“Did I make it harder?”
“No! You made it easy. You made it beautiful.” Her eyes flipped up. “You made me feel beautiful.”
“Because you are.” I lashed a kiss across her lips, sweeping a hand down her body.
My heart knocked harder in my chest.
“Just promise me one thing. When we’re alone, no wig.” I buried my lips in her natural hair. “I really love these curls. Want you as you are.”
“What about the prosthetic?”
“Whatever’s comfortable for you.”
“It does feel good to take it off.” Shy cuddled closer. Her lips moved to my ear. “I have to tell you something though.”
I kissed her mouth, lingering on her puffy lips before drawing back. “Shoot.”
“I may not be able to have babies because of the treatment.”
I gave a light laugh even though my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach at the thought of Shy not being able to be a mother. “You’re already planning a family with me, woman?”
She wound back to smack me, but I stopped her fist.
“Easy now.” I kissed her knuckles, and opened her fingers, and rested her hand against my chest where my heart boomed for her.
No laughing. No jokes. No smirks. “There are other ways, Shy.”
“I froze eggs.”
“So you are planning a family with me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Something’s Brewing
DURING THE NEXT WEEK at Chrome and Steele/Retribution MC, I only heard bits and pieces about Bo and Doc Ronnie’s growing relationship.
The dudes passed hot topic gossip around at the same rate they downed high-octane drinks.
Soap opera?
Check to that.
I was too involved in my own romance. With Shy.
Maybe romance was too strong a word.
She worked her ass off all day long in her soon-to-open shop. I was usually up to my elbows in grease.
What happened between us whenever we caught a moment of downtime involved hot untamed sex, screaming wild kisses, and shockingly intimate moments.
I still had Diablo in my head, like fire ants crawling all over my skin.
I still had a brewery to make a reality so I could finally stand on my own two feet.
And a bribe to fulfill or let ride to see where the chips fell.
One week after I’d broken Shy in—and she’d broken me down to the bare bones of attraction—I waited for her to show at my house.
Tail and I had finished up the work started months ago, and aside from the beer drinking and smoke breaks he’d turned out to be surprisingly professional. Both bathrooms refitted. All new paintwork inside and out. New kitchen appliances installed. Landscaping outside complete with an irrigation system.
But compared to the towers of stucco and stone down on The Battery and Shy’s sweet condo, my place was still little more than a humble abode.
In a bout of nervous energy, I’d dusted, vacuumed, mopped, hoping to make a good impression on Shy.
Not that she was one to judge, but I was suddenly so flipped-out my palms started sweating.
I paced a circular path on the floor waiting for her to arrive. Finally, my ears perked up—like the goddamn dog I didn’t have—when I heard the growling throb of her Charger engine. A thrill shocked me all the way to the balls of my feet and to the big balls in my pants.
The front door banged behind me as I stalked outside.
That white Hellcat was still a wet dream, but not as sexy a one as Shy herself. I was at her car door just as she opened it, extending my hand to help her out.
“Howdy, Handsome.” Placing her palm in mine, she peered up at me from big dark sunglasses perched on her nose.
“Howdy, baby.” I returned her greeting, so ready to plant a hot kiss on her shining, smiling lips.
She exited gracefully.
Her legs first. Long and sexy.
I’d gotten used to her prosthetics.
One for heels. One for flats. And she had another for sports she liked to ignore.
But we’d see about that.
Then she unfolded from the leather seat, and I effortlessly curled her into my embrace. Our kiss immediate, we twined around one another, our mouths clinging, tongues twirling and sucking, the all-engulfing heat of intense lust more fiery than the scorching summer temperature.
Shy drifted slightly back. “Wow. You missed me, huh?”
With my arm around her shoulders and my lips at her temple, I guided her up the walkway. “Missed your mouth. Missed your body. Missed waking up next to you knowing you’d be wet and ready for me.”
I watched a blush stain her cheeks.
Deciding to add to it further, I lowered my hand to cup her ass. “And I definitely missed this.”
Inside, I took in the full impact of Shy’s fucking hot presence. I inspected her as she inspected my place. She wore a sundress, and that time it was shorter. The material was light, so light I bet if she stood in the center of a sunbeam if I could see straight through the fabric. I’d have to test that theory before sunset.