“The old regime has collapsed, and none of us can afford to sit back and mind our own business,” Boyd said. “It’s time to do your part to set the world right, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.” I lifted the beer to my lips and swallowed. “What can we do? Realistically, what can we do that will make a damned bit of difference?”
“We’re looking to recruit like-minded men, build up the brigade, make it a real force for good, for stability,” Jerrilyn said. “The Wilcox Brigade can become the core of an army that supports and defends a new, white ethnostate. We’ll keep the peace, keep the lesser races in line. We could use a man like you, if you’re willing to commit to the cause.”
“Can’t say I’m not tempted.” Couldn’t say how little I was tempted—not under the circumstances—but I sure as hell could think it. I tilted the beer bottle back and forth, watching the liquid slosh from side to side. “Let me give it some thought.”
“You need to check with your woman?” Boyd asked.
I snorted. “Mac will do as she’s told.”
“Fair enough,” Jerrilyn said. “Long as you know that if you’re not with us, we got no place for you here.”
“Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
Tuck sauntered onto the porch, beer in hand. He leaned against the railing opposite my chair. “I took Libby and Mac back to feed our prisoners. The boys are tucked in for the night.”
A weight lifted off my shoulders. Mac saw Sahdev and Bear and could fill me in on their conditions. Bear wouldn’t know her from Adam, but Sahdev was now aware that we were working on a plan to rescue him. Had been two days since the brigade took him prisoner. Hoped like hell he hadn’t thought we’d abandoned him.
We shot the shit for another hour, then I yawned, stretched, and told them I was gonna take Mac to bed. I found Mac sitting next to Libby on the sofa, with a ball of yarn at her side and a plastic hook in her hand.
She waved the hook at me. “I’m crocheting a baby blanket.”
I held out a hand to her. “You can work on that tomorrow. We’re going to bed now.”
“You’ll need a lantern,” Libby said. “There’s an extra one on the table there.”
I snagged a lantern and switched it on. Mac hopped to her feet and took my hand. “Libby showed me our room. It’s this way.” She led me toward the hallway, then paused in the doorway, glancing back over her shoulder and waving at Libby. “Good night, Libby. See you in the morning.”
“You might want to get started on that baby tonight,” Libby winked.
“Or at least we’ll get in some practice,” I replied, squeezing Mac’s ass.
We walked in silence down the long hall. When Mac halted in front of a door, I checked the hall to make sure we were alone, then leaned over.
“Sahdev? Bear?” I mouthed.
“Opposite end of the house. Behind locked doors. Shackled, but otherwise they look okay. Tuck has the keys.”
“All right. We’ll figure out a way to get our hands on the keys.”
We entered the dark room. I set the lantern on the nightstand. While I locked the door and jammed a chair under the knob, Mac dropped onto the bed and covered her face with her hands.
“This is harder than I thought it would be,” she whispered. Not sure if the words were meant for me, or for her.
I squatted down in front of her. She dropped her hands and met my eyes, her expression blank. When I lifted a hand to touch her face, she pressed her cheek against my palm. “You all right?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she studied my face, her gaze moving from my eyes to my mouth, then back up again. “You’re still you, right?”
“Huh?”
Mac sucked in a breath, then slowly blew it out, like she needed to buy time before she spoke. She pulled my hand down to her lap and wrapped her fingers around my thumb. “When I read my romance novels, I get really turned on by the dominant, oversexed, alpha-male heroes.”
No surprise there. I’d seen her e-book library, skimmed over a few of the stories, especially the ones about big, bad bikers. We still needed to act out a scene from one of those books. Even though it wasn’t news to me, I was surprised that she admitted getting turned on by dominant men. Usually, she acted like it was a dirty little secret.
I nodded, encouraging her to continue. She was going somewhere with this confession, but exactly where I had no idea.
“I found out that I like the fantasy more than the reality.” She squeezed my hand. “I know we’re playing a role. I know that I’m supposed to look dumb and nonthreatening, so it won’t occur to them to keep a close eye on me. I know that you’re trying to impress the men with how large and in charge you are, with how you’re the boss of me.”
She hesitated.
“But?” I said gently.
“But when you casually bark out an order, and it’s clear that you expect me to hop to, I feel really pissed off. And when you look at me with that flat, emotionless face, it scares me. Everything in me rebels, and I want to smack you upside the head. I look at you and I think, Who is this guy? Where’s my Ripper?”
“I’m right here. Still me. The same Ripper. The man who loves you.” I stood, sat next to her on the bed, then pulled her onto my lap. She clutched my T-shirt and buried her face in my chest. “Truth is, on a mission or in combat, I do expect you to defer to my experience and obey me without question. If I say duck, you duck. If I say hold, you hold. I expect all of my people to obey me without question. But the rest of the time?” I caught her chin and tilted her face up to mine, so she could see the truth in my eyes. “I want my woman standing at my side, not under my boot. A true partner. A woman with a mind of her own. I want you, just the way you are.”
“I guess that means you’re still you.”
“Always.” I ran my hand up and down her back, soothing her, reassuring her.
With a thoughtful expression on her face, she touched her property necklace and rolled one of the alphabet beads between her fingertips. “Can I still wear this?”
“Always,” I repeated firmly. “It never meant that I own you, that I expect you to hop to, like you said.”
After a few minutes, she tilted her face up to mine. That adorable little V appeared between Mac’s brows. “Now that I know I don’t like being bossed around in real life, I suppose I’ll have to give up on my wild fantasies.”
“No fucking way.” I laughed. “I like that side of you. In the bedroom, we can act out any fantasy we like. I can be—how did you describe it—the dominant, oversexed, alpha male of your dreams.”
“Oh, yeah?” She squirmed on my lap—a motion my dick really appreciated—and I seized the moment.
“Yeah. I can take off my belt, tie your hands to the bedpost, then, when you’re totally at my mercy, I’ll fuck you senseless.” She swallowed and licked her lips. I smiled to myself. If Mac liked it, I could play rough. “Or I’ll fist your hair, push you down onto your knees, and make you eat cock till you choke on my cum.”
“Oh...” Her fingertips found my nipple piercing and twisted it.