Page 33 of Biker's Dark Revenge

"Doesn’t this look amazing, Kara?" I told her, but she had already grabbed a slice and stuffed it into her mouth before I could say another word. I laughed.

"I’ll take that as a yes," I replied, and we all began to dig in.

By the time dinner was finished, I could see Kara’s eyes drooping slightly – much as she wanted to stay up and explore the house a little more, she needed to get some rest. I led her to her bedroom and read her a story from one of the dozens of books that Star had purchased for her. Star had become the sweetest aunt to Kara, wanting to give her all the attention gifts in the world. If we weren’t careful, she was going to get seriously spoiled.

Not that I minded. I tucked her in as she dozed off and dropped a kiss on her forehead before I rose to my feet to join Lee in the kitchen. He was clearing up, but he glanced over his shoulder when he heard me coming in.

"Is she down?”

"Out for the count," I replied, reaching into the cupboard to grab the bottle of wine I had purchased as a housewarming gift. I poured myself a generous glass, did the same for Lee, and touched the edge of my glass to his.

"To our new house," I told him, grinning.

"To our new house," he repeated back to me as he took a long sip I couldn’t help but notice the way his lips slid along the glass. There was something so delicious about the way they looked as the wine brushed up against them.

We settled on the couch in our living room – it was the only piece of furniture we had managed to get situated so far, so it wasn’t as though we had much of a choice in the matter.

"So," Lee remarked. "What now?"

"What do you mean?" I wondered aloud, turning to him with a slight frown.

"I mean, what do you want to do next?" he remarked. "We’ve got the house. What comes after that?"

"Oh, damn, can we wait until we finish unpacking the boxes before we get into all of that?" I laughed, shaking my head. Truth be told, though, I had been giving this some thought – what I intended to do next, what I felt like I wanted my life to look like.

"I guess...I guess there’s no way that I can just go back to work at the Kennels, huh?" I remarked. He grinned.

"They’re going to put together another clubhouse eventually," he replied. "But it’ll be a while. If you’re willing to wait..."

I shook my head.

"It’s not about waiting," I admitted. "I don’t think that’s what I want to do with my life anymore."

"Damn," he muttered. "Atwood’s going to lose its hottest bartender..."

I laughed. He was such a damn flirt, even after all this time – talking like he couldn’t get enough of me. I had to admit, I liked it. Knowing he was still into me, even after all we had been through, was a gift I didn’t know I’d needed.

"True as that may be," I agreed. "I think there are...other things I’d rather be doing with my life."

"Other things?" he prompted me with interest. I nodded.

"Yeah, I mean...seeing all those women, all those girls who got freed from the brothels," I explained. "It really drove home how lucky I’ve been to have so many opportunities in life. I know I didn’t exactly have the most normal upbringing, but at the same time...at the same time, I had a chance to build myself up. Find out who I wanted to be. And I want to give that chance to these women, too."

"How do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head to the side with interest.

"I know I’ll have to go through some kind of course for it," I continued. "But I think I’d like to train to be some sort of...therapist or support worker. For women who are coming out of bad situations."

He paused, considering the idea for a moment – and then, he nodded, a grin spreading across his face.

"I think you’d be amazing at that," he remarked. I bit my lip.

"You really do?" I replied. "You’re not just saying that? Because if you think I’d be better off as a bartender-"

"No, I saw how you were with those girls when we were getting them out of Lombardi’s brothel," he replied, shaking his head. "You knew exactly what to say to them. Exactly what they needed to hear. You grounded them as they came back into the real world again. You’d be a great counselor; I know you would."

I breathed a sigh of relief. His vote of confidence was everything I needed.

"Thank you," I murmured to him, snuggling up against him. He wrapped an arm around me, planting a kiss on top of my head.

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