“That was too long, baby. Too long.” He’d called her three times, checking in, so he knew she was okay. But this was a thing with him—he had to see her to believe she was safe.
“You gave me a lot to do. I’m here now.”
He took her face into his hands and kissed her. “Come inside. The others will get the stuff.” He took her hand, then stopped. “Do you have the thing?”
She smiled and patted her messenger bag. Next to her Sig were two boxes of pregnancy test kits, two tests in each.
Life was very strange these days.
~oOo~
Lilli spent the afternoon making sleeping arrangements for the patches, hangarounds, club girls, and family members. Badger and Dom, who lived at the clubhouse, were displaced in deference to the patches. Every room except Isaac’s office and the Room was full with cots and sleeping bags, and every couch and remotely comfortable chair was made up for sleeping. She hardly knew most of the people, but they knew her, and it turned out that, by virtue of being Isaac’s old lady, she was in charge. She didn’t mind; she was good in charge. But she was surprised how readily she was accepted in the role. Apparently, the clubhouse was hers to run.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She hadn’t yet spent enough time around the clubhouse to get to know anyone but the members, but she’d spent enough time to understand that running the clubhouse under normal conditions meant keeping the food stores up and, most likely, managing the girls, who currently more or less managed themselves. A sort of pack hierarchy had developed, she’d noticed. It seemed to work well enough, and she saw no reason to disrupt it. She wasn’t keen on becoming what amounted to a madam for free whores.
She gave herself a little mental slap for the severe judgment in her thought. She had no problem at all with women using their bodies in any way they chose. And she was certainly no prude. But she didn’t much like the dynamic among the women. She hated to see women tearing each other down, especially over the slim pickings of men who saw them as little more than an assortment of warm, wet, willing holes.
The Horde were in and out in groups throughout the afternoon and evening. Lilli focused on getting dinner out, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that the women were eager to help with that, expecting her to run the meal, doing what she asked without complaint. By the time the meal was ready, with serving dishes arrayed across the bar, all the Horde were in for the night. Show, Isaac, and Len were last in, their faces grim. When Isaac saw her, though, his face softened, and he winked. She grinned back at him and opened her arms as he came up to her and brought her close.
His lips soft and sexy against her ear, he murmured, “How you feelin’, Sport?”
She was feeling good, all things considered. Her weakness and wooziness in the morning had shocked the hell out of her and laid her low, and she’d slept until the afternoon. Then, though, she’d felt fine, had no problem running the errands, and being busy here at the clubhouse had been energizing. She liked to be in charge. She liked a problem to solve. Whatever had happened to force the lockdown must be bad—worse even than they’d yet dealt with—but keeping busy had given her focus. She’d hardly thought of those test kits in her bag.
“I’m good. Glad you’re back.”
He turned and surveyed the eats and the eaters. Big tubs of baked mostaccioli and trays of garlic bread. She didn’t bother with a vegetable—cooking for Isaac had taught her that these guys were deeply suspicious of vegetables, as a rule.
“Wow. You rocked it. I told you to get basic food, though. What’s all this?”
She laughed. “Basic food.”
He laughed, too. “I meant hot dogs and burgers, Sport.” She shrugged. She was Italian. Baked pasta was basic food.
“Well, then, you’ll be eating better than you expected, locked down here with me. There are big sheets of chocolate cake, too.”
She ate with Isaac, feeling satisfied with the way things were organized. It had apparently been a while since there had been a lockdown, and longer than that, it seemed, since an old lady had taken charge. As serious as things were, there was an air of…not celebration, not that, but…family. There was comfort in this group.
The Horde went into a meeting after dinner, and the women cleaned up. By the time the meeting was over, Lilli was exhausted. The few people with children—a few nieces and nephews of members—had taken them back to bed in the dorm, and the Horde were grabbing women. Len looked like he was collecting a set.
Isaac was talking to Show, standing just outside the Keep doors. Lilli caught his eye and nodded down the side hallway. She was going to bed.
