Over the next two hours, Otter showed me several escapes, how to break someone’s nose with both my palm and elbow, and three ways to ensure a man could never father a child again. At the end of it, I was an exhausted, sweaty, twisted up mess, laying in the middle of the floor.
Otter, on the other hand, looked as though he was just getting warmed up. He’d barely broken a sweat and his heart rate seemed as steady as a dance track.
“I hate…how…in shape…you are,” I said, panting for breath.
“Is that so?” he asked, leaning over me and taking my hand, running it over his chiseled abs.
“Okay, maybe not. But I hate how out of shape I am.”
“Looks like your cardio needs a little work, but baby, you are far from out of shape.”
The way Otter said this made me want to climb him like a tree and swing from his big branch, but I barely had the strength left to blink.
He hovered above me, forming a push-up stance, then began to lower himself toward me, kissing me as he reached me.
I grinned, lifting my rubbery arms to stroke his cheeks as he continued to do his pushups over me, kissing me as he went.
And it went on for a while. In the end, I received one hundred kisses and he only stopped because I slid my hand under the waistband of his shorts and decided a different kind of workout was required.
* * *
“The seller countered,” Otter said, peeking his face into the shower.
I groaned. “How bad?”
“Meeting in the middle with no contingency.”
“I can’t afford the house if I don’t sell my condo, Otter.”
“Baby, you can.”
I dropped my head back in frustration, got a face full of water and coughed as I tried to catch my breath. Once I did, I focused on Otter again who was obviously trying not to laugh.
“Suck it,” I growled, and he lost his hold on his mirth. “Let me dry off and we can finish this futile conversation.”
He grinned, closing the shower curtain with a thwap and I turned off the water and climbed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around myself and walking into the bedroom.
“If I don’t sell my condo, I can’t afford the house,” I said, continuing our conversation as I grabbed clothes from his dresser.
“What if you don’t sell the condo?” he countered. “Rent it out.”
“Are you high?” I breathed out, shimmying on a pair of panties. “How the hell am I going to afford that?”
“Baby, I did the numbers. You can clear your mortgage and get an extra five-hundred dollars a month, which you can save or put toward the mortgage on the house.”
“Five hundred? Really.”
“Yeah.”
“So, I should save the extra in case I need to make repairs, but regardless, honey, I need twenty-five percent down… which I don’t have unless I sell my condo.”
“But I do,” he said from his place on the edge of the bed.
I crossed my arms and studied him. “Is there anything I can say or do to get you off this whole idea of moving in together?”
“Nope,” he said, tugging on my towel, which in turn tugged me to him.
“Easy,” I breathed out as I cupped his face. “How is this going to work?”
“We’re gonna sign a contract, then we’re gonna move into our new place and live happily ever after.”
I rolled my eyes. “What if it all goes tits up?”
“It won’t.” He grinned. “We’ll get Levi to draw up a contract that protects your money, baby.”
“Who’s Levi?”
“Parker’s brother. He’s the club’s attorney.”
“Conflict of interest,” I pointed out.
“Then you can find someone you trust.”
I wove my fingers into his hair. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Well, no. Still don’t have an answer to my proposal.”
I gripped his scalp. “Which proposal?”
He smacked my butt and raised an eyebrow. “Do you need a ring?”
I tugged on his beard. “This has never been about a ring, Easy.”
“I know, baby, but if you want a traditional proposal, I’ll give it to you.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. “I’ll give you anything.”
I smiled, leaning down to kiss him. “I love you.”
“Love you too, baby.”
“Enough to spend the rest of your life with me?”
He grinned. “The rest of our lives? Fuck, yeah.”
I kissed his nose. “We’re gonna go together, Notebook style.”
“I have no clue what that means, but, sure.”
“You’ve never seen the Notebook?”
“Do I have a vagina?”
“I will marry you, on one condition,” I said.
“You already agreed. No takebacks.”
“One condition,” I repeated, tugging on his beard again.
“What?”
“You watch the Notebook with me.” I smoothed my hand over his beard. “In our new house, we open a bottle of wine, pop some popcorn, and cry like babies.”
“Beer and popcorn.”
“You can have beer, I’ll have wine.”
“Okay,” he said, “But only if you’ll watch Point Break with me.”
“Is that Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze?” I asked, pouring on the breathiness of my voice.
“Yeah.”
I grinned, leaning down to kiss him. “Oh, hell, yes, I’ll watch Point Break with you.”
“Then let’s sign the paperwork and buy that house.”
I kissed him again. “Okay.”
Otter
A LITTLE OVER two weeks later, Shiloh and I were in escrow, our inspections had all been done and passed, we’d gotten bids and timelines on gutting the kitchen from Doom’s dad, and we were just waiting on the loan to fund so that we could get the keys.
For the moment, we were living at my place since Shiloh refused to go back to hers. However, she didn’t want to move anything out until we were sure we’d get the house.
