“I would be honored to join you.” I plunged my fingers into his hair, and kissed him again with more fervor, my tongue teasing his bottom lip. My whole body seemed to gravitate toward him as he reciprocated, and though my body flared to life, it was my heart that reacted the hardest. I wasn’t sure many people would understand why this little gesture meant so much to me.
This new step we’d taken together, this simple little invitation to take me with him, was Drew’s way of thinning that line he’d put up between his life with me and the club life. I think I’d always known that he could only keep us separate for so long before we crashed back together. I lived in his home with him and the men. There was never going to be a real divide, but I’d had to let him figure that out and accept it for what it was. Drew was assertive, he was a leader, and hewas allowing me to stand at his side.
His smug smile grew against my lips as we kissed, slowing down our moment together. His eyes were open when I looked up at him, shining with a victory he’d probably never bother to explain.
“It means a night away from The Hut. From the men. From Tate after everything that happened today. That okay?”
“Doesyes, please,answer your question?”
“Do I need to get the guys to babysit your kid brother while we’re away?”
I shook my head from side to side slowly. “I’m not going to ask that of the men. Tate has to be responsible for his own behavior and prove himself worthy. That doesn’t mean I trust him with the bike though. I was thinking of asking Autumn if I could leave it in her barn for two weeks.”
“Autumn would donate a kidney if you asked her to. She’s good people.”
“Y’all are good people,” I said quietly. “When are we going so I can call her?”
“Tomorrow.”
“And it just keeps getting better.” I smiled at him. “Fine. I’ll call Autumn in the morning and see if I can’t get someone to ride the bike over there, and I can bring them back in the truck with me.” I traced the shell of his ear with my finger. “Do you need me to bring anything specific?”
“Maybe some of that sexy lingerie I like to peel off with my teeth?” he said in his worst Texan drawl.
“Well, that was a given.” I grinned, running my finger from his ear to his stubbly cheek. “Though I may have to make a trip to a mall if you keep ripping it.”
“Take. My. Money,” he breathed on me seductively.
It was so hard to think straight when he was looking at me the way he was now. We hadn’t so much as touched the whiskey, and there really hadn’t been much talk. Yet, all I could think about as I looked into his eyes was slowly stripping his clothes from him and letting him have his way with me. As much as I would love to have my way with him, that glint in his eye told me there was no way in hell he was in the mood to relinquish that to me tonight.
“Are you done talking yet, Tucker?” I asked breathlessly.
“Not even close.” His eyes fell to my lips, and he dragged his own through his teeth before he looked up into my eyes again. “I haven’t dropped the bomb about Rubin yet.”
I pushed up on one elbow in surprise. “You spoke to him?”
Drew closed his eyes, his cheeks scrunched high. “Kinda. Actually, he spoke to me.” He peeked one eye open. “And Deeks. And… fuck, Ayda,” he sighed. “You’d better pour that whiskey for this one. I’ve got a feeling you’ll need it before I’m through.”
Drew and I stayed up late talking about everything, and then avoided sleep further by exploring one another in a slow reverence I craved more than ever these days. I sometimes had to take a moment to let the wonder that he was mine wash over me.
Even with as little sleep as I’d had, I’d gotten up early to take the bike to Autumn’s, leaving Drew in bed for a while longer. I knew Autumn was an early riser and Tate wasn’t, so it was an opportunity I couldn’t avoid. I didn’t want Tateharassing her or Deeks all weekend, so I was keeping the location a secret from him. I’d managed to get her on the phone, and I’d bribed Moose—the only one of the Hounds who rose early that morning—to ride the bike to her house for me.
Moose had headed to the pawnshop the moment we’d gotten back. Since that night at the warehouse, he’d relaxed much more around me, but he was still a man of few words, and I appreciated that. I’d wondered about his decision to head in the opposite direction to The Hut for all of thirty seconds. Standing in the door of The Hut and staring into the darkness, all I could smell was the vomit permeating from the trash can sat by Rubin’s sprawled out body on one of the couches. One of the girls was laid out on the adjacent sofa, but it was easy to see she’d been looking after him rather than attempting to seduce the kid. She was wearing a black T-shirt that was too big for her. Rubin had apparently lost his stomach contents on what she had been wearing.
I eased over to where he was snoring quietly, his mouth open, and I smiled as I pulled one of the worn blankets from a small stack and draped it over him.
“Time is it?” he whispered, sounding rough.
“Early. Go back to sleep, Rubik Cube.”
“My mom–” he said, attempting to sit up, groaning. I pushed him back gently and brushed the strands of hair from his young face.
“I called her before I went out earlier. Told her you and Tate fell asleep playing video games. She was pissed, but I cleared it. Call her when you don’t sound like you’ve inhaled a quart of bourbon and cigarettes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rubin winced and threw an arm over hiseyes, the snore coming back just as quickly as it had stopped.
“I’ll tell him again when he wakes up,” April, the girl on the other couch, said sleepily.
I pulled another blanket from the stack and draped it over her. “I appreciate it, April.”