Page 32 of Hades

“Oh, Simon,” she said softly.

Heads were beginning to turn in the clubhouse, watching us. Tarzan, Trooper, and Brass craned their necks, snooping on my private moment with Jenny. I pushed my chair back and rose to my feet, drawing Jenny closer.

“Let’s talk somewhere quiet,” I said. “Without an audience.”

Jenny’s shoulder bumped against mine as I led her down the corridor to the spare room where I had been bunking for the past week. She glanced around at the pile of dirty clothes in the corner, the stack of dishes on the table, the rumpled bed sheets.

“Have you been staying here?” she asked.

I swept the dishes into the adjoining bathroom’s sink and out of sight. Then I shoved the dirty clothes into the closet.

“It’s just for a little while. I…um…got lazy. Didn’t feel like making the drive back to my apartment.”

“It’s barely five minutes from the bar, Simon,” Jenny said.

I shrugged and scrubbed the back of my neck. She glanced away, absently fluffing the pillows, before she sat on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap.

“I hate that goddamn apartment, mi amor,” I said. “It doesn’t feel like home. At least when I’m here, the club distracts me from…”

From losing you and the kids.

Jenny’s eyes softened. She patted the mattress, inviting me to take a seat. I crossed the room and sat beside her. The lemon yellow fabric of her skirt brushed against my black jeans.

“I swore I wouldn’t be like my old man,” I said. “He constantly reminded me what a burden I was on his life. I saw the strain of his relentless cruelty and criticism on my mother’s face. I really thought that if I worked hard enough, if I was there for you and the kids, no matter what, things would be different. But I guess I still fucked everything up.”

“Simon,” Jenny said gently. “You are nothing like your father.”

“But your boyfriend dumped you because of me,” I countered. “If I was a better husband, you wouldn’t want a divorce. You wouldn’t want to marry anyone else. You wouldn’t want—”

“It’s not what you think.”

I frowned, confused. She examined her hands, scrubbing her palm with her thumb.

“Even when I’m with another man, you’re the one on my mind.”

I snapped my mouth shut with surprise. Jenny blew out a breath of frustration and her throat worked as she swallowed hard. I shifted until my thigh pressed against hers.

“Greyson was great on paper,” she continued. I bristled, but tamped it down. “That’s all it was. Just paper. I didn’t love him. He didn’t make me feel the way you do. Greyson broke up with me because…I’m not over you.”

Was I dreaming? Did Jenny actually say those words? Or was she simply crawling back to me for comfort?

“I’m scared, Simon,” Jenny whispered. “You lay everything on the line—for me, for the kids, for your club. I’m terrified that I’ll wake up one day and you’re just…gone.”

I brushed my knuckles against her cheek. She closed her eyes with a sigh, nuzzling into my hand. Unbuttoning my shirt, I took her by the wrist and pressed her palm to my chest. Instantly, her fingertips found the scar above my heart where that bullet had hit me years ago.

“Do you feel that?” I said.

Jenny nodded, blinking rapidly as her eyes grew misty.

“I should have died that day,” I went on. “But I didn’t. Because of you. Because of our brand new baby girl. My family was the reason I will always fight like hell to stay alive.”

She raised her gaze to meet mine. I folded like a house of cards when she pushed me back against the mattress, climbing on top to straddle me. The warmth of her soft, thick thighs bracketed my hips, making my cock twitch.

Jenny pressed her face into my neck with a flurry of delicate kitten kisses, working her way down my chest.

But I threaded my fingers into her pretty, done-up curls, and I angled her head to look at me again.

“I won’t be a rebound for you anymore, mi amor,” I growled. “You’re mine. End of discussion. Is that clear?”