if I ran, maybe if I didn’t give in to what I know is going to happen between us, maybe I could save myself the constant bone-rattling fear that I feel at the thought of anything ever happening to you,” he rasped.
He then moved forward and placed both of his big hands on the helmet on either side of my head.
When he was close enough that all I could see were his eyes, he said, “But then, the thought of leaving you? It scares the absolute piss out of me, too. The thought of not being here in case you need me literally makes my fucking heart race. And I think, in the end, the anxiety of not knowing if you’re happy and well would end up killing me. So for now, forever, I’m here to stay. You’re mine, and I’ll do anything, absolutely anything, to make that happen. Make you realize that. So if you need time, I’ll give it. If you need distance, I’ll allow it. But just know that I’m always going to be right here. With you. Anytime you ever need me.”
I swallowed hard, then took the leap.
“I don’t need time or distance,” I whispered. “After today. After sitting in that car… I don’t need it. I know what I want. And that’s you.”
I didn’t have flowery words right then. Not after the bombshell he’d just dropped on me.
But he didn’t seem to need them.
“You’re moving in,” he declared. “And tomorrow, I go with you to meet your family. As your man.”
I gave him a small smile.
“And I’m sorry not to do this the right way, but you’ll marry me. On the way to your parents’ place tomorrow, we’ll stop and get you a ring. That way this baby, when he or she is born, is both of ours. And you’ll have that knowledge that you’re mine as well.” Then he stepped back and got onto the bike. “Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 13
Why don’t we have Heinz Big Saucy Bangers in the United States like the UK has?
-Text from Blaise to Johnny
BLAISE
“Yeah, what did the kid say?” I looked up at Sin who was standing beside his truck with me at his side.
Hunt had called with some information a little bit ago about the kidnapping case that we’d thwarted, and he’d paused in his trek toward my parents’ front door to take the call.
He frowned hard. “That’s all she remembers? The fingernails?”
“That’s it,” I heard Hunt reply. “Have a good time meeting the in-laws.”
Then he was gone, leaving Sin looking at the front door of the house.
“What about fingernails?” I asked.
Sin dropped the phone from his ear and then pocketed it. “The kid—the girl—she remembers nothing. The only thing she could remember clearly were the woman’s fingernails. She said that they were really long, and scary looking like a witch’s.”
“Huh,” I said softly. “Well, that sucks. I was hoping for more.”
He looked at me like he completely agreed. “Same.”
Then he turned his eyes back to the house.
“Ready?” he asked.
I followed his gaze, then allowed my eyes to travel over the bikes in the front yard, parked on the street, and even in the side yard. “Yep.”
He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in tight to his chest.
“It’ll be okay,” he promised.
Would it? I’d brought one man, and one man only, home to meet my family. Him.
Why?
Because I had the vice president of the Dixie Wardens MC as my dad. The president of the Dixie Wardens MC as my grandfather. A cop for a brother. Badass black ops former-Army uncles that would do anything they could to ensure that I was safe. Then there were the men of my father’s MC. Men that I’d grown up with just as much as I’d grown up with my own parents.
“Just… don’t leave me because of them, okay?” I pleaded.
He looked at me worriedly. “I’m not going to leave you because of something your family does.”
I wasn’t so sure.
“Just remember your promise, okay?” I pushed.
He rolled his eyes and tugged me in close. “Are we going to tell them you’re pregnant?”
I immediately started shaking my head. “Not today. Next time. This time… we just need to get through it.”
His lips twitched. “Honey, I’ve already met your father and your grandfather. It’ll be okay.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
He may know my father. He may, at some point, have served with my dad in some capacity. But he’d never met my father as the man that was dating his