I looked down at the minnow, fighting to free itself. “Uh, sure, darlin’. He’s just ready to swim, so let’s drop your line in, and you sit right here.”
“Mine.” Hazel made a grab for the fishing pole, nearly going off the dock in the process.
“Whoa, there!” I caught her in my arms and moved her away from her sister. “Not yet, Hazel. Pops is gonna get yours going next. Where’s Thor?”
I turned just in time to see a minnow disappear into his mouth. Hazel began clapping again as the tail slapped against her cousin’s lips angrily.
“Jesus fu—let’s not eat the bait, okay buddy?” I cupped my hand under his chin, and he spit the fish out with a wide grin.
“Looks like you got your hands full here,” Wolverine noted a little too smugly as he walked onto the dock. “Need some help?”
“Like wranglin’ cats,” I muttered as I baited Hazel’s pole and got her situated a few feet from Olivia.
“Alright, Thor—Thor?” I scanned the deck and then the water for his bright orange life vest.
“I twicked you, Pops!” He roared, popping out from under the five-gallon bucket.
I sighed. “You got me, buddy. You ready to fish now?”
“I eat da fish with my mouf like dis!” He began exaggeratedly moving his jaw up and down. “I no need da pole!”
“Okay, buddy. Let’s try the pole to start and then we’ll toss you in if that don’t work.” I baited his hook and settled him next to his cousins before falling into the folding chair next to Wolverine’s.
“Their hair looks like fire under the sun, don’t it?” Wolverine pointed to the twins. “You think that’s Karma? Mikey gettin’ twin girls with red hair like their mama?”
“And they have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers.”
“Always pictured Mikey ending up with three women, just maybe not in this capacity,” Wolverine deadpanned.
I chuckled, watching as Hazel reached over and patted Olivia’s knee.
“Seestew, yook!” She pointed to her pole. “We awe fishing!”
Olivia held her finger to her lips with a smile, loudly whispering, “We awe supposed to be quiet.”
I’d told them that the fish liked things nice and calm, something it seemed they’d promptly ignored. Thor sat holding his pole and making angry faces at the water, even going as far as clenching his teeth and shaking.
“What the hell’s he doin’?”
“Catchin’ fish, old man. Ain’t you aware of the technique? You mind keepin’ an eye on them for a minute? I’m gonna check on my other little one.”
He shook his head and lit up a cigarette. “Last I checked, she was sittin’ in the orchard. You might wanna grab some sunscreen while you’re by the house.”
I looked back at the kids. “I coated them in sunscreen a half-hour ago.”
“Not them. You. Lookin’ a little crispy, Grey.”
“I’ll just throw a shirt on, it’ll be fine.” I waved him off and headed for the orchard. When I found her, I shook my head. She’d gotten into the markers again and was happily drawing on her arms.
“Hey, there’s my girl,” I said softly, trying not to startle her.
She lifted her head and pushed the jet black hair off her face before her green eyes widened. “Pops,” she said solemnly, thinking she was in trouble.
And she was, just not with me.
Her mama could handle that.
“Whatcha doin’, Charlie?” Just saying her name left me with a lump in my throat. When Kate told us that she and Nate had decided to name their baby after Angel, I’d nodded and smiled before falling apart like Thor when he missed his nap.
I brought his body back here, to the place he’d bought for my ma. When we finally worked up the courage to clean out his house, I found a navy blue urn with butterflies on the side. For years I’d wondered where they’d buried her. It turned out, Angel had never really been able to let go.
He’d kept her on the nightstand next to the bed, along with a rare picture of the two of them that I’d completely forgotten I’d taken. It only clicked when I studied the camera angle and realized the photographer was a lot shorter than the two of them.
I kept the old photograph but buried him with her in his arms. Just like he would’ve wanted. They were laid to rest next to a Texas Redbud tree where I could visit anytime I liked.
“Pops,” Charlie said quietly. “Twyin’ decowate my awms.” She traced her fingers across the ink on my skin with her little fingers. “Like you.”
