Keeping Meg (Devil's Knights #6)

by Winter Travers

  “Oh, is that how that works?” I laughed.

  “With me, it is.”

  “Cyn and I were talking the other day, and she wants to go get a tattoo after the baby comes. I had a couple of ideas of ones I want to get, too.” I parted the front of his open shirt and put my hands on his chest, my fingers tracing over the flames. “I was thinking how you were King, and I saw this really cool crown design when Cyn was looking.”

  “A crown, babe?” He asked, looking down at me.

  His eyes were studying me, and I couldn’t tell if he thought it was a good idea or not. When I had shown Cyn, she thought it was hot and said Lo would probably cream himself when I told him. His reaction was definitely lacking from what she thought he would do. “Um, yeah. It’s just an idea.”

  “It’s your body.” What the hell does that mean? Of course, it’s my body, but he was going to be the one who would have to look at it.

  “But do you think it’s a good idea?”

  “You getting something permanently on your body that represents me is fucking hot. I’ll take you right now to get the damn thing.” His arms tightened around me, and he pressed a kiss to my lips.

  “I told Cyn I would go with her,” I whispered, regretting I had promised her.

  “You can go with her when she gets her’s done, but after the wedding, I’m taking you to get that crown, babe.”

  “You’re rather demanding.”

  “I know you want it now, not five months from now.”

  “Well, yeah,” I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck. He definitely wasn’t wrong. Ever since I had seen the tattoo, it was all I could think about.

  “Where were you thinking about getting it?”

  “Right here,” I whispered, placing my hand over my heart.

  His hand covered mine, and he laced his fingers through my fingers. “I’m taking you the day after the wedding to get it done.”

  “What am I supposed to tell, Cyn?”

  “You can get another one when Cyn goes, I don’t care. All I know is that you are getting that crown over your heart with me sitting right next to you.”

  “Have you always been this demanding?”

  “Only with you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and stepped back, buttoning his shirt. “You got five minutes, babe.”

  I glanced at the alarm clock on the side table and huffed. “You distracted me,” I said, pointing my finger at him. I grabbed my jeans and shimmied them up my legs then pulled the sweater over my head and headed back into the bathroom. After yanking my brush through my hair and swiping on some lip gloss and eyeshadow, I had thirty seconds to throw my clothes on and find some shoes to wear other than my slippers.

  “Tick tock, babe.” Lo was sitting on the end of the bed scrolling through his phone waiting for me by the time I came out of the bathroom. I went straight to the closet digging around for my faux Uggs.

  “I’m on time, or at least I would be if you hadn’t kept bothering me while I was trying to get ready.” I found the boots in the back of the closet and plopped down on my ass. “You’re not allowed to be around me anymore when I get dressed,” I muttered, pulling each boot on. “Alright, let’s go.” I stood up, my hands on my hips. “You owe me at least three drinks, if not four.”

  Lo shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the hallway. “Lo, you’re gonna pull my arm out of the socket,” I whined as I tried to keep up with his pace.

  “I made a bet with Gambler, and we’re about to lose it,” he mumbled.

  We came around the corner, and I saw Gambler standing by the bar, looking down the hallway a smug look on his face. “Oh Lord, Lo. What the hell did you go and bet against Gambler for?”

  “He said Gwen would be ready before you. I told him he was full of shit.”

  Gwen was sitting next to Gambler the same smug look on her face. How in the hell did Gwen get ready before me? She was the one that we were always waiting on. “I can’t believe you bet against him. You know he only bets if he knows he’ll win.”

  “I thought I had a shot,” he whispered.

  “I’m ready for my free steak dinner,” Gambler said rubbing his stomach. “Are you, doll?”

  “Hmm, I think I want lobster.”

  Wait, what? That was what Lo had bet? That loser had to buy dinner? I was totally fine with losing this bet because I had already planned on buying dinner for everyone. “Seeing as we’re going to The Den, your choices are limited to burgers, chicken, and fish.”

