Fuck. She got what she wanted and didn’t even have to say a word. She used her pussy as a weapon of mass destruction.

After their second round of fucking in her dry, much softer bed, he spilled almost everything that happened earlier in South Side.

If word got out that he told his woman that shit, he would never hear the end of it. But he blamed it on a moment of weakness, due to drained balls and a happy dick that made him do it.

That was his excuse, and he was sticking to it if need be.

Right now though, they should be sleeping, but neither of them could. He was waiting to hear what went down after he left and to make sure that everyone got out in one piece.

Of course, Ivy was worried not only for her brother, but for her cousins and Zak, though not so much for Pierce.

Finally, his phone chirped, and he grabbed it off the nightstand, the screen illuminating the dark room and Ivy’s worried face.

He read the texts from Zak and cursed.

Ivy slapped his arm. “What does it say?”

He studied her for a moment in the glow of his cell phone, then took a deep breath before saying, “Everyone’s good.” He shook his head. She needed to know the truth, and she’d find out in the morning, anyway. “No, everyone isn’t good.”

He heard her suck in a breath.

“Mean that everyone’s in one piece, baby.”

“So, what’s wrong?”

“D and Hawk got busted. 5-0 snagged them. Sittin’ in jail.”

“Aaah shit.”

“Yeah. Zak gotta call in to Pannebaker.” According to Z’s texts, he had to leave a message since the attorney the club had on retainer didn’t normally answer his phone at three o’clock in the morning.

“Do we need to go bail them out?”

He eyeballed her. “You got that kind of scratch?”

She frowned. “No.”

“Didn’t think so. Gotta go in front of the judge in the morning, then Pierce and Zak will handle it.”

“Pierce,” Ivy muttered.

He felt the same way. “Still the prez, baby.”

“Yeah.”

“Might be for a while yet, until shit gets sorted.” Eventually, everything would get straightened out. Hopefully, sooner than later.

“Well, thankfully, no one’s dead or in the hospital, right?”

“Yeah, baby, could’ve died tonight. Any one of us.”

“Wasn’t smart.”

“Had to make a statement. No one’s safe with their hit an’ runs on us.”

“Do you think this so-called ‘statement’ is going to do any good?”

“Dunno.” He tossed his phone back onto the nightstand and gathered her into his arms. He shoved his nose into her hair and inhaled her scent. Though, now he knew where she got that scent, her shampoo and her body wash. And he smelled the same after that bath. “All I know is that my woman’s in my arms tonight an’ got to bust a nut in her.”

“Jesus, so romantic,” she whispered, but she snuggled in tighter and a feeling of deep contentment rushed through him. “Have to ask you something, Jag.”

He grunted because knowing her, it’d be one that he wouldn’t want to answer.

“One of the things I have to insist on is you not hiding anything from me. You want me to be your ol’ lady and from what you said, the mother of your children, so you can’t hide shit from me. You can’t do that and have this work. I know it, you know it. Club business or not.”

He rolled to his back, and she wrapped around him, pressing her cheek to his chest. He drew his fingers through her loose hair, then traced the delicate outer shell of her ear. “Didn’t hear a question, baby.”

“Maybe not.”

He sighed, her head rising and falling with his chest. Her fingers traced along his pecs and collar bone, making it hard for him to think. “Can’t share everything. Know that.”

“Yeah, but you can share a lot more that you do... If you know what I mean.”

He tipped his eyes down toward her. “Whadya mean?”

Her warm breath blew across his chest before she admitted, “I found your drawings.”

She what?

He tensed as what she said sank in. He pulled himself up on his elbows and stared down at her shadowy figure in the dark. “My drawings,” he finally repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Not just the one.” The one he had stupidly left on the bar the morning his bike got trashed. The one he left behind in his drunken stupor as he made his way to his bed to pass out and forget about both his bike and Ivy.

“No.”

“The ones in my room?” He knew it, he just needed to hear it.

“Yeah.”

“You fuckin’ broke into my room an’ went through my shit?”

“Yeah.”