“Is that right, little miss? Who else has decorated arms?”
Charlie mashed her little teeth together with a grin that crinkled her nose. “Daddy!”
I tapped the dimple on her cheek with my index finger. “Yep, and who else?”
She bounced her legs up and down in excitement. “Unca Mike!”
“And?” I could’ve sat out in the orchard with her all day. She reminded me so much of Kate at that age. I’d never get the time back that I lost with her, but I was going to soak up every second with my grand-babies to make up for it.
“Unca Zane!” She threw her hands in the air before happily adding, “And Mommy!”
“Wait, your mama has a tattoo?”
Her eyes sparkled with amusement that she knew something I didn’t. “On hew boob!”
Holy shit.
She pointed to her ribcage. “Wight heew.”
“Is that right?” I asked. “What does it say?”
Charlie shrugged and held her arm out to me. “Decowate… pwease!”
“Got somethin’ else in mind. Wanna get your helmet and go for a ride with Pops?”
She dropped the markers and jumped up in excitement. “I get it. Wait.”
I let her get about ten feet from the house before scooping her up and jogging the rest of the way while she shrieked like a banshee in my arms. Mike looked up at the sound before going back to the smoker with a grin when he realized it wasn’t one of his kids.
“Down!” she demanded. “Cece, save me!”
Celia stood on the porch with her hands on her hips. “Save you? Is mean old Pops getting you?”
“Old?” I cocked my head the side and set Charlie down before stalking toward Celia. “Did you just call me old, princess?”
‘Wun, Cece!” Charlie warned, before taking off through the paddling pool, kicking water over the side.
“I got her.” Dakota jumped up from the picnic table and took off after her niece with a growl.
A hint of a smile played on Celia’s lips as she watched Charlie tear across the yard like an excited puppy. “I’m not scared of him!” she called before walking inside.
As if she was concerned that I wasn’t going to follow, she looked over her shoulder with an arched eyebrow and licked along her top lip. “If I run like that, would you chase me?”
Every part of me hardened at the thought of chasing her through the orchard. “Guess it depends on what you’re wearin’…”
She lifted her chin. “Nothing.”
We were expecting a crowd within hours, but all I could think about was getting inside my wife. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Charlie would just have to wait for her ride.
I looked up at the clock on the wall. “What time’s everyone gettin’ here, princess? Need to fuck you. Hard.”
Her eyes flared with lust, and she popped the top button on her sundress with a wicked grin. “Do you need to take something first?”
“Goddammit. Bedroom. Now.” I swatted her ass as she slipped around me and down the hall. We both froze at the sound of a groan coming from the bathroom.
“You think someone’s sick?” Celia whispered with a frown.
I adjusted myself through my jeans and tapped lightly on the door, listening to the faint sound of running water. “Everything okay?”
When there was no answer, I turned the handle and immediately wished that I hadn’t. My daughter sat on the counter with her legs thrown over Nate’s
shoulders, the back of her head resting against the mirror.
The tattoo I’d been so curious about was Charlie’s name woven in script. I knew because Kate wasn’t wearing a goddamn thing.
“Fuck,” I cursed, slamming the door behind me.
“Daddy?” Kate shrieked, sounding just like her daughter. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Thought you were sick, sweetheart. Obviously, I was wrong. Christ, was I wrong.” I fell back against the wall with a groan before looking over to where Celia was hunched over, shaking with laughter. “The fuck are you laughin’ at? They’re fuckin’ in our bathroom!”
“Because we thought we had a few minutes to ourselves,” Kate grumbled from the other side of the door. “Kinda hard to find time alone with a toddler.”
“Your father and I were just going outside to check on the kids. I assume we’ll be gone for twenty… maybe even thirty minutes.”
I frowned and jerked my thumb toward the bedroom. “I thought we were gonna—”
“Later.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth and walked toward the front door, leaving me with a raging case of blue balls.