  “That’s bullshit. How the hell am I supposed to order the most expensive thing on the menu then?” Gambler scoffed.

  “And I already planned on paying for your meal. You wasted that bet, Gambler,” I laughed, grabbing my coat off the back of the stool I was sitting in before.

  “Son of a bitch.” Gambler threw back the last of his drink and slammed his empty bottle on the bar.

  “We all ready to go?” Lo asked looking around. There were over twenty of us heading over there, plus Jackie and her husband meeting us there.

  Lo led the way out the front door, and I stopped in my tracks when I saw the big, fat snowflakes falling from the sky. “It’s snowing!” I shouted, holding my arms out. It had been such a mild winter that any flake of snow that floated down from the sky made me as happy as a nun doing squats in a cucumber patch.

  “Fuck yeah,” Cyn chimed in.

  Everyone filed out of the clubhouse each surprised to see it snowing.

  I looked around, watching everyone act like kids in the snow, Cyn and Gwen each sticking their tongues out catching the flakes while Hammer and Edge tried to collect snow off the ground and make snowballs. Lo was standing by my truck, leaning against the door, and I smiled.

  This night couldn’t get any better.

  ________

  Chapter 22

  Lo

  “I bet you a six pack that I can get that bartender to go home with me tonight,” Hammer mumbled to Gambler.

  Oh fuck, here we go. The beer was flowing good, and everyone was having a good time, Hammer included. “Bullshit. That chick won’t give you the time of day other than to take your money.”

  “That’s it,” Hammer boomed, standing up and pushing his chair back. “You’re gonna fucking lose, Gambler.”

  Hammer stumbled to the bar, knocking into Marley and Troy on the way but managed to make it without falling over. He leaned against the bar and waited for the bartender to come over. Now, it isn’t that Hammer isn’t a good looking guy at all, the problem came in when he opened his mouth. And, there was one other problem he hadn’t identified before making the bet with Gambler.

  “I’m assuming you saw the big ol’ rock on her left hand?” I drawled, peeling the label off of my beer bottle.

  “Spotted it the second I saw Hammer eyeing her up. I’ve been waiting for him to make his move.”

  “I think we’re going to get going,” Gwen said, sliding up next to Gambler. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

  “One sec, doll. First, we need to watch Hammer get his balls handed to him.”

  We couldn’t hear what he was saying, but from the grimace on the bartender's face, we could tell that Hammer was not making the impression he thought he would.

  “What the hell is he doing? Does he not see the huge rock on her finger? She could land planes with that thing,” Gwen asked.

  It was like a car crash. We knew we shouldn’t watch, but we couldn’t rip our eyes away.

  “Here it comes,” Gambler whispered.

  The bartender reached under the bar, grabbing the water gun and sprayed Hammer right in the face. “Looks like I’ve got a six pack to go in the fridge,” Gambler laughed, slapping the table.

  “What on earth is Hammer doing?” Meg asked. She sat on the stool next to me, resting her feet on the bottom rung of my stool.

  “Jackass is as bad as Turtle.” I shook my head and
drained the last of my beer. Hammer wiped his face off and walked over to the pool table, trying to act like he hadn’t just been sprayed with water by the hot bartender.

  “We’re gonna go, hun. Cyn is fading fast, and I’m getting a headache.” Meg’s face was flushed, and she looked like she was ready to fall asleep.

  “You ok, babe?” I asked, reaching out and brushing her hair behind her ear.

  “Yeah. Nothing a couple of Tylenol and a soft bed won’t fix.” She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. Even in a crowded bar surrounded by all our friends, all I saw was Meg.

  I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

  I stood up, tossing a fifty down on the table and grabbed Meg’s hand, pulling her through the sea of people and out the front door.

  The door shut behind us, and I pushed her up against the wall of the building. “I seem to remember being in this same position eight months ago,” she purred wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Yeah, except the difference now is I don’t have to talk you into kissing me. I’ve finally gotten you right where I’ve wanted you the whole time.” I caged her in with my arms on either side of her head. “Best decision I ever made was following you up to that bar.”

