“Damn Sunshine, I think you might get lucky tonight,” Devil laughs, interrupting my kiss with Hayden. She immediately stiffens in my arms and tries to pull away. I don’t let her at first, needing just one more hit from her lips, one more chance to taste her. I soften the kiss, giving it to her gentle and sweet, nipping at her lips and sucking them into my mouth, teasing her with my tongue. Eventually, we break apart. I kiss along the side of her face to find her ear.

“Tonight, you’re mine,” I half-warn, half-promise. She jerks in my arms.

“I’m pregnant. Really pregnant,” she answers, and her voice almost squeaks. She’s acting so shy; my cock is crying to be inside of her right now.

“And fucking beautiful,” I tell her with a growl. I can’t resist kissing the side of her neck, raking my teeth roughly against the skin and marking her—not much but enough. Her fingers bite into my back, before she slowly pulls away and stands. She stares at me for a minute and I wonder if she’s going to say anything else. She wrings her hands nervously.

“You want some coffee?”

“I’m good,” I tell her gruffly. Fuck. I’m better than good.

“Devil?” she asks, suddenly remembering there’s more than just me and her in the room.

“I’m good, sugar,” he says, and she nods, gives me one last look and then leaves the room. I watch her walk away. I couldn’t pull my eyes away if I tried.

“You are one lucky motherfucker,” Devil says and I grunt my reply. Not exactly arguing with him. Right now, I agree. It’s a strange feeling.

“What are you doing here?”

“About that,” he says and something in his voice alerts me, and I pull my eyes away from the now closed door to look at him.

“There’s been a mess at the club, Sunshine. I hate to leave you alone, but it seems quiet here and I’m needed—”

“What happened?”

“Someone waylaid Diesel. He was coming back from Knoxville with his boy and he says a cop was stopping traffic, or he thought it was a cop. They knocked him out and took his son.”

“Fuck. Is it the same people who tried that shit before?” I growl, because Diesel’s had this problem before. His fucking ex, Vicky, is always trying to take their child back. Ryan was born hooked on drugs, thanks to his mom. Diesel kicked her to the curb when he found out, and he’s fought like hell to keep custody of his boy. He’s managed, but it’s been a battle.

“We think so. Diesel remembers hearing Vicky’s voice before he lost consciousness.”

“He okay?”

“Someone fucked him up pretty good. Slammed him across the head with a steel pipe.”

“Fuck.”

“So as much as I love our time together, Sunshine, I need to be heading out. You going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good. I need anything I know where you are.”

“Or you could call Skull. They still care about you brother. Once family, always family,” he says, reaching out his hand. I take it, even if part of me doesn’t want to. He doesn’t get it, maybe no one else will, but I’ve had too much taken from me. There’s too much water under the bridge. My days as a Devil’s Blaze patched member are over. Even if I could get past the anger. There are too many memories back at the clubhouse. Too many memories are attached to that life. And then there’s Hayden. She’d never want to live as an old lady. She wouldn’t want to go back to that world, even if this club was different from the one that haunts her memories. What’s more is, I wouldn’t want to subject her to it.

“Keep in touch, brother,” I tell him, because I do like him and maybe it’s because he’s not attached to my past. Whatever it is, he does feel like a brother.

“Will do.” He says as we grab hands and thump backs. He turns to leave, before he goes out the door he turns to look at me. “Keep your ass dry and your dick wet, Sunshine.”

Christ. I really don’t understand why I like him.

But I do.