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“Everything’s finally caught up with her.” Bullet wasn’t above joking around, but not about this. “Not sure what’s goin’ on in the dungeon, but you keep her out of it.”
“She’s vice president of this club, Bullet. I wouldn’t hold back any of the others.”
“She’s still a teenager, Rocket. And your woman. It’s time for her to be your woman for a while. You wouldn’t hesitate to pull any of us back if you thought we were in over our heads.” He stabbed a finger in Lemon’s direction. “She is. Whether she wants to admit it or not.”
He was right. In truth, I’d been waiting for this moment. The trick would be to figure out what exactly she was most upset about. I knew it was a combination of things but one stood out. During the fight downstairs, she’d told me I could have my skanky whores. If the main problem was her doubting me, we’d have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting.
I found her in the shower, scrubbing the blood off her skin so hard I winced. The bloody clothes she’d worn were in the middle of the bathroom floor, so I added my own to the pile. When I stepped in with her, she pushed away from me.
“Don’t touch me! You smell like whores!”
“Then wash me, baby. Get their stink off me.”
She turned away, muttering, “Wash your own fuckin’ self.” It wasn’t like Lemon to sulk, which meant she was saying what she thought she should say. Not what she wanted to actually do.
I stepped forward, reaching around her for the shower gel. I put my other arm around her middle, pulling her back against me. She tried to bat my hand away, but it wasn’t even a half-hearted attempt.
Squirting a generous amount over my torso, I turned Lemon around to face me and took her wrists in my hands, placing her palms against my chest. “I said wash me, Lemon.”
“That an order, Prez?” The snarky comment was said without any real heat. In fact, she looked more like a sullen teenager. Which she kind of was. Though she was of legal age for me to have her as my woman, she still wasn’t twenty. It was easy to forget sometimes, because she saw so much of the way things really were when none of the rest of us in Grim ever had. We’d kept our heads down except when we were forced to pay attention. That had started to change, and it was all because of the woman in my arms.
“Yeah, baby. It’s an order.” When she actually pouted, her delicate brows knitting together in disapproval, I had to clear my throat to cover my chuckle. I wasn’t stupid.
“Fine.” She settled her hands over my chest and rubbed the soap over my skin until she finally started to relax a little. And yeah, I noticed the tears slowly leaking from her beautiful eyes, even though one was still swollen most of the way shut. Wasn’t stupid enough to mention it. I would question her about them later. Now wasn’t the time, though.
“Been thinkin’.” I thought she might need a distraction for a bit. Take her mind off things.
“Here it comes,” she muttered. Before I could question her, she plowed on. “What exactly have you been thinking, oh great leader?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You mean besides that I need to take you over my knee?
She snorted. “Yeah. Besides that.”
“Uh-huh.” I waited to see if she’d look up at me. She didn’t. “Been thinkin’ me and you need some alone time. Away from the clubhouse. Just the two of us. Anywhere in the world you want to go.”
To my complete and utter horror and mortification and all kinds of other terrifying shit, Lemon -- my brave, beautiful Lemon -- burst into tears.
“Christ.” I pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I could. I knew she was close to shattering, but I never thought she was this far gone. “I’ve got you Lemon. I won’t let go. Not ever.”
“Why?” she cried. “Why would you even want to be around me?”
That… didn’t compute. I thought about her question for long moments, trying my best to figure out what she meant and simply came up blank. “You’re gonna have to explain, baby. I don’t understand the question.”
“I’m too much. I’ve always been too much.” She clung to me like a child not wanting a parent to drop her off at daycare. Which was as funny as it was sad. This beautiful, wonderful, caring woman should never feel like that. “Why would you throw over all those beautiful, normal women down there for someone who can’t keep her fucking mouth shut!” She practically yelled that last part.
“Who said you should keep your mouth shut? Keeping our mouths shut is what got Grim into the shape it was in before you got here. That’s on me. You keep on speakin’ your mind, honey.”
“It got me beat up again.” Her voice was so soft I almost didn’t hear her over the water. “I’m sorry.”
“Honey…” I tried to push her back a little so I could look at her face, but she refused to lift her head, even when I tried to force her. “Lemon, honey. Look at me. Right now. Look at me.”
She took a deep breath and slowly, reluctantly, raised her head. Even through the shower spray, I could tell she was still crying. She sniffed once, and wiped her nose on the back of her wrist before meeting my gaze.
“Yeah. You got beat up, and it makes me fuckin’ furious.” Her face crumbled before I could plow on. “But not at you, honey. Never at you. Never for that. I’m angry that I wasn’t with you when it happened, so I could kill those motherfuckers.” I brushed my thumbs under her eyes as I continued. “I’m angry that any man would hit a woman because she got the best of him in a verbal confrontation. Because I know that’s what happened. You’re wicked smart with a sharp tongue. I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“You’re gonna tell me the vice president thing isn’t working. Aren’t you? Because, I mean, you’re right. Who wants a vice president who keeps getting beat up and in trouble?”
I sighed, shaking my head. “Lemon…”
