“Nope, and I’m rather fond of my balls,” I say lightly. “If you need some clean clothes, help yourself to anything you can find that fits you in my wardrobe. My room is next door.”
She still looks concerned that Ace might throw her out at any moment. “Hey, don’t worry, I promise, you’re never going back to the Rusted Scythes,” I assure her, willing her to trust in me.
She nods, accepting my word, and I feel light with relief. “Thanks. For everything,” she says shyly.
“No thanks needed,” I assure her. I know if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would. No matter what Ace thinks.
I’d love to stay in bed all morning, finding new ways to make her scream. But Ace really would lose his shit. So, with one last lingering glance, I head downstairs to face the music.
***
Ace and Cash are deep in conversation in the kitchen. I take a breath and enter, getting ready to face the music. They turn to look at me. Arms folded, Ace glowers at me before getting straight to business. “While you were busy getting your dick wet last night, I went to visit Eli Moore in the hospital.”
“I’m surprised you were able to get to him. Weren’t the Rusted Scythes guarding him?” I ask, going over to the coffee machine to pour myself a cup. Ichoose to ignore his barbed comment, grateful to have avoided a much harsher dressing-down.
“They were,” Ace says simply. He doesn’t need to brag or explain how he got past what must have been several guards and hospital staff. I don’t doubt his ability to get access to Eli, even with a guard.
“You shouldn’t have gone alone,” I chastise. We might be fighting, but he’s still my best friend, my brother.
Ace scowls at me, not appreciating the insinuation that he can’t handle himself alone, but doesn’t respond. No doubt if he did reply, he’d have said something scathing about me being otherwise occupied. Instead, he continues to tell me what he learned from Naomi’s brother.
“In exchange for us protecting him and his sister, Eli has promised to share the information he has against the Rusted Scythes. However, he might not be so helpful once he finds out you bought and popped his sister’s cherry,” he can’t resist snidely adding.
“Jesus, Ace, give it a rest, will you? Naomi and I had sex, it’s not that big of a deal, and she’s right, it makes her less valuable in the eyes of the Rusted Scythes.” I glower back at Ace, squaring up to him even though he’s a good few inches taller.
“He’s just pissed he wasn’t part of the fun,” Cash jokes, perhaps more astutely than we realize if the twitching muscle in Ace’s jaw is anything to go by. My friends and I often have the same taste in women.
“Quit it, you two. Naomi is under our protection, and we need her brother’s help if we’re going to win this war, which means from now on, she’s off limits. Got it?” Ace demands, looking from me to Cash and back again.
Cash agrees, and even though I don’t know if I will be able to resist Naomi while she’s under the same roof, I reluctantly agree, too. I feel drawn to her like no woman before, and the sex was incredible; we have a real connection. But her safety and the protection of my club have to come first. I can’t do anything to risk us losing this war.
“Do I have your word?” Ace asks, sternly fixing me in his gaze, palms pressed against the kitchen table.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I swear.”
Ace nods, satisfied. “Right, then let’s get to work figuring out how the hell we’re meant to win this war without those fucking weapons.”
I didn’t even hear her approaching down the stairs. As silent as a ghost, Naomi has slipped into the room unseen. I whirl around when I notice the other two fall silent, their mouths practically popping open at the sight of her. She’s wearing one of my t-shirts. Her slender legs and feet are bare, making her seem vulnerable at the same time and igniting a ferocious need to protect in me. Through the well-worn fabric, I can see her nipples poking out, and memories of taking those perfect rosebuds in my mouth jump to mind. I can tell that she’s affecting the others, too.
As if suddenly conscious of our gazes, Naomi folds her arms over her chest. “I know where you can get some weapons,” she offers.
Damn, this incredible, mysterious, surprising woman is gonna be the death of me.
Chapter 7
Naomi
My rumbling stomach and the desire to overhear the guys’ plans won out over searching for something suitable to wear, which is how I’ve ended up feeling exposed and far more naked than I expected to feel wearing the first thing I grabbed from Gage’s wardrobe.
They look at me with mirrored expressions of skepticism and surprise. “You do?” Gage asks hopefully. At the same time, Ace condescendingly says, “You know we need more than a couple of handguns registered in your name that you own for personal protection or whatever?”
I roll my eyes. “Obviously. I’m not a total moron. These are unregistered, and there are many of them.” I hold up my hands, palms open, fingers splayed, and shrug. “But hey, if you don’t want them…”
Gage elbows Ace. “We do, don’t we, Ace?” he prompts.
Ace doesn’t become any less suspicious or arrogant as he demands to know, “How do you have a supply of guns?”
At the same time, Cash asks, “Where?” His ice-blue eyes sparkle with curiosity.