She went into his office and closed the door, then just stood there and absorbed the relative quiet for a minute. It had been awhile since she’d been in such a crush of people for such an extended period of time. She was out of practice.
Pip crawled out from under the desk and sat on her feet. She picked him up and gave him a little snuggle, but he wanted to explore, and he squirmed until she set him back down. By the time she and Badger had gotten to the clubhouse with supplies, Pip was already ensconced in Isaac’s office, with food, water, and a litter pan. And one of her duffels was about half full with clothes and toiletries for her and Isaac. He’d done well.
The door opened behind her, and Isaac walked in. Lilli stayed where she was, waiting, and he came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, nosing her ponytail out of the way to press a kiss to her new ink. In the few days since it had mostly healed, he’d taken to touching and kissing it often. It was sweet.
He pulled the band from her hair. “Need to pee, Sport?”
She chuckled. She’d forgotten again. “I could probably squeeze out a drop or two. But it might be better to wait a couple days, see if I even miss my period. I don’t know if it’ll be accurate this early.”
“Can’t wait. I gotta know. If it comes up no, then we’ll see if you’re late.” He kissed her neck. “Come on, baby. Pee on a stick for me.”
Turning in his arms, she grabbed his kutte and pulled him against her. “Wow. You’re quite the romantic.” She let him go and stepped around him, grabbing her bag from the floor next to his desk. “Back in a few. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I’ll be right here.” The sofa in his office folded out into a bed; Lilli had made it up earlier in the day. Now Isaac sat on the end and grinned up at her. “Right here.”
She went down the hall to the one bathroom. Luckily, it was empty, and she ducked in. Never having needed to take a test like this before, she read the instructions (which amounted to “pee on a stick and wait”) and took the test. She really did have to pee, so that wasn’t a problem.
True to his word, Isaac was sitting right where she’d left him, leaning back on his elbows. When she came in, he sat up. “Well?”
She handed him the stick.
He looked down at the result window. “Jesus Christ. Sport, Jesus Christ!” When he turned his face back up to hers, it was blank with shock. She expected something different. She wasn’t sure what, but different.
“That’s what you wanted, right?”
He shook his head as if to rearrange it and grinned. “Yeah—yes!” Setting aside the stick, he grabbed her thighs and pulled her between his legs. “It’s what I want. You, me, a baby. It’s all I want.” He rested the side of his head on her belly and held her tightly. Charmed and touched, she threaded her fingers into his hair, and they held each other like that.
Lilli had been terrified when the second stripe appeared in the window—vivid pink, no denying the result. Second, third, fourth thoughts had crowded into her head immediately. They were being crazy, making the decision they’d made. The fight they were in was dangerous, as dangerous as any war. Isaac could die. She could die. And now they were responsible for another fragile life. They were crazy.
But standing here between his legs, enclosed in his huge, strong arms, her doubts dissipated. She was afraid—of what they faced now, of what kind of mother she’d be, of whether
life in Signal Bend would ever be easy—but fear was part of life. She wasn’t fearless. Fearlessness looked a lot like stupidity. But Isaac was right; she didn’t let fear get in her way.
“I love you, Isaac.”
He turned his face up to hers. “I love you, baby.” He smiled. “Baby.” Then he opened her jeans and pulled her underwear clear so he could press his face against the bare skin of her belly. “Baby.”
There was something powerfully sensual in what he’d done, and the muscles between Lilli’s legs spasmed hard. She was wet almost instantly, and she flexed against him with a little moan, her fingers curling into his hair. When he looked up at her again, the light in his eyes had changed.
He pushed his hands under her jeans and underwear and slid them down her thighs. He leaned in and kissed her just above her clit, and she moaned his name.
Gently, he slid his finger into her folds. “Ah, Sport. You’re so wet for me.”
Impatient to be naked, Lilli toed off her boots and worked her jeans, underwear, and socks off. Then, she yanked off her top and bra and stood before him, feeling strangely strong in her nudity.
