Page 9

Seven

Taking Care of You

Emryn

F or the first time in two weeks, I get a restful night’s sleep.

Blade being here made all the difference.

I’ve met my neighbors on both sides, and they’re very nice people.

On my left is an older couple, Len and Margot Mercer.

Len was a long-distance truck driver, and Margot worked at the local day care until they both decided to retire and spend most of their time tending to their garden.

They have a magnificent yard, complete with gazebo.

Margot has invited me over a couple of times for tea, and when she says tea, she means tea .

Her parents came from Britain, and all her life, they had teatime at four in the afternoon.

Margot has kept up the tradition, and her children are following suit.

To my right is a professional couple in their midthirties who work a couple of towns over. Both are lawyers who have opened their own practice and are rarely home, but when they are, they wave and say hello.

As lovely as both couples are, it’s still a little scary to move to a new town and sit in a house all alone.

Blade went out of his way to make me comfortable, yet when I woke up, he wasn’t beside me.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and hear noises coming from the kitchen.

My watch says 6:30. Blade said he had to get up early.

I grab my robe off the hook in the bathroom and shuffle out to the kitchen, where Blade is busy at work making breakfast.

He looks so hot. His jeans are hanging low on his hips, and his shirt is unbuttoned, displaying his chiseled body. He sees me immediately, his smile beaming at me from across the room.

“Hey, baby. How’d you sleep?” he asks, his voice sounding smooth and sexy. My heart skips a beat, and I stumble over my words.

“Good. Great. Um, really fine.” I shut my mouth and slap a hand on my forehead. I couldn’t sound dorkier if I tried. Blade chuckles, then crooks his finger at me.

“Come here, Emmy,” he says. It seems that my legs have made the decision before my head has time to think.

I’m putting my compliance down to a lack of caffeine and lingering in my sleepy haze.

As soon as I’m close, he slides his arm around my waist, pulling me flush to his body.

I tilt my head back, and Blade kisses me.

Not soft and sweet, but just as amazing.

His lips cover mine in a swift, hard kiss, then his lips brush over my cheek to my ear.

“You’re fucking gorgeous. Emryn. So beautiful that I wish I could stay with you all day.

Unfortunately, I have to work.” He sighs, pulling back and pointing to the scrambled eggs he has in the frying pan.

“I’ll serve these up. Do you want to grab the toast? ”

“Okay.” I move away from him and fill the toaster, my lips tingling from his kiss. Blade called me gorgeous. It’s not that I haven’t been called pretty before, even cute, but gorgeous, never.

Blade dishes up the eggs, and I place the generously buttered toast next to them. “I’m sorry I didn’t get up to help. This is wonderful. I tend to stick with simple meals when I’m just cooking for myself. Eggs, grilled cheese, that sort of thing,” I say.

“I’m not a gourmet. My mother told me that I have to learn to cook basic foods like bacon and eggs and pasta for my own good.

She was right. I moved out on my own, and eating out gets expensive for one, and for another, I got tired of it.

At the compound, we take turns making meals.

Saint makes a mean chili. And since Ava and the other women come around a lot, they take pity on us and drop off food all the time,” he replies with a laugh.

“It’s good you have them. Motorcycle gangs have a bad reputation.” Yeah, I said it. It’s not that you don’t hear about the bad stuff, and most of the time, you hear more bad than good. “But the people in town say different about Satan’s Pride,” I add.

“We’re a club, not a gang.” Blade puts down his fork.

“Not going to lie to you, Guard wants the club to stay out of trouble, and our businesses are legal and aboveboard in every way. It’s not always easy, though.

Other clubs think we’ve gone soft and try to invade our space.

They think we’ll be intimidated and back down.

They think wrong. That’s not going to fly with the Pride.

We defend what we’ve built. We also make sure nothing touches our club and our families.

This isn’t a threat, it’s a vow. Guard will never start a war, but we will end it, and we’ll always win,” he states. Then he asks, “Does that scare you?”

“A little,” I confess.

“Why?” he asks, raising his brows. “How is what we do for one another different from what you would do for your mother and father? Families take care of each other. A good father will protect his wife and kids at any cost. Guard is that man for us, and he’s taught us to do the same for each other.”

