Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Cole
A week could change a lot.
Or nothing at all.
I sat on the front porch with a mug of coffee warming my hands, watching the quiet street like it might tell me something if I stared long enough.
Morning had settled in easy, the sun already up, air cool but promising heat later.
One of those days that made you forget trouble existed if you let it.
The club still hadn’t found the guys.
That was the part that didn’t sit right.
We’d expected movement. A mistake. Someone getting sloppy. Instead, nothing. Wrecker thought they’d caught wind that the Fallen Lords were sniffing around and gone to ground. Hiding. Waiting it out.
That kind of patience usually meant trouble.
Behind me, the screen door creaked softly. I didn’t turn right away. I already knew who it was.
Star.
She was doing better. Hell of a lot better. The bruising on her face was almost gone now, just faint shadows if you knew where to look. She stayed awake longer and laughed more easily. Only needed one nap during the day, and even that was more stubbornness on my part than necessity on hers.
We’d filled the last week with stolen kisses, quiet mornings, afternoons stretched out on the couch, legs tangled. No pressure. No labels spoken out loud, but no pretending either.
It felt like we’d built something small and contained. A bubble.
I just wasn’t sure how long it would last once the world remembered we were in it.
She came to the railing and didn’t even hesitate before climbing into my lap sideways, like she’d always belonged there. Took my coffee cup right out of my hand and sipped it.
I lifted a brow. “Just make yourself at home.”
She smiled, unapologetic, and handed it back. I set the cup on the table beside us and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close.
“Have I mentioned I like the little world we built?” she said.
“I like it too,” I said honestly.
“It would be better if my mom weren’t here,” she laughed.
I brushed her hair back from her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Good thing she’s busy with the TV show most of the time.” Mac left early in the morning, and most of the time she wasn’t home until after dinner. She was working her butt off, but it was good for me and Star.
She relaxed against me with her head on my shoulder.
I did too.
My phone rang.
I answered without moving her. “Cole.”
“Church in an hour,” Wrecker said. “Get your ass to the clubhouse.”
“What for?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he replied. “Bring Star. Ol’ ladies can keep her busy.”
The line went dead.
I looked down at her. “Want to take a field trip to the clubhouse?”
Her face lit up instantly. “Can we take the bike?”
“If you think you’re up for it.”
She leaned up and kissed me, quick and happy, then practically bounced out of my lap. “I’ll get dressed.”
She paused halfway to the door and turned back. “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”
I smiled slowly. “Glad to be your first.”
Her cheeks went pink, and she disappeared inside.
I finished my coffee, took the mug into the kitchen, and stopped short as I dropped it into the sink.
She was already out of the bedroom with shoes on and sunglasses over her eyes.
“You work fast,” I said.
She grinned. “Let’s ride.”
Outside, she bounced on her heels as I reached into the saddlebag. I lifted her helmet out and settled it over her head, adjusting the strap carefully.
“Gotta protect the precious cargo,” I said.
She laughed and kissed me, a bit awkward with the helmet on but still hot.
I swung on first, then helped her on behind me. The second she wrapped her arms around my waist, everything in me settled.
I liked her there.
I fired up the bike, the rumble deep and steady beneath us, and pulled onto the road.
We didn’t head straight for the clubhouse. I decided to take the long way instead. Back roads with the wind warm against us and her laugh muffled against my back when I leaned into a curve just enough to make her grip tighten.
By the time we turned toward the clubhouse, I didn’t feel so coiled tight anymore. Having Star on the back of my bike was exactly what I needed.
We pulled into the lot just as Boink and Mayra rolled in behind us. Penny’s car followed, then Adley’s.
“There’s my bonehead brother,” Calla called as she climbed out of Penny’s car.
I smirked. “Didn’t know you were going to be here, too, brat.”
Calla bumped her hip into Star. “You’re looking a hell of a lot better.”
Star smiled. “I’m feeling a hell of a lot better.”
Inside, the clubhouse buzzed. Ol’ ladies everywhere along with Eden, Bell, and Clove. The guys were already in church.
“You two better get your asses moving,” Alice called. “You’re making Beardilocks wait.”
Boink kissed Mayra’s cheek and headed off.
Star started to turn away, but I caught her wrist and pulled her back.
“You’re not going to say goodbye?” I asked quietly.
She looked around, suddenly nervous. Everyone was watching.
I didn’t care.
A week of kissing her whenever I wanted had ruined me for pretending otherwise.
“Cole,” she whispered. One word. All doubt.
“You don’t want to kiss me anymore?” I murmured. “Am I a dirty secret you don’t want to—”
She cut me off by rising onto her toes and kissing me hard.
Fast. Hot. No hesitation.
When we pulled apart, I smirked. “Later, babe.”
I turned on my heel and headed for church, smug and grinning, while the ol’ ladies exploded behind me.
And for the first time all week, I wasn’t worried about the bubble popping, because we had just blown it right out of the water.