that life, and I don’t want to raise Zane that way.”
“What are you afraid of?” He kept his voice low, inviting her to share her worst fears with him. If she didn’t tell him, he wouldn’t know. Clearly, the fact that his brothers went in and out of the room while he had sex with her wasn’t part of her fears. He wanted her to tell him so he could fix the problem.
“No. I’m not part of the club.”
“This isn’t up for debate, and you know it isn’t. I’m Torpedo Ink. The colors are inked onto my skin. Every one of my brothers will protect you, Breezy, not use you. They’ll protect Zane. You’re mine. I told you that we’ll be doing things my way and I expect you to follow my lead. You knew that going into it. You knew that when you gave me your body. When you gave me your heart. The club is me, Bree. If you reject the club, you’re rejecting me.”
She stayed rigid, her head down, breathing hard. She gave a little shake of her head again. “I don’t see why we can’t be together without me being a part of that life. I can get a job and we can—”
“You know better.” He kept his voice low. Gentle. Absolutely in control. Of him. Of her. Of what their life was going to be. “You will wear my jacket. Do you understand me? You knew who I was, and you still gave yourself to me. I told you there would be no backing out. Fix dinner. I’ll go shower. We’re not going to argue about this. When you’re ready, I expect you to tell me what the problem is.”
Her breath hitched and for a moment his heart pounded, afraid she would cry. That couldn’t happen. He couldn’t give her this. There was no way to resolve it for her if she wouldn’t talk to him. She had to accept who and what he was. He was Torpedo Ink. Every inch of him. She was his choice. The woman he loved, and this was too big a battle to lose, especially when they had to be completely on the same page when they hunted for their son. The things they might find …
“What if I can’t do it?”
He put his arms around her, surrounding her with his strength. “You trusted me before when I rode for the worst club there is. You trusted me to keep you safe. You didn’t want to leave me, even when you had the opportunity, Bree. I had to lie to push you away, to keep you safe. You’re trusting me with your body. You’re trusting me with our son. Trust me to take care of you in the club. To know that those in the club would lay down their lives for you and Zane. You won’t just have me protecting the two of you; you’ll have all of them. Every single one of them was trained the same way I was, to be an assassin. The people who took Zane don’t stand a chance against us. You’ll be safe and so will our children.”
He felt a shudder go through her and he turned her around to face him, his hands gentle. He was shocked at her expression. She was as white as a sheet. Her eyes were wide with shock and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
He caught her by the back of her neck and pushed her head down. “Breathe, baby. Take in air.” He had seen that look before too many times. His woman not only didn’t want anything to do with a club, just the idea caused her to flash back to her childhood. He should have known. His heart sank. More than anything, he wanted this. He needed it. But Breezy couldn’t give him something that put that look on her face. Not now. Maybe not ever.
“I’m right here, Breezy. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He crouched down beside her and breathed with her, looking into her eyes. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ll always have you. You don’t want to wear my name on you yet, we’ll shelve it until you can see absolutely that Torpedo Ink is different. That we’re different.”
This was no longer about him. About his need to have her accept him. He was Torpedo Ink and if she rejected the club, she really was rejecting him. He was expecting too much of her. It had always been