Her gaze flicked towards the door, then back to me. “You don’t have to sleep out there anymore.”
She came closer, so close I could almost reach out and touch her. “You can stay in here,” she murmured gently.
I held her gaze, trying to make sure I understood her correctly. “You want me to stay in here, with you?”
“Yes. We’re a team, remember? You’re my protector, the man who rescued me. You invited me to stay at your house when this is all over, and we got kittens together.”
Her train of thought was reasonable, logical even. Everything she said was true.
“You sure?” I asked, feeling my pulse increase. I wanted and needed to hear her say it out loud one more time to be sure.
She nodded, holding my gaze. “I trust you, Fuse.”
“I won’t touch you unless you ask,” I told her, needing her to know that much before I stayed in her space.
She leaned closer, and every instinct I had told me she was going to touch me again, maybe hug me or even kiss me.
Then one of the kittens let out an alarmed little hiss near the window, alerting us that her sister was trying to climb up the curtain. Winter let out a strangled laugh and watched from across the room as she untangled her tiny claws from the curtain.
When she sank to her knees with the kitten in her arms, I joined her. The moment I sat beside her on the carpet, the other kitten began climbing my jeans. I caught and lifted her up to look into her eyes. She blinked up at me and started purring loudly. In that moment I knew why women loved cats. They were mischievous, cute, and made adorable sounds.
Winter glanced over at me, smiling in a way that made something warm bloom in my chest. I liked everything about this situation. This must be what having an old lady felt like. We played with the kittens, for once enjoying the moment without worrying about Viper, the two favors we still owed him, or the pending regional club war he seemed hellbent on sparking.
The kittens chased each other across the floor, little black-and-white blurs of fur crashing into each other. Eventually they wore themselves out and collapsed in a small heap in the center of the stack of blankets Winter had laid down for them. One tucked her chin over the other’s back.
I watched them for a moment longer before looking up to find Winter watching me. There was something different in her expression now, something warm and soft. It took me a second to realize it was desire.
When she climbed over and reached for me, I responded without thinking by wrapping her up in my arms. She cupped my face in her hands.
“You’re a really handsome man. Do you know that?”
I snorted a laugh. “I’m the average brother, milling around in the background, waiting to leap into action when the club needs me or someone needs fancy brickwork done.”
She gazed at me for so long that I thought she couldn’t think of a good response to my self-effacing sense of humor. Her blue eyes were dreamy as she gazed at me. I could feel her thumbs gently rubbing against my skin in the softest caress that I’ve ever had.
My hand came up to cover hers and I turned my head to press a kiss onto her palm.
Finally, she spoke. “I think you’re more than just a brother, Fuse. To me, you’ll always be the one who stepped up when no one else did. You were the one who saw a woman desperately in need of protection and decided to be the hero she needed. I don’t know how to thank you for that.”
I pressed my forehead against hers as I tried to deal with all the emotions she was churning up inside me. I had never known the kind of want I was experiencing for her before. Although my cock was hard, my mind and my heart wanted more than just sex.
“I did the right thing. Nothin’ more.”
“The fact that you don’t realize how special you are blows my mind,” she murmured before sliding one hand around to the back of my neck and dragging me down for a long kiss.
I didn’t know how long the kiss went on, but when we broke apart all I wanted was more.
She looked down at my hand, brushing over my knuckles where the skin was still scabbed from a split I’d earned a few days ago. Her thumb traced the edge of it tenderly, as if she were afraid that touching my tender flesh would cause me pain.
“You should clean that better,” she said softly.
“It’s fine,” I answered without thinking.
I swallowed thickly, charmed by her concern for a big rough biker like me. If she wanted me, I’d already decided that I was gonna oblige her. There was no doubt about that. This woman was grounded, spoke her mind, and made her owndecisions. I had a lot of respect for her and wasn’t quite crazy enough to turn down an opportunity to be with her if she’d have me.
When I tugged my hand away, she climbed face first into my lap and settled over my cock.
She reached up, resting one hand flat against the center of my chest, right over my heart. She spent a second feeling the beat of my heart under her palm and then her eyes drifted closed.
