Cotton: Satan's Fury MC (16 page)

“As much as I love lying here with you, we’ve got to get up,” Cass said softly. “The guys are expecting you at the party.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Okay, five more minutes,” she agreed. “But then I have to get a shower and go help the girls get everything ready.”

I pulled her closer, savoring the warmth of her body next to mine, and said, “We could just skip the whole thing. Spend the night right here.”

“We could,” she smiled. “I’d be okay with that.”

“
But?”

“
But
… you haven’t even seen your mother and brothers yet, and the guys are really looking forward to welcoming you home. Everyone is bringing food and …”

“Okay… okay, we’ll go,” I conceded. “But when the party is over, we’re going to the house.”

“Your house?”

“Yeah, my house. We’ll be staying there from now on.” Her eyes flickered with confusion while she thought about what I’d just said. So damn cute. Before she had a chance to ask, I said, “When you get ready, I’ll have the prospects go to your apartment and gather your things.”

She immediately sat up in the bed and said, “Wait… what?”

“The way I see it… I have a whole lot of making up to do for hurting you like I did. Right?” I grinned.

“Um hmm.”

“Well… it would be a whole lot easier if you were living with me while I did it.” I knew it was fast, but if I learned anything from dealing with Derek, it was that I was done wasting time. I wanted Cass. I wanted a future with her, a family with her, and I was ready to get started.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, “So you want me to move in with you?”

“Yeah. It makes sense. I figure it will take a lot of work, a lot of long, sleepless nights to make you forgive me, so it would be easier on both of us if you moved in,” I chuckled.

“This isn’t funny, Cotton. This is big. You’ve just asked me to move in with you!”

“I wasn’t exactly asking… more like explaining why you are in fact moving in with me,” I smirked.

“Oh, is that right?” she said sarcastically.

I nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s right. I told you… you’re mine. I take care of what’s mine. And Cass, I plan on taking
very
good care of you.”

She sat there, staring at me with wide eyes as she mulled over everything I’d said. It looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted when someone knocked on my door.

“Cotton?” Joe called through the door. “Mom’s out front and wants to see you.”

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I grumbled. I wasn’t looking forward to the lecture I was going to get from her. I knew she wanted to come see me, especially when I’d first been shot, but having her there, worrying over me, wasn’t going to help matters.

“Looks like you’ve got more making up to do,” Cass laughed.

“You’re right about that,” I chuckled. “But with you… I’m just getting started.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled, “Whatever… You just smile that sexy smile of yours and all is forgiven.”

“Sexy, huh?” I teased.

“Yeah… you know you are, so stop teasing me,” she scolded.

“Can’t help myself.” I nodded over to my luggage in the corner of the room and said, “I’ve got something for you over in my bag.”

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she glanced over at my bag and asked, “What do you mean? A present?”

“Go over and see. It’s in the top zipper,” I told her. Trying to contain her excitement, she eased off the bed and walked over to my luggage. The hem of my t-shirt barely covered her bare ass as she bent over to retrieve the envelope from my bag.

Once she had it in her hand, she turned to me and asked, “Is this it?”

“Yep. Open it up.”

Her fingers carefully tore at the seam of the envelope, and when it was finally open, she remained completely silent as her eyes roamed over the tickets. We all knew how much she loved Norah Jones, and I’d managed to score some tickets to a small concert she was doing in New York City at the end of the month. I watched her eyes fill up with tears as she gazed down at the tickets, and my heart leapt when she looked over to me and said, “I can’t believe you did this. We’re really going to New York to see Norah?”

“Yeah, baby, we are.”

“You didn’t have to do this,” she cried.

I sat up on the bed and said, “I wanted to, Cass. I meant it when I said I’m going to do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

She walked over to the edge of the bed, kneeling down between my legs, and said, “Well, you’ve made me happy.
Very happy
in fact. And not because of the tickets. Having you here, like this, is all I need to be happy.”

I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her briefly before I said, “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good, now let’s go. We’ve got to get moving. Your mother is waiting.”

I groaned and said, “Don’t remind me.”

She stood up and smiled as she said, “Just remember that smile, and you’ll be fine.”

Cass got up, and I followed her into the bathroom. After we took a not-so-quick shower together, we both got dressed. Cass still needed to go to her room to finish getting ready, and when she opened my door to leave, my mother was standing on the other side. She smiled and said, “When you didn’t come out to the bar, I thought I’d come check on you.”

“Um hmm,” I mumbled. “About to head that way now.”

Cass looked over to me, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment, and said, “I better go finish getting ready, so I can go help the girls in the kitchen.”

“I just need a quick minute with Cotton, and then I’ll be there to help out,” my mother told her.

“Ok, I’ll see you in a bit,” Cass said as she stepped into the hall. She’d only taken a few steps when she turned back and asked, “Did you bring your famous potato casserole?”

“Of course, I did. I know how you love it,” mom smiled. “And I also brought one of my turtle pies.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait,” Cass told her as she headed toward her room.

Mom walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly as she said, “You had me so worried.”

