I’m forced to put on my pants to answer the door for the pizza delivery. Ginger only pulls up the blanket to cover her delicious tits. I tell the guy to hold on while I throw my shirt at her. When she doesn’t move, I cross my arms.

“Put it on.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want him to see your bare shoulders.”

Ginger snorts before bursting into laughter. Rather than obeying my order about the shirt, she pulls the blanket over her head and hides underneath while laughing at me.

A minute later, I set a pizza and sodas on a side table. When Ginger doesn’t appear from under the blanket, I yank it back to find her on her phone.

“Why did you get a room with two beds?” I ask and open the pizza box.

“One for secreting fluids. One for sleeping.”

“How did you know I could stay the night?”

“Why do you assume I assumed anything? Maybe I figured I’d sleep alone.”

“By yourself at a motel? Doesn’t seem safe,” I say, handing her a slice on a napkin.

Ginger tears her gaze from the phone and gives me a nasty look. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Eat.”

“Set it on the table, and I’ll eat when I’m done messaging Clove.”

“Or you can eat now.”

“Are you saying that as my lover or my father?”

Rolling my eyes, I turn on the TV and find a dumb comedy movie to watch. Ginger finally sets aside her phone and takes the pizza.

“No pineapple?”

Shooting her a dirty look, I’m happy to see her laugh in response. Earlier, Ginger tried to escape. Now she’s accepted her fate to spend an entire night in my baller presence.

“My kids like you a lot.”

“I suspect they like everyone, Oz.”

“Not really,” I lie.

“The townhomes are so close to being finished. Then we’ll move in, and I’ll have your family over.”

“They could be your family soon.”

Ginger’s blue eyes widen. “Please, please, please, do not talk about that kind of stuff right now. Let me get used to having a man before I think about having a family.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Thanks,” she says, winking at my frowning face. “I have spare rooms at my place, so if things between us work out...”

“They will,” I interrupt, “so stop staying ‘if.’”

“The kids will have their own rooms. That’d be cool, huh?”

“They don’t need separate rooms.”

Ginger flashes an annoyed frown my direction. “Oz, you need to pick an emotion, okay? Either you’re happy with me wanting your kids at my place, or you’re pissed about having to move from your tiny house in the country.”

“Let me think about it.”

“You do that,” she says before focusing on the movie and finishing her pizza.

Ginger eventually slides my shirt over her head and makes a bathroom run. I wait for her to return so we can end up in the same bed.

“No more,” she whines when I crawl into the “clean” bed with her. “I’m leaking all over the place already, and I think your giant dick bruised my ribs.”

“Probably,” I say, kicking off my jeans before yanking the blanket over us. “You haven’t mentioned the lack of a condom.”

“Shockingly, neither of us have anything that’ll spread, so the only worry is pregnancy, and my birth control is top of the line.”

“You’ll be showing in a few months. Just watch.”

Rolling her eyes, a smiling Ginger scoots away.

I wrap her closer and whisper, “No sex for now. You wore my dick out.”

“You’re welcome.”

We fall into silence while watching TV. Like any normal man, I want a nap after having the best sex of my life. Ginger might still run, though, so I keep my eyes open even though I’m bored of watching the movie.

Turning my gaze to Ginger, I find her staring at the ceiling. She’s clearly deep in thought. I imagine a shit-ton of crap she might be thinking about but suspect I’m likely wrong with them all.

“What’s with the sad eyes?”

“Thinking about the ugly stuff.”

“What kind of ugly stuff?”

“I’m wondering about the choices I’ve made in life.”

“What choices?”

Ginger exhales and keeps her gaze on the ceiling. “A few years ago, someone was killed because of me. The old Little Memphis MC president wanted to kill me. When he couldn’t grab me, he murdered a woman named Sabine in my place. He told people she was me, and I went into hiding. That’s when I started wondering how different things might have been if I’d just given Cris the money he wanted rather than killing him. Would everyone’s life be better if I’d behaved until I was old enough to get a real job? Would I have gone to college and gotten a respectable job?”

