Unveiled Wishes (Iron Shield MC #2)

1. An Unexpected Guest

Chapter 1

An Unexpected Guest

S abre

I stretched as I walked out of our bedroom and crossed the landing to head into the nursery. Ever since we’d brought JR home, I had had this intense need to make sure that he was alright. I knew it wasn’t the normal first parent jitters; this went beyond anything I could have imagined. Matt was no longer a factor, but the cartel was out there. A part of me knew they would never give until we eliminated them.

I heard Grace humming in the kitchen as she moved around, sliding open the drawers before closing them again. I relished the sounds, knowing that my woman was happy. Looking up, I said a quick thanks to my dad for building this home and promised him we would fill it with warm memories. I forced myself to continue to the nursery and opened the door quietly.

We had spent five weeks in the NICU, and some of the older brothers had taken it upon themselves to finish the house. They had painted most of the walls white, figuring that I could repaint after Grace chose a color scheme. After the hospital, I hated white walls, but they’d been right. Grace would bring home new colors to her specifications. The white was disappearing.

I wasn’t sure whose bright idea it had been, but the brothers had decided that JR should have a motorcycle-themed room. They had painted the walls black, but when they’d finished, Bear had talked some sense into them. Grace would hate it, and they didn’t want their Flo angry. They’d painted the walls blue again, and someone had drawn large jungle animals.

Once JR had settled into his new room, the rumor mill ran rampant. Bear had told the other Old Ladies the story one day, purposely not revealing the guilty brothers. Grace had then come home and told me what had happened. All I did was laugh, and in the next church, I had thanked everyone for stepping up while I was trying to bring my family home. The animals looked better than anything I could have drawn, so we left it alone.

I shut the door quietly behind me before walking straight to the crib. Leaning over, I stood and stared at JR as he slept peacefully on his back. He’d been born in the middle of a crisis, and yet, he was perfect. If I could help it, he’d never find out how close I’d been to losing both of them. The nightmares still woke me in the middle of the night.

I watched him sleep, lost in my world. Even at almost six months, JR was showing some of Matt’s traits, including his brown hair. It didn’t matter. I focused more on the features he had inherited from Grace. I imagined his light brown eyes behind his eyelids. His little button nose was rounded, just like the women in her family. He was still too little to tell, but I pretended his cheeks dimpled like hers when she smiled or laughed.

I kissed two of my fingers and grazed them across his forehead. “I love you,” I whispered as I turned away and walked out his nursery door, leaving it open a crack. He was sleeping better through the night, but I only had a half an hour, if I was lucky, to love on his mama.

I took the stairs two at a time, heading into the kitchen. Turning the corner, I found her looking at something on the counter with her back to me. I didn’t know how we had spent time apart, with only weekend visits. We were magnets, instantly attached when in the same room.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I kissed the crevice of her neck. “Morning, mama.”

“Morning, Sabre.” She rocked backwards, closing the distance in between us. Wrapping her hands around my biceps, she tilted her head to the side, giving more access to her neck.

“I just checked on him. He’s sound asleep, dreaming happy baby dreams. We have time.”

She sniggered. “That’s what you said the other day. I distinctly remember getting naked, only to be interrupted.”

“You got yours,” I reminded her. She’d been in the middle of an orgasm when JR had whimpered through the baby monitor. I hadn’t stopped, hoping that he would fall back to sleep, but it had been a pipe dream. No sooner had she come down from her high than he’d cried his displeasure. I had been fucking out of luck.

She laughed again. “I didn’t say it wasn’t a good time.”

I went from nibbling on her neck to sucking her earlobe. “I could’ve had all the important stuff connected already.” There was a small cry from the baby monitor that Grace had in the kitchen. We both froze. I whispered in her ear, “Pray he goes back to sleep, mama.” I pulled her tighter against me so she could feel how hard I was.

Turning in my arms, she wrapped hers around my neck. “You should have joined me in the shower. He’ll be awake in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, next time, I’ll just think with my dick.” I grabbed a quick kiss from her lips.

“Sounds like a better plan.” She smiled up at me, the dimples in her cheeks popping. “Do we have a Christmas budget?” she asked, changing the subject.

“For us? Not really, but we could save money by showering together.” I’d talk her into getting one of the club girls to watch the baby this afternoon. There was no way I was going to survive all day without her.

“No. For the MC.” Her smile dimmed, and her forehead puckered.

“I don’t know. We haven’t celebrated Christmas as a club in a long time. Chef makes dinner, and that’s usually it.” Grace had already decorated the clubhouse with multiple trees and garland. It surprised me that no one had complained. They were probably feeling as nostalgic as I was.

“I...ah,” she started. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t very often that Grace lost her confidence. “I was thinking about ordering stockings and stuffers for each member.” She reached behind her and picked up a few sheets of paper that had been on the counter. “I made a list of everyone, and if I keep it under sixty dollars a person, I can do it and include one larger gift.”

“Why are you nervous?” I asked her, pulling her closer to me and locking my fingers behind her back.

“I am afraid. We barely made it through one storm, and I feel like another is on the way.” She put the papers back on the counter.

“You let me worry about that.” I kissed her like there was no guarantee of tomorrow. She raised her leg to my hip, and I picked her up, setting her on the counter. Running my fingers through her hair, I tilted her head the way I wanted her. If I couldn’t be balls deep, then tongue deep would have to do for now.

“It’s too quiet in here. Are you fucking?”

I nipped Grace’s bottom lip as I pulled away from her. Resting my forehead on her sternum, I breathed her in. My brother wouldn’t know how to be quiet if it bit him on the ass and called him Shirley.

He slammed the front door, and there was an instant wail. The sound had rudely awakened JR, and any chances I had of sexy time went up in smoke. I could hear my brother’s boots bound up the stairs. “Don’t worry! Uncle’s here.” If he ever had kids, I was going to make a fuck ton of noise.

Standing straight, I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. I grabbed some cash and handed it to Grace. “Start with this, and if it’s not enough, tell me.”

She kissed me and tightened her legs around my waist. “I know,” she said. “He’s going to die, so don’t buy him anything.”

***