Devotion (Club Destiny #7) Page 4

  Cole wanted to see his stepbrother get out of that one. There was no way Tag could deny that he was the one who insisted they have a normal wedding. Whatever the hell normal meant.

  Cole happened to know that Tag was getting a little antsy about when they were going to get married. They had yet to set a date, and even though Tag said he hassled McKenna about it – good naturedly of course – she hadn’t committed to anything. Cole was pretty sure they didn’t have a valid reason for the delay, aside from Tag being so busy.

  “I noticed you two were hanging at the club last Tuesday,” Logan commented, his eyes intensely focused on Tag.

  That caught Cole’s attention, and he turned to stare at Tag, fighting the urge to smile. He lost. That was a fascinating tidbit of information if he did say so himself. Considering Tag was as possessive toward McKenna as a man possibly could be, hearing that he was hanging out at the club made Cole wonder whether he might be reconsidering some of his rigid rules.

  “Does that mean y’all are looking for something more?” Luke asked, suddenly looking somewhat interested in the direction the conversation was headed.

  “We’re always looking for something more,” Tag replied snidely, and Cole sensed a wealth of hidden meaning behind that statement.

  Over the last few months, the five men had managed to meet up at least once a week. It seemed as though they all had the relationship thing in common, which somehow equated to some sort of bond – or so Sam and Sierra tried to tell them.

  Cole would admit, they’d become pretty close during that time, and they liked to razz each other about their relationships. Tag wasn’t any different, with the exception that he seemed to be in denial these days.

  Logan had a point though, Tag and McKenna did seem to be venturing out more these days, and into other areas that Tag hadn’t been keen on previously when it came to her.

  “Are you looking for a third?” Luke asked, ever the inquisitive one.

  “Let’s just say we’re experimenting. At the moment, I’m not sure where it’ll lead, but we’re not ruling anything out right now.”

  The few conversations that Cole and Tag had shared over the last few months went beyond their regular casualty, which was a little surprising. In fact, they’d become closer in a sense, more like brothers should be, and Cole certainly wasn’t complaining. He found it easy to talk to Tag, and it appeared that the feeling was mutual.

  During one of their more open discussions, Tag mentioned that McKenna had convinced him that he was being too restrictive on their sex life, although he didn’t agree for the most part. Cole figured it had something to do with the fact that Tag had been a third in several relationships, including Logan’s in the past, yet he’d closed himself off to the possibility once he met McKenna. As it turned out, McKenna was questioning his logic. According to Tag, McKenna had talked him into going to the club on the infamous Tuesday nights just to see where things led.

  “What about you? You going to cross over to the dark side one of these days?” Luke asked Alex and Cole noticed the look of utter relief on Tag’s face. Apparently the man was happy to have the conversation redirected.

  “Not on your life.” Alex’s response came out easily and based on the expression on his face, he didn’t intend to share his woman with anyone.

  Cole knew Ashleigh felt the same, although he’d been privy to a few bedtime stories that Sierra had forced him and Luke to listen to, and holy fucking hell, the woman could write a sex scene that would blow your fucking mind.

  “How is she going to keep coming up with material if you’re not experimenting?” Cole asked, grinning. These days, he lived to get Alex riled up, mainly because it seemed Alex had it in for him.

  “Who says we’re not experimenting?” Alex sipped his whiskey and stared back at Cole shooting him a look that said “don’t push me”.

  The table erupted in laughter, everyone joining in, including Alex.

  A deep voice from behind them echoed through the empty bar, and Cole immediately recognized the significant drawl of one of the Walker brothers. “Whatever it is, I’m just glad we didn’t have to hang out for long,”

  Cole glanced over his shoulder in time to see Kaleb and Zane Walker heading their way.

  “Kaleb. Zane,” Luke turned slightly in his chair. “So glad you boys could join us.”

  “Yeah, well, I thought for a minute we weren’t going to get out of there in time. Zoey threatened to make us hide out until it was over,” Kaleb said as the two men took a seat at the table.

  “Can I get you guys a beer while I’m up?” Tag asked, standing from his chair and grabbing his empty beer bottle.

  “Might want to make that two,” Zane said, sounding defeated. “The only thing I know, I’m just damn happy that ain’t my house. Whoever has to clean that up is gonna to be hatin’ life later.”

  Another round of laughter.

  “So, what the hell do they do at a baby shower anyway?” Cole asked, Zane’s comment reminding him of the condition the house was in when he left. “Oh, and I’m not cleaning that shit up, man. It’s all on you,” he told Luke, grinning as he said it.

  He meant every word.

  Chapter Four

  “Oh my goodness!” Sierra exclaimed as she walked into her house, stunned nearly speechless by the outrageous display of giant helium balloons and floating pink and white streamers that decorated the living room as well as the entryway.

  Grabbing hold of her mother’s arm, Sierra stood motionless, her mouth hanging open as she tried to take it all in while fighting back tears.

  Hormones, she told herself.

  “Surprise!” Sam squealed, sounding like a little kid who’d just pulled a huge prank. Sierra’s smile widened.

  “I can’t believe –” Sierra let the sentence hang because she didn’t quite know how to finish it. She couldn’t believe a lot of things, one of them being what her friends had done.

