I swallowed my bite of food and nodded.
“Sorry. I’m just pissed,” I admitted, and then set my fork down. “Kendra…” I took a deep breath.
The room suddenly felt warm and that it was depleted of the necessary oxygen I needed to communicate with my mate. I felt like the biggest chickenshit because I couldn’t find the words I needed to talk to her.
I wasn’t sure if my nervousness was because of my fear of her leaving forever. Or maybe because I had never expressed intimate feelings towards anyone before.
“Roark, you’re really making me nervous,” she whispered. I pushed my chair back away from the table and stood up.
“Are you done eating?”
“It’s my second plate,” she giggled. “I’m stuffed.”
I smiled and then held out my hand to her. She gently placed her hand in mine and I pulled her to her feet. I wrapped my arms around her. Her scent filled my nose and I felt a calm wash over me. Kendra was my happy place. Without her, my life would be miserable.
“I want you to stay here,” I whispered against the top of her head. She looked up at me.
“I can come up with the money for a hotel,” she informed me softly. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes diverted away from mine.
“No,” I shook my head then lifted her chin with my thumb to where she was looking at me. “I mean, I want you to live here, Kendra.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?” she gasped.
“You’re my mate. I want you to live here at the clubhouse with me.”
“But...We’re just strangers.”
Her words caused me to frown. The leopard in me growled in annoyance. Strangers? How could she possibly see us as just strangers?
“You’re not a stranger to me, Kendra. Have we known each other long? Hell no,” I chuckled nervously. “But you’re my mate. You were never a stranger to me.”
“Was it instinct that I was your… mate?” she asked, looking at me again. I smiled at her question and then nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where would I stay, if I stayed here at the clubhouse? Not saying that I am… I’m just curious,” she blurted.
“You’d stay in our room.”
“Our room?” she whispered and leaned her head on my chest. She may have tried to hide it, but I saw the smile on her face.
“Yes… Our room.”
The thought of Kendra and I sharing a room for the rest of our days brought a cheesy-ass smile onto my face. When did I become so soft?
“I could pay–”
There was no way in hell I was letting her finish that sentence so I kissed her passionately. When she moaned into my mouth, I knew I needed to end the kiss or we’d never have this talk because I’d throw her over my shoulder and take her to our room for some unfinished business.
“Roark,” she pouted when I pulled away from her.
“Talk first then I’ll take care of all your needs, beautiful.” I kissed the tip of her nose.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Are you sure you want me living here?”
“Not a doubt in my mind.”
“What will the others think about me moving in?” she asked softly. I looked down at her and smirked. She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re pulling the president card.”
“Of course, I am,” I laughed. “That’s the whole purpose of having that card. It’s so I can have my beautiful mate live here with me.”
Kendra snuggled against me and giggled.
“You really should be more diplomatic with the guys about me staying here,” she suggested. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“We are an MC. A shifter MC at that. We do things... diplomatic as you call it. Just in a different structure.”
“Really? How so?”
“Let’s go for a walk and I’ll explain things. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“It was a bit challenging, but we got a rush on the stuff you asked us to get,” Crimson said, looking down at a sheet of paper.
“When will it be done?” I leaned back in my chair and kicked my feet up on my desk. It was a habit that drove Banshee nuts. Truth be told, I think I only did it to piss her off. If Kendra asked me to stop, I had no doubt that I’d stop.
“Tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The guys are working around the clock.”
“Good. I don’t want any fuck ups. Everything needs to be done perfectly with no mistakes.”
“I know, Prez. There won’t be any problems.”
“Make sure no one opens their mouths around here either. If she finds out, I’m tanning someone’s hide. Got it,” I pointed my finger at him and then at each of the three prospects that stood behind him.
“Understood.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“A lawyer for that Dick guy stopped by earlier,” Crimson informed me. He looked nervous about bringing it up to me. “That guy is really determined to buy the land. He’s offering a few million now. You sure you aren’t interested in selling it, Prez?”
“Not a chance in hell,” I growled. Everyone in the MC knew how I felt about the land. The land would never leave the MC’s hands. It had been the land of our ancestors. We would never be bought out.
“Sorry. Just asking.”
“Well don’t,” Banshee snarled as she entered my office. Crimson and the prospects moved out of her way.
“Banshee,” Crimson acknowledged Banshee. She simply glared at him and then sat down in an open chair in front of my desk.
“Did you get it done?” I asked her.
“Yep. She’s all taken care of,” Banshee replied.
“Good. Thanks for that. That’s not exactly… uh… my area of expertise,” I groaned.
“It’s not really mine either, but it ended up being fun. You got yourself a good girl, Roark. Don’t fuck it up,” she waved her finger in my face.
Banshee was one of the few who could get away with sassing me. My dad had taken her into our family and our MC years ago. She was like a sister to me. There were times I had to pull the President card, which made her curse
