Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LINK
Fuck yes, my snook finally admitted he had the hots for me. Now I just had to get him to see we were totally in love and that he’d be silly not to move in with me.
Shit. I needed to get contactors in to work on the tunnel as soon as the settlement was complete.
Dammit. I had to check with Wolf that he’d be down with that type of thing.
Then again, I had a good feeling he would be. He was all for marrying his friend off to me. I hadn’t confirmed it, but I was nearly positive.
Ryo walked silently beside me to his bedroom.
I couldn’t wait to get him behind closed doors.
Back in the office, when I first rocked up, worry had nearly eaten my organs from the thought of pissing him off by arriving and shooting those motherfuckers. But it worked out to be the right thing in the end.
Ryo revealed his feelings and showed me off to those so-called family cunts.
Man, I wanted to find and shoot them again.
They hadn’t suffered enough.
I hated that they’d hid their pain. Hell, maybe I should’ve aimed for their—
Ryo suddenly pulled me to a stop with his hand around my wrist, which he quickly released, and when I faced him, he asked, “What are you thinking?”
“About shooting your family again.”
His gaze softened. Hesitantly, since people were around, he reached out and brushed his fingers over the back of my hand.
“They received your message, and it was a pleasure to see you make them bleed for how they were to me. But they’re not important.”
No, you are.
I nodded. “All right, snook. I’ll try not to picture putting more holes into their bodies when I think they deserve nothing but death.”
His gentle smile had my heart skipping a beat. He started walking again, and I fell into step as he said, “Don’t you see? They’ll suffer more knowing I’m alive and happy and sleeping with the man who made them look like fools.”
“Yeah, I guess. I had Bradshaw search for information on them so I’d know why they wanted to see you, but he couldn’t find anything. Not in the time we had.”
“They just wanted me back home to use me again for either connections or business.” He tangled a finger with mine and tugged. “But that’s not something we need to worry about now, and I would prefer not to talk about them again.”
If he wanted to move on, then he got that.
“Sure, baby. They’re forgotten.”
We turned the hall to Ryo’s room and made it the rest of the way in silence. But I kept catching him glancing my way.
What was on his mind?
His cheeks pink, he caught my slow grin, which made him scowl.
“What’re you thinking, snook?”
“Nothing,” he snapped.
At his door, he pushed it wide and moved in. I went after him, since I’d follow my man anywhere, and I closed and locked the door before leaning against it.
Ryo spun around to face me. “I don’t understand why you would care for me.”
“Snook—”
He shook his head and waved a hand around. “I don’t understand it, but I appreciate it, and—” He swallowed thickly. “—I love it.”
My body locked.
Did he just say…?
A blush coated his cheeks as he glared and said, “I love you.”
“Fuckin’ Christ. Again, please, snook,” I asked as I pushed off the door and stalked toward him.
He backed up until his legs were pressed against the mattress. He tipped his chin up and declared, “I love you.”
Cupping each side of his neck, I let out a pleased groan and touched my forehead to his, closing my eyes. “One more time.”
“Link—”
“Please, baby. Just one more.”
I heard him lick his lips and sigh before he whispered, “I love you.”
Opening my eyes, I brushed a thumb over his bottom lip. “Snook, it means the world to me you shared that, and you gotta know I fuckin’ love you too. So much.”
He jumped at me, lips on mine, demanding and urgent. We wrapped each other up, hands and arms holding each other tightly.
Christ. I needed to have him.
I glided my hands down to cup his arse, gripping. He lifted his legs and hooked them around my waist. I rubbed his hardness against mine, drawing out a groan from both of us.
“Baby, I need you something bad, but we gotta talk first.”
He pulled back and glared. Dropping his legs, he stepped off to the side, away from the bed. Dammit.
“I swear, if this is where you’re breaking up—”
I launched over to cover his mouth with my hand as I chuckled. “Fuck no, snook. Why would you think that after we just said we loved each other?”
He shrugged, looking away.
Goddamn his family.
Now I really wanted to go find and shoot them.
Gently, I pinched his chin between my thumb and forefinger and drew his hard gaze back to mine.
“I was gonna woo the hell outta you by taking you out to dinner to the same restaurant you gallantly saved me in.” He snorted, and his gaze softened as he rolled his eyes. “And I’ll still do that, but I gotta share the news now. The news that had me smiling this morning.”
He nodded once. “Okay.”
I slid my hands to his waist while I quickly glanced around for any weapons. This could go either way, where he’d want to stab me or love me some more.
“Why are you looking around?” he asked.
“In case you stab me after hearing what I have to tell you.”
He took a step away and placed his hands on his hips. “Do you have someone pregnant?”
An abrupt laugh escaped me. “What? Fuck no. I’ve only been with you ungloved.”
