My knees weaken with the temptation to fall to one knee and propose to her. Fucking crazy. I know. Because Jesus . . .

The ring of my cell phone cuts through the air. I pull back and take it from my pocket. I glare at the clubhouse landline number. Clarity hits and I’m thinking I should probably thank the person on the other line for interrupting my train of thought.

As I answer, Ember turns away a little and her eyes flicker back to the blueprints.

I clear my throat a couple of times before I answer. “Yeah,” I rasp and watch Ember slide her fingers under her eyes as she removes more tears.

Bluesy music is in the background and someone shouts for Rigor. Then Edge speaks, “Hey man, where you at?”

“Just runnin’ a few errands. Why? What’s up?”

He muffles the phone, and says, “Give me a sec.” Then a moment later, he comes back on the line. “Star’s a clinger man, why the fuck hasn’t anyone cut her loose?”

“I did,” I laugh. “Brought her back special for you.”

“Well, fuck. Next time don’t do me any favors. The bitch is in my face every time I turn around.”

“Didn’t think you’d find that to be a problem.”

“Yeah, well it is. Fake tits are just not my thing. And fuck, she screams like a goddamn cat in heat when she comes. Bugs the fuck outta me.”

“You call to tell me that, or is there a point to this phone call?”

“Harty har har, fucker. We got church at eight. Afterward, the boys wanna party.”

“When don’t the boys wanna party?”

He chuckles. “Part of the crazy life we lead, man.”

Don’t I know it. “Alright. I’ll be there.”

“You bringin’ your girl?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep her close. GBs are comin’ again tonight. And Taz said Smoke wasn’t lookin’ at Bodie last night, he was watchin’ you with your girl. Said he followed you into the parkin’ lot and watched you two leave.”

A fog of unease slowly rolls over me.

“You do somethin’ to piss him off?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Griz said he’s got a thing for redheads. And probably thinks he’s got a shot since she’s not claimed.”

Smoke wasn’t the only fucker eyeing my girl last night. Plenty of brothers were watching us. But something about Smoke makes me twitchy. I don’t want that crazy fuck anywhere near Ember.

I think about not having Ember there tonight. But at the same time, I don’t want to leave her anywhere unprotected either. Better with me at the clubhouse than somewhere else alone.

“I’ll be there.” I hit end and pocket my phone, close the distance between Ember and me and wrap my arms around her. She leans back into me.

“Who was that?”

“Edge. He’s wants us all at church tonight.”

Ember looks at me over her shoulder and gives me a perplexed expression.

“It’s a meeting we have at the clubhouse in the chapel.” When she still looks confused as fuck, I chuckle and explain, “The room I told you was off limits and only for brothers.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, listen, there’s another party afterward. It won’t be as out of control as last night, but I’d like it if you’d come.”

“Okay.” She nods.

“Good. And one more thing.”

She leans forward and peaks into the black bag. She playfully asks, “What. You don’t have Dana’s remains or her skull in here too, do you?”

I shake my head but inside cringe. No, the one skeleton I keep hidden isn’t Dana’s. And that secret is one I’ll most likely carry to my grave with me.

She places her palm over her mouth. “I’m sorry that was awful of me.”

“Honestly, babe, if the boys wouldn’t have pried me out of the room she was sleepin’ naked in with another man, there’s a good chance I would have killed her.”

Doll whispers under her breath, “I just might too if I ever meet her.”

I squeeze her tight to me. “See, you’re gonna make a great old lady. Which reminds me.” I pull my necklace over my head and place it over hers. She picks up the HOC medallion and studies it. “Is this like in high school when your boyfriend gives you his letterman jacket so he can let all the other jocks know you’re taken?”

I smile as I kiss her temple and run my lips down to her ear. “Yes. Only I’m lettin’ the other jerks know you’re taken.”

Before we leave, and a few minutes before the first raindrops fall, I burn the black bag.

All the items that used to be inside, we keep.

Ember seems to think I’ll need them. Someday.

Never knowing what lies ahead is one of the scariest things we face as we go through life.

EMBER

Leaving the restaurant doorway, we run across the parking lot toward his truck. Me with Mav’s cut over my head, him ushering me with his hand on the small of my back. The curses he’s spitting out behind me have my smile spreading wider. By the time we get to where the truck’s parked, we’re soaked through to the bone and I’m laughing.

Instead of going to the driver’s side, he jogs beside me to the passenger door. I yell, “No, just get in.” But he completely ignores me and opens my door.

Warmth flows through me at the gesture.

When we stopped at the hospital and he spoke to Cap as if he were awake, I nearly melted on the spot. And watching him from across the table moments ago, eating his lunch, lick his fingers, and stare heatedly at me, had me nearly crawling over the table to kiss the hell out of him.

I’ve been unable to shut off this ache to be closer to him all day. The tether on my self-control is non-existent. I think I lost it somewhere in-between last night and this morning. Most likely, in Mav’s bed, or when he sprawled me out on the kitchen island and fucked me senseless.

A heavy dose of lust hits me every time I look at him, every time he touches me, and every time we kiss. I mean, he’s standing before me now with his shirt sticking to every sculpted muscle and rain dripping from his impeccable jaw and chiseled features. He’s looking down at me, his golden eyes hooded, while rain pelts both of us. The electricity sparking in the sky is nothing compared to the energy buzzing between us. It’s a steady burn that’s been lingering beneath my skin, crackling and kindling, and growing by the hour, it ready to explode if given the chance to.

Before I can second-guess myself, I toss his cut behind me on my seat, and then slowly seize him by his belt buckle and pull him toward me. Mav hand come up and slip around my neck. And then he’s crushing his lips to mine. His tongue plunges into my mouth and swirls around as I sneak my hands around his waist and under his shirt. I hold on to him with an intensity I’ve never wielded before.

He groans and breathes against my lips, “Fuck. How can I already be so addicted to you?” His lips blaze a scorching trail down my neck sucking hard enough to leave a mark. “I’d take you right here if I could.”

“That could get us both arrested,” I moan and try to remind myself why that’s such a bad idea. But even the threat of Davis isn’t enough to pull me away from Mav right now.

Thunder rumbles in the background and we continue to get soaked. We disregard it all as he dips me back and his hot kisses move to my collarbone.

“Yeah, it would. Especially the way I want to take you.” He straightens and looks down at me. “The second we get back to the clubhouse, I’m gonna be buried inside you.”

“The second?”

His hand leaves my face to travel down my body. He cups and squeezes my butt. “You can bet your ass I am.” His crooked smile is genuine. Happy. And it makes my stomach do a tilt-a-whirl. Absolutely no trace of the sorrow and stress that covered his face a couple of hours ago remains. It’s as if today at the house never happened. Only it did. I saw a part of him that no one else has seen. I saw who he really is and how deeply he can love. I saw how utterly amazing his heart is.