Chapter 10 #2
She asked, hours later, when we were tangled together in the sheets. “Tell me why you call me it.”
“Call you what?”
I smiled, knowing what she was talking about but wanting to mess with her.
This truth, one I had realized couldn’t be more true if I were to ink it into my very marrow.
She pushed at my shoulder. “You know what.”
Caelum.
“You’re the closest I’ll ever get to heaven, to redemption or being found worthy.
I look at you, and I see hope. Isn’t that all heaven is?
Hope, eternity spent in the one place we can’t imagine living without?
You’re that for me. You’re my religion, Natty.
My place of worship and devotion. God wants nothing to do with me, but for some reason he still gave me you. ”
Tears gleamed in her eyes as she stared up at me, the string of lights reflecting her emotions.
“You are good, Silas. You think you’re covered in all this darkness, but I see past that.”
With a scoff, I shook my head. “You’re the only one who ever did.”
Her warm fingers found my jaw, pulling my face back toward her. “You only need one person, Silas. I live in a world made up of two people who care for me. That’s enough. I don’t need more than that.”
Fuck, it was hard to argue with her when she placed our lives side by side.
I was never abandoned the way she was. I had never been handed to a man for payment…
thankfully my mom was there and stopped anyone from hurting her.
But it still happened. She had no one but us.
It made me pull her closer, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
“I want you to feel safe around here, and even come to the club for certain things.”
“Why? We’ve gone all this time without going…why change it now?”
She wasn’t going to like this, but it was too late.
“I patched in…”
She shifted so she could see me better. “As a prospect?”
I shook my head. “Dirk made an exception…I’m an official member, I have a rank.”
Natty was silent at that, so I was about to push on when she suddenly sat up. The sheets stayed in place as her golden brows dipped into her forehead.
“I want to see it…your cut…”
Something in me twisted uncomfortably. My head began shaking on instinct, but she shocked me by sliding out of bed, lightning fast, that sheet still wrapped around her.
I tried to move with her, but I fumbled out of bed, the remaining sheet catching around me, right as she walked back into the room with my leather cut.
She held it up with two hands, inspecting it.
“Wow…feels weird seeing it like this. Feeling it.”
I watched as she stroked over the patches, and my name…and my gut sank as she began tracing the letters under it.
“What is this one…The Roman?”
My mouth wouldn’t open. I couldn’t tell her.
I wouldn’t tell her.
Her head swiveled, her eyes pinning me down as she implored again, “What does it mean?”
“It’s just a nickname. Everyone gets one.”
Natty let her arms drop, as she ran her fingers over the patch one more time.
“When my property patch gets made up, I want that one on it. I want to be the property of The Roman.”
My heart flipped in my chest; a thousand fireflies released at the sight of that smile.
“What makes you think I’d patch you?” I couldn’t stop my smile as she sauntered back toward the bed.
“Novi omnia secreta tua.”
A burst of laughter left my chest. “You know all my secrets, huh?”
Her lips pressed into my sternum while she nodded.
“When you wear it, come around the club with me…it will give you protection and let everyone know you belong to me.” I pushed pieces of her hair back behind her perfect ears.
I could see she was still unsure, but after a few more lingering kisses, she relented.
“If your name is on my back, I’ll go.”
“Deal.” We fell back into the sheets and began kissing until our bodies tumbled back into a rhythm that was becoming familiar to us, two waves crashing together, creating a riptide.
The club was noisy and completely packed.
I had never really noticed how many patched members there were, but every place I seemed to turn, there was someone new. Natty was next to me, wearing my patch with my name on her back…including my new nickname. The insignia of the reaper in the middle.
Her hair was braided, pulled over her shoulder, so everyone had a clear view of who she belonged to.
Music blared, uncomfortably loud as people partied around us.
Within the week since talking to Natty about doing this, she seemed to be comfortable with the idea but now that she was here, she seemed tense as if she was worried about someone finding her.
Maybe it was her mother she was concerned about.
I had to focus on our surroundings, so I just pulled her close and draped my arm over her to ensure she was safe.
We joked with a few prospects our age, laughing and even playing pool.
We ate some food, and Natty drank a diet coke while watching the mayhem unfold around us.
