Keeping Meg (Devil's Knights #6) (4 page)

“Jesus Christ, Meg,” Lo laughed, wrapping his arms around me. “You almost just knocked yourself out, babe.”

“It’s not funny,” I pouted, slugging him in the shoulder. “It’s this damn bed. I swear to Christ one of these times I’m going to decapitate myself.”

“This damn bed is your fault.”

“Ugh, just shut up and get me some ice, please.”

“Let me look at it. You might have a concussion.” I rolled off him, and he sat up and gently prodded the side of my head. “I think you’ll just have a goose egg on the side of your head for the next couple of days,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Let me see your eyes.”

“I got hit on the side of the head, Lo, not in the eye.”

Lo shook his head and just grabbed my chin, looking me in the eye. “If your pupils are dilated, babe, it means you have a concussion.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” I said, opening my eyes wide.

“You look fine. Probably just gonna have one hell of a headache.” He stood up and opened the dresser drawer and grabbed a pair of underwear out.

“I don’t get you naked the whole night?”

“No, babe.” He pulled them on and grabbed his jeans off the floor.

“Hey,” I said, sitting up, “you weren’t wearing any underwear. You must have thought I was a sure thing.”

“You are a sure thing. Just like I’m a sure thing for you. All you need to do is bat those pretty eyes at me, and I’ll do whatever you ask.”

Hmm, he’ll do whatever I ask, huh? I batted my eyes and pulled the blanket off, exposing my breasts. “Then tell me what everyone is keeping from me.”

Lo threw his head back, laughing and walked out of the room. “Nice try,” he called over his shoulder.

“Dammit,” I cursed, falling back onto the bed. Not only had I just cracked my skull open on the damn fan, I still couldn’t get Lo to tell me what the hell was going on.

Shit.

________

Chapter 6

Lo

“Dinner, Lo!” Meg called.

I tossed my crowbar down and wiped my hands on my pants. My hands were numb from working in the cool, fall weather and the sun was almost set.

“Holy shit.” I spun around and caught Meg before she fell out the front door. I had managed to tear down the whole front porch, and it was now a pile of wood and debris on the side of the house. “You said you were going to do a little work out here before dinner. I guess I didn’t realize that meant tearing the whole thing down.” She pushed off my shoulders and grabbed the door frame, pulling herself back in the house. “How the hell are we supposed to get in the house now, Lo?”

“Backdoor. Plus, it’s only going to be like this for a week or two. I figure while you’re doing wedding shit, the brothers and I can work on getting the deck done.”

“I’m sure Remy would help, too.”

“I’ll shoot him a text in a little bit and see if he’s free this weekend.” I know Meg wanted me to get along with her son and we did. Meg had raised him to be a good kid and was easy to get along with him. He had the same personality as his mom; laidback.

“Dinner’s done, Lo,” she said again, leaning against the door frame. It was times like these that I fell more in love with Meg. I never once thought that I would have the life I do. A drop dead gorgeous woman telling me dinner was made, standing in the door of the house we were going to share together. I was one lucky mother fucker.

“What did you make, babe?” I grabbed the last three boards off the ground and tossed them into the pile.

“Chicken Parmesan, garlic rolls, and Mexican Cheesecake for dessert.”

Another reason I was a lucky fucker, Meg cooked like a fucking five-star chef. “What makes your cheesecake Mexican?” I hoisted myself up into the house and Meg backed up, making room for me.

“You’ll have to wait until dessert to figure that out.”

“Or I could eat my dessert first.”

“You can’t. The cheesecake is still cooling, and if you eat dessert first, your dinner will get cold.”

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to me. “Just one bite. That’s all, I promise.”

“Tell me what you’re keeping from me, and I’ll cut you a big ass piece.”

Damn, this woman was fucking relentless. “Nope. I can wait till after dinner.” I pressed a kiss to the side of her head and ducked around, missing her swinging arm.

“I hate you, Lo. I don’t understand why you can’t tell me. I’m sure it’s nothing, and you’re making it a bigger deal than what it really is.” She propped her arms on her hips and tapped her foot. Even pissed off and telling me she hated me, Meg still looked hot as hell.

