“Talk to me, babe.”

With a deep sigh, she wraps her arms around my neck. I try not to focus on her tits and the fact that she’s sitting on my lap wearing nothing but panties.

“It’s just...seeing her. You know I can’t stand her.”

“You want me to get rid of her, just say the word.”

“What do you mean ‘get rid of her’?” she asks, scrunching her brows together.

“I meant I’d make sure she doesn’t come around. In case you haven’t noticed, I have some clout around here.”

“Oh. It’ll be fine. I’ll just make sure I stay out of her way.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I’m going to take a shower.”

My dick objects to that plan. She tries to get up, but I keep her firmly on my lap. “Babe.”

“Jesus, Gage. You’re like a fucking rabbit.”

“I have a lot of time to make up for.”

“Ugh!”

She slides off my lap and kneels between my legs, pulling my zipper down.

“I don’t want your mouth. I want your pussy.”

“Too bad. You’re not getting my mouth, either,” she replies, reaching into her panties with one hand while the other pulls my dick out of my jeans.

What the fuck? Pulling her hand from her panties, she wraps her fingers around my dick, and slides them up and down. I suck in a breath. Shit is wet with her juices. “Fuck, Raven.”

I watch her jerk me off, her tits bouncing with each stroke. I reach down to get a handful, but she slaps my hand away and doubles her efforts. There’s a distant look on her face, like she’s on autopilot and is just trying to get me off as quickly as she can. I know she’s still thinking about her sister, and if she’s not into it then I’m not going to force her.

“Stop.”

She pauses mid-stroke and stares up at me with a confused frown. “What’s wrong?”

“Your mind is a million miles away, so there’s no point. Go take your shower. I’m gonna get a beer.”

“I’m sorry –”

“You don’t need to apologize, doll. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I watch her walk away then zip my shit up and head out to the bar. It’s pretty quiet tonight. Some of the guys are playing pool, some are gathered around the video poker and PS3, and the others are smoking joints with half-naked women on their laps. I grab the stool next to E and swipe his shot of whiskey, knocking it back, and then slamming the glass on the bar.

“Trouble in paradise still?” he asks, quirking a brow at me.

“Gimme a shot of Jack,” I tell Booker, then turn to E. “Nah. The sister coming back threw her off. They don’t get along.”

“We were all surprised. Didn’t figure we’d see her again.”

“She shoulda stayed gone. I don’t need her messing with Raven’s head.”

“I know. She’s finally starting to act like her old self.”

“Exactly.” I down my shot and tap the bar for another. “She told me she loves me,” I say quietly.

E turns to me with a cocky, I-told-you-so grin. “Oh? And what did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“What the fuck do you mean ‘nothing’?”

I think back to earlier tonight and take a deep breath. She confessed her love and I clammed the fuck up. I didn’t know what to do, what to say. I fucking froze. I wasn’t prepared for it, wasn’t expecting the overwhelming emotion I felt when she said it. I’ve never combined feelings…emotions and women before, and I just didn’t know what to do. “What was I supposed to say?”

“You were supposed to say it back, genius.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not? And don’t even try to tell me you don’t love her. Everybody and their mommas know you do.”

“I don’t know, E. I care for her...a lot. I know I want to be with her. I just don’t know if I’m capable of anything more.”

“Stop being a fucktard. The sooner you accept that you’re in love with her, the better. Just patch her and be done with it. She’s a good woman and if you don’t lock her down, there are plenty of guys who would gladly do it.”

“Guys? What guys?” I look around the room suspiciously. Brother or not, I’ll kill all these motherfuckers if they even think about touching her.

“See what I mean? I’ve never seen you act possessive of a woman. Ever. And the guys? I’m pretty sure if you weren’t in the picture, any one of them would jump at the chance to claim her.”

“Including you?” I raise a brow at him.

“Nah. She’s like a little sister to me. Which is why I’m telling you to step up to the plate. I’ve never seen you this happy, Gage. I’m telling you...hold on to her.”

I’m contemplating his words when Razor plops down next to me and asks for a bottle of Jack. Cassidy walks out behind him and heads over to a corner where some of the Hounds are gathered.

“You still hittin’ that?” I ask Razor.

He takes a swig from the bottle and turns his gaze toward her. “Fuckin’ psycho bitch. I’ve tried to get rid of her a million times, but then she sucks my dick and I forget what I was trying to do.”

“Hey, you knew the bitch was crazy from the jump. I warned you.”

“Yeah. Next time, hit me over the head with your Glock or something.”

E chuckles and says, “Next thing you know, she’ll be your old lady.”

“Fuck that shit. Fucking shoot me in the head if that shit happens.”

We laugh at his distress, but he needs to be careful with her. After the shit she pulled with Nita, she’s capable of anything. On top of that, she seems like the obsessive type. If she’s transferred her obsession from me to him, it would be my fault. I hope I haven’t put my brother in trouble. Hopefully, Razor can handle her better than I did. I shoot the shit with the boys for a bit then grab a beer and head back to my room. I haven’t had much sleep this past week, and I just want to curl up with my baby.

She’s in bed, reading. Damn, I missed seeing her there. Shit, E might be right. I may be incapable of love, but I know I need her in my life. I leave my beer on the nightstand and take a shower. When I return and climb into bed, she turns off the tablet and moves close to me, turning so I’m spooning her. Fuck, she smells good. I bury my nose in her hair, inhaling deeply.

“Gage,” she warns. “Go to sleep.”

I slip my hand under her shirt and seek out her breast. When I touch her nipple, she hisses in pain.

“I’m sorry, babe. You should have told me it hurt.”

“Well, it didn’t hurt at the time.”

“Let me make it better.”

She tries to remove my hand from under her shirt. “Don’t touch it.”

“Can’t do that, doll. I need to touch you.”

She moans as I slide my hand down, reaching between her legs, but she presses her thighs together, hindering my progress.

“Babe.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Just the head.”

She giggles but doesn’t give in. What the fuck has my life come to? I’m practically begging for some pussy from my own woman. This is some bullshit. Nah. Gage Hunter doesn’t strike out.

“Nope,” she says, popping the ‘p’.

“Why?”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“I have an app for that.”

She bursts out laughing, releasing her thighs and giving me an opening. I cup her pussy through her panties and groan at the heat coming off her. Slowly, I rub her clit through the material.

“An app, huh? How does it work?”

“First, I bite you here.” I nip at her earlobe and she gasps. Then I trail my nose across her shoulder and drop a gentle kiss on her arm. “I kiss you here.” I slip my hand past the waistband of her panties. My fingers are drowning in her juices. Fuck. “Then I touch you here.”

She moans, opening her legs for me. She’s so wet, so soft, so warm. I’d be the happiest man in the world if the one thing I got to do for the rest of my life is make love to her. Yeah, I said it. No matter how we do it – hard, soft, fast, or slow – we are making love. There’s no way I can compare what’s between us with anything I’ve done with any other woman.

“Gage…”

And there’s my trigger. There’s just something about the way she says my name that drives me fucking wild. I make quick work of removing her panties, and then I kneel between her legs. She stares up at me, chest heaving.