CHAPTER 14
RYKER
I have never stepped foot inside of a room quite like this.
It’s chaotic, but I have no doubt that Ezra knows where everything is and knows what stage each project is in that is housed here.
The explosion of fabric, paper, sparkly things, pens, and items I don’t even have names for, is overwhelming.
I’ve been looking at the Liberty Bell she’s been working on.
Honestly, I can’t tear my eyes away from it.
It’s obvious she has more work to do since it’s not completely covered in whatever makes it go from just a paper sculpture into a disco ball.
I tilt my head from one side to the other as if the angle is what I’m not understanding here.
“I mean,” I gesture toward the bell, “I kind of am expecting that.” I look at it, measure it in a new way, and tease my woman, “I’m not sure if you should even put this in your classroom.”
She pulls a face at me like I must be joking with her, but I keep my face composed. With narrowed eyes and suspicion in her voice, she asks, “What do you mean?”
“I’m a little bit afraid they’re going to get a contact high from this thing.” I point to the bell with an accusing finger.
The laughter that comes out of Ezra soothes part of me I didn’t even realize was on edge. Still, given the situation, I can’t allow myself to let my guard down. Not when we don’t know where Bobby is.
I can only relax, marginally, because Diesel is outside watching her place right now. He’ll make sure no one gets the chance to even try to take me by surprise. Knowing this and allowing myself to relax are two different things. It’s not going to be possible until I’m back on the club’s land.
Behind my fence.
With more eyes watching Ezra’s back.
Ezra stands up and huffs out a breath that causes the tendrils of blonde hair surrounding her face to flutter slightly. Her hands slap against her thighs, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
Something tells me she would not be amused if that were my reaction.
“I really don’t even know what else to take. I have everything for the bell.” She grimaces and adds on, slightly apologetically, “Unless I need to order more of the mirror strips, which is possible because it’s not an exact science.”
“Isn’t the area of an object just an equation? Math wasn’t my favorite subject and I’m not Scratch, but I’m pretty sure I remember something about that,” I tease her.
She scrunches her face up at me and waves her hand. “I don’t need that kind of logic in my craft room,” she insists.
I hold my hands up in surrender. “I apologize. I would never want to create any offense in such an auspicious room.”
When she eyes me, my cock goes rock fucking hard. I don’t have enough time to fuck her here. Not right now.
“Better.” She nods once. Then her eyes cast around and the worry is back on her face. “I guess I’m just not sure how much to pack up. I’m not always sure where my next project is going to take me or what I want to do next.”
I cross my arms across my chest and decide straight forward is the only way to go. It’s the only way she’ll trust me and believe that this thing between us is real.
“Then bring it all.”
Ezra stares at me with her mouth hanging open and her eyebrows shooting up toward her hairline. Her eyes look even bigger behind her glasses. She looks like a nerdy princess; I fucking love it.
“I’m not going to,” her voice drops down to a lower register as she impersonates me, “bring it all.” She shakes her head, her question genuine, “What is wrong with you?”
One side of my mouth tips up. There aren’t many people who would talk to me with that kind of sass. And she sure as hell never did until recently.
Until she realized she could trust me.
It makes me think about Graycie and how she blossomed right in front of us. There’s a fire in her, one she didn’t allow to catch and become flame before. But there was always the ember.
“Nothing is wrong with me,” I assure her. “I’m just telling you how I see it. If it were up to me, you’d be packing it all up and moving in.”
“I think that might be a little fast and a little much,” her voice trembles slightly. “There’s no way all my stuff could fit in your room in the clubhouse,” she points out.
“No, not my room in the clubhouse,” I agree.
“I definitely can’t fit my dark room in your room there,” she says, almost like she didn’t hear me.
“You have a darkroom?”
She makes a face and points toward the closet door. “I didn’t really need a closet in here since I’m not using it as a bedroom. I created a very small darkroom.”
I look at the door and everything in me wants to go inside. She has no idea that I’ve seen her photography. It’ll be a nice surprise; one that I doubt I’ll be able to keep to myself for much longer.
“Small or not, that’s really cool,” I tell her and try not to let too much of my excitement show.
