scampered into the kitchen and shimmied up her legs to get in her lap. They stuck their little noses in her face, making Lyssa smile as she petted them. Then her nose wrinkled.
“Yeah, I know. They need another bath. Won’t matter. There’s a certain level of stink that just sticks to them. They’re fixed, but even right after a bath they still have that eau de ferret smell.”
“So why get ferrets?” she asked. “I have to admit, they scared the hell out of me when I first saw them.”
I cleared my throat and looked away, not ready to admit to a level of geekiness that wasn’t befitting a biker. “Kodo and Podo.”
“I’m sorry, but that was supposed to make sense?”
“The Beastmaster was my favorite movie in the early eighties. He had two ferrets. Kodo and Podo. So when those two needed a home, I gave them one.” I folded my arms. “And if you tell anyone that’s why I have ferrets, I’ll gag you and never let you leave the house again.”
Her lips twitched and her eyes sparkled with merriment. “Are you a closet geek, Eric?”
I shrugged a shoulder and turned to finish up our food, but I heard the soft snicker behind me. If she kept that up, I might be tempted to forget she was likely sore and take her again anyway. No one got away with teasing me. Lyssa wasn’t just anyone though and having her do it made me want to smile. I felt lighter than I had in a while, despite the fact trouble was on her heels. I’d keep her safe, help the Dixie Reapers any way I could to make sure those men never got their hands on her, and for once, I’d think about the future. While I usually thought ahead by a few weeks, months, or even years, it had always been about the club. For the first time in a while, I wanted to make plans with a woman.
I dished up our food and set the plates on the table, then got us each a bottle of water. After I sat down, I knew I’d need to talk to her about Lo and my son. No one here knew about them, but it wasn’t right to expect her to live the rest of her life with me and keep something like that from her. It wasn’t the sort of thing you just blurted out, but I wasn’t sure how to ease into it. Maybe I needed to get her talking about herself first.
“You took your own virginity, so does that mean you didn’t date?” I asked.
“It’s hard to date when the guys are scared of your dad and grandfather. I had a Prospect who wasn’t too much older than me I wouldn’t have minded dating, but I knew better. My dad would have made his life hell. We hung out sometimes, but that’s as far as it went. I went on some dates in college. Never saw anyone on a regular basis or had an official boyfriend if that’s what you mean.”
I shoved a bite of food in my mouth and wondered about the Prospect she mentioned. Did Torch know the guy was hanging out with Lyssa? That she’d wanted to date him? Probably not or he’d have been long gone.
“I mentioned a woman I’d wanted to claim. She’s Brick’s sister. Charlotte. You won’t see her around here, so don’t worry about feeling awkward or anything. And I never slept with her, just so you know. She moved to Alaska and married some nerdy wildlife guy.”
“Her loss is my gain,” she said.
I cleared my throat knowing this was going to be the hard part. “Before Charlotte, I hadn’t been serious with anyone in a long while. When I was younger, back in high school, I had a steady girlfriend. Asked her to marry me.”
Lyssa braced her arm on the table and leaned a little closer. “What happened? The two of you drift apart after school? I’ve heard that happens, especially if distance becomes an issue.”
“No. She, um, got pregnant our senior year. We married right after high school.” I set my fork down, the food feeling like lead in my belly. “She died. Her and our son. After that, I pushed people away. Didn’t let a woman get close, until Charlotte. We just didn’t want the same things. I think she’d have been miserable if she’d stayed. She seems happy, and that’s all I want for her. Besides, if she’d