Page 24

My Prince Wears Leather

M eredith

Grace sat next to me, but her nervous energy was palpable, and it kept my mind racing. First, she sat with her ankles together on the footrest. It didn’t last long before she crossed her legs. That looked uncomfortable, and it didn’t surprise me when she finally let her feet dangle.

“I’m fine, and as soon as his ass crosses that threshold, I’ll be even better.” I tried to ease her anxiety when I wanted to bounce my feet against my footrest, releasing mine.

“I’m keeping you company,” she said, laughing at me.

“I love you, but you’re not helping.” It slipped, but once the words were out in the open, I didn’t take them back. I didn’t pretend like I hadn’t said them. They were out in the open, and I took it as a sign our relationship was healing.

“I can’t remember the last time you’ve said that to me. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” Grace’s voice broke.

“You’re insane.” I didn’t need her to cry on my shoulder. No one had left the main room, and if she even let one tear loose, I’d have the entire club on my ass wondering what I had done.

“Probably.” Grace swiveled the stool so that her knees bumped my side.

I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but I didn’t face her.

There wasn’t any room, and I didn’t want to stand to adjust my stool, but I watched her out of my peripheral vision.

Her strength surprised me when she hugged me from the side.

With one foot wrapped around the bottom footrest, my other foot dangled in mid-air, nearly sending me off the barstool.

“I’m falling,” I told her, but she just held me tighter. “Choking.”

“This is the first time you’ve let me hug you.”

“If I fall off this stool and crack my head open, you’re going to have to hug me on the way to the emergency room.”

“You’re still talking, you’re fine,” she said, her head on my shoulder.

She eased up on her hold, and I sat back up.

“You’ll always be my kid sister, Mer. It won’t matter how many years pass, I’ll always feel some responsibility towards you, but damn.

You’re a force to be reckoned with. I’m so proud. ”

“You know he’s the only one who sees all of me, right? I’m the war, and he’s the peace,” I whispered, not wanting the rest of the club to hear.

“I know.” Grace stood up from the barstool, kissed me on the head like I was a baby. “I’m not the only one who sees it, either.” She winked at me before walking away.

Life moved around me as I waited. Some brothers approached the bar, ordering drinks.

The pool game resumed where they had left off.

There was a dart game starting. Sabre was yelling out, asking if he should order pizza for dinner.

It wasn’t true, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that no one was worried about Grizz but me.

I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by when Pretty plopped his ass on the barstool Grace had vacated. He sat JR against his leg, pinning the baby’s little body between his stomach and his arm. JR was squirrelly and constantly liked to reach for his toes.

“Did Grace send you over here?” I asked, not bothering to turn in his direction.

“Nope, JR and I thought you’d like some company while you wait. We’re not doing anything exciting.” He bounced his leg, and the baby giggled. His little arms waved in the air.

“He’s happy, isn’t he?” I nodded at JR.

“Why wouldn’t he be? He cries, we feed him. He shits, he gets his diaper changed. Little Man missed out on the whole boob feeding thing, but he’ll have plenty of options when he’s older. If it was that easy, I’d live like that, too.”

“Wreck will never change your diaper.”

“I didn’t think you and Grizz rolled that way.” Pretty let his head roll back onto his shoulders, laughing. The baby laughed, feeding off his energy, trying to mimic his uncle.

I opened my mouth to snap a retort, but nothing came out. I closed my lips, taking a deep breath before I tried again, but still no words formed. My discomfort made Pretty laugh harder.

“Wreck’s busy doing his own thing, so I’m doing my thing.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Is that what you really want?” I asked. It was nice hearing someone else’s drama for a change.

“You’re trying to get me to open up. Who are you?

What have you done with Meredith?” He slapped his empty hand against his chest and made a shocked face.

I’d met Pretty a few times before everything went to shit, and while he was stunning, the shadows dancing in his eyes told another story.

I didn’t know what was happening with Wreck, but it kept Pretty up at night.

“I can say something bitchy, if it will make you feel better.”

“Nah, this is kind of nice.” He threw his head back and laughed again. “You’ve had enough heartache for one year, and JR and I saw you sitting here by yourself, looking lonely. We didn’t like it.” JR hit my arm as if he agreed.

“He looks like Matt, doesn’t he?” I whispered. The baby was a brunette, and his hair was growing in curls, but it went beyond that. He had brown eyes, like Grace’s, but their shape resembled Matt’s.

“No, he looks like Grace.” Pretty leaned over like he was telling me a big secret. “If you watch him while he’s shitting his diaper, he looks just like Sabre when he’s frustrated.” We laughed together, and the baby kicked his legs.

The baby’s little fists reached out towards me.

I thought nothing of it as I reached my hands out, preparing to hold JR against me, but when I was close enough to grab him, I stopped.

His little fingers were on top of mine, touching me.

Fear gripped me, and I quickly pulled back out of his reach. “How do you hold him?” I asked.

“With my arms wrapped around him, so he doesn’t fall. If he hits the floor, Sabre’s going to use my head as a basketball.”

I frowned, not sure to how to ask what I really wanted answered.

“I don’t give a fuck what stains my hands as long as my family is safe.” He knocked his free elbow into mine. “You’re a part of my family. I would hope you don’t look at me any differently than I look at you because my hands aren’t clean.”