“I don’t use it all the time, only for certain projects. Almost everything is digital now. But I love working with film,” her words are almost shy.
Fucking adorable.
My mind starts moving through my house on the club’s land and thinking about what space she could convert. Or maybe it would be better to build her a little dark room shed out back?
“I don’t really understand the whole process,” I admit. “Beyond knowing paper gets dipped in liquids, I’m at a loss.”
Ezra laughs before one side of her mouth quirks up. “If you’re thinking I’m going to lay some sort of chemical reaction on you that requires a white board and a dry erase marker, you’re out of luck. I know what I’m doing and how I’m doing it, but I do not teach science for a reason.”
When I step closer to her, her blue eyes widen while she bites her bottom lip. I love watching her react to me. It makes my heart pump harder. Everything focuses down to her.
“You’d want a bigger darkroom if you could have it?”
“That’s the dream,” there’s a wistful quality in her voice.
I’ll do anything in my power to make it happen for her. And make sure there’s proper ventilation.
“Maybe if I knew how long I’d be staying it would help me pack,” she offers the words with a hint of trepidation.
But I think it has more to do with how close we are right now.
“Like I said,” my lips ghost over her eyebrow, “bring it all. Stay forever.” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, my hands landing on her hips possessively. “But if you want a specific timetable, I can’t give it to you.”
She squints at me. “That isn’t really helpful.”
“It’s not like you’re without options,” I point out.
“All or not enough really aren’t great options,” she pouts.
“I didn’t comment on how good either was, simply that they were available.”
Ezra rolls her eyes. “You’re annoying and insufferable.” Something like pride shifts in her eyes as she looks at me. “It makes you a good leader for your club, but I’m finding it rather annoying.”
My arm snakes around her waist to pull her flush against me, closing the last remaining distance between our bodies. “Gotta say, Teach,” my words are growled, “it does something to me when you look at me with pride. Haven’t had too much of that in the way you’re offering it.”
Her hands slide over my shoulders and the look on her face changes, just enough, into a different kind of pride. This time, it’s appreciation. Along with a lot of hunger.
“I wish we had time for me to claim you in the middle of all this crafting goodness, but it’s just not possible,” the regret is obvious in my voice.
Still, I don’t let go of her. Not yet. I study her face.
“Bring as much as you want,” I tell her, my words filled with sincerity.
She glances around and worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s a lot of stuff. I can’t really bring as much as I want.”
“You can,” I counter.
She huffs, exasperated, “Not really. I don’t want to overfill your room. That would just be rude.”
My lips curl into a smile. “How about something bigger than my room at the clubhouse?”
“I’m confused.”
“How about a house, Teach?”
She pauses, her eyebrows pulling together. “What are you talking about, Titus?”
Hearing my name on her lips is like a punch to the chest. Again. It’s like that every time. I’m not sure there will ever be a time when it doesn’t hit me.
“Ezra,” my voice drops an octave, “I’m not the kind of man to offer a woman a family and not provide a home that’s more than the room at the clubhouse.”
Her mouth opens and closes a few times, but nothing comes out.
Not at first.
“It would clearly be a horrible insult if someone were to think such a thing about you,” she sasses.
“It really would be,” I assure her.
“A house would be ideal,” her tone is coy with a hint of slyness that makes my cock throb. “That means I wouldn’t have to choose and that is my favorite trope.”
When she chuckles, more to herself than me, my eyes narrow.
“I feel like I’ve heard Opal say something like that before. Is this some sort of book porn thing?”
She snorts out a laugh. “Is that porn involving books, like books fucking or is that porn in book form?”
“You think you’re cute,” there’s an accusation in my words, but there’s no real heat behind them.
She bats her eyelashes and my composure cracks as I smile. I nuzzle my face in her neck and pepper her delicate skin with kisses.
“You are pretty fucking cute, Teach,” I whisper against her skin.
The way she shivers in my arms is intoxicating. I want to make her do it again and again.
“After we pack up in here, are you going to pack clothes? If you put me in charge of packing your panties, you won’t be disappointed,” I promise, my lips brushing against her skin with my words.
“You probably wouldn’t pack any of them, leaving them behind for me to find out about them being abandoned later,” she grouses.
