Page 17 of Property of Rio

I lose track of time until I feel Stargazer nibbling on my hair. Pulling back, panting hard, I turn my head, toss my loose hair over my shoulder to stare at her and state, “Really, Gazer? You just interrupted the best kiss of my damn life to chew on my hair?”

Rafe chuckles then leans in to tuck a wayward strand of my hair behind my ear and says, “There’s more where that came from, Issy. Lots more.”

We spend the afternoon together, walking the horses since Doc hasn’t cleared me to ride just yet. As we trot them in the training corral, I ask, “Have they found the truck yet?”

“Not yet, babe, but they’re working on it.”

I’m so curious about everything, but I instinctively know that he’s not going to share anything else with me. Frustrated, I stomp my foot and say, “I don’t think it’s fair that it happened to me, but I can’t know what happened, Rafe.”

“Issy, you know that club business is for the brothers,” he intones as we make our way back into the barn.

“I know but it’s still not fair. I wanna know why Gage fucked me over the way he did, y’know?” I query.

“The brothers and I will be having church later and I’ll see if they’re okay with me sharing anything. Fair warning, Issy, I’ll be putting my claim on you then. You ready for all that entails?” he asks.

This is what I’ve wanted for-freaking ever, but I know it’s a massive thing, accepting a biker’s claim to become his ol’ lady. Short of death, we’ll be together forever or at least until one of us dies. Still, the thought of surrendering myself to Rafe in such an intimate way has me rubbing my thighs together in anticipation. His smirk and accompanying wink let me know he’s very aware of how he’s affecting me.

“Yeah, Rafe, I am,” I finally say.

“No sex until Doc clears you for strenuous activity. Not willing to hurt you, babe, and your ribs are still healing.”

Great, just great. Now I have bossy Rafe dictating what’s gonna happen with us. Blowing out a breath, I lick my lips, causing him to groan, then say, “Fine. But just so you know, I’m going to ask Doc what’s off limits until they’re fully healed.”

He huffs out a laugh while shaking his head. “Minx,” he mutters. “Issy?” he asks as I lead Starlight to her stall as he takes Stargazer to hers. When I turn to face him, he continues. “You’ll be my wife and the mother of my children, too, just so you know. I’ve loved you for a very long time, babe, and after your abduction, I had a wakeup call. Life’s too short to wait for the perfect time. For us, it’s right now.”

My emotions are now haywire as I try to process everything he’s just said. “Okay, but is that you asking me or telling me?” I tease.

“Babe, I’ll be asking when you least expect it,” he replies. “Now, let’s go back to the house and see what we can get into.”

“Issy, have you ever heard of Mike Lopez?” Rafe asks as he walks back into his room.

When we got back, we ate some lunch then he got called away, so I came upstairs and have been doing a little bit of much-needed self-care on myself. I soaked in his fantastic tub so I could shave my legs, and now, I have a face mask on that promises to help with puffiness and swelling. My thoughts are that it might help the bruising that’s still left. If not, my skin will be nice and smooth.

Scrunching up my nose, which cracks the mask, I think about everyone whose name I’ve ever known that doesn’t live on the ranch. Most of the people I meet on the circuit are little more than acquaintances, of course, so I expand my thinking. “I briefly dated a guy named Miguel Lopez, but I don’t recall ever meeting someone by the name of Mike Lopez.”

He looks me over then his gaze returns to my face. His eyebrows are raised high into his hairline as he slants his head sideways. “What in the fuck do you have on you right now?” he questions, smirking.

I scoff at the look he aims my way. “It’s a face mask. They’re all the rage these days, Rafe. Keep up with the times, old man,”I retort. Of course, my lips barely move because my face has stiffened significantly since I lost track of time.

“Does it need to come off or something? Because it’s all cracked,” he replies. Great, now he’s trying not to laugh at me. Jerk.

“Yeah, it does.” My tone is haughty as I stand up and move to the bathroom so I can wash this gook off my face. “Why did you ask if I had ever heard of Mike Lopez?” I ask as I turn both faucets on, so I get the water to the right temperature.

“Because he’s the person who’s been stalking you for years,” he says.

“How did you find that out?” My voice is a bit garbled since I’m splashing water on my face, but I know he hears me because I feel him moving closer.

“A combination of things led to that discovery,” he says. “We talked to Gage, and he told us about him, plus Pokey did a bit of a deep dive on every member of the Mojave Devils.”

My heart stutters a little hearing Gage’s name. Still, I finish cleaning my face then carefully pat it dry before I apply my moisturizer. I may not be the quintessential girly-girl, but I take good care of my skin.

“Gage? You found him?” I whisper once I’m done and have turned to face Rafe.

He reaches out and lightly strokes his finger across my cheek, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, Issy. He’s actually here,” he admits.

My hands ball into fists as I grit out through clenched teeth, “I wanna see him. I have a few things I need to say.”

“I’m sure you do, but it’ll have to wait. Do you have his number?” he asks.

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