Chapter 10
Fuse
I jerked my chin towards the hallway. “C’mon,” I told her. “We need to get these two set up with supplies before they decide the pool table’s their new bathroom.”
Winter laughed and gathered the tuxedo sisters up into her arms. When they tried their best to squirm and play fight with each other, she glanced down at them fondly and tucked them both under one arm.
I led her down the short hall towards the storage room which Dusty used as backup for her kitten rescue supplies. I grabbed what we needed.
We climbed the stairs and headed to her room. My chest constricted to know that I’d soon be locked out like every night. I’d be spending another long, lonely night alone sleeping in the easy chair at the end of the hallway. It always felt like I was so close, but so far away.
She glanced back at me on the landing. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“It’s too late to back out now,” I told her.
“Oh, I’m not trying to. I just feel fortunate to finally have a pet. I wanted one growing up, but it was never in the cards for me.”
“Yeah, you think that until you’re scooping litter boxes twice a day.”
She just lifted the kittens to her face to cuddle them.
When we reached her door, she shifted the kittens carefully so she could unlock it.
I stood there loaded down with supplies, watching her fuss over the lock.
And for a brief second, whatever this was building between us felt very domestic.
That’s when I remembered what I’d told that Savage Legion prospect, Rick, about putting Winter in my cut so everyone would know she was spoken for.
In our world, it wasn’t a title that was tossed around lightly.
Giving a woman your property cut was like claiming her.
There was a certain permanence about it.
But it also meant extending my protection and the club’s protection to her.
No brother would approach her once she was in my cut.
And this woman, who just managed to find a small piece of happiness, was in a precarious situation.
She needed my protection, right now more than ever.
She finally got the door open and stepped inside with the kittens first. I followed and kicked the door shut behind us.
Winter immediately set the impatient kittens on the floor.
They both flounced off in different directions to explore their new home.
That’s when I knew they were going to bring complete chaos into our lives.
I got busy pouring kitty litter into the litter boxes and filling up their food and water bowls.
Then, out of habit, I stepped back towards the door again.
“I just realized something,” she said quietly. “You’ve been sleeping in that chair in the hall, haven’t you? The one with the spread draped over the back.”
I froze in place, taken aback by how she knew about that.
I’d taken care to settle down after her lights went out and to get up before daylight, so she never saw me snoozing outside her door.
I’d been afraid she would see that creepy, stalkerish behavior.
For a second, I didn’t make eye contact with her.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” I told her. “I wasn’t trying to be creepy or anything.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been sleeping out there every night for three weeks.”
“I just wanted to be close in case anything unexpected happened. It wasn’t about control. I worried about you being trapped if there was a fire or something.”
“I might have thought you were being controlling in the beginning, but now I know it was just you being protective.”
I finally lifted my eyes to look at her. The expression on her face was warm and inviting. I had to remind myself that things had changed between us. She no longer saw me as the man who bought her. I’d proven that my intention had been to rescue her. She trusted me now.
“I don’t mind. Truly. I’m the kind that can sleep anywhere, standing up if need be.”
“I know you don’t mind,” she replied, her voice calm and serious. “I do mind. You’re a good, decent man. You shouldn’t be sitting out in the cold hallway for weeks on end.”
Her gaze flicked towards the door, then back to me. “You don’t have to sleep out there anymore.”
She came closer, so close I could almost reach out and touch her. “You can stay in here,” she murmured gently.
I held her gaze, trying to make sure I understood her correctly. “You want me to stay in here, with you?”
“Yes. We’re a team, remember? You’re my protector, the man who rescued me. You invited me to stay at your house when this is all over, and we got kittens together.”
Her train of thought was reasonable, logical even. Everything she said was true.
“You sure?” I asked, feeling my pulse increase. I wanted and needed to hear her say it out loud one more time to be sure.
She nodded, holding my gaze. “I trust you, Fuse.”
“I won’t touch you unless you ask,” I told her, needing her to know that much before I stayed in her space.