My chuckle slips across her collarbone before I kiss her there. “How’d you figure me out so quickly?”
I feel something inside of her give before her arms wrap around my torso. Her fingers grip my shoulders as if she’s not sure whether her knees can hold her up any longer.
“I don’t think you’re quite as difficult to read in this situation as you think, Prez,” her words are breathy, each one wrapped up with a plea.
It takes all of my willpower not to strip her and fuck her.
I want to slide inside of her so fucking badly.
How the fuck did this woman become something I crave with a carnality that shocks even myself? When did I become fucking addicted?
“Very tempting,” I rasp the words.
When my hands find her hips, I hold her steady and upright as I force myself to take a step back. Ezra’s blue eyes blink up at me, and I watch in real time as the lust fog clears.
I hate it.
I much prefer her eyes glazed over with pleasure and need.
If only we didn’t need to keep it moving.
I watch her diligently pack up two more plastic tubs of craft supplies before she gives a nod and then brushes her hands against each other like she’s all done or something.
“Clothes?”
She scowls at me before her shoulders slump. “Yeah,” her cheeks pink slightly and I’m not sure why, “come on then.”
I’m right on her heels as I follow her into her room. And then I freeze.
Her room is so her. It’s messy, with a few piles of clothes here and there, but there’s organization here too. She has a few of her photos on the walls and more bookshelves than should exist in a bedroom. There were a few in the living room as well, but it was more of a curated display.
This room makes me feel like I’m peeking behind the curtain.
And she didn’t even think twice about welcoming me in.
“It’s a mess in here,” she defends herself.
“It is,” I agree.
The glare she points in my direction is adorable, but I won’t deny that it is slightly terrifying. Only because the last thing I want is for her to truly be upset. But I can see the smile she’s trying to hide.
“It’s my mess.”
My hands land on her hips as I pull her a step closer to me. “You’re my mess,” I whisper before kissing her softly. “Now, about those panties,” I tease her.
She giggles and rolls her eyes before giving my chest a little shove. I don’t move. There’s no way she’ll move me without me letting her. The little huff she lets out tells me she’s very much aware of it too.
“I don’t need help packing my panties,” she sasses me.
“Wouldn’t want to forget them,” my tone is filled with faux innocence.
“What a shame that would be.” Her deadpan delivery makes me chuckle.
I kiss her again and then release her. When she asks me for help, I’m right there with her. I even fold things.
After zipping up her big suitcase, I immediately pick it up and let out a soft grunt. “Damn. I even watched you pack it, but this thing is heavy.”
“I stuffed a lot in there,” I tell him with a shrug.
She did. With every piece of clothing she put in, I wanted to triple it because it felt so fucking good. I’m very aware she thinks she’ll be coming back here, but if I have anything to do with it, she’ll just finish moving into the house I didn’t even realize I built for her.
I hope she likes it.
“I’m glad I brought the truck,” I grumble when I’ve collected everything she packed up in her living room.
“And just think,” she fires back at me without any hesitation, “not long ago you said something about bringing everything. The truck wouldn’t have been enough then; you thought I’d manage with a saddlebag? Prez, please,” the words drip with sarcasm as she waves her hand.
I chuckle and bury my fingers in her hair while pressing her back against the front door. My nose slides along the soft skin of her neck before I kiss right where her pulse is beating hard in her neck.
“Gotta say, Teach,” I tease, “I love your sass.”
“You’d just end up waving your President wand and ordering someone here with a van or a moving truck or some shit. It’d probably take like an hour and be super annoying,” she mumbles the last part.
When I kiss her this time, it’s deep and filled with the need to get her home. Because all I can think about is burying myself in her right now until all she can do is scream my name instead of giving me lip.
Even though I fucking love it.
I love her.
The realization has me pulling away from her and staring down into her big, blue eyes. Can she see it? For a moment, I freeze, unsure.
Fuck.
It’s not a feeling I’m used to at all.
I pull her away from the door, turn her toward it and slap her ass. “Come on, lets get back. There’s somewhere you need to see.”
Her eyes light up as she looks at me over her shoulder and I know one thing for sure.
I’m fucking gone for this woman.