“The world’s in a sorry state when a man can’t fuck his wife in his own house,” I grumbled as I followed her outside.
Mikey waved me over to the smoker when I stepped out onto the porch. “Settle this for me, Pops. Hurricanes would be nothing without Killian Reed.”
I looked to Zane for a translation. “The baseball team out of Houston. He thinks that the only reason they’ve done as well as they have is because of Reed; not the organization as a whole. It’s bullshit. You’re just pissed that your Rangers are in a slump.”
I nodded dumbly. “Sure. Okay, well I’m just gonna find Charlie and take her for a—”
“Wait a second. Can you watch this for me, Big Guy?” He pointed toward the smoker.
Zane rolled his eyes. “Because you’ve been so much help. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll make sure we have dinner.”
“That’s why I love you, pumpkin,” Mike crowed, holding his middle finger in the air. He ran a hand through his short hair before asking, “You got a minute to talk? I got something I wanna show you.”
I followed him out to the barn, surprised to see that Olivia was still sitting on the dock with Wolverine, fishing pole in the water. The other two had run back up to the house to splash in the pool.
“Look at your girl.” I pointed to the dock, loving the way his face softened when he looked at his kids.
“Livvy’s the patient one. She’ll sit out there all damn day until she catches something. Mark my words. Gets that from me, obviously.”
“Looks like she’s chatting Wolverine’s ear off about something. She gets that from you too.”
His eyes narrowed, but he grinned. “Yeah, that’s probably right. So…” He dug in the front pocket of his jeans. “Close your eyes.”
I closed them. “You ain’t gonna whip your dick out, are you?”
“Jesus, Pops. What kind of a maniac do you take me for? Just, uh, just let me tuck this back in.” I shook my head, and he began laughing. “Kidding. Open your eyes.”
He held his palm out with a triumphant grin, and I squinted at it before retrieving the glasses from the front pocket of my shirt. I slid them onto my face. “What do you have—”
I gasped when I realized what he was holding. A gold ring with the number thirteen encased within a diamond. A ring I hadn’t seen since the man wearing it had dropped me in the middle of the mountains.
“How did you get it?”
“Me and Zane tracked him down outside of Oklahoma City. Knew you’d been looking for him for a while now, so I handled it.”
I turned the band over in my hand. “It’s done?”
He nodded. “It’s over. Anyone who’s laid a hand on our family is in the ground now. We can move on.”
The old me would’ve been angry that I hadn’t been the one to send him to the Reaper, but I’d wasted too many years seeking revenge. I’d seen where that path led.
Betsy had let the little slights and hurts build up until they consumed her. She’d wasted her life and missed out on so much because she was hellbent on destroying my wife.
Mikey blinked a couple of times and took a shaky breath before continuing. “When I was a kid, you told me something that’s stuck with me.”
“Oh, yeah?” I grinned. “Your old man taught you something?”
“Not a lot, but you got a few things right. No, you told me you’d be my ax, that you’d fight for me. Even when you were at your weakest, you gave the order that saved us all. You fulfilled your promise when I couldn’t take the shot.”
His lip quivered, and he paused, working his jaw back and forth a couple of times before continuing. “Time for me to be your ax now, Pops.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and nodded, letting him pull me into a hug. “I, uh, I got somethin’ for you too.”
“Better not be your dick,” Mikey joked before releasing me and swiping a hand over his face.
I held the sobriety chip out. “Found this a few weeks ago in the back of the old dresser we took from Angel’s house. I was getting ready to sand it down and get some new stain on it when I ran across it. Thought it was fitting since you just hit three years.”
“Love you, Pops,” he gulped before swiping at the tears on his face.
“Love you too, kid.”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “My mascara’s gone to shit. I’m just gonna go freshen up.”
I stayed back in the barn, needing a few minutes to get myself under control. The final string connecting us to the past was severed with Cobra’s death, allowing us to finally move on.
“Thought I might find you in here,” Celia said from the doorway. “Olivia says she’s sitting on that dock until the fish come out. And Thor insisted that you told him that it was okay for him to eat the fish right out of the pond.”