She watched Isaac watch his hands as they moved over her hips, up her sides, to her breasts, cupping them gently. Oh—they were even more sensitive, suddenly, and when his thumbs passed over her nipples, she cried out and bent backwards. Damn.
He met her eyes with a grin, then stood up, his long, broad body, still fully clad in all his leather and denim, brushing hers all the way. That made her moan, too. She wanted to get him as naked as she was, and she pushed her hands under his kutte, over his shoulders. He let it slide down his arms and caught it, then leaned over to hang it on the back of his desk chair.
She went for the buttons of his shirt next, but he grabbed her hands to stop her. “Don’t get impatient, Sport. I want to go slow. I want to love you easy. Let me take care.” He moved his hands to cradle her face and kissed her, his mouth and beard soft on her lips. “I had a helluva day, baby. I need to be gentle now. Let me love you.”
She nodded and looped her arms over his shoulder, pulling the band from his braid. With a rumble deep in his chest, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the side of the folded-out bed, laying her gently down. He stood and stripped, his eyes locked with hers. His body was pure power, dense and ridged with muscle, but he came down to the bed softly and lay at her side.
Lilli felt nervous and tried to understand why. Suddenly, things were different between them. Even deeper, more permanent. With that second pink strip on the test stick, they’d become inextricably entwined. There was a new intensity in Isaac’s green eyes and in the gentle touch of his rough, calloused hands. Propped on his elbow, staring down at her, he skimmed his hand over her arm, her side, her leg, bringing it to rest on her belly.
“You are going to be an amazing mother, Sport. This kid is one lucky little shit.” He bent down and kissed her.
She wasn’t ready yet to think about what kind of mother she’d be. She had plenty of fears and worries on that score. She’d need some time to learn and process, so she could do it right. She had about nine months to figure things out, apparently. To stop him talking more, she pulled his chest down onto hers and kissed him hard, plunging her tongue into his mouth. He came back at her likewise, but then he pulled up. “Easy, baby. We’re going easy tonight.”
He caressed her softly until she thought she’d go mad. Every time she tried to take him in hand and change the tempo, he held her off. The slow, soft slide of his skin and lips on her was splendid torture, and her whole body began to shake with need. Then he drew a nipple into his mouth and finally slid his fingers inside her, and she arched off the bed with a harsh, desperate cry. Jesus, she needed to come.
“Isaac, please. Fucking Christ, you’re killing me.”
He released her breast and grinned up at her. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
“I want you to be fucking me.”
“Not gonna fuck you tonight, Sport.” Before she could worry that he meant to tease her and leave her in need, he rolled between her legs, and she felt the steely pressure of his cock at her core. As he slid in—and holy God, it felt so good to feel him filling her—he whispered, “I’m goin’ slow. So slow. Be still, baby. Let me do it.”
He did. His hair shielding her from the sight of anything but his face, he loomed over her and moved deliberately. She could feel all of him in her, like a caress. Propped on his elbows, he moved, the hair on his chest caressing her nipples, making them hard, hypersensitive buds of pleasure. She felt the pressure of his body on her clit, rubbing as he thrust into her. She felt everything. She stopped trying to accelerate things and relaxed into the overwhelming sensory assault. Her climax came on slowly, and even that was newly intense, as though she were watching it emerge from fog, every thrust, every slide of skin on skin, just slightly more powerful than the one before.
His breathing was becoming labored, and sweat had coated his body, but he kept up his slow, methodical pace until she whispered, “Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!” Exerting a last force of will, she stayed still and let her release just have her, completely let go. She came quietly, for her, making only a series of tortured moans, but the experience was among the most intense she’d ever had—and not just orgasmic. It caught her somewhere deep inside, someplace so private it seemed unknown even to her.
He came as she did, also quietly, groaning into her shoulder as his body turned briefly to iron. As he relaxed, emotion overwhelmed Lilli, and she began to cry.
