“Nothing to be sorry about, Cotton. It was good for a while, but we grew apart. And it didn’t help he slept around,” she laughed.
“He didn’t know how good he had it,” I smiled.
“Guess not. Doesn’t matter. I’m over it,” she said. She glanced back at the papers in her hand, and asked, “What do you know about Delaney?”
Figuring she was ready to change the subject, I answered, “Not much. Whatcha got?”
We spent the next half hour going over everything she had on Derek’s three remaining men. One of the older guys had a connection to another club, while the others were just tagalongs Derek had acquired months earlier. By the time we’d gone over everything she had on them, it was after eleven. When I closed her door behind me, I found Clutch walking down the hall in my direction.
“Late night, Prez?” he smiled as his eyes darted over to Sara’s door.
“Tying up some loose ends,” I answered. “We’re leaving before dawn. Need you to keep an eye on Cass while I’m gone. You gonna be up for that?” Clutch had always been my go-to guy, but he was still healing and I needed his word he could handle her.
“I’m up for it. Anything you need, Prez.”
“Good. If you need anything, you know how to reach me.”
He gave me a quick chin lift and headed to his room. When he shut his door, I set out to find Cass. I thought I’d find her in the bar, but with the lockdown lifted, the place was completely deserted. Coming up empty-handed, I headed to my room, hoping to find her waiting for me in my bed. Regrettably, I found both empty. Fuck. I’d been waiting all day to see her, all fucking day, and I wasn’t going to wait a second longer. I stormed down the hall, and without even knocking, opened her door. I walked over to her bed, and when I pulled her comforter back, her eyes flashed open.
“Cotton! What are…” she gasped.
Her mouth clamped shut when I leaned over her and quickly lifted her out of bed, cradling her in my arms. She didn’t resist; instead, she smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. Damn. That’s all it took. With just the feel of her body pressed against mine, the tension I’d been carrying around began to lift from my shoulders. When we got to my room, I kicked the door shut and eased her down onto my bed. I stood over her, crossing my arms as I growled, “I thought you understood.”
Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion as she asked, “Understood what?”
“I want you… all of you. Your taste, your smell, the feel of your body next to mine, and I won’t spend one night in this bed without it.”
“I just thought…”
“Tonight, and every night after, I fall asleep with you in my arms,” I interrupted. “And when I’m not here, I still want you in my bed.”
With her eyes locked on mine, she whispered, “Okay.”
I pulled off my t-shirt and along with my jeans and boots, tossed it to the floor. Her eyes flickered with appreciation as she watched me crawl into the bed next to her. Once I was settled, she curled up next to me and laid her head on my chest.
With the tips of her fingers, she began to trace the lines of my tattoo as she said, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you today.”
“Is that right?” I smiled.
“I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I caught myself smiling. I guess I do that a lot… probably more than I should,” she admitted.
I took her hand in mine and lightly kissed the palm of her hand as I said, “I’ve thought about you a time or two.”
She smiled and said, “Hmmm… A time or two, huh? I must be losing my touch.”
“Not a chance,” I told her as I ran my fingers through her long hair. “How’d Dusty’s project go?”
“You should’ve seen it. Clutch went all out and bought all kinds of stuff we didn’t even need. It was a mess, but Dusty was tickled to death with it.”
“I’m sure he was. I would be, too. I used to love doing projects like that, but mine usually involved blowing something up,” I laughed.
“Blowing stuff up? I’m sure your mother loved that.”
“Yeah, we gave her a run for her money. My brothers and I were always getting into stuff. When Joe discovered what would happen when you put Mentos into a soda bottle, it was a game changer.”
She was quiet for a minute, then looked up to me and asked, “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Early. An old friend…” I let out a breath, then continued, “Sara needs our help. The sooner we get to Anchorage, the better.” The light mood instantly changed as her eyes dropped to my chest and concern washed over her face. I didn’t like the thought of leaving her any more than she did, but it was something that had to be done. I brought my hand to her chin, forcing her to look at me, when I said, “I’ll be back before you know it.”