“It isn’t a big deal, Meg, that’s why I don’t need to tell you.”

“I’m not going to be in a relationship where you’re constantly keeping things from me, Lo. I’m not some fragile flower that you need to protect and keep secrets from.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

I hated that I couldn’t tell Meg about Big A and what happened at the salon, but knew it was better if she didn’t know until I knew what the hell was going on. With my luck, she and Cyn would go Nancy Drew on my ass and try to figure out how to get rid of the Assassins. I walked over to her and put my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Do you trust me, Meg?”

“Lo, this isn’t about trust.”

“Yes, it is, Meg. Do you trust me to do what 's right for you?”

“Gah, yes, OK, I trust you.”

“Then trust that I will tell you what you need to know, and if I have to keep a secret from you, know that they only reason I am is because it’s club business, and I’m keeping you safe. Sometimes the less you know, the better, babe.”

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “You make sense, Lo, but it really bothers me that there are going to be times where you are going to know things, and I’ll be clueless.” There weren’t going to be many times that I was going to have to keep secrets from Meg. Now, if this would have been five years ago when the Knights were heavy into drugs and gun running, then yes there would be lots of things Meg wouldn’t know.

“Babe, open your eyes and look at me.” She opened her eyes and tilted her head down. “Trust me. Trust that I am doing right by you, and when the time comes, I will tell you what happened.”

“Ugh, fine. I trust you, but just know, you are going to make me go crazy.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take seeing as you’re already half crazy.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in. “You know what’s even crazier, Lo?” I shook my head no and brushed the hair out of her face. “The fact that you want to marry my crazy ass.”

“Hmm, you may be right, babe, but I’m totally fine with being crazy if it means I get you.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and she threaded her fingers through my hair.

“I guess you could have one bite of cheesecake before dinner,” she whispered against my lips.

“Maybe I could have a bite of something else, too.” I nipped at her bottom lip, my hands grabbing her ass, lifting her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

“Dinners going to get cold, Lo,” she moaned, tilting her head to the side, giving me better access as I rained kisses down her neck.

“Dinner can fucking wait,” I growled, turning around and headed back to the bedroom.

She squealed as I tossed her on the bed and climbed on top of her. “I guess we can always rewarm it,” she purred.

“There’s always later. I’m hungry for something else right now.”

Dinner was ice cold by the time we resurfaced from the bedroom. It was well worth it.

________

Chapter 7

Meg

“Oh for Christ’s sake, get your ass in the damn car.”

“I am not sitting in the middle; my ass is too fat.”

“You don’t have an ass, Gwen. Do you think we can stop for snacks? Rigid woke me up early this morning and kept me, shall we say, busy.” Cyn wiggled her eyebrows and plopped down into the passenger seat.

“If I’m not back in eight hours, send out the cavalry.” Lo chuckled next to me and shook his head.

“Did you call ahead to the dress shop and warn them that ya’ll were coming?”

“I made an appointment. I hope they’re prepared for us. I need to find a wedding dress and all the girls need to get their dresses, too. I’m fucking worried Cyn is going to walk down the aisle in a big ol’ sack I paint purple.” I watched as Cyn swung her legs into the car and slammed the door shut. In the past two weeks, her baby bump had started showing, and it seemed almost every day it grew.

Lo wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’m sure you’ll find something, babe.”

“Hmm, I hope so. I wish your mom would have been able to come.”

“She said she had an appointment scheduled she couldn’t miss. You know she wants to be here.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed. “I miss your mom, Lo. She doesn’t hang out at the clubhouse much anymore.”

“I plan on swinging by there while you’re on the hunt for the great white dress, see what she and Gravel have been up to. He hasn’t been at the clubhouse much either.”

“Maybe they just want to spend time with each other. They missed out on being together for so many years, perhaps they’re making up for it now.”

“Are you coming with, or am I going to have to pick your dress out by myself?” Cyn yelled.

“I better go; the natives are getting restless.” I pressed a kiss to Lo’s cheek and grabbed the door handle.

“Not so fast, babe.” Lo grabbed me around the waist and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m gonna need a better kiss than that,” he growled. He slammed his lips down on mine, pushed me up against the car, and I completely slipped into the Lo Daze.

