Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Oh.” I’d seen enough news articles and TikTok videos to know what he was talking about. “I’m sorry, Gunner.”
He cuddled me close. “I’m okay now,” he assured me. “And I’m even better now that I found you.” He squeezed me to him, and I slipped my knee between his thighs, plastering our bodies together. He hummed. “Why don’t you take a nap? Today has been pretty eventful already.”
I nodded. “Stay with me?”
Gunner nodded. “Yes, sweet boy. I’ll stay. I swear it this time.”
I cuddled into him, knowing he would hold true to his word. Especially after the way he’d reacted when I’d emerged downstairs and had thrown a fit over him breaking his promise. He’d looked shattered that he’d hurt me so much. It seemed petty to be upset over something so little, but after being abandoned time and time again, the smallest broken promises cut deep.
“I’m sorry for being a brat this morning,” I mumbled, sleep already tugging at me. It was so easy to fall asleep with him holding me.
“You were hurt,” Gunner said gently. He cupped the back of my head, his touch extra tender over the lump on my skull. “Just know, Papa is never going anywhere,” he promised me. “And I won’t ever break another promise to you.”
I smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest before I allowed sleep to fully claim me, my Papa’s warm, strong arms banded tight around me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Gunner
The clubhouse was a large building that almost looked like a warehouse. It was very nondescript and plain. The lot was covered in gravel that crunched under the tires of my truck as I followed Ace, who was driving the SUV he’d taken into the mountains. His brothers were ahead of us, and by the time I got out of the truck, my boots thumping onto the gravel, they were already heading inside.
Ace strode over to me, his blue eyes peering up at me through dark lashes. “Are you sure about this, Papa?”
I chuckled and leaned back against my truck, spreading my legs a bit to pull him as close to me as possible. I palmed his lower back, leaning down to softly kiss him. “I’ll get used to it,” I promised him. “I want to be wherever you are and this—” I glanced around us, “is what you call home.” I smiled at him. “And you are my home, remember?”
He blew out a soft breath and nodded. “I know, but it can be loud sometimes. There are a lot of people living here. And Blu and Grey are really… loud during sex.” He winced. I bit back a snort of amusement.
“As if you’re not loud?” I teased.
His eyes brightened, the blue shining so damn prettily, it took my breath away. “Oh, my God,” he breathed. “I can totally get back at everyone now for all the hell they’ve been putting me through in the middle of the night.”
I snorted. “Sure, sweet boy.” I didn’t give a fuck who heard us as long as he didn’t. I lightly tapped his ass before backing him up. Opening the back door of my truck, I reached in and grabbed my duffel bag, hefting it onto my shoulder before I grabbed Ace’s hand in mine, stroking my thumb over his soft knuckles. “Come on. Show me your room so I can get settled in.”
The main part of the clubhouse was empty when we walked inside. Ace led me to the stairs off to the right. We climbed up them with Ace in front of me, coming out into a long hallway. Ace led me to the second to the last door and grabbed a key out of his pocket, unlocking it before walking inside. I followed, a smile tilting my lips as I took in his space.
It was a fucking mess.
He had clothes on the floor and on the bed with only enough space cleared for him to sleep. Nail polish and numerous opened and unopened boxes of hair dye littered a vanity stained with random colors. The mirror was cracked in the bottom right corner. An overflowing makeup bag had been shoved into an open drawer, clearly too full to close. His shoes were in a pile by the door.
This whole place was so… him. But I couldn’t live like this. Even now, it felt like my skin was crawling. Everything was too cluttered.
“We’re going to need to set some rules,” I told him as I nudged the door shut behind me with my boot.
He huffed. “Rules suck.”
I dropped my duffel bag by the dresser before turning to him, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes tracked the movement, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. Finally, he looked up, meeting my eyes, a pout settling on his pink lips. Fuck, I wanted to kiss him. But we needed to have a serious discussion over his room. This was… frankly, this mess was… I had no goddamn words. Five-year-olds had cleaner rooms than this catastrophe.