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When Colt knocks on the bedroom door I’m beyond relieved to get out of there. My brother opens the door looking as if he hasn’t just seen his club president beat his friend bloody. He actually smiles. “All clear, ladies.”
I glance at the now sleeping three year old cuddled under the covers. “Does she usually take a nap?” I ask Willa.
“Not normally, but it’s been a crazy week for her. Let her sleep a little longer if you want.” Willa pushes up from the bed and walks toward the door, frowning at Colt. “It’s been two hours. Surely he didn’t spend that entire time dealing with his cousin.”
Colt shakes his shaggy head. “No. We’ve been cleaning up the mess. Bash doesn’t want Lexa to question a few bloody spots.”
I let my gaze linger on the sleeping little girl a moment more before tucking the covers a little tighter around her and following them out. When the door closes behind us, I grab Colt’s arm. “How bad is he hurt?”
He shrugs. “Broke his nose. Probably a few broken ribs. Maybe a broken jaw. Raider took him to see Dr. Robertson. He had it coming. Tanner knew better than to run his mouth about you in front of Bash. It wasn’t the first time Tanner had to face Bash, so he knew the beating he’d have to take.”
I clench my jaw. Dr. Robertson is the MC’s doctor. He handles the things that I can’t, like the broken bones or the gunshot wounds that are more than just a graze. He had a private practice, but it was Angel’s Halo that really kept him in business and money.
Downstairs I find Matt putting dishes in the dishwasher while Bash sits at the table with an ice pack on his left hand. I kneel down in front of him and take his hand, examining the damaged knuckles. He doesn’t show a hint of the pain that I know he has to be in as I check to make sure his hand isn’t broken.
I feel his gaze on the top of my head, can feel his body actually heating up with each passing second. That’s the way it’s always been with us. I needed to make sure that I didn’t get within ten feet of him when we were sneaking around, otherwise his body would react in a way that was hard to miss.
“Are you mad at me?” he finally asks.
I put his hand back on the table and put the ice pack back on top of it. “Nope.” I stand and go to the medicine cabinet beside the fridge to get him some Ibuprofen. I pour him a glass of water and hand over the tablets.
“Then what’s wrong?”
I shrug. “I was thinking … Can’t we just build another room or two onto this house?”
“Why?” he asks, watching me as I move around the kitchen helping Matt.
“I want to live here. I grew up in this house. I would like to raise our kids here.”
My back is turned toward him, but I can feel the difference in him as soon as the words leave my mouth. Matt must have felt it too and silently leaves the kitchen, too unsure of the emotion radiating from his cousin to want to stick around and witness another blood bath. I bite the inside of my cheek, not sure what’s going on in Bash’s head either.
His chest presses against my back making me tremble with a need that goes soul deep. Strong arms wrap around my waist in a gentle yet unbreakable vice. His nose skims over my ear and his lips latch onto my neck. “Say that again,” he demands in that growling animalistic voice that never fails to drench my panties.
“I would l-like to …” a moan escapes me as he sucks on the pulse throbbing in my neck. “… t-to raise our … Bash, I can’t think when you do that!” My body is alive with a consuming desire that threatens to engulf me.
“Say it, Raven!” he comments, releasing his hold on my neck and licking away the slight sting that lingers. “Say it.”
“I want to raise our kids here. In this house,” I manage in a rush. “I want to help you raise Lexa … if you’ll let me.” The last words come out in a whisper, a plea. I fell in love with Lexa instantly, my love for her just as intense as it is for the girl’s father.
His arms tighten around me almost painfully. “Does that mean … Fuck, Raven. What does that mean?”
I turn in his arms, needing to see his face. “If you’re asking if I’ve gotten over the living with Willa thing, then the answer is no. I’m not sure if I will ever trust you. Maybe I will one day, maybe I won’t.” His eyes darken and I can see the struggle he’s having reflected in those silver-blue eyes. “That doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Bash. I wish I could turn my feelings for you off, but I can’t.”
“Raven …”
“Don’t.” I cup his stubble-roughened jaw in both hands. “We have a lot of things to work out, and I want to at least try to work through them.”
Bash
She wants to try.
That not the answer I wanted, but it’s better than the one I’ve been dreading. So I take what I’m offered and go with it. She wants to be a part of Lexa’s life, and it gives me more hope.
Over the next two weeks I watch the two females that are my world. In as little as fourteen days I’ve witnessed a change in my little girl. When Raven is home Lexa is never far from her sight. My daughter is Raven’s new shadow. Lexa starts acting more and more like her new best friend, and I’m sure I should be concerned—because fuck, one Raven is enough—but it only makes me love them both more.
Raven is changing before my eyes too. She’s maturing more and more, becoming the woman I’ve always known she would be—both hard and gentle, feisty and loving. The woman I need beside of me, the woman I want to raise my child—my children.
It’s Friday night and Lexa is not happy that Raven has to go to work. I don’t want her going either, and I’m trying to make us both happy by convincing everyone that Willa will make a great replacement. Colt, Raider, and Hawk doesn’t seem to care one way or another if it’s Raven or Willa, as long as they have help and especially for Friday nights. Of course Raven is stubborn.
