Fire Inside (Chaos #2)(99)

“Funny,” I said quietly, “I was thanking f**k because you came into my life at all.”

After I spoke my words, the room went still and it stayed that way for so long, it began to freak me out.

“Hop?” I called.

“Do you have any f**kin’ clue how much I love you?”

After his growled words, I stopped breathing. Therefore it took effort to wheeze out, “I do now.”

I felt his lips hit mine, where he said, “Every step, every breath, every second I lived on this earth, I’m thankful for, no matter how f**ked up or whacked or hard or good, ’cause all that shit led me to you.”

Oh dear.

I was going to cry.

Damn!

I was crying.

In fact, I burst into tears on a muffled sob, twisting my head and shoving my face in Hop’s neck.

His arms closed around me, he rolled us to our sides and he held me close, one hand stroking my spine as the goodness I felt from his words flowed from my eyes and into his skin.

“I’m giving you a key to my house,” I announced stupidly, my words breaking, my breath hitching.

“Good,” he muttered, his words breaking because he was stifling laughter.

“We need to speed up the easing Cody and Molly into things gig because I don’t want to sleep without you, even if it might be inappropriate Dad’s girlfriend spends the night,” I declared.

“I’ll work on that with them right away,” Hop replied, still sounding amused.

“If it takes time, when they’re asleep, I’ll crawl through the window.”

Even more humor in his tone when he stated, “Babe, seein’ as my room is on the top floor, I’d like to see how you pull that off, but I’ll save you that hassle and let you in the front door.”

I belatedly fell silent and stopped acting like an idiot but kept crying.

Hop asked, “Easing the Cody and Molly into things… gig?”

I pulled my head back and looked at him. “What?”

“You don’t say words like ‘gig’, lady.”

“My man’s a biker. Shit rubs off.”

The minute I finished speaking, Hop’s arms spasmed around me as he burst out laughing.

I watched and listened through the dark, loving every second.

Still laughing, he bent his head and took my lips, laughing into my mouth as he kissed me.

Amazing.

Then he made love to me, a lot slower this time.

Even better.

And last, I fell asleep, na**d in his arms.

No dreams.

Just Hop.

Chapter Seventeen

Glad to have you back, darlin’

The pounding at the door woke us. Hop’s arm convulsed around me and I lifted my head from where it lay on his chest to stare at the door.

“Open this goddamned door, brother!”

Oh God.

That was Tack.

And he sounded really, really angry.

“Fuck,” Hop muttered.

“Fuckin’ now!” Tack shouted.

“Fuck,” Hop repeated.

“Oh dear,” I mumbled.

“Not a good time!” Hop yelled.

“Open it or I kick it in!” Tack shouted and I felt my eyes get wide. I’d never heard Tack angry like that.

“Oh dear,” I whispered.

“Fuck,” Hop grumbled, rolled into me, kissed me quickly then he rolled out of bed.

Tack pounded at the door.

Hop tossed his thermal to me and I tugged it on as he pulled up a pair of jeans and moved to the door.

“Jesus, brother, cool it! Fuck! I’m comin’!” Hop yelled, made it to the door, unlocked it and opened it. I had the thermal down to my waist, the covers up it and I watched as Hop took a quick step back because Tack pushed in.

Tack scowled at me in bed for a nanosecond before his head swung Hop’s way.

“Seriously?” he asked. “I just get done dealin’ with that shit with Tabby and you, another brother, are nailin’ my other girl in… f*ckin’… secret?”

How sweet. I loved it that I was his other girl.

“Tack, breathe, brother, and give me a second to explain,” Hop stated calmly.

Tack pointed my way. “Her head’s messed up. You go in there when her head’s messed up?”

“My head isn’t messed up,” I butted in and Tack turned his scowl back to me.

“Darlin’, you’re in my heart, you know that so no offense, but you’re right, it isn’t messed up. It’s f**ked up.”

Oh wow. I was in his heart.

“Tack, listen to me,” Hop called Tack’s attention to him and Tack sliced his gaze to Hop. “There’s a reason we kept it under wraps, a good one I’m not gonna explain because it’s Lanie’s and she gets to explain it if she wants. What you gotta know right now is, this is real,” he stated just as my phone rang from inside my purse.

“It better f**kin’ be real, brother. I know you. I know you wouldn’t pull shit on me, Red, Lanie, but what I don’t know is why it’s a goddamned secret,” Tack returned.

I’d scooted up to my knees to reach the side of the bed where my purse was, grabbed it and pulled my phone out while Hop replied, “Lanie had some things to work through and I thought we should focus on that without outside distractions.”