Page 4 of Greedy Grizzly
But something had changed after Toby left. I had felt him withdrawing. His daily texts had been reduced to one per week, and he never called.
Of course, nothing had changed between Toby and Libby. Some nights she would stay up late talking to him while I lie beside her in bed, pretending to be asleep. I’d never been so jealous. Or furious at Toby for avoiding me. But I couldn’t show my feelings—never show my real feelings to anyone.
The only time I had let my guard down, since becoming a Knight, was last summer when I almost lost Libby. That had been the scariest time of my life. I’d cried so hard, praying for her life to be spared. It’d been a purely selfish prayer. I couldn’t stand to be alone again. I’d rather be dead than live without her.
I wished my memory of that day could be erased. It was possible for some people, if they had post traumatic stress disorder, otherwise known as PTSD. Following the traumatic event, they could block out the ordeal.
But not me. I hadn’t been one of the lucky ones. I never forgot any of the awful things that had happened to me, dating all the way back to my early childhood.
I recalled everything from the moment Libby had convinced me to let her help Raul and Tina at the abandoned church to hergetting shot. Her job in the rescue mission was to impersonate Brynne, Tina’s oldest daughter. I had been fiercely against her volunteering, fearing she might get hurt. And I’d been right. Libby had been shot.
It all happened so fast. Gunshots rang from every direction. I panicked. Frozen in place, wondering what to do and how to rescue Libby as total chaos ensued.
Through my binoculars, I’d watched her body jolt as a bullet cut through her. Her legs gave out next and she crumpled onto the cold, muddy ground. The very sight of her lying there stunned and disoriented, staring up at the cloudy, gray sky. had stolen my breath away. At that moment, I knew it was over. Dead at twenty-seven.
Long before the incident at the church, Libby had been the most precious person to me and the love of my life. Having almost lost her, there was no way I could ever let her go now.
Libby Larson was mine. Mine until I took my last breath. Naturally, in my perfect world, I would die before her and not the other way around. I didn’t want to live without her.
I wanted to claim Libby, but first, I had to get her approval. The sassy blonde had never wanted to belong to anyone. She was a free spirit down to the bottom of her soul.
Stalking through the building, I followed the melodious laughter coming from the kitchen. Some of the old ladies were busy preparing supper, per usual, after two in the afternoon. But I didn’t know who was on cooking duty. It changed daily with so many new babies in the club. We needed to hire a full-time chef. Especially now that Sugar and Tina, our head cooks, had their new babies.
The clubhouse had become overrun with kids. It needed to stop. Kids and I didn’t mix very well. Hell, we didn’t mix at all.
At one of the round dining tables, my beautiful lady was holding Chase, Storm and Angel’s baby. The endearing sight made my heart lock up, but I schooled my reaction.
“Hi, handsome.” She beamed and kissed the top of the sleeping infant’s head.
She was a terrific auntie to many in the club. Although, I had noticed she gravitated more to the babies than the toddlers. Couldn’t say I blamed her. The toddlers in the club were rambunctious little squirts.
Birdie had been the most well-behaved, taking after her momma. But she had a little of Storm in her, too. Which meant, she exploded at least once a week in a full on tantrum.
Usually, Libby snatched up Track and Brynne’s baby girl, Mellie, the second they entered the building. Their baby was the newest in the club.
But at any given time, I could find Libby cuddling little Chase or Sugar’s baby, Alexandra. Or helping Valerie with the twins, Izan and Sophia, when Tina was preparing enough egg bake or tater tot hotdish to feed an army of famished Knights.
I hung back for a moment to take in my blonde beauty. The way the sunbeams hit her hair and her radiant smile made her look ethereal. She’d grown into a mature, respected Kitten over the past two years. When most club girls only wanted to party and fuck, Libby had rose above the rest and showed she was so much more than an exceptional lay.
The corner of my mouth twitched as I approached the table. I didn’t like thinking about all my MC brothers who’d been with her. It hadn’t bothered me at first. Hadn’t bothered me for years. She’d given me what I needed just as she’d given the others what they wanted.
But things were different now. I loved Libby and wanted to marry her. Almost losing her last summer messed me up. Lifewas too short to put stuff off when tomorrow wasn’t promised. If only I could convince Libby to be mine forever.
Thankfully, my brothers respected me and kept their dicks away frommyKitten.
It also helped that most of the Knights were madly in love and married.
Still, a new group of younger men were prospecting, getting patched, and were slowly changing the domestic landscape at the compound. Maddox would be president in a few years, and with his new position would come new members, more parties, and more demands for pussy.
No way in hell would I allow anyone else to touch my woman, so I had to lock her down soon.
“Hey, do you have a minute?” I gave Libby a look that said,we need to talk privately.
“Sure.” She stood and placed the baby in a portable bed beside the table. “Maddy, I need to step out.”
“No problem. Chase will be fine. He sleeps through everything.”
“Noteverything.” Storm’s quip was dripping with innuendo as he entered. He made a beeline for his woman and wrapped her in his embrace. The way he showed his love for Angel was raw and unapologetic. I envied Prez and wished I could be like him. I had a hard time with PDA and showing my real feelings, no thanks to my foster dad.
