Page 89 of Fighting a Riot

I gave a short growl, which made him laugh and made me feel like I’d scaled a mountain. Riding that feeling, I finished my soup.

One of the greatest things about staying in Yak’s room at the clubhouse was the blackout curtains. They had to be industrial grade because they were better than any hotel curtains, that was certain.

I woke up feeling disoriented because of the darkness. My bladder was killing me, and when I opened my eyes I saw Yak sitting in the recliner reading his phone.

“What time is it?” I asked.

In the glow of his phone, I saw his lips tip up and his eyes warmed on me. “Little after one.”

I swung my legs out from under the covers. “Typical. Waking up at the same time in the middle of the night is ridiculous. Why are you still up?”

He switched on a small lamp. “I’ve always had trouble going to bed before midnight. One of the reasons I was willing to take on Platinum’s. For other people, it gets old working into the wee-hours of the morning. It’s not typically a problem for me.”

I hurried up and did my business in the bathroom, eager to get back into bed. The tightness of the sheets could not be beat. I felt Yak’s eyes on me while I situated myself under the covers.

He sat on the edge of the bed near my hip. “I gotta show you something before you go back to sleep.”

“What?” I asked, almost laughing because I couldn’t imagine what would make him sound so impatient.

“The moon was full tonight.”

I nodded. “I know, it was the Flower Moon. Another one I missed.”

His head tilted. “You didn’t miss it.”

I blinked and shook my head. “Pretty sure I did, Noah.”

He righted his head, a serious expression stealing over his face. “You didn’t because I stole the moon just for you. So you could see it being full and all.”

I chuckled, careful of my incisions. “You can’t steal the moon, silly.”

He turned his phone to me. A picture of him pushing a wheelbarrow filled the screen. Inside the wheelbarrow sat the moon.

I smiled. “How did you pull this off? That is something else.”

He shook his head and made big eyes at me. “No. That isn’t something else. I’m not done.”

His finger swiped the screen and I saw a silver SUV with the hatch open. Yak was bent in a deep squat, and the moon appeared to be cradled in his strong outstretched arms. My breath caught, my hand went to my chest, my nose stung, and I felt tears well in my eyes.

He waved his hand at me. “Now, don’t go doin’ that. You’ll give the poor moon a complex seeing as I stole it and all.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

In the next picture, Yak had his legs only slightly bent, and it looked like he was pushing the moon inside the vehicle. My lips tipped up. “You stole the moon,” I whispered.

“Only for you, sweetheart. I told you, nothing has to change because of this bullshit disease, Nora. Not on my watch.”

“Thanks, Noah,” I breathed. But ‘thanks’ shrouded the truth. While he ‘stole’ the moon, he proceeded to steal my heart. Coward that I was, though, I couldn’t tell him that because for all I knew, like Destin before him, he probably didn’t want my heart.

If I hadn’t fallen for him shortly after he found me inside the strip club, that would have sealed it.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “You’re more than welcome. I’m goin’ to brush my teeth. I’ll turn out the light when I’m done.”

While he was in the bathroom, I forced myself to stay awake until he slid under the covers. In the dark, I slid my hand toward him until I found his fingers and gave them a squeeze. “I mean it, Yak. Thanks for the pictures. I can’t tell you how much I freaking love that.”

The room was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, “Trust me, princess, I got an idea. The way your face lit up said it all, and that made it well worth the effort.”

In the morning, I watched Yak make me breakfast while sitting at the small two-person table in the kitchen. I offered to make my own food, but he flat-out insisted on serving me his ‘famous’ fried eggs.

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