His unusual-colored eyes flashed from gold to bronze as the truth and depth of my words sank in. He muttered something under his breath I couldn’t hear and then he tilted his head to the side a little and told me, “I’m the opposite of safe. I fucked you without a condom on this morning because you make me stupid with want. That isn’t exactly looking out for your best interests.”

I fisted his shirt in my hand and tugged him down so that we were almost eye to eye. I appreciated that he felt like he had to keep warning me about all the ways in which this volatile thing between us could go wrong, but at some point he was just going to have to man up, get on board with what was happening, and stop waiting for it to implode all around us.

“There were two of us in that bed this morning. I’m just as responsible as you are for what happens there. I can protect myself and am more than willing to do so if you’re willing to be honest with me and tell me if this thing between us is important enough, interesting enough, to give a shot. If the answer is no, then that’s fine, but I won’t be back and we’ll just chalk it up to raging hormones and lust.”

He curled his fingers around my wrist and let his fingers rest over my erratic pulse. I wondered if anything with him was ever going to be simple.

“I’m not taking anyone else to bed as long as you’re in it, Royal.”

That was as much of an agreement to stop being a naysayer where we were concerned as I was going to get. I would take it. I pressed up on my toes and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

“Good. Now, how about you let me drive you to the Bar so you can meet with Rome and then we go grab something to eat at the Breakfast King after? I’m starving.” It seemed like such a simple, couply thing to do and I needed that. I craved it with him.

He ran his hand over the length of my still-damp ponytail and lightly tapped me on the ass. “Sounds good.”

Why couldn’t everything between us be that cut-and-dried?

George Thorogood was on the jukebox when Asa and I walked into the Bar. It was early enough that the doors weren’t open for customers yet but Cora was sitting at the bar talking to a guy standing behind it that I didn’t recognize. Asa deposited me next to her and introduced the new bartender as Danny before disappearing off toward the back office. I told Cora good morning and then spent five minutes staring at her trying to figure out why I thought she looked different from the last time I saw her.

Her blond hair was still short and styled in an artful disarray and her two-toned eyes were still bright and glittery with mischief. She was swinging her short legs back and forth watching me scope her out with obvious amusement. She had on tight black pants and a flowy top that had a bunch of flowers on it. She was colorful and fun just like every time I saw her, but as she turned to fully face me, I felt my eyes widen when I noticed a certain part of her that seemingly had grown out of proportion to the rest of her tiny frame.

“Did you get a boob job?” I realized how rude that sounded and went to apologize when she started laughing so hard her eyes began to water.

“No, I didn’t, but I think half the reason Rome likes to knock me up is because of this particular side effect.”

I gaped at her for a second. “You’re pregnant? Wow, congratulations.” I let my gaze slide up and down her still-petite figure. Aside from the craziness happening in her bra, she still looked like a little pixie. “I had no idea.”

She nodded. “We’ve been keeping it pretty quiet. I wanted Shaw and her new baby to get all the same love and attention we got when Remy came into the world, but we’re going for the ultrasound today to see if we’re bringing RJ home a brother or sister, so it won’t stay secret much longer.”

I reached out to give her a one-armed hug. “Ugh, I can’t believe I missed it. I’m going to make a terrible detective.”

She laughed again and patted me on the knee. “You don’t spend enough time around me to pick up on all the subtle little clues—something you should change, by the way.” She gave me a look and cocked her head to the side. “You know Ayden and Jet are coming back to town for spring break in a few weeks. We should all get together for a girls’ night like we used to. I bet Shaw could use a night away from the baby … and Rule.”

She grinned at me as I involuntarily flinched at the idea of hanging out with Asa’s sister. I had been to their girls’ nights before, but ever since Ayden moved and the babies started coming around, they had been few and far between. Now I usually just had coffee with Saint in the morning or grabbed a drink with Salem if she asked. We hadn’t all gotten together in longer than I could remember and it for sure had been before I locked Asa up.

“Uhhh …”

She rolled her eyes at me. “If you and Asa are going to be a thing, then you understand Ayden is part of that package, right?”

“I really wish someone else had answered that call. I hated having to take him in when he was hurt and obviously innocent. If I was his sister, I wouldn’t be happy with me either.”

She didn’t get a chance to say anything else because both the guys came out of the back room looking grim and unhappy. Rome was scowling pretty hard and Asa’s mouth was pulling tight in a straight line.

Cora swung around on the bar stool and went to her hulking man. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he automatically returned the embrace and bent to drop a kiss on the top of her head. It was so easy, so effortless, how they leaned on each other that I felt a sudden ball of emotion lodge in my throat as I watched them.

“Not good?” She asked the question softly and Asa was the one who answered. He leaned on the end of the bar and shook his head.

“Not good.” He sounded frustrated and disappointed. All I wanted to do was hug him and make it better like Cora was doing for Rome, only we were nowhere near there yet. His eyes shifted from me to Rome and then back. “The big guy doesn’t want to press charges, but we’re going to have to fire her and we need to talk to Brite and Darcy.”

Cora made a sympathetic noise. “It’s gonna break Brite’s heart.”

Asa pushed off the bar and walked over to where I was sitting. I hopped off the stool and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me to his side. A full-body shiver worked its way from the top of my scalp to the tips of my toes as I responded by putting an arm around his lean waist. I wanted to be able to hold him up. I just wasn’t sure I was strong enough.