Chapter 7

When I woke up the following morning, my body ached in places I didn't know were possible. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed them because each twinge reminded me of what I'd done with Shane last night, and I didn't regret any of it. Not even allowing him to come inside me so many times without a condom.

Losing my virginity to him hadn't been anything like what I'd expected…the experience had been a thousand times better than I ever could've imagined. He'd taken such good care of me—before, during, and after we'd had sex.

His arms tightened around me, and the bristles of his beard scraped my skin as he buried his face in my neck and murmured, "Morning, baby. Get enough sleep?"

I twisted in his embrace to grin up at him. "Barely."

My stomach fluttered as his lips curved into a smile of pure male satisfaction. "Can't blame me for needing more of your sweetness, baby."

Remembering exactly how he'd woken me up each time—with his mouth between my legs—my cheeks heated. I ducked my head, pressing my cheek against his broad chest as I mumbled, "I don't."

"Stop that, baby." He pressed his finger against my chin to tilt my head back, brushing his lips against mine. "You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. You giving yourself to me last night was the best damn thing that's ever happened to me."

This time, it was my heart that fluttered. "Didn't you get the memo that bikers aren't supposed to be sweet?"

"When it comes to our women, the Silver Saints are sweet as fuck." His laugh was rueful. "I gave the guys so much shit for it, but now that I found you, I finally realized I'm no different."

I loved how he called me his, but I didn't want to read too much into it. Guys said all kinds of things to get women to sleep with them. Not that I knew from experience or anything.

My cheeks heated even more, but I was saved from any questions about it because Shane's cell phone rang. He rolled over and reached out to grab it from the pocket of his jeans on the floor. "Shit, it's my prez. Sorry, baby, I gotta take this."

I stroked my hand up his back with a nod. "It's okay. He might have news about that Bickle guy."

"Hey, Mac." There was a brief pause before he turned to look at me. "Sure, I'll bring her down in a minute."

I waited until he disconnected the call to ask, "Was I right? Did he have news?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, but he wants to meet you."

"Oh." My lips formed a perfect circle as my eyes widened.

"Don't worry, baby. You're always gonna be safe with me, and my MC brothers will have your back just like they do mine."

My father's betrayal was fresh in my mind—and heart—but I somehow knew deep down inside that I could trust Shane. Even though I'd only known him for one day, he'd gone out of his way to make sure I was safe when he didn't have to. His selflessness had proven to me that he was a stand-up guy. Unlike my dad.

Scrambling to my knees, I nodded. "I'm a little nervous, but I know you won't let anything happen to me."

"Damn straight," he grunted.

After we got dressed and ready to head downstairs, he threaded his fingers through mine to lead me to the Silver Saint president's office. Mac was as intimidating as I'd expected him to be…until two women walked in behind us, and his gaze landed on one of them. His expression immediately softened, and it was impossible to miss the love in his eyes.

"What did you need, baby?" he asked as Shane got me settled in a chair in front of his desk before shoving the other closer to me and dropping onto it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Her gaze darted toward me, and she offered a sweet smile. "Erin and I were going to make some breakfast, and I wanted to know if you wanted three or four eggs."

He quirked a brow. "You gonna do your specialty?"

"Of course," she huffed.

"Gimme four then." He beckoned her closer with his index finger. "But I need a kiss first."

"You always do." She giggled and shook her head as she padded over to brush her lips against his.

I was happy to discover that Shane hadn't been kidding about the Silver Saints being sweet when it came to their women. It boded well for me if we ended up together for real, after everything was settled with my dad.

The other woman came close and introduced herself. "I'm Erin."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kiara."

Her gaze darted between Shane and me, a knowing gleam in her eyes that made me blush. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"Um…" I looked at Mac. "I could eat, but I'm not sure what I have going on this morning."

He smiled at me. "Your schedule is wide open as far as I'm concerned. I just wanted to meet you and let you know that you have the full support and protection of the Silver Saints behind you."

"Thank you," I whispered. "Shane told me the same."

Mac chuckled. "I'm sure he did."

"Great," the other woman chirped. "Now that all that's settled, you can join us in the kitchen while we make breakfast then."

"Do me a solid and don't grill my woman too hard, Bridget," Shane growled.

"Who me?" She flashed him an innocent smile. "I guess I can leave it to all the guys who pop in to see what we're cooking instead."

"Shit," Shane muttered, getting up to pull me to my feet as he shrugged out of his leather vest. Settling it over my shoulders, he pulled my arms through the holes. "Wear this for me, baby."

My brows drew together as I nodded. "Um, okay."

"Good call," Mac murmured.

Bridget and Erin chuckled while they led me out of the office. As we headed down the hallway, I warned, "I'm not sure how much help I'll be unless you want to do little signs for each dish or place setting. I'm a horrible cook, but I'm a heck of a calligrapher and can draw."

Erin glanced at me over her shoulder. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm an art major."

"I bet you'll get along great with my husband. He's a tattoo artist."

"Nice!" I'm not sure why, but I lifted my arm to show my bare skin. "I don't have any ink, but I really respect anyone who can take their art and put it on someone's body. That has to be a huge compliment, that people want to wear your art for the rest of their lives."

"Do you have any of your drawings with you?" Erin asked. "I'd love to see them sometime."

"I had my current sketchbook in my car, so it should be upstairs in the room Shane and I were…um…using last night." My cheeks heated as I added, "Someone brought my suitcase up for me so I'd have my clothes and toiletries."

"I'll take you up to grab it," Bridget offered.

"Oh, I'm sure I can find the room myself."

She hooked her arm through mine. "Trust me, Knight doesn't really want you wandering around by yourself even though you're wearing his cut."

"Yeah, it's a little weird that he put it on me," I murmured as we headed upstairs. "I thought these vests were sacred to bikers."

"Oh, sweetie. They are," she confirmed with a smile. "But their women are even more so."

"Wow," I breathed, my mind spinning over the implication of what she'd said. My heart raced over the possibility that Shane really meant it when he called me his. I'd been starting to wonder if all his talk about me belonging to him might have been in the heat of the moment. Maybe…well, I hoped he'd meant it. Especially since we'd taken so many risks by not using protection.

My head was in the clouds as I dug through my suitcase to grab my sketchbook and pencils before heading back to the kitchen. While Erin and Bridget started making breakfast, I flipped through my drawings to the one I'd been working on between studying for finals. Erin wandered over while I was sketching and gasped. "Wow, you weren't kidding about being good."

Her compliment meant a lot since my art was my passion. "Thanks."

"Can I see more?"

"Sure." I turned my sketchbook toward her and let her flip through the pages. When she got to one with a mermaid coming out of the waves during a storm, she paused and leaned closer. "Okay, you really need to talk to Patriot. He's been stuck on a design for one of his regular customers because he can't quite get the mermaid right. I bet you could help him figure it out."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly." I shook my head. "I've never done something like that before."

She tapped her finger against the drawing. "Trust me, your skills are more than up to the task."

"Do you really think so?"

Bridget came over to look at my sketch. "Definitely. You guys should go talk to him now. I can take care of breakfast."

Erin didn't hesitate to take her up on the offer. She snatched my pad off the table and wrapped her fingers around my wrist to tug me to my feet. "C'mon, don't be shy. I've been dealing with a grumpy husband for way too long, and you're my ticket to being the one who gets to solve his problem for him when it's usually the other way around."

"Well, I guess when you put it that way, I'd love to help." Especially when I owed the Silver Saints for keeping me safe after what my dad tried to do to one of them.