He shifted off her immediately and came up on his elbow, panting. “Baby, what’s wrong?” She felt his hand on her face.
Nothing. Nothing was wrong. Or everything. She had no idea. She was caught up in a swell of emotion so deep and fierce she couldn’t begin to comprehend it. She couldn’t even breathe. She shook her head and tucked tightly to his chest, the sobs shaking her, body and soul.
Isaac held her close and kissed her head. “Lilli. Baby, what did I do? Did I hurt you?” His hand went to her belly. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
Knowing she had to get control of herself and quit freaking them both out, she screwed up her will and took a deep breath, shutting down the tears. When she could, she said, “No, I’m okay. I don’t…I don’t know what that was. But I’m okay.”
He set her back enough to look hard into her eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” She sniffled.
He laughed. “You’re just never gonna stop scaring the shit out of me, are you?”
With a sheepish grin, she shrugged. “Keeping things interesting?”
“Definitely. You’re giving me grey hair.” He turned, leaning against the back of the sofa, and pulled her close. She nestled in, laying her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest.
Emotion ebbed into fatigue, and, with the soothing rhythm of Isaac’s fingers combing through her hair, Lilli began to doze. She was drifting deeper when he spoke, his voice making a deep echo in his chest, against her ear. “I want to marry you before the little squirt shows up.”
Becoming fully alert again, she tipped her head up. “I kind of have an idea about that already.”
She’d surprised him, she could tell. “Yeah?”
She sat up. She needed to really see him to have this conversation. “I told you that I sent for the stuff in my storage locker. Oh—that’s supposed to be here this week, so I don’t know what to do about it if it comes while we’re here.”
“I’ll go over with Dom and Badge. Don’t sweat that. What’s your idea, Sport?”
“There’s one more thing in storage. I wasn’t sure how to handle it, but I think now I know. My dad’s car. A ’68 Barracuda. God, he loved that thing like a son. It was too rare and identifiable for me to drive it under an alias, but”—and here was something else she’d decided since they’d been working on getting pregnant but hadn’t said anything about yet—“I’m going to end my contract work. The stuff here in town is getting too intense, and I don’t want to r
isk crossing my lines. So, anyway, I can get my dad’s car back and—”
Isaac interrupted her. “Hold up, Sport. You’re quitting your job? You really okay with that?”
It had been an easy decision to make, honestly. The cloak-and-dagger shit wore hard fast, and knowing too much about how things worked—or didn’t—wore even harder, even faster. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t see myself taking up knitting or rug-braiding, but I’ll find something to do. Something that will help the town, maybe.”
His smile was wide and happy, but then it faltered a little. “Will they just let you quit?”
She laughed. “It’s not indentured servitude, Isaac. I’m not a prisoner. They’ll have me sign a bunch of forms that say I’ll spend the rest of my days in Leavenworth if I talk about what I did, and then I’m out. Simple as that.”
Linking fingers and pulling her hand up for a kiss, he said, “Well, I think that’s fantastic. But get back to the main story. You have your dad’s badass cage. You want it here. What does that have to do with us gettin’ hitched?”
“How about, soon as this thing with Ellis is over, we fly out to California, pick up the ‘Cuda, and get married in Reno on the way home?” The more Lilli had considered the idea, the more she’d liked it. She could—would—be Lilli Accardo on that day.
But Isaac looked doubtful. “That’s a three-day ride. Three days in a cage? I don’t know if I can deal. You know how I get, cooped up like that.”
“Three days in a fast cage. My head in your lap.”
At that, he grinned. “Fair point. I’m in.”
~oOo~
“We need anything else?”
“Toilet paper. At least a couple of the big bulk packs. And, I don’t know. Like a couple of kids’ games or jigsaw puzzles, maybe?” Badger snorted at that, and Lilli was immediately aggravated. Hell, she’d already been aggravated. Now she was pissed. “What? We’re going on five days, and there’s nothing for the kids to do except play those video game things they all have.”
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