your big sister," I tell her, going a little slower than necessary just to feel her mom’s warm skin beneath my fingers a little while longer.
As she adjusts the baby on her hip, a breeze settles across the yard, and I’m smacked in the face with her beautiful earthy scent. Strawberry, blueberry, coconut, something musky, and just a touch of her. I can’t put my finger on it, but whatever it is, it smells fucking delicious. I could bottle that shit and make millions.
I focus back on Angel, knowing damn well that she isn't going to like what I have to say. After all, I’ve done shit like this too many times to count. The moms always put on a brave face for their babies, but when it comes down to it, they’re freaking the fuck out.
I cringe, preparing her for the worst. “I'm sorry,” I murmur. “We're going to have to cut her out.”
Angel sucks in a breath, her baby blues flicking towards her daughter. “What? Are you sure?” she panics. “Can't you just ... I don’t know, bend the poles and slip her out? You know, like sometimes with the ketchup bottle, all you have to do is turn it upside down and bang it on the bottom for it to come right out.”
I give her a blank stare. I really hope she’s not suggesting that I do that to her kid. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to save this kid from the confines of these poles, but even I have my limits.
The overwhelming need to ease her worries burns through me, and I resist reaching out and pulling that sexy little body of her into my arms. “Wish it was that easy,” I tell her, pressing my lips into a tight line and letting her see the regret on my face. “We'll make it quick and as safe as possible for Ryan, but any longer in there and she could gain injuries. Just one slip of her foot and she could ...”
“Shit,” she cuts me off. “Don't. I don't want to think about what could happen. Just … make it quick. She's going to be terrified.”
I look over at Ryan who's watching Ax with a strange curiosity, and I wonder if she can sense that there's something different about him. He looks the same as the rest of us fuckers, but on a deeper level, he's just a little messed up. “You know,” I tell Angel. “I think she's tougher than you think.”
With that, I turn back to the boys and give Chief a nod. He takes that as the 'all good' and reaches for the grinder and extension lead. “Where's your closest outlet?”
Angel looks to Chief and gives him a panicked smile. Her eyes wide as she takes in the grinder in his hand. “Just inside the front door to your right.”
Chief nods and makes himself busy while Jet takes a moment to make an ass of himself. “So,” Jet says slowly, eyes on Angel before flicking back to me. His eyes dance with a cocky playfulness like the little prick that he is. A shit-eating grin spreads across his face. “You two know each other?”
Fucking asshole.
“No,” she laughs, her lips pulling up in a beautiful smile and showing off her pearly whites. “He wishes he was that lucky. I couldn’t even tell you his name.”
I resist a laugh. She’s never been so right. "It's Bull," Jet supplies as helpful as ever.
Angel arches a brow, looking at me with curiosity. Her eyes sparkle and I find myself hanging onto every fucking word. She gives me a dazzling, flirty smile, telling me that she has a cheeky side, one I’d very much like to explore. "Like, as in Bulldozer, or Bullshit?"
"Neither," I scoff, shaking my head as a grin tears across my face, wondering why I liked that comment so damn much. "Bull as in prepared to always fucking charge."
"So," she grins. "I shouldn't associate you with a cow, or it’s shit?"
My eyes narrow and I want nothing more than to fold her across my lap and spank that perfectly plump ass of hers until it’s stinging red. I slightly shake my head, a smirk sitting on my lips as I watch the amusement flare in her eyes. She’s sarcastic and quick and I fucking love it.
“What’s your name, Angel?”
She watches me for a moment, probably fighting with herself whether to give me that sort of information. But what’s there to worry about? I know where she