Chapter 17
Seventeen
HALLE
I still want to argue and hit Loki upside the damn head for thinking it was a good idea just to glue his feet instead of letting me get Grim. He’s so fucking stubborn, but he looks so excited to show us this surprise. I can’t take that smile from his face for anything. Fucking men; he’s lucky I love his crazy ass.
Loki leads us out the back of the clubhouse and to one of the ATVs. We all hop in, but I look at Loki in confusion, worrying about his plans. The last time someone tried to ‘surprise’ me, I stabbed them. What can I say? It was a knee-jerk reaction, and I’m not taking responsibility for the spilled blood.
Shaking my head of those memories, I concentrate on my man and kids. Nothing like my loves to put things in perspective. I have no clue where we are going, but Loki’s excitement has me beaming. We make sure the kids are secure before he cranks it up and takes off into the woods out behind the clubhouse. We ride for a few minutes before passing Piper’s and Izzy’s houses.
At first, with us coming this way, I thought we might be going for a visit, but after last night, I have a feeling Izzy and Piper are both a bit busy trying to make it up to their men. We keep going just a handful of acres past Hitter and Izzy’s house before Loki turns into a driveway I’ve never noticed before. He keeps driving until he reaches the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen.
It’s breathtaking. It looks like one of those old colonial farmhouses with black shutters and a black door. It also has a black picket fence enclosing the front yard. There’s a small wooden gate off to the side, and Loki slips through it after hopping off the ATV. I love the wrap-around porch, complete with porch swing and rocking chairs. This house is right out of my fantasies. It seems like a family home, full of love and… normalcy. Something that I’ve only dreamed about since I’m far from what people would label as normal.
“Whose house is this?” Rae asks, all excited, running up to the gate.
“This is our home, baby girl. I started building it not too long ago, but it was just finished yesterday. I figured what better time than now to surprise my family with the results?” Loki says, and I still can’t look at him. I’m too busy staring at the beautiful house in front of me with the incredible yard. It looks just like the house from one of my favorite movies, Practical Magic. I can even picture the sisters and aunts jumping off the high roof. I better not say any of that out loud, or else I know Loki and the kids would race up to the roof to reenact the scene and fight each other on who will jump first.
“Are y’all ready to see the inside of our house?” Loki asks. I’m not sure who’s more excited—the twins or us. The kids scream a loud ‘yes’ before running through the gate, up the porch steps, and toward the front door. Loki takes the moment we have alone and pulls me against him, wrapping his arms tightly around me and kissing my neck.
“Do you like it, pet? We can change anything you want,” he says, all serious, regardless of his roaming mouth, but I automatically shake my head.
“Don’t change anything. It’s absolutely perfect, love,” I tell him forcefully as I turn in his arms, fisting the edges of his cut. Suddenly, I feel a sting in my eyes. It must be sweat or maybe allergies. No way am I fucking crying.
“Want to take the kids to see their room? The whole house is your surprise, pet. I haven’t decorated anything yet; you get to pick what you want for us from top to bottom. The bedrooms are made up for the kids as their homecoming surprises. I can’t wait for you all to see it,” he says excitedly, grabbing my hand from his cut and pulling me to the front porch, where the kids are bouncing up and down, ready to see inside.
If Loki and the kids keep smiling those big-ass cheesy smiles, their faces are going to get stuck that way. I might have met my quota of mushy stuff for the year, but I wouldn’t change a thing about this moment.
“All the bedrooms are upstairs. Why don’t we start with those first?” Loki says, opening the front door. The kids rush up the stairs as we hurry behind them.
“Oh, my-lanta! It’s PERFECT!” Rae shouts excitedly. Rome is standing to the side in her doorway, and we stop right behind him, watching as Rae jumps from her bed to her closet full of clothes, her dresser, and the cluster of stuffed bears and toys. Rae has to touch everything she sees, each one almost caressingly, and then she is off like a shot to the next thing.
I look over at Loki and smile, feeling like my heart is about to burst as I fall even harder for this man. Yeah, yeah, I know, more mushy shit, but fuck it—I’m going with the flow.
“You picked out all this princess stuff for her? Even the fairy dressing room in the corner?” The girl has her own damn dressing room…
“I had some help.” He smiles wickedly at me and winks, then looks to Rome.
“Want to see your room, bud?” he asks. Rome looks up at him with wide eyes and a smile before nodding. If I hadn’t known better, the look on Rome’s face tells me he thought Loki had forgotten about him. He’s going to realize we do things very differently from the people he’s been with before, and both our kids will always be treated equally.
“Yours is right across the hall,” Loki says, walking over and opening the door for him.
