Chapter 11

"I'm nervous," Blakely whispered, her grip on my hand tightening.

"Relax, baby. It's not like you haven't been in contact with your dad," I reminded her as I handed my ID to the clerk. It had taken a few days to get in to see him, and it'd been just long enough for her to build up this conversation in her mind.

"Yeah, but…I mean, I know it's you, but you're still a guy."

The clerk made a little sound when she took Blakely's license, and I glanced at the woman to see her eyes doing an appreciative sweep of my body.

I frowned and opened my mouth, but Blakely distracted me when she cuddled into my side and glared daggers at the woman. "My guy," she snapped.

My mouth spread into a grin, and I captured her chin with two fingers and turned her face up to mine. "Too fucking right." Then I sent my own scowl at the woman behind the glass, who immediately averted her eyes.

A buzzer filled the air, and the door to the visitor's area of the prison swung open. As we walked through, I bent my head to whisper in Blakely's ear. "Do you have any idea how damn sexy it is when you get territorial over me? Makes me hard as fuck."

She shivered but glared up at me adorably. "You can't talk to me like that right before we see my dad!" she whispered.

I laughed. "It's not like he can hear me, baby."

"Yeah, but you get this smoldering look…" Her cheeks turned pink as she trailed off, and I couldn't help laughing once more.

"Storm?"

Blakely and I both turned to find her dad standing at the entrance to the room, staring at me incredulously.

"Did you just laugh? I don't think I've ever even seen you smile…"

I shrugged. "You've never seen me with Blakely."

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted him softly.

He lost interest in me immediately and smiled widely at his daughter. "Hey there, pretty girl." His gaze swept over Blakely, and he blinked a few times, but not before I saw the way his eyes shined with a little moisture. "You look amazing. All grown up."

Blakely had only been allowed to visit him when I came and brought her to the prison, so she hadn't seen him often, and not for the past couple of years. Another thing I needed to make up to her.

He moved to a table and gestured for her to sit before taking his own seat. I pulled out a chair for Blakely, then sat in the one next to her and threw my arm over the back of hers.

Saber frowned at my arm, but Blakely asked him a question, and he focused on chatting with her.

Finally, I glanced at the clock to check how much time we had left, then tugged gently on her hair to get her attention.

"Don't have a lot of time left, baby. Either you tell him or I will."

Blakely scrunched up her nose in annoyance, and I raised an eyebrow. She hadn't wanted to tell him what happened with her foster family, but I knew he would be livid if Saber heard about it from someone else. I needed to make sure that he was calm when he went back to his cell and didn't do anything stupid that would keep him from getting parole someday.

His eyes narrowed, and he glanced back and forth between me and Blakely. "Tell me what?"

She sighed. "There was this thing…"

As she explained what happened, Saber's face darkened with rage, and I glanced at the guard standing nearby, hoping he didn't notice. Luckily, his attention was on another inmate.

"Relax, Saber," I murmured.

"Relax?" he growled. "I'm gonna k—"

"It's taken care of." I cut him off from announcing to everyone that he was gonna murder someone else.

"Taken care of?" His hand slashed through the air in a gesture of frustration. "She's staying at the club. I trust my boys with my life but not with my daughter."

"Agreed. Which is why I've been staying with her while the situation was handled."

Saber's gaze bounced between me and Blakely again, but he seemed to be fighting to accept what he clearly saw right in front of him.

"I should be handling this shit," he grunted.

Shaking my head, I said, "Even if you weren't behind bars, this would be mine to deal with."

Saber scowled, and if I were a lesser man, I could see how he had people shaking in their boots and ran his MC with an iron fist. But if he thought he could intimidate me…he had another thing coming. "She's my daughter," he insisted.

"And she's my woman."

Blakely gasped, and her elbow hit me in the stomach, though the impact didn't faze me. "You weren't supposed to say that!" she hissed. "You agreed—"

"Did I?" I kept my gaze locked on her father's. On our way to the prison, she'd asked me not to tell him just yet. I'd made a noncommittal grunt, not giving her an answer either way. I had no intention of keeping it to myself, but I didn't want to upset her right before we went in to see her dad.

Blakely sputtered for a few seconds, then huffed. "Daddy, I can explain. It's—"

"Baby, he doesn't need an explanation. He knows exactly what's going on."

"I don't see a vest," he growled, though his glare had lost some of its heat.

"It'll be waiting for her when we get home."

"Um, what?" Blakely gasped, but I ignored her for the moment.

"I expect you to wait until I get out for the wedding."

I narrowed my eyes. "Not a chance in hell."

Saber grinned smugly. "That's what I thought."

Blakely sputtered again, and I finally looked in her direction and winked with a smirk. "W-we-did you say—"

"Breathe, baby," I told her soothingly as I rubbed slow circles on her back. "We'll talk about it later."

"You could do worse, pretty girl."

Something about the look in his eyes and his tone caused a niggling in the back of my brain.

The guard called out that it was time for the prisoners to say their goodbyes, and Saber's expression remained smug when he stood.

"See you soon, pretty girl," he murmured to Blakely.

When he swung his gaze back to me, I gave him a chin lift. "I'll take care of her."

"I knew you would," he mumbled as he stood and turned to walk back to the guard.

What the fuck?

I replayed what had just happened in my head.

Well, shit.

A smile slowly crawled across my face as the realization hit me. That asshole had known I'd fallen for Blakely, which was why he'd convinced me to stay in her life rather than letting someone else take over her protection.

I captured Blakely's hand in mine, and we retrieved our IDs before walking out into the sunshine.

"Are you going to explain what just happened?" she blurted as she shoved some of her blond tresses out of her face and stared up at me with wide, blue eyes.

"Your dad just gave us his blessing."

"For what?"

I laughed and planted a kiss on her lips that left her in a daze.

"Everything, baby."

"Areyou going to explain what you and my dad were talking about?" Blakely huffed when we returned to the clubhouse.

I sighed and grabbed her waist, then set her on the dresser and stepped between her legs. "I didn't want to do this here, but I guess that's what I get for ambushing you by telling your dad about us."

"Too freaking right," she said with a sniff, making me laugh. Damn, she was cute.

"You know what it means when a man gives his woman a vest."

"I do. But tell me anyway." Her eyes were apprehensive but filled with hope.

I grinned. She didn't want to misunderstand the situation, and I couldn't blame her. So I laid it out as plain as day. "I love you, Blakely. Have since long before I should've. When we get home, you're gonna wear my property patch, marry me, and give me babies."

Blakely blinked a few times, digesting what I'd said. Then a beautiful smile lit up her face, and she threw her arms around me. "I love you, too!"

"I know, baby." I slipped a hand into the hair at the back of her skull and tugged it to draw her head back, giving me access to her mouth. "You're gonna marry me," I said against her mouth. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," she panted.

Her legs had curled around my hips, so I slipped my hands under her ass and held her to me as I turned and stalked to the bed. When I dropped her onto the mattress, her laughter sent warmth flooding through my body.

"Now," I growled as I took off my vest and stripped out of my shirt. "About making those babies…"