Page 16 of Royal

My eyes widened at that. “What do you mean?”

He smirks, thumbing over my bottom lip. “You are mine.”

Without another word, he opens the passenger door and helps me into the seat. I’m stunned into silence the whole time. I look back at Donovan, who is playing with a toy, with not a single clue that my whole world just changed with one kiss.

I should be weirded out that he just claimed me so simply, but I’m not. I love that he did that because, who wouldn’t want to be his?

Royal reaches over and takes my hand, placing it on the seat between us and smiling as wide as me.

He pulls up to my work and the day care in no time; the ride was too short. He walks around the truck to me, helps me out, and then lifts Donovan. Royal sets him on the ground, and I take his hand so he doesn’t run off toward the road.

Royal holds the door open for us, and we drop off Donovan together. My heart hurts the second he runs through those doors to the playroom.

“It never gets easier leaving him,” I tell Royal, and he laughs, “I didn’t want him to go either.”

“Have a good day at work.” He leans down and kisses me on the forehead, his lips lingering. “How do you feel about me picking you up from work and then taking the kids to the trampoline place? And they have a restaurant inside it.”

My nerves hit me hard because meeting his daughter is a huge deal, but I know she is a massive part of Royal’s life, and if he is going to be around me, she will too. I can’t expect him to leave her and spend time with me all the time.

“I would love to meet Penny,” I tell him honestly, though I am nervous at the thought of meeting her, but the excitement is stronger. I really want her to like me.

He smiles widely at that. “When I got home on Friday night, she was excited to meet the both of you.”

My heart melts at his happiness. “I can’t wait to meet her.” I lean forward and kiss him quickly on the lips, then run inside the pharmacy before I beg him to take me away with him.

He gives me a look through the window and walks back to his truck. I turn around to face the girls, and they scream, running to me and asking a million questions about Royal.

My face is burning because most of them are sexual and I’m not used to the attention they are giving me.

Royal

I drive back to my town and the clubhouse, and when I get there my brothers turn to look at me. Terror’s woman, Meghan, practically sprints over.

“Well, how did it go? Do you like her?” I catch from the flurry of fucking words she is throwing at me.

“Meghan, get your ass over here and let the man breathe,” Terror tells her, and I laugh as she runs and plops her ass right in his lap.

I pull up a seat next to them, just as a prospect hands me a beer. He is a new one, and his name is Willie, but we are not fucking calling him that. We are calling him Fury because he is pissed the fuck off all the time.

We didn’t used to be as picky with prospects, but now we investigate to the full because of the shit we have had to deal with and our club.

Betrayal is the worst thing you can do to each other in our brotherhood. “Monster stay all weekend outside of her house?”

I nod, taking a long pull of my beer. “Her place is not fucking safe. I wouldn’t have left her there, but I had to get back home to be with Penny.”

“I can watch over her tonight if Monster can’t,” Fury says, anger in his eyes.

“Thanks,” I nod, and he walks down the bar to wipe some glasses. I tell Terror the name of the place the trailer park is, and he winces.

“Fuck, I’m surprised she was able to live there that long without something happening. It’s dangerous there.”

I cringe at the fucking thought of someone breaking in, in the middle of the night and hurting her or her boy. She is so sweet that the need to protect her burns through me.

“Does she have any family?” Terror asks.

“She has a brother in the Marines, said he should be getting out soon.”

Terror tilts his head, thinking. “What’s his name? I might know him since I grew up in town.”

---