Captivate Me (23 page)

The Vipers checked out the two spots up there and reported back that they seemed to be living carefree, moving in and out of the places, and going to the store without another thought. Also, they gave us confirmation on Ransom and the two other assholes. Their carefree style is going to be their biggest mistake.

The Vipers are set up, so we need to get up there to lay out the land for ourselves. I need to locate any traps around the places and extinguish them silently. Pops has made it clear that we do not blow Ransom’s place, which the Vipers tell us is on the north side of Dyersburg. We, or more like he, will take him out personally. Pops wants to know for a fact that the man is dead. I can’t blame him for that.

The thing that tugs at me is the woman lying next to me. I never cared before if I lived or died. Life is life. Death is death. Now, with Bella in my life, I can’t imagine being gone and not getting to share a life with her.

There are so many things that could go wrong with this shit. With one wrong move, we could all be lying next to Diamond in the ground.

I squeeze my woman and pull her sleepy body up against mine so her face is available for me. I touch my lips to hers and start off slow and sweet. She doesn’t reciprocate right away, but when she does, her eyes slowly open. She brushes the sleep away from her quickly, reaching into my hair and kissing me back with everything she has.

She rolls on top of me and spreads her legs so my cock is nestled right between her already wet folds.

“You wet for me?” I ask, and she nods as she kisses me again.

Her kiss is desperate, and it hammers at my heart. It’s like she knows what I’m about to do could get me hurt, that there is a chance I won’t be coming home to her. I don’t like that shit at all. I can’t change it, though. It is what it is.

She rocks her hips against my dick, up and down, as I cup her ass, squeezing hard. While I usually fucking need control in the bedroom, this time, I need her to control it.

“Want you to ride me,” I order.

She lifts her hips, and I slide inside of her. She wraps around me so damn tight. It feels so damn good I could stay here forever.

She breaks away from my lips, laces my fingers with hers, and I bend my elbows, giving her a way to steady herself. She rides me hard, fast, and wild.

Her hair is so fucking sexy, not only from just waking up, but the way she tosses it around, and I can feel it brush my legs.

“Buzz, I’m gonna …” Bella screams as I thrust hard inside of her, letting go of her hands before wrapping my arms around her body.

I piston my hips with everything I have, fucking her so hard my cock hits far inside of her.

I rub her clit hard, needing her to come one more time before I let go. As she does, I push up far and explode into my woman.

Our breaths labored, my cock still twitching, I hold her to me like she’s the most precious thing in the world to me because she is.

I lift up and look her in her eyes. “Love you, Bella.”

Her eyes tear up as she wraps her arms around my neck. “Love you, too, Buzz, with everything I have in me.”

I make love slowly to Shaina. Love. That’s what this is. It’s fast, but it started the first time I laid eyes on her: that connection, that bond. I never thought I had a future. Always living life as it came, I never once thought I would have what Shaina has given me. Why her, I have no clue, but we were meant to cross paths. I hope I’ve done for her what she’s done for me.

As we slowly come down, I wrap Shaina tight in my arms. The thought of not coming back to her eats at my gut, but I push it away. Never cared one way or the other before. Now I care.

“Won’t be back for a while. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” she says softly, yet I hear the tremor in her voice.

“You’re gonna be just fine here. The Clayton boys’ll be here with Derek. And you’ve got Princess and Ma; they won’t let a damn thing happen to any of y’all.”

She stays quiet. I know she’s unsure. It feels fucking fantastic that she trusts me, but since she’s going to be a part of this life, she needs to depend on all of us.

“Babe,” I say, and she looks up at me, tears glistening in her eyes. “It’ll be just fine.”

I hope those words ring true as I kiss her before I have to go.

“Come back to me,” Ma whispers in my ear as I hold her tight.

Not a moment has gone by in my life that I haven’t loved this woman with my heart and soul. She branded me at first sight, and I wouldn’t change a damn thing. My love for her grows more as each day passes. Not only a beautiful woman, but the best fucking mother to my kids. Hell, to this whole club.

“I will,” I vow, knowing in the back of my head that there is always that chance for something to go wrong. The chance that I won’t come home to my wife’s bright smile, and she will live out her days without me. That is my life, the one that was paved for me years ago.

I love this club, love this life, love my woman.

She knows the risks, but she’s strong, and she’ll hold herself straight while I leave, even putting that smile in place. She will show every single one of the ol’ ladies here what it means to be one. She is their model. She is their backbone. She is
my
everything.

“The Clayton boys, Derek, and Dagger will be here.”

“I know.”

I kiss her lips, feeling the slight tremor in hers. This is nothing new for us. As many rides as I have made and the troubles we’ve faced, she doesn’t waver.

A moment later, she kisses me with everything she has, letting me know that she feels this, too. That she loves me just as much as I do her. That I’m her man, her everything.

“Love you,” she says, pulling away then resting her forehead against mine. “Be safe. Keep the boys safe.”

“I will.”

“And I’ll keep everything steady here.” To this, I smile.

“I know you will, babe. Only a couple of days.”

“But this is different,” she says, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. “He wants to kill you. You’re going into this knowing that the red target is on your back.” She blows out a breath, and for the first time in a very long time, a lone tear falls from the corner of her eye.

My strong woman is breaking, and I don’t like that shit one bit.

I wipe it from her face with my thumb. “Baby.”

“Malcolm, I can’t help thinking this is all my fault.” She sucks in a breath.

“Charlotte, no. That fucker set out to do this. All of this is on him. I just wish I would’ve killed his ass back then. Then our children and family wouldn’t have suffered. But as God as my witness, he will pay for what he’s done.”

She nods. “Come back to me.”

“I will.”

When the guys leave, a pang hits my gut. Something’s wrong. Something’s not right. I wish I knew what it is.

We have been vigilant, keeping an eye on our surroundings and even taking watch on a set of computers that Buzz set up in Pops’ office. Each of those screens shows a different section of the clubhouse, inside and out.

The Clayton guys rotate here and really leave us alone for the most part. Derek mans the gate, and Dagger is everywhere but still nowhere near a hundred percent. Hell, maybe not even forty percent better, but we’re making do.

Me, I’m trying to keep some of the ol’ ladies and children entertained.

Princess is driving me nuts. I swear that woman sends me over a wall, but she always has, ever since she came out of me. The thing is, she won’t change for anyone, and I admire that.

I love that I taught my girl how to stand on her own two feet. I love that my girl can take care of herself. I love that she is such an excellent mother to Coop. Not much scares her, but dealing with Coop daily, that is a trip. Of course, I didn’t let her know that, because I’m not that kind of mom. But inside, I want to laugh and tell her, “
Payback is a bitch
.”

She’s strong. She can hack this life. And she’ll teach Coop and whoever else comes along to do the same.

Her pacing the floors back and forth, though, has got to stop.

“Princess!” I bark, and she turns toward me sharply, giving me a look that most would quiver from. She’s my child; that shit doesn’t work on me. “Get over here,” I order, and her brows knit together. I can see her heave in a breath, but she brings her ass over to me.