“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Ma doesn’t seem to understand that, though. She’s sure I’m miserable, living a lesser life than I deserved.”
“She’s your mother, of course she wants what’s best for you.”
He peers down at me. “She was happy about you, though.”
“Me?”
“She’s been on my case to find a good girl, one who’ll see past all the trappings to the man inside. Guess she figured you fit the bill.” He grins.
“And what do you think? Do you think I fit the bill?”
Sly rolls over on top of me, his body a heavy weight of heated skin that cocoons me in warmth, pressing me to the bed. He runs a thumb across my forehead, between my brows.
“You got little worry lines right here. I wish I could take them away. Make it so you don’t have to worry about a damn thing ever again.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
He dips to press a soft kiss to my lips. “Thought I showed you last night what I think of you. You need another demonstration?”
“I need words.”
“You’re a tough cookie, aren’t you?”
I shake my head. “I’m not. I wish I were.”
“You want to know what I think of you? I think you’re beautiful. I think you’ve got smarts and a good heart … and yeah, I think you could fit the bill, if you wanted to. If you let down the guarded wall and let me in.”
“I let you in last night.”
He smiles and taps my forehead with his finger. “I’m talkin’ ’bout in here”—he shifts lower and presses a kiss to my chest—“and in here.”
Sly wants in my head and in my heart. The admission has me wanting him to make love to me all over again. Last night he’d been sweet at times and take-charge dominant at times, and I loved both sides of him.
Earlier this morning, he seemed more playful.
He drops down lower, kissing a trail down my belly and then lower, shoving my thighs wide to accommodate his broad shoulders. A beat later, he’s got his mouth on me and sets about driving me wild with need until I’m climbing quickly toward that sweet, sweet peak of release.
I writhe, rubbing myself against him. I can’t get enough. The more I move, the more he holds me down, forcing me to take it at his pace, and his pace is slow and torturous until I can’t stand it anymore.
“Please, Sly,” I beg. “Finish me.”
And that’s when he really doubles down until I’m thrashing and panting and chanting his name over and over, and I can’t catch my breath. Then, he gives it to me, the sharpest, highest orgasm of my life.
I’m soaring, flying so high before melting into a pile of exhausted contentment. Oh, my God. Best ever. This man, who would have guessed?
He trails kisses back up my slick body until he’s smiling down into my face. “You hungry?”
I giggle. “Maybe.” There’s a loud, whining sound, and I frown. “What was that?”
“Somebody else is hungry.” Sly climbs off the bed and tosses his flannel shirt at me. “Here, throw this on and come on.”
I quickly jam my arms in the sleeves and follow him, fastening a couple of buttons as I go. We walk down the hall and into the kitchen, then Sly opens the sliders and goes out onto the deck. I pause in the doorway as he squats and scratches the ears of a young dog, more or less a puppy, but big.
“You have a dog?”
“Nope. I have a stray who has kind of adopted me.”
I watch as Sly fills the water and food bowls, and then steps back. “There you go, buddy boy.”
Again, this man is surprising me at every turn. He obviously has a heart and empathy for God’s less fortunate creatures. How bad could he be? I realize I really need to guard my heart because I’m starting to fall for this man in a big way. If I’m not careful, he could shatter what’s left of it. And right now, I’m not sure I could take it.
Sly throws an arm around my neck and draws me against his side, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Come on, I’ll scrounge us up something to eat.”
A few minutes later, I’m sitting in his lap at the kitchen table, sharing a bowl of cereal with him. I’m basically spoon-feeding him at his command.
His palm strokes up my bare thigh, caressing and affectionate as I feed him, then me, and then him again. Cheerio’s have never been so sexy.
He’s got a pair of faded blue jeans on, but he’s shirtless. My gaze follows the ink running up his arm and neck. “You have a lot of ink.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you have none. Ever think about changing that?”
Before I can answer, the sound of motorcycles breaks the stillness. We can hear them coming up the street, and as they get louder, I’m sure they’ve pulled into Sly’s driveway.
He seems unperturbed.
“Expecting someone?” I ask, partly because I’m sitting on his lap with his flannel shirt and nothing underneath.
Before he can answer, I hear the front door open and men’s voices as they troop inside. I know it’ll only be seconds before they’re at the kitchen door.
I try to bolt, but Sly locks his hold on me, keeping me from scrambling off his lap. He’s grinning.
“Babe, it’s just my brothers.”
Like that makes it okay?
I freeze when they appear in the archway, like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Boys,” Sly says by way of a greeting.
“Thought we were going ridin’,” one of them grunts, not at all happy to see me curled up on Sly’s lap.
“Who’s your friend, bro?” a tall guy asks, his big muscles on display in a white wife-beater shirt as he shoulders his way in the room.
They’re both wearing Kings of Carnage cuts.
Another brother steps in. I recognize him from the diner. “Hey, Michaela. How’s it shakin’?”
“Hello, Bouncer,” I whisper, mortified with how I’m dressed, and that even now, Sly’s hand is creeping up my bare thigh.
“Where’d you meet her?” the tall guy asks Bouncer, pinning him with an accusatory look. “Why didn’t I know about her?”
“There’s lots of shit you don’t know about, Jinx.” Bouncer grins at me. “We had lunch, didn’t we, babe?”
“Um, sort of,” I reply.
The grunter pulls his shades off and he’s got the most beautiful brown eyes. “We ridin’ or not?”
“You roll outta the wrong side of the bed this morning, Bash?” Sly asks, not at all in a hurry to move me off his lap.
“Savannah wasn’t in it, so yeah.”
Sly frowns. “Where’d your ol’ lady spend the night, if not in your bed?”
“She was up at Chaos’ place havin’ ladies night or some shit with Cambri, even though Cambri’s only allowed alcohol-free cocktails during her pregnancy. Savannah drank too much wine. Chaos called and said she’d sleep it off in the guest room.”
“And you’re not up there right now picking her ass up, because …?”
“Because now the girls are painting the baby’s room.”
Sly’s chest vibrates with his laughter.