  Unable to stop a tear from trickling down her cheek, Sierra smiled at Sam, unable to find the words. When Sam cupped her face, wiping away the tear with her thumb and smiling down at her, Sierra had to swallow to hold back the rest of them.

  “Did you really think I wasn’t going to have it put together in time?” Sam asked, grinning.

  “Come on in here, girl!” Ashleigh called from the other room, and Sierra turned to see Ashleigh, McKenna, Lucie, Zoey, V, and another woman whose face she couldn’t place right away, scattered in a semicircle around the living room.

  There, on a table that stood in front of the massive stone fireplace were more gifts than Sierra had ever seen in her entire life, all sporting shiny wrapping paper and pretty pink and white bows. Another flood of tears threatened as the women all began to rise, taking turns hugging her as she moved closer into the room.

  “I’m so glad the two of you are here,” Sierra said to Zoey and V as she hugged them both. “I can’t believe you drove all this way.”

  “Honey, we wouldn’t miss it,” Zoey said with a huge grin.

  “Did Kaleb let you drive by yourselves?”

  “Are you kidding?” Zoey laughed. “I just barely got him out of here a few minutes ago.”

  Sierra smiled. She still couldn’t believe how much trouble her friends had gone through. For her.

  “I can’t believe you guys did this,” Sierra laughed, sounding almost hysterical, even to her own ears.

  “Oh, girl. You don’t know the half of it. We’ve got games to play so why don’t you sit down and put your feet up,” Ashleigh said, placing her hand on Sierra’s arm and leading her to a chair that looked as though it had been specifically placed so everyone could see her.

  Sierra took her seat while Sam disappeared into the kitchen. She listened as her mother introduced Deanna, Logan’s receptionist and close friend of Veronica’s. That’s when she recognized her.

  “Thank you for coming,” Sierra smiled back at Deanna.

  “Honey, I’ve been begging your mother to let me come for
months. Then again, I thought we were going to have to tie Sam up just so she’d quit working so hard.”

  “Well, it’s beautiful. I –” Once again, Sierra didn’t know how to say the words. What her friends had done for her was beyond what she expected.

  “We’ve got food and drinks, non-alcoholic of course, so ladies, help yourselves,” Sam called from the kitchen.

  Ashleigh leaned over, smiling from ear to ear. “So, did we really surprise you?”

  “You have no idea.” Sierra still couldn’t believe it. For some reason, she hadn’t expected a large baby shower, maybe something small and intimate, maybe one or two people, but certainly not all of the women who were there.

  When everyone was back in the living room, plates in hand, Sam brought one for Sierra, and they sat around chatting for a few minutes about how they’d managed to pull one over on Sierra good. She couldn’t help but laugh at how excited Sam was that she did.

  “I take it from all of the pink and white that you’re having a girl,” V stated.

  “Well, that’s what the doctor tells us anyway,” Sierra said with awe. She was still a little stunned by the fact that she was going to be a mother. The feeling was so incredible, a beautiful little life growing inside of her.

  “You better get your rest while you can,” Lucie chimed in. “Let me tell you, girls are hell on wheels.”

  “Are you kidding? Haley is a perfect little angel,” Sam added, grinning.

  “I would’ve agreed with you at one point, but her daddy is doing a fantastic job of corrupting her.”

  Kane, Haley’s father, hadn’t been a part of Haley’s life for the first few years because he didn’t know he was the child’s father. Back when Sierra was dating Luke and Cole, Lucie was going through a rough time, and she finally decided she needed to break the news to him. None of them had been the same since, and it was a sight to see.

  “Well, I could tell you some stories about Sierra from when she was a little girl,” Veronica added with a grin.

  “Mom, don’t you dare!” Sierra feigned discomfort with the subject. She didn’t have any problems with her mother telling her stories. She’d heard them more than once, and she was pretty sure Sam probably had too by now.

  “I want to know what games we’re gonna play,” Ashleigh added in.

  Sierra smiled, taking a sip of her punch and smiling at the handful of women. She couldn’t have asked for anything more than this.

  Two hours later, Sierra was nearly dead on her feet, although she wasn’t exactly on her feet. Sitting on the couch, her feet propped up, she closed her eyes and relived everything that had happened over the last couple of hours. There’d been some games, one of them actually involved them trying to guess how big around she was by using ribbon. To her surprise, McKenna had almost been spot on in her estimate. Then there was some sort of diaper game with smashed candy bars that they had to guess. She could’ve lived without that one, but it had been entertaining.

  Not only did they have a lot of laughs, there were a few tears. Each gift that Sierra opened had her crying, which she tried to hide stoically. She was pretty sure there wasn’t a single thing they needed to buy at this point because the ladies had thought of everything, right down to the crib, which she was told Cole had put together. She made a mental note to thank him later.

  Now that the house was quiet, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with herself. Bear probably felt the same way because he was now lying in front of the couch and she was pretty sure he hadn’t lifted his head once since the women left.

  After Sam insisted she clean up the mess so Sierra didn’t have to, she waved her off, telling her friend that she would have the men do it when they got home. Most of everything was cleaned up anyway, except for a few decorations that remained streaming across the living room.

