Page 31 of Wild Side (Vicious Reapers MC #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY

ZADIE

The motel room is cleared out. My suitcase is packed and in the back seat of Chase’s pickup truck. The girl at the front desk was more than happy to have a conversation with Chase about the room.

A little too happy for my taste, but I didn’t say anything, mainly because she can be as happy as she wants to have a conversation. This man just told me he’s never been so happy in his whole life.

I’m literally floating.

When we get back into the pickup, he thankfully begins driving toward downtown, where I know the pastries are located. I’m that kind of hungry where I’m already past being starving and moving on to the next thing, which I don’t want to know what it feels like.

I need food.

Stat.

Beyond stat.

My stomach makes a noise, and I place my hand against my belly. Chase turns his head, his eyes finding mine for a brief moment. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” I confess.

He smirks before he shifts his attention back to the windshield and continues driving down the cute little main street. He pulls into a parking spot and shifts the pickup truck into Park, but doesn’t make a move to turn the engine off yet.

Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I think about swinging the door open and running into the bakery, but I don’t, at least not yet. The way he’s looking at me, I wonder if I really even need food. I am now growing hungry for something else.

“I know you probably have some questions—”

Holding up my hand, I give him a small smile.

“Ice told me that Razor betrayed the club in some way. I don’t know much about the club or the dynamics of your world here, but I do know that’s a big deal.

You don’t have to explain anything to me if you don’t want to. But if you do, I’m here to listen.”

Chase’s fingers curl around my wrist as he holds me there for a moment. Then he shifts forward, and I think he’s going to kiss my lips, but he doesn’t. He turns his head to the side, placing his lips against my palm.

“We’ll talk, honey. But not right now,” he murmurs against my palm before he shifts his attention back to me. “We have food to get and a few houses to look at.”

“Okay,” I exhale.

We climb out of the pickup, and I look back over my shoulder, wishing it were the Jeep. That was fun as hell to drive around the little that I did. Chase presses his palm against the small of my back as he guides me into the bakery.

The moment the sweet scents of baking hit my nose, my stomach doesn’t just clench, it almost rolls. It’s so intense that my waist bends slightly at the sensation. I take a and let it out slowly, trying to calm myself down.

“Zadie,” two voices cry out.

When I lift my eyes, I am met not just with Lainey, but also with Dakota’s smiling face. “Oh, this girl needs something to eat immediately,” Dakota cries out.

I watch as she bends slightly and takes something out of the case. Without a single word, she rushes toward me, shoving a blueberry muffin against my chest. I take it, my eyes widening.

“It’s an emergency snack. You can get your actual order in a minute,” she says.

I almost laugh, but I’m too hungry to think about doing anything other than shoving this muffin in my face. So, I do just that. I open my mouth and take a huge bite, closing my eyes as the sweet dough touches my taste buds.

Heaven.

I ignore Chase’s chuckles, mainly because I am just that damn hungry. I put off eating for too long, and as soon as I’m halfway into the second half of the muffin, when the first half hits my stomach, I’m slammed with a wave of nausea.

Pulling the muffin slightly away from my mouth, I blink a few times, then lift my gaze to meet Lainey and Dakota’s. Lainey is smiling, but Dakota’s gaze is sharp and focused on me. She narrows her eyes slightly, then dips her chin, her gaze never leaving mine.

“You okay?” she asks.

I nod slowly, moving my head up and down about three times as I take a few cleansing breaths. “I think I am,” I whisper. “Maybe.”

Only then does Dakota smile. “You’ll be okay. You waited too long to eat,” she says before she shifts her gaze to Chase. “Why did you let her wait so long to eat?” she snaps.

Chase dips his chin, his gaze flicking down to his boots before he lifts it back up to meet hers.

He’s being scolded, and he knows it.

He moves toward the counter and says something in a low voice that I can’t make out. Then he takes a step backward, and I watch as Dakota rolls her eyes to the ceiling, but Lainey’s eyes flick to meet mine, and she gives me a huge smile.

“Okay, you’re forgiven,” she murmurs.

A few moments later, I understand exactly why she forgives him as I watch both her and Lainey filling up separate canary-yellow boxes. Twelve each. Twelve cupcakes and twelve assorted muffins.

