There’s a tap on my knee, and I turn to Jagger as he signs,“Your body is beautiful, you don’t need to hide it from us. But I don’t want anyone else seeing you like this, so let’s get you dressed.”
He grabs my dress and holds it up, so I just have to slip my head and arms through.
“Did you understand everything he just signed?” Sly asks, sounding a little impressed.
Sitting up a little taller as Jagger and I pull my dress down past my waist, I nod. “Yes. Once you know a lot of the basic words, it's easy to fill in the blanks.”
“What does this one mean?” He does a sign, and I blush.
“Beautiful.”
“Ahh, I’ll remember that one, mybeautiful little bird.” He signs the last three words, making me blush again.
To avoid looking at him, I use the distraction of finishing getting dressed, moving to my knees, and undoing my skirt. I pull the dress down and the skirt off at the same time.
This time, I don’t look up to see if they’re staring at me. I already know they are. I peel the black thigh highs down my legs, then switch my shoes.
“Alright, all ready!” I smooth my dress under my butt, and I sit down and smile back at Pete.
“You sense for even a second that something's off or you’re in danger, you text or call instantly, you understand?” Sly tells us seriously.
“You’re not the boss of me, Sly,” Pete says as I open my side door.
“I know that. And I know you’ll protect her with your life. But we’re in this together, and she doesn’t just belong to you. She belongs to all of us. So, be smart out there and call us. Better safe than sorry where Wren is concerned.”
My skin heats with his declaration that I belong to all of them. Part of me wonders if I should take offence to being referred to like property, especially since that’s how my brother had treated me. But that’s only a very teeny-tiny part of me. Mostly, I love it. The possessiveness they seem to share for me is something I’m coming to crave. I want them to own me, to call me theirs. It makes me feel wanted for once in my life, and for more than just my worth as a wife.
“I’ll be good, don't worry,” Pete says as he climbs out of the van behind me, immediately snatching up my hand. I see he’s taken off his gloves, and with his plain T-shirt and jeans, he looks almost normal.
Almost.He’s still a dangerous criminal who gets way too excited at the idea of mayhem. But that’s part of the reason I love him.
My eyes widen at that thought.Do I love him?
The van pulls away as he pulls me to the sidewalk, and I glance up at him. He flashes me his big, charming smile, and I melt a little.Yeah, I definitely do.I’m not sure when it happened, but my grinning psycho has wormed his way into the very depths of my heart and taken up home there.
He swings our hands gently between us as we walk down the street, subtly keeping our eyes on the house we’re here to watch.
“A lovely day for a stroll, isn’t it, miss?” he asks in a fake posh accent.
“Why yes, kind sir. A positively perfect day for a walk,” I reply with a matching accent of my own. I hook my arm through his, wanting to be closer to him, and grip his bicep with my free hand. He covers it with his and gives it a small squeeze.
“Would you ever want to live in suburbia? A place like this?” Pete gestures to the houses we pass in question.
I try to imagine us living here, but I can’t picture this feeling like home. Too many homes, too many eyes.
“I’ve been watched my entire life. Our home was filled with staff and guards, someone always watching. This place feels a bit like that. Nosey neighbors peeking through their blinds or looking over the fence.”
“I think you might like living on a farm.”
“Tell me about it?” I ask, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. I don’t know much about his time there, other than he loved working with animals.
“It’s peaceful. Nothing like a city or this. Here I can feel eyes on me, like we’re being watched.” I nod, having the same feeling myself. “Being on the farm feels free. Like you can relax and be yourself, not having to constantly watch over your shoulder.”
“What did you do there?”
“Pretty much everything. I helped the owner take care of the animals, clean them, feed them, stuff like that. I also helped with their crops.”
“What sort of things did they grow?”
