Deviant (Boys of Winter #3) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,120

a few weeks ago?”

Cruz nods and I instantly crush my lips back to his. Little Maddison Atwell. The girl Cruz was agonizing over. She was so little, maybe five in her picture, and the boys stuck it out, put in the work, and persisted. And now because of them, this little girl has the chance to get her life back, to live in a world where she doesn’t have to be scared, to get to feel the loving arms of her mother and father around her every night, singing her to sleep. To think what life she would have had if Grayson and Cruz had given up or if we hadn’t found the ledger … fuck. I can’t even go there.

“You’re amazing,” I tell him, glancing back at Grayson. “You both are. What you’re doing with this ledger is incredible. You’re saving so many lives and I … I can’t even tell you how proud I am of you guys.”

“You don’t have to,” Cruz says. “We know, but what we do have to do is go out and celebrate. Just one night where we can let loose, fuck around and have fun. Then I swear, come tomorrow, we’ll be back to locking your ass up like Fort Knox.”

I let out a sigh and pull back to meet his gaze. He’s so excited and truly deserves this, and while I desperately want to go, there are two guys standing under this roof who are going to whip their big dicks around and remind me that they’re massive alphaholes, but I understand their reasoning. Hell, I understand it more than they do. Though ... it couldn’t hurt to ask.

I untangle my legs from around Cruz’s waist and slide down his body until my feet are planted firmly on the ground. His hand remains on my back, steadying me until I turn in his arms to face the major alphahole behind me.

Carver shakes his head. “No. Fuck no. It’s not going to happen.”

I groan and walk across the room until I’m standing right in his arms. “Oh, come on,” I grumble. “Don’t be such a party pooper.”

Carver’s hands fall to my waist and as his eyes soften, I know that in the next twenty minutes, we’ll all be heading out of here, ready for one hell of a good night.

Carver leans into me, his lips brushing past my jawline, and just as they fall to my neck, his soft words rumble through his chest. “Absolutely not,” he tells me. “You’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting out of here tonight.”

Fuck. How did I get that so wrong?

Cruz’s fingers weave through mine as we all but race out through the front door with a begrudged Carver following behind. King steps out with us, laughing as he shakes his head. It’s been twenty minutes since I stood in the foyer with Carver telling me that there was no way on this green earth that we were going out tonight, and he still can’t figure out how the hell I got both him and Grayson to agree to this, let alone come with us and pretend to be happy about it.

What can I say? I have a way with words … or a magical pussy. Yeah, my words aren’t that great. It’s got to be the pussy.

Cruz pulls me and we go tumbling down the front stairs of my home, barely catching our feet beneath us and somehow remaining upright the whole way down. Carver stays behind with Grayson, checking over the brand-new security system, making sure that my home remains secure and safe while we’re out.

Cruz and I reach the bottom with King only a few steps behind, and as I walk toward the Escalade, Cruz pulls on my hand again. I look across at him and my brows furrow as he indicates for me to follow him.

I don’t hesitate.

He leads me out around the Escalade, and as I finally figure out his intentions, a wide grin stretches across my face.

“Really?” I squeal, releasing his hand and racing toward the two bikes waiting for us. It feels like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve been able to ride my Ducati. It’s always made me feel so free and independent, and I’ve really missed that over the last few months. This couldn’t have come at a better time.

Cruz laughs, moving forward to place a hand on the side of his Harley. “Yeah, I thought we could ride together, but don’t get ahead of yourself.