I don’t know how long I would have kept talking, but suddenly, his mouth was on mine. His hands cupped the sides of my face as his lips coaxed mine open, his tongue meeting mine, a delicious growl rumbling deep in his chest.
My core liquified, heart hammering as I lost the battle willingly and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer. In that moment, there was no denying him. There was no worry, no thought at all beyond pure need. His hands went to my hair, pulling gently as he took the kiss deeper.
A knock at the door had him pulling back, his forehead pressed to mine. “Just a minute,” he rasped to whoever was at the door. He pulled back, eyes roving over my face. “Fuck, I knew once I got a taste of you that’d be it.”
“I should get back to Riley.” I felt guilty that I’d left her so long.
He held my gaze a moment longer before helping me off the counter. He opened the door and gestured for me to precede him. His hand pressed to my lower back, guiding me back out to the kitchen.
The girls didn’t try to hide their shock at seeing us together. And it didn’t help that they were now joined by a couple of men who must have been outside when we’d come in. Gracie’s mouth was comically agape as she watched our approach. I was sure my mouth was swollen from his kisses, my blush growing a deeper shade of red as they stared at us.
“Gonna catch flies, Gracie,” Cash commented casually, his arm moving up to slip around my shoulders.
She snapped her mouth shut, wide eyes swinging to me.
“Where’s Riley?” I asked, desperate for escape.
“Liv took her back out to meet Rosie,” Wren explained. “I’m so sorry about earlier. I swear I’m good with kids. She just slipped on the stairs. I was holding her hand but—”
I held up a hand, eager to assure her. “Wren, she just turned five. She trips over her own two feet all the time. It happens. No big deal, promise.”
The handsome dark-haired man next to her wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. “You’re great with kids, baby,” he assured her.
“This is my husband, Max,” Wren introduced. “And that bald guy is Gunner,” she added, gesturing to the large man with the shaved head.
Gunner snorted. “I’m not fucking bald, Wren. I shave my head.”
“Hey, watch how you talk to my wife,” Max growled.
“Oh my God, you guys, if we actually want her to be friends with us maybe we should tone it down?” Emmie prompted with an eye roll. “This is sort of normal though,” she admitted to me with a wrinkled nose.
I laughed nervously, deftly slipping out from Cash’s arm. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll be happy to help with dinner. But I’m just gonna go find Riley real quick,” I stammered, practically running to the back deck.
Chapter 8
CASH
“She seems cool, too bad we’ll never see her again.” Max chortled as we all watched Layla practically race for the nearest exit.
Max was joking, but as Emmie turned narrowed eyes to me, it was very clear she wasn’t. “ What are you doing, Cash?” she demanded.
“Cool it, Em. He likes her,” Gunner defended on my behalf.
I hadn’t grown up in the club like most of them had and yet, they were my family. They’d given me what I’d never had before. Love, loyalty, and respect. I’d die for every single one of them.
All three of the girls turned wide eyes toward me. “You like her? Like, like her, like her?” Emmie demanded.
“Don’t even know what you’re fucking sayin’,” I admitted, scratching my whiskers in confusion. “But if you’re askin if I’m serious about her—yeah. I am. I’m not fucking around.”
“Didn’t you just meet her?” Grace wanted to know.
I turned to her, eyeing her steadily as though daring her to challenge me. “Yep.”
Something in my tone must have gotten through, because Emmie visibly deflated. “Okay. I just—I worry about her. Losing her nan was hard. I think that’s really the only family she had. But Layla is tough and smart and so dedicated to Riley. I can’t imagine having a two-year-old dropped in my lap in my early twenties,” she murmured. “But she’s never once complained about it to me.” She looked toward the patio door Layla had slipped through. “She’s tough as nails, whether she knows it or not, and just the kind of chick you want in your life.”
I was just about to agree when Layla walked back in, a chattering Riley clutching her hand.
I’d never thought much about kids; at twenty-eight, it hadn’t been on my radar. But there was something about Riley that had immediately claimed my heart. From the moment she’d slipped and then reached for me, cuddling against my shoulder with so much trust, she’d become mine just as much as her mother was.
But with the look of apprehension Layla was shooting me from across the room, I’d have to keep that thought to myself—for now at least.
Hours later, I went in search of Layla. She’d avoided me for the rest of the night, but I’d been glad to see her enjoying herself. Riley had fallen asleep hours ago in Max and Wren’s guest room, which was where I found Layla, about to scoop Riley up.
“I can carry her,” I murmured quietly, not wanting to startle her.
She looked over her shoulder at me with that mixture of apprehension and curiosity she’d been sliding my way all night. “Okay.”
Her easy agreement made me realize how tired she must be. She’d fought me on everything else.
I scooped Riley up in my arms, careful not to wake her. Despite how small she was, her weight felt incredibly significant in my arms as I carried her out of the room, Layla at my heels.
I shot a chin lift to Gunner and Max as Layla waved goodbye.
“I’ll follow you,” I told Layla when she’d finished buckling Riley into her booster.
Her brow creased. “What? Why?”
“Because I don’t want you driving down the mountain by yourself this late at night and I want to help you get Riley inside,” I answered patiently.
She bit her lip as though deliberating how to answer me.
Christ, how I wanted to bite that lip. “I’m just seeing you home, Layla. Nothing more,” I assured her.
“Okay,” she agreed quietly.
It was a small win, but I’d take it.
I strode to my bike, firing up the motor and following her toward town. Gunner had told me where she lived, and when we pulled up a short time later in front of the two-story home where her nan had lived not that long ago, I was struck by the enormity of what both Layla and Riley must be going through with so much change in such a short time.
I cut the engine and, with minimal argument from Layla, helped lift Riley from her booster and carried her inside.
Layla turned on a few lights and indicated for me to follow her up the stairs. “First door on the left,” she murmured. “I’m just gonna put my purse down,” she added, darting from the room quickly.
I laid Riley on the bed, noting how lived-in her room looked. Clearly Layla had made sure her little girl felt at home. Knowing what little I did about Layla, I wasn’t surprised.
When she returned a moment later, I didn’t imagine that she looked pale and agitated.