“Here you go, Marcum,” Ghost announces when he walks into my office with an obviously reluctant Toi.

Toi… the name makes me shake my head. Her parents didn’t do her any favors. A name like that gives a man ideas. It offers something. There was a time I would have wanted to take up that offer. I’m too damn old now. Toi might have her father’s blood, but something about her tells me she’s a good woman. She needs a man to take care of her and get her settled. I’ve got some good men, but with her disability she’d get run over and forgotten. She’s got some grit to her, but she can’t make it known.

I have no idea why I feel so protective over her, but I do for some reason. She calls to a part of me I thought was dead. The part that was bred into me by my old man before this life. A man—a real man—takes care of a woman, cherishes her because they are special in a world full of ordinary.

I’ve always loved women. I have since I was old enough to get my dick wet. Hell, way before I should, even. But never in all my years, have I met a woman who calls to me and reminds me of what Pop used to preach to me. He had this list of rules, all of them unwritten. He’d just pull them out of his head, but they were rules we would follow. No one dared ignore Pop’s laws. He would have taken Toi under his wing.

I miss him. Fuck, the older I get, the more I remind myself of him and maybe that’s what all this is about. Hell if I know.

“Thanks, man. Remind Moth there’s church tonight when I get back from Max and Tess’s.”

“Will do,” Moth says, leaving the room. He almost slams the door as he exits, and the loud noise makes Toi jump. She’s much too timid to survive in my world. Only the strong survive in my world. That’s my unwritten rule number one. It’s served me well. The only problems that I’ve had is when someone I thought was strong turned out not to be… Cherry.

“You look better,” I tell Toi, looking her over. I’m mostly lying. I doubt she’s done anything. Maybe brushed her hair and pulled it back in a ponytail. She might have washed her face. That’s the only real change, but I don’t really give a damn so I’ll let her have her small victory. Her lips spread into a smile and her eyes light.

She’s a pretty thing. Long, sandy blonde hair with blue eyes, and I still have trouble taking my eyes off her body. She has a body definitely made for sin. When she’s smiling like this, she triggers something in the man I am. It’s like a challenge and I want to answer the call. Which is stupid, so I tamp down the urge with regret—and that’s annoying.

“I don’t suppose when you look like you do, much could help it anyways,” I tell her, lying out my ass and just trying to cover up the fact that this young—too young—slip of a girl makes me want to show her I’m a man. God, maybe I am too old for this shit.

Her face shows shock, and then anger, but I can tell my remark bothers her, and I feel like an ass for saying it. I don’t deal well with guilt, I’ve never really felt much of it in life—except maybe when it came to my boy, Max. So the fact that Toi makes me feel guilty pisses me off more.

“Bastard,” she hisses and then coughs. Her voice is so soft and raw that I can barely make the word out, but it is there and for some reason the sound of it and the anger in it makes me happy.

“Always have been. Let’s get a move on. I need to show you what your new role is here at the club,” I tell her, moving from my desk.

Toi grabs my arm and shakes her head back and forth in a no motion.

“Well, if you don’t want the position I’ve made for you, the boys have been wanting new talent.” I shrug, getting my message across. I know she’s worried about me making her free pussy for the club. Normally, that’s exactly what she’d be. I’m growing soft in my old age. That’s the only explanation.

She grunts in reply, but she follows me as I walk out of the room, so I take it. I walk down the hall from my office. It’s a part of the place that’s separated from the men’s quarters, the kitchen and the common areas. It’s my half. The part where none of the others go—without permission. I may be the president of the club, but I fucking like my privacy. We pass my private room and then a bath and finally the room my kids used to play in. There’s a door to a fenced and protected area in the back where they can go outside on nice days. They’re getting older; even the twins are in school now. They probably deserve better than what I give them.

“Daddy!” Desi yells, running to me. She might be in school but she’s still Daddy’s girl. I bend down to scoop her up in my arms.

“Where you been?” her brother, Harley asks, much more reserved. His arms are crossed, and he looks much older than his seven years.

“Got someone I want you guys to meet,” I tell them, ignoring Harley’s question. He’s pouting at me because I wouldn’t take him with me when I left earlier. Kid has entirely too much attitude. He may be the death of me.

“Who is it?” Desi asks, her little arms wrapped around my neck, molding her little body into my side. Her brother may make me want to pull out my fucking hair, but Desi warms a part inside of me that was cold before her birth. I love them both more than I could ever tell them.

“Does it matter? They’ll leave too,” Harley answers, and I frown. He hasn’t taken Cherry’s absence that great. Hell, honestly, the fact that my kids miss her has probably made everything worse. I probably would have forgotten her by now if not for that. That’s a fucked-up thing to admit, but it is true.

“Mind your manners, Harley,” I growl. He gives me a look that I swear I’ve seen mirrored on Max’s face a million times … maybe even on my own face. “Toi, come over here please,” I order, shooting her a look. Until this moment, I didn’t realize that she was standing by the door and hadn’t followed me farther into the room.

“Toi?” my kids say in unison and I grin. Her gaze locks on mine, and her eyes flash with annoyance. It’s strange, but I seem to read her thoughts clear as day. Girl would be useless in a poker game.

“She’s going to take care of you when you get home from school and make sure your homework and things are done,” I announce and watch Toi’s eyes go round in surprise and not a small amount of irritation.

“How long will she last?” Harley mutters, looking Toi over. Toi’s back goes straight.

“As long as I want her to.” I shrug and the fire that flashes in Toi’s eyes can’t be mistaken at this point and for some reason my smile stretches across my face, working muscles that haven’t been used in years. I even fight the urge to laugh.