah. The club owns six or seven units in this complex.”
“Oh my god, it’s right on the water,” I exclaimed. “How did I not know about this?”
“Because it’s newer. They need somewhere to put the cannabis money, so they buy up real estate when they can.”
I threw my hands in the air. “I want cannabis money.”
“Baby, I have cannabis money,” he said, holding two cans of soup in his hands with a look of exasperation.
“You do?”
“I told you that.”
“But do you have cannabis money level money?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” he asked, opening a cabinet to set the cans inside.
I closed the distance between us and opened the fridge to see what I could cook for dinner. “Well, like, buy a condo at the beach level money?”
“Yes.” He laughed. “Have you seriously not been listening to me?”
“Huh?”
“Funny.” Rooster smirked as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. “Do you want a condo by the beach?”
“Hell, yes, I want a condo by the beach,” I sassed. “Can we afford a condo by the beach?”
He kissed me gently. “Yeah, baby, we can. Provided it’s a fixer.”
I gripped his arms. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Seriously. And I think there might be one here if you want to look at it. If not, we’ll find one.”
I grinned. “I love you.”
“Love you to, baby.”
“Okay, what am I making for dinner?”
“Well, I thought I’d take you out.”
I shook my head. “I kinda want to stay in, eat, and fuck some more if that’s okay. How about we go out tomorrow?”
He kissed me again. “I can get behind that.”
I chuckled. “Oh, I bet you can.”
“What can you do with chicken?”
“Orgasmic things.”
“Can’t wait,” he said.
The rest of the night was total perfection.
* * *
Maisie
A sharp pain in my side dragged a groan out of me. I had just started the shower, hoping the heat from the water would ease the ache in my stomach, but now that ache had grown into something much more.
Hatch was downstairs making breakfast, so even if I called out, he wouldn’t hear me.
I stood very still, and the pain eased a little, leaving the constant ache that had been with me for the past day or so.
I stepped under the warm water and managed to finish washing my hair when the sudden jab of pain came again.
It was so bad, I had to sit on the little bench against the wall.
I took deep breaths, similar to when I’d been in labor, but nothing was helping, and I knew I was in trouble. “Hatch,” I called.
It was futile because we lived in a big house, and I’d stupidly said nothing about my pain, which meant he wasn’t on alert. I didn’t want him to know about any of this because if he did, he’d worry, and then he’d hover, and when my man hovered, he didn’t focus on what he needed to focus on.
Another stab and I cried out as I gripped the side of the bench.
“Jesus!” I hissed.
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong.
* * *
Hatch
I had just lifted my coffee cup to my mouth when an alert blasted through my phone’s speaker. Someone in the club had pushed their panic button. I glanced at the screen.
“Fuck!” I bellowed, tossing my cup into the sink and taking the stairs two at a time up to our bedroom. “Maisie?”
I heard the shower, but my wife didn’t answer, and my blood ran cold.
“Sunshine?”
“Connor?” she rasped.
I nearly ripped the door off the hinges as I rushed inside. “What’s goin’ on?”
Maisie was white, her hands gripping the side of the bench in our shower, doubled over in pain. “Sorry, I—”
I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. “Talk to me.”
“Pain,” she bit out. “Over the past few days. I think it’s my appendix. I tried to call out, but you couldn’t hear me. I didn’t want to scare you, so I figured my necklace was the best way to get you up here.”
“This has been goin’ on a few days?”
She met my eyes and grimaced.
“I fuckin’ knew it,” I hissed. “You lied to me.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“Mom!” Jamie bellowed.
“Don’t come in, son,” I called out.
“What’s goin’ on? I got an alert.”
“Need you to call Gina and let her know I’m bringin’ your mom to Legacy. Tell her to meet us there. Call Brynn and Lily, too.”
“Why? What’s wrong with Mom?” This question came from Flash who was hot on Jamie’s heels.
“I’m okay,” Maisie said.
“Stop talkin’!” I growled.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Flash snapped.
“Hatch?” Razor called up the stairs. “Call went out. What the fuck’s goin’ on?”
“Go deal with that,” I ordered my boys. “I’ve got your mom.”
“You gonna watch your tone?” Flash growled through the door.
“Just do what I told you to do,” I hollered, before turning back to Maisie and helping her out of the shower. She dropped her head to my chest with a whimper, gripping my cut. “Okay, baby, I’ve got you.”
“Are you mad at me?” she said with a whimper.
“I’m pissed you didn’t tell me about this earlier, but we’ll talk about it when you’re better.”
“Mummy?” Poppy rushed into the room, and I waved her over.
“Come help me, baby girl.”
“What’s going on?” Poppy asked as I settled Maisie gently on the edge of the mattress.
“I think your mom’s appendix has burst.”
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you take her in earlier?”
I speared my daughter with a glare but before I could say anything, Maisie outed herself. “I lied to him, Poppet.”
Poppy gasped as we helped Maisie dress. “Mummy, you lied to Daddy about being in pain?”
Maisie squeezed her eyes shut and I let out a low growl. “Enough.”
“Jesus, Dad, you keep goin’ like this and I’m gonna fuckin’ take you outside,” Flash threatened from the hallway.
“Why the fuck are you still here?”
“I’m making sure mom’s okay.”
“Your father is just worried, baby,” Maisie said as I helped her put on a sweater.
“Stop talkin’,” I snapped. “You need to save your strength.”
“Ambo’s here,” Razor called from the hallway.
“You called an ambulance?” Maisie squeaked.
“I did, Mom,” Flash said.
“You really gonna give us hell about this, Sunshine?” I challenged just as the EMTs walked in.
She shook her head as she grimaced. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was in pain. I was trying to keep you focused.”
“By lying to me?” I bit out.
A strong hand landed on my shoulder and tugged me back.
“I’m done with this,” Flash hissed. “Outside.”
“Flash, leave it, baby. Daddy’s just scared,” Maisie whispered as the EMTs loaded her onto the gurney.
“You’re in pain, Mama, he cannot talk to you like that.”
I closed the distance between me and my son.
“Look, I know you’re worried and scared, but right now I need you to handle the mob of members downstairs so I can take care of your mother.
And to be clear, I’m not asking, I’m telling you.
Just like I’m telling you to mind your fucking business about how I speak to the love of my life. ”
Flash gave me a look every father of a grown son recognizes.
It’s the same look we all gave our fathers at some point.
It’s the look that conveys ‘I can take you, old man, and I’m just looking for a reason to throw the first punch.
’ And who knows? Maybe the kid could take me, but this was certainly not the time or place to find out.
I knew deep inside he was concerned about his mother, and I honestly appreciated that he was protecting her, but Maisie and I had a shorthand that had developed over several decades.
She knew what every single one of my curses meant and how to process them.
Hell, she once informed me that I had seven distinct ways of saying the word fuck.
For instance, looking everywhere for my reading glasses only to find them on the top of my head elicits a groaning fuck, while a civilian getting too close to my bike in public generates an ‘I’m going to light that guy on fire,’ kind of fuck.
Fortunately for both of us, Flash simply grunted and went downstairs to brief the troops.
Once inside the ambulance, I squeezed Maisie’s hand tightly. “Don’t ever scare me like this again. If you’re in pain. Fuck, if you’re in slight discomfort, I need to know about it. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay, love.”
The thought of losing this woman did my head in. She was my entire reason for being. She and the kids of course, but Maisie was first, and she was the one who rescued me from myself. Life without her would only be half a life, and half a life wasn’t worth living.