Rome: A Marked Men Novel (39 page)

and Rule were alternately arguing about the best way to grill steaks and drinking beer. He didn’t normally

let loose like that, so it was nice to see him with a grin on his face, even if it was hidden behind a scruffy

beard he refused to let me help him shave off.

“What about you guys? The house hunt going any better?”

I shook my head and took a sip of water. “No. I thought I was being difficult but now he can’t decide

on anything. Nothing is safe enough. No neighborhood is right. I’m ready to strangle him, and not just

because he’s the worst patient in the history of injured men.”

Rome was a warrior. He bounced back at a rate that left the doctors and nurses baffled. He told me that

he didn’t want to be in the hospital anymore, he wanted to be home with me, and that was his motivation to

get better so fast. The bullet in his leg had done a number on him. It tore through muscle and tendon,

making it impossible for him to immediately get back on his feet and be mobile. The shattered rib made

moving and lying down a chore and hindered his movement with his right arm, so he was just generally

grumpy, and I think he was sexually frustrated because the doctor had told him no action for at least six

weeks and we weren’t even to the halfway point yet. He was a big, grumbly teddy bear.

He was also annoyed that he couldn’t be as present at the bar as he would like to be. Brite was back to

watching over things until Rome was back to a hundred percent. I secretly thought the old marine felt guilty

that Rome got hurt on his watch. They had a pretty intense bond and I was so glad Rome could rely on him.

Brite made him talk to his friend after the shooting. He didn’t give my guy any chance to slip back into the

black place he had been in before, and as a result there had only been one episode since the shooting where

Rome woke up in a cold sweat and shaking. We both considered that a win, and I couldn’t wait until he

was better so that I could just take care of him in my own special way and we could both go back to sleep

exhausted and smiling. Brite had also shown up at the hospital while Rome was still unconscious, stroking

his beard and looking like the cat that ate the canary. It seemed like the shooter had made bail, but he had

missed his court date and no one had seen hide nor hair of him since. I wasn’t vindictive, but after I’d been

bathed in the blood of the man I loved, there was something to be said for brutal and swift biker justice.

Ayden cleared her throat and took a swig of the Coors Light she had in front of her. Her amber eyes

considered me thoughtfully.

“What about just keeping your place? Jet’s been talking about taking part of the studio and converting it

into a loft so he’s closer to work when he’s in town. It’s right downtown and close to work and school,

plus if Jet follows through, then I could actually see him more when he’s in town and not working.”

I looked at her in shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I want to be with him whenever I can. I’m actually thinking about putting grad school on hold

for a year so I can travel with him. He’s going to the UK at the beginning of next year and I want to go.

Grad school will always be there; traveling the world with Jet is an opportunity I might not get once I have

a steady job.”

I loved my house, loved my neighborhood, and if all the other rooms were empty, it would have plenty

of room for me, Rome, and the baby. I bit my lip and tilted my head to consider her thoughtfully.

“What about you and Asa?” Her brother wasn’t at the barbecue. Since it was a weekend and the bar was

going to be busy, he had offered to go in so Rome could come hang out with me and the rest of the

hooligans. My guy and the Southern charmer had some kind of bromance going on. I didn’t question it, but

where I knew Asa could be slippery and scandalous, Rome only saw a coworker and a buddy. It was

actually kind of cute and I felt bad for the girls who came into the bar trying to get in between them. I think

Asa was one of the few who didn’t give my guy a hard time when he got lost in his own head. He just

waited it out until Rome was back to being Rome.

“He’s still ticked off at me. He acts like everything is fine, but I can tell he hasn’t forgiven me, and I

don’t really blame him. He comes by sometimes, but mostly he just shoots the shit with Jet and pretends

like I’m not even there. He’s nice enough when we talk on the phone and whatever, but I really hurt his

feelings when the bar got robbed. I’m not really sure where he’s been staying, but he seems happy with

whatever he has going on, so I don’t pry.”

I could see that she was upset about it but I didn’t know what to tell her in order to make it any better.

“I’m sorry, Ayd. That blows. I’ll ask Rome about staying in the house. It would suck for you to go to all

the trouble of moving out if he won’t go for it.”

She nodded and Shaw tapped her finger on my left hand. “What about you guys? You think you’ll join

the ranks of the hitched and the engaged anytime soon?”

I put a hand over my rapidly growing belly and felt a little tremble under my hand. I wasn’t far enough

for Rome to feel when it happened but I knew my baby was in there safe and sound thanks to Daddy, and it

always made my heart swell and overflow with love. I didn’t need a ring or a wedding to make that any

better.

“We’ve had a lot of excitement in a short amount of time. I think we’re both just looking forward to

things settling down and being normal for a little while.”

Shaw threw back her head and laughed while Ayden rolled her eyes.

“Cora, nothing with you is ever normal.”

She wasn’t wrong, so I tossed the cap of my water bottle at her.

“Shut up. Besides, you know Rome has to get better so he can be Rule’s best man. We already have one

wedding to focus on. We don’t need another.”

Rule wanted to wait until after Shaw graduated to get married; Shaw didn’t. The compromise was they

would have the ceremony in December—a Christmas wedding before she and Ayden went back for their

final semester in the spring. That was almost no time to plan a wedding, but with all of us chipping in and

Shaw’s determination to be an Archer, I had no doubts it would happen and be wonderful. I wasn’t excited

about being the size of a whale in my bridesmaid dress, but I would do it for her.

“How did your parents take the news?”

Her green eyes darted away and she chomped down on her lip.

