Page 77 of A Brother's Secret

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Amalia…

I legit had a headache for two fucking days after cracking my skull on the damn counter. Didn’t stop me from having sex with him on the couch that night, but I’d begged off going anywhere. I still felt as fragile as blown glass and needed time to cool properly after my raging shit storm of a cryingjag.

God, I hated thatshit.

Now we were at his clubhouse on a Friday night and the boys had all come back to get the little women and children out of what they called the media room. Gag me with a spoon, but being on the domesticated end of the spectrum was so not my thing.

Kyle came in behind Trigger, caught one look at the sour look on my face and started laughing.

“Everything all right?” Shelly asked, catching the same look. Man, my mouth wasn’t the problem. It was totally my face that needed some sort of deliverance.

I told the truth, couldn’t help myself. “The mommy shtick is so not my scene.”

She smiled and nodded, one of the kids was teething, and I knew it wasn’t their fault but the damn crying set my nerves on edge and made me antsy.

“It’s okay, I totally get it,” she said. “I always wanted my own kids but other people’s kids? Not yours!” she shot a look at Red who was looking over amused, Melody echoing the look beside her. “Like stranger’s kids. Like to drive me up thewall!”

“Yeah, it’s no offense,” I said wincing as another one of the toddlers started in after getting beaned in the head with a block.

“Come on,” Kyle said laughing, holding out a hand. I took it and he hauled me off the end of the couch. “We’re out!” he called.

“Man, now I feel like I’m being shitty!” I groused as he pulled me out thedoor.

“No, trust me, they aren’t in the cult of mommy, they get it. They signed up for it, you not somuch.”

“Amen,” I said. “Not disappointed areyou?”

He shook his head, “No. I can live without the baby phase.”

I laughed, “Okay, all right.”

I knew it was a conversation we had before, but people changed their minds, you know? I had to check and see every once in a while. I knew I took bullheaded to a new level, but not everyone made a decision and stuck to it like I did. Kyle was in this, too and his thoughts, his feelings on any given subject, meant the world.

We went out the back and up to the fire pit area. I sank onto one of the benches and Kyle dropped onto it next to me, his arm automatically lying across the back of the seat and curving around my shoulders.

“Your kid is crying,” Revelator called out from behind us towards Ghost who was crouched and trying to get the firelit.

“Yeah, so’s yers,” Ghost said absently.

“Go on, the both of you. I got this,” I said getting up and Rush called out, “Sit down all o’ you! Before you go an’ fuck up my firepit!”

I snorted but sat back down gratefully, putting myself closer, tucking myself tight into Kyle’sside.

Bailey, Rush’s girlfriend and apparently Dray’s cousin on his mama's side, had two beers each in her hands. She stopped in front of Kyle and held two of them out to us with an archedbrow.

“Thanks,” Kyle said and took them fromher.

“Just doin’ what you asked,” she said with awink.

“And he’s expressing his appreciation, Bailes!” Dray called out. Bailey and I exchanged a look and rolled our eyes in unison.

“Jesus, I heard that all the way from over here,” Everett called as she and Dray took a seat across and one swing to the left of us. Cue some good-natured laughter.

I liked this. I felt at home – like I might actually fit here. Even more so when Kyle’s arm tightened around me, dragging my temple to his lips where he pressed them for a kiss that took two seconds longer than was polite. Of course, that’s because I knew he was breathing me in. He liked the smell of my shampoo, or so he said, which I found funny because I hadn’t used the same stuff more than twice since we’d landed here. I kept raiding his stock of stolen hotel shampoos and conditioners and it was killing my color.

Even though there were other men and women of his club around, I felt comfortable. Like we might as well be out here alone, so I asked the question that’d been burning the shit out of me for a couple of days, now.

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