“Baby, it’s done. We’ll get the keys in just over a week or two.”
“Unless it falls through.”
“It’s not gonna fall through.” I pulled her back into bed when she tried to escape. “We need to go through your place and figure out what you want to keep and what you want to throw out.”
“I don’t want to go back there.”
“Then let the recruits pack everything up.”
“They won’t know what to pack.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to lose my shit. “Shiloh, I’m tryin’ here, but you’re just bein’ ornery.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“Come on, honey, what’s goin’ on?” I asked, pulling her across my chest. “We just had the best sex to date, you’re naked in my bed, we just bought a house together. It’s all coming together.”
“I feel like the other shoe’s going to drop,” she whispered, wrapping her arm around my waist.
“It’s not. We’re good.”
“What if you’re wrong?” she challenged.
“Then we’ll figure it out.”
She huffed, trying to push up, but I held her tight. She’d been irritable for a couple of days and I couldn’t seem to figure out why.
“You on the rag?” I asked, and realized immediately that that was the wrong thing to say at this juncture. She slid her hand to my chest and gave me the titty twist from hell, causing me to rear off the bed. “Jesus fucking Christ! What the fuck!”
She sat up and scowled. “Just because I’m worried about something does not mean I’m on my period. God! You’re such a Neanderthal.”
Storming into the bathroom, she slammed the door and I heard the lock click. Before I could follow her, however, my phone buzzed on the nightstand and there was a 9-1-1 text from Doc.
“Fuck,” I hissed, snagging the phone off the table and calling him.
“Need you at the club.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, brother. Hit a snag with the homicide.”
“Fuck me. Did Jordy and Tuck skip out on protective custody?”
Taxi had set Jordy and Tuck up in some safe house and they were on lockdown until all this shit was resolved.
“No. Can’t talk right now, just need you here,” Doc said.
“Right,” I breathed out, and it was not lost on me that this might just be the other shoe. “Give me twenty.”
“Thanks.”
I hung up and dragged my hands down my face. “Babe?” I called through the bathroom door. “I need to head to the club.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.” I dropped my forehead to the door and sighed. “I’m going to have Shadow come hang with you, okay?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Yeah, baby, you always have a choice. Would you rather I have Stump here?”
“No one, I’d rather have no one here.”
“Baby, open the door,” I demanded gently.
“I’m in the middle of something.”
“Fuck this,” I hissed, reaching to the ledge of the doorframe and grabbing the key from it. I jimmied the lock until it clicked, then pushed open the door.
“Hey!” Shiloh snapped from her place at the sink and I leaned against the doorframe.
“I have to go, baby, and I’m not leavin’ here until this is resolved.”
She frowned at me in the mirror. “Well, you’re gonna be stuck here for nine months, then.”
“What?”
She turned to face me, a white stick in her hand. “I’m pregnant,” she said, bursting into tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Baby, why are you apologizing?” I asked, pulling her into my arms.
“Because I’m a nurse. I know how to prevent pregnancy, but with all the stress, I forgot a couple of pills.”
“A couple?”
“A week,” she corrected and cried.
I chuckled, holding her tighter. “I’m so fuckin’ glad you forgot.”
“I know, it was really irresp—wait, what?”
I grinned as she stared up at me in disbelief.
“Have you been drinking?” she asked.
“At nine o’clock in the morning?”
“Why are you so calm?”
“Because I tend to be happy when I hear good news.” I stroked her cheek.
“Good news? How is this good news? We’re not even married.”
“Yeah, but we will be.” I frowned. “Don’t you want this?”
“I want it more than I could have imagined,” she whispered.
She looked so pathetic, I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her. Her lips were soft from her tears and it quickly turned heated.
“Fuck,” I hissed, breaking the kiss even as I kept her close. “I have to go.”
She dropped her head to my chest. “Are you really okay with this?”
“Baby, I’m so fuckin’ okay with this, you have no idea.” I lifted her chin. “We’ll do somethin’ special to celebrate later, okay? I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Not this time, honey, but I promise I’ll be back before dinner. Why don’t you make a reservation at the Chart House? We’ll use Beau’s gift card.”
She licked her lips and nodded. “That actually sounds really nice.”
I kissed her again. “Shadow’s probably close, but I’ll wait ’til he gets here.”
“Okay.”
“You gotta let me go so I can get dressed, Loh.”
“You can’t dress with me hanging off you like a spider monkey?” she challenged.
I chuckled. “I could try.”
She tugged on my beard. “Thanks, Easy.”
“For what?”
“Just being you.” She smiled and I found myself relaxing. “I’m sorry about the massive titty twist.”
I rubbed my nipple. “I’m beginning to empathize with your brother.”
“That was half the force I use on Beau.”
“Fuck me,” I breathed out dramatically. “I really empathize with him now.”
She grinned, kissing my nipple, then the other. “Sorry, honey.”
“Okay, baby, you need to quit or I’m never gonna leave.”
“Why would that be a problem?”
