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We slipped out the front door of the clubhouse and went out to the field that stretched between the clubhouse and the highway, settling in the sunshine with our faces tipped up.

Dani let the quiet sit for exactly thirty seconds. “Okay, girl, tell me everything!”

I laughed. “Where should I start?”

“At the beginning. What did you think when you first met him? Is he as hot as his name sounds?”

I told her everything.

“The first few days I kept waiting for him to snap,” I said. “I wanted to test him, because if I’d gotten into a worse situation than with Rex, I needed to know. I was mouthy, I pushed him with small things and then bigger things. Looking for his breaking point, I guess…” I shook my head. “He just took it all in stride. Every single time. It was unsettling.”

Dani threw her head back and laughed, the sound rolling out across the empty field. “Damn it! You call a man acting with basic decency unsettling? That is fucked up.”

I guessed it was. But when you’d been raised as I had, then you just expected the beatings. “He’s tough but kind,” I said. “Which is its own kind of mindfuck, honestly.” I pulled at the grass beside me. “I didn’t know what to do with that.”

She looked at me with something soft in her eyes. “No, I imagine you didn’t.”

I kept my gaze on the horizon. “We coexisted peacefully for a while.”

Dani sucked in a sharp breath. “And then?”

My lips turned up into the tiniest smile. “And then, I slept with him.”

Silence so loud even the birds went still.

Dani let out a whoop loud enough to send a rabbit skittering across the field, far away from the loud disturbance. “You gave him your V-card.” Her eyes were lit with excitement, and she grabbed my arm, shaking me a little harder than gentle. “Well, girl, don’t keep me in suspense. How was it?”

My cheeks went red hot. I pressed both hands to my face in a failed attempt to cool my overheated skin. “Dani!” I whispered.

“That good?” She was already laughing. Then she pulled me sideways into a hug, tight and warm. “I’m so happy for you, Ivy. I mean it.”

I grinned. “Thanks. I’m happy about it too. I mean, it was probably just a one-off thing, but I’m glad it was him. He was so good. Passionate and patient. It was explosive,” I said when she released me.

“And?”

“And that’s okay.”

She looked at me sideways because she didn’t believe me. “Is it?”

“No,” I admitted. “But he treats me well. He’s kind and considerate and the only thing that seems to piss him off about me is that I apologize too much, which is a step up since my very existence seemed to piss Rex off.”

Dani threw both hands in the air and laughed. Again. “Hallelujah.” She caught my expression and had the grace to look slightly sheepish. “Sorry, girl. But you are the absolute queen of over-apologizing. Someone had to say it.”

I laughed despite myself. The sun was warm and the field smelled like dry grass and the faint hint of flowers, and for a moment it almost felt normal. Like we were just two friends sitting outside having a chat, not me trying to figure out how I’d ended up here and whether I wanted to stay.

“What about the MC?” Dani asked. “Are they cool with you?”

I considered her question for a long moment, and then I thought about the sidelong glances, the way some of the girls gave me a wide berth. The way conversations stopped when I came into a room. “No one’s been openly hostile. But I can feel them watching. Waiting to see where my loyalties land.” It was an uncomfortable feeling, but I understood it.

“And where do they land?”

I didn’t have to think about it. “I don’t know, but not with Rex.”

“Duh,” she sighed.

A dry laugh escaped. “You know, he actually called me up to get intel? Like, he really thought I’d still do what he said after leaving his control.”

“What else is a mean, narcissistic son of a bitch gonna do?”