Helpless (Steel Demons MC #5) - Crystal Ash Page 0,12

to whine, but followed him nonetheless. “It’s getting too cold to swim.”

The fall and winter months seemed to get colder every year in the Southwest. Back in Texas, I hadn’t noticed much of a difference in climate, but in recent weeks I felt the humidity creeping up, which seemed unusual for Arizona. Maybe it had to do with the oceans being closer than they were fifty years ago.

“We’re not going swimming, baby girl.” He tugged me to his side, throwing the arm with our laced hands over my shoulder. “What we are doing is making a dent in the booze and perishables to lighten our load for when we move.”

“I can’t drink too much,” I protested, “Or I’ll bleed through my tattoo session and piss Shadow off.”

Gunner’s sky-blue eyes narrowed at me. “Since when does Shadow care about a little blood during a tattoo? I bled like hell through mine. Hell, I’m pretty sure I was drinking during my session.”

“You’re the second person to ask that question,” I muttered. “Anyway, what’s this errand Horus is doing for you?”

“You’ll see.” The wily grin never left his face. “You hungry? They’re frying up fish tacos to use the last of the stuff.”

“I am, actually.”

Jandro and I hadn’t had our usual lunch dates together since he got injured. Most of my time was spent tending to his burn and making sure he rested enough.

Freyja ran ahead when we reached the pool deck, and I could quickly see why. Hades had his back to us, sitting like a good boy, looking up at Reaper for a piece of food. After moving in closely behind tables and chairs, and then some strategic butt-wiggling, she pounced on him.

Hades yelped and whipped around, but she had already taken off to hide under one of the couches. Reaper saw the whole thing and laughed so hard he nearly choked and started coughing.

“Careful, or you’ll need mouth-to-mouth,” I said as Gunner and I walked up.

“Are you suggesting I shove things down the wrong pipe more often?” The president cleared his throat and grinned lazily as he drew me into his lap on the deck chair. “Hey, old lady.”

“Hey, old man.” I circled my arms around his neck, curling up against the hard planes of his body. “Chew your food or I’ll look at getting you a set of dentures.”

“Watch your mouth or I’ll put something in there to keep you quiet,” he returned, low and rumbling, with his thumb on my lower lip.

I melted like an ice cream cone under the sun. No one else could get away with talking to me like that. It would be crude, disrespectful, annoying, and definitely not hot. But coming from Reaper, the quiet threat of dominance revved me up like the roar of his bike.

And he knew it. The delighted hum from his chest was like a purr as he placed a smoldering kiss at the corner of my jaw.

“Gunner’s up to something,” I mumbled the first thing to pop into my flustered brain.

“I know.”

We both watched the blond demon make his way through the taco line, piling fixings onto a plate of tortillas while grinning and chatting with the others milling about the patio. He and T-Bone seemed particularly chummy today.

“Are you in on his scheme?” I dragged my fingers along Reaper’s scalp, admiring how my ring caught the sunlight through the dark strands.

“Nope,” he chuckled, picking up his whiskey from the side table. “But he’s got a shitty poker face. He’s grinning bigger and dopier than usual.”

I let out a frustrated groan and nuzzled my forehead into the side of his neck.

“How’s Jandro?” Reaper’s fingers skimmed across my back in a hypnotic pattern.

“Good. Better than good, even.” I lifted my head to look at him in the eye. “He’s healed super fast, weeks ahead of schedule.”

“Like Hades did.”

I nodded. “That, I still can’t explain. But I think Freyja being around helped this time.” I blew out a breath. “Not that that’s a real, medical explanation.”

“It might be. Just not one that you’re satisfied with, medic.” Reaper’s teasing expression turned thoughtful. “So we might be able to move sooner than we thought. We’re liquidating shit fast enough.” He chuckled at my whining groan. “I know, sugar. But the sooner we’re out of here, the safer we’ll be, away from Tash’s eyes.”

“Have you decided where we’ll go?”

His mouth tensed. “Still working on that part.”

I rested my head on his shoulder again, my fingers running over his chest in a way that I