“Whoa, whoa…what’s going on?”
“We’re going to be late,” she says.
Grabbing my hand, she shoves the keys to her SUV in my palm and bends to retrieve the four blue gift bags.
“Shit, I forgot the balloons. We’re going to have to stop.”
Taking the bags from her hands, I bend my head and kiss her lips.
“Calm down,” I murmur against her mouth. A small moan escapes her lips, and she laces her fingers through the belt loops of my jeans, tugging me closer.
“You didn’t kiss me good morning,” she says, giving my lips another peck.
“I did, but you were sleeping,” I tell her, smiling as I nip at her lower lip. Pulling back an inch, I lift my gaze from her mouth. “Now, why don’t you tell me where we’re going and why the hell we need to stop and get balloons?”
“Lauren and Riggs brought the baby home from the hospital,” she reveals, releasing my jeans. “I told them we’d come and meet their newest cub before I go to work.”
Raising an eyebrow, my lips quirk.
“He’s got you calling his kids ‘cubs’, that’s something.”
“Stop,” she retorts, playfully swatting my arm. “I think it’s cute he refers to his kids as cubs.”
“Of course you do,” I tease.
In the midst of all the drama surrounding the club, Riggs’ girl went into labor. Two days ago, Lauren a.k.a. Kitten, gave birth to their third child, a boy they named Anthony, after her brother. Under normal circumstances, everyone would’ve been at the hospital awaiting the birth, but with the club being divided, I didn’t even know Lauren was in labor until she had safely delivered the baby via emergency c-section.
“Come on,” Lacey says, pulling me out the door. “There’s a dollar store on the way to their house.”
“I think they’ll survive if we don’t bring balloons,” I reply, letting her usher me out of the house. “Especially when you hand them all this shit,” I add, lifting the gift bags. “What the hell is in here, anyway?”
“Clothes for the baby and I picked up a few things for Robert and Eric so they wouldn’t feel left out. The balloons are for Robert too. He gets a kick out of popping them.”
My lips curve as she takes the bags from me and places them in the backseat. Closing the door, she turns to walk around the back of the SUV, but I quickly grab her hand and draw her back to me. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I take her ear between my lips and nip at the lobe.
“You’re amazing, you know that? You’re going to be a great mom, Lacey. Always thinking of everything and going the extra mile.”
Turning her head, she smiles at me.
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, baby, I do,” I say, pressing a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’m a fucking lucky man,” I add before I release her and smack her ass. “Now, get in so we can go grab the balloons.”
Of course, when we stop off for balloons, we leave the store with twelve other things we didn’t need. Coloring books, crayons, and a shit ton of candy—all things Lacey thinks Eric and Robert will like. The smile on her face is contagious and when we pull in front of the ‘Tiger’s den’, yeah, that’s what the asshole calls his house, I’m smiling just as wide as my girl. I forget my troubles and live in the moment.
Riggs opens the door wearing a t-shirt that reads ‘Sperm Donor’ and his two oldest boys are hanging off his legs. I’m pretty sure there’s vomit in his hair too but I don’t even think he notices. The man looks happier than a pig in shit. I guess kids will do that to you. They’ll fill all the empty voids and brighten even your darkest days.
“Uncle Blackie!” Eric boasts.
The boy drops his father like a bad habit and charges for me. Quick with my reflexes, I swipe him up before he collides with me and lift him over my shoulder. Spotting the balloons in Lacey’s hand, Robert’s eyes go wide with mischief and he lets go of his father’s leg before running to Lacey.
“Gimme! Gimme!”
I watch as Lacey juggles the bags and the balloons, trying her hardest to untangle them. Riggs steps up and offers to take the bags. Once her hands are free of them, she gives the balloons to Robert and turns to me.
“I told you he’d love them.”
Tickling Eric, I wink at her before following her and Riggs into the house. We make our way into the living room and I set Eric onto his feet. Lauren enters from the kitchen carrying the baby.
“Oh my God, what did you guys do?” she questions, eyeing all the gifts.
“It’s just a little something for the boys,” Lacey replies, keeping her eyes pinned to the blue bundle in Lauren’s arms. She moves to stand beside Lauren and a smile spreads across her face the minute Lauren asks her if she’d like to hold Anthony. She quickly sheds her leather jacket and makes a beeline to the bathroom to wash her hands. Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms as Lacey returns and takes a seat on the sofa. Lauren gently transfers the baby into her arms, and I swear my breath catches at the sight. Time stands still for a moment as she bends and touches her lips to the top of the baby’s head.
“I love that smell,” she whispers, nuzzling the infant. “He’s beautiful, Lauren.”
“Thanks,” she replies. “I think he looks just like Eric did when he was born. Only bigger of course,” she adds, reminding us all that her firstborn son was premature. Lauren was seven months pregnant when she was shot by one of our enemies. She and the baby might not be here with us today if it wasn’t for Bones. He stepped in front of her and took a bullet that ended his life. We lost a brother that day and Riggs lost his best friend.
“She looks good holding a baby,” Riggs comments beside me, keeping his voice low enough that only I can hear him.
“Yeah, she does,” I agree.
“You’re not getting any younger, you know?”
At that, I peel my eyes away from Lacey and meet his smirk.
“You should probably get on that,” he continues. “Or under it, whatever floats your boat and gets the job done.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go fuck himself but he doesn’t give me the chance and continues to ramble on, spurting more nonsense from that filter free mouth of his. “The first time I gave it to Lauren, I had her up against the wall and before either of us could say the words birth control, we had a pea. Now, I’m not a hundred percent certain but, I think she was on top when we conceived Robert and I know for a fact, with this one, Kitten was on all fours,” he says, emphasizing by adding a growl and clawing the air like the fucking clown he is.
“You know you should really thank your lucky fucking stars that woman looks at you, much less gives you children.”
“Oh, please, man, have you seen my kids? She ain’t getting that kind of product with anyone else’s sperm. My swimmers are fucking gold.”
“Are we really having this conversation?”
He waves a hand dismissively and tips his chin back to Lacey.
“Seriously, man, do you guys talk about having kids?”
I turn my attention back to Lacey.
“Yeah, we talk about it,” I reply, leaving it at that. He doesn’t need to know we’ve been fucking like rabbits for the last few days.