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I’d thought after more than a month of nonstop craziness, my life would have returned back to normal. But I was dead ass wrong. The only normal in my life was Virgil. Well Virgil and the whole entire Ashby family. They were always around, which I expected since I pretty much lived with Virgil these days. And some days, it was more overwhelming than a breakfast table filled with bikers.
“Are you all right in there?” Virgil tapped on the bathroom door, which I’d locked because the man was insatiable these days, and we didn’t have time for even the quickest of quickies.
“I’m fine, babe. Just getting dressed for dinner.” Specifically for Sunday dinner. With the whole family. It was a ritual and as long as I was a part of the family, I was expected to be there, come hell or high water.
“You look beautiful.”
I laughed and shook my head as I slid a pop of pink across my lips. “You can’t even see me.”
“That’s because you locked the damn door. You could just resist me, you know?” The tone in his voice was like catnip to me, apparently, which was exactly why I kept the door locked.
“You wish,” I said, because it was my job to keep him humble, even if I did love him. Hopelessly.
I hadn’t told him yet, even though I was pretty sure he felt the same, because I wasn’t sure how he would react.
Over the past month we’d swapped war stories. I told him about The Barn Door in Texas and my mom pimping herself out to feed her habit and pay the bills, and he told me about how his father loved to use his fists on his family after too many drinks. We were learning about each other, and I knew Virgil loved his family, but he didn’t believe in any other kind of love.
I had my work cut out for me.
But I wasn’t deterred. When I opened the door and found those dark blues on mine, I knew how Virgil felt about me even if he hadn’t said the words. His gaze raked me over, so hot and heavy my nipples beaded inside my bra, my belly clenched tight.
“So, how do I look?”
“Perfectly. Fucking. Corruptible,” he growled and pulled my body against his.
“These little dresses drive me wild.” I knew it and I’d bought as many as I could find. Sexy little summer dresses with spaghetti straps, a hint of cleavage and flowers, and Virgil was a sex machine. My sex machine.
“If we can make it through dinner without you fighting with your brothers or Terry, I’ll drive you completely wild.”
I stepped out of his reach and flashed the light blue teddy I wore underneath.
“What about Emmett? He’s coming with Terry tonight.”
I loved when Virgil was playful so I nodded slowly.
“No fighting, period.”
I loved watching grown men behave like little boys, at least in that way, but Sadie didn’t.
“Got it?”
Virgil pouted but nodded. “I’m holding you to that,” he said with heat in his eyes as he closed the gap between us as the doorbell sounded.
“Bonnie,” he growled.
I laughed and went in search of my black pumps that I wore more often these days since Bonnie hadn’t been to church since the day she found Father Eric. The day I was kidnapped. It didn’t seem like it was more than a month ago but so much had happened.
“We’re all she has,” I told him seriously. Bonnie’s parents were still overseas doing missionary work, despite getting word about Wyatt, leaving Bonnie all on her own.
“That’s why I’m patient about it,” he said with a tight smile.
Virgil was right. He’d been as patient as any man could be expected to be in the face of Bonnie’s erratic but understandable emotions. She’d been through too much trauma at once, especially for someone who lived such a sheltered life.
I answered the door and we walked around to the side entrance, an awkward threesome, finding the dining room packed with people. Thomas stood sentry just behind Sadie, who flashed small smiles at him all night, making me wonder again about the true nature of their relationship.
Terry and Emmett Manning stood in a circle chatting with Jasper, with the younger Manning brother casting longing looks at the oblivious Kat who scrolled on her phone, probably answering emails.
This was my family now. Loud and boisterous and, like my original family, skating on both sides of the law.
Dinner was a chaotic affair as it always was, with conversations flying about a wide variety of things.
“Emmett’s been training some new fighters. How’s it going?” Sadie had a knack for asking questions that seemed easy enough to answer, but she listened to everything. Even what you didn’t say.
“We have some competent fighters, maybe four. Half a dozen more with a future taking hits at just the right time.”