  The baby shower had been astounding. More so was the fact that she had felt so loved with all of the women in the room. Every single one of them, her mother included, understood the dynamic between her and Luke and Cole and not a one of them judged her in any way.

  Surprisingly, no one even asked whom the father was. She knew it was probably on their minds, but she appreciated the fact that they respected her enough not to ask. It wasn’t that they were keeping the information from their friends and family, but they weren’t offering it up either. If someone asked, she would probably tell them. Not that it really mattered because as far as she was concerned, they were both the father. And, more importantly, her baby was going to be blessed with more love because of it.

  ~~*~~

  “Honey,” Cole whispered, gently touching Sierra’s arm, trying to wake her without alarming her. She wasn’t fond of being woken from her naps, and she generally startled easily, and her confusion was downright adorable.

  He and Luke were surprised to find her sound asleep on the couch when they walked in, the house in much better shape than when he left, although there were still a few decorations that needed to come down. The most overwhelming part now was the abundance of baby things that were piled in one corner. Luke had certainly lucked out.

  “Hi,” Sierra said sleepily, peering through heavy eyelids with a smile on her face. “You’re home.”

  “And you’re asleep.”

  “Sorry, I must’ve dozed for a few minutes. What time is it?”

  “Eight-thirty,” he told her, watching as Luke began rummaging through the pile of baby things. Cole grinned at the man’s confused expression, obviously just as clueless as Cole was about what all that stuff was for. “Did you have fun?”

  “Oh, Cole. It was unbelievable. We had so much fun. Did you see all the stuff we got?”

  “What in the he—, er… world is this?” Luke asked, obviously still working on his profanity.

  Sierra sat up straighter and Cole moved over, giving her space. “It’s a diaper Genie.”

  “Because a regular trash can won’t do?” Luke asked, staring at the box.

  Sierra didn’t bother to try and explain, she merely laughed.

  “Have you had dinner?” Cole asked, turning his attention back to Sierra.

  “No, but I don’t think I could eat a thing. After the cake and ice cream, I think I’m pretty well done for the night.”

  Cole nodded, then glanced over at Luke. “You want me to make you something?”

  “If you’re making yourself something, then sure.”

  Cole smiled up at Luke, wondering if the man even realized how bewildered he looked. Cole certainly knew how he felt. With a baby on the way, the baby shower pretty much signifying that they were heading down the home stretch now, it was beginning to get real.

  As he walked to the kitchen, Cole wondered whether the anxiety actually would get better or worse once the baby was born. The conversations over the course of the evening hadn’t done anything to alleviate the stress he was feeling either. When Kane showed up, he’d showered them with various stories about Haley and quite frankly, Cole was petrified.

  For now, he was just grateful for something to do to take his mind off of the stories and the nerves and the gifts. The last thing he wanted was for Sierra to realize how nervous he truly was. There’d be plenty of time for that later.

  Chapter Five

  Luke was up with the sun the following morning, which was way too early in his opinion. After the events of the night before, and getting home to find his house a complete and utter disaster, – at least in his opinion – he should’ve been too tired to get out of bed. That didn’t appear to be the case because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed.

  With so many things on his mind he had tossed and turned most of the night so finding any peace within his dreams wasn’t going to happen. With Sierra still sleeping soundly beside him, Luke decided to get up so she could rest a little longer.

  Sneaking out of bed and into the kitchen required stealth that a man of his size didn’t have, but he tried. He was thankful that he knew his house so well becaus
e his thoughts were still on the fritz and he was practically moving around while lost inside of his thoughts entirely.

  As with most morning’s, Luke’s first thought was about the club and the current turmoil it was in, and he knew he couldn’t give one hundred percent until he had a cup of coffee. He wasn’t a big fan of the stuff, but he’d learned in recent months that the caffeine did wonders to clear the fog from his brain.

  Not that coffee was going to make him come up with some brilliant plan to counteract the result of his actions. If it would, he’d have been in much better shape long ago. After closing the doors on the fetish club, he had taken a substantial hit from all angles, financially being the least of his worries, although with a baby on the way, it was another factor that was beginning to weigh heavily on his already overloaded brain.

  He would be the first to admit that he was prone to rash decisions. He just couldn’t help but feel that this one wasn’t rash. After finding out most of his members were nothing more than sanctimonious assholes who felt as though he actually owed them something, he’d decided enough was enough.

  So, that left him in the rebuilding phase, only he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant for him yet. With Kane Steele now handling the memberships, he was getting much more in depth than ever before, digging even further into the member’s background – those that still remained – which meant remarkably little escaped him, and it was probably easier to get into the White House than it was to get into his club these days. But even he knew Kane was not going to be able to make that a full time job.

  Unfortunately, Luke was at a standstill on what to do from here, which meant his brain was working overtime. He was at the point he just wanted someone else to take over, to make the damned decisions, to figure out what the best approach to take was. For the first time in his life, Luke was about ready to relinquish control to someone else.

  “Mornin’,” Cole greeted from his seat at the breakfast bar as Luke moved into the kitchen.