“I maybe, possibly haven’t told them about it yet.”

Ayden shook her head and I rolled my eyes. I looked pointedly at the rock on her finger.

“That’s gonna be kind of hard to hide, girly.”

She fidgeted nervously. “I know. It’s just a fight I don’t want to have. I’ve never been so happy. I

never, ever would have thought Rule would want to do something as traditional as get married. No one,

and I mean NO ONE, is going to rain on that parade.”

I understood where she was coming from and I didn’t envy her going forward. That was a battle that

wouldn’t be fun and I think we all knew it.

I looked up in surprise when Rowdy was suddenly looming over me with his hands on my shoulders.

“Tink, you might need to rally your man. I think beer and pain meds might’ve done him in.”

I spun around on my chair, and sure enough Rome was zonked out on the lawn chair. Rule and Nash

were hovering over him, trying to decide if they should find the situation cause for concern or hilarious. I

patted those tattooed hands and got to my feet.

“My turn to save him.”

That’s what we did. We saved each other. He forced me to see that living in fear got me nowhere and

that holding out for some unobtainable ideal of perfection was just silly. I made him realize that whoever he

wanted to be and whatever he chose to do was enough. He didn’t have to be anything more. He wasn’t

perfect, I wasn’t perfect, but the love we had for each other … nothing was more perfect than that.

I elbowed my way between Rule and Nash and bent down so I could put a hand on one of Rome’s

prickly cheeks. He didn’t look bad with a beard; in fact it made him look almost too rugged. The last thing

he needed was anything that accentuated his raw and undeniable man-ness. But I liked his pretty face and

missed it hidden behind those bushy whiskers.

“Come on, Captain No-Fun, time to go home.”

His dark lashes fluttered along the high ridge of his cheeks and those breath-stealing blue eyes blinked

open. It was strange to see him so vulnerable, so open, but he had never hidden from me and apparently he

was done hiding from himself because it was all there in his gaze when he looked at me. Everything he was

—hero, lover, stubborn pain in the neck, and a man with or without a plan—I could see it all and it just

made me love him all the more.

He had to have both the other guys help him to his feet and it was slow going on the way to the truck.

Even though it took some maneuvering and the use of every swearword in his vocabulary, he insisted on

taking the Dodge instead of riding in the Cooper, which I thought would have been easier. He was going to

have to get over his hatred of my car because sooner rather than later it was going to be too hard for me to

hop up into the massive 4×4. He didn’t argue when I held out my hand for the keys and tossed his crutches

in the back. I noticed that he had white lines of pain fanning out around the corners of his eyes despite the

meds and the booze. It looked like he might have overdone it a little.

I reached out and patted his knee.

“So I have a question for you.”

He shifted his gaze to mine and just grunted. Okay, Captain No-Fun was in serious effect.

“Ayden told me that she and Jet are more than likely moving out. He wants to convert the studio. How

would you feel about just moving in with me and staying at my place?”

He was quiet, which made me nervous. I looked over at him and was surprised to find he had his eyes

closed and his head resting against the window. I thought maybe he was asleep and I wondered how I was

going to get him inside and had a sense of déjà vu.

“Can we tone the pink in your bedroom down just a little bit so my balls don’t shrivel up and fall off?”

His snippy tone made me laugh as I pulled into the driveway.

“Sure thing, big guy.”

He sighed and shifted his big body so that he could maneuver himself out of the door.

“I love your place, Cora. It’s colorful and cute just like you. Plus it’s a rental, so we can stay there until

we decide we want to buy something and stay there permanently. That totally works for me.”

Man, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to contain how happy this big, gruff man made me.

“It works for me, too, and it would make me really happy.”

I went ahead of him to let him in the house. When I got to the door he followed me in and I guided him

to the room so that he could sprawl on the bed.

“If it makes you happy, Half-Pint, you don’t have to ask. That’s all I want.” He threw the arm on his

good side across his eyes and sighed. “I love you, Cora.”

Every time he said it, I kept it in a place deep down inside of me to cherish and hold on to forever. It

was a special place full of special things, and even if our time together had been relatively short, that place

had enough love in it to last a lifetime. I sat on the bed next to him and ran my fingers over his scruff.

“I love you, too, Rome.” It was so easy to tell him that now. To hand over everything I had been so

foolishly afraid of giving to him. I realized now love didn’t do any good if you held on to it in a death grip.

It only had purpose, had power, when you had the courage to hand it over to someone else for safekeeping.

“I know.”

It’s what he always said to me. “I know.” Like without the words he just knew how I felt. I asked him

about it and he just smiled at me and told me he needed someone to point it out to him. When I asked what

he was talking about, he just asked me what I thought about naming the baby Remy. I loved it.

“I also love your face and I’m sick of trying to find it in all of these whiskers. I know you can’t use

your arm very well right now, so why don’t you let me help you shave?”

I ran a finger over the delicate curve of his ear and the eyebrow with the scar danced upward. I was

hoping the pain meds and the beer were enough to make him more agreeable.

“You don’t like it?”

“I miss your face. It’s too pretty to be covered with all of this.”

“Is that why you won’t kiss me?”

I frowned at him and leaned down to drop a kiss on his sullen mouth. “No. I’m not kissing you because

with you, kissing always leads to more and the doctor told you that was a no-no. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not kissing hurts me and you don’t even want to know what no sex does to me.”

I had a pretty good idea—after all, I was on the other end of the ban—but his health and well-being

were more important than an orgasm no matter how good he might be at giving them. I kissed him again