What the hell?
Crossing my arms over my chest, I sit in the spot he planted me. That man is so irritating. By the time Riggs comes out of the bathroom bare-chested and in nothing but a pair of grey sweats that hang low on his hips, I'm still fuming. By the look on his face, I'd say he thinks the situation is amusing. "I like it when you pout, baby."
"I am not pouting," I tell him.
I'm totally pouting.
Riggs shakes his head. I roll my eyes and decide this whole exchange is not worth me losing sleep. I'm exhausted. Lifting my chin, I scoot as close to the edge of the bed as possible, yank back the blanket and turn my back to him as he makes his way to the opposite side. I try not to be too obvious as I take in his lean form, six-pack abs and the trail of hair that starts at his chest and disappears into the waistband of his sweats. I also take in the colorful array of tattoos that cover his whole right arm and shoulder as he makes his way over to the bed. When my eyes work their way up from his chest to his face, he gives me a knowing wink.
Busted.
Snatching one of four pillows on the bed, I place it strategically in the middle. I then pull the blanket up to my shoulders and sigh. A second later the lights are cut off, and I feel a dip in the bed as Riggs climbs in. A breeze washes over my backside as Riggs lifts the blanket, snatches the pillow from between us and tosses it to the floor. Next, a strong arm wraps around my middle, pulling me back against a firm chest. Riggs then pins me down when he places one of his legs over the top of mine. My body goes stiff as I'm momentarily caught off guard. My breath gets lodged in my throat as I try to make heads or tails of my predicament. The last thing I need is to catch feelings or become some easy lay. I don't know what kind of game this man is playing, but I'm not having any of it. Soon enough, I come to my senses and go to remove myself from his hold; only my efforts cause his grip on me to tighten. Realizing he has no plans of letting me go, I give up the fight. When Riggs feels my body lose some of its tension, he slips his palm underneath my shirt and starts to rub feather-light circles on the spot just below my navel; the sensation causes my body to relax fully, and my eyelids grow heavy once again. Before sleep takes me, I feel a pair of warm lips kiss the back of my neck.
Opening my eyes the next morning, I find my face buried in someone's neck. That someone being Riggs. But that's not what's mortifying.
Nope.
What has me wishing a hole would open and swallow me whole is the fact that we are lying chest to chest, my face buried in his neck and my hand is literally in his sweatpants.
On. His. Ass.
Oh my God! I fondled Riggs in his sleep. Maybe I can slip my hand out without waking him. He would never know.
Unfortunately, that is not what happens. After I gingerly remove my hand from his ass and carefully separate my body from his, I go to roll out of the bed when a pair of bright blue eyes and a set of straight white teeth greet me. "You get enough of grabbing my ass, babe?" Riggs teases.
"I wasn't grabbing your ass."
"Yeah, you were. Had your hand down my pants all night."
I lift my hand to sign my reply only I have no response. My lack of words causes him to smile even brighter. "Shut up," I tell him as I climb out of bed and stomp to the bathroom.
I took more time than necessary in the bathroom to avoid Riggs and the whole hand in his pants fiasco. Thankfully once I appeared, he hadn't said any more about it. Now here we are, on the road again with me on the back of his bike. We are on day two of our trek to New Orleans, and we have at least another day before we get there. Riggs said we'll find another hotel tonight. If we leave early enough tomorrow, we should roll up to the clubhouse by nightfall.
Chapter Nine
Riggs
Damn it's good to be home. When we roll up to the clubhouse, the gate opens for us to enter the compound, and Track and Everest are out front ready to greet us. They stride up to me the moment I cut my engine. "Prez."
"You two get the shit I asked for?"
"Yes, sir," Track answers. "Josie and Payton offered to help. We got everything on your list. The girls picked up a few things that were not on the list as well. Some girly shit they said Luna would need. Nova carried it all over to your place yesterday." I don't miss the curious glance Track sends over my shoulder to the woman who is currently on the back of my bike, but he doesn't say a word.
