Page 55 of Claimed

Crow and Motor are the only ones with old ladies, but Marlowe and Renae don’t come to the clubhouse much. On the rare occasions they do, we get along great. They’ve even given me ‘old lady lessons’, which I’m wondering if I’ll ever need. Things with Laurelyn are much better. We’ve been talking almost every day, and I’m supposed to go visit in the summer when Dani is out of school. Overall, things have been going pretty well for me.

As time passed and my shoulder healed, Gage stepped up my lessons. Right now, I have Fort Minor’s “Remember The Name” coming through my earbuds while I spar with Booker. I give him my left jab and he shakes his hand out even though he’s wearing punch mitts. I know I’m stronger in that arm because it’s all I could use until now.

“Damn, girl. Take it easy on me.”

“Man up, pussy.” I grin at him.

I’m ready to go again, but he drops his arms to his sides and nods to something behind me. I pull out my earbuds and turn to see Gage climbing into the ring. He yanks me toward him and crushes my lips beneath his. His hand snakes down my back and he grabs my ass, squeezing the cheek. I moan, throwing my arms around his neck.

We still haven’t had sex. Truth be told, both my mind and body aren’t quite there yet. We’ve kissed. A lot. But we’ve never taken it further and he hasn’t pushed me. The tingles have returned and every time I look at him, I imagine him naked. I’ve thought about it but honestly, I’m worried about pleasing him. What if I’m damaged? I’ve checked – stuck a finger inside myself – and it felt okay, I guess. I even had Dr. E examine me and he said I’m fine, but how will it feel for Gage? What if he doesn’t enjoy it? What if I disappoint him? God, I couldn’t bear it if that happened.

“Hey, babe,” he whispers as he breaks our kiss.

“Hey.”

“Time to go.”

“But I’m not done.”

He moves into his caveman stance, hands crossed on his chest, and frowns at me. “Your time’s up. Let’s go.”

“Ugh! Fine.”

He’s had this silly notion of limiting my time in the gym because he thinks I’ve lost too much weight. I think I look great. After I started working out, I went back to my original weight then lost five more pounds. My body is toned and I have kick-ass abs. He put his foot down when I told him I wanted a six-pack, then he started bringing home all kinds of junk for me to eat, saying he needed to fatten me up.Crazy.

I throw a T-shirt over my sports bra and we leave the gym. On the drive home, I turn to him as I sip my water. “What do you want for your birthday?”

He raises a brow in question. “What do you want to give me?”

“How about a wet, sloppy blow job?”

“Yes, please,” he answers without a hint of humor.

“In your dreams, perv.”

“How do you know about my dreams?”

“Eww.” I punch him on the arm. “Gross!”

“Hey, you offered.”

“You’re getting a party. Deal with it.”

I’ve already gotten his gift, and I can’t wait to give it to him. I’ve been planning this party for weeks, along with Aunt Nita and Ellen. Chrissy and Toni have helped out with ideas, and Toni’s supposed to come in a few days before.

“What do you think about the prospects?”

“They’re cool,” I answer. “Why?”

“We’re voting on their membership tonight. They’ve been pretty good. I’m sure they’ll get in.”

“Yay! We should throw them a party.”

“We always do.”

He makes a turn and I realize we’re heading away from the clubhouse. “Where are we going?”

“I wanna show you something.”