He dropped his hands. “All right, then. I don’t think I’ll stab you for anything else.” He glanced to his wall where a sword hung on display. “Maybe I should get it.” He started to walk off, until, with a chuckle, I wound an arm around his waist and spun him back to me.
“No way, baby.”
He tipped his chin up, gaze serious. “Then tell me, please.”
Shit. Why was I suddenly nervous?
I shouldn’t be. We loved each other.
And it wasn’t like he had to move in right away.
I’d give him a week after it was all settled to get his things from here to there.
Actually, he wouldn’t even need to move anything in. We could shop together, maybe online so no one spotted him with me. We wouldn’t go public about our relationship until he wanted to or asked me to give up the dangerous shit so we could be seen around town.
“Link,” Ryo scolded.
“Sorry, lost in thought.” I rubbed my sweaty palms up and down my jeans.
“Okay. So, great news….” I rushed out the next part.
“I bought the house next door, with a thirty-day settlement, so eventually we’ll get that secret tunnel done.
It’ll be safer for us, and we wouldn’t waste so much time travelling like we do now, and you could move in when you’re ready.
But have a think about moving in with me, like I will, when it’s all settled.
” I nodded and then told him in case he didn’t get my ramblings, “At the same time as me.” To sweeten the deal, I added, “We can buy all the things for the house together. It’ll be fun. ”
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared at me with his mouth open and eyes wide.
But when he didn’t say anything, I took a step closer to him, hands up and out. “Snook?”
Shit. Was he thinking about getting his sword?
“Baby,” I whispered when I stopped in front of him and cupped his cheek with one hand while sliding my other around his waist.
He blinked and snapped his mouth closed before he glared.
I smirked. “Are you thinking about your sword?”
The irritated expression disappeared when he sighed and dropped his forehead to my shoulder.
I wrapped both arms around his waist and ran one hand up his back. “Ryo.”
“You’re infuriating.”
“I know.”
His hands gripped my tee at the waist. “However….”
My heart goddamn expanded with hope so fucking fast, I thought it’d crack my ribs. “However?” I pushed.
“You are my infuriating boyfriend, and even though I think you’re crazy for doing it, I think it’s sweet too.”
I grinned. “Yeah?”
“Yes, Link.”
“So you’ll move in with me?”
He blushed. “You would really want me to?”
“For fuckin’ sure.”
He rolled his eyes and smiled. “At least you have a month to figure out if this is the right choice.”
“Baby, I don’t need a month. I hate the days I don’t get to see you. Need you close, and that house is the closest I can get.”
“Normal people would ask their partner to move in with them where they already live.”
Chuckling, I kissed his jaw. “I ain’t normal. Plus, I can work from anywhere, and I know you want to stay with Wolf.”
“I do,” he admitted.
“Then this’ll work out perfectly, especially when we get that tunnel set up.”
He let out a soft laugh. “Link, we don’t need a tunnel.”
“We don’t need it, but I totally fuckin’ want one. How cool would it be to sneak back and forth. Then if any shit happens at our place or Wolf’s, we can get to safety at each other’s. My guards will help Wolf’s. It’s fuckin’ perfect.”
His gaze was warm when he softly said, “Our place.”
“Yeah, snook. Ours. You like the sound of it?”
He licked his lips and then nodded. “I do. But if you change your mind in the month, you let me—” He groaned into my mouth when I took his in a hot kiss.
Licking and sucking down his neck, I told him, “Never gonna change my mind. I’ll be like an octopus suctioned to you all the damn time.”
“Maybe I do need my sword,” he said.
Chuckling, I pulled back. “Uh-uh, snook. You’re officially stuck with me. You told me you love me,” I sang.
He groaned. “Dear God, please don’t try and sing again.”
“But you love me,” I cooed.
“If you ever want to be inside me again, you won’t do that.”
I mimed zipping my lips and picked him up in my arms again. He wrapped around me like a horny little koala.
“Right now, we’re gonna move onto the me being inside you part.”
He moaned, kissing up and down my neck. “Please.”
I took him to the bed and laid him down while I stood back, staring at the man who was mine.
The man I would literally do anything for.
The man I was gonna please for the rest of our lives.
Only one thought sobered me and had me glaring down at him.
His brows pinched. “What is this look for? I’m the one who does that.”
“You’re not allowed to die before me.”
A rough laugh left him. “What?”
“I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“Link, I love you, but right now, we aren’t talking about death.”
I grinned, and he rolled his eyes at my sudden change. “True, baby, we ain’t dampening this moment. You love me, you want me, and you’re gonna be moving in with me. Nothing can top this unless you wanna get mar—”
“Link, I swear I will grab my sword if you don’t get down here and fuck me.”
Smirking, I winked. “Whatever my baby needs, he gets.” Man, I couldn’t wait until we were living under the same roof together.