Thanks for the reviews! Some rocks are coming up ahead for Nora and Juice, but what do you all think of Kozik and Lana? Chevy and I would love to know! I do not own anything in this chapter, besides Nora, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 37

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A few days had passed since Lana took off with Kozik. Nora had taken it upon herself to play the nice girlfriend and bring lunch to the guys working late, her boyfriend included. She felt bad they had to work in this heat. So, since she had a shift anyway in the office, she figured she'd bring a late lunch for them.

Pulling up in Lana's car, the first thing she noticed was Happy perking up before realizing it was just her. She knew he was hoping it'd be Lana. He'd been like this since Lana left, and it broke her heart to see him so broken up about it. He'd never admit it, not even to himself she was sure, but he missed Lana.

Parking, she strained to get out of the car. She was getting to the point where she could barely get up on her own. She gave a small smile to Happy before pulling the take-out bags out from the backseat. Bumping the door closed with her hip, she headed toward him and the other guys inside of the garage.

As much as she wished Juice had at least run buying Lana's car for her by her, in this case it was helpful. She wasn't about to tell him he was right though. She paused in front of Happy, digging through one of the bags before handing him a food carton. "Here, this is for you. I remember Lana mentioning you liked this." She said, not realizing the mistake she made in mentioning Lana.

Thankfully before Happy could snap at her, Juice came out and steered her away. Glancing back, she felt her heart tighten seeing Happy throw the food in anger. So maybe bringing up Lana hadn't been the smartest thing to do? She won't make the mistake again. "I feel bad for him. He really misses her." She whispered, not wanting the killer to overhear her.

Juice sighed, knowing she was going to focus on this. It was like she got it from Lana to butt into someone else's business. "She made the decision to leave with Kozik. Leave it alone, Nora." He said, giving her a look to just drop it.

Sighing, she nodded and following him inside. She paused at the car he was working on and gave him one of the other food containers. "I brought you guys all lunch. Here, you need to eat something." She said, pushing the box toward him.

He rolled his eyes, chuckling before leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Thanks, babe."

She smiled, nodding as she unpacked the rest of the food. Juice watched her for a minute before clearing his throat. "Oh, hey, Gemma invited us to her place for dinner tonight. It's mandatory so we can't get out of it." He explained.

She knew about Gemma's famous family dinners. She'd been to a few of them when she was younger and she was always roped into helping set up with the other women. It was nice to be invited as family this time though. Not just the awkward guest. "That sounds like fun. I'm in, just let me go home and change first before we go over." She said, heading over to the office door. Flashing him a quick smile, she opened the door and headed inside to start her shift.

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*Tacoma*

"Stealing bitches from the mother charter now, brother?" Bowie asked Kozik with a smug grin, recognizing Lana when she and Koz walked into the Tacoma clubhouse the day they got into town.

Kozik gave Bowie a warning look, pulling Lana closer to him. "Only when I plan on making them my bitch." He said without a hint of humor in his voice that no one missed.

The whole charter was present and there were a few sweetbutts hanging around as well. Kozik was rarely this serious unless it was club business so it was obvious that his statement was a warning for the others to stay away from Lana. He was letting them all know she was no longer a club whore, she was his and they better treat her with the respect she deserved.

A few days in Tacoma and Lana, because of Kozik's position in the club and his announcement that she was no longer just some bitch that was meant for any member, had been shown nothing but respect. It was a whole different life. She still half expected for one of the guys to eventually make some kind of move or comment to remind her of her former place as a whore. But they didn't. Disrespecting Lana meant disrespecting Kozik.

Lee was the only other guy who had an old lady and she had no interest in club life, avoided it at all costs. Lana had been around SAMCRO for years and it was clear to many of the members that she was prime old lady material. With little effort she definitely had the potential to be the Gemma Teller of Tacoma- The Queen of SAMTAC.

Lana had quickly settled into Kozik's place. She'd always felt like a caged bird, wanting to be free and able to take off at a moment's notice, but years of feeling like her presence in Charming didn't make much difference one way or the other made her crave the stability that she immediately felt in Tacoma. Something about it just felt right.

She'd dozed off on the couch one evening while Kozik had been out taking care of something for the club. He walked in the door in the early morning hours, hearing the TV still on. Walking into the room, he saw her curled up under a blanket, the glow of the TV the only light.

He watched her for a moment, appreciating how beautiful she was and wondering why the hell it had taken him so long to bring her back with him. He'd known her for years and had always had a thing for her in particular. There was just something about her that he'd always preferred over the other girls. She was down to earth… real. She was who she was and didn't try to change that to make others happy.

Maybe it had been that he'd always known there was something between her and Happy. He and Hap had prospected together, they'd formed a bond that was not easily broken and he didn't want to break it, especially over some chick, but he'd watched Hap walk all over Lana for years and she didn't deserve that. When she said she was leaving, finally realized she didn't have to put up with Hap's shit anymore, he couldn't just let her go. Happy clearly didn't realize what was right in front of him, but Kozik did.

Walking over to the couch, Kozik brushed a strand of hair out of her face and she shifted in her sleep. He picked up the remote and turned the TV off, then bent over and picked Lana up, one arm behind her shoulders and the other behind her knees. She moaned sleepily and turned her head toward him so her cheek was resting against his arm.

He carried her back to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Removing his clothes, he lay down behind her and pulled the sheet over them. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair and his hand slid up her leg. He'd planned on falling asleep with her in his arms, but upon discovering she was completely naked under his shirt she was wearing, he didn't want to stop his hand from roaming further up and over her hip.