"Everyone here like I asked?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I got somethin' I want to say, and I only want to say it once. Go on in. I'll be there in a minute." With a nod, Track and Everest make their way back inside the clubhouse.
"Catch ya inside, Prez," Fender calls out as he and Kiwi follow behind our prospects.
I turn to Luna, who is still sitting behind me patiently, waiting to see what she should do. Her nervous energy is rolling off her in waves. "Climb off, baby," I instruct her. Once she's off, I follow suit. Luna begins to shuffle from foot to foot as she takes in her new surroundings. It takes a lot for a woman to be shuffled around from state to state and shoved in the hands of a stranger, all while having no choice but to trust them. I have to give it to my girl; she's pretty fucking brave.
Brushing my knuckles across her cheek, I get her attention. "I'm going to take you inside and introduce you to my brothers." Luna visibly swallows as she cuts her eyes over my shoulder to the clubhouse.
"Once I have introduced you to everyone, I'll take you back to my place where you'll be staying with me."
Luna's eyes go big. "You don't live here?"
"No, baby. I have an apartment above a bar I own. I don't live with anyone." I watch Luna's whole body relax with my statement. At least I know her tension was caused by the fact she believed she would be staying here at the clubhouse. No fucking way was that shit happening. My girl will be wherever I am. "Come on," I say, taking her hand. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the fact Luna doesn't resist my constant hand holding. The first couple of times I'd taken her hand she resisted, but now she acts like it's second nature. Never in my life have I wanted to do something so simple as hold a woman's hand. Luna is fucking different. No woman has had this effect on me before. I have no doubt when I walk into the clubhouse with her hand in mine my brothers will take notice.
All chatter halts and all eyes are on us the moment Luna, and I step inside. I cut my eyes to my left to see Wick with his ass propped against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes move from me to Luna then down to our joined hands. I glare at him when the corners of his mouth turn up in a big shit eating grin. He knows the score. "Where the hell is Nova?" I ask seeing he's the only person missing. Just then the door opens behind me and my brother steps through with my niece in tow. "Chill the fuck out. I'm here. I had to pick Piper up from her friend's house."
"Well, if you'd let me drive the car sitting in the garage at home, by myself, you wouldn't have to worry about hauling me around everywhere, Dad," Piper sasses back with an eye roll.
"You know the rules, Piper. Not until you're sixteen. You still have two more months."
"Since when do you care about the rules?"
Shaking my head, I chuckle. They have this same debate every week. "Will you two can it for a minute?"
Piper turns her attention away from her dad and beams. "Hi, Uncle Abel," she says as she steps up to me and hugs my neck.
"How ya doin', sweetheart?"
"Oh, you know me, I'm giving Dad a hard time as usual. Have to keep him on his toes," she whispers so only I can hear then kisses my cheek. Luna snorts. Out of respect, I have signed every word spoken since stepping into the clubhouse. I never want Luna to feel left out of any conversation. My Grandad was the same way with my grandmother. I talked to both Nova and Wick before leaving Montana telling them about Luna, so her being deaf has come as no surprise. The other brothers are watching the exchange with curiosity. I think the little show between Nova and his daughter has gone so far as to help Luna relax even more.
My niece turns to Lun
a and signs. "Hi. I'm Piper."
Luna beams in return. "It's nice to meet you, Piper. I'm Luna."
Piper is not as skilled at ASL as Nova and me because she was just a little girl when my grandmother passed, but I love her more for making an effort toward my girl. Next, Nova steps forward, allowing Luna to get a better look at him, and I chuckle at the shocked expression on her face. There is no missing the fact Nova and I are twins.
"How's it going, sweetheart? Everyone calls me Nova."
Luna gives him a small wave. We turn our attention to the rest of the crowd. I go down the line starting with my best friend. "That guy over there is Wick." I then point to our two prospects who are standing by the bar. "There we have Everest and Track. You, of course, know Kiwi and Fender."