I kissed her again. “For a spider monkey, you’re kind of evil.”
“Newsflash. Spider monkeys are evil.”
“Stop being cute,” I ordered, walking away before I wouldn’t be able to, and grabbing a T-shirt.
“Are you doing something dangerous?” she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“No,” I said, pulling on jeans. It was only a partial fib, since I was pretty sure I wasn’t walkin’ into some shit show, but there was no way in hell I was going to tell my pregnant woman anything other than there was nothing to worry about.
“Then why can’t I come?”
“Because Doc’s got somethin’ happenin’ and there’s no point in you going, Loh. He probably has a question about the books.”
“He would have called you if he had a question about the books.”
The doorbell rang, saving me from further questions.
I cupped her face. “I won’t be long.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
I grinned, kissing her quickly, then I walked out the door.
* * *
Shiloh
Shadow arrived just as I was certain I could get Otter back into bed. However, my evil spider monkey would have to be shoved back in its cage until a later date.
I pulled on a pair of yoga pants and followed Otter out to the living room, kissing him before he opened the door and let Shadow in.
“Hey, Shadow,” I said, as he walked inside.
“Hey, sweetheart. You doin’ okay?”
I shrugged and Otter gripped my chin. “Text me if you need me.”
I nodded, and he kissed me one more time before heading out and locking up behind him.
“Are you hungry?” I asked Shadow.
“I’m always hungry.”
I chuckled. “I made hash brown hash.”
“That crack shit you made a couple weeks back?”
“Yep. Otter requested it again.” I smiled. “Do you want some?”
“Hell, yeah, I want some.”
I chuckled and pulled the dish out of the fridge, heating up the food as I made another pot of coffee.
“Do you have any idea what Otter’s doing?” I asked Shadow as I handed him his plate and a fork.
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
“Not even a hint?”
“Babe, even if I knew what he was doin’, which I don’t, I wouldn’t be able to give you anything.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Well, that sucks donkey balls.”
He smiled gently. “I know.”
“What if I make you bacon?”
“Are you tryin’ to bribe me?” Shadow asked in mock outrage.
“Is it working?”
He dropped his head back and laughed. “No, but I like your style, Shy.”
I sighed. “Whatever.”
“Do I still get bacon?”
“Well, duh,” I sassed. “I said it out loud, so now it’s in the universe and we’ll be struck dead if I don’t make bacon.”
He laughed so hard, he spit his coffee halfway across the room. “Oh, shit, sorry, Shy,” he said, still laughing.
I grabbed a towel and threw it at him, then pulled the bacon and a pan out and began to cook while he cleaned up.
“Does Otter know how funny you are?” Shadow asked.
I grinned. “I think we’re adequately suited in that regard.”
“Otter’s funny?”
“Otter’s hilarious,” I said.
He gave me a chin lift, but he didn’t seem convinced.
“Do you have an old lady?”
Shadow laughed again an
d shook his head. “Jesus, woman, you gotta give me warnin’ when you’re gonna be funny.”
“That was funny?”
“Yeah, babe, that was funny. And no, I don’t have an old lady. Don’t want one either.”
“How come?”
“No offense, sweetheart, but women are more trouble than they’re worth.”
I smiled. “You think?”
“I know.”
“You obviously haven’t met the right woman, then.”
He pointed his fork toward the hash browns. “This is really good, Shy.”
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
He grinned taking another bite of his food and chewing without acknowledging anything.
“Okay, mister obtuse, I’ll drop it.”
“Funny and smart,” he mused. “Otter won the lottery.”
“Would now be a good time to point out—”
“No,” he said, interrupting me and I chuckled, setting the bacon on a paper towel to drain.
“How many pieces of bacon do you want?”
“Twelve.”
“How about four?”
“Six?”
I laughed. “I can do six.”
“Thanks, babe.”
I dropped six rashers on his plate and ate the last two myself.
Big mistake.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, holding my hand over my mouth as I made a run for my bathroom, barely making the toilet as I lost everything I’d eaten that morning.
“Shiloh?” Shadow bellowed. “You okay?”
“Yes,” I called back. “I’ll just be a minute.”
I laid my hand over my stomach and willed my baby to quit eating me from the inside. Once I felt I could move again, I cleaned up and headed back out to the living room. Shadow handed me his phone. “It’s Otter.”
“You didn’t need to call him,” I growled, putting the phone to my ear. “Hi, honey.”
“You’re sick?” he demanded.
“Yeah, that’s to be expected.”
“Do you need me to come home?”
“Is that an option?”
He sighed. “It is if you’re sick.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. But if I had a choice, I’d rather you come home.”
“I’m trying, Loh, I promise.”
I bit my lip. “Do you mind if we don’t go out tonight?”
“Not at all. I can pick something up on my way home.”
“Okay, honey, thanks.”
Calling the Biker's Bluff (Dogs of Fire MC: Savannah Chapter Book 7) Page 16