Cade chuckled. “Sweetheart, after that, I’d bring you the fucking moon if I could fly.”
Her body relaxed in the cradle of his arms and she sighed in contentment as his fingers stroked gently up and down her back. “I could stay like this forever.”
“So could I.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Stay with me, Dawn. Even after this is all over, I want you to wear my cut.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. She had managed to hold her fear at bay when this was all pretend, when she knew it wouldn’t last. But now that he’d made it real, she had nowhere to hide. She cared about him, no doubt about that, but the depth of her emotion scared her. Was she really ready to do it all again? Did she trust him enough to let go and jump into the biker life for good?
NINETEEN
I will never be the aggressor. Unless someone fucks with me. Then they will pay.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
“Mom. There’s someone in your bed.”
Dawn awakened to Maia’s concerned face—her beautiful, angelic face—and Cade wrapped around her, his arm tight between her breasts, his head on her pillow, his erection pressed up against her ass. Thank God the covers were drawn around them.
“Is it Jimmy?”
“No, darling. It’s … Cade.”
Tia joined her sister staring down at them and frowned. She was always frowning, which made it easy to tell the twins apart.
“Why is he sleeping in your bed?” Maia asked.
She could feel Cade chuckling behind her, his chest warm against her back.
“Um … we’re having a … sleepover.”
“Can I have a sleepover with Susie?” Maia sat on the edge of the bed. “Shelly-Ann wouldn’t let us have sleepovers but now that we’re home, I want a sleepover, too.”
Cade ground his shaft gently against her ass and she choked back a gasp. “How about we talk it over at breakfast? You have to get ready for school. Both of you go brush your teeth and you can talk to Cade when he … gets up.”
“I’m already up.” His breath on the back of her neck reminded her of their heated night together, and she shivered. “And I thought you locked the door.”
“I did lock the door. You unlocked it when you went to get rid of the condom. I hope you remembered…”
“Mom.”
“Fuck.” Cade rolled away. “I think I forgot to…”
“Mom.”
“Christ. This is more stressful than a shoot-out.” He sat on the edge of the bed and scrubbed his hands over his face.
“No swearing around the girls. And no more inappropriate behavior.” Dawn pushed herself up. She would have been totally screwed if it was Saturday and she had to work at the diner. With no one to look after the children, she would have had to take a few days off. And what about this afternoon when she had to work at the florist? Or tonight when she had to work at Banks Bar? She’d spent so much time dreaming about her children coming home, she hadn’t thought through the practicalities. Maybe because a part of her thought it would never really happen. And another part was convinced it was all a dream.
“Mom.” Maia’s voice grew louder and Dawn’s eyes widened.
“Pants.”
“Door.” Cade reached for his jeans and Dawn threw herself at the door, just before Maia arrived.
“I’ll be out in a moment, darling.”
“Hell … I mean … damn, this is going to take some getting used to.” Cade pulled on his shirt.
Dawn grabbed some clean clothes from her drawer and slipped on her robe. Her PJs were lost somewhere in the bed. Or maybe on the floor. “I need to take a shower. Are you going to be okay with the girls for a few minutes? You’ve never been alone with them before…”
“I know everything about big girls,” he said. “I figure they gotta be much the same.”
*
After ten minutes alone with Maia and Tia, Cade revised his assessment of little girls. They were nothing like big girls. And the fact that they seemed totally immune to his charms this morning just made the situation worse. Winks and slow smiles, a slight drawl and a full-on swagger didn’t even come close to winning them over like he had at the zoo and the park. In fact, the harder he tried to engage them, the more cutting Maia became. Tia hadn’t said a word to him since he’d joined them in the kitchen. Maybe they didn’t like him sleeping over.
“Do you have a car?” Maia sat on the counter and kicked her legs, her little heels banging against the dishwasher while Cade searched the cupboards for something to give them to eat.
“Just my bike.”
“Bikes are cool,” she said. “But men who don’t have cars are not cool. Real men have cars. That way they can get groceries when it rains.”
“Good to know.”
“I saw your bike when you came to the park.” She slid off the counter as Cade pulled out a box of cereal. “I liked it. Tia thought it was too shiny. Maybe you can give us a ride sometime.”