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But Natalie… she was special. Still is.

I told her everything. I didn’t lie that we’re together.

I just left out the part where I volunteered to be hers. That I claimed the right before another man could.

That I wanted her any way I could get her, even when she was just Ruby’s roommate.

Not that I’ll tell her, or any of the brothers. Falling for a chick is fine. Falling for her ten seconds after meeting her and deciding she was it for you for the rest of your life, no matter if she became yours or not, is a different story.

“That’s what they call me,” she says with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes and is more predatory than friendly.

“What else do they call you?”

“Many things. Mostly I fix things.”

I read her words easily and raise an eyebrow. “Am I something that needs to be fixed?”

Her eyes flash over me briefly. “They’re still deciding.”

“And you? What have you decided?”

She might be a dog on a leash, but she’s still a dog. If her owner tells her to attack, she will. But not all dogs heel when their masters call. Sometimes they go rogue and feral all on their own.

She and I are similar in that way. Club enforcers and family fixers are the same.

We level each other with a respectful look, fully aware of where the other stands.

“Like I said, I’ve never known a Hound to be domesticated… unless they have a woman of their own.”

I nod once, both in acceptance of her words and in thanks. She might see me as devoted to Natalie, but her owner will be the deciding factor.

“See you later, Hound Dog,” she calls out as she jumps off the seat and exits the room.

It’s a warning that time is limited, and also a threat that she’ll find me if I decide to take Natalie and run.

Choosing to focus on the now and not the future, I gather my items and head back to my shared room with Natalie, leaving everything out and the fridge doors open.

For now, I’m a guest. And as such, I plan to play the role that I’m assuming her grandfather has dubbed me as: uncivilized to the core. And any uncivilized man would have zero regard for another man’s things and just expect someone else to clean up after him. Which I can already hear being done while I continue down the hall.

The house is magnificent, I’ll give him that. A little gaudy for my taste, but that’s just because I prefer places that are lived-in and where my cats can find me easily enough. Why have a home that takes you ten minutes to walk from one side to the other? If it’s exercise you want, just install a home gym or take a walk outside.

The U-shaped floor plan allows the eye to see the massive garden out back. Something tranquil and completely out of place for the city of Los Angeles in the background.

When I reach the guest room, I don’t knock. No point. I’m a married man, after all, and this is the room I share with my wife.

I hear the shower running before I’m fully inside. I note two piles of clothes on the bed, but other than that, nothing is amiss.

Setting the large plate down on a desk with dragons carved on top, I go to the closed bathroom door and check the knob. A slight panic courses through my body when I find it unlocked.

I push the door open and freeze.

The shower is made of glass walls. And while the steam and water droplets have created an opaque film over those walls, it hardly distracts from the naked form within.

Her back is facing me, and I take in every dip and curve as she washes her hair. The long lines of her body stretch with effortless elegance. Muscles earned from weeks of training sliced like silk from the water that runs down her long legs to an ass made to be grabbed, nibbled… fucked.

I press the heel of my palm against my rising dick and push it down.

Now isn’t the time.