the two of you need? Are you coming to let me know that you’ve both decided to go home and leave me be?”
“Are we getting on your nerves?” Jinx asks after recovering from the hit. The smile on his face makes me narrow my eyes because it’s clear he doesn’t think he’s a nuisance.
“Badly,” I answer with a straight face because I’m not joking.
His face falls, and Rocker hasn’t bothered to drop the frown from his.
“You two are practically on top of me all the time.” Jinx licks his lips with the way my words come out, but I keep my focus on Rocker. “I don’t even have the chance to breathe.”
“You were hurt,” Rocker says as if I need a damn reminder. My ribs are still killing me and the bruises still have days and days before they disappear completely. “We’re only here to help.”
“Is there something you need that we aren’t providing?” Rocker growls again with the salacious way Jinx’s question sounds.
I’m so irritated, I wouldn’t drop my towel for Rocker right now if he begged me as hard as I wanted to beg him last night and again this morning, but he has to know that I’m being serious where Jinx is concerned. I wasn’t lying when I told them we had an amazing night together, but it was only a single episode experience, one I never had any intention of doing again.
I know Rocker and I discussed expectations before we hooked up the first time, but his calm nature and the way he’s able to focus solely on me held a lot of appeal. Jinx is the type of guy to get turned down and instead of walking away and licking his wounds, he’d turn in a half circle and offer the same wild ride to the woman standing on the other side of him. Rocker and I didn’t talk about exclusivity. In fact, we agreed we weren’t going to be exclusive, but I don’t think he was bedding a new woman every night we weren’t together. Jinx on the other hand…
“I need room to breathe,” I repeat.
“We’re going out of town,” Rocker begins. “We need to take you to the clubhouse while we’re gone.”
I slowly blink at him. I’ve never been to the clubhouse except for when I showed up covered in Jeremy’s blood.
“And why would I do that?”
Rocker and I always came back to my place where we could be alone. The room he has at the clubhouse never appealed to me. I didn’t start hooking up with him because he’s a member of Cerberus like many of the women around town. Bagging a biker wasn’t my goal. I wanted to get laid, but at the same time, I wanted to know I was safe while vulnerable. I knew I’d get that from Rocker. It’s his character that appealed to me the most, not his connection to the club.
“We need to know you’re safe while we’re out of town.” This comes from Jinx, and I’m honestly shocked he’s as concerned with my wellbeing as Rocker has been.
“No.”
“What do you mean no?” Rocker snaps. “We need you safe.”
You need the baby safe; you mean.
I clamp my mouth closed before I spit my true thoughts.
I’m not certain either of these guys would still be around if a part of one of them wasn’t growing inside of me. Sure, they would’ve helped if I’d shown up at the clubhouse. I’m sure of that, but they would’ve been gone before I was released from the hospital if it wasn’t for the baby.
“I’ll be fine here.”
“Simone.” Rocker does that thing where he scrapes his hand over the top of his head while groaning in frustration, but I don’t give in.
“No,” I repeat. “I’ll be fine here.”
“You’ll be safer back at the clubhouse,” Jinx replies with a calm tone. It’s as if he’s trying to coax a wild animal into trusting him, but this isn’t about trust. It’s about space, and independence.
“I’m not unsafe here,” I remind him.
“You can agree or—”
“Or what?” I hiss. “Are you going to force me to do something I don’t want? Are you going to throw me over your shoulder and take me there against my will? Are you going to demand I see things your way? Because let me tell you assholes, I’ve had enough of doing what a man tells me to do to last me a lifetime.”
Rocker’s head snaps back like I’ve slapped him before he levels his eyes with mine once