Patriot (Hades Abyss MC 6) - Harley Wylde Page 0,21

her eyes. “Fine. I can take a hint.”

She started carrying everything out to her car and I heard the door shut after her third trip. Patriot cupped my cheek and leaned in to kiss me. He could be so sweet. I knew as part of the Hades Abyss he’d done his share of bad things. The men weren’t saints by any means, but they did treat women right. Or at least the women they wanted to keep. Even though the club whores were here voluntarily, I still cringed a little whenever I saw the way the club talked to them. Although, Patriot had been nice enough to the one who came here, until she’d insulted me.

“So, it seems we need to have a talk,” he said.

“You heard?” I asked, thinking of the conversation I’d been having with Phoebe.

“Yeah, I heard. Why didn’t you ask me if I planned to have kids some day?” he asked.

I didn’t like admitting there was something wrong with me. Hated it. Didn’t change the fact I was damaged, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I had my share of scars, but for the first time, I wondered about any damage done to the inside of me.

“Little Bit, I’m going to say this once and only once. So listen up. I can’t have kids. Not the regular way. I have some sperm frozen and on hold at a sperm bank. Had it done when I was eighteen before I enlisted, in case something went wrong. Got sick overseas with a bad infection that made me sterile. So if you can’t carry a baby, don’t feel like you failed me. Because you haven’t. We can adopt. Or if you’re able to get pregnant, you can still have my kid even if we have it the old-fashioned way. Well, sort of. In the sense you’d carry the baby and give birth.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to say to all that. I hadn’t realized he wasn’t able to have children. Some of the tension eased from my shoulders. I didn’t feel like a failure knowing there was a chance we’d have never had kids together anyway. From what I’d seen on TV, getting artificially inseminated didn’t always work.

“Any other objections to being mine?” he asked.

“No. I wanted to be yours, I… I didn’t want to hold you back.”

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Little Bit, you’re the reason I wake up smiling every morning. No more doubts, all right?”

“Okay.”

“I need to pick up your presents from Titan’s house. Delilah was going to wrap them for me so they wouldn’t look like a badger had mangled them. When I get back, we’ll go out to eat.”

“I could make something,” I offered.

“Not a chance. We’re celebrating.”

“What?” I asked.

He kissed me hard and fast. “You being mine. I made it official while you were gone. Had Brick and the others with you text in their votes. It was unanimous. You’re mine, Little Bit.”

My heart warmed and I couldn’t stop smiling. While he went to get my presents, I cleaned up my mess and changed my sweater. My hair was tumbling out of my clip so I ran a brush through it and decided to leave it down. It was a bit chilly outside today and I didn’t think we’d go out on his bike, but if we did I’d make sure I had a ponytail holder in my pocket so I could pull my hair back.

I heard him moving around downstairs and rushed to the living room. He’d put so many presents under the tree I wondered if he’d bought out the mall. Archimedes and the kitten were nowhere to be seen, which meant they’d likely gone to the kitchen. I was surprised the paper and shiny ribbons hadn’t attracted the kitten’s attention like it had when I’d been wrapping gifts.

“Ronan, you got too much!” I protested.

“No, I didn’t get nearly enough.” He stood and pulled me into his arms. “It’s our first Christmas together as an official ‘us’ and I wanted to make it memorable. Last year I did the bare minimum because I wasn’t sure you were ready for more.”

“You’re so good to me,” I said. “I don’t know why Titan picked you that day, but I’m glad it was you who came to get me.”

“Me too, Little Bit. I’ve been thankful every day that you’ve been a part of my life.” I rubbed his thumb along my jaw. “I’d thought I was going to rescue a girl. It never occurred to