She didn’t seem bothered by it, or really surprised by anything that happened, yet she was still jumpy anytime someone shouted or came up behind us.
She was tucked into my side when there was suddenly a familiar face in the crowd, his smirk so annoyingly confident that I wanted to punch it right off his mouth.
“Big brother.” Alec dipped his head, then his eyes traveled to Natty and his entire body froze. “Wow…so you two are,” he stammered, as if he were truly astonished by the fact that we were together.
Natty gripped my hand. “You seem surprised that we are.”
Alec’s eyes narrowed, but his smile grew. “Not at all…I knew it was only a matter of time. I just assumed that perhaps you’d realize what a fucking psycho my brother is and not want to touch him with a...” He snapped his fingers, as if he couldn’t remember.
Addressing me, he asked, “What’s that saying again? Wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot cross, was that how it went?”
Natty’s gaze slid up to mine, her brows folded in. “Is he drunk?”
Alec moved closer. “I see you’re proudly wearing his new nickname on your back, he explain then how he got it?”
Fuck.
“Alec, just leave it—”
“Well, well, well,” a new voice boomed from beside us, revealing Dirk and his inner circle. “It’s Fable’s sons…The Roman and The Wrangler.”
Fear spiraled through my chest, reeling so fast that I was afraid I was going to throw up.
I wanted to push Natty behind me, shield her from what she was about to learn but something else happened then.
Something that didn’t seem right. Dirk’s eyes tapered, as if he just registered who was in front of him.
He stepped closer to Natty, and she quickly stepped back.
They knew each other.
How the fuck did they know each other?
“I see you’ve patched a fawn.” Dirk clicked his tongue, his fingers were out as if he were about to touch Natty’s hair. His eyes gleamed with lust, an unnatural hunger reflecting there. Alec stepped to the left, blocking Dirk’s view of Natty, as if he sensed it as well.
I spoke softly, keeping my eyes on Dirk. “Natus redi ad domum cum Alec et ibi mane, donec veniam ad te.”
Natty, go back to the house with Alec and stay there until I come for you.
She didn’t hesitate. She moved behind Alec and tugged his sleeve until he’d caught on to what I’d told her. He gave me one glance from over his shoulder before he followed her.
Dirk was about to say something as he trailed Natty’s exit, but my mother suddenly appeared.
She handed Dirk a beer, and then whispered something in his ear.
His hands came down, grabbing her ass roughly and pulling her closer.
I looked away because I refused to watch my mother get treated like that.
Pushing through the crowd, I headed back across the club, veering for an exit. My mother’s hand was on my elbow moments later, pulling me into a small alcove.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I remained silent, watching as her dark eyes sharpened. Her arms came down over her chest, and she took two steps closer.
“Why did you bring Natty in here, and why the fuck did you give her a patch?”
“I joined this fucking club as a way to stay out of my father’s.”
She shook her head, her jaw moving as she lowered her voice.
“That is not what I’m questioning. I am asking why you gave Natty a patch, and why she was physically in this club?”
Why was she acting like she didn’t know how I felt about Natty? She was the one who used to tell me to be careful and not to scare her off. She has always known how the two of us feel for each other.
“You always knew I was going to be with her.”
My mother clicked her tongue. “Yes, fine. I knew that, but why did you bring her into the club?”
I was starting to get a headache. With a heavy sigh, I said, “Why don’t you cut the shit, and just tell me what the fuck is going on?”
She paused, staring at the spot behind my head as if she was trying to decide the right way to say her peace.
“You can’t afford to be distracted, Silas. You know I love Natty. I adore her, but the things Fable is asking you to do…don’t make her a target, Son. Just focus on training. Use this club as a means to gain allies, and a wall of sorts to stand behind while you learn.”
I didn’t want to do this with her right now.
I was happy.
For the first time in such a long fucking time, I was waking up with a smile on my face. Natty’s presence, in my bed, next to my heart each day, was like waking up with a clean soul. It was addictive, and something I refused to live without. I wasn’t good enough to spare her from becoming a target.
“You need to let this go…for years you’ve pushed it, but you’re pushing too hard.” I went to move past her, but she gently grabbed me by the shoulders.