His breath caressed along her neck, his lips dancing over her skin before they stopped just below her ear. Lexi had a way about her, one that seemed to bring Rian to his knees more often than not. He loved this woman, he would kill for this woman, die for her if necessary. He'd known it the first time he'd seen her. Just one glance and in that split second she had become his greatest strength... and his greatest weakness.
Lexi pulled away, turning to face him as she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. He loved the moments like this, where they simply held each other, the love they shared visible in the other's gaze. Their gazes locked, both smiling, before he quickly lifted her off of her feet. As he swooped her into his arms, Lexi giggled, kicking her feet playfully as he carried her through the house into their bedroom.
As Rian lowered to sit at the edge of the bed, Lexi straddled him, glancing up at him with a soft gaze. Her hands ran lightly over his bare, inked arms, her eyes dropped to the outline of the cheetah on his left shoulder. She smiled as her focus returned to him.
“I love you.” She spoke in a soft, hushed whisper.
Rian had never believed he would find acceptance, love, brotherhood... and here in this Michigan town he had found it all. He'd moved here when he was only thirteen, forced to keep his shifting ability to himself, to live in the shadows. He had gotten used to being alone, until he met her, until he met his brothers in the MC.
“I love you, too.” He replied before his hand slid under her hair to curl around the back of her neck. He pulled her against him, their lips meeting with an intensity that happened every time they touched. It never seemed to fade, no matter how long they stayed together. She simply fit him, and he her. Wrapping an arm around her back to secure her, he lifted her as he stood from the bed. Turning, he released her, letting Lexi’s body fall onto the center of the bed, immediately following her down until his own body covered hers like a warm blanket.
He pushed away everything he'd seen that night, everything he'd heard, the troubled thoughts that plagued his mind. Tomorrow was another day, he would have time to notify the club, inform them of what he had seen before Billingsworth could make whatever move he planned. He would drive past Jenkins Street, check to see everything was as normal as normal could be.
That night, that moment, however, was meant for him and Lexi. She pulled down his sweatpants with the heel of her foot, her fingertips running along the toned outline of his back. He lowered his head next to hers, his hips rolling forward as a soft groan escaped his lips. He was hers, tonight, and every damn night.
Chapter Three Hundred Thirty-One
“Breakfast!” Lexi yelled. Rian pulled on his shirt, snatching up his wallet before he stepped from their bedroom. He pushed the leather into his back pocket, his hand lifting to run through his hair as he moved down the hall.
“Babe, you seen my cell phone?” He asked with a sideways grin, as Lexi shifted in her stance and turned with the device in her palm.
“You mean this?”
Rian glanced over to his girl, his grin growing wider as he nodded. “That’d be it.” He replied as he stopped just before her. “Thanks.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead before he grabbed it from her hand and turned.
“Oh no, you are not leaving here before you eat.” Rian returned his attention to her at her words. “You, sit.”
He chuckled and pushed his phone into his pocket before he sat at the table. “You know I’m not a dog, right?”
Lexi laughed with a nod as she brought him his plate, overfilled with eggs and bacon. She placed his black coffee on the table before she grabbed her own. Rian grinned at her before he started to eat, his gaze every so often wandering back to the woman beside him.
Lexi had always expressed her worry for living in this life with him. What it would mean if she married him. What it would mean to be tied to a biker... not just a biker, but one that could shift into a cheetah at will. Rian remembered her confusion about his world, at the possibility that anything magical could really exist. Often she would ask if he was evil, if he was cursed, if their children would have the same infliction if they were to have any.
Rian couldn't answer any of those questions yet, so he did all he could to make her life as normal as possible. He balanced the two worlds, attempted to keep them from colliding in the worst ways. It was an uneasy task.
“The cops were gone when I got the paper this morning.” She spoke as Rian picked up his coffee mug, his glance shifting to her.
“How’d you know they were there?” He asked as he lowered his mug to the table.
“Rian, please,” she replied. “I know when a stakeout is parked on my front lawn. Anything I need to be worried about before I head to work?”
He chuckled with a click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Yeah, tell your boss to stop having us followed. Better things to spend the town's money on.”
She laughed, gripping her plate and coffee mug before she pushed her chair back to stand. “Yeah, because everyone listens to the simple desk clerk.” She placed the dishes in the sink before
