“Let’s have a seat,” Rocker urges, leading me to the sitting area in the living room.
Before long, most of the women come trickling out of the kitchen, having finished their jobs.
“What do you think about moving in together?” I ask when there’s a lull in the conversation.
Most everyone else is sipping on drinks and telling jokes and stories. The entire atmosphere in this place is calm and friendly, making me feel welcome.
“I’d prefer it if you’d move here, but honestly that’s too much to ask of Cerberus. This is our job. One of the benefits of employment is living on-site, but it was never meant for families to take over the place.” I nod in agreement, mostly because I’d never consider moving into the clubhouse. “I’m not going anywhere. Neither is Jinx. I just hope you don’t try to get rid of either of us.”
“So you’re okay with finding a place for all three of us?”
“Do you think it’s weird?”
“I mean, it’s kind of a unique situation.”
He shrugs. “Not really. We want you to be happy and safe. We both want to be near you and the baby. It’ll be easier once he grows up and has a place to play. A home, I think, is more ideal than an apartment. A yard is nice to have.”
“I don’t do yardwork.”
“Good thing you’ll have two men fighting over it then, right?”
I grin over at him, but his smile falls from his handsome face.
“What now?” he mutters, brushing his lips against my temple before standing and walking toward the front of the room.
My body freezes when I see Detective Matthews standing there talking to Kincaid.
“And the stubble?” Sophia giggles. “Can you even imagine?”
I look over to see her leaning close to another girl that was introduced earlier as Hound’s daughter Izzy. They’re both home from college for the weekend.
“He’s good looking,” Izzy agrees.
“Oh look,” Sophia all but squeals, “he’s a cop.”
“A detective,” I clarify, instantly regretting diving into their conversation.
“What is it about a man with handcuffs hanging off his belt that makes me so—”
“Soph,” Lawson warns. “Watch it.”
She chuffs, keeping her eyes on the admittedly handsome man across the room, and as time goes by and the smiles stay on everyone’s faces, I begin to relax. When I first saw him, I thought he was here for me. I wonder how long it’s going to take before I can see a police officer without thinking they’re going to arrest me for protecting myself.
Rocker looks over his shoulder, giving me a look that tells me to relax.
“I think I just found a reason to take Dad up on the offer to do my internship in the spring at the police station,” Sophia whispers loud enough for me to hear but soft enough that the others can’t hear her chatting with Izzy.
“You’re so bad,” Izzy laughs.
“Bad is going to be the things we do on those overnight stakeouts,” Sophia clarifies.
I grin. God, what it used to be like to be young with nothing to worry about. Of course, my memories of those times were still in high school before I met Jeremy, but it’s good to see women getting to grow up and experience life without having to worry about someone hurting them for their own sadistic pleasure.
Chapter 33
Rocker
“Do you know how dangerous this is?”
I grab Simone’s hand before she can tug down the blindfold.
“How do I know you aren’t taking me to the woods to do evil things to me?”
I smile, loving that we can joke around about such things now.
“We wouldn’t even have to leave your apartment for me to do evil things to you.”
I trail a finger up her bare thigh, stopping at the hem of her dress to prove my point and biting my lip when I notice the gooseflesh starting to form on her leg.
“You talk a good game, but the follow-through is shit.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, pouting the way she’s perfected over the last two months since I declared my intent to date her.
“We do stuff,” I argue. “When was the last time you went to bed without coming?”
Pregnancy hormones are no damn joke. Even Jinx has started sleeping with ear plugs on the couch because we tend to get loud.
“On a dick? Nearly five months,” she grumbles. “I need to get fucked.”
“Wow, that mouth of yours.”
“I’m going to keep this mouth to myself unless something changes very soon.”
I laugh because she’s threatened the very same before. The amazing thing about this woman is