Slowly, Rome steps up to it, hands in his pockets, pretending like the kid couldn't care less. Until he gets the first look at his bedroom.
“Woowwww…” he says, stopping in the doorway to take it all in.
I look at it with just as much amazement as he does. Every wall is decorated with a different sport. There’s a wall for soccer, a wall for baseball, and one for football. Although, the wall the bunk beds are on is completely different. It’s decorated with everything to do with motorcycles. The Reckless Omens MC patch is hanging on the wall in a case. I look at Loki in confusion. Rome takes in the entire room, but his eyes are focused as he walks to one specific place. He walks straight up to the glass case holding the patch. He stands there silent momentarily as he rubs over the glass with a finger.
“What’s this for?” he asks, looking at it in wonder. “It matches yours.”
“That’s your very own patch, son. One day, when you're old enough and only if you want, that patch will go on your cut. That very patch will be sewn onto your very own cut,” Loki tells him, and I gasp, looking over at him.
“That’s mine? If I do good, I get to be just like you?” Rome asks, wide-eyed, turning to look at Loki.
“You will be great, son. Even better than me. I can guaren-fucking-tee you will. Once you prove yourself to the brothers, that will be yours. You will have earned it, just like I earned mine,” Loki tells him with nothing but confidence in his voice. Rome turns back, looks at it all one more time, and nods his head before turning and running into Loki’s arms.
“Thank you so much. I promise I’ll be good enough. I’ll prove myself to you and your brothers,” he promises, squeezing Loki tight.
Loki wraps his arms around his shoulders, hugging him back just as tight, if not more. Rome tries to hide it, but I can see he’s holding back tears, trying to show us he’s strong, just like Loki. Little does he know, Loki is holding back tears himself and trying to hide it, too. My crazy-ass, strong man has so much love in him. Others underestimate him, but I see Loki the same way he sees me. Their loss is my fucking gain. This will be a moment I remember for the rest of my life. Again, I don’t do that mushy shit, but I mentally snap a photo in my mind of my two boys embracing, and not to use it as blackmail in the future, either.
This point in time will be one that will be treasured by us all, but more so by Rome. In his short life, Rome has known too much hurt. With losing his parents and trying to survive this world, I know he must feel like he’s constantly being looked over or pushed to the side. Even though they are twins, Rome has always been Rae’s protector. From what I’ve picked up since we took them in, Rome was never given a second look in life; he was always expected to do and say certain things just because he’s a boy. Fuck that. These days, kids need to be kids.
Rome doesn’t need that pressure or weight on his small young shoulders; they both will have plenty of shitty days in the future as adults. No need to rush growing up. Every time Rome looks around his room, I know he will feel all our love for him. I know Rome and Loki have created a bond that will be unbreakable and only grow deeper. Rome will always be able to see and feel all the love we have felt since we laid eyes on both our babies.
“I have no doubts about that, Rome,” Loki tells him, clearing his throat. I can’t take this shit anymore. I have to turn away before I burst into happy tears or attack Loki and fuck him where he stands for being such an amazing man. Either way, I don’t need or want to damage the kids with those images stuck in their heads.
“I-I’m gonna go look around a bit,” I tell them both.
“Want me to walk with you?” Loki asks, standing back up to his full height.
“No, stay here with the kids. I just want to do a little exploring,” I tell him, needing a minute to compose myself and pull my shit together.
I start down the hallway and head toward the double wooden doors at the end, knowing they must lead to the master bedroom. When I walk in, again, I’m left speechless. The bed is a California King with a headboard of black wrought iron with intertwining branches. It is the first thing to catch my eye and get my attention. The white and black comforter on the bed is next to draw my eye. After a few moments, I tear my gaze away to take in everything else around the room. I’m captivated and in love with all the gothic, old-century style décor that takes up the rest of the space. I don’t think I could have done a better job if I had to decorate a room. It’s like Loki pulled a piece of my soul from my body and materialized it into our bedroom. Next, I walk into the master bathroom and am blown away; it’s just as beautiful as everything else.
This one room is bigger than my whole apartment. It has a fucking colossal square pool in the middle of the room, which I’m sure is meant to be a bathtub. A walk-in shower in the back could fit a whole football team, with dual showerheads and a place to sit. Plus, Loki had two vanities installed, one on each wall flanking the entrance.
In the very back, I notice he’s made another one of my wishes come true with a huge walk-in closet. I make a beeline for it, gaging to see how big it is, and that’s when I realize it’s completely full. He brought all of my clothes here already and hung them up. I’m pretty sure there are a few new outfits in here as well. I run my hands over everything in the closet, completely in love, and I turn, seeing all of Loki’s clothes already hanging on the other wall as well.
