Page 40 of Sinful Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #9)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Daisy

B rody and I lay side by side facing each other.

“Hi,” he says, giving me that smile that disarms me.

I giggle quietly. “Hi.”

His fingers brush my hair behind my ear. “I missed you today,” he says.

“Thank you for letting me come over here and for staying.”

He scoots closer, putting his nose against mine. His gaze searches my eyes. “Are you really okay?”

“I am. Are you?”

The possessive way he kisses me tells me everything I need to know. When he finally pulls away, I run my hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Thank you for taking care of me today.”

“I didn’t …”

I place my hand over his mouth. “But you did. You and your family made sure I was safe, and you eliminated the problem.”

“Does that bother you?” he asks, once I remove my hand.

“You showed me who you were the first day we met, Brody. I know you don’t play when it comes to me.”

His smile widens, and he grabs my butt, pulling me even closer. “You’re mine. No one touches what’s mine and lives.”

“I’ve heard that phrase a lot lately.” I laugh quietly.

“It’s the club motto,” he tells me on a yawn.

My fingers trail lightly over his forehead, and then over his eyes, forcing them closed. “Sleep, my dark angel.”

He keeps them closed. “Not until you do.” He rolls us over and snuggles against me from behind.

I huff.

“Get used to it. I’ll never sleep while you are awake.”

“What about your afternoon naps?” I cover my mouth to hide a giggle.

He growls in my ear, bucking his hips against me. “Brat.”

We laugh, but eventually we both quiet down and minutes tick by. As I’m drifting off, I hear a whispered, “I love you.”

His words carry me through the night, and I wake up the next morning still feeling them. He smiles down at me as he hovers over my face.

I push him away playfully. “Ugh, don’t watch me when I sleep.”

“Not a chance.”

“Apple,” I say, throwing the pillow at him.

“Fine, but it’s my favorite thing.” He pouts, and that’s all it takes for me to give him consent to watch me sleep. “One condition.” I hold up a finger.

He nips at it as he leans over me again. “What is it? I’ll do anything.”

“You have to close my mouth if it’s hanging open.”

The way he laughs makes my heart soar. It’s one of my favorite things about him.

“You’re awake!” Lexie squeals at the same time as the door flies open. She proceeds to jump on the bed right between us.

The strong scent of bacon wafts through the open door. “Fuck, I’m hungry. Get out of here,” Brody tells her, shoving her.

She ignores him and looks at me. “I’m so glad you know about Elizabeth. I wanted to tell you, but it was her story to tell. Do you know what I mean?”

“If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to get out of this bed. I smell bacon and maple syrup.”

“Get out then.” She gives Brody a dirty look and turns back to me.

“Okay, I warned you,” he says, pushing her to the side so he can slide out.

It irritates her, and she turns to chew him out, but she quickly realizes he’s naked. “Oh!” She immediately covers her eyes with both hands and snaps her mouth shut.

He winks and me, and I laugh. Yeah, she’s not going to recover from what she just saw anytime soon.

“Great, now the whole club is going to know how big my dick is,” he teases.

“Stop,” I tell him, laughing.

“No way! I’ll never admit to anyone I saw that thing.”

When he’s fully dressed and out of the bedroom, I nudge her arm. “The coast is clear.”

Her hand falls from her face, and she looks at me in horror. It makes me laugh.

“We never talk about this.”

I hold out my pinky, and she wraps hers around mine. She hugs me against her. “I don’t know why, but I feel like we’re real sisters now.”

“It’s because we are.”

Elizabeth steps into the doorway. “Girls, come eat before the men take it all,” she says before rushing back to the kitchen.

We turn and look at each other, then both of us burst out laughing.

“She’s such a mom,” Lexie says in mock disgust.

“Ugh, so bossy,” I agree, but I can’t control my face and I smile.

It makes her mouth turn up too.

She heads back to the others while I dress. The laughter that comes from kitchen tells me Brody has already told everyone about his morning peep show.

Someone knocks on the door. “Come in!” I yell while lacing up my shoe. The door opens, and I’m surprised to find it’s JD.

“Hey,” he says from the doorway. “I just wanted to thank you for last night.”

“No worries,” I say, switching feet.

“Can I come in?”

“It’s your house,” I tease.

He smiles. “My house is your house.”

My face falls, and he rushes to my side.

I wave him away. “Sorry. I’m okay.”

He doesn’t buy it. He kneels in front of me and takes my hands in his. “Daisy, please know that I’m here for you.”

“I believe you, but I really am fine,” I tell him.

His chuckle makes my brows pull together. “I see why my friend fell in love with you.”

“And I see why my mom fell in love with you .”

He blushes and pushes himself to his feet. “Come on, kid. She’ll kill me if I keep you much longer.”

When we get to the kitchen, my heart melts. Lexie, Ash, and Brody are at the table laughing. JD gently guides me to an empty chair and pushes me into it. Elizabeth smiles at me from the stove.

Lexie tips her head back. “JD, tell them to quit picking on me.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Normally I’d be on your side, but you walked right into that one. I warned you not to go in there, and Brody said he also gave you fair warning.”

“He didn’t tell me he was naked!” She makes a gagging noise.

“That’s enough,” Elizabeth says before setting a giant plate of pancakes in front of Brody.

He claps his hands. His attention immediately turns from tormenting Lexie to his food. Elizabeth winks at her, and Lexie mouths a thank you.

The entire scene makes me chuckle to myself. Elizabeth fills another plate and sets it in front of me, patting me on the back lightly as she does. “How did you sleep?”

