“It was good,” I tell her. “Joe, if you’re good with it, we’d like you to stay with us here. That way we can keep you safe. And you can keep Loyal company.”
Joe’s body relaxes into Justice’s mattress, all tension leaving her body. “Thank you,” she whispers, a tear building in the corner of her good eye. “I promise I won’t be any trouble. I’ll help out with everyone else.”
“No you won’t!” Loyal barks. “You’ll just rest here and get better. Got me?”
I try not to laugh when Joe rolls her good eye with so much force that I’ll be amazed if we ever see her whiskey colored eyes ever again.
“Yes, Momma,” Joe replies sarcastically, but it makes my woman grin and for that, I’m glad that Loyal has Joe in her life, even if it does complicate things a little.
“I’m gonna let you rest, OK? Justice said he’d check in on you but if you need anything you have my number, Just call me. Or video call me if you get lonely. Whatever you need just-”
“Boo,” Joe says, squeezing Loyal’s hand. “I’ll be fine. I’m like a cockroach. Really hard to kill.” Her lips tip up. “Now there’s a hot man standing right over there waiting to get his hands on you, so why don’t you go and do naughty things with him while I get my strength up, K?”
“K,” Loyal whispers, before dropping a kiss to Joe’s forehead.
“Now shoo!” Joe waves Loyal away and I wait until we’re out in the hall, a little way away from Joe before I pull Loyal into my arms and hold her tight.
Loyal
Vex’s thick arms band around me, the scent of him, clean, fresh and leathery fills my senses. My body knows I’m safe and I let go. My knees buckle and a sob rips out of me, for the twins, for my friend, for the unfairness of the world. I know it’s not all men, but hell, if it doesn’t feel like it some days.
No, that’s not fair. I’m surrounded bygoodmen, men who stand up for what’s right. They’ll stand between whoever this evil Hitchens man is and Joe and the girls. I mean, they do it everyday. We live with people who have had terrible things befall them, and the MC stands up for them too. For Jason and Izzy, Nell and Greer, and River.
Vex runs his hand up and down my back, soothing me with his touch and the sweet nothings he’s whispering in my ear. I know that my childhood wasn’t normal. I know that I carry with me a lifetime of trauma and scars, and yet, here, with him, my body feels alive. Like every part of me is on fire, like I burn for this man. My nipples feel heavy, my head woozy, and there’s a throb in my core that I know Vex will be able to help me with. I rock closer, trying to feel more of him. He groans in my ear and the throb turns into an ache.
“Victory,” I whisper using the name of the boy who always caught my eye, unsure what else to say.
“Baby, I’m trying really hard not to throw you over my shoulder and take you to my room to feast on your luscious body,” he rasps.
I answer with a whimper, the very thought of it burning me up inside. His lips on me, his hands running up and down my body, himinsideme. My hands twist and grip the buttery leather, trying to hold on to him, for dear life. One or the other, I’m not sure which. He rocks his hips, the hard length of him pressing into me, ripping a moan from my lips so obscene my cheeks heat.
“Fuuuuck, baby, we need to stop. Not here, not now. I need you at home, in that bed of ours, where I can spread you out and feast on you over and over. I’m going to play out every thought and fantasy I’ve had about you since the first time I knew what my dick was for.”
My breaths come in pants, my mind dizzy with lust for a man who I know will put me first. Keep me safe.Loveme.
“Hey! Look what we found!”
A loud voice breaks through the haze, the moment Vex and I were having, now lost.
“I’m telling you, that’s not her dog,” Justice’s voice says, growing louder as it comes in our direction. “Loyal? Are you alright?” he asks, stopping next to Vex and I in the hall, glancing between us. “Oooh. Yeah, you’re fine.” He snorts, carrying something very fluffy in his arms toward his room.
“Hey! Wait for me! Joe can tell us who the real dog hero is.”
Vex presses me against the wall, moving me out of the way of Damian and the mastiff he has in his arms.
“What in the world?”
“Don’t ask, baby.”
A giggle escapes me, then another and another and I feel delirious. I’ve gone from tears to horniness to hysterical laughter and I don’t stop until Vex pulls me into his arms and presses a kiss to my crown.
“Come on sweetheart, let’s go find the girls.” I nod and follow Vex down the hall to where the kids are safely tucked away, none the wiser to the turmoil happening around them.
Chapter 10
Vex
My gaze is trained on Loyal as she has her head bent toward Mama Debs, soaking up whatever Mama Debs is telling her.