Damn. “Fuckin’ Ivy.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek. He wrapped his fingers around her hand but didn’t pull it away. “Jag... Mick. I needed to know. I saw the talent in that partial drawing of your new custom. I knew that couldn’t be the first time you drew like that. Not sure why you’re hiding it.”

“So I don’t take shit from anyone. That’s why. Easy to understand, Ivy.” And it should be since she was raised DAMC and knew what a man should and shouldn’t be. “Do me a solid an’ just forget whatcha saw.”

She lifted her head finally and rose up on her elbow, too. She pulled her hand from under his and laid it on his chest. “I’m not going to forget what I saw.”

“What did you see?”

“All of it.” She reached over him and grabbed her cell phone, hitting the power button to activate it and then pressing the photo gallery app.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Her finger swiped across the screen until she found what she was looking for. She turned the screen toward him. “All of it,” she repeated.

His stomach dropped as his eyes fell on the phone. One of the many drawings he did of Ivy smacked him right in the face. The one she showed him was one of the firsts ones he ever did. The one of her wearing his cut. “Fuck me,” he muttered.

“Honey, you shouldn’t hide these. You shouldn’t hide any of them.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. There was no way she was going to keep this under wraps. “No one’s business.”

She swiped at her phone once more, then shoved it in his face again. His stomach churned. “Need to tell you something...” She swiped and turned it toward him. “Seeing these...” Swipe. Turn. “Mick... seeing these...” Swipe. Turn. “All the drawings of me...” Swipe. “Years’ worth...” Swipe. “Made me realize something...”

Problem was, he didn’t need to see anything she was showing him. He knew what they all looked like. He remembered in detail doing each drawing. And why he did them.

“What?”

“You mentioned in the bathroom that you love me. But you didn’t say for just how long.”

His nostrils flared and his lips flattened as he dropped his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

“You going to hide that, too?” she asked softly.

He rolled over and onto her, covering her body with this weight. Digging his hands into her hair, he pressed his forehead to hers, he grumbled, “Not gonna hide it, baby. Was just waitin’ for you to figure it out.”

“Figure out that you love me?”

“No. Figure out how much you love me.”

“Mick...” she whispered. Her voice trembled, making his chest tighten.

“Baby, loved you a long time. Wanted you even longer. Dreamed about you when we were teens. Jerked off all the time to you, too. Hell, still do.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Nice.”

He shrugged. “Hell, can’t remember a time I didn’t want you. You just needed to figure out what you wanted.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“You want me?”

“Yeah.”

“You love me?”

“Yeah, Mick, I do. It hit me hard tonight when I realized you could’ve been killed. Realized that would’ve left a hole in my heart. Honestly, I’ve kept my head buried. When I found the sketches, it started to become a little clearer how much I mean to you, how much you mean to me. You’ve always been around and I took you for granted. I realize that now.”

“Fought me at every turn. If I’d have shown you the pictures a long time ago, you would’ve been in my bed sooner?”

She bit back a smile. “I can’t say that. Needed to do my thing first. You know, like college and—”

“Nerds.”

“Nerds,” she echoed in agreement.

He sighed. “Should’ve been your first, baby.” Should’ve been, could’ve been, if she had just let him in a long time ago. He couldn’t do anything about that now. Maybe make up for lost time. Which he would gladly do. Even if it killed him.

“My first time sucked,” she said.

He should feel bad for her, he should. But he didn’t. He was kind of happy it sucked for her. Once again he couldn’t help thinking that it should’ve been him. “Coulda made it better.”

“Doubt it.”

He grunted. She was probably right. Took him awhile to learn how to pleasure a woman. It would’ve killed him to disappoint her. Instead, someone else did it for him. “Gonna be your last, though.”

“You think?”

Ivy’s giggle made him smile. “I know.”

She grabbed his ear and tugged. “No more Goldies?”

He snagged her hand away and laced his fingers with hers. “No more man-boys? Wanted to stomp that fucker into the ground with my boot.”

“Adam was nice... until you Neanderthals scared him away.”

That they did. “He’s lucky I allowed him to continue to breathe.”

“Jag,” she scolded him.

“Baby,” he teased back, taking her mouth.

He decided they were done talking and needed to do something about it.