“I know, Mom. I hated to know you were so upset.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m fine, but I would like to talk to you about something,” she told me as she released me from her embrace and walked into my room. She sat down at my desk chair and watched me as I shut the door. Once I sat down on the edge of the bed, she looked at me intently, like she was searching her thoughts for the right words to say. Then she said, “You are so much like your father, Cotton. In so many ways.”

“I’d say that’s a good thing.”

“Of course, it is. He was a good man, and I loved him with all of my heart. You know that losing him almost destroyed me. He’d always done everything for us, and I didn’t know what to do without him. I was completely lost, but you made me realize we could make it without him. You had this strength and determination like I’d never seen in a child. You never gave up. You saved our family.”

“It wasn’t just me. Uncle Saul helped us a lot, Mom.”

“Yes. Your Uncle helped us, but nothing like you did. The way you were there for your brothers…” Tears began to stream down her face as she continued, “When I heard you’d been shot, I was beside myself. I didn’t know if I was going to lose you… I couldn’t take it if I lost you, Cotton. I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to come and see you, but I understood why you didn’t want me to come. No man needs their meddling mother hovering over them, especially when they’re the president of an MC. I get that. But I was afraid I wouldn’t get a chance to tell you…” she cried. She took a deep breath, swallowing her tears as she said, “I just wanted you to know that I think you are a good man and a wonderful son. You’re always looking out for us, and I love you so much for that. But now that you are back and you’re okay, I want you to look after yourself.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Mom. I know I scared you, but I’m fine.”

She wiped the tears from her face and said, “You did scare me, but I can see you’re alright now. I’m so glad you are home and doing so well… I noticed that when I saw that sweet Cassidy in here, looking like I just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.”

“Mom,” I groaned.

“I like her. I think you should make an honest woman out of her,” she smirked.

“Planning on that.”

Her eyes lit up as she said, “Ah… she has beautiful eyes and her skin is flawless. Can you imagine what beautiful children you two would have?”

I knew it. She couldn’t make it through one conversation without bringing up grandchildren. I stood up as I said, “We’ll see soon enough.”

She looked like someone had just told her she’d won the fucking lottery as she walked out of my room, clapping her hands quietly as she pranced down the hall. Trying my best to ignore her, I closed my door and headed to the bar. All of the brothers were already there, talking amongst themselves and drinking when I walked in. I took the stool next to Guardrail and motioned over to Tristan, letting her know I needed a beer. She immediately brought one over, and as she sat it on the counter, she said, “Good to have you back.”

I nodded then turned to Guardrail and said, “Everything set for the run?”

“Yeah. We’re all set, and they’re calling for good weather next weekend. Should be a good turnout.”

“Appreciate you taking care of it,” I told him.

“Maverick did most of the work. I just tied up some loose ends.” He took a drink of his beer, then said, “Nitro has a new shipment coming in and needs our order.”

“Have Stitch check our inventory and see what we need.” Nitro was our long-time supplier, and I knew him well enough to know, when he got in a shipment, he wouldn’t sit on it. If we needed to restock, we needed to act fast.

“I’ll have him do it first thing tomorrow.”

“Just let me know, and I’ll make the call to Nitro. Need to discuss a few things with him while I’m at it.”

We talked for over an hour, but didn’t get much said with all the brothers coming by to welcome me back. Once everyone had said their hellos, we headed to the kitchen. The girls outdid themselves with dinner, serving everyone’s favorite foods and drinks. They’d gone all out to make sure I knew they were glad I was back home. When everyone finished eating, we headed back into the bar for more drinking. The girls started picking songs on the jukebox, and it didn’t take long for the party to really get going. When Cass hit the dance floor with Henley and Tristan, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. As always, she completely captivated me with her absolute beauty. When a slow song came on, I knew it was my chance to rectify a mistake I’d made many months earlier. I walked over to the girls and reached for Cass, pulling her close to me as I started to dance with her.

“Are you seriously dancing with me?” Cass laughed.

“Looks like I am.” She rested her head on my shoulder and followed my lead as I swayed across the dance floor. There was no fancy footwork or spectacular spins, but it was enough. She knew how I felt about dancing, everyone did, but for her, I would do just about anything.

When the song ended, an upbeat rhythm replaced the sweet melody we’d been dancing to, and I shook my head, letting her know there was no way I was dancing to that shit. She smiled and mouthed, ‘Thank you’ before she watched me walk back over to my spot at the bar.

I looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be having a good time dancing and drinking, and I was surprised when Clutch approached me and asked, “You got a minute?”

“I do,” I told him. When he started walking toward the back door, I followed him. Once we were both outside, I asked, “What’s on your mind?”

He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and said, “I wanted to let you know I’m heading out for a while.”

I didn’t have to ask why he wanted to leave. I knew it was because of Cass. I’d seen the way he’d looked at her, and even though I’d been angry he’d let it happen, in the end, I couldn’t blame him for loving her. I’d fallen for her the minute she walked into the bar, so the fact he was telling me he needed to get away didn’t surprise me. I didn’t like it, but I understood his reasons for wanting to go.