Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Both of us panted, trying to catch our breath. The whole experience hadn’t lasted long, but it was long enough to have altered me forever. When he finally pulled back and looked into my eyes, I saw the same sense of wonder and excitement I felt mirrored there.
“Wow,” I whispered, unable to fathom everything that had just happened.
“Yeah,” he said, sliding me that cocky grin. “That’s a good word for it.” He rolled to his side, taking me with him. A cool morning breeze wafted through an open window, kissing our sweat-slickened bodies. “Fuck,” he groaned, leaning in to kiss me gently. “Meant that to last a bit longer.”
“I wouldn’t have survived,” I admitted, giggling.
“Not sure I would have, either.” He kissed me once more, then rolled out of bed. Heading straight for the bathroom, he tugged off the condom and tossed it in the waste basket, then washed himself. Getting a clean cloth, he came back to me and washed me gently, tossing the rag in the general direction of the bathroom. “I’ll get that later. Right now, I wanna hold you.”
I accepted his embrace eagerly, if with a little confusion. “I didn’t think men liked to cuddle after sex.”
“I take it your ex didn’t.”
Did I imagine it or did he stiffen? Carnage kept stroking my hair, but I could tell my answer mattered to him. “Honestly? Mark hated it. At first he’d hold me, but always when I asked for it, and not all that much. Like I said. He was in it for my money. I don’t think he even liked sex with me.” I snuggled closer, wanting to keep this afterglow as long as possible. “Lord knows I didn’t like it with him.”
“Little shit,” Carnage said. “He’s not important, though I’ll be looking into him later. Right now, I just need to get you settled into life with me. So, my next question is, do you and the boys have anything you need to get back at your old place?”
“Nothing important,” I said. I made sure the boys knew to pack anything they wanted to keep in their backpacks.”
“No video games or computers and shit?”
I winced. Yeah. No. “Mark hocked everything we had of value.”
He continued stroking my back, but I could feel the tension ratchet up a notch in him. “He’ll pay for everything he did to you and the boys, Calliope. I swear it.”
“Like you said, he’s not important,” I said. “I’m just glad I got us all away from him. Well, glad you did. All I managed to do was get us into the hands of men I didn’t know. I guess I took a huge risk.”
“You did. But it was calculated. It wasn’t a bad choice, Calliope. Not every MC is bad. Even some of the one-percenters have a code they follow that includes protecting women and children. You made the right choice.”
“Did you mean what you said about Chase? I don’t mind if he gets to know his sons. I’d encourage it, actually. But I won’t give them to him without a fight. I was there for them. He wasn’t.”
“I meant every fuckin’ word, Calliope.” He stroked my cheek gently with his thumb. “I can take care of Chase. Cain will let him know how he feels on the subject. If it’s the wrong advice or if I don’t agree with it, I’ll challenge Cain and forbid Chase from doing anything rash.”
“You have that kind of pull with him?”
“I sponsored him at both ExFil and Bones. I got him his job, then got him into this brotherhood. We’ve not been close for a while, but he respects me and my judgment. If nothing else, I’ll beat his ass into submission.”
“I’ll trust you, then. Just… Carnage, don’t break my heart. Or my boys’. I’d never be able to forgive you for that.”
“You have my word, baby. You’ll always be safe with me.”
Chapter Five
Carnage
I was taking heat from my brothers, but pussy-whipped didn’t begin to cover my feelings for Calliope. Her sons had begun to emulate me, down to pretending their bicycles were motorcycles and insisting they have vests. Calliope had tried to nix the vests because she couldn’t afford it and had no idea how to make them, but the club came through in fine fashion. Cheetah made them vests with the emblem the other kids wore, proclaiming them Sons of Bones. Didn’t matter if it was cheesy or not, Gunnar had started it, and we all thought it was great.
Gunnar had let the boys in readily enough, though there had been a small battle of wills when Theodore had insisted they let Hannah into the club as well. Gunnar said only boys were allowed, but Shadow pointed out that Venus was a girl and a member of Salvation’s Bane, Bones’s sister club. He also pointed out that his woman, Millie, was on her way to becoming a member of Bones. All of it bemused Calliope, and she’d just laughed, telling the boys to play nice or she’d confiscate their vests.