“I don’t think I woke up once.”

JD narrows his eyes on me. “That wasn’t because you never went to sleep, was it?” he asks, pulling up a chair beside mine.

I laugh, and Brody answers on my behalf. “She slept. I don’t fall asleep until I’m sure she is snoring.”

My mouth falls open. “I don’t snore.”

Lexie gives him a whack in the arm for me.

Ash laughs. “Man, we’ve got to get you a filter.”

“No, you don’t,” Brody says, pointing at me with his fork. “She loves me without a filter.”

I smile wide because he’s right, but then my brows pull together. He’s trying to sidetrack me. “Tell them I don’t snore.”

He laughs and leans toward Elizabeth as she sits down to join us. “It’s cute. I’ll send you a video. Sometimes her nose twitches like a little bunny when she does it. You’ll love it.”

Everyone laughs because they know the man is full of shit.

The rest of breakfast is much the same, lots of laughing and jokes. I can tell this is normal for them. They’ve sat around this table more than a few times.

“Do you want to go over to Rachel’s with me? I go over there a couple of times a week to help her with stuff,” Lexie asks.

“Sure. If that’s okay?” I turn to Brody.

“Yeah, that’s good with me. I need to get over to the farm and help Jackson finish the tree house. I think he wants to get it done so his mom can see it before …” He doesn’t finish his sentence.

We’re all quiet as we work together as a family to clean up and get out the door.

On our way to Rachel’s, Lexie tells me stories about the club. I love hearing about everyone. When she gets quiet, I look at her. “Everything okay?”

She bites her bottom lip nervously. “Rachel asked me to invite you to come with me today. Not that I didn’t want you to come, but she specifically asked me to bring you.”

“Okay.” I tip my head at her demeanor. “She probably wants to talk to me about my father. You know, because Jackson and I have similar stories.”

Her lips curl in, and I know she won’t say more than what she has.

Rachel is in bed when we arrive. Raffe argues with her for a good fifteen minutes. “Go. I need you to go check on Willow for me, otherwise I’ll worry.”

His face falls, and he knows he’s been defeated. “Fine.” He turns to Lexie. “You call me if she so much as sneezes.”

Rachel rolls her eyes, but when his gaze goes back to her, she gives him a warm smile. “Thank you, baby,” she tells him as he kisses her cheek.

We sit down on the chairs beside her bed. She waits until we hear his bike pull away before she speaks. “It’s getting harder and harder to get some alone time,” she laughs, sending her into a coughing fit.

Lexie jumps up and hands her the cup on the nightstand.

“I heard you stayed at Elizabeth’s last night,” she says once she’s cleared her lungs.

“I did. I took your advice.”

She smiles at me. “Good.” Her attention turns to the window as a breeze blows in.

I stand up to peek outside when I hear the windchime. “What a beautiful chime,” I tell her, admiring the iridescent dragonfly hanging from the center of it.

“My niece, Billie Rose, made it for me,” she says, rolling her head to the side to admire it with me.

She reaches out, and I take her hand. “Would it have been easier if you never knew the truth?” she asks, tugging me to sit on her bed beside her.

I shrug. “I think life plays out the way it’s supposed to, so I really can’t answer that question. Easier isn’t always better.”

“But you’re happy to know her?”

“I am. I love my parents, and I wouldn’t change my childhood for anything.

But I knew there was something different about me.

I think it’s because I never once saw myself in anyone.

I think that’s why I went to Paris. I was searching for myself.

I’m sure that sounds crazy, but I’ve always felt a piece of me was missing. ”

Her eyes scan my face before she looks at Lexie. “She’s going to be a big help to you.”

Lexie nods. “I think so too.”

“Help with what?”

Rachel squeezes my hand. “You and Lexie are going to help the club get through my death. They haven’t lost someone in a very long time.

” The windchime plays a little tune, and she turns her head toward the sound.

“It was really tough on them. This club loves with their whole heart, but when it’s time to let go, they have a hard time with that. ”

My heart is breaking for this woman. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Her attention comes back to me. “I feel so much better leaving now that I know Brody has someone looking out for him.”

I smile at her. “I love him so much.”

She chuckles. “You don’t have to convince me. It’s obvious.” Another coughing fit pauses our conversation for another few minutes.

“Can I ask you something?”

I set her cup back on the table. “Sure.”

“Will you marry Brody tomorrow?”

My eyebrows fly off my face. “Tomorrow?”

“The women of this club can pull anything off, and I’ve always dreamed of seeing both of my boys get married.”

I laugh. “You’re making it awfully hard to say no.”

She shrugs. “If you don’t ask for what you want in life, you’ll never get it.”

“Tomorrow, huh?”

The way her fingers tighten around mine tells me she knows she doesn’t have long. This isn’t a joke to her. She wants to see her son’s best friend, the boy she’s watched grow up, get married.

“Okay,” I whisper, trying to hold back my tears. “I’ll call my parents.”

She sits up suddenly with a burst of energy. “Wouldn’t it be fun to give him a surprise wedding?”

“You’re just trying to get even with him for the frogs, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Lexie raises her hand, joining the conversation. “I’m in if it involves pulling one over on Brody.”

“I’ve got the perfect spot,” I tell them.

Rachel pulls her phone to her ear. “Think you can pull off a wedding by tomorrow?” she asks without so much as a “hello.”

I hear Jesse laugh on the other end.

When she gets off the phone, she looks at Lexie and I. “What are you waiting for? Get your asses over to the warehouse. You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Lexie and I jump to our feet.

Shit! I’m getting married tomorrow.