“But you think they’re gonna beat me so bad I’ll shit in a bag?”
I bit my lip.
“Letti, answer the question.”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
He kissed my nose. “You feel better now?”
“No.”
“Liar,” he said with a grin.
“Seriously, Jasper. No one I’ve dated has ever ran the gauntlet. I’m Daddy’s little girl. Not to mention, Orion’s baby sister. This is not good.”
He slid a lock of my hair over my ear. “Your dad’s good.”
“He said that? Specifically.”
“Yeah. Dads love me.”
“Lots of experience with dads, huh?”
He ignored that question as he grinned. “We talked things out. It’s all good. But, if you try to intervene, it might not be.”
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t have to be such a dick about it.”
“I’ll concede that I could have been a little gentler in my approach, but sometimes, baby, you’re headstrong and stubborn, and you don’t listen to me.”
“What?”
He chuckled, leaning down to kiss me gently. “I love you. You have to trust me that I’ve got this. You have to trust your dad thathe’sgot this.”
“I don’t want your pretty face bruised. You have such lovely teeth as well. No losing them.”
“Baby, the purpose of the gauntlet isn’t to lose teeth or to beat anyone down.”
“Then why do it?” I snapped.
“Because it proves you’ve got what it takes to be part of the brotherhood. It’s not only to show you’re tough, but to see your future brothers face-to-face as you’re taking the blows. They need to look in your eyes to see what you’re really made of.”
I huffed. “Why can’t you macho assholes find some other way of bonding?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, take a pottery class or, maybe, dance lessons.”
He laughed. “I’ll be sure to bring it up as my first point of order as an official patch at church. Until then, you’re just going to have to let me get hit in my pretty, macho, stupid face.”
I stroked his beard. “It’s not stupid.”
“Thank you. Now kiss me while I still have all my teeth.”
Before he could connect with my lips, I gripped his chin. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’m sure. I’ve got a high pain threshold, baby, and Needles will be there for medical treatment.” He kissed my neck. “And you’ll be waiting for me at home, like the perfect old lady, icepacks and pussy at the ready.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