I grinned. “Whatever works for him. What about the other two?”
She stepped closer. “Well, Charlie talked Hazel into visiting her arm decorating shop.”
“Kid’s gonna be a tattoo artist, just you wait. Where’s everyone else?”
Her hands moved up to slip the second button on her dress. “Lauren’s finishing up the deviled eggs, Kate and Nate are presumably still in the bathroom, Dakota was supervising the arm decorating, Mike just passed me headed back to the house, and Zane’s on smoker duty. Did I miss anyone?”
With each name, she’d undone another button before slipping the straps from her shoulders. The dress puddled near her feet, and a growl left my throat. She hadn’t been wearing anything underneath.
“Goddamn, darlin’. You should wear this more often.”
“Yeah?” She did a little twirl before crooking a finger at me. “Come here.”
There was a pile of horse blankets tucked into the corner of the barn. It was just secluded enough that if we stayed quiet, no one would know where we’d gone. Celia lowered herself onto her back and spread her knees, inviting me in.
I dropped a hand to my belt, and her gaze moved lower. “Someone’s fighting to get out of his cage.”
“I can’t imagine why.” I laughed and peeled the denim off before slowly lowering myself to my knees. My body had been through the wringer, and all the physical therapy in the world couldn’t get me back to what it was before, but I was still alive. I was in the arms of my girl.
I lapped at her with my tongue, her body an altar that I never tired of worshiping at. People talked every day of losing the spark after so many years together. They went outside of their marriages to search for it, desperate to recreate the feelings they once had.
It made me think that maybe with all of my wrong turns, I’d done something right by being so fucking gone for the mother of my kids that laying my hands on another woman never crossed my mind.
Celia eventually grew impatient with my mouth and arched her hips. “Please.”
“Who’s in c
harge here?” I asked in a low voice.
She looked up at me with drowsy eyes. “Me.”
“What do you want? All you have to do is say it.”
“I want…” she glanced around before whispering, “I want your cock.”
“I’m sorry, wife. Did you say you wanted somethin’? My hearing just ain’t what it used to be.”
Celia groaned as two bright spots of color appeared on her cheeks. I loved that she still couldn’t say the word without blushing. “I want your cock, husband.”
I nodded and sank into her with a ragged exhale. “So fuckin’ tight.”
“I feel it,” she panted beneath me, forcing her cunt down around me before pulling back. She did it again, finding a rhythm that had her gripping my cock like a vice within seconds.
When she came down, I pulled out and rolled her legs to the side. Celia’s lips parted on a gasp when I drove back into her with a rough thrust.
Her tits bounced, and I ignored the twinge in my shoulder as I moved into a pushup position and sucked one into my mouth. Fingers tangled in my long hair, tethering my mouth to her chest. She went sailing over the edge again with a cross between a moan and a scream.
I clapped a hand over her mouth and thrust deeper, the electric tingling in my spine, making it impossible to hold back. I dragged my cock in and out of her tight walls, sucking against the tender skin on her tits until I was sure there’d be bruises.
Sensing I was close, she reached back and locked her right hand around my thigh, pulling me deeper. I came inside her with a groan, continuing to thrust until my body shuddered violently before collapsing on top of her.
“Jesus, princess,” I murmured, still feeling the shock waves of pleasure. “Hope you weren’t expectin’ me to be useful after that.”
“Mama?” Dakota called out from nearby. “Torch and Lou are here!”
I dropped my forehead to Celia’s, fighting to keep her pinned beneath me, even as she began squirming to move away.
“No, stay here,” I begged like a petulant child.
“Greedy man. Come on, we have guests.”
Reluctantly, I rolled away and got dressed, remembering the ring in the pocket of my jeans. Someday, I’d give it to her and admit that Cobra hadn’t died in the early morning hours of Dakota’s wedding day.
Savior: Silent Phoenix MC Series: Book Five Page 35