Page 249 of Savage Brothers MC: Tennessee Chapter

“I really need to get you into some biker chick classes.Telling everyone that you’re my old lady is saying I claim you as mine—which they all knew, but this makes it official,” I tell her, grabbing a pair of gym shorts out of the drawer and putting them on.

“Claiming me?”she asks, scooting up on the bed.

“Claiming, in our life it’s as good as a marriage is in your world.You’re mine.You’re on the back of my bike and no one fucks with you.”

“So, we’re married, and I didn’t even get a ring?”she laughs, and I doubt she’s taking any of this seriously, but eventually she’ll get it.She’s completely mine now.

“You’ll get a cut like mine.I’ll get that fixed up this week.”

“A cut?”

“Like my leather vest, people call it a cut or a cut-off.It has my club name, our creed and symbol, along with my position in the club.You’ve seen me wear it since we’ve gotten back.”

“What will mine say as my position?President’s cock worshiper?”she quips—definitely not understanding my world completely yet, but she will.

“If you want, I can have that patch put on.”I smirk, thinking I do kind of like that idea.“But yours will simply bear the club emblem and say property of Diesel on it.”

“Property?No fucking way.”

“It’s not derogatory, Gorgeous,” I tell her bringing one of my shirts over and sitting on the side of the bed where she is.“In my world, what a man has boils down to family and property that is important to him.In the club there’s nothing more important than your ride, your brothers and whoever you put on the back of your bike.Our life is simple and our rules are simple.You protect those things above all else.Those things are precious.My brothers, my way of life that’s worth protecting, but you and Ryan?You are deemed property to the outside world, but youaremy life, Rory.Don’t get anything twisted up in the labels.You two are everything,” I tell her kissing her lips gently.Then I start putting my shirt over her head.She helps put her arms in and then I’m helping her pull it down her body.

“If I’m everything, why are you covering me up then?”she mutters, but her voice is thick now.She gets it—or at least most of what I was trying to tell her.That’s enough for now.

“Because knowing how much my son loves you and his habits, he’ll be in here in another thirty minutes or so and I’d rather not have to give him a lesson on the birds and the bees quite yet,” I tell her grinning, then make my way back to my side of the bed, holding her close once again.

“You’re staying tonight?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No.I’ve missed you, Noah.I kind of thought after the other night that… Well…”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t want to push you too much.I wanted to give you time.I’ve hurt you a lot, Rory.I know that.I have way too much to make up to you.The last thing I want to do is to damage the progress I’m making—or at least trying to make.”

“Dani said something tonight that I keep playing in my head,” she whispers as I reach over and turn the lamp off and then snuggle my woman deeper into me.

“What’s that?”

“She said that once darkness touches you that you see and react to situations differently than others.That you can’t make your brain do anything else really.”

“She told you her story?”

“Every bit of it, while downing a lot of Jack.”

“She trusts you, Gorgeous.I don’t think she’s given that story to another soul.You should feel special to have gotten that from her.”

“I do.I admire her.She’s been through so much, much more than I.I don’t know how she’s still standing.”

“Crusher and her saw each other through it.It was a dark time, but together they came out strong—probably stronger than any other couple I know to be honest.”

“I can see that,” she says, her fingers moving in random patterns over my stomach.

“You have something on your mind,” I tell her, understanding that she needs to say something but is having a hard time verbalizing it.

“I saw things from my darkness, Noah, but I couldn’t see that you had your own kind of darkness you were dealing with and thatitcolored the way you reacted with me.I can see it now, at least much better than I did before,” she whispers and my heart fucking flips in my chest and my breath feels like it stops for a minute.

“Christ,” I mutter when I can finally get the word out.

“What?”she asks, startled.

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