I want to tell him that my family doesn’t exactly work that way, but Blade doesn’t need to know that Dad never wanted kids, and Mom was hoping for a replica of herself and was sadly disappointed when she figured out I would never be the belle of the ball.

Instead, I reply, “It sounds like you have an incredible family.”

“I have two amazing families. My parents and sister are great people. Dad is struggling with my decision to join Satan’s Pride, but he’ll come around once he meets the guys.

He jumped to the same conclusion that all clubs cause trouble.

” Blade shakes his head. “A lot of clubs help their community. We raise funds for hospitals and schools, and Satan’s Pride put this town back on the map.

Guard created thriving businesses, which in turn opened up jobs. ”

“You’re right. I judged, and I shouldn’t have.

I should know better,” I tell him. I’ve been judged all my life.

Mom tried to make me into something I’m not, and when she saw I was a lost cause in the modeling world, I wasn’t worth her time anymore.

Dad was too busy worrying about the impression he makes in his social circles and didn’t give me another thought.

My brother, Ryan, hit the front covers of every fashion magazine, and my parents were thrilled with his success.

It hurt, but in some ways, I was better off.

I was left alone and was able to focus on my business studies.

And when I wasn’t studying, I was exploring my passion for photography.

It made my decision to apply my business degree to what I love easy.

My father was furious as he expected me to go to work in a “suitable” firm of his choice.

He had it in his head that with the contacts he had, I’d be working with a good company and meet a nice, eligible man who was destined to take over his father’s business, thus elevating our family in the social world.

That was when I left. I call them dutifully once a week. The conversations are short and frivolous; however, they relieve my guilt. I know I did what was right for me, but I do love my parents, and walking out caused quite a stir. Although, they’ve been telling all their friends that I’m in Europe.

Blade is simply staring and smiling at me.

“What?”

“That’s huge,” he answers, which I don’t get.

“What’s huge?”

“People apologize but follow it up with an excuse as to why they did whatever they did in the first place. Not you. I get a straight-up apology,” he says. “It speaks to the person you are, and I’m beginning to like you more and more by the second.”

I feel heat rising into my cheeks. “I like you too.”

As he’s about to resume eating, Blade’s phone buzzes. He picks it up and looks at his message. “Uh, babe, you got plans for the day?”

“Not until seven tonight. I’m meeting a couple and taking their engagement photos by the lake. It’s where he proposed, and she wants to use the pictures for invitations and such. Why?”

“In an hour, you’re going to be swarmed by Vi and company.”

“Here?” My voice squeaks. “I can’t entertain.

Where would they sit? For Pete’s sake, I have nothing to serve.

” I’m rambling, and I know it. Panic sets in as I jump out of my seat and rush to my refrigerator.

I have lots of fruits and vegetables. I quickly think about putting together a fruit tray and a vegetable tray.

I try to calm my erratically beating heart and will my home to magically fill itself with furniture and food that would be fit to serve.

It’s not until I hear Blade’s voice that I turn swiftly in his direction, but he’s not speaking to me.

He’s talking into his phone. “You’re going to have to cut Vi off at the pass, bro.

” There’s a pause, then Blade says, “I know she wants to help, but let’s put this off until the truck arrives.

We’ll make it a moving-in party. The women can cover the food, and the guys can get her stuff set up.

It gives her the day to get ready for a job she has tonight. ”

There’s another long pause with Blade chuckling a couple of times. Whoever is on the other end must be telling him quite a story.

“I know she’s a force to be reckoned with, but if anyone has the ability to charm and appeal to Vi, it would be you,” he says, followed by “Thanks, bro.”

I can feel the tension ease out of my neck and shoulders. My heart slows to a steady tempo, and his warm grin calms me right down. “You took care of me again,” I say.

He comes over to me, shutting the door of the refrigerator that I still have open, then pulls me into his arms. “The Lady Pride can be pushy, but they mean well. I’ve held them off for now, but the reprieve won’t last long. They’ll supply the food, and I’ll pick up the beer.”

“When do I get to take care of you?”

“Right now,” he answers. “Kiss me.”

I stretch up on my tiptoes, clasping my hands on his shoulders and moving my lips over his.

Blade wraps his arms around my waist, and suddenly, I’m being dipped like they do in the movies and kissed so thoroughly that my toes curl.

It doesn’t matter that my hair’s a mess and I’m wearing my old bathrobe, because Blade doesn’t even notice.