I’m still fascinated and in a daze, standing in the middle of the closet, when I feel two strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. Letting out a deep sigh and smile, I melt into his embrace, soaking in his love and strength, never wanting him to let go. Loki did good. He did really fucking good with every single thing. I couldn’t have imagined or wished for anything better in a home, but more so in a man. This is hands down the best surprise ever. Little does he know, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy thanking and rewarding my man tonight by fucking the shit out of him on our new bed.
“What do you think?” Loki whispers in my ear.
“It's abso-fucking-lutely perfect. All of it,” I whisper, turning in his arms and placing a tiny lick on the side of his mouth. He groans deeply but pulls back.
“Come on, the kids will be busy for a while. I still have to show you the best part,” he tells me with his signature smile in place and a wink.
“This closet wasn’t the best part?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Do I know my pet?” he asks, raising a brow and awaiting my answer. He turns and starts heading back toward our bedroom.
“Better than anyone else, love,” I don’t hesitate to tell him honestly.
He chuckles before replying. “Then, of course, this wouldn’t be the best part. You know how that fucking saying goes, giving the best at last, or some shit like that.”
I chuckle along with him and just keep my mouth shut—this time. Figures Loki would fuck up the wording of a classic saying. Doesn’t matter to me, not one fucking bit. I can read my man’s mind, so I knew where he was going with it.
I follow behind him, excited at the possibilities of what secrets he’s hiding and saved for last. I don’t expect him to lead me to the massive fireplace on the left side of the bedroom. The fireplace comes pretty far off the wall, but the white and black stone makes it such a considerable accent to the room no one would notice. It actually brings the entire room together and becomes the main focal point. I never would have expected the fire to be a black screen that only looks like an actual fire roaring to life. Loki walks to the far right side of the stone fireplace and pushes one of the black stones away, revealing a hidden touchpad.
“We are the only ones who have access to this area. I got Comp to add your fingerprint in here already. Don’t ask,” he says as he holds up his hand when I start to speak. I laugh but keep my mouth shut for now. God only knows how that techy-ass genius could accomplish that. Probably something right out of those damn spy movies.
“This all looks too unreal. What the hell is so important it needs a fingerprint scanner and a secret staircase?” I ask as Loki flips a switch and walks me down the hidden staircase that is revealed behind the fireplace. When we get to the bottom, there is a barn door that Loki easily slides open. My mouth practically drops as I gaze around, and that’s when I realize we have just entered one of the most beautiful rooms in the house. The fucking cellar.
On the wall to my right is an arsenal, fully stocked with everything I could ever want. Excitement is coursing through my veins, and I feel like a fat kid trapped willingly in a fully stocked bakery surrounded by cakes. Yes, I’m being that specific since this room brings me to happy tears again. Every weapon a woman could ever dream of or wish for is at my fingertips. On the left wall is a knife-throwing area with one of those spinning circle wheels for target practice. Oh, the fun we are going to have down here!
“Ahhhh!” I squeal, jumping up and down. Looking toward the far wall, I notice something I can’t believe I missed the first time.
I make my way over and look at the gun hanging centered and displayed beautifully on the wall. Underneath is a picture of my shitty apartment, and right under that is a plaque with the date we first met. Cocking my head to the side in thought, I purse my lips as I look at the picture and weapon curiously for a minute longer before my eyes widen in surprise.
“Is that the gun the asswipe pulled on me? Baby, is this from our first kill together?” I ask in complete disbelief. I know I must have fucking hearts swimming in my eyes like a cartoon character, but I don’t give a fuck. I want Loki to see how much this means to me and how much he means to me.
Never in my life has anyone done something like this for me. Some bitches might want diamonds or expensive trips to Europe or some shit like that, but to remember AND display our first kill together—that’s fucking priceless. Now I’m really going to fuck the shit out of him.
“It sure the fuck is,” he says, smiling proudly.
“You got me my very own trophy wall?” I squeal, and when he nods, I jump into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck and my legs around his waist.
“I love you more than I love my Annie Oakley,” I tell him, mentioning my tiffany blue pistol. He smiles widely before replying.
“I love you more than I love Kitty,” he says, and I gasp.
“You meant that?” I ask again as my eyes widen in clear disbelief.
“Yeah, pet. I mean it, every fucking word,” he says.
I’ve met my forever, and ain’t nobody taking him from me. Fuck waiting for tonight. I’m going to prove exactly how much he means to me right here, right now, right in front of my trophy wall.