Luna waves to everyone. When I get to the three women standing about fifteen feet to my right, I feel Luna stiffen. "These ladies are Payton, Josie, and Lexi." As expected, Josie and Payton offer warm smiles and say hi. But Lexi stands with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. I make a mental note to keep an eye on her and her attitude. Nova, who is standing next to me, reads my face perfectly then cuts his eyes over to Lexi. He gives me a subtle nod. He too suspects she could be trouble. My brothers know Lexi has a hard-on for me and hasn't accepted the fact that I am not interested.
"I called everyone here for a reason. I wanted to take this opportunity for you all to meet Luna. As most of you already know, Luna is under The Kings' protection. She will also be staying with us; more specifically at my place. Let it be known; I will not tolerate anything less than your utmost respect when it comes to her." I make it a point to look directly at Lexi when I say these words. I then cut my eyes to each one of my men. "When I am not around, I expect you all to watch over her as I would. Also, let it be known, Luna is off limits —" I let my sentence hang. I don't need to elaborate. I haven't officially claimed Luna, because she is not ready for that, but unofficially my brothers know she belongs to me. "I'm taking Luna home to get her settled. I'll be back in an hour. I'm calling church." I cut my eyes to Everest. "Prospect. You're coming with me. When I am not home, it will be your job to watch over Luna. Your ass will stay downstairs at the bar. Nobody is allowed in my place without my approval. Got it?"
"Got it, Prez. You can count on me."
"Alright. Go on ahead. We'll meet you there." I chose Everest to guard Luna because next to Wick he's the biggest motherfucker we got. He's also shown his willingness in recent months to go the distance for the club. Everest knows the task I've given him is a big deal. He fucks up, and his ass is gone.
Pulling up behind the bar, Luna and I climb off my bike, and I lead her up the stairs to my apartment. When I get to the door, I use my cell to punch in the code for the alarm. I don't have a code panel. I don't trust that shit can't be broken into. "Only three people have the code to this door," I tell Luna. "Me, Wick, and Nova. I trust those two men with my life, and so can you. But you don't need to worry because neither one of them will show up here without mine or your approval."
"Okay, Riggs. I trust you," Luna tells me.
Stepping into my apartment, I go about showing her around. "As you can see, it's not much. The bathroom is there," I point to my right. "The kitchen is straight ahead." I gesture behind her. "Bedroom is there." With my apartment being an open floor plan, she can see the one bedroom I have as we stand right next to it.
"I like it," she confesses. "It looks almost like my place back home." A look of sadness crosses her face at the mention of her home. Wanting to wipe that look off her face, I suddenly remember the surprise I have waiting for her.
"Come on; I have something to show you." Luna follows me to the French doors that lead to the balcony that overlooks Bourbon Street. I open the doors; Luna brings her hand up to her mouth and lets out a gasp. I fucking live for those little noises she sometimes allows to escape her mouth. Stepping out onto the balcony, Luna takes in her surprise. Sitting there is a stool, an easel, a shit ton of paints, brushes, along with several blank canvases. Before leaving Polson, I pulled Sofia aside and found out what materials Luna had been using. We had no way of bringing all of her things with us, but I'll be damned if my girl didn't have her passion waiting for her when we got home. I stressed to Track and Everest to spare no expense. Buy the whole fucking store if need be. And by the look on Luna's face, I'd say I did well.
She's taking in all the paints and supplies like a kid in a candy store. What she does next, shocks the hell out of me and nearly simultaneously brings me to my knees. One-minute Luna is standing stock still, and the next she launches herself into my arms and buries her face in my neck. Her fingers thread through the hair on the back of my head as she begins to cry. I feel her tears run down my skin. Like the greedy motherfucker I am, I hold her in my arms for as long as she allows. Too soon for my liking, Luna releases her grip and takes a step back. "I hope those are happy tears, baby."
Luna beams at me with her violet eyes shining. "They are most definitely happy tears. Thank you. I don't know how I could ever repay you. I feel lost without my art, so this gift means more to me than you'll ever know."
