Chapter 3

3

GREY

I ’d taken Lorelei without any of her stuff, so flying was out of the question without her identification. So I sent Cash a text to make sure he had her purse sent to my house as soon as possible. I’d have all her shit at the cabin sent to my house eventually. It made the most sense since I wasn’t ever going to let her leave. We’d move everything else into my place once she was settled.

It was a long-ass drive home, but I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Other than grabbing some dinner along the way, I planned to drive for as long as possible before stopping at a hotel to ensure Lorelei was comfortable for the night—even if it wasn’t until midnight or later.

Lorelei peppered me with questions about Karina’s situation for the first couple hours of the drive. I answered anything that didn’t venture into club business, but I didn't go into any details on how we “handled” things when shit hit the fan.

Normally, I wasn’t much of a talker. I preferred to find the information I wanted through digital means. My computer skills were what helped me go from prospect to patch in the club quicker than many others. However, when Lorelei ran out of steam, I found myself making conversation by asking questions and urging her to tell me about herself. I realized I wanted to know everything about her but didn’t want to read about it. I wanted her to tell me.

And it certainly didn’t hurt that talking helped keep me from pulling over and fucking her in the back seat. The longer we drove with her sweet scent filling my lungs, the closer I came to losing control.

“How far apart in age are you and your brother?”

Lorelei scrunched her face comically, making me chuckle when I glanced over at her. “He’s five years older. But he acts like it’s a twenty-year gap, always treating me like I’m a little kid.”

Hmm . The brother could potentially be an issue if he didn’t recognize that Lorelei was a grown woman old enough to be a man’s old lady, marry him, and have his babies.

She told me about growing up, her hobbies, and how she came to be friends with Karina.

She was quiet for a while, and I thought maybe she’d fallen asleep, but when I glanced over at her, she was studying me.

“Do you have siblings?” she queried.

Since I’d claimed Lorelei—although she didn’t know it—I didn’t intend to have secrets from her. So I didn’t hesitate to answer her question.

“Nope. Only child. But my parents both had a lot of brothers and sisters, so I had a fuck ton of cousins around while I was growing up. I was closest to Kesha, who’s eight years older than me. She was the one who realized how good I was at a hobby I’d taken to and pushed my parents to help me pursue it.”

She was also the one who kept my ass out of trouble when I hacked a government server my senior year of high school. After I graduated, she was the reason I wound up with the Silver Saints. I’d been doing stupid shit for the wrong people, and she worried about me. Her best friend was the old lady of an SS patch. Kesha recognized that I needed a mentor and a cause to pursue.

My dad had taught me to ride a motorcycle when I was younger than I should have been, and I got bit by the bug. I’d used most of the money I’d made from hacking to buy a bike and fix it up. When Kesha mentioned her worries to her friend, Lainey, she passed it on to her old man. A few days later, Mac showed up at my door and asked me if I wanted to put my skills to use for the Silver Saints. And the rest was history.

I decided not to go into my “talents” quite yet. Another thing that could wait until I knew it wouldn’t freak her out.

Lorelei crashed about an hour before I finally called it for the night and pulled into the parking lot of the next decent hotel I found. After parking, I plucked my phone from the center console and made sure we’d have a room for the night—the right room.

“Are we stopping here?” Lorelei asked sleepily, blinking her hazy green eyes at me. Too fucking adorable.

“Yeah, baby. Just gonna go check us in.” I opened the driver’s side door and was stepping out when she did the same thing. Frowning, I gestured to the car. “Why don’t you wait here and relax?”

“I’d rather stretch my legs and um…” Her cheeks turned pink, making me wonder if that pretty blush would cover her whole body when I made her come. I raised an eyebrow and waited. She huffed and loudly whispered, “I have to pee, okay?”

Unable to help myself, I laughed, but swallowed it quickly when she glared at me. “Let’s go, firecracker.”

I waited for her to come around the front of the car, then put my hand on the small of her back and guided her to the hotel’s entrance. Our chemistry practically sizzled when we touched, and my cock twitched at the heat radiating from her body.

Once we were in the lobby, I took a deep breath, trying to fill my lungs with anything other than her tantalizing scent as I gently pushed her toward the restrooms. “I’ll check us in.”

She nodded, and when she was out of sight, I whipped my phone back out and fiddled with it for a few moments. Then I shoved the device back into my pants and stalked up to the front desk. “I need a room for tonight,” I informed the woman—Vida, according to her name tag—who was smiling pleasantly at me.

“Of course, sir. Let me see what I have available.” She tapped on her keyboard for a few minutes before smiling at me again. “I have a lovely room on the fourth floor with a king bed and?—”

“No, no.” Lorelei’s voice interrupted her, and we both turned our attention to my girl, who walked up to stand beside me. “We need separate rooms, please.”

