Page 42 of Mace
“I’ve almost got you figured out, sweetness. Once I do, you’ll never prefer another man over me.”
“Look how ambitious you are. Though I would have thought you might want someone without all the drama, excess emotional baggage, and a father who’s the leader of a cartel.”
He put three fingers under my chin and turned my head around to look into my eyes. “I want you to know that you’ve spoiled me for other women. No one has ever pleased me the way you do, and I love just spending time getting to know you. I like that you’re a mixture of sweet and fierce. After all thehardships you’ve been through, that you still have so much love locked in your heart to give is a miracle.”
I swallowed thickly as my feelings for this man multiplied in my chest exponentially. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
I turned halfway around and laid my cheek on his chest, right over his tattoo of a ferocious black bear and closed my eyes, intent on just enjoying this moment with the man I was falling in love with.
Chapter 16
Mace
The past few weeks with Alicia had convinced me that although her life was complicated right now, I wanted to be there for her. I knew I was falling hard and fast for her, and I was pretty sure she felt the same. We’d known one another for a month and a half, and for the past three weeks we’d gotten much closer. I felt a gnawing need to stake my claim on her so none of my club brothers thought she was available. Because, according to our club traditions a woman is available until she’s wearing a wedding band, or a property cut.
Now, I knew that my club brothers would sometimes throw the woman they’re chasing into a property cut just to make her happy and cover her with an additional layer of protection. But I was always of the opinion that should only come after you’re reasonably sure she’s your one, and she’s verbalized her intent back to you. If you threw a property cut at every woman you’re infatuated with, the symbolism lost its meaning.
However with everything that had happened, and knowing what could be coming for us, I decided to ignore my rational brain which was telling me to wait a few more weeks, and I went and got a property cut made for her. The black leather was buttery soft, at the top it said, ‘Dark Slayers MC’ and underneath, ‘Property of Mace’.
I hope it met with Alicia’s approval. I couldn’t believe that I would have an old lady by the end of the day. I didn’t think that would happen for me anytime soon. But if there’s one thingI’d learned from watching my club brothers settle down, it was that you had to strike while the iron was hot. If not, some other brother might steal her right out from under you. All’s fair in love and war after all.
I didn’t want Alicia to move back to Mexico, so I was giving her an incentive to stay. As far as incentives go, I hoped I was a pretty good one. If the fact that I was finally a fully patched member of the Dark Slayers MC and a respected member of my tribe wasn’t enough, there was always the fact that I had the ability to keep her and her mother safe. At least I hoped that I would be able to prove that correct.
I tucked the cut under my arm, filled us up a plate of breakfast food and balanced a couple of cups of coffee on the side before heading upstairs. Once again, I found her sitting on the bed with her arms draped loosely around her knees. I couldn’t help but grin. “You spend a lot of time waiting around for me.” The lighthearted tone of my voice made her smile up at me.
Her response was bittersweet, “You’re the first man I ever trusted to come back.”
I set the tray down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to give her a kiss. “No matter what, I’ll always come for you, sweetness. Don’t you ever worry about that.” Taking the cover off our platter of our food, I told her, “I know you love crispy bacon, so I brought extra.”
Her eyes lit up as I handed her a piece to munch on while we talked about the property cut. I didn’t even need to bring it up because she noticed immediately that I had something tucked firmly under my arm.
“Is that what I think it is?” she asked excitedly.
I whisked it out from under my arm and unfurled it for her to see. “I hope you don’t think I’m moving too fast. Everyone always tells me I overanalyze stuff too much, that I take my time. But with you I don’t need to, because I know. I would be proud if you would wear my cut and be my old lady. What do you think?”
She put down the piece of bacon and wiped her hands on a napkin before sliding off the bed and walking around to where I was standing. Her eyes were shining brightly as she reached for it. I watched her struggle into it wearing nothing but her underwear. She looked mouthwatering wearing my cut and her pretty black panties.
I knew in my own mind that I shouldn’t keep going back to her appearance in a moment such as this, and instead I should be concentrating on how proud I felt knowing she’d agreed to be mine, but damn, Alicia looked eminently fuckable wearing my property cut and very little else this morning. Without taking my eyes off her, I picked up our breakfast tray and set it on the coffee table. When I turned around, she launched herself at me. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face or my emotions from leaping into my chest. Alicia was becoming downright playful with me and deep down inside I knew it was because she felt safe with me.
She helped me get my clothing off and we fell into bed again. Even after having sex several times last night, my cock was hard and ready for another round from seeing her wearing my cut and not much else.
However, that was not to be. We’d barely gotten warmed up when my phone buzzed. Glancing at the caller ID I saw I’dbeen cockblocked by Storm, Reluctantly I answered, “Mornin’ Prez.”
“I’m calling church in half an hour. Be there, we’re burnin’ daylight.” With that he hung up.
We were all still searching for Alicia’s father, so I couldn’t just skip out on joining my club brothers in their quest—even if my cock had other ideas. It wasn’t just the matter of Alicia’s mother that my club was looking into, the bigger picture was the cartel making a push into our territory. We didn’t know if this was just something her father had cooked up or was part of something larger and much more dangerous. Until we figured that out, Storm and the other club officers were going to be like a dog with a bone.
I rolled out of bed, got dressed again and re-braided my hair. Before going downstairs, I stopped to speak with Alicia. She was sitting with her back against the headboard and Nine had joined her with his head on her lap, and unless I missed my guess she was pouting.
“Come on, sweetness. You know I have to go out today. The quicker we find your old man, the quicker we can rescue your mother and get on with living our lives.”
She scooted forward in one smooth motion and ran one hand up my cut and up to the side of my neck. Toying with the shell of my ear, she spoke in a disappointed tone. “I know that. I just wish this were all over and my mom was safe, so we could spend more time together.” Glancing away, she murmured, “That sounds so selfish when I say it out loud.”
I cupped her cheek with one hand. “Naw, it’s not selfish. I feel exactly the same way. Right now, our first duty is torescue your mom and bring down the cartel to keep folks here in Griffinsford safe. After that, my first duty will always be to you.”
When her eyes found mine again, there was such a depth of emotion there, that it made me want to hold her close and never let her go.
Finally, she turned her face and kissed the palm of my hand before pulling herself together. “You always know just what to say to make everything alright again.”