Trisha smiled as she sat up. “Just one?”
“Maybe two. You are eating for two people now.” Harley grinned at her. “You be careful with this. It’s hot. I don’t want you to get burned.”
Trisha stared at him with gratitude. “Thank you for being my friend.”
“A friend? I thought we could elope to Vegas and have Elvis marry us.” His gaze sparkled as he teased. “I had it all worked out too. We could buy some mangy mutt, buy us a rusty old RV, and find some city dump to live next to. I hear it’s a great place to find furniture.” He lifted up the material on his arm and exposed his thick biceps. “I had a spot picked out here to have your name tattooed on me and I thought I could have my name tattooed across your ass. That way I could actually say I owned your ass.”
Trisha laughed. Moon walked upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed holding a plate with a few pieces of buttered toast. He set it down on the bed next to Trisha so she could easily reach it.
“It’s not her ass you have your name put on, Harley. You have her tattoo it on her arm so when she forgets your name, it’s right there. We all know how memorable you aren’t. She’d have to be a contortionist to see your name on her ass.”
“If she’s a contortionist,” Brass called out as he climbed the stairs, “then she’d have to marry me instead. And you never have Elvis marry you. That’s a bad omen if I ever heard one. Everyone knows marriage started by a dead guy ends in a dead marriage down the road. And speaking of road, she’s high class and don’t forget it. You don’t buy some rusted-out RV. You buy a fifth-wheel travel trailer and live in style. That way you can unhitch it and not have to remove the patio every time you need to go somewhere.”
Trisha wanted to flinch when she saw Brass’ face. He had bruising to his cheekbone and jaw, cuts all over, and there was swelling near his eye. He held her worried gaze and winked. “I’m still incredibly good-looking.”
She laughed. “Yes. You are.”
Moon sniffed suddenly. His gaze turned to Brass and Harley. They sniffed too.
Three pairs of eyes turned to the window before they glanced away.
Trisha tensed. “What do you smell?”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Moon muttered. “Just a hint of a storm outside.”
“Oh. I hope the roof doesn’t leak.” Trisha glanced up at the slanted wood beams of the ceiling and back at the guys. “The cabin seems pretty solid though, even if it is outdated inside.”
“I’m sure it won’t, Trisha.” Brass motioned to her food. “Eat up.”
Trisha ate while the men kept teasing her. She laughed, listening to them get more outrageous about funny marriage scenarios. She saw them glance at the window a few times. It had grown dark outside. The window remained open but she didn’t see any flashes of lightning or hear rain.
154
Slade
Trisha finished all of her soup, ate both slices of toast, and finished off her milk.
Moon took her dishes.
“I’ll bring you cookies and some more milk but I’m going to take a jog first. I enjoy a good run at night. Can you wait for your snack?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He smiled at her and disappeared downstairs.
“I know,” Harley chuckled. “You could marry me and we could go live with your parents. I hear that humans living with their in-laws always have a successful marriage.”
Brass smacked his forehead with his palm. “Where do you hear this backward bullshit? That’s a surefire way to kill a marriage.”
Trisha laughed. “You’d run for the hills or worse if you ever met my parents and would probably buy a gun and shoot them. I don’t want to be married to a guy who’s doing twenty-to-life in prison.”
“Yeah.” Brass nodded seriously. “Then she’d have to divorce you for cheating on her inside the state pen.”
“Cheating on her?” Harley looked confused for a second and grimaced.
“That’s…just wrong! I am attracted to females.”
“It depends on who you ask. I heard once that some men find true love behind bars.” Brass winked at Harley. “You do have a nice ass. I’m sure I’m not the only man who will see it that way.”
“I’m never bending over in front you again.” Harley flipped Brass off. “And that’s not an offer. I have way higher standards.”
“Enough,” Trisha laughed. “You guys are starting to make my stomach hurt. Why don’t we give my tummy a break and pick up our card game? I was kicking some serious ass.”
“You were not.” Harley stood. “I’ll get the cards.” He strode to the stairs. “We were letting you win.”
“He’s a sore loser,” Brass whispered.
“I heard that!”
155
Laurann Dohner
Chapter Sixteen
Slade turned when Moon crept up next to him. The wind picked up. Slade hooked his thumbs inside his jeans pockets, having gone home and changed before he’d returned.
Moon took a deep breath. “Are you enjoying standing out here listening to us cheer her up?”
Slade said nothing.
“You really upset her when you made nasty accusations. She treats us as though we are brothers and I can promise you there is nothing between her and Justice. I’ve been on her security detail for weeks and she just hangs out with us when she’s not working.
I knew she was sad but I didn’t know why until today.” He paused. “You shouldn’t have left her the way you did. Why would you do it? She’s amazing.”
Minutes passed. “I was afraid that being with me would endanger her. It made sense at the time but it was all for nothing. I feared for her safety above my desire to be with her. I’ve put her in much more danger now that she’s carrying my child. She’ll be a target for the hate groups and I unknowingly put her in more danger by not being there when she needed me.” Slade’s voice softened. “I also wanted to give her time to make certain how she felt about me but I really needed it myself too. Does she know I’m out here?”
“No. We told her we scented a storm coming. It is hard to want something very much when we have learned anything we value gets taken from us.”
Slade silently agreed.
“She thinks you used her for sex and you don’t care about her. She is carrying your child and hurting. Do you realize she is a miracle?”
Slade turned his head to glare at the other male. “Of course I know, damn it.”
“But you left her alone.” Moon shook his head in disgust. “I wouldn’t allow anything to stand in my way to be with her if I were lucky enough to find a woman similar to her who cared for me, especially not my own fear. I know all about loss with our shared past. I know how terrifying it is to feel anything because it opens us up to the possibility of deep pain.” He took a breath. “I would risk anything for a woman I loved.”
“She was attacked for her association with us. I believed being with me would only increase the danger. It wasn’t just all about my fear of growing attached to her.”
“She knew the risks when she took the job. She is smart, Slade. Homeland had been attacked before she arrived and it can happen again. She watches the news, sees the protestors spew their hatred of us to anyone who will listen when they make their 156
Slade
threats, yet she still came to us. She allowed you to touch her knowing what Ellie and Fury faced and still do. She was present when Fury took the bullets meant for his mate.
You may have believed you were being honorable but you were wrong. She’s already in danger and the degree doesn’t matter. What does matter is having a strong male at her side to protect her if someone tries to harm her. You failed in that.”
Pain lanced through Slade at the truth of the words. “She won’t forgive me.”
Moon glanced at the house. “You need to make her understand how much you care and that you’ve learned how much she means to you.”