Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“For me, too,” I admit. “Do you mind if I ask… um… Are all those kids yours?”
Alessa laughs. “No, just Izzy and Dante. Liam is Emily’s. You’ll probably meet her later.”
“Whose old lady are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“It’s fine. It would be hard to keep it a secret even if I wanted to. We’re actually all together.”
“All FOUR of them?”
Her laughter is contagious and I can’t help smiling. She shows me into the kitchen and pops open the fridge. “If it’s not labeled, anything in here is fair game. Just watch out for the yogurt. Eagle-eye gets a little territorial about people taking it.”
I reach in and grab one. It’s fruit on the bottom, cherry. My favorite, but he always hated yogurt. “He can take it up with me if he’s got a problem.” I peel off the lid and give it a lick.
“I guess that’s one of the benefits of being his daughter. There’s probably enough stuff here to make some sandwiches if you want.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but this feels way too domestic for an MC. Is it always like this during the day?” I nod my head towards the common room.
“It didn’t use to be.” Alessa starts the coffee machine, one of those capsule things. It grinds before filling her cup with a shot of espresso. She takes it black, leaning back against the counter and looking over the rim at me. “But when Emily showed up, they made some changes, and now that I’m here and the kids are big enough to pick up on stuff, it’s a lot different.” She spots a pair of panties thrown over the back of a chair at the table like a naughty doily and tosses them in the trash with a roll of her eyes. “Most of the time.”
“And the bikers don’t mind?”
“I’m sure some do, but since I’m with four of the guys, and Emily is with three, they have a lot of say in keeping things a little more mellow than it used to be. During the mornings, anyway. It’s still pretty crazy at night.”
“Does everyone here share their women?”
“Oh no.” With a tinkling laugh, she puts her cup down and waves for me to follow. “At least not yet. Come on, I need to make sure nobody is setting anything on fire or Emily will kill me. We’re watching Liam so she and her guys can get some alone time.”
I know Dad wanted the Screaming Eagles to be different, but it’s obvious I didn’t realize by how much. “And here I thought my situation was weird.”
Alessa’s eyes sparkle. “Your situation? I saw you come out of Blade’s room… It’s more than just him, isn’t it? Oh, this is too good.”
The kids are playing hide and seek behind the furniture, while the guys are hanging out by the bar, talking. I’m trying to imagine this kind of atmosphere back at the Pit Vipers, and I’m coming up empty. Of all the ways I’ve pictured an MC, this is definitely not it.
Could I imagine myself here like this with the guys? That’s a whole other thing, isn’t it? The fantasy of the three of them in bed with me is one thing, but making an actual family out of it? It’s way too soon to think about the future when I’m still dealing with my past, but now that I’ve seen the possibility in action? My imagination is way too vivid.
Just then, the door opens and a group of people come in the front door. Three massive bikers—like they all seem to be around here—and a smaller woman about my age who’s positively glowing.
The oldest of the boys comes darting out from behind one of the booths and charges right for the woman. “Mommy!”
She scoops him up, squeezes him hard, then passes him over to the biggest of her three companions, who makes a chair out of the cradle of his arm for the boy to sit on. “Hey, big guy.”
I don’t understand this world. I saw the party last night, and it looked like I expected from a clubhouse. A little nicer than the Pit Vipers, but still plenty of sex, booze and who knows what else. Then I wake up to happy biker families. Family friendly would be stretching it, but this is a hundred times more wholesome than anything I remember from my childhood.
Emily introduces herself and her three men, King, Wild Child and Hero. She’s just as nice as Alessa, but both of them are giving off private school, fancy vibes. There have to be stories behind how they ended up here, but I don’t have time to ask, because the door opens and Alpha and Ripper come in.
Ripper grins and puts his arm around me. “Hey, hot stuff. Can we drag you away for a second?”