Page 60 of Savage Heart

Erika wanted to argue, but Liz cut her off.

“You’ve had a lot happen tonight, love. You need rest…and Trouble and I need to talk.”

Oooo…he didn’t miss the way she shot him the look of“wear your brown pants and red shirt”she sent him over Erika’s head. But he didn’t give a fuck. Theydidneed to talk, because Erika’s question—what happens now?—was one he needed to clarify with the woman who was hell-bent on keeping him on the sidelines of her life. Yeah, he was all in with being Erika’s dad, and he could see Liz understood that and accepted it, but when it came to making things clear about where he stood with Liz…she was about as thick as a rhino’s hide.

Planting a long kiss on Erika’s head, Trouble dragged the scent of bubble gum into his lungs. Tightening his arms around her in a hug, Trouble murmured, “Sleep tight, little one. We can talk more tomorrow—we’ll grab ice cream after school, then I’lltake you to Fae’s place.” Erika gasped, her eyes wide. She loved Fae; the woman was a tiny pixie of love and light, the total opposite of her man, Hawk. “She’s finishing up her home studio, and she wants to show you.”

Fae was an online folk singing sensation; her online persona, Aoibheal, sang in Gaelic, and played all her own instruments. She had a rabid following, and her popularity was growing. Being Aoibheal was how she met and enchanted Hawk, who was a closet Aoibheal fan.

Erika grinned, her eyes bright with joy instead of tears. “Awesome!”

She threw herself to her feet, and Liz draped her arm over Erika’s shoulder. “Come on. Quick shower, then bed.”

Erika huffed, pressed a kiss to Trouble’s cheek, then allowed her mom to lead her down the hallway to the bathroom. Watching his girls walk away…it struck him so hard he lost his breath. They were in his home, safe. That was all that mattered for the moment. Tomorrow, the hard work of making up for lost time with his daughter would ramp up. She knew he was her father now, and that made things that much more significant—because he wasn’t just her mom’s friend and the guy in whose house she was staying; he was her father.

Nearly ten years late, but I’m fucking trying….

After clearing the table, washing the casserole dish, and loading the dishwasher, Trouble sighed heavily, and stretched out the tension from his muscles. It had been a week since he’d been in the gym at the clubhouse last, and he knew he needed to get back in there, but some things were more important.

Tossing the dish towel on the counter, he switched off the kitchen light, and headed down the hallway toward the bedrooms, hoping to catch Erika still awake so he could give her a kiss goodnight. Since she’d moved in, his favorite part of the day was when she snuggled up against him—freshly washed andsmelling clean and sweet—and he read her a bedtime story. In those moments, he wasn’t the Savage Raiders MC VP, he wasn’t an Army vet with a shitload of bad memories, he wasn’t the asshole who betrayed, and then abandoned the woman he loved. In those moments, he was just a man in love with a little girl who meant the fucking world to him. In those moments, he was just a father filling his lungs with his daughter’s scent, memorizing the weight of her little body against his chest, and recording, in his heart, the sound of her voice and the waft of her breaths against his cheek.

Coming to a stop just outside of Erika’s room, Trouble saw that the overhead light was off, and only the light of the unicorn shaped night light he’d bought her was illuminating the room. Erika lay curled up under her vibrant comforter, sleeping. Damn, she definitely needed the rest after all those tears she’d shed. His Henley was still moist from where she’d been sobbing against him, but he didn’t mind.

Blowing her a kiss from the doorway, not wanting to wake her, he slowly closed the door until there was only a crack, then he turned and stopped, staring at the woman leaning against the doorjamb across from him. He’d known she was there…he always knew she was there.

Liz had changed into sleep shorts and thin camisole, and he could tell she was bra-less.

And his commando cock appreciated the view, twitching in his pants at the sight of her hard nipples, the dark pink areolas showing through the fabric.

Liz’s gaze flicked to the door behind him, her expression softening.

“You’re good with her,” she said, her voice quiet.

He smirked. “You sound surprised.”

She shrugged. “Can you blame me?”

Trouble didn’t need to think to answer, “No. I can’t.” He shook his head, sighing. “But I’m trying. I want to be her dad, Liz.”

She pursed her lips, then crossed her good arm over her chest to grasp her other arm, her thumb brushing up against her cast.

“Being her dad will take more than what you’re doing right now. What happens when you’ve dealt with Oblek? She’s here, now, because of the circumstances. Erika is in your house, in your space, you have easy access to her. Once the circumstances are no longer an issue, and access to her is no longer easy….” She shrugged, and anger blistered his insides—at her words and her easy dismissal of his efforts so far.

He bit back a curse, grabbed her good arm, and pulled her behind him toward his room.

“Trouble, what the fuck—”

“We are havin’ this conversation where there’s no chance of our daughter accidentally hearin’ me tear a hole in your hide,” he rumbled, making Liz gasp and tug her arm, trying to free it from his tight grasp.

He slammed his hand against the door to his bedroom, dragged her inside, then kicked the door shut behind them. He left her pull her hand free, then he turned to glare at her, his breaths heaving—whether because of the anger or because of the fact she was standing, barely clothed, in his bedroom for the first time in ten years, he couldn’t say.

Liz growled, as he leaned back against the door, blocking her only escape route. He’d be damned if she left the room before he finally had his say, before he finally got everything off his chest. She needed to hear it, understand it. It needed to be clear as a motherfucking bell.

Because he was done pussy-footin’ around the truth, letting Liz use the lies of the past as a buffer.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snapped, her eyes glittering, her cheeks bright pink. Immediately, his cock thickened at the sight—she was a goddamn goddess when she was angry. Her peaked nipples, those flushed cheeks, those sparking eyes—it was how she looked when she was getting fucked.

Now’s not the time, the voice of reason effused. No, it wasn’t the time, but he was going to get a taste of her before the night was over. He’d make damn sure of that.

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