I delved my fingers into his hair, holding on while he devoured my lips.

“Oh, sweet Jesus. We’re never going to make it to the appointment on time if King won’t take his hands off her.” I heard Cyn mumble through the open window.

“I think it’s sweet. It’s good to know that King still has it in him.”

I tossed my head back, busting out laughing at Marley’s words.

“Dude, how the hell old do you think King is?” Gwen asked Marley.

“I don’t know. Forty?”

“Should I let them know you’re older than me?” Lo rumbled.

“Do it, and I kill you,” I warned.

“Actually Marley, Meg is-”

“Doing Lo a favor by being with him since he’s
so
old. I mean, whew, Lo is way older than I am,” I cut Lo off. No way in hell was I going to willingly tell anyone that I was older than Lo.

Lo leaned in, his lips touching my ear. “You just earned yourself a little time over my lap, babe.”

A shiver ran through my body at his words, and I knew my white lie was going to be worth it. “Promises, promises,” I cooed. I grabbed the door handle, pulling it open and slid into the car, slamming the door shut. “Say hi to your mom and Gravel for me.”

“Will do, babe. Have fun.” Lo tapped the top of the car and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“About fucking time. I’m starving.” I glanced over at Cyn, watching as she pulled a granola bar out of her purse and ripped it open.

“We just got done eating breakfast. How the hell are you starving right now?” I shifted the car into reverse and backed up.

“I blame the baby. He’s a bottomless pit. I eat and then fifteen minutes later I’m starving.” She ripped off a piece of granola bar and chomped down on it.

“Well, do you have enough snacks in your purse to get through until we are done dress shopping?” Gwen asked from the back seat.

“Hopefully. Although, I could really go for some Dip ‘N Dots.”

“Dude, it’s ten thirty in the morning. Who the hell has ice cream in the morning?”

“Little Caleb does.” She rubbed her belly and shoved the rest of her bar in her mouth.

“Yesterday you were calling him Jolio. Now it’s Caleb?” I asked, totally confused.

“Rigid and I can’t agree on a name, so every day we pick a name and call the baby that to see if it’s something we both like. So far we haven’t been able to find any that we both like.”

“What about Cody?” Marley suggested.

“Eh, no.”

“Wait, why are you only doing boy names? Do you know what you’re having yet?” Gwen piped in.

“No clue what we’re having, but we both want a boy. That is the only thing that we can agree on.”

“Well, if it’s a girl, I like Ella.” I always told myself that if I were ever to get pregnant again and it was a girl, Ella would have been her name. I could now pawn that name off on Cyn because my baby factory had been shut down ten years ago.

“Oh, I love that,” Marley sighed.

“Hmm, I’ll have to run it by Rigid, but I like it, too. Now, think of a boy name.”

Cyn, Gwen, and Marley all tossed names around on the way to the bridal store, none of them agreeing on any.

“I’m telling you, Shia is the way to go,” Marley slid out of the car and slammed her door shut.

“She’s only saying that because yesterday she and Troy had a Transformers marathon.” Gwen grabbed her purse out of the backseat and headed into the shop.

“Is your sister meeting us here?” Cyn asked.

“Yeah, let me check my phone.” I grabbed my phone out of my purse and saw that she had texted me ten minutes ago saying she was here.

“So, we get to meet your sister. Is she anything like you? Crazy and fun?” Marley asked.

“Oh, you’re in for a treat. Meg’s sister is the complete opposite of her. Married for years and she has five kids,” Cyn informed Marley.

“But is she fun? I’ve met some married women that are crazier than a tornado in Oklahoma.” Gwen held the door open, and we all headed in.

“Jackie is everything I am not. Plus, she’s one hell of a time. She may be married and have five kids, but she still knows how to have fun. I promise, between us four and her, we are going to have a good time today.”

We walked to the front desk to check in, and we were surrounded by hundreds of wedding dresses, my eyes bugging out by all the choices. Three-quarters of the store were varying shades of white wedding dresses and the other quarter of the store were the bridesmaid dresses. That was where I spotted Jackie, flipping through the racks.