Everyone sitting at that table voiced their agreement. “Everyone sitting here has ten minutes once I finish saying what I’ve got to say to get a list of shit they need. After that, you’ve got thirty minutes to get to the store, get everything on your list, and get the fuck back to this clubhouse. Gates are locked and the club is completely locked down after that thirty-minute mark is up whether you’re inside these gates or not.”
I nodded once in understanding. River looked at me. “Anything you want to add, VP?”
I shook my head. He nodded once and slammed his gavel down. The room cleared out quickly. River looked over at me. “Up to you how much you tell Reina. You’ve claimed her.” That was his way of telling me she was on Adelaide’s level. I was free to tell her everything if I wanted to.
With that, he stood and left the room as well. I blew out a harsh breath and walked back down the hall. Reina was sitting up in bed, still naked. She looked up at me, holding the tube of A&D ointment Ink had left behind for her to use on her back.
She looked stunning. Fucking beautiful, really. She was everything I’d ever wanted and more, and I was the lucky bastard that got to call her mine.
“I need help putting this on,” she said softly, holding it up for me to take from her.
I grabbed the tube from her hand, and she stood, giving me her fine-as-hell back. I palmed an ass cheek, unable to help myself. It was soft and plump. She had a bit more weight gaining to do, but she was getting there. And her ass was shaping up nicely while she was at it.
When I squeezed, I was rewarded with a soft moan and a little wiggle that had me grinning.
“Club is on lockdown,” I informed her as I began to gently apply ointment to her back. She gritted her teeth, steeling herself against the sting of the pain. “I need a list of everything you’ll need for the next foreseeable future.”
“Why are we under lockdown?” she asked me. She was a smart one. She knew River hated calling lockdown. He felt it was stupid to keep everyone in one place. So, she knew if he was calling lockdown, shit was bad.
I blew out a harsh breath. “Angels of Hell’s mother charter just declared war.”
She quickly turned to face me. It was with a lot of fucking internal strength that I didn’t stare down at her heavy tits. Fuck, this woman of mine was beautiful. She didn’t even begin to understand how much I loved her—and wanted her.
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Probably because I slaughtered every single officer of their charter here,” I told her honestly. She didn’t even flinch. She just held my gaze, but lust sparked in her eyes. My hands twitched with the urge to touch her. “Fucking cut the Fathers of Mayhem emblem into their backs just like they did you, and then I fucking gutted them.”
Her face paled a little, but she didn’t waver. She stood strong in front of me. And instead of looking sick despite how her face had paled at my words, her eyes darkened. Couldn’t believe this shit turned my girl on.
I cupped her cheek. “I’ll do anything in the world for you, baby girl. I need you to understand that. Red stains my hands already, but I’ll bathe myself in the blood of our enemies if it means keeping you safe.”
She blinked up at me, looking a little stunned by my words for a moment before a soft smile tilted her lips. “I love you, Samuel.”
I grinned down at her, my heart melting in my chest at her words. God, she had no idea how much she fucking meant to me. “I’d hope so, baby girl. Now let me finish putting this shit on your back so I can get a move on.”
She turned and gave me her back again. I finished putting the ointment on it and then shrugged my shirt off, pulling it over her head. She would need the looser shirt to wear until her back healed, and it smelled like me, which I knew would comfort her while I was gone. She was doing better with coping while I wasn’t around, but I knew she still craved me and needed me.
While I went to get another shirt to wear, she quickly made up a list of everything she may need. I had five more minutes to get a goddamn move on. But she’d needed ointment put on her back, and she was my first priority—always.
I finally understood how River always felt. I’d never truly understood how he could put Adelaide first, even back when I met her for the very first time. But he always had. Now, I completely got it.
Reina handed me the list just as I stepped back into the room. I really needed to eventually move my shit in here. She and I were never apart when we were both here at the clubhouse. And with us being on lockdown, we were about to really be up each other’s asses.
She reached up and grasped my face in her hands as I shoved her list into my pocket. “Be careful,” she pleaded.
I gripped her chin and gently tugged her toward me before I slid my lips across hers. “Always, baby.”
I stareddown at the list, frowning when I didn’t see pads, tampons, or pantiliners added to the list. Didn’t women need that kind of shit? Wasn’t that on a monthly shopping list?
Confused, I texted Reina, asking her if she’d forgotten to put it on there. Maybe she hadn’t been thinking about it in her rush to get a list done for me.
Hey, I noticed you didn’t put any feminine shit on this list. Do you need any of it?
I began putting everything else in the cart that she’d listed: shampoo, body wash, fucking candy bars—I rolled my eyes at that—Tylenol . . .
No. My periods are spotty. Got a stash here already.
What woman’s menstrual cycles werespotty? Did that mean she didn’t get her periods? Now that I actually thought about it, she hadn’t had a period since she’d been back. At least, not that I knew of. I frowned. And when I really thought about it, I realized she was always ready for sex when I came to her before I got shot. I never had to worry about bleeding. I’d thought it was just her birth control—if she was on it, which I wasn’t even sure about either.