The familiar movement was soothing, and I prepared mindlessly as I thought about what happened at the mall. It was a little terrifying knowing there was a biker gang threatening Elias and his friends. I heard them shout when they noticed him in the store and for a moment, I feared the worst. Our town wasn’t that big, we didn’t have crimes like this happening all that often. Why would a biker gang be causing trouble here? What was their goal?
“Hey… You don’t have to do that,” Elias said softly as he moved to join me. He was no longer on the phone, but the tightness around his eyes still hadn’t gone away.
“It’s okay. I needed to do something.” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “That conversation sounded intense. Is everything okay?”
He checked over his shoulder to make sure Jasper wasn’t paying attention before leaning close to answer me. “It’s starting to look like if we want the town to know it wasn’t us, we’re going to have to start working with the pi–” He cut himself off when I gave him a look, correcting himself “–police. Prez is reaching out to Hernandez tonight. She’s the one good cop in the joint and she’s had our backs in the past. He’s going to share the video I took, see if we can work together to at least distinguish between us and them.”
It was a smart move. The police already didn’t trust them. If the club came forward willing to work alongside them with fulltransparency, it’d likely make a difference when it came to the next crime wave hit.
Elias seemed to push his feelings aside, straightening his back and letting out a breath. He gestured to where I was preparing vegetables. “What can I do?”
“Preheat the oven. I saw a can of biscuits in the fridge. We’re going to use those.”
He eyed the oven uneasily. “Uh… I haven’t graduated to using the oven yet. Jasper doesn’t trust me.”
Chuckling, I bumped his hip with mine. “I’m not going anywhere. Just do it. And make sure there’s nothing inside it first that will burn when it heats up.”
It was a good thing I mentioned it because when he checked, there were a few random dishes hiding inside. When I raised an eyebrow at him, he grinned sheepishly. “Social worker came over the other night for a surprise visit. I kinda shoved the dishes out of the way and forgot about them.”
Rolling my eyes, I pointed out, “Everyone has dishes. As long as they aren’t rotting in the sink, I don’t think she would’ve minded a few left out. You can wash those while we wait for the oven to preheat.” While he did as I told him, I asked, “How’s that been going? The social worker visits?”
He nodded slowly, lips pursed. “Pretty well, I think. She’s more patient than I would’ve expected. I’ve admitted more than once that things aren’t perfect and she barely bats an eye.”
Probably because she saw what I saw. A guardian doing his absolute best despite being thrown into an incredibly difficult situation. That was more than a lot of kids could ask for after what happened.
We finished dinner together, a crustless pot pie with biscuits because it saved me the time of making a crust. The kids seemed to like it, Isla especially wouldn’t give up her biscuit for anything and cried when she finished it until Elias gave up his with anindulgent smile. Hiding dirty dishes in the oven or not, he was a good man.
After Isla was put to bed and Jasper went to his room for the night, I prepared myself to leave, wondering how I ended up spending the entire afternoon with the little family. It hadn’t been my intention. I thought the meeting to talk about Isla’s education would take around an hour before I headed back home for regular weekend chores and downtime. I couldn’t say I was disappointed. Spending time with Elias wasn’t a bad way to spend my weekend.
Warm hands settled on my hips while I balanced to pull on my shoes. “Do you really have to go?”
“It’s a little early for me to be spending the night, don’t you think?” I murmured, sliding the other shoe on. His grip tightened when I tried to turn around, the heat of his body pressing snuggly against my back.
“Yeah, maybe. Doesn’t mean I want you to go,” he grumbled, shifting my hair out of the way to press kisses along my neck. I tipped my head to the side, breathing a little shaky as my resolve wavered. Weeks of pent up desire kept trying to sway my judgment, and now that I knew we were in the clear, I found it increasingly difficult to resist his charm.
“Elias…”
The protest was weak, and when his thumb teased under the hem of my sweater, I felt my breath catch. It’d been a long time since I was last with anyone. I craved what he was offering to me. Resisting him was like resisting my favorite chocolate cake when it was being offered for free after being unavailable for years.
Slowly, almost like he was asking permission, he walked us backward away from the door. I let him because I was tired of resisting him and after the confrontation at the mall, I wanted to be wrapped up in him for a little while. He kept up his light kisses and nips along my neck as he led me to a room off thekitchen I hadn’t noticed earlier. When he closed the door behind us and flicked on the light, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“The laundry room? Really?”
He chuckled, finally spinning me but keeping me pressed against him as he continued to walk us farther into the room. “What? There’s a door, so we have a little privacy, and it’s under the master bedroom. And if we do this—” He leaned over, pressing the button for the dryer to start “—there’s no way either of the kids will hear us.”
I was still laughing when his head dipped and his lips pressed against mine. Of all the places I’d snuck in hookups, especially when I was young and stupid, I could confidently say the laundry room wasn’t one of them. But maybe it wasn’t the worst idea. I’d at least have a chance to get my hands on the man I’d been wanting for weeks now.
His hands slid under my shirt and I gave in, tangling our tongues together as he cupped my breasts over my bra, thumbs teasing my nipples just enough to make me shiver. When my back pressed against the wall, Elias pressed closer, until there wasn’t an inch of space between us. Hands moved everywhere, both of us eager to touch, but unwilling to fully remove clothes and leave ourselves too exposed when Jasper was just upstairs. The dryer noise might give us some privacy, but it also made it harder to hear him coming and I didn’t want to risk getting caught.
Elias seemed to have other ideas because while I was distracted by his mouth, he’d unbuttoned my jeans and his hand delved inside with unerring accuracy, pressing lightly against my clit. I gasped, back arching, hand clutching at his arm without actually trying to stop him.
“Elias,” I protested weakly, muffling a moan when he started rubbing slow circles, making my toes curl in my shoes.
“Shh,” he chided with a wicked grin. “They’re upstairs. They won’t find out if we’re quick.”
While I wasn’t usually one for quick hookups, I preferred a bed and the freedom to explore, I recognized how difficult that would be currently. With how suspicious Jasper was, it was hard for Elias to get a babysitter for a proper date, especially after what happened at the mall. Jasper hadn’t been outright combative, he’d hovered the rest of the evening and only went upstairs when Isla was put to bed. I got the feeling it would be harder than normal for Elias to get alone time after what had happened.
Kissing up my neck, Elias whispered in my ear, “If you really want me to stop, I will. But if you say you want this, I’m not stopping until you come on my cock.”