I turn my head, and my eyes slide up to meet Chase’s. His gaze meets mine, but before I can say anything, he dips his chin slightly, his lips touching mine before he speaks. “I feel like a shitbag. I hope this somewhat makes up for it, honey.”

“Only slightly,” I whisper against his mouth.

“Slightly?” he asks, and if I weren’t so close to him, I imagine I would see his brows lift in surprise.

“A few orgasms later will seal the making up.”

I hear his laughter, then he presses his lips to mine in a firm kiss before he lifts his head.

I watch as he pays Lainey for the two dozen bakery treats.

I’m not sure if I should eat them all, but I already know I’m going to, and I’ll probably regret it when I’m the size of a whole house before this baby is born.

Today, I don’t care.

That will be tomorrow’s problem.

MAVERICK

The real estate agent is already there. I look up at the house and tilt my head to the side, taking it all in.

I didn’t have many requirements for her when I asked about finding a place to rent.

There is no way I could be picky. Not only did we have to find a place that would accept cash and zero fucking background check, along with zero fucking paystubs, but we had to do that within Thunder Rock, which, let’s be fair, is not a thriving metropolis.

“This is nice,” Zadie murmurs from beside me.

She’s just finished two muffins and a cupcake. Now she’s drinking a bottle of water, her gaze focused straight ahead on the house in front of us. Shifting my own attention forward, I look at the place again.

It’s not nice.

It looks shitty.

I don’t say that, though. Instead, I open the pickup truck door and climb out.

Walking over to the passenger side, I open the door for Zadie, then hold out my hand for hers.

She turns around to place the almost two dozen treats on the back seat, then she shifts to face me and throws her legs over the side of the seat before she slips her hand in mine.

Curling my fingers around hers, I gently tug her behind me as I walk toward the agent.

“Hey, I’m Nova.” She delivers a little wave with her greeting.

I introduce myself, and Zadie introduces herself as well. Nova opens the door and walks inside, stepping to the side to let us through.

As she talks about the house, the amenities, which are essentially trash and water only, I look around and know without a shadow of a goddamn doubt that this place is not for us. Not only is it old, but it’s musty and dingy, too.

I know it’s a rental and is nicer than my little room at the clubhouse, but still, I have to think about the baby coming.

“Are they all like this?” I lift my hand to motion around the room.

Nova’s lips curve up into a smile at the same time Zadie gasps, likely upset that I said something. But this is old and dusty, definitely musty. I can make it work, I can have it cleaned, but at the same time, if there’s something better, I want that instead.

“No, the next one is a new build. The people who built it were going to use it as a vacation house. They said a vacation rental would be okay, but they’re hoping to find someone to lease it.”

“And they’re good with my situation?” I ask.

Nova dips her chin and smirks. “They’re good with it.”

“Then let’s check it out.”

A few minutes later, we’re about a mile down the road and sitting in front of a small single-story home. There is a swing on the small porch, along with a rocking chair. And there is a front yard with a landscaped flower bed.

“I wanted to save this one for last, but honestly, I think it’s exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s a little on the smaller side, only twelve hundred square feet, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They had planned on using it as a vacation home, then decided it would serve better as an investment property.

But the big surprise, not only is everything brand-new, but it’s also fully furnished. ”

Sold.

She doesn’t even have to open the door. I know this is where I need to be. But she opens the door anyway, and I watch as Zadie walks through. I hear her gasp before I follow behind her.

There, in the middle of the cozy living room, is my woman. She’s holding her hands up to her face, covering her mouth. Her wide eyes take in the space before they find mine. She wants it. No… Zadie needs this.

“C’mon,” Nova says. “I’ll show you around.”

I watch as the two women move down the hallway. My eyes only move when Zadie is no longer in view. I move to the kitchen and walk around, opening cabinets, and see that they’re full of cooking items. It feels almost too good to be true, like this was meant for us.

Like this is our time.

And I know deep in my heart…

That is exactly what it is.

This is our time.

When they return to the living room, I flick my attention to Nova over the small kitchen bar, my lips curved up into a grin before I ask a very serious question. The most serious question I have for the day.

“When can we move in?”

“Tomorrow.”