“This isn’t about what the doctor said,” I shared, reaching over to coax her hair behind her ear. “There are some things I was waiting to tell you until you were feeling a bit better.”
I watched as dread shuttered her expression. I hated having to put that look on her face. “What?”
“There were more deliveries at your place in Portland. Some more threatening than others. And the guy who attacked you in the parking lot? He was killed—murdered I think.”
She sucked in a shocked breath, wincing at the pain in her ribs.
“Fuck, this is why I was waiting to tell you,” I ground out. “Do you need some pain killers?”
“No.” She shook her head in frustration. “I want to know more about the news that impacts my life that you waited to tell me about,” she insisted angrily. “How long have you known about this?”
“About a week.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “What else do you know?”
“With the way your attacker was killed, a car accident, I’m sure it was your stalker that ran you off the road. That means he’s here in Hawthorne and likely knows where you are too.”
“Shit,” she breathed as I reached over to take her hand. I could feel her pulse racing under my thumb as I stroked her soft skin.
“Until he’s dealt with, I don’t intend to let you out of my sight, and in the rare instances where I need to, you’ll have a man on you.”
“My dad knows this?” she asked woodenly.
“He does.”
“So, you two are in cahoots then? I think I liked it better when you weren’t getting along,” she mumbled, and I was relieved to see some of her trademark sass back in action.
I bit back a smile. “Cahoots? Babe, you’ve been watching too much Law and Order.”
She glared at me.
“He’s not going to touch a hair on your head,” I swore. “But I need you to work with me. I know you’re feeling cooped up, but until this blows over, we need to be really fucking careful.”
She sighed, and I knew she understood. “Fine, I get that. I wish you would have told me sooner.” She paused to give me a pointed look. “But I get it. Still, don’t you think we can venture out to the club now and again? To Mad’s? Both those places are well protected.”
She had a point. I knew there was a good part of me that just wanted to keep her to myself regardless of any danger she was in. But eventually that would make her unhappy, and I’d never want to be the cause of that.
“Yeah, we can do that,” I agreed somewhat begrudgingly.
She shot me a warm smile. “Don’t worry, honey, we’ll spend plenty of nights locking ourselves away from the world like you used to, except now you’re stuck with me.” She winked.
“Sounds fucking perfect,” I replied with conviction, squeezing her hand that was still placed in mine.
“Now that we’re getting all this out there, where did my pop go? Should I be worried?” she asked.
I deliberated for only a moment on how much to share. Wren would never be the kind of woman that would accept me keeping things from her. And hell, I didn’t want that kind of woman anyway. “We’ve had some issues with a mafia organization in Vegas.” I took a swig of my beer before continuing. “They’ve started trying to expand their business, running drugs and firearms through our area to get up to Oregon. We’re not gonna let that happen.”
“Good.” She nodded. That was my girl. She didn’t complain about the business itself or worry further now that she knew the state of play. She trusted the club, and me, to handle our business. That meant more than I could ever say.
“Things heat up, it’ll be more than you that’s on lockdown,” I shared.
She sighed, looking up at the stars. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” she pointed out.
“Nope,” I agreed as she yawned huge. It had been a big day for her, and I needed to make sure she got enough rest. “What do you say we go to bed?”
She nodded. “That sounds good.”
I stood up, pulling her up with me, and guided her inside and down the hall, with the dogs and cat trailing behind us. “I’m gonna shut things down. You go on and get ready.”
She nodded sleepily, wandering off down the hall as I watched her hungrily. It was going to be the goddamn challenge of my life to keep my hands to myself, but she was still in pain. I needed to go slow, to be careful, when what I really wanted was to throw her on the nearest surface and pound into her sweet little body until neither of us could breathe.
I shook my head, trying to clear it as I moved around the house, checking the alarms and turning off lights. I moved slowly, letting her have some time to adjust, wanting her to be comfortable and not to crowd her as she got used to my space.
When I wandered back to the bedroom, I nearly laughed out loud. Wren was already passed out under the covers with both dogs and the goddamn cat on the bed.
“Off,” I commanded as quietly as possible. The dogs knew they weren’t allowed up there and skulked guiltily to their beds on the floor. “You too,” I added to Frank, who just eyed me in challenge.
Damn cat.
I picked him up and put him on the floor, knowing he’d just jump back up in a few minutes. Trying to prove who was boss with him was impossible, but I kept trying, fighting a losing battle.
I crawled into bed, wanting to pull Wren into my arms but knowing that could hurt her. For now, I was content to have her in my bed, a place I’d dreamed of her resting her head for so goddamn long I wasn’t even sure when the wish had originally been planted.
“Night, baby,” I murmured, relishing the sound of her sweet little sigh as I followed her into sleep.
Chapter 19
WREN
When I woke up, it took me a minute to remember where I was. The rumble of Frank’s purr as he lay beside me brought me back with a smile. I still couldn’t believe I was in Max’s bed. The beauty of that would take some blissful time to get used to.
Max was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear what sounded like breakfast being made in the kitchen. The fact that Max could cook was sexy as hell and very welcome since I certainly couldn’t.
I rose from bed gingerly, still sore but feeling better every day. Frank stretched and yawned, giving me an annoyed look for disturbing his slumber as he jumped off the bed and strutted from the room.
I found Max, shirtless and wearing black sweats that hung low on his trim hips, as he stood by the stove, making an omelet. My mouth watered, and it had nothing to do with food.
He turned to watch me approach, his gaze warm, his full lips tipped in a smile. “Hi, baby.” He pulled me gently in his arms, and my hands pressed to his firm chest as his lips met mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss. He growled low, his hands moving to cup my backside covered in only panties and the tee I’d worn to bed.
“You need to wear more clothes if I’m going to control myself,” he rumbled against my lips.
“What if I don’t want you to control yourself?” I panted as he nipped at my neck, making my knees weak.
He dropped his head to my shoulder. “You’re dangerous, woman.”