I shook my head before she finished speaking. Grasping her arm, I pulled her a little bit away and murmured, “I can’t protect you if you’re in another room.”

Lorelei mulled that over for a few seconds, and I expected her to push back, but instead, she nodded. “Okay. I have to admit, I’d feel safer with you in the same room.”

I smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead to let her know I appreciated her quick agreement. Then I smirked when I pulled back and saw the dreamy expression on her gorgeous face.

By the time I led her back to the desk, the fog had dissipated. “One room. But we need one with two beds please,” she said before I had a chance to speak.

I hid my triumphant smile, silently patting myself on the back for thinking ahead.

Vida clicked away at her computer, her smile slowly morphing into a frown. “I could have sworn…” she mumbled. Then she glanced up at us apologetically. “I’m terribly sorry, but I only have a room with a single bed. I thought we had plenty of others, but…” She shook her head, looking puzzled. “I only have rooms with a king bed available.”

I made sure of that.

“That's fine,” I assured her as I passed her my credit card.

Lorelei’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t say anything else while I completed the transaction. When I had our keys in hand, I took her back out to the car to grab my bag, then we stopped at the little sundries and snacks alcove next to registration to buy a toothbrush and deodorant for Lorelei.

Our room was tucked into a corner, next to the stairwell, so we had an easy exit. I opened the door and ushered my girl in before shutting it and locking the deadbolt as well as the chain.

Lorelei stood in the middle of the room, wearing an awkward expression as she glanced around.

I set my bag on the dresser and unzipped it, grabbing the first shirt I found and tossing it to her. “Here, baby. You can sleep in this.”

She frowned down at the piece of clothing, then shrugged with a long sigh before disappearing into the bathroom.

Quickly, I stripped down to my boxers, then checked the window before placing my loaded gun in the nightstand drawer beside the bed. Normally, I would put it on top or under my pillow because opening a drawer could lose precious seconds. However, I didn’t want to overwhelm Lorelei with my world this soon. Easing her into what to expect as the old lady of a Silver Saint seemed like the best course of action.

I waited in bed, with my hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling, when the bathroom door opened and the light shut off.

Hesitantly, Lorelei practically tiptoed around the corner and stopped beside the bed. She tugged on the hem of the T-shirt, and I almost laughed because it already fell just past her knees.

“Come to bed, firecracker,” I instructed with a wink. “I don’t bite.” Much.

She swallowed hard, then her cheeks flamed as she lifted the covers and crawled underneath them. Laughter rumbled in my chest when she settled at the very edge of the mattress, lying there stiff as a board.

When she shot a tiny glare at me, I figured she’d heard the sound of amusement, and it made me laugh out loud. “Adorable,” I murmured as I reached out and curled an arm around her. I ignored her little squeak of surprise when I hauled her over until her back was plastered to my front.

It only took a minute for her to relax and snuggle back into me. Her sexy ass wiggled against my cock, and I clamped a hand on her hips to keep her from moving again.

“You keep squirming like that, and I won’t be able to control myself much longer,” I rasped in her ear, groaning when she shivered. “We both know you aren't ready for all the dirty shit rolling around in my head, baby. Go to sleep.”

I relaxed my grip when she didn’t try to move again, but then she turned over to face me. “Um, what kind of dirty stuff?” she whispered shyly.

Grinning, I shook my head. “Go to sleep, firecracker.”

“But I?—”

I sighed, cutting her off before I kept her silent by sealing my mouth over hers. If she wanted a demonstration, I would give her one because then I’d finally get to know what she tasted like.

Fuck . She was as sweet as she smelled. When I ran the tip of my tongue along the seam of her lips, she gasped, and I dove in, deepening the kiss. I urged her to roll onto her back, and she clutched my biceps as I shifted so my body covered hers. My fingers delved into her soft, golden-brown hair, and I clenched the strands to hold her exactly where I wanted her.

After a few more minutes of ravaging her mouth, I knew I was seconds away from saying to hell with it and fucking her. But I wasn’t gonna risk scaring her off by going any faster than I already was.

Lorelei whimpered as her hips moved restlessly, and I knew it was time to stop. With a herculean effort, I ripped my mouth from hers and pressed our foreheads together. We were panting hard, trying to catch our breath so our heartbeats would slow.

“I knew you’d taste like heaven,” I grunted before pulling back to look down at her face. Satisfaction rolled through me when I saw her glassy green eyes, flushed skin, and kiss-swollen lips.

Before I gave in to temptation, I rolled to my side and curled myself around her again. “Go to sleep, baby.” I kissed her temple, then relaxed and tried to rest. It wasn’t until long after her breathing evened out that I finally fell asleep.