Page 42 of April 5

"I've proven myself to you so many times, Jagger, I've lost track." She planted her hands on her hips. "Mama Sue told me to wait. To be patient. So, I waited and waited. I cried myself to sleep almost every fucking night. I fought men away from me because inside I belonged to you. I never once got drunk at parties because I wasn't going to let drinking be an excuse for making the biggest mistake of my life." She fisted her hands. "All because I believed one day, you'd get your shit together and finally claim me. Now you want to act like your life will end but it's okay because we have today, maybe tonight. It's bullshit." She raised her hands in the air. "Our lives together could end tonight. Whenever my dad returns." She patted her chest. "You've lived your life. But I haven't lived mine, and it's unfair that I didn't get a lifetime with you."

Katrina held her ground. He pulled himself out of the pool. She'd worked herself up until she exploded.

He picked up her bikini and handed it to her. "Get dressed."

Her gaze narrowed. Instead of arguing, she turned and sashayed her ass into the dressing room. She knew better than to put their private issues in front of club members.

Ignoring the others, he followed Katrina inside. By the time he got dressed, she was gone.

At that moment, she reminded him a lot of Ruger.

Fuck.

Chapter Eighteen

"I WANT TO TALK TO HER."

"No," said Jagger.

"She's my niece," shouted Cora.

Katrina pressed her ear against the door, surprised by her aunt beating Jagger back to the clubhouse. But then again, Jagger had more clothes to put on and boots to lace.

"I heard what she said." Cora's voice lowered. "A child— you hurt her—"

She strained to hear what they talked about, but the conversation quieted beyond her hearing. Katrina opened the door and faced Jagger and Cora. Behind them, across the hallway, stood Wire.

Cora reached her first. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged off her aunt's touch and stared at Jagger. "I'm fine."

"Has he hurt you?" whispered Cora.

"For fuck's sake." Jagger exhaled harshly. "Wire, take your ol' lady out of here. I'm tired of the damn drama."

"She's my niece." Cora never budged.

"And she's my woman." Jagger turned to Wire. "Get her out. Now."

Wire hustled to get Cora out of the hallway. Jagger walked forward, backing Katrina up into the bedroom.

"You're going to claim me now that I'm going to lose you?" Katrina walked over to the dresser, picked up an unopened bottle of whiskey, and broke the seal. "This is what I'm talking about."

"I'm not following."

She lifted the bottle. He grabbed her wrist. "You don't want to drink."

"Maybe I do. Maybe that's how I'm supposed to handle everything happening to me." She shook her head. "Everything has been on your time. You waited years to show your true feelings toward me. Then you waited to have sex with me. Then you told me we had to stop, and nobody could find out how we felt about each other. Year after year. Not once did you ask what I wanted."

He looked at the bottle in his hand and frowned. She snorted, seeing that he'd love to numb the pain and tune her out. But she was tired of being quiet.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" She pressed her palm to her chest. "You are no longer my crush or the first man I had sex with or my first heartbreak. That's all in the past, and you need to see how much I've lived my life belonging to you for six years, and I have nothing to show for all that time."

"We're together now." He set the bottle on the dresser.

"No, what you're doing is cramming in a lifetime of memories before my dad comes back and seeks punishment—a punishment that doesn't even make sense to me because I wanted everything that happened between us."

"A Havlin member cannot have a sexual relationship with a member's ol' lady, daughter, or sister without the member's permission." He stepped closer and grabbed her wrist. "When you were twelve years old, you kissed me while I was sleeping in the clubhouse after partying all night."

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