Chapter 53
Warmth rolled out from the great stone fireplace, steady and soft, chasing away every trace of a chill.
Spring is here but winter is still keeping its claws in.
Outside, the world was quiet and still – glass-black water, silver-frosted pines, night falling gentle over the lake.
Inside, everything had shrunk down to nothing but soft leather, thick cushions, and the low crackle of burning wood.
I lay back against the pillows, my legs tangled slow with Rage’s, the blanket riding a little low at my hips.
His big rough hand rested light against my bare skin, his thumb drawing slow, steady circles over my hip bone, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, my mind was perfectly quiet.
No schedules, no alarms, no rumble of engines shaking the floorboards. Nothing but peace.
I turned my head to look at him, tracing the hard lines of his face in the firelight. Usually so sharp, so ready, he looked softer now, the tension melting right out of him, dark hair falling messy over his forehead.
“You’re staring, sweetheart,” he rumbled, eyes still closed, but a slow, wicked smile tugging at his mouth.
“I’m observing,” I corrected softly, warmth rising in my cheeks. “It’s rare to see the terrifying Enforcer of the Iron Angels this defenceless.”
Rage let out a low, chest-deep laugh that sounded like velvet in the quiet room. He opened his eyes then, and all that fierce, endless adoration shining there made my breath catch. He rolled over slow, covering me with his weight, warm and solid and safe.
He propped himself up on his forearms, his big hands coming up to frame my face, brushing stray hairs back from my temples.
“I’m never defenceless where you’re concerned, Danika,” he murmured, rough and fierce and true. “Out there I have to be the wall that holds everything back. But here. I don’t have to be anything but your man.”
My arms wound tight around his neck, fingers tangling deep in his hair, and I pulled him down into a kiss that had all the time in the world.
Slow, deep, hungry, and so soft – no rush, no interruptions, no one banging at the door.
Just us. When we finally drew apart, our breaths coming fast, we looked at each other and made a promise that didn’t need any words.
“I used to think my life started the day I patched,” Rage said after a while, his thumb brushing slow over my lip. “But I was wrong. My life started the second some fierce red-headed girl walked into our town and tamed the monster in me.”
I let out a soft, wobbly laugh. “I didn’t tame you, Rage. You just gave me a fortress where I could finally learn how to breathe.”
He didn’t say anything back, just pulled me tight against his chest, wrapping right around me like armour. I rested my head over his heart, listening to that steady thud that had become my favourite sound in all the world.
Those four days Pres gave us felt like both a blink and an eternity. On our last morning, Rage walked back in from the porch, his phone in hand, that wicked little smile playing on his lips.
“All settled,” he told me. “Pres locked the gates proper. Said don’t let us show our faces for two weeks. He’s got it all covered.”
Two weeks. Fourteen whole days of nothing but us.
I stood by the kitchen window later, mug of hot tea warming my palms, watching the pines stand silent against the snow.
“Thinking too loud again, sweetheart?”
Strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, his chin resting light on the top of my head. He was dressed simple in dark flannel and soft trousers, warm against my back.
“Just getting used to the quiet,” I murmured, leaning back into him. “Fourteen days with no vitals, no checklists… my brain doesn’t know what to do with the chaos gone.”
Rage laughed low and warm, taking the mug gently from my hands and setting it aside. He curled his hands around my face, forcing me to look up at him.
“Then let me give you something else to focus on,” he rumbled, kissing me slow and deep, claiming every bit of my attention until I forgot my own name.
When he pulled back, he laced his fingers through mine and tugged gently toward the door.
“The lake’s still today,” he said softly. “Come sit with me on the dock.”
We stepped out into the crisp air, pulling a thick wool blanket around us both. The wind bit sharp at my cheeks, but wrapped up safe against Rage, I couldn’t feel a thing.
“I used to wonder what my life would’ve been if I’d never run,” I said quiet, watching our reflection stretch long and dark across the water. “Married to some stranger, living in some cold town house, treated like nothing more than an asset. I would’ve spent my whole life silent, Rage.”
His hold tightened, his voice dropping low and dangerous.
“That version of you died the second you crossed into these hills. You’re Tamer of the Iron Angels.
You’re my old lady. They can throw all the lawyers and money they want at this…
they still come up against eighty patched brothers, two sovereign charters, and an Enforcer with nothing left to lose. ”
I laughed soft and bright, leaning up to kiss his jaw. “I know. I’m not scared anymore. He lost all his power the second he lost hold of me. I belong here. With you. With the club.”
“Damn right you do,” he rumbled, pride glowing bright in his dark eyes.
We sat there for hours, watching light shift across the water, talking about everything and nothing – the work we’d do, the new unit we’d build, watching Rose and Ivy’s babies grow, waiting to see what Maeve would bring to us, and the quiet little future we were going to build for ourselves.
As the first stars pricked the darkening sky, Rage stood, lifting me easy into his arms and carrying me back toward the warm glow of the cabin.
The world outside waited for us, all the duties and challenges still waiting at the gate.
But for now, he laid me down soft before the fire, and everything else faded away to nothing but him.