Chapter 20
LINDEN
I’d been waiting for what felt like forever, curled up on the couch in the common room, staring at the front doors like they might open if I willed it hard enough. When I finally heard the first growl of an engine, I jumped to my feet.
I was waiting near the door when it swung open, and Keegan strode inside.
The exhaustion on his face made my heart hurt, but in the very best way. He and his club brothers had gone to war for me. And for my brother’s memory, too.
I launched myself at him the second he was close enough. He caught me midair, his strong arms banding around my waist, lifting me clean off the ground. My legs wrapped around his hips, and his mouth crashed against mine.
I kissed him back with everything I’d held in since he left. All my fear, love, and appreciation. He groaned against my lips, one hand fisting my hair at the back of my head and the other sliding under my butt to lift me higher.
When he finally ripped his mouth from mine, we were both out of breath.
“You’re okay,” I whispered with a sniffle.
“It’s done, little dove.” He dropped his forehead against mine. “No more looking over your shoulder.”
It was exactly what I assumed his club business was about, but the relief still made my eyes sting. “Thank you.”
“Don’t need your gratitude, baby. You gotta know I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
“I do know that.” I cupped his face, my thumbs brushing the stubble on his jaw. “It’s part of why I love you so much, Keegan. I hate that they took my brother from me, but I’m so lucky the path I took after Carson’s crash brought me to you.”
He kissed me again, and when he pulled back, he gave me the words I needed to hear. “Love you too, little dove. So fucking much.”
“About damn time you told her,” Kevlar called.
Keegan shot his club brother an irritated look. “Go kiss your woman and leave me and mine alone.”
“Wasn’t giving Linden shit.” Kevlar shook his head with a chuckle. “That was all for you.”
“What-the fuck-ever,” Keegan grumbled before striding across the room to head upstairs.
Once we were alone with the door shut behind us, he set me on my feet to cross over to the closet. When he came back out, he was carrying a smaller version of his leather vest.
The stitching on the back patch was impossible to miss—PROPERTY OF TOMCAT.
My breath caught as I reached out my trembling fingers to trace those precious letters. “For me?”
“Only ever you, little dove.”
I grinned up at him. “Darn right.”
“Wanted to wait till everything was taken care of to give this to you. Do it right.” His eyes burned with a love that matched mine. “You wear this, it tells the world you’re mine. There’s no going back.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks. “I know.”
He slid the vest over my shoulders, and the leather settled in place like I had been born to wear it. But he didn’t stop there.
“Never understood why my brothers didn’t feel like the property patch was enough to claim their women, but I get it now.
” He strode over to the bedside table, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a jewelry box.
My breath caught in my chest as he came back to me, pulling out the ring inside. “Need this on your finger, too.”
I stared down at the platinum band with a diamond in the middle that was big enough to weigh down my hand. “Whoa.”
“You like?” he asked with a grin.
“It’s so pretty.”
The ring looked even better when he slid it on my finger, and I twisted my hand from side to side to see the diamond glimmer.
“Doesn’t even come close to your beauty.” He brushed the pad of his thumb over my finger. “You’re already mine in every way that matters. But I want the paper. And the vows. I want forever with you. House, kids, the whole damn thing. Marry me, little dove.”
The tears came harder now, but they were from pure joy. I laughed through them, nodding. “Yes, Keegan. I want all of that, too.”
He hauled me into his arms and kissed me until I couldn’t see straight. There was only his mouth on mine, his hands framing my face, and the solid thump of his heart against my chest.
When we finally came up for air, he rested his forehead against mine again. “Fuck, I’m the luckiest bastard alive.”
I smiled, wiping at my wet cheeks. “I have something for you too.”
His brows lifted. “Yeah?”
My hand shook as I grabbed his wrist and pressed his palm against my stomach.
His eyes dropped to our hands, and it took a second for recognition to hit. Then his whole body froze.
“You’re pregnant, little dove?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, my throat feeling tight. “Stella guessed when I couldn’t stomach bacon, of all things, and took me to the clinic here so Razor could give me a test.”
“Knocked you up just like I said I would.” He grinned at me. “Knew that tight little pussy was gonna take every drop and make something perfect.”
Heat flooded my face even as I laughed. “Keegan!”
He laughed too, then pulled me against him again, careful now, like I was suddenly made of glass. His big hand splayed protectively over my stomach. “Our baby. Fuck, little dove. I’m gonna be a dad.”
“You’re gonna be the best dad,” I whispered.
He kissed the top of my head, then my temple, and my mouth. Softer than he ever had before, and full of wonder. When he pulled back, his eyes were shining. “You got the ring and the baby. I guess we just need to find a house next.”
I bit my lip, suddenly shy. “It can be wherever you want. I don’t want to go back to the office, obviously. But I also don’t want to juggle college and a baby. I want to be home with our kids. Maybe work with you on the side wherever I can help. Something I can do from home when they’re little.”
His expression turned tender. “You don’t have to work at all if you don’t want. Club’s solid. I have cash put away, and I pull down good money. Whatever you want to do, we’ll make it happen, little dove. You’re not just my old lady. You’re my partner. In everything.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his throat. “I love you.”
“Love you more.” He held me tighter, one hand still resting on my belly like he couldn’t believe it was real. “Gonna take such good care of you both. Swear it.”
He set me gently on the bed, then climbed over me, careful not to put weight on my stomach. His eyes roamed my face, then dropped to the vest, the ring, the faint swell I knew wasn’t there yet but he looked for anyway.
“Mine.” His voice was rough with possession. “All fucking mine.”
I reached up and cupped his jaw. “Yours. Always.”
“Gonna be a family,” he vowed.
I smiled up at him. “We already are.”
My family had fallen apart after my brother’s death, but I had found a huge one with Keegan and the Hounds of Hellfire. And my baby growing inside me, I hoped my parents would find their way back to happiness too.