I can't help but laugh. "True enough." I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling strangely at peace despite the chaos swirling around us. "So, what now?"
"Now, we get cleaned up," he suggests, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Then we try to get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
"Shower?" I suggest, suddenly aware of how sticky we both are.
"Together?" His eyebrows raise.
"To conserve water," I say with mock seriousness. "It's the environmentally responsible thing to do."
He laughs, standing and pulling me to my feet. "Of course. I'm all about environmental responsibility."
In the small bathroom, we step under the spray together. What starts as washing quickly evolves into touching, which leads to kissing, which ends with me bent over, hands braced against the tile wall as Dice takes me from behind again, the water cascading over us both.
Afterward, exhausted and thoroughly satisfied, we collapse into one of the bedrooms. I curl against his side, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"Dice?" I murmur, already half asleep.
"Hmm?"
"This doesn't mean I'm going to start taking orders from you."
I feel his chest rumble with silent laughter. "Wouldn't dream of it."
As I drift off to sleep, I can't help but marvel at how quickly everything has changed. Two days ago, I was a lone wolf, answering to no one, trusting no one. Now I'm lying in the arms of a man I barely know, in the protective custody of an outlaw motorcycle club, with dangerous enemies circling.
By all rights, I should be terrified, planning my escape, figuring out how to regain control of the situation. Instead, for the firsttime in as long as I can remember, I feel... safe. Protected. Not alone.
It's new. It's scary. It's exhilarating.
And when Dice pulls me closer in his sleep, his arm tightening around me possessively, I realize with a start that I'm exactly where I want to be.
Chapter 10 - Dice
I wake to the sound of pounding on the door, jolted from a deep sleep. Maddie stirs beside me, her eyes flying open, instantly alert.
"What the fuck?" I mutter, disentangling myself from her as the knocking continues, more insistent now.
I hear the doorknob turning, someone trying to force it open. Adrenaline kicks in, and I leap from the bed, rushing to the door before remembering I'm completely naked. I grab a couch cushion from the living room, holding it strategically in front of my junk as I unlock and crack open the door.
Knight stands there, irritation written across his face. His expression quickly changes from annoyance to understanding as he takes in my state of undress and the disheveled apartment behind me.
"Jesus Christ," he says, shaking his head. "You really don't learn, do you?"
I shrug, offering him a shameless grin. "What can I say? I think I just found my someone special."
Knight's eyebrows shoot up. "Special is a big word, brother. You've known her for what, two days?"
"In Dice world, everything moves at warp speed," I counter. "You should know that by now."
He snorts, but there's a hint of amusement beneath his exasperation. "Get dressed. Reaper and Ghost have been up all night. They've got news."
My smile fades. "About Walsh?"
Knight nods grimly. "He's in town. Staying at a rental house on the outskirts of Pine Haven. Our contacts confirmed it's him. Reaper's called all members in. We're sending a message."
My blood runs cold at the thought of Walsh being so close, but a primal part of me welcomes the confrontation. After what his men tried to do to Maddie, I want nothing more than to look the bastard in the eyes before we teach him a lesson about boundaries.
"Give me five minutes," I tell Knight, already mentally cataloging where my clothes ended up last night.