He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her neck and over her shoulder. She moaned in her sleep again and rolled onto her back toward him. His hand slid over her stomach and back down her thigh, dipping down between her legs and gripping the inside of her thigh possessively.

Lana moaned in pleasure this time, being pulled from sleep by the throbbing heat between her legs. She bit her lip as she felt Kozik's hand moved up her inner thigh and brush over her increasingly wet center, her hands going to his shoulders as he rolled so his large body was covering hers.

He pushed the hem of the shirt she was wearing up just below her breasts and she reached down to pull it off the rest of the way. His hand slid through her folds again, the other covering her breasts as he dipped his head down to take her nipple into his mouth. Her hand went to the back of his head and her legs fell apart.

She could feel his erection on her inner thigh and as he pushed his fingers into her center, she lifted her hips to meet his hand. He moved his fingers inside her, hitting her g-spot while he pressed his thumb to her clit, making her buck up again and her nails dig into his back. He felt her spasm around his fingers a moment later and quickly removed his fingers, making her whimper at their sudden absence.

Lifting his head, he covered her mouth with his as he easily, but quickly slid his cock into her and she gasped, both her hands gripping the backs of his heavily muscled arms as he began thrusting into her.

He bent one arm up next her head and used it to support most of his weight as his other hand moved down her petite frame, eventually resting on her hip and he buried his face in her hair. Her moans grew louder as he picked up the pace and she eventually wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing for deeper penetration. She was breathless and trembling beneath him by the time she found release, white lights exploding behind her eyelids.

Her nails drug down his back, leaving raised red lines and he slammed into her as deep as possible as he came, turning his head so his forehead was resting against her temple as he tried to catch his breath. A moment later he kissed her on the lips again before moving to pull away, but she tightened her hold on him, not wanting him to move.

He stopped and furrowed his brow at her. She looked up at him, only now realizing how much she craved the intimacy. Happy wasn't the cuddling type and being a croweater, she hadn't really gotten much affection from any of the others either. She also realized this was the first time she'd been with anyone in the last six years without comparing the entire experience to Happy. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, like she could breathe again. She realized she could live without him and she could be happy. She didn't need him as much as she had thought she did.

She loosened her hold on Kozik and he rolled off of her, pulling her into him. She curled into him, placing a kiss on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

No, she didn't need Happy. Everything she needed was right here in front of her.

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Juice stood in the living room with Jax and Opie, beers in hand. Nora was in the kitchen with the rest of the women, standing right where he could see her. She looked uncomfortable, out of place. Gemma didn't want her helping or getting in the way with her pregnant belly. All the women were in the kitchen though, so she wanted to be in there. "You guys getting ready for the big day?" Jax asked, getting his attention back.

Juice stared at her for another moment before clearing his throat and looking back at the two in front of him. "Uh, we're getting there. Setting up the crib and stuff next week. Still need to get a bunch of crap, I think." He explained, glancing back to see one of the other girls talking to Nora, touching her stomach.

"Just wait until the mood swings set in, man. No sex and the fighting, it'll nearly kill you." Jax chuckled, taking a sip of his beer.

He wasn't joking though. He might not have gone through it personally yet, but he'd seen his mom and dad go through it with Thomas. He didn't understand it at the time, but he got it when Tara was pregnant with their youngest. He missed it since he was in prison during it though. Opie, wasn't so lucky. He had to go through it twice with Donna. To say it simply, these two knew what they were talking about.

"I'd say she's almost to the point of no sex. Sucks for you, brother." Opie added in.

Juice knew sex was getting harder for them lately. Even going at it from behind, she was starting not to be comfortable and not getting into it. She'd rather just jerk him off than even kiss him sometimes, but he wasn't about to tell the guys that. "Uh, yeah. I think we're doing alright. Her mood swings aren't too bad, nothing I can't handle." He lied.

Between him sleeping too close to her, or him not making the waffles right, he didn't know which fight was more ridiculous. He knew it was just the pregnancy talking though, so he wouldn't hold it against her. She'd feel bad for it later and start crying, the whiplash wasn't easy to keep up with. He'd just wrap his arm around her and watch a movie with her on the couch though. It seemed to do the trick.

He was surprised when Nora came over and snuggled into his side. He could feel how tense she was and knew something was wrong. Smiling weakly at the guys, he excused himself and moved her off to the side. "What's wrong? Did someone say something to you?" He whispered, glancing back into the kitchen to the busy women inside.

Nora felt unwanted. She wasn't wanted in the kitchen, she couldn't help, and they made that loud and clear. Not Gemma, the queen was fine, but the others. The croweaters didn't want her there. They'd been around longer than she had, and one of them made it perfectly clear the only reason she was even invited was because she was Juice's baby mama. A few months ago, she would have been able to take that and spit out something just as rude, but now? Now she just wanted to go home, curl up on the couch in a ball, and cry.

She didn't want Juice to think he had to leave because she was upset though. He was wanted here, he wanted to be here. She'd feel guilty if he had to miss out on the fun and go home because of her. "Um, no. I just . . . my stomach's churning. I'm gonna go home, you should stay though. Have fun." She said, forcing a small smile. He look conflicted about staying without her, but she could see the want to stay beat knowing he should go with her.

Kissing his cheek, she squeezed his hand. "I'll see you at him, old man." She teased, giving him a wink before turning to say a quick goodbye to Gemma before leaving.

Juice watched her leave, wondering if he just made a mistake. Hearing the loud laughter behind him, he chuckled and headed back to the guys. Nora would be fine. He saw Filthy Phil go home with her. She was safe. He could relax here for a few before going home to be with her. If only he realized it was the first mistake of many to come.