Somehow I’d wound up in his arms. He lifted me up until we were nose to nose. I heard nothing except the thump of my heartbeat, the blood rushing to my ears. I wanted to cover his lips with mine, wrap my legs around him, and drown in sensation. Forget the cold terror that had taken up residence in my body since I’d heard Dev’s voice on the phone. His threats had pummeled me, gotten through the layer of safety I thought I had surrounded myself with.
“I’m askin’ ya,” Colt said softly. “Get my name on you. I can take care of the rest.”
“Prez,” Zip called, shattering the moment.
I turned my head, my nose grazing Colt’s cheek. Four scary bikers had stopped working and were watching our exchange. My face heated when I thought of them hearing us yell out our dirty laundry.
Colt released me and my feet touched the ground. “Truck, babe.”
I climbed into the truck and shut the door. Colt and Zip had an exchange. Zip got in Colt’s face and I swore Colt was about to punch Zip. Colt said something and then they both looked at me. I shrank down into the seat, wishing I was invisible.
Colt stalked toward the truck and nearly ripped the door off its hinges. He got in, slammed the door, and ground the key into the ignition. We sat for a moment in silence; he unrolled the windows to let in some of the Texas spring air.
“Getting your name on me means this is for real,” I said softly.
“Yeah, I know that,” he bit out.
I shook my head. “No, I mean—if I do it, it means I’m one of you. It means,” I swallowed, “I’m asking for people who don’t know me to put their lives on the line for a shit storm I triggered. I couldn’t bear it if…”
“If what?”
“Seeing you get hurt. Seeing any of you get hurt.”
“Hey. Look at me.” When I refused, he said gruffly, “Eyes. I need to see your eyes.”
I looked at him reluctantly, feeling emotion sting my throat. “You haven’t had family in a long time. Families lean on each other when shit gets bad. That’s what we are, honey. Family. I’m giving you my family by bringing you into the fold. This shit with Dev? It’s only gonna get worse. I want to make you a legit member of my family so everyone knows they can’t fuck with you. And babe? If anyone actually is stupid enough to fuck with you, I’ll rain down hell.”
“You’ve never said you loved me, Colt, and now you want me to get something permanent on my body. You don’t think that’s a little insane?”
“I just told you I’d rain down hell if anyone fucked with you. What the hell do you think I was talking about?” he demanded.
“This is a high functioning level of insanity,” I stated. “You know that, right?”
His smile was slow. “Does that mean you love me too?”
“I was actually referring to the tattoo.”
“It’s still throbbing,” I whined. “You totally downplayed how much it was going to hurt.”
“Not gonna lie, babe,” he began. “Can’t wait to fuck you from behind and see my name staring back at me.”
I glared at him in the bathroom mirror. His grin was cheeky. “I’m glad you’re feeling better about the entire situation with Dev.”
“You’re not feeling better?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“I think I can make you feel better.”
“I don’t want to have sex with you right now,” I snapped.
He threw his head back and laughed. “No, I wasn’t talking about sex—though I’m sure I could change your mind. I was gonna tell you that with my name on you, I feel better about you going out with Joni tonight.”
“I’m surprised you’re even letting me out of the house. What with all this Dev shit going on.”
“You’re going to a Blue Angels bar and both Acid and Cheese are going to be standing guard. Can’t keep you locked up and out of sight anymore. Sends the wrong kind of message, yeah?”
He leaned down and plopped a kiss onto the top of my head. “Got something else to show you.” Colt took my hand and led me out of the bathroom into the bedroom.
“It’ll be a little while yet before you can show off your tattoo. So I got you something else to wear.”
He went into his closet and came out a moment later holding up a leather cut—small, feminine, with a patch that read Blue Angels on the right breast pocket. Property of Colt was on the back.
“Not really my style,” I said, touching the leather. It was soft and new and made my head spin with gravitas.
“Thought you might say that,” he said with a chuckle and then placed it on the bed. “There’s a box in the closet. Why don’t you open it yourself?”
I frowned. “Box? What box?”
He gestured with his chin and I immediately scampered to the walk-in closet. In the center of the floor was a pink wrapped box with curled silver ribbons. I reached for it and brought it back into the bedroom.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Just open it.” He leaned against the doorway of the room and waited.
I tore into the box and brushed aside the tissue paper to reveal the sexiest, most bad ass ankle boots I’d ever seen. Black leather with metallic silver spikes and studs all over. Including the heel.
“Holy shit,” I breathed when I felt inside the lining.
“Like ’em?” he asked with a knowing grin.
“I love them,” I corrected.
“What about me?”
“What about you?” I couldn’t take my gaze off the boots. They were a shoe fetishist’s dream. I’d worked at a bar, on my feet. I had always chosen comfort over fashion, but now…
“Waitin’ on you to give me the words. Want to hear them.”
“You haven’t said them either,” I reminded him with a reproachful look.
His gaze was hot as it raked over me before coming back to rest on my face. “Love you, darlin’.”
My smile was slow. “I love you, too.”
His mouth quirked up on one side. “So you’ll wear the boots tonight when you go out?”
“Hell yeah!”
“You’ll wear the leather cut, too. You get one thing. I get one thing.”
“Technically you got two things. The cut and the tattoo of your name on me.” I arched an eyebrow daring him to argue. “Besides, the cut will rub against my bandage. Guess you didn’t think about that, did you?”
“My woman’s got a smart mouth.”
“You like it.”
“I’d like it better wrapped around my—”
“Do you have a Blue Angels T-shirt?” I interrupted. “With the logo and everything?”
“Yeah, I got one.” He pushed away from the doorway and went to his dresser. He pulled open the bottom drawer and dug out a red T-shirt with the logo. It had Blue Angels written across the back. It was perfect for what I needed.
“And a pair of scissors?”
“Nightstand drawer. What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I’m going to surprise you,” I said with a grin.
He didn’t smile back. Instead, his gaze felt heavy with intensity.