Chapter 9

9

DAHLIA

W aking up with Fox's arms wrapped around me was one of my favorite perks of being with him. Behind the orgasms, of course.

I loved the quiet moments in the morning when there weren't any distractions. Just the two of us and the start of a new day. "You know what I just realized?"

"What, baby?" he asked, brushing a kiss against my neck.

"I was never a morning person until you." I turned in his embrace to smile up at him. "I used to need a couple of cups of coffee before I was ready to face the world or else I'd be all grumpy and shit."

He cupped my cheeks with his large, calloused palms. "I can't picture you being grouchy as fuck, but I kinda want to see it. I bet you're gorgeous as hell with a frown on your beautiful face and your pretty green eyes sleepy."

Butterflies swirled in my belly at his compliment. "Aw, that's sweet, but trust me when I say you don't want to meet cranky Dahlia. She's no fun at all."

"We're gonna have to agree to disagree, baby." He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss that left me breathless. "And don't feel like you need to hide it from me if you're in a funk. I want to see every side of you because you're all mine. From head to toe, no matter your mood."

"If you keep saying sweet things like that, you'll never have to worry about me being grumpy again. I'll be too busy swooning."

"I'll keep that in mind, baby. But just know that you can have the best of both worlds if you want. Your morning cuddle with me and coffee since I can get a prospect to bring up a cup each morning," he offered.

I shook my head. "Forget caffeine. I probably should've realized long ago that all I needed was a daily injection of the big D instead."

"Not until you met me," he growled, rolling me onto my back and pressing his body against mine. "I wasn't joking about every fucking inch of you being mine, Dahlia. I'm the only one who gives you the orgasms you love so much."

The mind-blowing releases he gave me weren't the only thing I loved, but I hadn't gotten up the courage to say that particular four-letter word to him yet. It was only a matter of time, though, because my feelings kept growing each day we spent together.

Stroking my palms up his chest, I nodded. "I know I'm all yours, Kye. You're the only man I've ever really seen. The only one I've wanted."

"Damn fucking straight."

He kissed me again until I writhed beneath him, ready for another dose of his big D even though he'd taken me a couple of times in the middle of the night already. Including just a few hours ago. But my libido didn't seem to have an off switch since I met Fox, so when there was a knock on the door, I whimpered in protest. "No."

"Don't worry, baby. This isn't about club business or anything that's gonna pull me away from you," he reassured me as he slid off the mattress, tugged on a pair of jeans, and strode out the bedroom door.

Sitting up, I lifted the sheet to cover my chest and leaned over to see if I could see what was happening at the front door. When I couldn't get a good view, I scooted off the bed and wrapped the sheet around me to peek into the living room.

Fox must have heard me because he angled his body so I couldn't see anything after he opened the door, which made me curious.

"Here you go, Prez."

Fox took a brown paper bag from him and said, "Thanks, Tank."

"Sorry it wasn't ready sooner," Tank apologized.

"Didn't expect your old lady to be a miracle worker. She did it plenty fast. Give her my gratitude for making this a priority."

"Course she did. It isn't every day that the prez?—"

Fox didn't let him finish. "She's awake and doesn't know what this is about yet."

"Shit, sorry. I'll leave you to it, then. Congratulations, man."

Fox jerked his chin up in acknowledgment before shutting the door.

"What's with all the secrecy if it isn't about club business?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest to hold the sheet in place.

"A surprise you're gonna love." There was a possessive gleam in his eyes as he stalked back into the bedroom that sent a sensual shiver down my spine since it was the same way he looked when his dick was deep inside me.

I climbed back on the bed, and he sat beside me. "How can you be so sure?"

He tugged the sheet until it pooled at my waist and tugged on one of my nipple piercings. "We might not have been together long, but I know you, baby. Inside and out. And you want this as much as I do."

"When you put it like that, I really need to know what the surprise is."

"Good thing I wasn't planning to make you wait, then." He reached into the bag and pulled out a leather vest. One that was much smaller than his.

My breath caught in my throat as I realized exactly what he held. "Yeah, you had every reason to be sure I would love this."

"Of course, I did." He unfolded the vest so I could see the property patch on the back that proclaimed me to be his. Then he slid my arms through the holes and leaned back to take in how I looked wearing it. "Because you were born to be mine."

"I really was," I agreed with a sniffle.

"No crying, baby."

I beamed him a watery smile. "I'm just so happy we found each other."

He kissed away my tears before claiming my mouth. Just as things started to get hot and heavy between us, there was another knock on the door. I whimpered in protest again. "Seriously? Why does everyone have the worst timing ever today? I'm going to end up with the female version of blue balls if people keep coming up here like this."

"Quit complaining and get out here," Molly called. "I want to see your property vest, and we were supposed to go shopping today, remember?"

"How in the hell does she already know about this?" I asked, pointing at the leather vest he'd just given me.

Fox shook his head with a chuckle. "You know how fast gossip spreads in a clubhouse."

"Too true." I sighed.

"Shopping?" he asked.

"Yeah, my sister planned to show me her favorite places in Old Bridge today." I tugged on one of the loops at the waist of his jeans. "I meant to mention it last night, but then you distracted me with all of your sexiness."

"Which he better not do again right now," Molly yelled through the door.

"Go away," I called back.

"Nope. I'm pregnant, hungry, and the only thing I want is a big stack of cinnamon apple French toast from the diner downtown. Let's go," she demanded.

"Geesh," I sighed as I crawled off the mattress. "Give me a minute to get dressed."

"I'll give you five, but that's all."

I widened my eyes at Fox as she stomped away loudly enough that I could hear her footsteps through the closed door. "You still sure I'd be cute even when I'm a giant grouch? Because I sound an awful lot like my sister did just then."

He nodded. "Looking forward to seeing it when you're having your own pregnancy cravings, baby."

With how often we were having unprotected sex, that would probably be sooner rather than later. "Then I guess I'd better go see if that French toast is as good as Molly thinks."

"It's fucking fantastic." He went into the closet and grabbed a shirt while I dressed. "Which is why I'm joining you two."

It ended up being the four of us since Maverick didn't want to let Molly out of his sight. But we decided to take two vehicles, just in case something came up and one of the guys had to leave before we were done shopping. Which turned out to be the right call, but for a completely different reason.

"It's a damn good thing we brought your truck, too," Maverick muttered a few hours later. "Had no clue my woman could shop like this."

Molly narrowed her eyes at him as she shoved three more bags against his chest. "Are you really complaining about your pregnant woman buying new clothes and a few things for the baby?"

"Absolutely not, princess." Gathering the bags in one hand, he reached out to tug her close with the other. "If you want to buy out the whole fucking store, I'll call every damn prospect and tell them to get their asses down here so they can take everything back to the clubhouse for you."

Grinning up at Fox, I jerked my chin toward his club brother. "That was the perfect answer. You should take notes."

"Don't need to." He brushed a quick kiss against my lips. "I know exactly how to handle you, baby."

"True." I winked at him. "And when my sister is finally done shopping, you can handle me all you want. In bed. And we better not be interrupted again."

"Fine, I'm done," Molly huffed. "You guys can load up this stuff, and then we can head back to the compound. But only because I'm in favor of your plan to knock up my sister so we can have our first babies together."

More than ready to leave, I beamed a smile at Fox. "I'll meet you at your truck."

While they headed toward Maverick's vehicle to put Molly's bags in the back, I crossed the parking lot toward Fox's extended cab. I was about ten feet away when the horn beeped to let me know he'd unlocked it for me. Then there was a loud boom, and everything went black.