When she falls silent, I think to mention how she wouldn’t have met me in her “what if” scenario. Then again, my needs aren’t what she’s craving right now. Problem is I don’t know what words will ease the frown on her face.

“Whenever I get to thinking that way,” she says, cuddling against me, “I remember the day I found Yarrow. If I hadn’t become Ginger Snaps, where would she be now? Dead would be the best-case outcome. More likely, she’d be sold off to someone. I saved Yarrow, and there were others saved too. I did right by my crew, even if I became a monster to do so. The Ginger with the regular life is the selfish choice. Her life might have been easier in the end, but she never led anyone out of the hell. Ginger Snaps, even for the horrors she witnessed and caused, brought light to those in the dark.”

I caress her cheek with my finger and then follow with my lips. “Nothing wrong with you killing those in desperate need of death.”

“I don’t regret even one murder I committed, but I do regret causing Sabine’s death. The world isn’t fair even if bad guys like me hunt bad guys like Cris or Trigger. Someone innocent will always end up in the way, and I have to live with that fact.”

“You’ve been waist-deep in the vile swamp of humanity for so long that I’m not surprised you feel stuck in it. You’re not, though. You’ve only been in Rawlins for a few weeks, yet you’ve brought light to this town.”

“Sometimes, the sweet stuff you say cuts me deep,” she whispers, studying my face. “I wish I could see myself from your eyes.”

“You’d see an incredible woman I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know.”

“That’s the sex afterglow talking.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“I do,” she says, sounding fragile in a way I never expected.

“I can’t be patient for you,” I admit. “I’ve tip-toed around other women like my kids’ mothers because they were carrying my babies. I played along, but I can’t do that with you. I can’t give you time and space to catch up to where I am now. I know that sounds like a cop-out or I’m excusing my dick behavior. It’s not, though. I need you to be with me and see me and think of me. It’s like I have no value unless you give it to me. Insane, I know. I have my kids and the club and Mom and a lot of reasons to value my life. But since I met you, I’ve had a nagging feeling that without you everything good will fall apart and disappear.”

“That is insane.”

“And I make no apologies for that insanity. That’s how I love, I guess.”

“I don’t know how I love, Oz. That feeling is hidden in a vault behind a million walls with a million doors locked by a million security systems all with codes I don’t have access to. I’m terrified to see what happens when the feeling escapes or there’s a crack in the system. Will I cling to you with the panic of a child? Can I function with that kind of love?”

“You’ve functioned through a helluva lot worse, Ginger Snaps.”

Her smile surprises me. “I know, right? Why do I fear something that feels so amazing when I’m totally okay with facing the ugliest shit possible?”

“Habit probably. I’m used to loving easily. I had a close relationship with my mom. My club president took me under his wing and raised me up like his kid. The club guys are my brothers who accept me for the flawed fantastic fucker I am. The moment I saw my kids, I was instantly in love. It was the same with you. No amount of logic would keep me from what I wanted, and I’d never wanted anyone like you.”

“No more running.”

“And I’ll pretend I’m patient even though I’ve already admitted I’m not.”

“I appreciate your lies.”

“And I appreciate not having to chase you. When I thought I lost you after I missed that exit, my fucking heart hurt as if I’d never see you again. My love is stupid that way.”

“Perfectly stupid, and I guess love should be that way,” Ginger says, wrapping me tighter. “It’s how Cayenne loves Duffy, and how Pepper and Bay love each other. No logic, only a pure need to be close and provide warmth to the ones who matter most.”

“I’m curious as fuck about what you’ll be like once that vault of yours opens.”

A soft smile lights up Ginger’s beautiful features, making her even more addictive. I ache to have her closer and closer until she’s a part of me. To lose Ginger would cripple me especially after witnessing so many new sides of her during these last few hours.

I need more, and I’ll get more. Because for the first time since we met, I believe Ginger understands what I have all along. Common sense, logic, and past pain aside, we’re a done deal.