“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You should try to get some sleep. We can talk in the morning, and you can finish filling me in on what I need to know about Savage Bones.” I tried to play it off, like watching her come undone hadn’t affected me at all. I wasn’t ready to admit that in the few seconds she pulsed against my finger, everything had changed.
She put up such a strong front, but underneath it all, I could sense her fear. My poor little deer was terrified. I’d be damned if anyone would get close enough to touch her again.
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“Yeah. I can do that.” Her tough attitude was just a facade—a mask she slid in place to protect herself and keep from feeling vulnerable. I was familiar with that technique, though I’d been wearing my armor for so long I wasn’t sure I knew how to remove it.
I walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed on. “Think you can spare one of those pillows?”
She passed me a pillow. I propped it against the headboard and leaned into it. “Come here, Bambi.”
“I think I like Little Deer better.” She eased closer, resting her head on the pillow next to my thigh.
“We’ll stick with Little Deer then.” A wave of warmth threatened to thaw the icy cage around my heart. I couldn’t afford to let her in. Couldn’t afford to let down my guard and be vulnerable. That’s how people got hurt.
“Goodnight, Six.” She pushed herself up on her uninjured arm and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.
The embers of desire I’d tried to stamp out threatened to burst into flames. I let myself draw in one deep inhale and committed her scent to memory. That was the only piece of her I’d allow myself to take.
“Goodnight, Little Deer. Sweet dreams.” I waited for her to get resettled on the pillow then smoothed my hand over her hair, hoping I could come up with a way to keep both of us safe. She needed protection from the Savage Bones, and I needed to protect myself from her.
CHAPTER8
GINGER
My throat burned.I tried to say something, but I could speak. The biting sting of antiseptic raced across my chest and filled my nose. No, no, no! I didn’t want this at all. My brother looked back at me with green eyes the same color as my own. A hint of regret creased his brow. I heard myself begging… please, Bryson. Don’t do this. Frost crept across his cheeks, turning his eyes into two icy cold pools. I’m Grim now, Enforcer of the Savage Bones MC. Don’t you forget that…
“Ginger, wake up.” Six’s worried tone pulled me from my nightmare. “It’s just a bad dream.”
I bolted upright, wincing when my arm buckled under my weight. “Ow, ow, ow! I forgot I was hurt.”
“Come here, Little Deer.” He must have fallen asleep sitting upright against the headboard. Sleep still clung to him like a warm blanket he didn’t want to crawl out from under yet. He scooted down until his head rested on the pillow next to mine then pulled me into his side.
“I was back in that room. I could smell the alcohol pads they used to clean my skin.” My bottom lip trembled. “They were all there… Grim, Snake Eyes, a jerk named Howler, and some guy they called Razor.”
“You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He rubbed small circles over my back, his touch so gentle I could barely feel it.
Being with Six made me feel safe. It also made me feel a whirlwind of other things as well. Things I wasn’t quite sure what to do about. My cheeks heated as I remembered how awful I’d been to him the night before. “About last night… I’m sorry for asking you to…” I wasn’t sure how to refer to me propositioning him for sex.
“Forget about it.” His lips curved up into a soft smile. “Though it’s not every day I find myself on the receiving end of such an attractive offer.”
I had no idea what made me feel so bold, but I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye. “Any chance you’d be willing to entertain a slightly different request?”
“If it involves cherries, I don’t think I could take it.”
A laugh popped right out of my mouth, surprising both of us. When was the last time I’d laughed? Definitely not in the past eighteen months. Living with my brother, there hadn’t been anything to smile about. Reality cast a sobering shadow over the moment.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Six cupped my chin in his large palm. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
Beautiful? There was no way the broody biker would think of me as beautiful, especially not after the way I’d treated him. I shook off the compliment. “Never mind.”
“Tell me. If it’s within my power to give it to you, consider it done.” His eyes locked onto mine, unwavering and full of truth.
“I just wondered if you’d be willing to give me a kiss?” There was heat between us. I’d have to be encased in a solid block of ice not to feel it. Even then, it would probably melt when he got close. I’d tried writing him off as a hothead with a score to settle, but Six was so much more.
“A kiss?” His brows rose in question. “Don’t you think I’m a little old for you?”
He couldn’t be more than thirty-five. That would only put him a decade or so older than me. “My mom used to say you’re only as old as you feel. Do you feel like an old man?”