I leaned forward and placed my elbows on my thighs.

Turning my head back, I took a mental picture of this moment.

JR had no clue what was going on. He was having a good time in his uncle’s arms, trying to eat his toes.

Maybe it was that simple. JR wouldn’t melt if I touched him, and the blood on my hands wouldn’t transfer to his skin.

I was reaching out to take him from Pretty when the front door opened.

My head snapped to the right as I watched Grizz walk into the main room. I couldn’t breathe. My heart pounded, the sound echoing in my ears. I took a deep breath, but no matter how many times I inhaled, my chest was still tight.

“Go get ’im, Tiger,” Pretty whispered.

I jumped from the barstool and took off running until I was close enough to Grizz to fling myself into his arms. He caught me, my momentum forcing him to take several steps back.

When had he ever let me fall? Never. I had always wanted a fairytale, but I had distorted its appearance, blinded by the imperfection.

I’d lost myself for a while, but my knight in shining leather had still never let me fall.

Every insult I had thrown at him, he’d never returned the volley, even when he had every reason to.

He’d never left me in my darkest days. Now, as I was seeing the light, I couldn’t let him believe it was all for nothing.

“I love you,” I said, grabbing his face between my hands, pecking at his lips. “I love you,” I said again, needing him to know they weren’t empty words.

He was a statue, and I wasn’t sure if his heart had stopped. There was a split in his lip, and he looked like he had taken a punch to his nose. Dried droplets of blood still clung to his nostrils. How could someone have done this to him? I couldn’t see straight as love became rage.

“Who did this to you?” I said through gritted teeth, looking for any other injuries.

Pretty had said Grizz needed stitches, so I ran my hands down his chest, until I came across the edge of a bandage.

I should have realized he was shirtless, but my mind wasn’t functioning in rational thoughts.

I was getting small snippets, with mostly panic mixed in.

Grabbing the sides of his club cut, I held them away from his body, staring at the bandage.

“Who did this to you?” As soon as he told me who it was, I was hitting the streets and not coming back until everyone who had made him hurt was gone. I was delusional enough to think I could get this accomplished.

He placed his hands over mine, guiding me back towards his body. “Don’t worry about it. They’ll pay when the time comes. Tell me again.”

“You’re hurt.” I was digging my heels in, stubborn to the core, for him.

“Meredith, you’re ruining the moment. Tell me again.”

My brain fog cleared, and all I focused on was my husband. The man who’d never given up on me. Who saw me for exactly who I was and never tried to change me. “I love you.”

“‘Bout damn time.” Grizz kissed me, sucking my soul through my lips as he bent me backwards.

There was a loud cheer behind us, but neither one of us was paying attention. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips as he brought me to a standing position.

“I was waiting for you to realize that. It’s what’s given me hope all these months. You’ve never tried to leave. If you had, I would have let you go.” He kissed me one more time. “Try it now, and see how far you get. You’re mine, baby.”

I wrapped my arms around his back and let him pull me against his chest. “I love you, but Sabre’s probably waiting his turn to make sure you’re alright.”

“Eh, he can wait.”

“No, I need to learn to share. You’re alive, and that’s all I care about it.

” I pulled away from Grizz, preparing to head back to my barstool, but he held my hand.

I stayed next to him as Sabre moved in, throwing his arm around Grizz.

They whispered to each other, but it was so soft, I couldn’t hear what was being said.

“You have twenty minutes before the pizza gets here, if you want to get cleaned up,” Sabre said.

Grizz said nothing as he led me towards the stairs. He bulldozed through the door of our room, not stopping until he reached into the shower and turned it on. “Strip.”

“You going to devour me?” This was something entirely different. It sent a shiver down my spine as I pulled his sweatshirt over my head.

“I’ve got about seventeen minutes to ruin your pussy for anyone else. Strip.”

I stood there, staring at him. Grizz had said things like that before, but the man staring back at me with such intensity was making me feral. I wasn’t moving fast enough.

“I’d rip these off of you, but they’re your comfort.” He grabbed the bottom of the t-shirt and roughly tugged it over my head. “You’ve got a minute to get your naked ass in that shower, or I’m ripping the leggings.”

I only had a few pairs of leggings, and there was no way I was walking around downstairs, pants-less. My ass was in the shower in under a minute. He wasn’t playing, and I didn’t want to test the boundaries of his patience.

The water rained down on us as he picked me up, pinning me against the shower wall with my legs wrapped around his hips. I felt him grab himself and enter me in one swift stroke. My head fell against the wall, letting out a low moan.

I held on as tight as I could, my nails digging into the back of his neck, grounding us in this moment. Grizz didn’t hold back as he slammed into me repeatedly. Each thrust was hard, breaking me open, so that my love spilled all over him.

He held me tight against him, and I never wanted to experience anything different. I placed my forehead against his. This was my fairytale. I’d die a fortunate woman if I got to spend the rest of my life with this man. Wherever he went, I’d follow with no questions asked.

“I love you,” I said, as my body shattered with my impending orgasm. Grizz wouldn’t let me fall, and even if I did, he’d pick up the pieces, putting them back together.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips, before claiming them in a hard, searing kiss. He growled, the sound vibrating around us as the water rained down. “Mine.”