  “I have to agree with you on that. Who would have thought we would be here now the night before our wedding, standing outside a bar in the snow together?”

  “I knew you were mine that first day I saw you at the store, Meg. It just took you a little bit of convincing to see things the way I do.”

  “Hmm, you just intimidated the hell out of me,” she laughed. “Who would have thought the most handsome man I’d ever laid my eyes on would end up loving me? You were too good to be true, Lo. You still are.” She stood on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to my lips. My hands went to her head, threading my fingers through her hair and deepened the kiss. Taking what she was always willing to give.

  “I can’t believe you are going to be my wife tomorrow.”

  “Technically it’s today,” she whispered against my lips.

  “Alright, lovebirds, time to break it the fuck up. We’ve still got a bachelor party to throw back at the clubhouse,” Demon ordered, walking out of the bar.

  It was after fucking midnight. I had no idea what the hell Demon thought we were going to do once we got back to the clubhouse. All I wanted to do was fall into bed and not wake up until it was time to marry Meg.

  Meg wrapped her arms around my waist, and I felt her shivering. “Where’s your coat, babe?”

  “Right here,” Jackie said, stumbling out of the bar holding onto Guy’s arm. This was only the fourth time that I had spent time with Jackie, but I could definitely tell the family resemblance between her and Meg. They were both nuts, but you could tell they loved big. She draped the coat over Meg’s shoulders and leaned into Guy, her husband. “Guy and I are going to head home. Jax has his girlfriend over, and Nel is over at her boyfriends, and we have to pick her up on the way home. I swear, they go off to college, and I’m still taking care of them. We’ll be at the clubhouse around noon tomorrow.” Jackie hugged, kissed and waved goodbye to everyone then headed out.

  “You and your sister look nothing alike, babe, but the minute she opens her mouth, I know she’s related to you.”

  “She sure is something else,” Meg laughed.

  “I’m cold, and I need a taco,” Cyn whined.

  “I’m taking her to the car. Hurry the hell up so she doesn’t get cold,” Rigid said as he picked her up and carried her to Gwen’s car.

  “Looks like you have a bachelor party to get to, and I need to get tacos and go to bed.”

  I pressed a kiss to her lips, my hands sliding around her waist and squeezed her ass. “Be careful. Edge is going to follow you guys until you get to Ethel’s, OK?” Things were quiet on the Assassins front, and it was worrying the hell out of me. Gravel was going to be at Ethel’s to watch the girls tonight, and I knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to Meg or the girls, but I still worried. The second I stopped worrying would be the time that Big A made his move “Behave,” I whispered, squeezing her ass.

  “I think I should be the one saying that to you. Lord knows what Gambler has planned for the rest of the night for you.”

  “The only plans I have are going to bed and sleeping. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “OK,” she whispered. “I love you. Make sure you’re waiting for me at the end of the altar.”

  “No other place I’d rather be, babe.” She closed her eyes, my words sinking in and she pulled out of my arms and walked over to Gwen’s car. She waved over the roof of the car at me then slipped into the backseat.

  “Alright, fuckers. Say goodbye to your women, you pussywhipped assholes, and let’s get back to the clubhouse,” Demon said, rubbing his hands together. I had no idea what the hell Demon had up his sleeve, but I didn’t think I wanted to know.

  Gwen and Marley ripped themselves out of Gambler and Troy’s arms and headed to her car.

  “You ready to be married this time tomorrow?” Troy asked.

  I glanced around at Troy, Gambler, Demon, Rigid, and Hammer. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  “Well, fuck yeah,” Troy laughed.

  “I’m gonna grab the rest of the guys and then we can head back,” Demon grumbled walking back into the bar.

  “What the hell crawled up his ass? He not like Meg or something?” Gambler asked pulling a cigarette out of his pack.