She leaned closer, and every instinct I had told me she was going to touch me again, maybe hug me or even kiss me.
Then one of the kittens let out an alarmed little hiss near the window, alerting us that her sister was trying to climb up the curtain. Winter let out a strangled laugh and watched from across the room as she untangled her tiny claws from the curtain.
When she sank to her knees with the kitten in her arms, I joined her.
The moment I sat beside her on the carpet, the other kitten began climbing my jeans.
I caught and lifted her up to look into her eyes.
She blinked up at me and started purring loudly.
In that moment I knew why women loved cats.
They were mischievous, cute, and made adorable sounds.
Winter glanced over at me, smiling in a way that made something warm bloom in my chest. I liked everything about this situation.
This must be what having an old lady felt like.
We played with the kittens, for once enjoying the moment without worrying about Viper, the two favors we still owed him, or the pending regional club war he seemed hellbent on sparking.
The kittens chased each other across the floor, little black-and-white blurs of fur crashing into each other. Eventually they wore themselves out and collapsed in a small heap in the center of the stack of blankets Winter had laid down for them. One tucked her chin over the other’s back.
I watched them for a moment longer before looking up to find Winter watching me. There was something different in her expression now, something warm and soft. It took me a second to realize it was desire.
When she climbed over and reached for me, I responded without thinking by wrapping her up in my arms. She cupped my face in her hands.
“You’re a really handsome man. Do you know that?”
I snorted a laugh. “I’m the average brother, milling around in the background, waiting to leap into action when the club needs me or someone needs fancy brickwork done.”
She gazed at me for so long that I thought she couldn’t think of a good response to my self-effacing sense of humor. Her blue eyes were dreamy as she gazed at me. I could feel her thumbs gently rubbing against my skin in the softest caress that I’ve ever had.
My hand came up to cover hers and I turned my head to press a kiss onto her palm.
Finally, she spoke. “I think you’re more than just a brother, Fuse. To me, you’ll always be the one who stepped up when no one else did. You were the one who saw a woman desperately in need of protection and decided to be the hero she needed. I don’t know how to thank you for that.”
I pressed my forehead against hers as I tried to deal with all the emotions she was churning up inside me. I had never known the kind of want I was experiencing for her before. Although my cock was hard, my mind and my heart wanted more than just sex.
“I did the right thing. Nothin’ more.”
“The fact that you don’t realize how special you are blows my mind,” she murmured before sliding one hand around to the back of my neck and dragging me down for a long kiss.
I didn’t know how long the kiss went on, but when we broke apart all I wanted was more.
She looked down at my hand, brushing over my knuckles where the skin was still scabbed from a split I’d earned a few days ago. Her thumb traced the edge of it tenderly, as if she were afraid that touching my tender flesh would cause me pain.
“You should clean that better,” she said softly.
“It’s fine,” I answered without thinking.
I swallowed thickly, charmed by her concern for a big rough biker like me.
If she wanted me, I’d already decided that I was gonna oblige her.
There was no doubt about that. This woman was grounded, spoke her mind, and made her own decisions.
I had a lot of respect for her and wasn’t quite crazy enough to turn down an opportunity to be with her if she’d have me.
When I tugged my hand away, she climbed face first into my lap and settled over my cock.
She reached up, resting one hand flat against the center of my chest, right over my heart. She spent a second feeling the beat of my heart under her palm and then her eyes drifted closed.
I froze.
“Will you spend the night with me, in my bed?”
“Sweetheart, you’re playin’ with fire.” This woman was after my own heart.
Pulling me down for another kiss, she whispered, “But what if I’m not playing? What if I want my first time to be with someone I really care about?”
She was tellin’ me everything I wanted to hear, and my mind was drinking it all in.
“You sure?” I asked, my voice husky even to my own ears.
Her eyes lifted to mine and I saw how much she wanted me, needed me. And that was all I really need to know.
“Yes. Of course, I’m sure. Making love to you falls into the category of a no-brainer.”