Cruz (Dark and Dirty Sinners' MC #5) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,136

Wiki it though."

"Please. Do," I said sweetly.

Nyx just grinned at me. "More and more like Mom."

My top lip quirked up of its own volition at his taunt, just like he'd goddamn wanted, so I flipped him the bird and murmured, "I'd prefer to sound like Mom than sound like you... It's like listening to Dad again."

His eyes narrowed. "You take that back."

"OMG, am I about to see a brother and sister wrestling session?" Giulia clapped her hands. "I need popcorn."

"We're about twenty years too old for that," I said wryly.

"Well, you should see yourself. You look like you're about to headbutt him."

"I taught her that signature move," Nyx recounted with a grin.

I shot him it right back. "Yeah, you did. Saved my ass a few times."

He slung his arm around me. "If you'd stayed around here, I'd have saved your ass for you."

Despite myself, and even though he drove me nuts, a welter of tenderness filled me, because he meant that.

No matter if we were at war with each other, he'd always had my back. Look at what he and Cruz had done with David?

I really did have two saviors.

Reaching up, I tapped his chin. "And there you go, sounding like Nyx again."

"See why I fell for him now?" Giulia asked with a laugh.

As Nyx hauled me in for another hug, something we hadn't shared this often in far too long, I sighed into his embrace.

The Nyx of before wouldn't have given a shit about Cammie, barely gave a crap about Caleb being in fucking prison, and wouldn't have hugged me.

Giulia, did she but know it, was changing him.

"You know, if I was the kind of girl who got off on shit like this, I'd totally take a photo. This is hitting me in all the feels."

Nyx grunted. "Are you trying to make me self-conscious?"

She snorted. "Baby, the day you're self-conscious is the day I take out all your piercings with my teeth."

"Giulia, the last thing I need is to feel my brother's dick against my leg." I chuckled. "Don't be saying shit that turns him on while he's hugging me."

She grinned at me, then murmured, "Sorry!"

"Yeah, you really look sorry," I said ruefully. "What with the twinkling eyes, and all."

"Well, these twinkling eyes need to head into the bathroom. I swear, ever since I found out I'm pregnant, I've been living in there," she huffed.

Nyx let go of me as Giulia passed us by, and the way his fingers tangled with hers, not for long, just a brief connection, had me swallowing back emotion. He really was changing, and it was surreal to me because he'd been Nyx, the savior of everyone else but me, for the longest time. Since before I could even remember, he'd been this way.

When Giulia headed toward the backroom where the restrooms were, the desire hit me. It was strange, because I felt like Giulia had been edging toward this conversation, and the closer she'd edged, the further I wanted to avoid the topic.

But Nyx had changed. He was going to be a father. The changes in his nature that Giulia was triggering, were not enough though.

As a dad, he couldn't be riding around the States killing people. Sure, those people deserved to die. I was the last person who would believe otherwise, but his priorities needed to change.

I'd spent all my adult life trying to hide this from Nyx, and maybe it was selfish of me, because it could be a catalyst that none of us were ready to deal with, but I needed to tell him.

I needed this to be about me, and not about him.

"Nyx?"

Even though Giulia had left, I knew he'd watched her go. More like, he'd been studying her ass.

Unashamed, and I didn't blame him–if Cruz walked through the door, I'd check him out too—he turned back to me, arched his brow, and asked, "What?"

"I need to tell you something, and I know how you're going to react. I know because I've seen you react to this news before, and I'm telling you now, not because I want you to do anything, but because I want you to stop doing something.

"You're going to be a dad." I shook my head. "It still fucks with my head to think that, not because I don't think you'll be a brilliant father, just because, before Giulia, I didn't think you'd ever be ready for anything like that."

His gaze was pensive as he looked at me, and his beautiful face was filled with