“What’s that?” she asked curiously, watching a small head peek out. “He’s so cute.”

Grace opened the door wide, her hands going for his vest at the same time Ice released one of the buttons. The small, wiggling puppy landed in her hands at the same time Ice moved past her to go inside the house.

Distracted, Grace cuddled the small black dachshund wiggling in her hands. When she looked up, Ice was already sitting on her couch. Closing the door, she went to the couch and stared down at him.

“Where did you get him?”

“I went to the animal shelter. He was a rescue from a breeder who actually wanted to breed more of those things.”

Grace sank down on the couch, letting it chew on her finger. “What’s his name?”

“Whatever you want to name him.”

Grace sat the tiny puppy that was no bigger than the palm of her hand down on the floor. Daisy jumped down from the couch, sniffing the new puppy while it tottered off to investigate its new surroundings.

“Ice, I want you to leave. Thank you for the puppy, but I don’t have anything to say to you. My mother told me what she said to you, and I’m sorry about that, but ultimately, it was for the best. It showed me that you will always put the Predators first, and I can’t live with that.”

“I didn’t put them first. There wasn’t a choice to make. I don’t give a fuck if your mother tries to bring down my club. She hasn’t got enough money to accomplish that,” Ice stated coldly. “I stayed away while your family was here so there wouldn’t be any arguments between them and me. I didn’t want you having to deal with the friction between us and them right after Church and Yo-Yo had attacked you.”

“You could have called,” Grace said reproachfully.

“I couldn’t have stayed away if I heard your voice, Grace. I felt like shit already about Church and Yo-Yo.

“I’m going to tell you the truth. I’m not going to discuss the club business with you again, but this time, you deserve answers, and I’m going to give them to you. I was in prison because I had set it up to help Yo-Yo escape. My boss is Yo-Yo’s cousin. Me and the brothers took the job because we wanted the money to buy Gert’s house for her. She’s sick, and we weren’t going to watch her lose her home. Any other time, we would have had the money, but we had just bought the land the clubhouse is on, and one of the brothers had been in an accident, and we had paid off his medical bills. We don’t make an honest living, so we don’t exactly have insurance.

“Since then, we’ve gotten back on track, overseeing a few deals between buyers and sellers. We don’t sell the merchandise, but we make sure our boss gets his cut and that everyone comes out of it alive. It doesn’t affect you, and it never will.

“I screwed up when I became involved with you on a job. I sure as fuck should never have sought you out after the job was done, but I thought I’d get you out of my system and eventually move on. I should have let you go and not looked back. If I was a good man, I would have, but there’s nothing decent about me. You know that from Rita and Brandy.

“I fucked Brandy, thinking I could and it would have nothing to do with what was between us. I was wrong. You found out, and baby, I never want to come that close to losing you again. I’ll never fuck another woman. Those days are over for me.

“You’re going to have to learn to live with the club being a part of my life, like they’re going to have to learn that you’re a part of my life and have to come first. If they want to elect a new leader, that’s cool with me. But it’s never going to be a choice of you or them. It’s always going to be you.”

When he finished speaking, Grace sat, thinking. She had to decide if she wanted him in her life enough to accept the Predators as part of it. Even if they chose another leader, he wouldn’t leave them. Ice wasn’t capable of leaving something he loved.

As she walked toward the door, Ice stood up, his hands brushing down the sides of his jeans. Grace realized he was nervous.

“Please, don’t leave me… Please, Grace, don’t leave me.” His choked voice brought tears to her eyes.

He had sworn never to beg another person to stay, yet he was begging her not to leave him as every other person in his life he had cared about had.

Grace locked the door and set the alarm.

“I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.” She ran into his open arms, raising her mouth to meet him halfway. The kiss bridged the gap of the last weeks they had been separated, bringing the heat of desire neither could quench.

Ice sat down on the couch, pulling her down on his lap then jerking her top down. He lifted her breasts from her bra, sucking a nipple into his mouth. Then, suddenly, he lifted his head away.

“Ice...” Grace tried to jerk his head back down.

“What in the fuck is that?” he asked, staring across the room at a small basket in front of the television set.

Confused, Grace looked back at him. “That’s Bear.”

“But he’s dead,” Ice said, clearly not believing his eyes.

Grace giggled. “I thought he was, too, but his back was broken. Mom got him to the vet and they operated on him. He’s still not back to normal, but the vet thinks he will be in a few months.”

Ice stared at the little shit as it slowly climbed out of his bed, coming toward him. Ice didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.

Grace bent down to scratch the new puppy’s head as he plopped down in front of her.

“Don’t get attached; he’s going back.”

“No, he’s not.”

“It’s going back today. There’s no way I’m getting stuck with two little shits. I’ll get you a Doberman.”

“Ice, if the dog goes, you do, too.”

He stayed silent, glaring at Bear, who was watching the puppy chew on his new boot.

“Ice…?” Grace frowned when he still didn’t say anything.

“I’m still thinking about it.”

Grace pushed him down on the couch, climbing up to straddle his hips. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“How?” Ice lifted a brow. “It better be good.”

She gave a mischievous grin. “I can guarantee it will be the best you ever had.”

A few minutes later, she was raising her head, staring down at his cock. “When did you?”

“While you were away. You were too busy to notice it last time.” Ice grinned, using her hair to tug her head back down. “Baby, you don’t have to be so gentle. I’ve told you…”Grace licked him teasingly, enjoying herself.

“Does the puppy stay?” she asked before taking him to the back of her throat and swallowing so her throat muscles would clench on the head of his cock.

Ice’s head fell back to the couch cushion. “Fuck! He can stay.”

Chapter 29

Ice slowed down his bike to make the turn into Stephenville when his cell phone vibrated for the third time.

“Fuck!”

After he had made the turn, Ice pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and took his cell phone from his pocket.

“What’s up?”

Snake’s voice yelled into the phone. “Ice, your old lady is driving me ape shit! I don’t know if I want to be in the Predators bad enough to put up with a load of—”