Page 124 of Lucky's Trouble

“I’ll be safe.” I give her a hard, smacking kiss before standing. Anything more than that, and I won’t be making it out of this room today. “Besides, you have orientation today, so you’ll be too busy to worry.”

“Not true. I’ll just be distracted and end up bleaching someone’s eyebrows off or something.”

“I think they keep the bleach locked up until at least your first day of class,” I say, hoping to divert the conversation.

“Lucky.”

“Tinleigh,” I reply in the same frustrated tone. “If there were any kind of threat, I’d be riding with a brother, but there’s not, so there’s no need to drag someone else along.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, baby. I promise.”

“Okay,” she says, suddenly interested in a loose thread on the comforter.

My gut clenches, hating that I’m making her feel uneasy about this, especially since I’m lying through my teeth. This ride has nothing to do with the club, though they support my decision. Rigger even offered to come. No, this is something I need to do on my own, and telling her about it will only freak her out more than she already is.

I climb on top of her, yanking the pillows away so she’s flat on her back. She says the weight of my body calms her, so I hold my upper body on my elbows but allow my torso, hips, and legs to press her into the mattress.

I lean in until my lips nearly touch her ear and whisper, “Do you really think I’d let anything stop me from coming home to you?” I move lower, biting and sucking down her neck, leaving my marks along the way so each time she looks in a mirror between now and when I get home, she’ll remember who she belongs to.

She sighs, snaking her hands under the back of my shirt. “No.”

“Exactly.” I move across her chest, above her breasts.

“Maybe I’m just nervous about today and taking it out on you.”

“You shouldn’t be.” I continue up the other side of her neck. “You’ll do great.”

“I hope so.”

I kiss her lips before nipping at her bottom one. “I know so. Call me and tell me all about it when you’re done for the day.”

“Okay.”

I move to get up, but she holds me in place. “Baby, I gotta get on the road.”

She releases me with a huff, dramatically throwing her arms to the side. “Fine. Go.”

“You’re killin’ me, you know that?” I climb off and walk to the ladder, swinging my leg over the side.

“At least Lucky Jr. will never leave me.”

Descending the ladder, I call out, “He’ll be hard to use without batteries.”

She gasps. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I would, and don’t bother trying to find more. There ain’t a battery left in this house.” I push my feet into my boots.

“The remotes?”

“Sorry. Looks like no TV for you either.” I slip my Carhartt coat on over my cut, grinning.

“You’re an asshole!”

I look up to the loft and see her standing stark naked behind the railing, arms folded and propping her beautiful breasts up. Fuck me. Maybe I don’t need to go anywhere after all.

Forcing myself to look away, I put one heavy boot in front of the other, no part of me wanting to leave, except for the constant itch in the back of my mind that I can’t scratch until this is done. It’s the one thing standing in the way of Tinleigh and me moving forward, and she doesn’t even know it’s there.

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