  “Naw, I think he’s kind of like Slider right now. He knows the club is changing, and he doesn't know if he likes it. Slider bitches at least once a day about the fact that there aren’t many parties at the clubhouse anymore. Fuckers will get used to it,” Rigid replied.

  I could understand where Demon and Slider were coming from, but it wasn’t going to change the fact that we were all getting ol’ ladies. The day would come when they will find someone like I did Meg. Although, Lord knew when that day was going to come for Demon. I knew he got burned bad in the past and didn’t trust a woman as far as he could throw her. Now Slider, well, he just needed to get his head out of his ass and stop treating every woman like she was only good for one thing.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Demon shouted when he walked back out of the door.

  Fuck me, I was ready for this night to be over.

  ________

  Chapter 23

  Meg

  “Ugh, I think that last bean burrito was a bad idea,” Cyn moaned as she slipped into bed.

  We had gotten back to Ethel’s over an hour ago, and we were just going to bed. Cyn had decided to order half of the menu at Taco Bell and had an impromptu picnic in the living room. There was no way that she was going to be able to eat all of the food she had ordered so of course Gwen, Marley and I had to help her eat everything.

  “I would probably say eating a bean burrito at two o’clock in the morning is never a good idea,” I laughed, turning off the light. Marley and Gwen were sleeping out in the living room on the sofa sleeper while Cyn and I were camping out in the guest room.

  Not even two minutes after sliding into bed, Cyn was snoring, and I knew it was going to be awhile until I fell asleep.

  I grabbed my phone and pulled up Lo’s number and sent him a text. If I was going to be awake, I was going to make him talk to me.

  I miss you. Annnnd Cyn is snoring like a chainsaw. I have no idea how Rigid sleeps with her every night. It was the damn truth. Seriously.

  It only took a minute before he answered. Miss you, too. Rigid probably falls asleep before her, so he doesn’t have to listen to it.

  Smart man. I texted back.

  Headed to bed?

  Yeah. What are you up to? If he mentioned anything about strippers, I was going to rip Demon’s balls off. I found it rather fishy how badly Demon was pushing us out the door.

  Poker. Demon’s big surprise was a
couple of members from my old chapter coming up for the wedding.

  Friends? Guy friends? I was possessive. I knew it.

  Yes, babe. I’m sure he was shaking his head as he typed that.

  I miss you. I was turning sappy. My sappiness also had to do with all the old fashions I drank tonight.

  Miss you, too. I’ve just been dealt in. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be the guy with eyes only for you.

  And that was why I loved this man so much. I love you. Don’t stay up too late. I’ll be the one in the white dress. ;)

  Can’t wait.

  I set my phone on the table next to the bed and closed my eyes. Cyn’s snoring was grating on my nerves, and I elbowed her in the side, and she rolled over and thankfully the snoring stopped.

  My phone dinged and lit up. I grabbed, scrambling to see what Lo had texted. Dream of me.

  My heart melted at his words and I set the phone back down.

  I fell asleep, my thoughts of Lo and the beautiful life we were going to build together.

  I dreamt about tacos.

  Dammit.

  ________

  Chapter 24

  Meg

  “Coffee. Need coffee,” I moaned as I walked into Gwen’s shop. I had barely slept last night, thanks to Cyn’s God awful snoring. It was a work of God that Rigid was able to get any sleep with Cyn in his bed.

  “The coffee maker broke last week, and I haven’t gotten a new one yet,” Gwen called from the back.

  I pushed my sunglasses on the top of my head and closed my eyes. “Please tell me she did not just say that.”

  “I’ll run to the cafe down the street. What do you want?” Marley asked, grabbing her purse from under the front desk.

  “Three large black coffees.”

  “Don’t order for me. I can’t have caffeine.” Cyn plopped down on one of the chairs in the waiting area and rubbed her belly. “Rigid freaked out even when I was drinking decaf. The man is going to drive me insane before I even have the baby.”