The conversation around the fire has shifted to club business, the kind of mundane planning that happens when all of us get together. Who's covering which shifts, when the next charity ride is scheduled, whether Thunder's actually going to follow through on his threat to get his bike painted hot pink to impress the new waitress at The Café.
But I'm not really listening. I'm too focused on the way Dani's breathing has evened out, the way she's not constantly scanning the shadows for threats, the way she's actually participating in the gentle teasing and laughter flowing around us.
"Want to take a walk?" I ask when the conversation lulls.
She nods, and we excuse ourselves from the group.
We wander toward the back of the clubhouse, where the noise from the fire pit fades to a comfortable murmur. There's a small grove of trees back here, oak and pine that provide a natural windbreak and a little privacy from the main area.
"It's beautiful tonight," Dani says, tilting her head back to look at the stars beginning to appear in the darkening sky.
"Not as beautiful as you."
She laughs, the sound lighter than it's been in weeks. Her palm opens up to mine, and my finger runs over her wedding ring. "That's a terrible line, Devil."
"Maybe, but it's true." I pull her closer, backing her gently against one of the larger oak trees. "God, I've missed this. Missed you."
"I'm right here."
"No, you've been hiding. And I understand why, baby, I do. But I've missed my wife. Missed the woman who used to drag me away from club meetings just to make out in the parking lot."
Her eyes flash with something that looks like the old spark, the one that drew me to her from the first moment I saw her. "Is that what we're doing? Making out in the parking lot?"
"Something like that." I frame her face with my hands, thumbs stroking over her cheekbones. "If you want to."
Instead of answering, she goes up on her toes and kisses me, soft and sweet at first, then deeper as I respond. She tastes like chocolate and marshmallows and something that's uniquely Dani, and I can't get enough.
"I love you," she whispers against my mouth. "I'm sorry I've been so…"
"Don't." I cut her off with another kiss, this one fierce and possessive. "Don't apologize for surviving, for healing, for taking the time you need. I'll wait as long as it takes, Dani. Forever if I have to."
She makes a soft sound in the back of her throat, her hands fisting in my shirt as she pulls me closer. The kiss turns hungry, desperate, all the emotion and need we've both been holding back pouring out in the darkness.
When we break apart, we're both breathing hard, and I can see the want in her eyes even in the dim light filtering through the trees.
"Take me home," she says, and there's something in her voice I haven't heard in weeks. Heat. Desire. Life.
"You sure, baby?"
"I'm sure. I want my husband back. All of him."
I don't need to be told twice. We make our way back to the fire pit long enough to say our goodbyes, Dani hugging her parents and Allison with genuine warmth, thanking the guys for a perfect day.
"Anytime, sweetheart," Bull says, his gruff voice softer than usual. "This is your family. We take care of our own."
As we walk to my truck, Dani's hand in mine, I can hear the laughter and conversation continuing behind us. The club will be fine without us for the rest of the evening. They'll probably keep the fire going until the early hours, solving all the world's problems with the last of the alcohol and chocolate.
But right now, all I care about is the woman beside me, the way she's holding my hand like she's not planning to let go anytime soon, and the promise in her eyes when she looks at me.
We're going to be okay. It might take time, and there will probably be setbacks along the way, but we're going to be okay. Because we have this – the club, our family, each other – and sometimes that's enough to carry you through even the darkest nights.
For the first time in weeks, I'm not worried about tomorrow. Tonight, I have my wife back, and that's enough.
Chapter 18
Dani
Devil and I make it through the front door, and we're on each other like teenagers who've just been told they have thirty minutes until their parents are home. He's all over me, I'm all over him. At my belly, his cock is hard and pressing. His mouth is attacking my neck, before trailing up and along my jawline.
