Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“Oh, I think you know what it means. Just to be clear, though, I’m makin’ you my ol’ lady. We’ll both adopt Jerrica. It gives me the woman I’ve grown to admire over the last three months and gives you the protection you need for your sister and yourself. As the ol’ lady of their president, my club will protect you with a ruthlessness you’ve never even conceived of. With Jerrica as my daughter, they’ll be worse with her. She’ll always have a strong protector with her. You won’t have to worry about adopting her by yourself. I’ll be your husband. We’ll be a strong family unit for her.”
“You don’t know me. I don’t know you. This isn’t something we can do on a whim.”
“This isn’t a whim, Iris. Tell me you’ve not been studying me the three months we’ve been here together. Tell me you never noticed me as a man, and I’ll forget about this.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Stepping closer to me, she rested her forehead on my chest between her hands. “Fuck.”
“That’s what I thought. Now. We’re not leavin’ this room until we have this worked out between us. Tell me what expectations you have for a husband.”
“You’re too bossy for me.” Her voice was muffled, but I thought I caught a thread of humor.
“Hellcat, you don’t know the half of it. What else do you object to?”
She raised her head, looking me in the eyes. “I don’t do casual sex. And I need to know what being an ol’ lady means. ‘Cause I don’t share.” Oh, she was a fierce little thing. I knew where she was going, and I loved her thinking.
“Being my ol’ lady in my club is the same as being married. I’ll give you a nice ceremony and all that shit if you want. I’ll even make it legal. But for all intents and purposes, me claiming you as my ol’ lady means we’re an exclusive couple. My club will enforce that in no uncertain terms. Neither of us will ever cheat on the other.”
“What about a divorce? If you can just decide I’m your woman, can you decide you don’t want me anymore?”
I shook my head. “It’s more complicated than that. I let the club know what I want. They have to agree. Especially since I’m their president. They’ll want to make sure we’re a good match for each other. They’ve been judgin’ us almost since the first day we met. Every member of Iron Tzars will report what they find to the other officers in the club, and they’ll vote. If they agree, I’ll get your property patch. Same with a divorce. The officers will listen to both sides and decide if we need to try harder to work it out or if we’re done.” There was more, but I wasn’t about to tell her. Not now. It made me a bastard, but I needed her on board with this. Because there was no way I could let her go. She was under my skin but real fucking good. “You should know that I grew up in Iron Tzars. I’m twenty-nine. In all that time, I’ve never seen even one couple divorce. Warlock is the only man I’ve ever seen give up his ol’ lady, and she wasn’t approved by the club. He called her his ol’ lady, but she wasn’t really. The club knew they were a poor match. Or, rather, that she didn’t want him. Not like he wanted her.”
She looked up at me for a long time. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind. In the three months I’d watched her, I knew Iris was nothing if not intelligent. Though I didn’t want her to know there was no leaving the Tzars once she was on the inside, I had the feeling she could figure it out on her own.
“I know there are things you’re not telling me. And I’m a fool for agreeing to this.” She sighed. “What happens if we don’t work out? I get the feeling I don’t just get to go on my happy way.”
“We’ll work it out, Iris. I won’t let it be any other way. I’ll make you so happy, you’ll never even think about leaving.”
“You know that’s just lip service. Right?”
“Is it? I made you a promise to get your sister back, and I did. I’m offering you the same kind promise on this. I’ll keep you happy, Iris. I’ll spoil you like a princess and treat you like a queen. Always, I’ll keep you and your sister safe.” I gave her a crooked grin. “And anyone else who comes along. Hopefully eight or ten boys.”
Her eyes widened. “Eight or ten? You’ve lost your mind! And I am not having boys! Girls or nothing. Just to keep you honest.”