Page 81 of All In

“New game plan,” Laken mumbles sleepily. “Don’t get arrested.”

“I certainly don’t intend on it,” I assure her. “My services are of a for-hire variety, and the jobs I take can be dangerous, but I do my best to mitigate any negative outcomes.”

“You might want to think about sticking to security contracts,” Tanner says. “Your wife won’t stand for you taking unnecessary risks.”

I push up on my elbow to glare at the idiot.

I’m always careful.

“She will not.” Laken pats my chest. “Your scents are making me sleepy. Hit the lights, will you?”

“We spent five minutes agreeing on that ambient setting.” Tanner chuckles. “Good night, firecracker.”

“Good night,” she says as I stretch to click off the track lighting.

My mind is still a little too focused on the fact she didn’t slap the hell out of me and tell me to get lost.

Laken falls asleep not long after.

It’s easy enough to tell by the way her breathing evens out and her hand stops rubbing circles over my heart.

Tanner leans even farther over her back and stares at me until I make eye contact with him. “She was having a panic attack when I found her. I’ve heard enough about you from the others to put a picture together. You’re used to getting what you want, but you lack the social skills to understand how your choices impact others.”

I growl and quickly try to stifle it to keep from waking my omega.

“She likes you.” He laughs softly. “Who the fuck knows why, but she does. If you care about her, you need to step up and show it. Not with bossy, unreasonable demands, but with your actions. When we were in the shower, she mentioned she normally takes medication for her anxiety.”

“I was unaware of that,” I admit.

“Well, I’m telling you now. You said earlier that she was waiting for her doctor to call her back about something. She’s completely isolated here, and she’s handling it a lot better than most people would. Do whatever you need to do so that she can check in with her doctor or make plans for her to see one here.”

My pride bristles.

All of that is already on my list of things to tackle.

I approach things in order of emergency, and finding more information on the missing Braxton Barrett seemed to trump a trip into town, especially when the dirt road floods whenever we get heavy storms.

However, I saw how each member of my family triad brought something different to the table.

Where my biological father had shortcomings, Sparrow’s father had strengths, and vice versa.

I’ll never be as emotionally aware as someone like Tanner.

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll address that tomorrow,” I assure him.

He grunts, dropping his head to the pillow. “Good.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Laken

“Not to be a dick,” Tanner whispers, his hands tightening on my hip. “But you’re dangerously close to sliding mine inside you. So, I need you to wake up enough to tell me that this is okay.” He’s curled around my back as we both lie on our sides. “Ranger is a few feet in front of you, if you’d rather go for the familiar.”

I gasp, pulling my hand up to rub at my aching eyes. “Oh, no. My eyes are burning.”

“Yeah, I’m not shocked.” Tanner’s hand slides over my hip, down my soft stomach, and to my clit. “You’re scalding my skin. No matter how your system is set up to handle fevers, I can’t imagine it feels great. Is this okay?” His fingertips brush my hood, despite the awkward angle, and I nod, lifting my thigh to give him easier access.

He uses his hand by my head to grip my skull, twisting my face to meet his over my shoulder. It’s not easy, because of the angle, but we make it work, with our tongues clashing in the air. His shaft jumps between my legs, and it’s easy to understand what he meant.

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