I use the pad of my thumb to wipe away her tears. "Your beautiful smile is all the thanks I need, baby." I kiss the top of her head, then each cheek the same moment she releases a shuttered breath. Her lips are calling for me to taste them, but I resist the urge. When I take Luna's mouth for the first time, I want to be one hundred percent sure it's what she wants. "Alright, sweetheart. I have to run to the clubhouse to talk to my men. If you want to take a shower or a bath, I have everything you need in the bathroom. Josie and Payton went shopping for you." I lead Luna to the closet to where her new clothes are hanging. "I had to guess your size, but if something doesn't fit, we'll take it back, or if you don't like what the girls picked out," I explain as Luna sifts through the clothes on the hangers. The girls went all out. I see an assortment of jeans, shorts, summer dresses, t-shirts.
Also folded on the shelf beneath where the clothes are hanging is an array of undergarments. I don't miss the blush that attacks Luna's face when she spots a few silk nighties. We step out of the closet, and I point to the door that leads down to the bar. "This door will take you down to the bar. Everest will be standing guard at the bottom of the stairs whenever I am not up here with you. If you need anything, you go to him. But he is not allowed up here." I take a phone from the inside of my cut. "This is for you. There is only one number in there, and that's mine. I don't care when or where; you need me — you text."
Luna tucks the phone into her back pocket. "Do you think we should contact Detective Brooks? Let her know what's going on and where I am?"
"I don't want you to worry about any of that. I'll take care of everything."
"Okay," Luna says without argument.
I nod and make my way to the back door. "I'll bring supper home. Is there anything specific you're in the mood for?"
"Do you have food here?" she asks.
"Yeah. I had the refrigerator stocked before we arrived."
"Is it okay if I cook us something. I love to cook," Luna tells me, looking shy.
"You won't catch me turning down a home cooked meal, baby. So, if you want to cook, go for it." I kiss the top of her head once more. "I won't be long."
Striding into church, I take my place at the head of the table and slam the gavel bringing the attention of all my men. "You all know why we are here. Jake contacted us needing a favor, and that was to help him out with Luna. In case some of you have missed what went down, Luna got mixed up with a club that goes by Savage Outlaw. They are based out of Arizona. Luna had been the girlfriend of their President, Rex. She ended up seeing some shit she wasn't supposed to, and that led Rex to try and shut her up permanently. The motherfucker beat the hell out of her, then he and his brother Pike dumped her on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Luckily a passerby found her and called 911. When word got back to Rex she survived, the club began gunnin' for her lif
e. Luna had been set up in a safe house, but they soon discovered her whereabouts. That is when the detective working Rex's case set Luna up in Polson at New Hope House. Somehow Savage Outlaw found her there too."
"You think the authorities have a snitch? You know anything about this detective?" these questions coming from Nova.
"Jake said the detective and her partner checked out. But to be safe, we've decided not to tell them where Luna is now."
"How do you plan on handling the authorities back in Arizona?" Wick asks.
"I'm going to place a call to them tomorrow. I plan to be straight up with them. Tell them Luna is no longer their concern. It's not like they can force her to come back. The charges against Rex were dropped. There is no case and I damn sure don't trust the cops to keep my girl safe. Not when her last two locations were breached."
"So, what's the end game here, Prez?" Fender speaks up.
"I'm going to hunt that son of a bitch, Rex, down and put a bullet in him," I declare with venom in my voice.
Wick is the next to jump in. "You know, Prez, the Commander is from Arizona. I remember him saying he still visits his parents out there several times a year. Think we should put a call into him. Maybe he knows something about this club since he's from there. Either that or he's heard something. Doesn't hurt to ask. We need to gather as much intel about the fuckers as we can. Find out exactly what kind of shit they're into. Cross our T's and dot our I's before we go in guns blazin'. I've never heard of Savage Outlaw. We don't know what shit they are into or what connections they may have. I say we take them out but be smart. Make sure we don't suffer any repercussions or gain any unwanted enemies in the process."
Riggs (The Kings of Retribution MC, Louisiana Chapter Book 1) Page 10